Yay character development! Went to a medieval fair and i got a pretty glass rainbow dragon an Pegasus to add to my ever growing menagerie... soon I'm going to run out of spaces to hang them above my bed...
T'Lai... It would be the ultimate betrayal if that were the case huh...
(Slow Burn Detective AU!) Marinette is used to working alone on the streets of Paris as she strives to take down the Hawkmoth gang. When the thief Chat Noir comes crashing into her life things are bound to get magical, especially when co-detective Adrien returns to Paris and seems to want to be her new partner. Will their fated partnership end in a capture or a kiss?
The Long Haul
Once Marinette reclaimed her clean clothes and jacket from Fu, she changed and left for home even though it was very late at night. Plagg had been a bit miffed at her decision to leave and had said just as much, but Marinette didn't want to explain herself all over again. She wasn't even sure if she could.
Thankfully Fu had seemed to understand, and he even offered to drive Marinette home which she had accepted. It was a quiet ride for the most part although Fu told her the few things that had happened while she and Adrien had been unconscious. The Whisperers had taken care of Hank's body before the cops had found it, although there had been a small stir at the damage and the amount of blood left behind at the scene. The cops didn't know what to make of it and called it a prank before sweeping it under the proverbial rug. Fu admitted that the Whisperers might have helped that idea along, but Marinette didn't mind. The less other people knew about the Akuma, the less danger they were in. Akuma were deadly even for those prepared to take them on. The beasts would kill or even eat anyone that got in their way no matter who they were. Since some Akuma seemed to also be able to spread their corruption to normal people Marinette didn't want any adrenaline junkies going out trying to hunt down Akuma. As for the police, it wasn't like they spent much time in the back streets unless they were specifically called. The police were in far less danger than the average person, since most of them would run rather than try to attack an Akuma. If anything they would probably call animal control long before trying to take care of an Akuma alone.
As they arrived at Marinette's home she turned to Fu. "I need to talk with Mime. Is he still on bedrest or is he up and about?"
"I will find out. Do you want to talk with him privately?" Fu asked, curiosity in his tone.
Marinette nodded "It would be for the best I think. Hawkmoth is creating Akuma from its own members. I think it's time they knew."
Fu didn't seem all that surprised by her words and he promised to be in touch as Marinette climbed out of the car.
Feeling a little numb as she walked up the stairs and into her home, Marinette simply dropped her things as she moved towards her bed, leaving a trail behind her. Sliding under her covers Marinette flopped face first into her pillows and for a long moment she just laid there, letting her body catch up with her mind. Even though she had slept for the majority of the last 24 hours Marinette still felt tired enough to go back to sleep for the rest of the evening. Her stiffness hadn't totally worn off, migrating instead to soreness, so she supposed it was from overexerting herself in the fight with the Akuma. Not wanting to move, Marinette slowly relaxed into a comfortable haze and let all the events of the past day wash through her mind. That, unfortunately was a big mistake.
As everything she had learned and said that evening caught up to her, Marinette found herself completely overwhelmed. Not wanting to throw anything incase it broke but unwilling to get up, she just screamed into her pillow. The proverbial melt down had arrived, and Marinette wore herself out shouting insults into her pillow so that her neighbors didn't hear. Not that most of her exclamations made sense, but either way she didn't want to ruin anyone else's sleep.
With her throat sore and her mind marginally clearer, Marinette got out of bed and dragged herself into the kitchen. Restless energy had filled her during her ranting, and she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until she did something with said energy. Annoyed but wanting something sweet, Marinette pulled all the ingredients she needed to make cookies of a few varieties. By the time Marinette finished and cleaned up she felt far better, and glancing out the window she realized that dawn was just starting to color the sky. With exhaustion weighing her down Marinette returned to bed and fell almost instantly to sleep.
Crunching woke Marinette up, and as the sound echoed again she realized it was the sound of someone eating something. Jolting upright with a pillow in hand ready to beat whoever was in her room to a pulp, Marinette froze when she saw it was Alya.
Waving the cookie in greeting Alya swallowed the mouthful from her position on the end of the bed. "I'm guessing you had trouble sleeping last night?"
