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Deep in the mountain ranges hides the prestigious institute that honed many of the world-renowned villains, including the infamous Felonius Gru. When he received a golden invitation with the seal of his alma mater, Lycee Pas Bon, he was quite ready to just burn it. His days of villainy were long over as he found three little angels and the love of his life. With a good career and the arrival of an addition to the family, he felt fulfilled already. However, before he could go get his wife’s flamethrower that once put him in awe, the invitation was abruptly grabbed from his hand by none other than the missus herself.
Eventually, the invitation ended up in the AVL’s grasp, leading to Gru being assigned on a new mission. However, this time around, Lucy was very vocal on her intention to aid him for the task. Not only is it because of the threat that comes with a high priority villain but also making an arrest in an environment flooded with other villains comes with a multitude of risks. It was easy to convince the AVL as she is seen as like any other agent but it was not quite the same with her own partner.
Lucy herself has missed being in the scene as she was pushed back to assist work due to her pregnancy. As much as she took joy in helping through an earpiece, nothing beats doing work by his side. While she highly appreciated the concern her husband has for her, she figured she has rested enough and is fully capable to be active in the field again. It took a lot (and I mean a lot) of convincing but Gru finally gave in to his wife’s wish.
Days passed and the evening of the reunion finally came. Leaving their kids in Dru and Fritz’s care, the couple drove off to Lycee Pas Bon.
Lucy looked outside the window and was greeted by the sight of a luscious green forest of pine trees along the road. She leaned a little bit closer to see a better view of the picturesque scene of the setting sun between the tall snowy mountains. Gru glanced over to where his wife sat to check on her and couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. His wife was just completely starstruck at the surroundings that Gru never really bothered to look at before. Ever since Lucy came into his life, her optimistic energy encouraged him to see joy in even the smallest of things.
“Lucky you, Gru! You have such a pretty view every time you go to school. All I had was like, what, tall buildings and endless traffic?”
“Sure, it is nice to the eyes but strictly to the eyes only. It’s a huge hassle to go here almost everyday!”
“Well, going here was your choice wasn’t it?” Lucy teased, gaining an eye roll from Gru. She definitely got him there.
“Who would’ve known there was a school for villainy? Never really thought it was something that needed to be taught? Like doesn’t it just come naturally on a person?”
Amused by his wife’s curiosity, Gru was patient enough to answer her queries. “Well, not like I came here to learn either. I’ve already had my fair shares of mischief even before getting into the school. I just needed a way to spread my name.”
His remark suddenly caught her attention and finally made her look away from the window. “Oooh! Speaking of names, don’t I need a villain name?” Lucy said in excitement, slightly bouncing up from her seat.
Not really buying the idea, Gru replied skeptically, “I don’t really see how that’s necessary?”
“Well the name ‘Lucy Wilde’ doesn’t give much evil vibes does it?” she looked at Gru, seeking reassurement yet all she got in return was a raised brow. “Well, I mean, it just doesn’t have a nice sinister sound to it like ‘Scarlet Overkill’ or wittiness like ‘Nunchuck’. Heck, Eduardo Perez had to name himself ‘El Macho’ didn’t he?”
“My villain name is literally my surname. I don’t really see your point, honey.”
Ignoring what her husband said, Lucy began rambling a bunch of ideas for her villainous pseudonym. Knowing his wife is lost in her own world, Gru focused on the road as it was getting quite dark already. (He may have also sped it up so that his wife can stop with her unnecessary gimmick.)
Thanks to his driving skill, they swiftly reached their destination. After parking smoothly, Gru stepped out of his seat and made his way to the other side. He opened the door for his wife and reached out his hand to which Lucy gracefully took. She always liked this courteous side of his that he had from the start.
“Shall we?”
Lucy was about to lock her arms with Gru’s when she suddenly recalled something. “Hold on, we can’t go in yet! I don’t have my villain name!” she said in a loud whisper towards her partner.
“How about you just introduce yourself as my wonderfully wicked wife?” Gru smirked as he grabbed his wife by the waist and led her inside the institution.
“Since when were you so cheesy?” Lucy laughed as she leaned on her husband’s shoulder.
When they walked into the basketball court turned event hall, they were greeted by the shimmer of gold complementing the black and white decor. Since all weapons were deposited before entering the school, the environment felt pretty tame, almost making you forget this was a villain reunion.
Lucy's eyes scanned the room, taking note of some of the familiar faces from the AVL files she skimmed through earlier. To her observation, most of the folks here aren’t very high profile but instead are either inactive or only having petty criminal records. However, what ultimately snagged her attention was the buffet table on the far left of the hall.
