La Cucaracha

La Cucaracha is the lead singer of The Unstable Elements. She's the Vermin Caller of the team and is often seen with her littlest roach friend Poco crawling on her. She's never seen without her mask, leading to rumors that she is actually a roach in pink clothing or has a circle of eyes around her eyes similar to the critters that she controls. With an unusual mix of eeriness and grace, La Cucaracha proves that weird can be pretty, too.

## Secret Identity

### Relatives

Jamie Rodriguez (brother), Julia Rodriguez (sister)

## Appearances

### Debut

Session 1: Making the Grade

La Cucaracha wears a mask to hide her real identity out of fear that she'll be judged and ridiculed for her atypical powers. Underneath the mask, she is Mia Rodriguez, Halcyon High's Student Council President, Cheer Captain, and one of the most popular girls in the school. Aside from Kid Olympus, Trailblazer and Willow Asher, the rest of the team is aware of who she really is.

## Powers

**Cockroach Queen** - La Cucaracha can summon cockroaches and communicate with them telepathically, sharing sight, sound and emotions. Easily ignored, the roaches act as her eyes and ears on recon missions and are promptly rewarded with Oreos after a job well done.

**Insectoid Grace** - La Cucaracha has incredible flexibility and super agility. She can bend and contort in unsettling ways and uses this bug-like quickness to strike in hand to hand combat, skitter across walls, or just show off her crab walk.

**Pestilence** - La Cucaracha's roach control has bestowed her with the power to inflict enemies with a potentially deadly illness that can spread. This ability was first discovered in a training session with the school's previous Headmistress, Dr. Alexander.

**Maggot Therapy** - La Cucaracha can summon a swarm of maggots to eat away at festering wounds, leaving behind fresh new skin and healing the injury. This untraditional healing method isn't always easy on the target and can cause them to become nauseated if they watch the maggots too closely.

**Swarm Form** - La Cucaracha can occasionally turn into a swarm of roaches, an echo of her time in Terrinoth. In this form, she is insubstantial and immune to physical damage. This form mechanically requires a hero point to activate.

## Motivations

**Acceptance:** LC wants to be accepted and well liked, despite her creepy crawly powers.

**Thrill Seeker:** Growing up in an uptight family, Mia enjoys doing things that get her adrenaline pumping, whether that's teleporting across the night sky or shooting guns in another world.

## Complications

**Secret Identity:** La Cucaracha wears the mask so no one will know that Mia Rodriguez, Cheer Captain and Student Council President is actually the queen of roaches.

**Relationships:** La Cucaracha will do anything to keep her family safe and her parents in the dark about her powers. She worries that one day, they'll be put in harm's way because of her.

**Overly Concerned Parents:** After treating Meir from their prom poisoning, Mia's mom is much more invested in what Mia may be up to when she's not at home. Mia's parents are also wary of the school after their three children went missing for days after the Drevuul attacked Halcyon High.