Adrien's confession was one of the first scenes I imagined when coming up with this fanfic. Author's Note: Master Fu's transformation outfit was, again, inspired by loveHinaSasu on DeviantArt. That artist was a great source of inspiration for this fanfic!
Chapter 12: On Our Way
Marinette and Adrien followed the transformed Alya up a flight of stairs. As the still unnamed vixen heroine opened a door to the roof of the building, Marinette could hear Tara talking to Master Fu.
"...vision confirms it," Tara was saying. "You should stay behind."
"Tara, these young heroes need all the help they can get," Master Fu argued. "Besides, Wayzz hasn't allowed me to transform in the past 50 years. I've missed being a hero."
Marinette stepped through the door onto the roof, with Adrien close behind. Tara turned, already transformed into Argus.
Standing next to Argus was a hero that Marinette had never seen before. He wore a light green bodysuit with a darker green sash and belt. The bodysuit was further decorated by yellow lines on the arms and legs. He was wearing short, dark green gloves and boots. His mask was a strip of light green cloth that tied in the back, and through the mask the whites of his eyes appeared yellow. He also wore a shield that resembled a turtle's shell across his back.
There was only one person this hero could be. "Master Fu?" Marinette asked.
"Yes, Marinette," he confirmed. "However, in this form, I am called Jade Turtle."
"Where is Chloé?" Argus asked Alya. "I thought you would bring her upstairs along with Marinette and Adrien.
"Chloé's still in the bathroom. She won't come out until she's done fixing her hair," Alya explained.
"No, I'm here, I'm here!" The group turned to see Queen Bee rush over.
"Very well," Jade Turtle said. "Let us go."
Argus and Jade Turtle leapt off first. Jade Turtle traveled in a similar method to Argus, by throwing his shield like a frisbee and hanging on. Queen Bee and Alya went next, with Marinette and Adrien following slowly behind.
It took all of Marinette's concentration to not let go of the replica yoyo string, which allowed her to travel the same way as with the Ladybug yoyo. Next to her, Adrien was traveling with his replica staff, although he did not attempt his usual fancy Cat Noir stunts.
As thrilling as it was to be swinging across Paris once again, Marinette herself wearing out fast in just a few blocks. Glancing over at Adrien, she saw that he was getting tired as well.
After a few more blocks, Adrien spoke up. "Should we speed up?" he asked.
Marinette looked ahead and saw that Queen Bee was swinging so far ahead, she appeared to be the size of an actual bee. Under normal circumstances, Alya probably would have waited for her best friend and her best friend's crush. But Alya was further ahead than Queen Bee.
Marinette decided to cut Alya some slack. Alya was still new at having superpowers,
after all. She should get to enjoy it.
"No, let's keep it slow," Marinette answered Adrien's question. "We'll catch up to them eventually."
Adrien nodded. Marinette figured that he was trying to conserve his energy by not talking too much.
Eventually, the four transformed heroes stopped moving. It took a few minutes for Marinette and Adrien to catch up.
Once Marinette and Adrien landed on the same rooftop as the rest of their team, the duo had to catch their breath. After taking a few deep breaths, they joined the others at the edge of the roof.
The six of them were standing on top of the building across from the Agreste mansion. An army of akumatized villains swarmed the streets below, each of them stopping as they got as close to the mansion as possible.
"What's the plan? How are we going to get through these villains?" Alya asked.
"We don't need to get through the villains," Jade Turtle reassured the younger heroes. "Notice how they are not paying any attention to us?"
"Like how Darkblade didn't seem to notice Adrien and me when we ran into him at the Métro station," Marinette remembered.
"I thought he would turn us into his knights, but it was like he couldn't see us," Adrien added.
"Reflekta spotted Queen Bee before Marinette and Adrien found us, but the villain just ignored her," Alya agreed.
"Under normal circumstances, no one could ignore me," Queen Bee swung her ponytail.
"Pharaoh flew over me earlier, and he didn't turn me into a mummy," Argus added.
"With the help of the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous', Hawk Moth can regulate the akumatized villains a bit more," Jade Turtle explained. "In order to akumatize the entire world, Hawk Moth needs to prevent the villains from using their powers on others. Combining the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous' with his own allows Hawk Moth to prevent the villains from noticing each other if he wants them to. Apparently he doesn't want his army to notice us right now."
"That should help us," Adrien stated. "Last time we were here, Marinette found a trapdoor at the bottom of the cupola. It leads right into Hawk Moth's lair."
"That's how you two got in?" Argus laughed. "Do you two really think that Gabriel Agreste would climb up onto the roof just to get into his secret lair?"
"I don't know what to think anymore," Adrien murmured. Marinette reached out and held his hand.
"Hawk Moth's lair was originally a butterfly menagerie that he built for me as a twentieth anniversary present. There's an entrance to the menagerie in that room," Argus pointed toward one of the shielded windows.
"How are we going to get inside?" Chloé shrieked. None of the villains below looked up.
"When Adrien and I were escaping the mansion, Mr. Singe gave us a remote that controls the security system," Marinette remembered. Opening her purse, Marinette pulled out the remote. She pointed the remote at the window that Argus had pointed out and pressed the button.
The metal shielding slid away and the window opened. The team swung inside.
"Gabriel's bedroom," Argus explained as she made her way toward a closet located in the far side of the room. Opening the closet doors, the peacock-themed heroine pushed aside designer outfits to reveal a handprint scanner.
"The scanner is just for show," Argus explained. Placing her hand on the wall below the scanner, Argus carefully maneuvered her fingers to precise positions and pressed hard.
There was a whirring sound, and the wall opened up to reveal a glass elevator, just big enough to fit through the trapdoor that led to Hawk Moth's lair.
"Alya, you're coming up first with Argus and me," Jade Turtle said. "Queen Bee, wait five minutes and then come up with Marinette and Adrien."
"Good luck," Adrien said.
As half of the six-person team stepped into the elevator, Marinette wondered if there was enough luck in the world for them to win.