Chapter Text
Lucille hated the white cold hallways of her home. How many times had she wandered them? Hoping for something to change? A speck of color or light to burst through the sleek yet constricting place?
“You’re muttering to yourself again.” A voice, quiet yet harsh, spoke behind her, “What is on your mind?”
Her mother wore a dark orange dress with a red bow, the outfit being a sign for her allegiance to Abuela Pepa. The woman was one of the most powerful Madrigals, she could conjure an entire storm in seconds. Even in her aged state, there was a reason she was called Disaster. Lucille’s mother was her right hand woman, using her powers of sound to spy on others, gain information, and use soundwaves to burst the eardrums of their foes.
“Sorry, mama.” Lucille forced a smile, “Just thinking out loud.”
Dolores’ smile turned to a frown as she placed a hand on her shoulder, “I know what you’re going to do, but I’d advised you against it.”
“I know, I just-” Her voice stopped, cut off and silenced as if something or someone lowered her inner volume. She forgot about that, her mother also had the ability to take others' voices. She could still breathe, still use her mouth, yet no sound came out.
“No, you don’t.” Her voice, though barely above a whisper, sounded threatening, “If you go to her and ask her of this, she will either reject it harshly or use it against you. She’ll turn your wish into a noose, condemning yourself to a fate worse than death. It happened to me and it will happen to you. Do you understand?”
Lucille nodded meekly and with a tap of her mother’s hand, her voice returned, “Yes, mama.”
“Good. Now, go to the kitchen and help Julieta with breakfast.”
“Yes, mama.” She obeyed her mother and walked away, feeling the sting of tears starting up again. On her way to the kitchen, she passed by the portraits of her bisabuela Alma and bisabuelo Pedro. The man smiled at her while the woman gave a cold stone glare that made her feel almost alive. She had never met either of them, only hearing ghost stories by her family.
She made her way to the kitchen, seeing a woman in a dark blue apron preparing food.
“Lucille! Buenos días!” The older woman excitedly greeted her, catching her off guard, “Try this new recipe I’ve been making, it’s really good.” She shoved an arepa in her face as she hesitantly took a bite.
It was good…until her throat started to burn.
Lucille immediately felt her throat tighten and her body growing weak, she nearly collapsed onto the table.
“Oh, the poison’s working! I was so afraid tha buyer had lied to me.” Julieta said with a sadistic grin as Lucille gasped for air. Barely conscious, she felt a liquid poured down her throat and she regained her senses. She felt a gentle yet firm hand pull her back up.
“Lucille.” She felt the strong embrace of her aunt Luisa pull her back up. Her super strength made her the heavy hitter of the family, able to demolish entire buildings with a single punch, she could even cause an earthquake, if she wanted to. She didn’t talk much, only speaking in short sentences or names. Her lack of speaking came from a training injury gone wrong that rendered some of her vocal chords. She didn’t speak much before it though, finding use as a silent giant who could take hit after hit.
“She’s the only one I can test my poisons on, besides she should expect it by now. It’s her fault for being so…talentless.” She said with a hint of remorse.
Luisa glared at her mother. Lucille didn’t know why Luisa had a soft spot for her, but she was alot like her own personal bodyguard. She was overprotective and stubborn at times, treating the girl like she was made out of fragile glass.
“Please if I wanted to kill her, I would’ve done it already.” Julieta said, holding one of the knives to cut some meat, “And I would’ve used a stronger, faster poison~”
“I’m fine, really, tia.” She pushed away Luisa’s hold, “I need to set the table and make the coffee.”
Her tia frowned, but nodded. She chose to keep her eye on Julieta as she sat in the corner, watching her like a hawk. Lucille staggered over to the cabinet where the plates were kept and started placing them on the table. It was quiet in the kitchen, except for Julieta humming to herself and the clattering of plates. It almost felt peaceful, though the cold tension you could cut with a knife. She started up the coffee machine, watching as the hot brown liquid began to build up in the large jug.
