Comm: Motherhood and Madame Rouge

Summary: Laura De Mille, better known as the infamous Madame Rouge, has a change of heart, and fakes her own death, retreating to her former life. Dearly missing family life, she missed her husband, and her daughter most of all. Commissioned by Ninten.

[Story Listing]

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"According to recent reports. Laura De Mille, better known as the supervillainess Madame Rouge, perished in the latest incident involving the Teen Titans. As the world speculates and, perhaps, breathes a sigh of relief, authorities are not fully convinced of Mrs. De Mille's passing, as a body has yet to be discovered; it is believed that, according to the Teen Titans themselves, she was disintegrated via high-voltage electricity. The Brotherhood of Evil has not made any public statements regarding her condition, and have in fact gone dark from-"

Click. A woman reached over to turn off the dial, her arm effortlessly stretching an extra three feet to close the distance.

"Is this what passes for journalism nowadays?" She clicked her tongue, her arm retracting back; her fingers brushed against her morning coffee. "They should really put the funding behind those investigative journalists, instead of paying those dastard editorialists. The opinion page is one bad day from a muted suggestion to bring back hunting humans for sport..."

Left in a kitchen to her own devices was Laura De Mille, in the malleable flesh. At some point, the Brotherhood of Evil had performed a nasty bit of work on her brain, allowing an evil alter ego to take hold of her body. But as her body was subjected to more of The Brain's terrible experiments, the good side of her resisted, pushing back, until she was able to bury the persona of Madame Rouge for good. A dose of high voltage did seem to put an end to Madame Rouge... but Laura De Mille remained, able to slink away and escape detection.

Now, as simple Laura De Mille, she wanted to return to the cozy life she had been torn away from, a doting housewife caring for a still-growing daughter. While her husband plugged away at his day job, she stayed at home to handle the chores. Laura had taken today to work on her spice mixes in the kitchen...

"Mommy, mommy, come find me!" From down the hall,a young girl's voice excitedly called for her.

"Mm? Gemini..." Laura perked her head up and, with a smile on her face, stepped away from the counter. She paced down the hall, her short black hair bobbing with each step, her eyes narrowing as she looked around.

Out of the corner of her eye, Laura spotted a ceramic vase that wasn't there before. She pretended not to see it, her expression curling into a wider grin.

"Hmmmm..." Laura rubbed her chin. "Now where did Gemini run off to this time?"

She paced over to a bookshelf and flattened her hand to slip behind the narrow gap between the unit and the wall, feeling around. In the darkness, Laura shifted her forearm into a feather dusted to get back at it.

"Could she be in here...?" Laura wondered aloud, putting on a playfully curious voice. Somewhere, Gemini giggled to herself.

"Or maybe..." Laura stepped away, retracting her hand as she elongated her torso. She approached the sofa and, rather than lowering her entire body, her torso stretched on its own, her skirt billowing along as she stretched downwards, her back arching bonelessly; she folded her arms as she pressed her body against the hardwood floor to peer underneath.

"She could be here??" Laura poked her head inside. The songlike cadence of her voice reached Jennifer again, who struggled to stifle her laughter. The clinking of ceramic against the hardfloor could be heard.

"My my, this is a tricky one..." Laura sighed, morphing her body back into shape as she paced back around the room. Her neck creaked as she looked from side to side, each time twisting her head well past 180 degrees. Gemini's laughter was swelling...

But then as Laura's head snapped back forwards, her eyes focusing on Gemini—or rather, the ceramic form she'd taken—there was a quiet gasp; the pot went still as Laura approached.

"Now what's this charming little thing...?" Laura approached it. "I don't remember picking this up. Maybe it's a gift from Daddy? Orrrrrr..."

Laura's arms whipped out, wrapping around the pot. Laura raised the pot in front of her with a beaming grin.

"Or perhaps it's my more favourite daughter pulling a jape on me!?" Laura raised the pot, a light-hearted accusation rolling off her tongue. Gemini cackled and, from the top of the pot, a tongue stuck out, raspberrying at Laura; in a matter of moments, the pot shapeshifted in Laura's hands, the polka-dot ceramic bubbling and unfurling, limbs breaching from the surface. The rounded form lengthened as two arms wrapped around her mother's embrace.

"FOUND YOU!~" Laura raised her daughter above her head, her arms effortlessly elongating as their joyous laughter filled the house. Gemini cackled with delight, screaming and laughing on and off as, suspended eight feet above the ground, Laura carried her towards the ceiling and through the house.

"Rocket ship, rocket ship!!" Gemini laughed, raising her arms as if she were on a theme park coaster. As Laura's arms stretched throughout the house, looping over each other, Gemini would be taking on hills, dives, a loop de loop at one point. Her daughter's laughter was utterly infectious, and Laura couldn't help but laugh along with her...

