"Wow. You really did a number on the place."
Chat grimaced. "Apparently he has an alarm system set up. An alarm system that triggers missiles in the walls to fire and kill the intruder. Seriously, how did he even get his hands on those?! Do fashion designers often meet up and talk about weapons trading and brag about having the most deadly secret lairs?! ...Actually considering some of the people my father's met with, that wouldn't surprise me."
A grin slowly spread across Rena's face. "You really think so?"
"Probably?"
"Feel like investigating some possible crime rings?"
"I think we should focus on bringing Hawkmoth to justice and helping your mother before looking at other possible criminals," Fu interjected, Ladycat meowing in agreement.
Rena sighed, but nodded.
Honestly he'd rather have continued speculating about his father's work contacts. Better than having to face up to reality.
Noticing his downcast look, Rena gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it'll be okay," she told him softly. "No matter what he says, no matter what he does, we're here for you. He can't cut you off from everyone anymore, not once his secret identity is brought to light. I don't know what'll happen after that, whether your mother will wake up and you can live with her, or whether she won't and you have to live with someone else. But I'm behind you every step of the way, same as Ladybug," - Ladycat purred like a motorboat at that - "and it's not just us. Nino, Max, Kim, Juleka, Alix, all our classmates really, do you think we'd let you go through this alone?"
He gave her a small smile. "I know, but… well, sometimes I have trouble believing it."
Even with Ladybug, he sometimes wasn't completely sure. Part of him, the deepest, darkest, most insecure and anxious part, thought she just put up with him because she had to, that she'd replace him at the first opportunity. He'd been happy she brought in new heroes, but… he'd been afraid too. If she had more help, would she even need him? Or want him around?
His father'd always given him that impression - that he was only kept around because he was useful, that his love was transactional and required him fulfilling his functions, his job.
Ladybug didn't treat him like that. She didn't always tell him everything, but she cared about his feelings and didn't withhold her affection just because he messed up somehow. And any time he'd let himself show that he was feeling down, anytime it'd been clear, she'd tried to find out what was wrong and help.
He just… he didn't want to make her worry like that. Both because he didn't want her to go through that, and because… well, old habits die hard. He'd tried to put himself out there with his father numerous times. Showing any sign of weakness, and sadness or anger or disappointment, any negative emotions had gotten him ignored at best, yelled at at worst. Safest to put on a brave face.
Ladycat weaved in and out from his legs, brushing herself against him.
He smiled. He may not have had a cat before, but even he knew what that meant - 'You're mine.'
She didn't need him to be Chat Noir - other people could wield the Black Cat Miraculous, and his skillset wasn't technically required to defeat akumas. With other Miraculous wielders being available, she could've just relied on them instead.
But she CHOSE him. She WANTED him. Not because of what he could do for her as the Black Cat, but because of who he was as a person.
Even now she did the best she could to comfort him, to let him know she was there for him, even though she couldn't speak.
He still might have some days, some times, when he couldn't make himself believe that she wouldn't pull the rug out from under him if he wasn't useful, if he did something she didn't approve of, like his father would.
But in the end he knew she would comfort him, reassure him if she had any idea he was feeling that way. Because that's who she was.
He took a deep breath, held it a moment, then slowly exhaled. "Alright. Let's go."
Hawkmoth hadn't had time to do more than throw a tarp over the cataclysmed part of the mansion - to conceal it from prying eyes she assumed, though plenty of people would've seen it before Gabriel managed to cover it, it wasn't like the Agreste Mansion was in some far away part of town with little foot traffic.
Not that it had done any good at that point. Chat Noir had gleefully ripped it off, throwing it out onto the mansion lawn.
Which served two purposes: letting Chat Noir blow off a little steam before talking to that sorry excuse of a father, and distracting anyone who might otherwise have noticed a little bit of debris being moved or disappearing here or there beneath Rena Rouge's invisibility illusion.
The chamber had been empty, any butterflies trapped within it long flown away. Which was one good thing she supposed; even if Hawkmoth WANTED to become Scarlet Moth again (and if that was a simple matter he would've done so earlier), he didn't have enough butterflies to be nearly the threat he was last time.
The elevator had been unguarded, seeming to invite them to go downstairs - to the heart of all this.
Chat's eyes narrowed, looking at the elevator and then flicking towards Rena's, Ladycat's, and Master Fu's position - roughly speaking at least, since he could only hear their footsteps and breathing.
Not for the first time Ladycat thanked whatever decided on kwami-given powers that while the Black Cat was blessed with super senses, the Butterfly was not.
Wordlessly he walked to the elevator, the three of them following close behind. Fitting all four of them in that little space without making it obvious that there were three invisible people was uh… a challenge to say the least, but they managed it. (She had no idea Rena Rouge was that flexible. She'd need to grill her about her workout routine later. She knew she did yoga, but DAMN.)
A few seconds later the elevator reopened, revealing the sprawling chamber she half-remembered.
This time marred by an unpleasant stain of purple.
An unpleasant stain of a person.
"I knew you would come," Hawkmoth declared, back still to the group.
Had he been standing like this the whole time, just waiting for them to eventually come down here so he could be dramatic?!
...Okay that actually fit his M.O. perfectly.
Adrien and Gabriel may be different in the ways that mattered most, but one of the things it turned out they shared? Their overdramaticness.
"You know why I'm doing this," Hawkmoth said. It wasn't a question. "You know what wish I need to make."
Ladycat crouched behind Rena, tail lashing, ears pinned back, holding back a hiss.
Hesitantly Rena put her hand out near Ladycat.
She rubbed her head against Rena's hand, taking comfort in her presence.
But she never took her eyes off of Hawkmoth.
"Wishes come at a cost," Chat Noir told him through gritted teeth. "If you know about the wish, surely you know that as well!"
