Chapter 1: The Truth About Emilie Agreste
If Kyle Rayner was to arrive on Earth now, he might've second-guessed his and Mogo's senses about a rising fear from the planet. As of now, today seemed like any normal day on Earth with people going to and from work, meeting up in the street or in restaurants or in shops for chats and to socialize, children playing together to make the most of the lovely weather in some countries and everyone just going about their daily lives be it indulging in their favourite hobbies or having pleasant family interactions together. Paris's local superhero Ladybug was one of them.
She was out of costume of course as there was no superhero work to do as of now. In her civilian form she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of a family of bakers and to anyone who just happened to pass by her, just an average teenage girl with a perky personality and mundane interests such as fashion, sweet things and boys. It was easy for Marinette to see why nobody suspected her to be the girl behind the Ladybug mask. After all, who would suspect a klutzy baker's girl from an average school to be a strong, confident, powerful superheroine? None of her friends did, hence why it came as a surprise to a few of them when she revealed her secret identity to them. None showed a more pleasant surprise than her boyfriend, the former teen model Adrien Agreste. Marinette still replayed the moment she revealed herself to him over and over in her mind, taking in his surprised face and his acceptance that one of his dear friends was Paris's superheroine, along with his love being a girl as sweet as her outside of costume. While Adrien had originally loved Ladybug, he had grown to love her as Marinette Dupain-Cheng alongside Ladybug. Getting to reveal herself to the boy of her dreams had been one of the best things that had happened in Marinette's life. It was now a matter of deciding when to reveal herself to her parents.
She was currently at the table starting the day off with breakfast. It was the weekend today and Marinette had enjoyed an extra hour or so in bed as she didn't have to get up for school. The blue-haired girl enjoyed a good lie in as she felt more refreshed when she didn't have to wake up so early. Breakfast was some of her favourite foods today, croissants with strawberry jam, a piece of orange and a vegetable omelette with a glass of milk. She liked to start the day with a healthy mix of protein, vitamins and carbohydrates with only a little sugar from the jam in her croissants as it gave her the energy and stamina she'd need as Ladybug should she need to transform. The croissants were freshly baked to perfection of course, using the family recipe that the Dupain-Chengs always used when providing stock for their bakery. It was fun for them getting to essentially taste their own products. As Tom had once joked, if it wasn't good enough for them then it's not good enough for the customers. Marinette had two with her breakfast and requested for two more to be bagged up for Adrien. He loved her bakery's goods and the French girl never failed to give him a treat or two.
As Marinette ate her breakfast, she thought back to the last time she'd donned the Ladybug earrings. It was crazy to think that the once super-duo of Ladybug and Cat Noir had grown into a full-fledged team. It had just been her and Cat Noir for so long and going up against threats far bigger than Hawk Moth himself such as The Joker, The Riddler, Darkseid and Grail and now the Miraculous heroes had more members to call upon for help with her friends Alya, Nino, Alix and Lila becoming superheroes themselves! She thought again about how they'd come together to be trained by her and Cat Noir, donned their extraordinary gifts to fight off The Light and stave off their attempted conquest of their country and proven themselves to be heroes in their own right. And all of this alongside getting to fight alongside the Young Justice team too! Marinette hoped to see the young heroes again as they were a great group to hang out with and displayed more of that youthful energy she and Adrien were used to. She had enjoyed meeting Batman and Wonder Woman of course but for many people, they often enjoyed hanging out with others closer to their own ages. Marinette and Adrien hadn't heard much from The Light ever since their battle in the catacombs. Hopefully this meant they were out of the country for good and would never come back.
But one thing from that day still bothered her and had Marinette pondering endlessly about it. That Asian girl from The Light Kagami. Why did it bother her so much? Marinette was sure she never knew any Kagamis and was definitely certain she'd never met this girl in her life. But there was something about her that just made her stand out in her mind. Was it the coincidental similarities they had in appearance and hair colour? Possibly. Marinette's family was half-Asian after all so she could potentially have another relative she didn't know about. But the girl was Japanese and the Asian half of her family was Chinese. She couldn't be related...could she? And what would happen if she and Kagami were to meet again? Would they still be enemies? Would they become allies? Marinette had no idea and she hoped whatever answers she would find would be worthwhile.
"Marinette? Is everything fine?" came a voice that broke her out of her train of thought, "Sweetie, you looked completely zoned out!"
It was her mother, Sabine Cheng. Marinette hadn't even realized she was that far gone. Her senses returned to normal and the girl realized she'd been staring into space with half-eaten crossiant in her hand. She frowned, feeling ridiculous for having done that at the breakfast table.
"Oh, it's nothing mom." she said hastily, "I was just deep in thought that's all."