“Oh my goodness, they have quite the spread over there! Mind if I check it out?” Lucy giddly asks as she tugged her husband’s arm towards the direction of the buffet table, just like how a child would do when they want to drag their parents around. The littlest of actions from the woman always managed to put a dumb smile on her husband's face.
“Knock yourself out sweetie.”
Gru watched as Lucy happily skips on her way to the buffet table. He won’t be surprised if she strikes for the shrimp cocktails, his wife likes a little buzz after all. Now left alone, he walked around slowly, letting himself immerse in the nostalgia creeping on him ever since he walked into the school entrance.
Familiar place. Familiar stage. Familiar faces. Familiar laughs.
. . .
A too familiar laugh.
As it finally dawned on him who the loud voice belonged to, his feet instinctively began to scurry away.
“Oh ho ho ho, why if it isn't Gru-ser the loser!"
Too late.
Gru froze in his spot as his mind debated on whether to stay or flee as if he heard nothing. He was really hoping this confrontation could be pushed for later. With too many watching eyes, he took one quick deep breath and turned around with the best confident smile and comeback he could muster up.
“Well if isn’t Maxime le Mal, you look-“
“Magnificent! I know, I know, thank you for noticing!”
Rudely cut off by Maxime, he dropped the smile and act and let out a small grunt, allowing his annoyance to take over.
The loud man slowly made his way to Gru. “Did you think I would look like a bald man with a dad bod? Oh, seems like you beat me to it!” Maxime poked at his chest and Gru quickly swatted his hand away. He rolled his eyes and distanced himself a bit from the touchy guy. Frankly, he is a dad now so the remark didn’t bother him as much as the other may have thought. “It’s good to laugh, noh? Anyways, remember my girlfriend, Valentina?” Maxime stepped aside for a bit to make way for a taller woman holding a small white maltese who shared the same bored expression as her owner.
“Yes, I very much do… hard to miss when you never shut up about it.” Gru replied meekly, with the last part being more of a mumble to himself. Out of respect, he greeted Valentina, only to earn an eye roll from her before she left the scene.
With his patience at its limit, Gru searched around to find an opening to discreetly walk away. However, when he spotted familiar orange curls in the crowd nearby, a new idea popped in his head.
“Well, I have someone to introduce to you too!” Gru suddenly spoke out loud, cutting off whatever Maxime was talking about. He made his way through the crowd and rested one hand on his target’s shoulder while the other extended out in a flaunting manner. “Maxime, meet my lovely wife!”
The room was silenced as all attention went to the woman who had a shrimp stuffed in her mouth. Lucy’s surprised eyes met her husband’s slightly nervous ones as she slowly gulped down her food. She awkwardly put away the empty glass in her hand on a passing waiter’s tray and took hold of the hand on her shoulder.
Eyes fell on the pair wearing matching attires that are red as a rich wine. Gru was a familiar face to all of them but the ginger woman next to him was a complete stranger. Various chatter and gossip traveled through the crowd but they all had one thought in common– There could've been better options.
On one hand, Gru was soaking up the attention but on the other, he wasn’t too fond of the many eyes on his wife.
Also, the accusations they were brewing up were just plain rude.
Maxime loudly cleared his throat to refocus the attention on him and then let out a rather condescending chuckle. “Ah, I see you’ve found yourself a significant other as well,” Maxime scanned Lucy from head to toe, earning a furrowed brow from the woman “Quite the beauty even, good for you!” he sarcastically added.
“A pleasure, mademoiselle.” Maxime extended a hand in Lucy's direction while giving off a haughty smile. He took joy in the apparent annoyance evidently shown by the scowl that graced the redhead’s face.
Lucy didn’t immediately return the gesture but instead glanced over at her husband. He was not at all hiding how irritated he was and she figured it’ll add more fuel to the fire if she were to go along with Maxime's friendly act. However, it didn't sit well with her to just back down either. Making up her mind, she took Maxime’s hand and shook it while squeezing it with as much force as she could. The other tried to escape from the firm grip but there was no point, he messed with the wrong woman.
Maxime tried his best to not make his discomfort too obvious but it proved to be quite difficult. Seeing the loudmouth finally getting shut while wincing in pain, Gru couldn’t help but smirk a little. He looked over to his wife who simply gave back a cheeky wink.
