Ch1 The Black Cat
(secundo capturam)
Adrien's ever-present smile, practiced and perfect, vanished the moment he heard the door latch. His mask was gone. He slumped against the door. The image of the perfect attentive son and perpetually good-humored model left behind. This was his space. His refuge. Here, he could be himself. Here, he was Adrien: gamer, anime fan, physics nerd, complete and utter geek. All the things his father didn't approve of as part of his 'image'.
Memories of his last conversation with his father kept echoing in his mind, threatening to push him over the edge.
"Father, I was hoping to talk to you about university again…"
"I don't believe there is anything to discuss."
"I… I know that…"
"If you have something to say, say it. I am a busy man."
"I know that you hope that one day I would take over the brand, but that's not what I want. I think I want to teach. I want to study physics and education. I've already been accepted to programs for both."
"Is that all you have to say?"
"Yes, I guess it is."
"Now that is out of the way, we can put it behind us. You will do what is expected of you. You will study business and you will take over the brand when I retire."
"But, Father-"
"I have given you everything, if you wish to leave, you will be on your own. And we both know how far you will make it alone."
"Yes, Father."
"I do not want to hear of this again. I expect you in the office first thing Monday morning."
Adrien knew that if he didn't stop himself, he would go crazy replaying the conversation in his head. He needed a distraction, and he knew just where to look. He set his bag on the coffee table and logged into his computer. His online friends could always lift his spirits.
It didn't matter that he didn't know their real names, it just mattered that they listened him without judgement. He could share anything with them without fear of shame or reprisal. He loved hearing about their normal lives; about school, work, even family gatherings. They thought it was weird, but only teased a little and readily included him in any conversation.
When he realized none of them were online, his head hit the desk. Once again, he was alone.
Leaving his desk, he climbed the stairs to his game library. He didn't see a point in any of them. He moved on to his anime shelves and grabbed a disk at random, went back down, and put it in the player. Anything now would be better than the silence.
Sitting on the couch he tried to pay attention to the movie, but his mind wouldn't stop running over the confrontation, adding more and more past events to the heap. Completely ignoring the television, he slumped forward, cradling his forehead in his hands. He was going to lose it. A growl escaped his lips as he gripped his hair.
"When will I be able to do what I want!" Adrien railed into the silence. "My Father has kept me caged up since Mom disappeared. I've never been able to do anything on my own!" His voice softened. "I've never even been allowed to try."
That thought triggered another in his mind. Was he doing it on purpose? Was Gabriel intentionally keeping him dependent? But, to what end? And then it hit him. Control. Gabriel was obsessed with controlling everything around him. From his company to his household, everything ran the way Gabriel wanted it. That need for control extended to his son as well.
When his mother was still with them, he was able to do what he wanted, be who he wanted to be. His mother couldn't be controlled. But she was gone, and Adrien didn't know how to escape his father.
He wasn't sure how long he sat there, curled in on himself. The anger and frustration slowly giving way to despair. Sobs rocked his body as he wept. Bitter tears stained his cheeks.
When it felt like there were no more tears to cry, Adrien took a couple of shaky breaths to steady himself. Sitting up, he dried his face and flopped back on the couch. As his head hit the back of the couch, he felt his gaze being pulled to his desk. At first nothing seemed out of place. Then, slowly, as if someone was adjusting the focus on a lens, a small black box came into view. He quickly stood and crossed to the desk.
'How long had that been there?'
He picked up, what appeared to be a jewelry box. It was a hexagon shaped box with a black finish, streaked with a red wood grain, and a red design on top.
The desk underneath was discolored, indicating it had sat there for quite some time. He tentatively opened it. Inside was a black ring. The band of the ring was larger, and it had a circular face, much like a signet ring, with four claws holding it on the diagonal corners. In the center of the face was a bright green paw print.
Slowly, Adrien extended his hand to remove the ring from the box. The moment he touched it, there was a blinding flash of green light. As Adrien's vision cleared, he noticed the ring was now silver, and the pawprint was gone. He finished his motion retrieving the ring when the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand on end.
He was not alone anymore…
Someone was standing right behind him…
Every muscle in Adrien's body tensed and then instantly loosened as he spun and dropped into a defensive stance. And then froze.