"I'll say it was deep. Did your thought process reach the bottom of the Atlantic before your mother snapped you out of it?" Tom chuckled.
Marinette sent him a playful glare.
"Daddy, are you saying I am fat in some way!?" she said in a threatening tone, making his eyes widen as she raised her spoon, shielding himself from any incoming attacks from her.
"No, no, not at all my sweet little strawberry!" he cried out in alarm, not seeing Sabine grinning cheekily as she watched their daughter's next action.
Marinette scoped up a bit of strawberry jam from the jar with her spoon and grinned wildly.
"I'll give you a sweet strawberry, papa!" she said as she flicked the piece of jam onto her dad's t-shirt, forcing him to pull his arms down and stare at it in horror before doing a mock faint in his chair, his arms dropping to his sides.
"Agh...I've been gutted by the poisonous little blueberry, the blueberry assassin of the most deadliest of foods, agh..." he said faintly, getting a giggle from his wife and daughter at how he was behaving. He was such a cheeky man, and that's why they loved him.
Tom giggled as he sat himself back up, scooping off the piece of jam on his t-shirt.
"Heh, I didn't mean it like that, dear." he said more softly, getting a soft pat from his daughter.
"Heh, I know, papa. Just mixing concern with your ever so funny humour." she said lightly, full of love for her parents and joy at having fun with them.
"He said some even worse things when he was younger, he nearly got a beating from my father for telling such a terrible joke." Sabine pointed out as she smoothed his hand, which he returned.
"Oh goodness, that was so funny, I thought he was going to shoot daggers from his eyes!" Tom said brightly, thinking back to that point in their lives over how he tried to impress his wife's family.
"I need to know everything!" Marinette teased, getting a wave of hands from them.
"Oh don't, I think we'll be laughing all day" Tom said as he gotten his breath back from all the laughing he just did, though Sabine winked at him.
"Why not laugh all weekend, with all the time we're going to have now?" she said pointedly, getting a nod from Tom but a raised eyebrow from Marinette.
"All the time we're going to have?" she raised her question, getting a look from her parents as their faces relaxed from the laughing. Tom gave her a more thoughtful look as he glanced at his wife.
"Well, we've been thinking, Marinette, with all that's been going on lately, we thought of having the weekend to ourselves" he said to her.
"Yes. So we've decided we'll be closing our shop for the weekend and have some time alone, so we can remind ourselves of what we still have and what family is. Plus, I need to get some time to get Alya's mother in to work with us." Sabine pointed out, her voice full of desire at wanting this break from the work they often did, a loving look in her eyes.
Marinette took this in and thought of what they both said. Time to themselves, how important family was. It was important. And you don't hide secrets from your family, not when your involved in near world ending situations. You either lose yourself or them, neither knowing the secret. And time to themselves...it was only right to do so, for they needed to have it, and to know the truth.
It was then Marinette reached her hands over and took hold of their hands, stunning them slightly as she gave them a slight smile, which was filled with love but pain.
"You know what...we do need this time to ourselves...There's so much we need to do and I don't think I've really done anything to add to it." she said, guilt in her voice as she squeezed their hands.
They both gave her a concerned look.
"Hey, what is it dear? You didn't upset us or anything if that's what you think?" Sabine asked softly, leaning forward slightly as she saw how her daughter was looking.
Marinette shook her head.
"No, not like that, it's just...I don't think I've been honest with you both lately. This last year I've...kept a secret, and I think it's time you ought to know what it is." she said softly, readying up her courage to tell her parents the truth.
Tom looked at Sabine with a confused look before looking back at Marinette.
"Um...this secret of yours, you've not been...having anything, have you?" he asked, his voice getting serious as he put his question out. Marinette's eyes widened.
"Oh no no no! Daddy, no, not like that! It's something you might like, when I tell you!" she said, her voice not doing well at hiding the panic in her voice.
"Then what is it? If it's something we'll like, why hide it?" Tom questioned again, now unsure of what she was going on about.
Marinette felt her tongue pushing against her teeth as she wondered what she was going put it out to them. She wanted to say it all at once but it'd come out messy and that would get to all sorts of stuff...
Thankfully, she was saved by a beep as her phone alerted her of a text. Pulling her hands back, she opened her phone up to see she just received a message from Adrien. Her heart almost stopped at the sight of his name, being away from him and getting just a faint reminder of him being her boyfriend was enough to freeze her into shock and melt her into a warm oozing mix of emotions. She saw the text read.
"Hi, Mari. Hope I'm not disturbing your beauty sleep but Master Fu has said he needs to talk to all of us. Really big. See you there my love xxx." it read.
"Was that Adrien?" Tom asked, though he sounded like he knew the answer. Marinette nodded as she bolted up from the chair and put her phone away.