Marinette rubbed at her face before glancing at her phone, which was of course dead. Plugging it in she grumbled, "Haven't you already learned that it's a bad idea to sneak into my house when I'm sleeping?"
Alya shrugged, "It's almost noon girl. I figured you would be wide awake by now. Besides your phone is dead and you haven't answered a single message for over 24 hours. Clearly I was just being ignored. Did you and Adrien take it to the next level or something?"
Marinette spluttered at Alya's insinuation, "NO! Oh my god… no Alya! I've just been… uh moping… and stuff over my job."
Rolling her eyes Alya snorted and finished off her cookie. "You don't know how to mope Marinette. Besides its day… eight I think… of your banishment. Pretty soon you will be running around arresting criminals again."
"Yeah well, I can't believe you are keeping count. What are you doing here other than eating my cookies?"
Alya grinned, "You never did tell me how dinner with your parents went, and weren't you at the Zone the other night? Word on the street said there was a fight and the cops got called in."
Marinette shrugged even as she felt her shoulders tense. Sometimes it really sucked having a friend who was a bloodhound for stories and journalism. "I was told it was a prank, but it's not like I can check with my forced vacation. Want me to ask Adrien?"
Alya shook her head even as she shot Marinette a very concerned look, "No but… you have been keeping a lot of secrets lately. Is everything going alright?"
Somehow Marinette didn't think that telling Alya about the miraculous and the risk of getting turned into a magical floating animal would ease her mind, so she shrugged. "It's just been annoying sitting around with nothing to do. I also told Adrien I needed some space with everything that has happened and I… I might have hurt his feelings the way I went about it."
"Was Adrien pushing you for more or something? You aren't the kind of person to ask for space unless something major has happened. Besides, are you sure you're not over exaggerating?"
"No Alya, he isn't, and I don't feel like I'm exaggerating but who knows. I'm overwhelmed, You know how I get when overwhelmed and no, I can't really tell you everything." Marinette grouched slumping back in the bed. Marinette wished she could tell Alya everything, but at this point there were so many things involved that she didn't even know where to start. Some of the secrets she held were not hers to share afterall.
Alya frowned at her friend since she could hear the stress in her tone. Something was going on in the shadows and Marinette was neck deep into it. Not for the last time Alya wondered if maybe it was in her best interests to hook up with the Whisperers. At least then she could be a little more privy to the dark side of Paris that Marinette frequently ventured through.
Wanting to help but knowing that prying for information would just stress Marinette out further, Alya decided to take physical action. Standing Alya ripped the covers off of Marinette making her yelp before declaring, "We are going out. You clearly need a distraction and I don't have to get to work till later. I'm on the night shift tonight."
Knowing better than to argue, Marinette rolled out of bed with a groan and got ready for the day.
As the afternoon faded into evening and Alya went off to work, Marinette checked in with Fu to see how Adrien was doing. She could have just texted Adrien herself but it felt a little awkward, and Marinette didn't think he would be completely honest with her if he wasn't feeling the best. Fu was happy to report that Adrien was about 90% back to normal and all of his injuries were completely healed. Mime had also gotten in touch and wanted to meet tomorrow afternoon at a park, so Stormy was coming over just before then to help Marinette with her disguise. Not really understanding why she would need a disguise but deciding to roll with it, Marinette packed up the cookies she had made knowing that Mime would like some of them. Mylene was the one who usually stopped by to ask for some, since Ivan was too shy to even think about doing it and her father was technically supposed to be an enemy. Packing a few into another bag Marinette left those outside Adrien's door just before he was due to get home. It would have been easier to just hand the stupid bag to him but Marinette was too chicken. That and she still hadn't quite managed to put Chat and Adrien together as the same person.
On the one hand she felt silly because when she did think about it they looked almost exactly the same. Chat just had a mask over his eyes and wore all black. On the other hand, the two of them were completely different in attitude and character, although Marinette could remember times where Adrien's Chat-ness had slipped out. He had always corrected himself quickly or something had interrupted making him snap back to his tightly controlled self, but those moments had stuck out for Marinette. It had made her curious about who that other side really was, and now that she knew Marinette really wasn't sure what to do with the information. Acceptance was easy. She had already accepted and liked both sides of him. Plus as much as she was loathe to admit it, Marinette had been falling for Chat as she had gotten to know him better. At this point the only thing seemingly in the way was her own stupid insecurities. Annoyed with herself, Marinette showered and went to bed early. She had a feeling that the next few days were going to be busy.
