Chapter Fifty-Four
For most parents there would have been a tremendous sense of guilt in drugging their own offspring, but Gabriel Agreste was not an average parent. To him, the means justified the end result. Adrien would understand in time. He'd be ecstatic to have his mother back and they would be a family again. With gentle care, he eased his son to the ground, cradling his head in his hand and placing him onto his side in an almost foetal position.
Next, Gabriel closed the tiny compartment on his ring, returning the poisoned spike to its hiding place. Not that it actually contained poison, just a substance that would knock out an adult for about an hour when scratched. Pulling the object from his finger, he admired his new acquisition, the cat miraculous. With a satisfied smirk, the designer put it on and watched with interest as Plagg appeared.
The black kwami was not amused. "What kind of sick jerk drugs his own son!"
Gabriel didn't want to think too hard about the fact that Adrien was snoring lightly at his feet. "What kind of kwami speaks back to his master?" he snapped in return.
Plagg crossed his arms and glared back for all he was worth. "I'm not a push over, Gabriel." He said drawing out the man's name with sarcastic purpose to annoy him. "Unlike Nooroo, destruction is my bag and I've got the attitude to go with it. Besides Adrien is my holder."
"Was your holder but unlike Adrien, I'm not an unskilled boy. As your master you will obey me."
Feline eyes rolled, "Yeah right, this is the first time you've held one of the two most powerful miraculous. Your egotistical orders don't mean squat if I don't want to listen. Perks of the job."
The designer clenched his hand into an intimidating fist. "I will bend your will to mine."
"I hope that wasn't the sort of line you used to woo your wife."
Gabriel's reply was a roar of outrage. "You leave my wife out of this!"
"That's a little difficult when she's right here." Plagg pointed to the glass casket behind him. "Brings new meaning to drop dead gorgeous, huh?"
"You shut your mouth."
With a taunting rock of his head, Plagg snarked, "Put some camembert in it and I'll stop talking."
The top of Gabriel's lip lifted in a sneer. "No wonder my son has become so rebellious, you've corrupted him."
"Pft, the boy needed an outlet. At least he didn't burn your car."
A muscle under the designer's eye twitched. "What?"
"Previous holder, he was a bit of a pyromaniac. Good times."
"Enough of this," Gabriel snapped. "Tell me how to find Ladybug."
"Well, usually you do your messed-up crap and akumatise someone and she has to come out. I thought you would have noticed by now." Plagg delighted in the sound of Gabriel's teeth grinding. It was such a satisfying noise.
But then the designer began to smirk in the most disturbing way. "What do I say to transform?"
This was a command a kwami couldn't ignore. Plagg grimaced as the words tumbled from his mouth. "Claws out."
The cat kwami's reaction intensified to include a shudder of repulsion as Gabriel uttered the words and was transformed into a sinister version of Chat Noir. Unlike his son's outfit, Gabriel's costume was much more 80's punk. The black body glove was streaked with silver zips in random slashes across his legs and chest while his boots were black suede. His hair was slicked back flatter than normal and a pair of suede cat ears sat low on the side of his head, banding over his real ears. The mask was merged with his glasses, looking like some sort of night vision goggles gone wrong.
It was well known that Hawkmoth chose some truly awful names for his akumas, alas he didn't sway from this trend when he named his new persona. Admiring his getup, the villain spoke. "I shall now be known as Kittyhawk." Behind him, Nooroo was biting lip to stifle the need to snigger. It was then that the villain evoked his original miraculous and the name made more sense as the two powers blended. Black was mixed with purple and his mask covered his entire head in silver with the exception of the cat ears. It wasn't attractive.
Kittyhawk reached for the baton at his back and thumbed the purple pawprint, sliding the baton open into phone mode. Flicking through the screens, he located the tracker and grinned. He had a way to find Ladybug, he just needed her to transform.
While Kittyhawk was busy revelling in his own additional power, he was unaware of what was going on under his nose. Pollen was still with Adrien and she was rather busy countering the villain's plans.
For Adrien, there was an unexpected benefit to wearing the bee miraculous, it was exceptionally powerful at breaking down toxins. Remaining hidden within Adrien's blonde hair, the comb was covertly diluting the poison in the model's system. Green eyes feathered open to watch black suede boots march away with annoying purpose.
Adrien titled his head to follow the movement. Blinking slowly as he took in the fashion crime that was his father. Perhaps his look could be called retro but the model figured it was just demented. Part of him was reluctant to admit it kind of suited his father. Adrien remained motionless as he watched Kittyhawk make his exit via the platform they'd previously arrived on, disappearing into the labyrinth of the mansion.
Pollen emerged from her hiding place at Adrien's ankle. "My king, are you alright?"
Grinding his palm against his forehead, the blonde winced. "Kind of but my mouth feels like a desert and my head is pounding."