"Yes it was! He said that Master Fu just needs some help and need an extra pair of hands! Listen, I'll tell you everything when I get back, okay? Love you both, bye!" she said as she dashed around them both and planted a kiss on their foreheads before running off to the door, leaving Tom and Sabine sat by their table in a set of confusion as they stared at the door before looking back at each other.
"You don't think she's up to...anything, is she?" Tom asked nervously, though Sabine rested her hand on his arm.
"She's not like that, Tom. She said we might like her secret. It could be a special present." she suggested, her voice ever sweet as she rested his worries. Still, the very thought of what she wanted to say to them both kept running in their minds.
Outside, Marinette gotten out through the front door and started to go for the spa, though this didn't stop a certain Kwami from poking her little head out of her purse, looking up at Marinette with a thoughtful look on her face.
"Marinette, haven't you thought this over? You decided to tell them today?" she squeaked up at her, her voice slightly nervous. Marinette paused as she reached a crossing and looked down at her.
"Tikki, it's been on my mind for weeks. With how much we've been up against, I really think it's time I tell them I'm Ladybug." she stated as she then crossed the road.
"Are you really sure that you want to tell them?" Tikki asked with concern, "You know what a big moment it'll be for both you and them if you do so. There's no going back afterwards."
Marinette gave Tikki an unimpressed stare.
"Do you really think I didn't consider all that?" she muttered, "Those were the very first things I considered when contemplating this stuff. I know it'll come as a shock to mom and dad that their daughter is a superhero but I just feel like it's wrong to keep this from them. How does any superhero live with themselves with the constant secrecy and lying to their loved ones just to keep up the act?"
Tikki nodded, understanding where her Miraculer was coming from. It was a question she'd been asked before by previous holders and sadly, even now she didn't really have an easy answer.
"It really is hard to say." Tikki said glumly, wishing she could be of more help, "You're not the only one to have a problem with keeping secrets. Some of my previous holders even went through what you're going through, the need to rebel against the sacred rules of the Miraculous and tell their loved ones they're the superheroes."
"How did that go for them?" Marinette asked, hoping the answer wouldn't be a bad one.
"Not good." The pink Kwami lamented, her adorable face falling into a pained look of guilt and regret, "Some of my holders broke the secret and had their lives ruined over it. It often varied from person to person like friends falling out, boyfriends or girlfriends dumping them because they'd been lied to and some even ended up dead because of it! Once their secret was out, it was easy for the villains to track them down and kill them in revenge for their schemes being foiled! I was so ashamed of all those moments happening under my watch. I almost felt responsible in a way as if I'd never been bestowed on these people, they'd never have been in that situation."
Marinette took this in with a feeling of doubt now twinging in her gut. She had considered the last part as a possible consequence but surely that wouldn't happen to her. If she was only revealing her identity to friends and family and not the world as a whole, no villain would be able to find her. But suppose that her parents reacted negatively to this news? Would they be horrified? Would they become overprotective and never let her leave the house again? Would the shock even be too much for them? There were so many downsides and so many reasons to keep up the secret! Despite all this, Marinette remained undeterred. The French girl patted Tikki's head softly to ease her guilt. Tikki always loved the soft, gentle pats her holder would give her. What a luxury it was to be in the hands of such a gentle person.
"I understand your concerns Tikki and I'm deeply sorry for those previous holders where it didn't go well for them." Marinette said kindly, "But it has to be told. I can't keep this from mom and dad anymore. It's weighing too much on my conscience and after sharing the secret with my friends, I just feel mom and dad deserve to be let in on it too. I'll feel...more at peace with myself if I tell them, like I have nothing to hide anymore."
The Kwami nodded understandingly.
"If that's your decision Marinette, I accept it." she said supportively, "I clearly won't change your mind about it. I...I just hope that it won't cause any heartbreak when it happens."
"We can worry about that when we get to it." the blue-haired teen said with a soft smile, "For now, we need to see what Master Fu wants with us. We shouldn't keep him waiting if it's urgent."
Tikki nodded, sitting back inside the purse as Marinette continued her walk to the spa.
It didn't take them long to get there, letting themselves in and heading right up the stairs to where the sitting area would be. She reached her hand out to open the door with the door knob but instead it was opened for her. The person opening it was none other than her boyfriend, Adrien Agreste, who beamed in pleasure upon seeing her, while she stopped where she was and smiled back at him. He looked less tired and distressed now, even after he was recovering during their fight against the Light. He stepped aside and gave her room to walk into.
"In you come, M'Lady" he offered softly with a charming smile, which she nodded and headed on in, letting him close the door behind her.
