Consequences verse
xXx
Adrien felt as if someone had sucker punched him, but he still managed to get out one final argument.
"That still doesn't make what he did right."
"No?" a voice from behind him asked, cold and controlled. Adrien jumped and his eyes widened in horror at the man standing there.
"Hawk Moth!"
Adrien immediately fell back into a crouch as he angrily glared up at the man in front of him.
Hawk Moth looked the teenager over once, sighed and then completely ignored him, turning to their host. "Ah, Master Fu, am I late?"
The old man didn't look happy. "Yes."
"My apologies."
"You were in on this?" Adrien asked the old man accusingly, surprised when he recognized the betrayal... of someone he'd only just met. Maybe he should have seen this coming.
"I come in peace," Hawk Moth said calmly, holding up his hands (one holding a cane) in surrender. "I only want to talk."
"And why should I believe you?" Adrien hissed.
"Because if you don't it could mean the end of the world."
That brought him up short for a moment. Then he shook his head and got back into his defensive stance, stating obviously enough that he wasn't going to be taken in. He quickly glanced around the room for an exit and saw a window. If he could get to that...
"Plagg," Master Fu said with a sigh. "Am I trustworthy?"
The Kwami, currently hidden behind the cheese, frowned thoughtfully. Adrien watched as the little cat studied the situation for several seconds, stepping out from behind the mound of food so that the Kwami was in plain view of Hawk Moth. Adrien paled and glanced at the super villain. He knew Adrien's identity. At least he could assume that. The villain might go after his family or his friends, or—
"Yes," Plagg finally said. "Although you'd better have a good explanation for this," he gestured over to the villain.
Master Fu nodded his head once in confirmation.
"But, Plagg," Adrien started. However, Plagg flew in front of him, holding up a paw, essentially cutting him off.
"Adrien, if there is anyone we can trust, it is the Guardian. If he's brought Hawk Moth here, then there is a good reason." He sounded far more sincere than Adrien had ever heard him before. He stared at Plagg, then leaned around him to take in the other two, neither of whom had moved.
He still wasn't comfortable with this, but he did relax a bit.
"Fine," he said and went to sit back down.
"I'll be ready, just in case," Plagg whispered to him as he passed. That made Adrien feel immensely better (and at the same time, worse) about the whole thing.
"Alright, give me one reason why I shouldn't just turn you over to the police," the blond said tersely, eyeing the villain angrily.
"May I have a seat?" Hawk Moth asked, instead of answering Adrien's question. The teen's fingers tightened around his cup. He hated it when people ignored him like that. His father did it all the time.
Master Fu waved a hand at the empty cushion sitting next to Adrien. The boy pointedly scooted over so as not to be within easy reach and made sure to keep his hand with his ring under the table.
"As for your question," the man addressed Adrien calmly as he sat, "there are several reasons. But seeing as we don't really have time for all of that now, I will tell you my story and you can decide for yourself. If you still wish to turn me over after you know everything, I will submit."
Adrien didn't believe it for a second. He may not always be the brightest star in the sky, but he wasn't stupid either. Still, he figured he'd do whatever he had to to make sure Hawk Moth finally met his just desserts. He wished he was transformed right now so he could call Ladybug, but he couldn't and didn't dare transform at the moment (just in case there was some way to salvage all of this) so he vowed he wouldn't let his Lady down.
"So, why will the whole world end?" he asked, defiantly.
Hawk Moth didn't seem to notice his tone and began to speak.
"A... while ago, I got a visitor late at night. It was Ladybug, but not the Ladybug we know today."
Adrien felt his brow furrow. "What?"
"She was taller, for one. Older. She also knew far too many details about me – more than anyone alive today should know in any case. She told me she came from the future."
Adrien scoffed openly, wondering if Hawk Moth actually expected him to buy this. The villain didn't so much as blink. The model hadn't ever seen anyone who could just carry on like that. Even Nathalie could take lessons from this guy.
"She told me of an artifact found in the Americas in about a decade that opens a portal between our world and a demon world, or plain of existence of some kind. It wipes out the human race in the future."
The blond in the room leaned forward, eyes narrowing.
"Ladybug and I would stop anything like that from happening."
For the first time, Hawk Moth just stared at Adrien with wide eyes. "Are you really that naive?"
Adrien puffed up a little, completely unaware of how cat-like he looked. He didn't know how Plagg just watched him smugly.
"I'm not naive."
Hawk Moth cocked his head to one side, ever so slightly. "Ladybug said that in the future they believed the Miraculous stones were the strongest magical artifacts on the planet; that because no one had ever found something stronger, that no one ever would. Then she called herself a fool for believing such things. You never struck me as a fool, s—Adrien."
The teen caught the slip, but couldn't figure out what Hawk Moth had initially wanted to say. After a moment, he dismissed it.
"You don't know anything about me."
Hawk Moth stared at him for a few seconds longer before shaking his head and continuing his story.
"She had future technology. A small communicator with a holographic screen. Between that and the information she knew, she had little trouble convincing me."
"Oh?" Adrien asked, crossing his arms and sitting back a little, "then where is she now?"
For the first time, he saw a human side to Hawk Moth as he stared sadly at the table in front of him. "She's dead. Or erased. I'm not sure which."
"What?!" Adrien asked, slamming his hand on the table.