...At least until she realized the curtains were open. Laura let out a sharp sound and quickly plopped Gemini down onto the kitchen counter, before reaching over to quickly draw the curtains shut. Thankfully there weren't any gawkers... if the Brotherhood of Evil sent an agent after her...

"Again! Again!" The young Gemini clapped her hands excitedly. Laura forced a smile as her arms zipped back to their regular proportions.

"M-Maybe later dear, Mommy's a little tuckered out..." She explained, sweating a bit... though she was more nervous than exhausted. The former supervillainous could handle a couple minutes of rocketship with her daughter just fine.

Laura approached her young daughter to get a better look at her. It really was like looking at a younger version of herself. Gemini had her jet black hair, and her eyes shone with the same fire she had. And, of course, Gemini had inherited Laura's abilities. And she showed such potential too. As far as Laura and her husband could tell, Gemini always had Laura's potent, shapeshifting abilities; Laura had to relearn how to get around after her body's DNA was altered beyond recognition.

As Laura outstretched an arm to pull up a chair, and take a seat next to Gemini, the young girl perked her head up.

"Mommy?" Gemini cocked her head to the side. "Why do we have these powers?"

"Mm, well..." Laura pursed her lips in contemplation. She didn't want to really get into the details with such a young girl. It might've traumatized her... it was a conversation to have when she was older.

Still, Gemini pressed on, clenching her fists together. "Did you meet an alien? Aliens are cool too! I wanna meet an alien..."

Gemini's innocent enthusiasm did take the edge off for Laura. She chuckled, and reached for a fruit basket, retrieving a juicy, bright red apple. Laura smiled empathetically, though in her heart she fretted; the reputation of Madame Rouge extended across the planet, and she didn't want to see her daughter get hurt because of her mistakes.

"Where your powers come from, that isn't very important..." Laura said, bringing the apple to her chest. "...not as important as what you do with them, Gemini."

"Ohhh..." Gemini gawked. She clutched the counter, kicking her legs back and forth. She watched as Laura's fingers narrowed and fused together, forming the cutting edge of a small peeling blade. The mother began to peel the skin from the apple in a constant motion.

"We can do many things with our abilities, Gemini..." Laura carefully peeled the apple. "We could really hurt someone if things got out of hand... we have to be careful, and be responsible with our gifts. You can do great things, if you put your mind to it..."

"Mmhm!" Gemini beamed. "I wanna become a superhero!"

Laura paused her peeling, looking over to Gemini with a curious, surprised look.

"A superhero...?" Laura repeated.

"Mmhm, mmhm!" Gemini clenched her small hands into fists. "I got really cool superpowers, like Mommy! And I wanna fight for justice and be a good guy and help people who don't got any cool powers!"

It seemed as though her daughter thought a lot about being a hero. There was a glitter in her eyes that Laura deeply envied. Laura sighed quietly, her apple peeling pausing for a moment.

One day she would build up the courage to tell her daughter the truth. Her former life as Madame Rouge. If she was going to be a hero, she'd learn one day, eventually. She'd have to prepare her for the worst... and, perhaps, to help her reach her full potential, and her best self.

"That's... a wonderful idea, Gemini. You're a beautiful, compassionate girl, Gemini... you should always keep your sense of justice close to your heart." Laura nodded. "Mommy will teach you all she knows. And then you can be whatever you want."

"I can be a hero!?" Gemini clenched her fists and sat up.

"Especially a hero." Laura smiled. "But that doesn't mean you should be slacking off on your studies. You'll be going to school soon, and I want you to work really hard, okay?"

Gemini nodded enthusiastically.

"And..." Laura was broaching a touchy subject. "I don't want you showboating your powers at school. The other children may get... upset, and jealous, that you have something they don't... do you understand, dear?"

"Ah..." Gemini grimaced. She folded her arms. "But... it's fun..."

"Tell you what," Laura began to cut the apple into wedges. "If you behave at school, and be a good student, mommy will teach you every day at home, and we can play all through the house, okay? At least until you're all tuckered out."

"Okay! But I never tucker out!" Gemini beamed, flexing an arm. Laura's eyes widened as her daughter's biceps bulged with muscles, practically inflating. The mother chuckled, and plated some apple wedges.

"It certainly feels like that, some days..." Laura presented the fruit snack to Laura. "Now eat up. Today's another big day."

Gemini's energy could certainly be exhausting, but Laura, still fresh to this whole motherhood thing, was ready and willing to face the challenge. She wasn't about to let anyone take her from her daughter again.

[NEXT PART]