She turned to him and pulled him into a hug, which he returned with as much warmth she was giving him. She smiled as she looked up into his eyes, seeing how pleased they were to see her right in front of him. He rested his hands on her waist as she rested hers on his shoulders, both full of love as they gazed into each other's eyes.
"Slept well?" Adrien asked gently as he looked her over, getting a nod from her.
"Oh yeah, really well. Would've slept better if I had my cat with me." she winked at him, getting a giggle and a blush from the blonde boy.
"Heh, in all my tight leather? Didn't think you went that far in your imaginations." he teased back to her, turning her face even brighter than his.
She giggled as she realised he knew her very well by now, even more than over a month ago. Plus the nights they did spend stargazing often had him in all his tight leather, which she couldn't unsee him out of now. She trailed her finger up his chin.
"Read my mind, Hmm?" she said sweetly as she stood up to reach his lips. He couldn't even give her an answer as she pulled him into a kiss, enjoying the feel of his full sweetness against her as she kissed his lips with hers, long and passionate and chest to chest.
Then the moment gotten interrupted when a delightful squeal pulled them away from each other. They both blushed brightly as they saw Alya grinning at them, surrounded by Nino, Alix and Lila, who all gave them teasing looks.
"You both just can't keep your hands off each other for five minutes and I adore it!" Alya said ecstatically as she gave Marinette a proud look, as if she was seeing them declaring themselves as a couple all over again.
"Kiss any longer and they'd be dying in each other's breaths." Alix said cheekily, getting a huff from the couple as they gently pulled away and looked at them with slight smiles.
"Yeah yeah, very funny, Alix" Adrien said bluntly, getting a click of fingers from Nino.
"Hey, dude, you were in full passion world right in front of us, gotta say something." he reminded him with a grin, getting a giggle from the blonde teen. It was then Plagg flew out of Adrien's pocket and huffed.
"You think it's hard enough for you guys to see it? I'm in his pocket when they do it, the way how boys go stiff and hard is enough to make me puke up my cheese!" he said grumpily, getting a brighter blush out of Adrien, getting a large amount of wide eyes from everyone involved.
Marinette looked slightly nervous at this and shot Plagg a pleading look to not go any further with his remarks. He caught her look and sighed, looking away so as to force himself not to say anything. Marinette then looked to their friends and got her words out.
"So...you were invited as well?" she asked in slight shock. Lila nodded and gestured at a nearby room.
"Well, we're a team now, and whatever Master Fu wants to share with us, we gotta have it shared together. Still, it's been hard sitting in here for a while, it stinks of smoke big time" she ended with slight frustration, something Pollen nodded along with.
"Yes indeed. Such a revolting smell is not something you wielders need to be around." she said bitterly, hating the smell as well.
Adrien shrugged shyly.
"Sorry about that, he never stops." he said softly, knowing well who it was that was smoking. Marinette still took in what Lila said and felt herself get a little hardened up.
"It must be important if he wants us all here to hear this. Still, your right, we're a team now, gotta get use to more bigger meet ups." she said, ending her words with some lightness.
"Indeed so, Marinette, and it is a team you and Adrien should be proud you put together." Master Fu said kindly as he came through the door, followed closely by John Constantine, who gave Adrien a smirk while everyone held their breath as he walked past him.
"Oi there, the lot of you, make yourselves comfy, it's a long story, as per usual." he said as he spun around and sat down, pocketing his lighter as he outstretched a roll of paper on the table in front of him, with Master Fu sitting beside him. Everyone took a seat on the sofa opposite, trying to keep away from the smell of smoke.
"Must be important if he's here then." Marinette said, trying not to gag as she looked at John Constantine, whom Alya frowned at.
"Yeah...who is he anyway? Not seem him around here before."
"Yeah. He looks like a Sting fanboy with the coat and hair...unless it is Sting!" Nino said, excitement building in him as he pointed at him.
"There's similarities, mate, but nope, I'm not the real one." John said as he rested back against the sofa. Adrien giggled nervously as he pointed at Constantine.
"Heh, yeah, uh, he's actually a occult detective. Batman hired him to help me unlock more of my powers and he's been helpful with it. We called him back to help Master Fu while we chased Darkseid back to his home planet." he explained to them, getting confused look from his group of friends around them.
"Thanks my mate, you got that out of the way, but yes, I helped him out and did a better job than old Fu-Fu ere!" Constantine said cheekily as he clapped Master Fu on the back, getting a sigh from the old man.
"Yes, thank you, Constantine" he said in slight humour as he then leaned forward, his face looking more serious as he faced Adrien.
"We called you all here because it's very important. We've made some progress on a matter that's been on our minds. It's about your mother, Adrien." he said, his voice going soft as he spoke to the blonde teen, who looked lost for a second as he heard what Master Fu just said. Everyone stared at him to see how he looked, seeing his face lose every other emotion as he looked down at his hands, emotions running through him.