With Gru all cheered up, Lucy decided to finally release Maxime’s hand. A bit tired from her little rebellious act, she placed her hand outward to her husband. No words were needed as Gru immediately held on to her hand, giving it small massages. The pair remained in silent satisfaction as they watched Maxime sway his hand in the air in an attempt to lessen the swollen feeling. The surrounding crowd also started to disperse, losing interest in the petty scene that unfolded.
Lucy noticed Valentina nearby but she was seemingly too preoccupied with her dog and makeup to care about her hurt boyfriend. “Seems like miss girlfriend isn’t all that either," Lucy jokingly whispered to Gru, earning a bit of a giggle from him.
“So, wh- owwwww,” Maxime tried to regain his composure “What happened to your plans of becoming the world's greatest super villain?”
“Well, in case you didn't know, I had held the moon in my hands!”
“Yeah, you mean zat moon?” he points upward with this red hand “I pity your wife, such magnificent strength wasted on a pathetic loser!”
Maxime’s remark really struck a nerve within Gru but before he could reach for the gun on his side, Lucy dragged him away.
“Hey, don’t let him get to you. Save up all your energy for later.”
Gru was frustrated at letting Maxime have the last laugh but his wife had a point. “Eugh, he’s still annoying as ever, like an insect that begs to be stomped on.”
As he kept on ranting about his old schoolmate, Lucy saw an opportunity to play a little trick on her husband to help lessen the tension. While distracted, she slowly put one of his hands on her shoulder and the other on her waist. Satisfied with her work, she leaned in closer to his ear “May I have this dance, mister?”
Her voice snapped Gru out of his thoughts and he finally noticed what she did. The sudden close proximity and her hushed voice gave Gru chills as he felt heat quickly rush to his face. Lucy could only let out a small giggle at how red her partner has become. As much as she wants to tease him further, she figured that it may not be the right time and place for that.
After a few seconds of collecting himself, Gru looked straight into her eyes. “Ma’am, with my hands set in position, do I even have a choice?”
And so, the couple in red danced without care of the onlooking eyes. Right now it was just them in their own little space. With their current setting giving them a sense of nostalgia, they talked and reminisced about their highschool days, somehow settling with the topic of their failed proms.
“I didn’t really have a partner to bring so I went on a heist with the minions instead.”
“Oh, well, mine wasn’t that great either. I got stood up by my dance partner and spent the rest of the night stuffing my face with ice cream.”
They burst out laughing at their horrible past experiences. What once was a bad memory became a source of laughter for both of them.
“Well, prom is overrated anyways.”
Once the laughter had settled, a warm sensation lingered as the two silently stared at each other's eyes. Gru was slowly leaning closer to Lucy when he was abruptly stopped by a loud static noise. Alas, their dance was cut short as the school’s principal called for everyone’s attention to the stage.
As Lucy’s hand was about to slip away from her dance partner’s hold, she was suddenly pulled back to a warm sensation on her cheek. Surprised by the bold move, she suddenly cleared her throat and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Hey, uhh, still remember where’s the bathroom around here? I think I need to fix up a bit,” she asks as she tilts her head away, trying to hide her flushed face.
Despite her efforts, Gru can still see the timid smile on his wife’s face. “There should be one to the right of the entrance.”
He let out a small laugh as he watched his wife walk away with her ears still visibly red. Once out of sight, he took in a breath and made his way to where the crowd gathered. It was time for the awarding of the Golden Alumni for their batch. Although he didn’t expect much, a small part of him hoped he would receive it so he can one up the annoying guy who insulted him earlier.
. . .
Unsurprisingly, he didn’t win.
While Maxime was busy boasting about himself on the podium, Gru impatiently stood in the crowd, just wishing he could get this evening done sooner. He didn’t pay too much mind to the speech and just wanted him to get the point. A while later, the crowd bursted into cheers and claps at whatever he said, finally getting Gru’s attention.
“Behold, ze power of ze cockroach!” Maxime exclaimed out loud as he threw the mic and his trophy across the stage. He rested his hands on the podium, crouching and grunting in pain with his eyes twitching like a mad man. Spikes began to poke out the sleeve of his coat and with this transformed arm, he slammed down on the podium, shattering it into a wooden mess on the stage. He destroyed the rest of his coat, revealing his lower half to be the body of a cockroach.
Gru looked on at the commotion on stage with curiosity and slight disgust at Maxime’s transformation. Now, he really was a bug that could be stomped on.
“So my sad lil friend, what do you say about this, huh?”