Around midmorning Marinette received a text from Adrien thanking her for the cookies and Marinette was grateful that he had initiated contact. Relationship issues aside Marinette had come accustomed to talking to Adrien at least once a day through one means or another. Even though it had only been a day Marinette had been feeling stuck on what to say to him, if she should say anything at all. Texting was easy, benign, and yet it opened a path of communication between them that didn't immediately stress Marinette out. Their texts mostly consisted of complaints to each other. Roger was apparently driving Adrien mad already even though it was early, and Marinette was complaining about Stormy using her as a dress up doll.
She had come over an hour before hand and when Marinette had answered the door she'd been startled to see all the stuff in Stormy's arms.
"Uh… did I miss something?" Marinette asked closing her front door once Stormy squeezed past her.
"Nope!" Stormy chirped as she walked through Marinette's flat and into the bedroom, "This is your disguise!"
Marinette eyed the pile of bags and fabric a little skeptically as Stormy dumped it all on her bed.
"I'm going to be a clothing bag monster?" Marinette wondered feeling the slightest touches of worry as Stormy started to unpack.
Stormy snorted, "If I left it up to you… yeah I could see you doing that. Sometimes you have no sense."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! I have a great sense of style!"
Stormy rolled her eyes, "Didn't you show up in a sombrero, fake mustache, and a piece of carpet with a hole cut out for the head as a disguise once?"
Marinette blushed, "I-it worked!"
Stormy snickered, "Till you tripped and fell on your face causing the mustache to fall off. Yeah no… we are not having a repeat of that disguise fiasco. Besides what were you planning on wearing?"
Glancing around her room Marinette finally shrugged when no immediate ideas came to her. "Fine just don't make me look stupid."
Stormy clapped her hands with far more enthusiasm than Marinette would have liked and started pulling clothes from the bags on the bed. "So I was thinking of maybe dressing you as a guy but in all honesty you just don't work as a guy… Like I'm sure you would make a passable one but… nah. Do you want to go more relaxed or fancy?"
Leaning against her wall Marinette sighed as a text from Adrien came through on her phone, "Isn't the whole point of a disguise to blend in? I'm going to a park not a bar or disco."
"Ok so no sequins." Stormy shrugged shoving a hideous, glitter covered shirt back into a bag.
"Can't I just wear a hat and pants? That's nice and simple!"
Stormy snorted, "That won't disguise crap. You tried that once and ended up having to dig through a dumpster to find something more useful. What did you do with that bike helmet anyways?"
"I gave it to Kim. You're just mad my disguises work. The pizza delivery spiel worked like a charm." Marinette huffed answering Adrien while Stormy pulled out very uncomfortable looking shoes.
"You are just lucky, none of your spur-of-the-moment disguises should have worked. Tell prince charming you will talk to him later. I need your full attention."
"Roger is pissing him off and trying to switch some things around in the Hawkmoth gang file" Marinette muttered reading the final text from Adrien before sliding her phone away again. "If he texts you asking for good places to hide bodies don't tell him."
Stormy laughed, "There is no proof if there's no body! Now what do you think of these dresses?"
As Marinette browsed through the dresses Stormy pulled two boxes out and eyed the contents within critically. They were wigs and she wasn't quite sure which one she should have Marinette try.
"How about this skirt Instead?" Marinette asked holding up the ankle length flowy red skirt.
"OH! I have the perfect top to go with that!" Stormy exclaimed putting down the boxes before diving back into the clothes pile. Moments later she came up with a lacy white top that had embroidered red roses scattered across the front.
Marinette nodded her approval, collecting the clothing so she could get changed. "I am not wearing heels though. My little white sandals will look fine with this."
Stormy crossed her arms, "Spoil sport."