"My...mother? I...hadn't thought about her lately...not since that nightmare on Apokalips..." he said, his voice a mix of fear and pain.
"If it's about Adrien's mother, then it clearly is important!" Marinette exclaimed.
"OMG, are we finally gonna learn what happened to her and find out if she's even alive?!" Alya cried, her voice a mixture of excitement and concern.
Constantine gave her an annoyed expression in response, making the Martiquen girl flinch uncomfortably.
"Miss, if you say "OMG" again, I'll summon a demon under yer bed at night." he said irritably.
Alya was sure the occult detective was bluffing but she didn't dare push any more buttons as goodness knows what this man could do and what powers he had if he was a detective of the strange and mysterious!
"Yes Adrien mate, it is indeed about your mother." Constantine went on, "While you and Mari-bug over there were palling around with Wonder Chick on Apokalips, me and Fu-Fu did a little investigation of our own. It involved sneaking into the local police station and retrieving summet from the pigs in there."
"What did you find? You gotta tell me everything and show me what you found!" Adrien cried desperately.
It seemed to him that he was just seconds away from finally getting the long-awaited answers he'd yearned for in so many months. He couldn't help himself, he was more anxious than he'd ever been in his life and could hardly wait a moment longer.
Constantine and Master Fu shared a uncertain look with each other, something Adrien caught on and it slowed down his excitement, leaving his chest getting tighter as he realised it wasn't going to be the answer he was hoping for. Master Fu leaned forward and gave him a soft look.
"It was a map and what we thought was a Miraculous. Look down in front of you." he informed Adrien, gesturing down at the rolled out piece of paper on the table.
Adrien did so and everyone followed his gaze. They held off a gasp but stared on, seeing the paper was indeed a map. And just on the side of it was a jewel of sorts, styled like a peacock's tail, its colour turquoise while the ends were blue. Adrien stared at that in confusion before looking up at Master Fu while Alix looked over the map.
"Hey, isn't that meant to be Tibet?" she asked aloud, getting a nod from Master Fu.
"And...that's a Miraculous? I...think I saw it before, on the day we met Lila...Plagg, you were there, why didn't you recognise it?" Adrien asked, his voice rising as he looked at his Kwami, who stared at the peacock styled jewellery before looking back at Adrien.
"I recognise it...but it doesn't seem like one from what I can see." he said dully, his mind already set.
Adrien tried to hold back his gasp as he looked at the jewel again, while Marinette shook her head.
"Hold on, let the others look at it first." she suggested, giving Tikki room to get out of her purse, with Trixx and Pollen joining her, but Wayzz and Nooroo held back, something which they noticed. Trixx sighed.
"Let us guess, you already looked?" he asked glumly. He received a nod from them both.
"Yes we did. It's not the Peacock Miraculous." Wayzz said sadly, his eyes gazing down at it. Nooroo nodded.
"I told Gabriel it wasn't the same Miraculous, but he wouldn't listen. If it was the same one, we'd sense it, but it's not." he added in a similar tone, getting Adrien to look at him questionably.
"You...know more, don't you?" he asked, bitterness in his voice.
Nooroo nodded again with a sad look.
"Yes. But I was waiting for the right time to tell you. I don't know what happened to your mother but we've got...someone else here to help with that. We'll explain it together when they get here." he said, utter guilt in his voice as he knew he hasn't told Adrien everything. Nino looked interested at this.
"They? You mean we got more coming?" he asked, to which Master Fu nodded before looking at Adrien.
"Yes, and when they arrive, I want you to keep yourself calm, Adrien, and listen to them." he advises sharply, getting Adrien a little hardened as he could only guess who it was that was going to arrive.
It wasn't long until a knock came at the door, to which Master Fu stood up and walked over to. Everyone gave Adrien a nervous look as he stared at the door, seeing he was holding himself back from getting wild with who it was that came through when it opened. His eyes remained empty as he took in who it was, focusing on just one of them as they entered.
She was dressed slightly differently, now wearing a black coat that reached her thighs, darker blue trousers and her hair was a little untidy, but her gaze was just as emotionless as ever, while the huge man behind her stood as big and imposing as usual but slightly more sad as he looked at Adrien. It was Nathalie and the Gorilla.
Gabriel Agreste's former secretary and Adrien's former bodyguard shifted uncomfortably as they caught Adrien's eye. Ever since the shocking reveal that was Gabriel turning out to be Hawk Moth, Nathalie and the Gorilla had kept their distance from Adrien. It was clear that they were too ashamed to even be around him anymore. Nathalie in particular was having a hard time even looking at the blonde boy. Maybe she was afraid on what would happen if she did.