Standing in front of him was… a man? He mostly looked like a man. He was tall, wearing a tailored, black three-piece suit with a white ascot. The suit was completed by black dress shoes and black gloves. His skin was pale but not sickly looking. He had black hair and vibrant green eyes.
And that was where the resemblance to a man ended.
Instead of human ears, he had cat ears perched on the top of his head and swishing behind him Adrien could see a feline tail. Topping it off, his green eyes were slit with vertical cat like pupils. He stood there looking at Adrien with a curious expression in his eyes. He tilted his head to the side, just like a cat studying something.
And then he spoke.
"Well, hello Adrien. It's about time we met. I've been sleeping in there for ages. It's been forever since I had a decent bit of cheese. You wouldn't happen to have any around, would you?" His voice was high pitched and a bit nasally.
"What… Who… How… Cheese?" Adrien spluttered, not able to form a coherent thought.
"I'll answer those in reverse order." He held up a hand with four fingers raised. "Cheese: because, who doesn't love cheese? It is one of the greatest things you humans have ever created. Especially my precious camembert." He lowered one finger. "How: you brought me in. That ring you're holding right there is called a Miraculous and is a form of conduit to channel my power." He lowered another finger. "Who: my name is Plagg," he said lowering a third finger. "And finally, what: I am a Kwami. A magical being who has bound my power to Miraculous to help protect the world from the great dangers that threaten it. I am the embodiment of destruction." He lowered his hand and asked, "Now, how about that camembert?"
Adrien picked his jaw up off the floor as he tried to process all this information.
"This can't be real. I must be dreaming. Or, I'm having a complete nervous breakdown. All of the stress and stuff… Yeah that's it," he mumbled to himself.
"Sorry, kid." He cut him off. "You're most definitely awake and you're not suffering a breakdown. I'm real as you are."
"So, Plagg was it?" Plagg nodded in the affirmative. "Supposing I believe all of the things you're saying, and that's kind of asking a lot, I just have a couple more questions." His brow furrowed, and he looked up at the Kwami.
When the question was not forthcoming, Plagg inclined his head and said, "Go on…"
"Why are you here? Why are you in my room? Why do I have this ring?" Adrian asked as he began pacing in front of his desk.
Plagg smirked. "Well the answer to all of those is basically the same." He strode over and sat on the back of the couch stretching his legs and crossed his ankles in front of himself. He crossed his arms over his chest before he continued. "You have been chosen to be the holder of the black cat miraculous. You will be given the power of destruction with which you will protect people from things too powerful to be contained by ordinary means."
Adrien flopped into his desk chair, once again trying to make sense of what he just heard. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, let me get this straight. You want me to, what, become a superhero? How in the world would I even begin to go about doing that? Why me?"
Plagg chuckled. "Yeah kid, essentially. You put on that ring you are basically signing a contract with me. I will give you power and you help me protect the chosen of creation," Plagg said, standing back up. "You were chosen because you are truly a good person. You are kind and caring and selfless. You are willing to give up your own happiness and comfort so that others may be happy." Plagg walked over and put his hand on Adrien's shoulder. "I've been watching you for years now. I've seen it all. Honestly, you're almost too giving, but we can work on that. You will hold the power of destruction, so you must be mindful of your actions. That is why you were chosen." He patted the younger man's shoulder.
Adrien rolled the ring between his fingers. It all began to sink in. If he was in fact not dreaming, if this wasn't some mental break, then how could he say no? But, how could he do what Plagg was asking him with his father controlling his whole life?
As if reading his mind, Plagg interjected, "Another benefit here, kid. Freedom! You deserve to get out from under your old man's thumb… at least a little."
Adrien's mouth turned up a little at the corners. 'This just gets more and more appealing.' he thought. And then something else Plagg said struck him. "What do you mean by the chosen of creation?"
Plagg chuckled, "I was wondering if you'd catch that. You are the chosen of destruction. I am one of the two most powerful Kwami. The other is the Kwami of creation. She's my other half, my partner," his expression turned wistful and he added, "my mate." After a small pause, Plagg shook his head and continued, "Her chosen will wield the power of creation; they can fix whatever we break. It's a lot more complicated, but we don't really need to go into specifics. As with all my previous kittens, the burden of protecting and supporting the chosen of creation falls to you," he paused and looked Adrien in the eye, "if you accept it... You will be their partner and comrade. Do you understand?" Adrien nodded slowly. "Good, now put that ring on and we can start getting you used to your powers."