Laughing, Marinette went and changed while Stormy pulled out a blond wig she knew would look good on Marinette, as well as a purse for her to use. While Marinette wasn't overly thrilled with the idea of a wig she understood why it was necessary. Her hair was a little too distinctive and there wasn't much sense in wearing a disguise if her hair could give her away at a glance. Stormy took the longest on Marinette's makeup, using a few neat tricks that changed the contours of Marinette's face. When everything was finally done Marinette had to admit that she hardly recognized herself when she looked in the mirror.
Fortunately they had finished with plenty of time for Marinette to get to the meeting point, so grabbing the purse with her sketch book Marinette thanked Stormy again for her help and left. Mime had already been sent a picture of the outfit Marinette was wearing so she didn't have to worry about him missing her. She on the other hand was just going to have to wait for him to approach. Part of her thought it was silly that they were going through such lengths to begin with, and she had to wonder if she was actually putting Mime in further danger with this meeting. They were… frenemies… of a sort, and Marinette was fairly certain Mime wouldn't attack her outright even if ordered. In fact the only real reason why she wouldn't call him a true friend was because he was part of the Hawkmoth gang. With the Hawkmoth gang stirring things up Marinette couldn't tell if Mime was being over cautious, or if his life would be in danger from meeting up with her. After all, the whole disguise thing had been his request. Marinette would have been happy meeting him at the Zone but for whatever reason Mime had wanted to meet in the daylight.
Making it to the park a little early Marinette wandered around for several minutes before settling down on a bench under a shady tree, placing the bag of cookies she carried next to her. Children played nearby on a playground but the area she sat in was deserted. Spotting no one near her, Marinette pulled out her sketchbook since she hadn't wanted to seem out of place by having nothing to do while she waited. Barely two minutes had passed when a figure halted off to one side of the bench. Marinette didn't look up and after a moment the figure shifted to sit down beside her leaving an appropriate distance for strangers between them.
"I never took you as an artist Marinette."
Glancing at the person out of the corner of her eyes Marinette saw a lean masculine figure dressed in an average pair of pants and a thin hoodie with the hood pulled all the way up. The overall look left him forgettable, but Marinette recognised Mime and relief filled her since she had been a bit worried of being stood up. Even still Marinette pretended to be only interested in her drawing while she answered him.
"I like making things and parks are my favorite places to get inspiration for designs. The cookies in the bag are for you, I made them fresh the other day. How are you by the way?"
A shoulder lifted, the movement casual as he pulled the cookies over to him, "I'm healed. Thankfully most of my duties are not physical, although I miss running around at the Zone. I'll be out there later this week if you must know." Mime paused as he scanned the park, amusement filling his voice as he asked "We are not only here to inquire about my health are we? You could have just called for that."
"I wish." Marinette sighed, "I have information for you and it's not good in any way, shape, or form."
The hood tilted forwards. "Whenever we meet like this, the news is never good. Considering you wouldn't even say why you needed a clandestine meeting, I assume this news will be life threatening for one or more individuals."
"It's a possibility, although I'm hoping this information will help you and your gang save lives. I don't know if you were ever told but Spike was the Akuma in control of the small one that injured you." Marinette began and seeing Mime stiffen she knew it was news to him.
"What do you mean Spike was an Akuma" Mime demanded, his voice dangerously soft.
"I-I've been trying to figure out where these Akuma are coming from since nothing in nature exists like them. I'd hoped that they were some mad scientist runaway genetic project, or some other ridiculous science fiction thing, but the truth is far more sinister. Akumas were once people that have been… corrupted, changed…" Marinette murmured watching Mime for any sign of disbelief. " I don't know how or why and I didn't want to believe it either but… I was there Mime. I helped kill the Akuma that turned back into Spike and as he died he gave me an answer I didn't want to remotely consider but now… The other night, Chat and I killed the Quilled Akuma. It was another Akuma that had been running around wreaking havoc."