The villain just glanced coolly at him. "So, now you believe me?"
That took the super hero back a moment. Did he believe him?
Hawk Moth took the opportunity to continue. "She used the ring and earrings together to make a wish. She came back in time to try and change the future. By trading her future – her entire universe – for our new future, she manged to maintain the balance (which is, no doubt, the reason we are still alive right now). However, by doing so, she also condemned herself. The last thing she wanted was to see Chat Noir – her husband."
Adrien gaped openly at that. H-husband?! Suddenly, part of him really wanted to believe this story... and yet part of him didn't want to and still another part of him refused to. He still wasn't sure he should believe all of this though and had to remind himself of that.
"In any case," Hawk Moth went on, either oblivious to or completely ignoring Adrien's shock, "her message was clear: the Miraculous holders weren't enough. They didn't know their miraculous well enough and they didn't push their powers as far as they could go. They didn't get to know their Kwami well enough. They weren't strong enough as individuals or as a team.
"This isn't to say they weren't good at any of the above, but that it wasn't enough. At least, that is the impression I got from her."
"What kind of demons did she describe?" Master Fu asked calmly. Adrien had almost forgotten the man was there.
The villain shook his head. "She didn't except for saying they were nasty and made my akumas look like a walk in the park."
For the first time, Adrien felt his face pale. Sure, they hadn't lost someone to an Akuma attack yet, but they were dangerous. The sheer amount of damage they could do, both physically and mentally... Then Adrien shook his head. He still wasn't buying this. Hawkmoth didn't have any proof.
"She also said the demons were strong enough to destroy miraculous. She said she didn't know what happened to the Kwamis."
At Adrien's side, Plagg scoffed. "Please, nothing can kill a Kwami."
Hawkmoth looked over at him with his intense stare. Plagg didn't back down, but he did seem a little less sure of himself.
"First of all, I watched Ladybug and her Kwami from the future die. Both of them. Or be erased, as I said before. Second of all, there are worse things than dying."
Adrien was starting to feel a little sick to his stomach, but he reminded himself that, no, he needed to let Hawk Moth know that he wasn't just going to buy his little story.
"Where's your proof?" he asked.
Hawk Moth raised one eyebrow dryly. "I don't think you quite get that she died. Her and her Kwami both faded from existence."
The lump in Adrien's throat almost stopped him from speaking again, but he pushed on. They couldn't trust Hawk Moth. "Convenient."
For the first time, Adrien saw Hawk Moth's anger. His eyes narrowed and his expression cooled. It reminded him far too much of his father and he almost winced...almost. He wanted to back down like he always did because keeping the peace was more important, but this wasn't his father. And even if it had been, it was also Hawk Moth, and Adrien would never back down from that fight. Never.
"Very well. Here are pictures of the artifact. I have already created hard copies of each of them, but these are the pictures she brought me and all of her notes."
He put down a sleek phone, unlocked and already open to pictures of drawings. Each one depicted a statue with turquoise set into it. Adrien's mouth went dry as he flipped through the pictures, pausing to read the notes when he could. They didn't paint a pretty picture.
"So," he finally said after taking a breath, "you could have just gotten this from somewhere and made your own notes. You could be a famous painter for all we know."
For a moment he swore Hawk Moth was going to sic an Akuma on him, he looked so frustrated. However, after a moment he calmed down and then put his head in his hands.
"You're just as stubborn as your mother," he whispered. Adrien felt his eyes go wide.
"What do you mean by that? How could you know my..." he stopped and felt the color drain from his face.
No.
No, that wasn't possible.
"H-how could you know my mother?" he managed to push on angrily, ignoring how his voice broke. He sent up a silent prayer to whoever was listening that it wasn't true. That this...wasn't what he thought it was.
The man looked up sadly.
"Nooroo, detransform."
Adrien watched in horror as the purple light washed over leaving...
"No," he voiced aloud, shooting to his feet and backing away. "NO. You were an Akuma."
"How else was I supposed to throw you off my trail?" the man wearing his father's face asked sardonically. "I suspected you were Chat Noir, but I didn't have any proof and... I don't think I wanted to know. And I especially didn't want you to find me."
Adrien shook his head again. "No. No, no, no!"
The little, purple Kwami that had appeared in the air flew towards Adrien.
"I'm Nooroo, and I saw everything he just talked about happen myself! I've hated being used for this, but I won't lie! You have to—"
"Plagg! Claws out!"
He yelled it as he rushed for the window. He didn't even pause to open it, extending the baton that appeared in his hand so he could vault through the window, smashing right through it, not caring how it tore at his suit or that he'd just broken someone's window when there was a very strong chance it wouldn't be fixed by Ladybug.
All he knew was that he had to get away.
He ran as far and as fast as he could, breath already heaving as he jumped and leapt over the rooftops. If he ran far enough, maybe he could outrun everything. He knew he couldn't. He knew he'd have to face it...but the look on his father's face...
He didn't notice the teardrops running down his cheeks, to be left behind on the roof tops he passed over.
xXx
Meanwhile, Master Fu and Gabriel Agreste sat staring at the open window.
Finally, Gabriel sighed. "I'll pay for that."
Master Fu nodded in acceptance.
"Actually, that went better than I thought it would," the fashion designer admitted shamefully.
The Guardian shot a cool glare at his guest before sipping some more tea.
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