Miraculous
Chapter 14
No. 22 Part I
Adrien sat face to face with Master Fu as they shared information with each other. They went over what they know and gave their take. Fu had already revealed who the other heroes are. Even though Adrien already knew the identities of Queen Bee and Rena Rouge, he just found out the identity of Carapace who is Nino. Adrien then realized that he shouldn't be surprised. What did surprise him, however, is that Marinette did not intend on recruiting Chloe as Queen Bee again.
"I don't get it! She didn't hesitate to bring in Queen Bee on the whole Hero's Day Parade," Adrien observed.
"It was in a desperate situation. However, Marinette did make it clear that it was intended to be the last time she would entrust Chloe with the bee miraculous," Master Fu confirmed. "However, with Marinette unavailable at this time, I'm afraid that responsibility is befallen on you."
"I know and I'm ready," Adrien affirmed.
"Meaning you have the choice whether or not Chloe should become Queen Bee again," Master Fu said. Adrien stroked his chin.
"Still, can't help but wonder what made her change her mind?" he wondered.
"Marinette may have been created to be a warrior, but she's still a child," Master Fu revealed.
"Sudden going backsies, huh?" Adrien said with a grin, "Yeah, sounds like Marinette all right…"
As Adrien spoke, the guardian was setting the miraculous box. Adrien felt somewhat left out that the guardian was a little left out of the loop about these things.
"Adrien, you must now join forces with Carapace and Rena Rouge. It is only a matter of time before the Blue Mustang takes this opportunity to attack."
"What about Queen Bee?"
"I would like for you to decide, but not now?" the guardian said in his most serious tone. Adrien pondered for a moment before taking the Fox miraculous. "Wayzz?" the master called.
"As you wish, master," the turtle kwami as he emerged into the bracelet as the guardian removed it from his wrist. Gave them to Adrien.
"Beware, Adrien, it's only a matter of time before the Blue Mustang makes their move."
"Speaking of which, didn't you get in contact with the guardian in Ohio? You know, where Mr. Quintel is from?" Adrien asked. The guardian then lightly slammed his fist on his palm.
"Oh, but of course! His name is Mark Walks but he goes by Skips and he just gave me some information about the Blue Mustang. However, I believe you should speak to him yourself, one the opportunity arises," the guardian said with a confident grin. Adrien was surprised and slightly turned his head but his eyes not leaving the guardian. He did no drop his grin. After a few more moments, he conceded and agreed.
"All right, I'll give him a buzz," Adrien said, rising on his feet about to leave.
"One last thing Adrien," the master warned.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Be delicate on your approach to leading Carapace and Rena Rouge, they may not handle the situation as well as you," the master warned with urgency and a hint of authority. Adrien was a little taken aback by this but given the situation, he just nodded.
"You got it," Adrien affirmed.
Later… At the Paris reserve bank…
On the rooftop one could've told of a silhouette watching over the horizon. Of course, if someone was looking but the figure made sure he was blending into the night. The figure was actually noticeably overweight. He appeared to be wearing a cam and a puffy material hanging on his lower back. Most likely signaling a tail, similar to Cat Noir. He then made his way deeper into the center of the roof where no one could see him.
That night… In the rooftops of Paris…
Carapace and Rena Rouge struggled a but to keep up with Cat Noir. They jumped on the rooftops watching over Paris who are still dealing with the aftermath of the battle of Paris.
"Hey now that I think about it," Carapace pondered. "We usually don't do a lot of patrolling. I mean…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his head. "You know, knowing that we are looking for a new villain we know nothing about and only waiting for them to strike? Now that's creepy… On top of that, Ladybug only called on us when she really needed to…"
"Yeah, kind of scary when you put it like that… Then again, there were a few times when we just practice our capabilities. Remember when there was a zoo breakout?" Rena Rouge agreed. "But seriously though, what are we really doing, Cat Noir?"
"Just look for anything suspicious," Cat replied as he oversaw the horizon.
"I don't know, I mean looking over the city we're going to find this new baddie by chance? That doesn't sound much like a plan," Carapace observed.
"He's got a point, for once," Rena Rouge agreed.
"Hey, I resent that," Carapace countered, pointing at her. "I think I had more than my share of moments!"
"You guys, I'm kinda new to this leadership thing, so I kind of had little to go on. We have no idea what we're up against so…" Cat said rubbing his hands together. "I'm kinda freaked out myself…" he concluded with a sweatdrop.
Carapace and Rena Rouge gave him somewhat annoyed looks at him. Rena Rouge then stood up from her couching position and walked towards Cat.
"Ok, so what do we know so far about this new bad guy?" she asked.
"Well…" Cat began, scratching his left cheek with his index finger.