Mime drew in a sharp breath beside her, "How?! Clearly you weren't injured…"
Marinette shifted uncomfortably, knowing she would have to lie at least a little since she couldn't explain the Miraculous and her newfound powers to Mime. "Chat and I seem to be the only people able to go toe-to-toe with these things and Chat's the only one that can kill them as far as I can tell. I just seem to have the right skill set so far to keep the Akuma busy long enough for Chat to kill it. The Quilled Akuma nearly killed both of us though. Guns don't work on them and the quills on the Akuma acted as a sort of armor. I am bruised but Chat was injured badly. He took the brunt of most of the attacks while I worked on a way to pin it. Here's the thing though… the Quilled Akuma had been a human too and before the Akuma fully died it spoke to me. His name was Hank. At least that's the name he gave me and…"
Mime spun to face her breaking off her next words. "Hank?! You're sure?!"
Marinette nodded, "He said he'd been picked up for something he didn't do, and when they went to transfer him some Hawkmoth members he'd never met broke him out. They then brought him to a lab and they turned him into an Akuma."
The air seemed to freeze between them and Marinette could just make out the horrified look on Mime's face beneath the hood. That look confirmed Marinette's suspicion that Mime hadn't known about members being used as fodder.
"Mime… Your leader is handing any member with a brain or a problem over to this lab and having them turned into monsters. Most people don't seem to be compatible with the transformative process which is why we haven't seen more Akumas, but some people are. I didn't want to believe Spike when he told me but having two Hawkmoth members turn up as dead Akuma while saying the same thing as their last words? There is a problem in your ranks, with your leadership and I… I don't want to discover that you were this mad scientist's next victim." Marinette breathed knowing she still had Mime's full attention. "Also, Hank told me that you might not believe me so he said to pass the message along that the moth needs to be pinned."
Mime's hands clenched into fists in his lap and Marinette fell silent, not knowing what else to say. She had done as Hank asked and while she was really curious as to what those words meant, asking outright felt like a taboo of sorts.
"Did you ever discover why I joined the Hawkmoth Gang Marinette?" Mime asked making Marinette blink at him in confusion.
When Mime didn't continue speaking Marinette realized he was actually waiting for an answer. "Well I uh, know you joined the gang when Mylene's mom died. I figured it was safer maybe where you lived? I never really dug that deep. I didn't need to know too far into your past unless you had weapons training or something. We have never crossed paths in a fight or anywhere else but the zone, so I never asked or looked."
Mime didn't move but Marinette could see the tension in his shoulders and she wondered if maybe he was waiting for her to add something more. Before she could say anything further however Mime spoke.
"What I tell you now will never make it back to Mylene, understand?" Mime demanded, turning to face Marinette fully so she could see the blazing determination in his eyes within the hood's shadow. Marinette nodded her acceptance, wondering why they had jumped subjects so drastically since she couldn't see how Mime joining the Hawkmoth gang had anything to do with what was happening now. Still Marinette couldn't help her curiosity as Mime turned away to begin speaking again.
"Mylene never knew her mother except from what I've told her and I don't want to cloud her head with her mother's shortcomings. Her mother and I married far too young for reasons we shouldn't have, but we were in love and we wanted to get away from our families. We lived in a far poorer area as we struggled to make ends meet and it was stressful. I was trying to make a decent wage as an accountant since it was too expensive to go to college, and somewhere along the line she started using drugs. It wasn't bad at first. She lied and said it was prescription to help her relax and I was a fool because I wanted to believe it was true. Then she became pregnant with Mylene and the truth came out. She was using and her seller was from the Hawkmoth gang. I was terrified. For her and the baby but my foolish wife, my love, was a far braver soul than I could hope to understand. Somehow she got clean, foolishly I never asked how, and eight months later our healthy baby girl was born. Things seemed to look up when we brought Mylene home. I managed to get a better job, my wife even got a couple of side jobs as an errand runner. We… we were happy… for a while…"
Slumping forwards Mime rubbed at his now hidden eyes and Marinette gripped her own hands tight around her notebook. She knew the end of this story wasn't going to be a happy one, and yet she couldn't even offer Mime the comfort of a steady hand to hold. His story was a familiar one. Desperate people falling on hard times and a gang popping in to help them out, except help came at a price and Marinette wondered if Mime was still paying off his wife's bill.
"How did the Hawkmoth gang pull you in?" Marinette asked softly.