"Adrien...you look well." Nathalie said glumly.
"Hey Nat." Adrien said bitterly.
He wasn't sure if he could bring himself to say anything more than that. Marinette on the other hand seemed to be carrying the confidence that Adrien was lacking for she rose out of her seat and stormed up to Nathalie with a look of pure murder in her eyes. Not even Alya had seen the baker girl sport a look of tranquil fury before. Luckily, Marinette had enough restraint to keep herself from clawing Nathalie's face off but she was still keen to give her a severe tongue-lashing. Constantine sighed, clearly having anticipated a reaction like this.
"I knew at least one of those two would be the ones to give Miss Emotionless there a bollocking." he muttered.
"You! You've got a nerve coming here after everything Adrien has suffered through!" Marinette snarled, jabbing a finger into Nathalie's chest, "How much did you know about Gabriel and his plans? Were you even complacent in them? Why did you let Gabriel get away with everything?! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM FROM AKUMATIZING SO MANY PEOPLE?!"
"Marinette girl, come on now, chill! I'm sure Master Fu would appreciate it if you didn't kill the poor woman." Alya said hastily, grabbing Marinette by the shoulders and pulling her back.
"It's OK Miss Cesaire. If anything, I probably deserve this." Nathalie said bluntly, "Marinette is right, I'm just as guilty as Gabriel was for his crimes as Hawk Moth. I should've tried to talk him out of it. I should've been a better guardian for Adrien. I even should've tried to help the two move on after Mrs. Agreste disappeared..."
She trailed off, her face solemn as she wallowed in self-pity. Adrien could see that for the first time in his life, Nathalie was showing actual emotions in front of him. He'd never seen her with any expression other than a blank face in all the time he'd known her. It was the first time his secretary had looked...human in a sense. Maybe with Gabriel gone, he could see a whole new side to Nathalie that he'd never seen before.
"So...why are they here?" the blonde boy asked curiously, "You said they could help with the whole thing with the fake Miraculous and Tibet."
"Oh they can, Adrien. Thing is, after you sneaked off to have some sleep after going to Apokalips, Nathalie came to pay us a visit about yer mother. Must say it was handy of her." Constantine said lightly as he pointed at her when she took a seat with the Gorilla. Adrien kept his eyes focused on Nathalie, seeing she was slowly unopening a box of secrets of her own. She then looked at all of the teens in front of her, guilt clear in her eyes as she saw them all.
"Before I do, I need to explain: I only helped cover Gabriel's whereabouts when he was Hawk Moth. Our big friend here didn't know anything until after Joker and Riddler came here." she said as she nodded at the Gorilla, who grumbled in response before she continued.
"I started to wonder how far gone he was after he Akumatised Simon to attack the mansion, we all could've been killed...but I was too scared because he might've already crossed the line in some places before then. It was only after he worked with Joker I realised he lost it...I really should've done better." she explained, her voice trailing off as she lowered her head, her words full of bitterness at what had happened.
Marinette's face softened a little, seeing really well the woman was utterly sorry for what had transpired.
"Even then, this doesn't mean we're going to forgive you so easily." she spoke up, her voice hard as she addressed Nathalie, all that nervousness she once had around her long gone, "And why didn't you come to find Adrien earlier if you were that sorry?" she added, clearly getting very protective of her lover.
Nathalie felt her face go hard as she looked at her.
"Well, I was interviewed by the police and held for days, I couldn't be able to just come and find you when best suited. And you were busy, so I decided to talk things through with Master Fu and Constantine before all this." she explained, her face going soft again as Master Fu patted her arm.
"Indeed, and she had to be very discreet, for thanks to her we managed to further see not only is this Miraculous a fake one, but it was touched by the hands of someone not only very powerful but also an expert in the Miraculouses. Wayzz and Nooroo can help confirm it." he explained. Before the Kwamis could offer their words, though, Adrien raised his hands to stop them from going on.
"Look, just one thing at a time, okay? I want to know what happened to mom first before anything else." he pleaded, not wanting that big of a intake on everything else, his voice pleading clearly as he couldn't wait any longer He needed the empty spot in his soul to get filled and he needed it now.
Wayzz and Nooroo looked unsure before looking at Nathalie, who gave them a nod, clearly up for revealing it all to Adrien, so they floated back as she looked at him right in the eyes. She gestured down at the map, a faint smile on her face as she thought back to it all.
"It actually began here, in Tibet, Adrien. Your mother and I were very good friends. We graduated from university and while we aimed to work in modelling, we decided to do a world tour, to look at the many fashions of the world and what we liked about them. In doing so, we went to...a lot of places hit by poverty. Your mother, instead of spending the money on luxurious restaurants, decided to help the poor, giving away enough to get them into richer parts of the country. She put her word in at the government and she gave them a headache with her reasoning. Emilie was that kind of person, thinking of others before herself. Then one day, we were rewarded by getting to go up around the higher points of Tibet, and...that's when we found them." Nathalie explained as Master Fu put the Miraculous Book on the table with the butterfly Miraculous, while Nooroo sat on it, smiling shyly.