"It's the effects of the drug. My power will gradually reduce this over time."
"He took my ring." Adrien said out loud, needing confirmation even as he glanced at his right hand.
"Yes, Plagg was most displeased."
A weak smirk tugged at the model's lips. "I'll bet he was." With a groan, Adrien tucked his arms close to his body and forced himself into a sitting position. The room spun with dizzying speed and he closed his eyes. "We need to warn Marinette."
Pollen hovered close. "But if I leave you, you will lose the ability to transform."
Scrunching his eyes, Adrien peered up at the bee kwami. "How far can you go before I'd be unable to call upon you?"
She considered it for a moment. "No further than the walls of the mansion, at most."
Adrien knew he wasn't completely lucid and perhaps that's why the next idea seemed viable. "Could you get to Chloe?"
"I could but is that wise? She is not a miraculous holder nor does she know of kwamis." A definite hint of disapproval rang in Pollen's tone.
Minor tremors shook Adrien's precarious form as he rubbed a hand down his face. "Steal her phone. It's yellow. You can't miss it."
"Are you sure? The poison hasn't been fully purged from your system."
"With the phone we can call Marinette. We need to warn her about Kittyhawk as soon as possible."
"Consider it done." Pollen said with a mischievous smile.
Having been contained to the world of the miraculous for so long, Pollen was enjoying the freedom of flying in an unfamiliar space. But the beauty of being a kwami was the ability to zip through walls as if they weren't even there. Yet given the circumstances, Pollen couldn't be hasty. She didn't know the layout of the Agreste mansion but she did have a great sense of smell.
Being a bee meant she could scent flowers at great distances. She could also detect floral perfume the same way and Pollen had taken notice of Chloe's potent bouquet. With her nose raised, the tiny creature weaved her way through the building, locating her target within a few minutes.
The spoilt blonde was huffing as she sorted a pile of paperwork left by Nathalie. Pollen scanned the room and eyed the girl's handbag. As soon as Chloe's back was turned, the kwami zoomed across the room and into the bag. Sure enough, the phone was there. With a wide grin, Pollen snatched her prize and journeyed back to Adrien.
Outside, hidden in a side street, Marinette couldn't stop staring at the Agreste mansion. "It's been too long. I'm worried about Adrien," she whined.
Tikki hovered at the lip of her handbag. "Be patient. He's not unprepared."
"I know but it feels wrong not to be by his side."
"This wasn't going to work if you were with him."
The girl rubbed at her nape in agitation. "I need to transform. Then I can spy from a higher vantage point."
"You would be more exposed there."
A low growl escaped Marinette's clenched teeth. "I hate this."
"Have faith in your partner. Pollen will protect him if Plagg can't." Suddenly Tikki froze and stared blankly at nothing. "Oh no."
"What?"
"Plagg isn't with Adrien anymore. His miraculous has been removed."
"You can sense that?"
"Yes. I know when Plagg is active and when he's not."
"I need to go in," Marinette said with a determined glare at the mansion.
"Wait." Tikki stated as he eyes clouded over again. "Plagg is back but it's different. He's changed wielders."
"Hawkmoth must have him. We need to do something."
"No. Plagg will buy us some time. He's known as the obnoxious kwami for a reason." There was an amused smirk of admiration from Tikki. "He's good when it comes to dealing with volatile holders."
Another twenty minutes passed when Marinette's phone began to ring. Pulling it from her bag, she frowned at the contact. "Chloe. Why on earth would she be ringing me?" She immediately declined the call. A second later, it rang. Huffing, Marinette declined it again. It was on the third call she switched her phone to silent and shoved it in her bag.
Adrien turned to Pollen. "She not answering."
"Perhaps she can't."
Reaching out a hand, the model grabbed he nearest object and dragged himself to his feet and stood stock still. He'd pulled himself up on his mother's cylindrical chamber. The breath caught in his throat as he looked down upon the woman he thought long gone. There was no movement of her chest, no expansion of her nostrils, nothing to indicate that she was alive.
Sliding his hand up the curved glass, Adrien paused to examine Emile and wondered what proof there was of her not being dead. Perhaps she was just preserved and his father had gone mad. His antics certainly suggested he was not of sound mind. Hell, this secret chamber was not normal in any sense. Exhaling hard, Adrien blew his hair from his eyes as he took one last look at his mother.
With an unsteady step, he shuffled down the walkway, clinging to the railing. Pollen sat on his shoulders with eyes closed as she focussed her magic on restoring his health. By the time Adrien made it to the platform his vision had cleared and his gait was more assured.
Things are really progressing now. I loved Plagg in this chapter, it was so much fun having him snark at Gabriel. Pollen was fun to write too, imagining her little quirks ;)
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. The box below awaits... thanks for reading!