“Well, I’d say...” Gru began, acting all nonchalant as he was reaching for something in his pocket. “You’re under arrest under courtesy of the Anti-Villan League!” he proudly declared as he showed off his badge.
“Oh ho ho, I do not think so~!” Maxime darted towards Gru to strike him but he was quick to evade.
Gru shot a crystalizing goo at one of Maxime’s cockroach legs to stop him from moving but he was quick to shatter it. He swiftly ran across the stage to avoid getting hit, skillfully reloading his weapon while at it. A few more failed shots and Gru figured this was going nowhere so he opted to call for backup. He talked into the communicator on his wrist, giving a green signal for the rest of the AVL agents to move in.
With the invasion of the AVL and the disaster unfolding on stage, the reunion was definitely over.
Witnessing the turn of events, Valentina slowly backed away from the crowd. However, her attempt to escape was stopped as she bumped into someone. Turning her back, she came face to face to the redhead who had stolen the night's spotlight, a smug grin very evident on her face.
“Going somewhere?” Lucy taunts the frightened woman as she raises a gun on her with one hand while the other holds handcuffs on her side.
“Ay, what is this? I haven’t even done anything!”
“Arrest any accomplices to lessen the odds of escape. AVL Handbook, Chapter 6, Section 7, Page 213.” Lucy happily recites to herself as she makes her way closer to the lady in pink.
Distracted by her string of nonsensical words, Valentina failed to notice that Lucy had backed her up into the wall. Annoyed at her own pathetic defeat, and since she can’t really fight with a dog in her hand, all Valentina could do was to jab at her enemy verbally. “I knew something was off when Gru introduced you as his wife. You were too bad to be true.”
Lucy could only roll her eyes at her petty remark. She gently put down the small maltese on the ground while still maintaining her hold on Valentina, who was currently faced to the wall. However, before she could properly lock the handcuff, a loud noise came from the stage that made both women look up. Taking advantage of the distraction, Valentina kicked Lucy’s leg, grabbed her dog and made a run for it, handcuffs still dangling on her wrist.
Lucy flinched from the slight pain but was quick to get over it with her adrenaline kicking in. Without hesitation, she made a run for the stage because right now, there are more important things than letting a villain flee.
“Who’s the loser now~!”
As Gru was already beginning to celebrate gaining the upper hand, Maxime le Mal was able to escape from the hold of the AVL agents and suddenly lunged towards him. He was so quick that Gru was not able to react, he could only shut his eyes and prepare himself for the worst.
However, the pain he anticipated never came, instead it was someone else’s screams of agony that rang in his ears. He opened his eyes to the sight of Maxime being electrocuted by his wife’s lipstick taser. A bunch of AVL agents joined in shortly and finally subdued him with reinforced equipment.
They picked him up from the ground, allowing Maxime to see Gru eye to eye. “You’re nothing without your wife and the AVL, you coward!” he yelled, each word seething with rage. Face filled with insanity, he swore to his arch nemesis.
“Mark my words, I will exterminate you!”
Maxime’s sinister laughter echoed throughout the room as he was finally dragged away for good. His words sent chills down Gru’s spine and all he could do at that moment was gulp down the unexpected fear he felt.
Gru picked up the trophy that fell from his hand earlier and looked around him. The parameter was completely hijacked by the AVL. Some of the villains seem to have fled earlier, taking advantage of the chaos on stage. However, some remained in the area and are now being interrogated by the AVL.
He was in a complete daze, overwhelmed by the turn of events. The burst of confidence he had earlier has completely dissipated by now. With his senses slowly coming back to him, he suddenly felt a stinging pain on his left cheek. He lightly touched the cut as he remembered Maxime's last words.
“Gru!!!”
An all too familiar voice finally snapped him back to reality. He stared at his wife who’s now out of breath and all frazzled, the excitement that she had in her eyes earlier can no longer be seen.
“I tried to get back to you sooner but the others dragged me to help wrap things up, I’m really sorry!”
Gru stood there speechless with a blank stare. With no response from her husband, she took the initiative to get closer to him. Lucy’s finger brushed over the cut that was on Gru’s cheek as her eyes continued to scan him from head to toe to check for any more injuries.
“We gotta get this cut treated. How are you feeling?”
Seeing Gru's eyes filled with fear broke Lucy. She was mentally nagging herself for not staying by his side the whole time.
Noticing the distraught look on his wife’s face, Gru took a deep breath and forced a smile. “I’m alright, honey.” With slightly trembling hands, he tenderly held onto the smaller hand that cupped his cheek.
“Not scared at all…”