Earlier that day…
Adrien sat in his desk in his storage home. Now on a video chat with a man who appeared to be middle-aged. Though if he's a guardian like Master Fu, he was definitively older than that. His fair was white and wore a white sleeveless shirt
"So, you're the guardian of the miraculous in Ohio. You also helped me with my disappearance," Adrien deducted.
"That's me, Wang Fu told me about the situation. I thought I might be of use," the man replied.
"Mark Walks, wasn't it?" Adrien asked.
"I go by Skips if you don't mind," Skips replied.
"Skips it is then," Adrien agreed. "Master Fu said that you may know a bit about the Blue Mustang? We have reason to believe they have our sights here in Paris."
"I'm not surprised, for the past few decades, the Blue Mustang saw the potential to use the miraculous to control humanity in their favor. That's just the gist of it, anyway."
"So you've had some run-ins with them before, I presume," Adrien observed.
"Not exactly, here in Ohio is more of a hiding place for the miraculous here in the States. The real activity is taking place in their state of Origin; Colorado."
"Does this have to do with that creepy statue in Denver International Airport?"
"Could be, even though that statue has not been in place for too long," Skips revealed. Adrien stroked his cheek.
"But something doesn't add up, why making a statue with a symbol of a group bent on gaining power over humanity?" Adrien asked. "That statue is very counterproductive. If they wanted people to suspect their existence, they would've made things more subtle. But if they want to hide under the map then there would be no need for a statue in the first place."
"Jackpot!" Skips affirmed.
"Huh?"
"It's for that very reason they allowed the statue to be commissioned," Skips revealed. "The overly skeptic mainstream mentality keeps the people at bay, especially in modern times. There are some exceptions, of course."
"Yeah, despite our exploits known to the public. Few know very little of 'how,'" Adrien agrees, scratching his head.
"I may have been a guardian for these 200 years but what we're dealing with here is a relatively new group. It's not as old as some of the ancient threats we went off against. Though they do seem to share some ideology from one side of the miraculous civil war…"
"So, you've faced other threats that may be connected to them?"
"They may have their roots coming from the refugees that came here from such conflict. I've had my share of conflicts against such groups on my day…"
"I suppose you never met any of the previous Ladybugs or Cat Noirs?" Adrien asked. Skips just grinned.
"I may have…" Skips replied. "But how about we save them for another time?"
"Anyway, Mr. Quintel said he was the one who contacted you about my request, right? So how do you know him?"
"We go way back…," Skips said with a nostalgic grin. "We actually worked together in this park along with Rigby…"
Present-day…
"And that's the gist of it…" Cat confirmed. Much to Rena Rouge's chagrin, she lowered her head with a groan. While Carapace crossed his arms raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"I suppose we just wait," Rena Rouge suggested, turning to Carapace.
"Whoop! Not too long it seems!" Cat chimed in. The two took a look at him as he was staring at the screen in the staff. "Seems we got our first lead," he said showing them the screen.
TVi
"This is Nadja Chamack, it seems that sooner rather after the defeat of Hawk Moth, a new mysterious threat has emerged. Mere minutes ago as you can see in this footage, the unknown figure came in busting the lowest vault of Banque of France. That vault was regarded as the best-concealed vault in all of France in now left wide open and it was clearly busted out by force as seen in this footage. The aftermath of the situation is clear to have been done by something that appeared to have… claws. We asked officer Raincomprix for more details."
"Never seen anything like this, it's like someone just clawed their way into the vault No.22 just… just clawed in like it was nothing!"
"No. 22?"
"DAH! Forget I said anything!"
Back with Cat Noir
"Wow, suspicious much?" Carapace wondered.
"Looks like our target has made their move," Rena Rouge said with the grin.
"Say the word, dude," Carapace agreed.
"Let's bounce!"
Banque of France
The bank robber was obviously long gone, but whoever it was definitively left traces behind. The place was trashed all around from the entrance to deeper into the vaults. They looked around and saw that they're still cops interviewing the witnesses. They chose to play it stealthy for now and avoid attention.
"I say we check on officer Raincomprix," Rena Rouge suggested.
"He should be deeper in the vaults,"
"Or maybe on officer penalty…" Carapace suggested.
"He did make a stir about this 'vault 22,' maybe more so than necessary…" Rena Rouge. Cat Noir then turned back to the vault.
"I say we check the vault first," Cat said.
"Are you sure you don't want to be seen?" Rena asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Not yet," Cat replied. "Based on the officer's reaction, I have a feeling we won't be allowed in…" he saw officer hauling the entrance to the vaults. "We need a distraction."
"Oh, leave that to me," Rena grinned and played her flute. The officers nearest to the vault received word about a riot nearby and they all went out to the back exit away from the other officers.
"Whoa, you actually drove them away from the other officers so they were left clueless?" Cat hypothesized.
