Disclaimer: I don't own Despicable Me and its characters and those people that do don't own this story.
A/N: XDDDDD I'm glad some people caught the Doctor Who reference in the last chapter. I watched DM while I was still watching the tenth Doctor, my favorite Docter will always be the forth Doctor, so after the movie I thought it would be so cool and funny to see Gru dressed as the forth Doctor, this thinking made me start writing this whole story. I'm just so happy that I got to throw in the Daleks in this story, I know for sure what I will have during the action sequence in the next story arch and I'm dying to write it.
Speaking of the next story arch, I will be taking a breather after this chapter. Forcing myself to be on a deadline makes my creativity flow but does put under some stress. Also I would like to spend some more time with my husband and go house hunting while I get all my drafts for the second story ready.
There's also a comic based on this story on Deviant Art. Go to .com and look in my Scrap Gallery. I'm sure one day I'll colour it and make it all pretty but I'm pretty lazy right now :P
Chapter 7: Reunion
London; inside a fancy corporate office; the room was fit for any high executive but only one kind would be comfortable staying in such an ominous place. There were many items displayed due to the owner's personal taste, much like Gru's personal home, there were weapons of various sorts, preserved endangered wildlife used as rugs, mantles and other displays. Paintings of disturbing nature dotted the walls but unlike the homely feeling Gru had designed in his living space, this place was meant to make a visitor feel terror and admiration. There was also a 'Last Supper' inspired painting that had fourteen sinister looking individuals who had similar physical features, it was quite possible that it was a family portrait. The sounds of a news program could he heard throughout the room.
"Several eye witnesses have claimed that the damage in Canary Wharf, as well as the destruction of One Canada Square, was done by robotic aliens. Some say they were crying 'Exterminate! Ex…" A thrown axe destroyed the TV.
"I want to know who is responsible for this!" A deep, raspy voice boomed from behind a chair. The masculine voice had an accent that was definitely that of a well-educated Englishman.
"Sir," a female secretary spoke up. Unlike her employer she had an American accent. "All footage from the Vaults has been erased. Few of the guards came forward with vague descriptions of the suspects. There is no clear explanation for the break in except that a lot of money had been taken last night, as well as some weapons and the Impaler's motorbike. The estimated damage is in the millions with some of the missing or destroyed items being one of a kind."
"A whole collection of various weapons for the taking and all they took was money?" It was silent for a few moments before the man spoke again. "How? What about the stolen weapons? Were we able to trace them?"
"It seems that they were to disabled the tracking devices within them and used the weapons to fight off the guards. Even the motorbike had been disposed of and its remains lay North of London. Professor Nimnuls' FOGIE device was also destroyed. It may have been the objective of last night's raid since the security breach was reported to be around there but the weapon itself is pretty harmless. Felonious Gru's weapons were taken but they are a dime a dozen. Most villains have their own version of the freeze ray and Nova Blaster. Maybe the whole thing was a distraction so that they could get to the money. The whole money vault is just gone."
"Why don't the guards have a better description of the suspects?"
"We don't know, sir. There was a man and he was described as being tall, overweight with a large nose. That description fits sixty percent of the villains currently operating in Europe alone. No one was able to describe the woman since she was a blur on the motorbike. There were also two midgets, possibly children, involved."
"Wonderful. We have no choice but to restructure due to the financial loss. But I still want answers. Get our best men on this."
As the woman turned to leave, the man behind the chair called her back again. "Also, bring me news about my daughter, Mindy, after you are done."
It was midnight by the time Gru returned home.
After disposing the unwanted items, they were able to run tests on Gru during their trip home. It seems that he has re-aged to his early thirties. Gru was unsure how he should react to the news. Apparently his face was much smoother looking, his back was straighter and he didn't weight as much as he had when he was fifty-one years old; it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities that he went under cosmetic surgery to look this way. But the hair had to go.
Unlike most people whose hair could complement their style, Gru's hair just looked out of place on him. He had kept his hair before because it was the accessory to have during the seventies and eighties. Handfuls of hair started to fall out when he was thirty-five years old. After a few years all he had left was a tuff on top and a bit around the sides. Finally he got annoyed with how he looked and used a laser on his head to permanently get rid of the remaining hair, which was the other bane of his existence. And like before he enlisted Dr Nefario to help him become bald yet again.