"Whatever the cost, it's worth it!" Hawkmoth shot back. "You're her son, my son; how can you pretend you ever loved her, but not be willing to do whatever it takes?!"
"Someone else will pay the price," Chat Noir said stonily. "You can't control who or how. You think it's fair to put someone else through this pain?"
"Fair!" Hawkmoth spat. "Was it 'fair' that she was taken in the first place? That the Miraculous she used happened to be broken? Let the unfairness fall on someone else for once. I'm just protecting the people I care about."
"And that's all that matters to you. Protecting the people YOU care about. You don't give a crap about anyone else, do you? Hell, you don't even care about what the people you love think of what you're doing, our perspective on this!"
Chat's eyes widened. "Wait a minute… where's Nathalie?"
Hawkmoth looked away. "She didn't understand. She cares about you, you know, but she doesn't get it. This is best for you - you'll see that later. Even if I have to fight you first, well - sometimes a father must inflict some pain on children who don't understand what's best for them. What's best for our family."
A low growling sound came from somewhere close to Marinette. It took her a moment to realize it was coming from Chat.
"WHERE. IS. SHE."
Hawkmoth waved him off. "Safe and unharmed. By the time she wakes up it will all be over. With Emilie awake, restored to us, she'll know I made the right choice."
Chat stared at him, shaking his head. "You always do this. Bulldozing over other people's concerns, their point of view, believing that anything you want MUST be right. That they'll realize the error of their ways later. Never daring to consider that maybe, just maybe, you're the one in the wrong. You never even tried to find other ways to wake Mom up, did you?!"
"Do not speak of things you don't understand, son," Hawkmoth hissed. "You think I didn't comb through any magical tomes, scour any sources I could find to look for a cure?! The Wish is the only thing I could find that might work! Even Nooroo couldn't think of anything else!"
Marinette's heart sank. She glanced at Fu.
He noticed her gaze, shaking his head.
Fu might have some sources, some knowledge that neither Nooroo nor Gabriel had been able to uncover… but it was unlikely. From what she'd been able to glean in prior conversations, he hadn't had much training as the Guardian.
Hawkmoth's gaze hardened. "If you will not hand over your Miraculous, will not help revive your mother, then you leave me no choice."
Hawkmoth - Gabriel - Chat's father - lunged.
The three of them raced towards Emilie's pod, trying to avoid the commotion. Chat tried to stay around the edges of the chamber as best he could, luring Hawkmoth away from the central walkway so the three of them could proceed, but it was difficult.
Especially with Hawkmoth having the upper hand.
She and Chat alone couldn't stand up to Hawkmoth on Heroes Day.
Chat alone? The best he could do was buy some time.
She winced as Hawkmoth caned Chat in the stomach, sending him flying into the nearest wall, leaving massive cracks in the concrete.
A faint hiss started up. It took a moment to realize she was the one making it.
Glancing at Fu, still under cover of Rena's mirage (her necklace blinked. Two minutes to go before she detransformed) she watched his eyes travel over Emilie's figure. Opening the pod, he reached in and gently checked her pulse, raised one of her eyelids, put a hand out near her mouth to check her breath.
Grimly he shook his head.
Marinette's stomach knotted up.
He couldn't fix her.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
Her head shot up.
Hawkmoth jumped, Chat Noir temporarily forgotten, landing in front of the open pod.
"WHO DID THIS?!"
He looked around wildly, but couldn't see them - yet.
"What, are you *huff* already done?" Chat Noir asked, grimacing in pain. "I've… I've got more where that came from!"
Using his baton as a cane he hobbled forward, barely able to stand, yet still serving as a distraction, still trying to keep others out of harm's way - like he always did.
Unthinkingly Marinette flexed her claws. This… this man KNEW he was hurting his son, KNEW who he was beating until he could barely stand.
He just didn't care.
Hawkmoth raised his cane, his face a mask of fury. "You're even more of a disgrace than I ever imagined. If you won't help me without coercion, so be it."
"Wha-?" Chat looked up, confused.
Hawkmoth flipped open his cane.
A purple-black butterfly fluttered out.
Making a beeline for Chat Noir.
NO!
Marinette ran, pouncing, catching the akuma between her teeth by the edge of a wing.
"You!" Hawkmoth shouted. His eyes narrowed. "You're the cat from before. The one who infiltrated my lair."
Marinette just flicked her tail at him, turning her attention to Chat instead.
She expected him to look relieved.
Instead his face turned an ashen gray.
"Milady, LOOK OU-"
The struggling akuma touched her collar. The one Chat Noir had given her to help keep her safe.
It dissolved into it.
A purple mask covered her vision.
"Well this is a surprise…" a voice rumbled through her head, seeming to hit the core of her being. "But not an unwelcome one. You really care for Adrien, don't you?"
Marinette yowled, writhing, trying to force out the voice, the twisting of her desires.
But his words were so enticing. He… he just wanted to help her achieve her goals, right? He understood.
"Don't listen to him!" a far away voice yelled. "Whatever he asks, whatever he promises, it's not worth it!"
"Only you can help me," Hawkmoth purred. "Only you can help him. Adrien refuses to take what he needs, to do what must be done for his own happiness. But with your help we can save his mother, repair his family, our family. We can fix EVERYTHING. Isn't that what you want? To make things right?"
She…
"My Lady, NO!"
She would do this.
For his sake.
He was Her boy, after all.
Purple goo covered her body, transforming her into a more suitable form.
She grew quickly, from being less than a foot long to over five feet, from a kitten to the size of her cousins. Her claws grew, no longer retractable, but razor sharp, her fangs growing out from her face, her pelt darkening until it was as dark as Chat Noir's suit - a reminder of who she was doing this for.
"Panther, seize Chat Noir's Miraculous!"