"That was awesome!" Carapace complemented. Rena smiled and kissed him in the cheek.
"I adore you too," she said.
The trio finally stepped into the vaults. The place appeared to be ransacked, they could make out a series of scratches on hard steel. A long ling of vaults that were forcefully opened, but the thing is that nothing seems to be missing. Stacks upon stacks of cash piled up inside the vaults. But Cat Noir wasn't convinced that the robber was looking around aimlessly, considering the number of passages and alternate routes he had available. No, there was clearly a pattern.
"Whoa! It does look like they were looking for something," Carapace observed.
"Only for the untrained eye," Cat countered. "There're other paths among these vaults, yet they went exactly where vault 22 was, like whatever they were looking for, they knew exactly where it was," Cat told them.
"So why do you think they caused this ruckus if they knew where to look?" carapace asked.
"Cover-up, I bet," Rena suggested.
"Speaking of cover-up, what did you do to those officers back there?" Carapace asked. Rena merely just grinned slyly.
At the entrance of Banque de France…
Drunk people are dancing on top of the cars while the officers are trying to get them down.
"Get down, sir, get down immediately!"
"What are you doing, sir?"
"They're getting down."
"I can see that."
"I'm just saying, technically they're doing what you told them to do…"
Back in the vaults…
"Anyway, notice the pattern here?" Cat elaborated. He pointed out how the ransacked vaults follow through like it was a trail.
"Is it really like they were leading us?" Rena asked.
"Most likely, unless they're that stupid," Cat concluded.
"Oh yeah? Check this out," Carapace called, pointing at the trail's destination. They then reach the infamous vault No.22, all three heroes gasp in shock.
"What the f…?"
Agreste Manor…
Gabriel went through his files in his office computer, grasping out straws for any information, late at night and his office was completely dark. Trying to make sense of what had happened recently. He knew Emilie well, with her obsession with the miraculous, he could only wonder what had happened to her and if she was indeed behind the ruse that drove him into becoming Hawk Moth. Then with the book and the peacock miraculous gone, it was only natural to assume that Nathalie is on it as well. He went through the backup pages of the book he once had as well as the texts that he had found in his travels and the whole 'Blue Mustang' group Adrien mentioned. But of course, the was also to distract himself from the complex position his relationship with his son is right about now…
Earlier that day…
"Do you have any idea what I have gone through? If you had suspected me then you should've known that I may have become more unhinged as Hawk Moth," Gabriel said. Trying not to sound mad but still sounded exasperated.
"It was all a means to an end, father. I believe you would never become Hawk Moth if it wasn't for mom…" Adrien countered. Gabriel stayed quiet while Adrien's expression softened and turned back at him. "I have no ill will toward you dad, I really don't. But there is still a lot that you need to answer. So, your negligence to me is the least of your worries," he concluded as he finished turning to his father.
"I… I admit, I acted out of emotion that I didn't pay as much attention to you as I should've… You wouldn't have gotten away with what you did…" Gabriel babbled. Adrien merely chuckled.
"Ironic isn't it?" Adrien added in. Gabriel simply kept quiet. Not knowing what to say.
"I…" Gabriel spouted. But he didn't know how to approach the situation, or what place he has in his son's life now. Adrien looked up back at him.
"You may not believe me, but I don't know how to approach this either…" he said, shrugging his shoulders with a weary smile.
"You're taking this horribly well," Gabriel suggested. Adrien scoffed.
"The truth is… I knew…" he lowered his eyes as he spoke. "I knew you were Hawk Moth for quite some time. I just… didn't want to believe it. It was my mistake to do nothing but pretending it wasn't true…"
"Adrien…"
"And then, of course, there's mom…" he said and looked back at him. "You already filled me in on why but… what do you make of that wax statue?" he asked. Gabriel gritted his teeth at that and made a fist.
"I have no clue how I fell for that…" he growled with a scowl while shutting his eyes tightly. "And with the statue disintegrated, I have no idea where to track its source. I have no leads at all…"
"Hey, you can leave that to me now. I'm Cat Noir, remember?" Adrien grinned while crossing his arms.
"What are you proposing?"
"Mom's still out, there isn't she? Not to mention this Blue Mustang group who may be behind everything. We gotta get to the bottom of this," he said as he stood from his seat. "Anyway, I should be off now. I have a few things to set up before I set off my new mission. Good to have this conversation with you, dad."
"I'm surprised we're having a civilized conversation at all…" Gabriel added. "I'm actually a bit frightened that you actually forgave me of everything." He concluded. Adrien stopped in his tracks and turned back to him.
"Not everything…" he corrected.
"Oh?"