“GIVE ME BACK MY TOWEL, HERCULES!!” Suddenly a laughing yellow blur dashed into the kitchen, followed by a a second blur
“Losercille, catch!” She was suddenly thrown a familiar yellow bathroom towel, it landed on her face, blocking her vision. When she pulled it off, she saw the sight of Hercules laughing as multiple versions of her cousin Miguel with wet hair were held back by Luisa.
“Buenos dias, Miguel, Hercules.”
“Buenos dias, Losercille. Oh, arepas.” Hercules tried to snag some off a plate, but his hand was slapped away by Julieta’s spoon.
“No, not these. They’re for some special guests that are coming over tonight.” Ah yes, her special aprepas that were laced with several poisons that were undetectable due to her gift. She reserved them for rival supervillains, mafia lords, and any runts who dared to step out of line. “The safe ones are on the table.”
“Here’s your towel back.” She offered the towel back to Migeul who snatched it without a thank you, before storming off to finish his shower. Except when one storm walked out, another came rushing in.
“You called me in early in the morning to tell me the weapons deal is off!” Abeula Pepa screamed into her phone, “Fine then, let’s see how your family fares after I send a hurricane to destroy your house!” She hung up, a thunderstorm hanging over her head.
“Buenos dias, Abuela.” She handed her a cup of coffee. The thunderstorm faded as she took a sip of the coffee.
“It is not a good morning, just a morning.” She huffed as she took in a giant gulp of her cup, “Some people just can’t get their heads out of the sand.”
“Don’t worry, mi vida , I’ll talk to my contacts in the Marianno family and convince them back on the deal.” Felix rubbed his wife’s shoulders as they both sat in their respective seats.
“GET BACK HERE, YOU BOYFRIEND STEALING WITCH!!’ Lucille barely ducked her head out of the way of a fireball.
“It’s not my fault your man was easy to steal.” Acacia taunted as Rosa chased her through the kitchen, burning with the rage of a thousand suns.
Out of nowhere, large thorny vines grabbed both girls and flipped them upside down. Lucille had to keep herself from giggling as they screamed.
“Enough, both of you.” The current leader of the family, the matriarch, stepped out of one of the secret base entrances. There were secret passages all over the house that lead to the concealed base known as Casita . Apparently, her bisabuelo had built it before his untimely demise at the hands of a superhero. superheroes were a rarity in their town, the Maldiciones were quick to run them out of town.
The table was silent, even the two teenage girls stopped arguing/screaming for their lives. Lucille kept her head down as Isabela’s irritable glance washed over the room. The woman was infamously known for being a black widow. On the surface, she appeared to be a beautiful flower, but in reality, she was much like the insects that plagued the land.
“Lucille.” The girl nearly jumped in her seat when the woman in dark pink addressed, “Make sure that Dahlia is ready for school.”
“Yes, tia.” She murmured, her courage to speak now wave beginning to waver. She had to act, to speak up otherwise she would never get another chance next time.
Good, we can’t have a repeat of last time now, can we?”
“I believe Lucille has something to request, don’t you, sobrina?” She hated her Tio sometimes and his eavesdropping habits. As Skinshifter, he was able to change forms in a blink of an eye. She was positive he had disguised himself as her own mother one or two times, since she was the only one who knew about it.
“I-I was wondering if…if I could go out terriozing with all of you sometime?”
The table went silent, they all stared at her as if she just cursed out loud.
Then they began laughing. Lucille became flushed with embarrassment. It was a stupid idea, her ideas were stupid, she was stupid, why did she think she could do this?
“I don’t have to be on the front line, but I can monitor alongside abuelo Felix.” She tried to speak up, but the laughter drowned out her voice.
“Oh, you’re serious.” Acacia scoffed, “That’s adorable, but pitiful.”
Luisa gave her a look that said, we’ve talked about this, it’s not safe for you.
“I know I don’t have powers, but-”
“But nothing.” Isabela’s cold voice made her freeze up, “You have been powerless, defenseless, and useless to us since your 5th birthday. Sometimes I wonder why we keep you around at all. Now do what you’re good at and fetch Dahlia for school or are you incapable of doing that as well?”