Adrien's eyes darted back and forth between them and Nathalie before it began to dawn on him.
"You...found Nooroo and the book? So mom...used a Miraculous?" he asked, trying to get it all in. Nathalie could only nod, while everyone was leaning in with interest in what she had to say.
"Not just them. We found the Peacock Miraculous. We discovered its Kwami, Duusu, and through them, we learned of the Miraculouses and what they could do. So, when we continued our travels, your mother would use both Miraculouses, the Butterfly one to become Papillion, and the Peacock one to become Le Paon. She would use the Tenshis she made from her Butterfly Miraculous to lighten the souls of the miserable and give them something to push towards in getting. She created Sentimentels from the Peacock Miraculous to create a companion for those in similar needs. She did this because she cares so much about others." Nathalie went on, her eyes full of emotion as she thought back to when Emilie worn both Miraculouses.
Adrien couldn't help but feel something light swirl inside of him upon hearing this, his mouth forming into a light smile as he thought it over. He looked down at Nooroo, giving him a smile as he returned it, while everyone else watched on in silent awe.
"So...she was a superhero in a way?" he asked, his voice not even struggling to hold back the joy. Nooroo nodded.
"She was. She had one of the lightest souls I ever merged with, just like yours. Duusu and I loved her so much" he said, his voice full of the emotion as he remembered how majestic Emilie was in her works as Papillion and Le Paon.
"Dude, your mom was a worldwide superhero!? Now that right there is what I call legendary!" Nino said brightly, putting his arm around the blonde teen as he could see just how much this was meaning to him. Marinette smoothed his cheek, seeing the light really burning through his face as he listened to this.
"That's just amazing...really wish I met her before." she said softly, already imagining just how much in common both had. Adrien nodded and held off a tear as he gazed at her.
"She would've loved you, Marinette. She'd be so happy to have met you." he said, his voice honest as he spoke of his mother.
Nathalie smiled a little, glad to see how he was taking it. Of course, she had to continue.
"Through all this, she met your father." she said, leading to a silent pause in the room. Adrien's face froze as he thought of how his mother could've fallen in love with such a slime ball like his dad...but still, he couldn't let Nathalie stop, so she continued.
"He was struggling to get somewhere with his fashion programme and was running very low on his money. Emilie worked with him for a bit, and she saw the hard state he was in, so she used a Tenshi to brighten his soul. Through this, Gabriel pushed forward to achieve his goal and got his fashion going. In doing so, he saw your mother turn into Le Paon one day, so he followed her and saw her turn into Papillion. It all clicked into him that it was her who helped him. Through that, he fell in love."
The whole story was gathering a wave of emotions from everyone in the room. It was wonderful to hear so many good things about the mother of their close friend and for Adrien, it was like he was getting to know his mother for the first time, even if it was only through the words of someone who had actually known her personally and not through his own experiences. In a way, it softened the blow he still felt from Gabriel's reveal as Hawk Moth. Now Adrien could live with himself knowing he had a good parent and that at least one of them had been a hero and not a villain like his father. At the same time, he felt an overwhelming wave of sadness wash over him. It was simultaneously uplifting and painful to hear these stories for now he yearned more than ever to have known the woman whom had given birth to him and brought him into the world instead of having spent most of his life being watched over by a madman who pretended to love and care for him.
Marinette could see that Adrien was struggling to cope with the multitude of emotions that were rushing through him so she took his hand into her own and gave it a soft massage with her thumbs. Adrien visibly relaxed, his posture less rigid now he had the touch of his girl to sooth his nerves. He could be having a nervous breakdown and Marinette would be able to calm him down. The French teen smiled at his girlfriend before he turned back to Nathalie. He dreaded to ask but he knew that it had to be done.
"So what happened after that?"
It wasn't just Nathalie who tensed up after receiving that question. The whole Miraculous team braced themselves for what was to come. Like Adrien, they dreaded to hear what was about to come and what had become of Emile Agreste. Nathalie sighed and answered.
"It all started when Dusuu came to Emile with an important message." Nathalie explained, "The peacock Kwami could sense a Sentimonster active in Tibet. She wasn't sure how that was possible but all she knew was that it needed to be dealt with. Emile took the Peacock Miraculous and Dusuu and headed off to Tibet right away to deal with the Sentimonster."
She paused to regain her posture before concluding with the terrible end to the story.
"They weren't seen again after that..."