"I forgive for being Hawk Moth and neglected me for it. After all, I found my purpose as a result," he said as he showed his ring to him. But then he lowered his and his grin faded. "But there's still one thing I haven't forgiven you yet… Maybe I will one day but not right now…"
"And that is…?" Gabriel asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ladybug…"
"Ladybug?" Gabriel repeated.
"Not the actual Ladybug," Adrien clarified.
Present time…
He then went to some unseen files of the ancient civil war amongst the guardians over 200 years ago in the main monastery where the miraculous box was kept. Amazingly enough, the files do not disclose its former location. Most likely to avoid being found. It seems like a wise choice…
"What is Nathalie up to anyway? Was her whole time with me just for her own ends?" he asked himself.
He lowered his eyes from the screen for a second and contemplate everything that just happened. He then clicked one file and what he saw may have been what he was looking for. It was an old picture taken by a traveler in the Himalayas where there were surviving Tibetan monks, all haggard from what they had been through. They all just stared at the camera with very troubled expressions on their faces. They were dirty and injured as if they went through a rough battle, staring solemnly at the viewer. But what really caught Gabriel's eye was the one staring from afar and the right end of the picture. He was rather short in stature and was carrying a traveling with an azuma bukuro on his back. Which made him wonder what's he doing with a Japanese form of luggage there. On top of that, the man seemed familiar to him.
"That man… I've seen him before…" he pondered. After a while, he put a bookmark on the image and moved on. But it turns out to be Emilie's old files of her initial investigation. Only one problem… the file was completely empty…
"Oh, Emilie, I've always respected your privacy. But I have no choice…" he muttered as he then took a look at one of his own personal files. Turns out he copied his wife's latest entry and deleted the previous but he never read them out of respect and had hoped he would never have to read them. So with that, he opened his wife's last entry before her disappearance.
"I realize now is the time to act. Wang Fu was supposed to be my ultimate lead. Based on the information I had secretly gather from our trip in Tibet, I had finally tracked down the guardian of the miraculous, who was situated in Paris, France. I had gone above and beyond to orchestrate our moving to Paris without telling Gabriel my reasons to do so. Adrien was still too young to have any real attachments in New York, so he had no complaints. He should have enough company with Audrey's daughter.
Unfortunately, Master Fu was not the break I was hoping to be as he refused my petition and warned me of the dangers of the power of the miraculous. If only I knew where he is hiding them! From the beginning, it was obvious that he was hiding something. I should've known he was hiding his weapon in Paris. To think that someone actually succeeded in creating a soulless soldier to become the next Ladybug hidden, living a normal life here in Paris. To think that such a soulless minion would be worthy of such a powerful miraculous. He tried to keep it hidden from me but I heard his conversation with his kwami. I don't know who I should pity more. The poor Ladybug who doesn't know it's just an object or the poor bastard foolish enough to be its accompanying Cat Noir.
My only choice is to lure them out somehow and their miraculous will be within my grasp. It is too risky to provoke their actions myself so I did the next thing. I have frightened an illness supposedly caused by the "damaged" peacock miraculous and made it seem to be incapacitated. That should be enough to motivate Gabriel into seeking the miraculous. Nooroo will work wonders for this scenario. The wax statue was the last piece of this puzzle to convince Gabriel of my "condition." Only that will force the old man's hand and both the homunculus and the miraculous will be that much closer to us. And one step closer to finally-"
Gabriel abruptly deleted the file, knowing what she was after. For a few seconds, he sat in contemplation. But then he suddenly stood up, grabbed his computer monitor and threw it out the window across his office then he flipped the new desk he had just had replaced and screamed at the heavens.
"EMILIE!"
Meanwhile…
"This is Nathalie come in…"
"Sanceur… I believe you're aware of Lady Agreste's state of being is at this moment."
"It's only natural to assume that it's not good, considering…" Nathalie trailed off with sadness.
"She's just arrived in Paris and is heading your way as we speak. You two will discuss an agreement for your next COA."
"WHAT? Oh no no no, you keep that woman away from me…!" Nathalie was cut off by the sound of the door slamming open. Nathalie turned to the source to see the familiar face. Wide green eyes stuck from her haggard blond hair. Nathalie could tell every emotion behind those eyes. Anger, frustration, madness, sadness. She grinned at her, that look would be recorded in her mind for the rest of her life. The blond woman finally spoke…
"Hello, Nathalie…"
Author's Note: Once again, I forgot to say something from the previous chapter. The farewell scene between Marinette and Alya was actually a nod to a fare well scene in the final episodes of "Friends" between Monica and Rachel.
Anyway, I realize the lack of action in recent chapters. But I'm doing my best to make this story flow as naturally as possible and not feel rushed or contrived. I do have a clear vision of where this story is going but I really have to get there correctly. Even the simplest transition can be a pain in the ass. I'm gonna leave it there.
Please comment and review.