Lucille shook her head and took her leave. She ignored the jabs and sneers made by her older cousins, her mother giving her a somber “I told you so” look, as well as how every one of their words pierced her heart like a barrage of arrows.
Her family were supervillains, yet she was the only one without powers or bloodlust to be a part of the Maldiciones.
“Good morning, mistress!” A small dark blue kwami with bright magenta eyes and long tail feathers energetically greeted the woman with curly frizzles and crooked glasses. She stared at the computer screens in front of her, glaring at newspaper and online stories of the infamous Maldiciones. She once longed for their approval and to gain their twisted affection. But that was in the past, she had much bigger plans to make in the presant.
“I got you breakfast!” Duusu, being the dark angel of a kwami she was, held the cup of coffee clumsily in its paws. “What’s the plan today? Unleash some spies? Deploy some troops on a few gang bases?” Usually, the other kwamis would have chastised Dusuu for encouraging such behavior, but this holder was special to her and the kwamis weren’t around to stop her, were they? The moment they met, Dusuu sensed her pain and fear. The suffering caused by those who she should have called her family created a woman in need of a spine and cleansed of the mistreatment endured by others.
“Not today, my friend. Today is the day we stop sneaking around in the shadows.” Mirabel adjusted the fan brooch that rested on her shirt. “It’s time we showed those Maldiciones who’s the better villain.”
For so many years, they treated her like trash, made her feel worthless and insignificant. She honed her abilities to hack, spy, and monitor their every movement. She knew their routines, knew their schedules, and was notified of every sudden change in their schemes. Some disruptions she had planned herself, others were simply the universe delivering karma to them. Perhaps it was the universe that brought her to her greatest discovery: the peacock miraculous.
After years of preparing and training with her miraculous, it was time.
“Remind me of your gifts, Dusuu.”
“Of course, as the holder of the peacock miraculous, you will be able to create monsters formed from strong emotions and the inner soul of a person.” Duusu said with glee. If Nooroo was here, he would chastised her for allowing her miraculous to be used for evil, but Mirabel was not evil. She was frozen over by a family that didn’t want her, that viewed her as a pest. Was it wrong to assist in the revenge of her holder? To provide her with triumph over those who had mocked her?
“To transform, say ‘Dusuu, spread my feathers.” Dusuu explained, “To detransform, say, ‘fall my feathers.’ Currently, you can only create one amok at a time, but I'm sure you’ll be able to create many more with your talents.”
With an affirmative nod, she said the incantation, “Dusuu, Spread My Feathers!”
In the dark blue light, she felt surrounded by the plumage of wings, softly holding her. It was an embrace much warmer than her own mother’s, the woman saw her more of a science experiment than her own daughter.
When she came back to reality, bright magenta eyes looked at her reflection. Where there once was caramel skin now She resembled more of a demon than a villain. Good, the Maldiciones should see the monster they helped to create.
Empera Pavo will be their downfall.
Lucille was bored, but that was her mood everyday she was at school. It was always the same mundane, boring subjects as before with the same, boring teachers. Even the corrupt activities of her relatives were boring to her.
Miguel was blackmailing one of his fellow actors over his sexuality, he always resorted to that whenever he didn’t get his way. Miguel often acted like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Hercules was annoying her about not doing his homework correctly, and Ajax kept trying to peek into others’ minds like some creep. Acacia was mooching off of rich seniors, seducing them for their money and following in her mother’s footsteps. While Rosa was growing to be an enforcer, using her fire and gang connections to intimidate others through force and strength. She doesn’t like any of her cousins except for Dahlia. Innocent, sweet Dahlia, the only madrigal untouched by the plague surrounding the rest of the family. She has yet to receive her gift, yet as the weeks grew closer to her birthday, Lucille couldn’t help but wonder if Dahlia would still stay the same after her powers came out or would she grow just as twisted as her hermanas?