Adrien took one last look at the ring before he began to slip it onto his right ring finger. At first it seemed like it was too small, but, as he continued to slide it on, it's grew to be the perfect fit. "Woah! That's amazing." Adrien breathed in astonishment.
"Now just say…" Plagg was cut off by a swift knock at the door. There was a slight sound of a hand on the door knob and the room was once again flooded with green light. When the flash faded, Adrien saw a blur of black dart under his desk as the door opened. In the doorway stood Nathalie Sancoeur, his father's assistant.
"Adrien, dinner is ready in the dining room," she said, just as cold and emotionless as his father.
"Thank you, Nathalie, I'm not hungry right now. I need to be alone for a bit." He channeled all the emotion from the past hour into his words and expression. Luckily for him his eyes were still puffy and a little red. "I'll come down and get something later."
"Very well," she said with an edge of concern in her voice. She stepped out and closed the door.
Adrien dropped down and looked under his desk. There, he found a black cat with a large white spot on its chest. "Plagg?" he questioned.
"In the flesh, kid." The cat spoke with Plagg's voice.
"What are you?" Adrien asked, shock and amazement spread across his face.
"I'm a cat sidhe. A shape changer." He walked out from under the desk. "This is my true form. I chose the other form 'cause you humans tend to respond to it better. I swear, one talking cat and everyone's screaming and running around." Plagg sat down and began grooming himself.
After a moment Adrien shook his head to regain his composure, "You were going to tell me how to use this." He held up his hand and gestured to the ring with his other.
Plagg looked up and cocked his head to the side the exact way human Plagg had. "Oh yeah! Just say 'Claws Out'. I'll join with the ring and you will be transformed."
"That simple, huh?" Adrien said looking at the ring. "All right. Plagg! Claws Out!"
With that he was engulfed in green light as he felt power surge over his body from head to toe. The sensation was exhilarating. He was filled to brimming with nervous energy. He had to go. He had to move. His eyes were scanning the room for the best way out when he caught his reflection in a full-length mirror and froze.
He dashed closer to get a better look at what he was now wearing. It was a form fitting leather jumpsuit with a silver bell attached to the zipper that went down the front, and around his waist was a black belt with a silver clasp. Over that he wore a leather trench coat with a high collar. It fit close to his torso, but from the waistline hung loose to his ankles. His feet were covered in high cuffed boots with a rounded silver toe. The sleeves of the coat were cuffed, and his hands were covered in clawed gloves.
When he reached his face, he gasped. Over his eyes he wore a black domino mask, but that isn't what caught his attention. His eyes weren't human anymore. His pupils were no longer round, but vertical slits, and his sclera were no longer white, but a slightly different green than his natural eye color.
Finally pulling his gaze away from his eyes, he noticed that, on top of his head, he had black leather cat ears. As he noticed them, they shot up just like a surprised cat. As if that wasn't enough, he noticed movement behind him. Turning, he saw, emerging from slit up the back of the trench coat, a long belt that swished back and forth, just like a tail. He had cat ears and a tail.
"Well, I guess that makes sense. Plagg is a cat," Adrien said into the silence.
Having taken in his 'uniform' fully, the urge to go and run began to take hold again. He grabbed his smart remote and opened one of his windows. Approaching the window, he reached under his coat and retrieved a metal rod that had been attached to his belt.
Once again, he was caught off guard. How did he know the rod, 'baton' he corrected himself, was there? How did he know it was a baton? How did he know that if he swiped the right spot a screen would open that worked an awful lot like his smartphone? How did he know that if he willed the baton to grow it would extend into a staff and can grow nearly infinitely? This super power thing was so strange.
He extended the staff and planted one end on the ground and launched himself out of the window. It was a rush, soaring through the air, running across the rooftops of Paris, leaping from building to building. He hurtled through the air growing more and more daring with each leap. He flipped over gaps and dove under railings. He felt so free. It was a feeling he had craved ever since his mother disappeared and his father had sealed him off from the world. He couldn't help the smile plastered on his face the whole time.
He eventually found himself at the top of the Eiffel Tower looking around at the city of his birth. The city he had lived in his whole life. The city he hadn't been permitted to know. He was going to get to know this city, his city, now. He couldn't wait to get started.