Adrien's face fell as dread began to build in him, but he held himself from losing it as he felt Marinette keeping a good hold of his hand. It did little stop him from stuttering his next question.
"S-So...she's dead?" He asked nervously, tears already building up in his eyes.
Nathalie stiffened but shook her head hard, her face full of reassurance.
"No. Not to us. We flew out to find her but only found this, the fake one. Gabriel was determined to find her so he used Nooroo to try and lure you and Marinette into a trap to use them to find your mother. But he gotten so lost in his power he became more of a monster as time went on." she went on, giving reason to why Gabriel wanted the Miraculouses that badly. He admitted his reasons for why on the night at the mansion, but not to this level.
Adrien was just keeping himself together but was still struggling to find anymore words after that. Nino decided to speak up for him.
"So, I guess you turned to Master Fu here to get some answers about it?" he asked.
"Yes. While Gabriel wouldn't listen to us, Nooroo did tell me he could sense Emilie and Dusuu's souls were still in the world. He examined the fake Miraculous and not only discovered it was fake but it was created by...what we will call a common enemy of the Kwami." she explained in response to him, her voice going quiet as she finished her sentence.
Marinette frowned as she looked at Tikki, who looked slightly nervous.
"A common enemy of the Kwami? But who?" she asked her little friend, who glanced away out of worry, not sure how to say it. Master Fu spoke up instead.
"This common enemy is someone they've dealt with for centuries. They honestly thought they saw the last of it during the time of Tikki being handled by Hippolyta, but it seems they are still around, in Tibet. To make it even more worrying, the map is focussing on an area I am familiar with. It was the site of my old temple, the one I...accidentally destroyed." he explained, guilt rising in his voice, which left everyone even more shocked as he told them this, even Alix, except for Constantine, who gave him a pat.
"Okay, Fu-Fu, tell em now because we are stretching it as it is." he warned.
Yet as Master Fu explained to them what he had meant by that, they failed to even notice quite a scene coming around outside the spa, for gathering around it was a familiar group of people they failed to see at Chloe's funeral. Stiff looking, thin men who were smiling quite creepily as they gazed up at the building. They spoke in a light tone, just quiet enough for themselves to hear.
"They have gathered...we must capture them now." said one of them as his skin began to split, blood trailing right from the wounds and running down to the ground.
His friends nodded in agreement, their skin following a same pattern as they began to slide off, clumps of their skin sliding off like melted wax. They sunk right to the ground and their flesh and blood began to merge as two sets of spider like legs began to outstretch. The merged blood and flesh began to dark and stretched up over the walls of the spa, while two sets of arms began to rise out from their sides...
Back inside, Master Fu had finished telling them of what had happened, and Adrien didn't look very happy to hear of it, though Nino was looking at him all over as if he was wondering if he heard it right.
"Wait...you created a Sentimonster and destroyed the temple because you were hungry!? Dude, talk about getting Hangry!" he yelled in shock, leaving Master Fu shyly rubbing his head.
Adrien just sighed and looked down.
"Great, all over food..." he grumbled.
Master Fu waved his hands in assurance.
"But the thing is, when I last saw Feast, he was buried alive under the rubble. Now, if this enemy of the Kwamis is indeed hiding out there, it could very well be using your mother to create more Sentimonsters for her to keep them going. There is a chance your mother is alive." he said in utter certainty, getting Adrien to look at him with some light returning to his eyes upon hearing it.
His body felt a run of energy go through him as it cane to him on what this meant.
"So my mom has been out there all this time, living like a slave to whoever this monster is...she could be starving to death! If that's the case, there's no time to lose!" he said as he sprung up onto his feet, looking ready for a fight, leaving everyone staring at him in shock as he turned to Alix, his face full of determination.
"Alix, open up a portal! We're going to Tibet and we're going to save my mom!" he stated, no fault in his voice.
He was ready to go through with this, ready to reunite with his mother. The way his voice went out shot a boost through everyone and they all stood up, smiling at him in admiration, with a slight look of awe in Marinette's eyes as she stood by his side, glad to see his energy was still there.
But just as Alix got Fluff out to begin a transformation with her, they all paused as they noticed a stretch of darkness covering the windows of the building. The Gorilla froze as he wondered what it was, though Constantine sighed as he slowly got up, looking fully out of the window.
"Well lads, if any of you have arachnophobia, you best run for yer lives." he said bluntly as he could see the many eyes of the Ziszhui just through the darkness...
Our heroes are learning plenty about Adrien's mother and are keen to get looking for her. But will that journey be cut short before it even begins? The Ziszhui are here and chances are, they're not letting them go easily...
Tune in next time to see if our heroes can get out of this mess and if Kyle Rayner will enter the picture soon enough...