The cool evening air felt nice against his bare scalp as he stepped out of his suburban home. The villain looked around his quiet neighborhood. Since the moon heist, many of his neighbors had put their houses up for sale and left, this suited Gru just fine, except that one of those 'For Sale' signs was on Fred McDade's property.
"GIRLS!" Gru jumped the fence and squashed his neighbor's perennials. He kicked the front door down and ran in. His heart sank; there was nothing inside, nothing that showed anyone living there.
In a cabin somewhere out in the country, the sun was still low in the bright early morning.
"Isn't it beautiful girls? The Great Outdoors!"
"Yeah…great," Edith grumbled. The zoo was great, shopping the next day would have been fun if Mrs MacDade didn't force her to try on a billion frilly dresses and shoes. She didn't mind doing ballet with her sisters but forcing her to take off her beanie and wearing stupid girly dresses crosses the line. She was fine with what she had; stripped top, pink skirt, leggings and white galoshes. Now they were camping, if she wanted to sleep on the ground she would have went back to the orphanage. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had been allowed to collect bugs, slugs, etc., but she was told not to by Mrs MacDade and she wasn't allowed to explore on her own.
"Um…Mr MacDade? Why did you pack everything just for a camping trip?" Margo asked. She had a funny feeling about this outing. After the zoo the MacDade's have tried extra hard to make the girls happy. Yesterday, they went shopping and bought a lot of toys and clothing for them. Although Margo was grateful for everything she and her sisters got, she just wasn't sure why they would buy so many things for them when they had most of those things at home and their father should be coming back for them soon.
"Well you never know, Margo."
"You even brought the matching toilet seat and lid covers," Margo hinted to the detached outhouse.
"Honey, now that we're more or less settled, let's tell them," Wendy MacDade said as she carried Agnes to the fire pit where the others were sitting.
"Alright…girls, we enjoyed having you stay with us and we have concerns about…"
"FRED!" Overhead, Gru's airship slowly lowered to a clearing near by. Before the aircraft was able to properly land, Gru jumped out followed by DeBaucher. Dr Nefario decided to stay inside, he didn't really want to be there but the woman insisted that he fly while she figured out where they were going and yelled at Gru about not knowing anything about his own neighbors.
"Mr Gru!" The girls wanted to run to their adopted father but the MacDades stopped them.
"What gives!" Edith cried.
"Gru? Is that you? What happen?" Fred asked. The weight loss was quite apparent on Gru's form when he wore his usual outfit. Plus it has only been a few days since they had seen each other.
"It's nothing. What are you doing with my girls?" The villain was angry. Angier then when Vector had kidnapped the girls. This time, it was someone he didn't expect do such a thing.
"Gru, we heard from the girls that you're a spy! Considering the dangerous lifestyle you have and the girls' sad past don't you think they deserve a better, stable life?" The husband stood and motioned to the girls and his wife to move towards the cabin
Gru stopped; he stood about ten paces from his friendly neighbor. He had dreaded something like this would happen, an opportunity for the girls to leave him to go to a better family. He loved being with them for that one month when they returned to him but he knew he wasn't perfect and didn't have the energy to keep up with them.
They were so full of life, always running and playing; it was a miracle when they would just sit down and pretend to have tea with him. Although he enjoyed playing with them, their version of fun was different then his. They liked to build things while he preferred to blow things up; they would play nice while he would play mean; they drew things that they loved while he drew things that he was going to steal. That is why he left early every morning, to do some villainy; yet these daily dirty deeds were nothing compared to the heists that he could be doing if he didn't have to worry about the girls' well being or their approval. He enjoyed the thrill of taking things no other villain would have thought of stealing or just was unable to due to a lack of funds or help. Going to the Vaults was very similar to the jobs he had done before, although he acted cool with DeBaucher, he had felt the thrill as well. He couldn't imagine his life not having those kinds of adventures anymore.
Gru, as a father, agreed with Fred that the girls deserved better. He could get another job to support the girls, one that was less dangerous such as a cat burglar or he could get into embezzlement; jobs that were not so far off from his own but they didn't offer the glamour or excitement of being a super villain. Although he gave up the moon for the girls he couldn't change his whole life to give them a normal upbringing that they probably wanted. He was definitely the father they didn't deserve and he knew it. If he couldn't be the father the girls needed, then he should give them to one who was.