There was something different about today. She reluctantly helped an old, lost tourist with directions, it was nice for a moment. But she knew that one of her relatives would use it against her as soon as she got home. They had eyes and ears everywhere.They didn’t approve of her talking to strangers or even making friends in general. Well, she did have one friend.
“Pst, Lulu.” Javier was the light in the storm that was her life. With his bright smile and optimistic view, it was a miracle that he lasted this long being her only friend from kindergarten to high school. His family was normal, they loved each other, they didn’t view each other as competition, and they didn’t argue with each other over territory or on their killing scores.
“You’ll still be able to come to my house tonight? My mom’s making her famous enchiladas casserole and I will not suffer that torment alone.”
“I can’t, I’ve got to babysit my prima, Dahlia, tonight.”
“Seriously, that’s like a hundred times this month? Your family is super strict, why can’t one of your cousins do it? I see them out during the weekends.”
“They have different freedoms than me, plus they’re older.” She couldn’t tell him, they were out to monitor and terrorize their territories. Most of the time, it was creating fear and panic, usually through crimes like robbing a bank, flooding the east side of town, or abusing their hold on the current mayor (the last one broke too fast, the man ran out of town in a hurry).
“Well, that sucks.” He sighed, “Oh by the way, congrats on your cousin getting the lead.”
She gave an appreciative nod, though it wasn’t a congratulations if he blackmailed and cheated to get the main role. But that’s how the world works, people trampling over each other to reach the prize.
Suddenly, alarms went off on everyone’s phones, a live emergency broadcast took over their screens.
“This just in, reports of a large monster rampaging the streets have been coming from all over the city. Citizens are advised to remain indoors until the threat is neutralized. Could this be the work of the infamous league known as the Maldiciones?”
No, no, it wasn’t them. Lucille knew because none of them had the capabilities to do something like this. It wasn’t their style, the Maldiciones liked their presence to be known, to address the masses, and relish in their fear. Sending a monster to cause chaos? It wasn’t their MO. The monster resembled a giant multicolored jaguar with wings, clawing and growling at anything that got close to it.
“Please, get home safely and do the homework on chapter 5 of our textbooks.” The teacher clearly panicked, addressed the class.
Her cousins seem to have the same look as well as they exited the classroom with the rest of the class.
“Javier, I’ll catch up with you later.” She didn’t wait for his response, catching up with her cousins.
“What do you want?” Rosa stared her down, still holding up her image as a thug.
“I want to help.” She meekly said, “If there’s a new villain in town the-”
Miguel scoffed, “You want to help? Go home and prepare some food when we get back.”
“There’s no new villain, it’s probably just some mad science experiment that got loose.” Hercules waved off her concern.
“But I-”
“Even if you were somehow on the team, what could you do?” Acacia spat in her face, “You’re useless in a fight, no one would listen to you, and your only purpose is take care of that snot nosed brat we have to call family.”
Lucille froze as her words cut deep. She was used to their insults before, their barbed words that wrapped around her heart and digging into her mind with their poisonous tips.
“Come on, let’s leave the nobody alone.” Her cousins walked past her like she was a ghost, invisible and untouchable.
Lucille crumbled to the floor in the school’s hallway. The empty and dimly lit area echoed her sobs. Just as her tears fell down her face, her anger rose inside of her.
“I hate them! IhatethemIhatethemihatethem! I HATE THEM!” She threw her satchel around in a vent of anger and frustration. “Why do they get all of the power!? They have done nothing to deserve them! They hurt and steal and take everything! They take and take anything they want! I just wish someone would come along and show them they're not as tough as they make themselves out to be!" In her blind rage, the objects in her bag went flying everywhere.
“Sounds like whoever you are ranting about are assholes. I would know what an asshole is, I’ve had centuries of knowing assholes.” She stopped when she heard a voice.
Lucille stopped and looked to see a small black cat-like creature with vibrant green eyes floating in front of her.
“Hi.”
Lucille screamed at the top of her lungs, possibly breaking the sound barrier.