"What? What are they saying?" Edith looked upward to Mrs MacDade.
"Mr MacDade is saying that Mr Gru shouldn't have us because he's a spy," Margo stated.
"Yes, girls. He could disappear on one of his missions leaving the three of you behind. We don't have a dangerous life like Mr Gru so it would be better for the three of you to live with us."
"But Mr Gru was the one who adopted us from the orphanage. He got me a fluffy unicorn and wrote us the best book ever! We can't leave Mr Gru!"
"Yeah, he listens to us. He makes us pancakes that look like dead guys and doesn't treat us like stupid girls."
"Plus we already accepted him as our father," Margo added.
"Oh, girls, no," Mrs MacDade said. "It's best for you to live with us; we could be you new Mommy and Daddy."
"Let me go!" Agnes cried as she struggled in the woman's arms.
Gru wanted to do the right thing for the girls but his black heart didn't allow him. "I'm sorry Fred but I'll be taking the girls back home."
Mrs MacDade struggled to hold on to the struggling five year old while trying to drag the other two toward the cabin. Suddenly Agnes was taken from her and she lost her grip on the other two girls.
"Come on, girls," DeBaucher said in a cool tone. "Your father wants you to come with him." She called for some minions to collect the girls' things from the cabin.
"No! You can't take them from me!"
"I'm sorry," Edith said as she kicked Mrs MacDade in the shin. Afterward she ran towards Gru, "Dad!"
The title was unexpected and threw the two men into emotional confusion. Agnes struggled a bit before DeBaucher put her down, "Daddy!"
Not wanting to be the last, Margo ran as well, "Dad!"
They jumped on Gru, breaking Mr and Mrs MacDade's hearts.
Gru just wanted to enjoy his little reunion with his girls. DeBaucher supervised the minions collecting things from the cabin. Jerry, Stewart and Kevin were among the minions that followed and they got the girls bags but the others seemed to have collected things not owned by the children.
The MacDades watched the Minions in horror. They noticed the old scientist and the woman with a whip wearing something that was tight and leather. Their questioning eyes also fell on the airship that had Gru's logo on it.
As the minions returned, Dr Nefario started the engine and hovered a few feet off the ground so that Gru and DeBaucher had to help to girls up.
"GRU!" Fred yelled. "What are you? What are you doing with those girls? Do you honestly think that they'll be happy with you? Or be safe with you!"
Gru didn't want to think about those things, he knew that he couldn't live without his girls again. The tall villain turned back to the couple that kidnapped his children; he took out his freeze ray and blasted them with it. A dark smile graced DeBaucher's face as she looked at the frozen people yet it turned to annoyance when she looked at her employer. She climbed into the airship and the man followed. The woman started heading towards the front of the ship when Gru stopped her. With a serious expression he said, "Thank you for finding the girls for me."
Her emerald eyes looked up at him for several minutes until she nodded, breaking his grip on her arm she began to walked away.
"Daddy, who's that lady?" Agnes asked.
Gru smiled. "When did you girls decide to start calling me that?" He got down to their level so that they did not have to stare up at him.
Margo blushed. Although she felt that calling him Dad was the right thing to do, she couldn't help but remember that there was a time she believed he was never going to be her father.
'We just started today, d'uh," Edith proudly declared. She jumped at him and gave him a hug. The unexpected action nearly toppled him over.
"Yeah, because you're already our Daddy, we don't need another one, "Agnes added. She also came up and hugged the large villain.
"Are you sure? You could have had a Mommy and a normal life if you stayed with the McDades?"
"Well, we don't need a mom unless she's with you." Margo joined in the group hug. "We're family already and you're not supposed to choose who stays or goes in a family or else that's not really a family, is it? We should stick together. The three of us love you."
Gru was so touched by what they have said that he began to get teary eyed and his hands started to tremble. He held the three of them close to him to calm himself down and to also feel their warmth. Never again will he abandon them to other people.
"You didn't answer my question," Agnes said.
"Yeah, who's the lady?" Edith added.
Gru frowned. His happy family moment was ruined. "She's Dr Nefario's new Lab Assistant, Delilah DeBaucher."
Out in space.
"The reprogramming of the satellite is complete. I'll have my revenge on you Gru, if it's the last thing I do! OH YEAH!"