A breath shuddered out of Mime. "My wife… she had only stayed clean long enough to have the baby and she was a functioning addict. Looking at her you would have never guessed she was using drugs, in fact I still don't even know which ones she was taking. All I know is I came home late one evening and found her dead on the bedroom floor. Somehow she overdosed, although to this day I think it was a set up. Accident or not Mylene was a year and a half old at the time and it wasn't a week later that the Hawkmoth gang showed up on my doorstep in force. My wife had run up a bill and even though she was dead they wanted their payment plus interest. I couldn't pay and foolishly I threatened to call the police to get them off my back. They took Mylene as collateral and it was then I found out my well-paying job was also provided by them. I was given a choice. They kill me and keep my daughter to pay off whatever debts they felt we owed or I worked with them. I chose to save my daughter Marinette."
"I… I'm sorry Mime. Your debt couldn't have been that extraordinary to last till today though. Surely you don't owe the gang anything further?" Marinette asked when Mime fell silent.
"No I paid my debt in full, but this is where Hank and some others come in. I worked with the Hawkmoth gang for several years as an accountant, slowly working my way up the food chain. I figured if I wasn't going to be given a choice of who I worked with, I could at least make the decision to do my work well and provide everything I could for my daughter. Even when my debt was paid, I chose to stay on since I didn't want to take the chance of getting killed the second I left the Hawkmoth gang. People had a habit of disappearing once they left the gang and I had grown used to my life within the gangs hierarchy. The leader of the Hawkmoth gang took notice of my work and willingness to remain so he invited me to join him as well as several other… higher-ups in a meeting."
Marinette froze, her heart in her throat as Mime paused again. "You know who Hawkmoth really is?" she demanded unable to take the silence stretching out.
Unfortunately, Mime shook his head. "No, well once upon a time yes I did, but the man who holds the Hawkmoth name now took the gang from the previous leader in a bloody coup. It was right around the time that Gabriel was shredding the Hawkmoth gang apart from the outside, and when the coup happened the gang fell apart almost down to its core. Far too many good people died in those days and with the gang falling apart I wondered if it were my chance to get out. The moment I had an inch of breathing room I should have left Paris. Taken Mylene and gone out into the country maybe. Foolishly, I'd hoped that I would be able to get away from the gang life even staying in the city, but I knew too much. While working as an accountant for Hawkmoth I had learned too many secrets. It's a hazard of the job because if you want your books to be right, you need to know where the money is coming from." Mime sighed his voice dry and almost devoid of emotion as he continued.
"My real name was fairly commonplace at the time although I had managed to stay out of the fighting. Back then I would have had better luck stabbing myself rather than another person in a fight. As the coup continued they moved from fighters, to people like me, and it wasn't long before the new Hawkmoth leader arrived on my doorstep dressed in a silver mask, demanding my allegiance. I…I didn't have a leg to stand on Marinette. The old gang leader often treated everyone as inferior, unless he wanted something from you. He was excellent at manipulating people, so even if we didn't agree we were often made to do whatever he wanted. He made a lot of people very angry so when he was killed no one really missed him. Things changed when the man in the silver mask came into power. He ran us like a business rather than treating us like pawns and the old core members were treated with a greater respect. The new Hawkmoth seemed to understand that he needed the older members since we had a lot of ground to recover and he knew he couldn't do it on his own. Many of the old members and I respected him as we grew stronger but now… It's like he's gone off the deep end. In fact I would almost say that the man claiming to be Hawkmoth now isn't the man who showed up on my doorstep at all. Hank's last words… The Moth needs to be pinned… It's a code, a warning that the leader of the gang has finally turned on us. Like a snake eating its own tail the gang is starting to implode once more. It's a warning for any of the old members to pull out and warn as many others as we can."
"Will Fu help you?" Marinette asked, worried for Mylene and Ivan's safety. No one ever just walked away from a gang and Mime had to be far more than a simple accountant these days.
"He will help Mylene and Ivan which is more than I could ask for, since he is technically an enemy. My safety is my own problem Marinette. I may have been pulled into this life by my wife but I have remained by choice. The consequences of those choices will soon catch up to me but I am ready for them." Mime answered
"I will help you if you ask Mime, not as a detective, nor a Whisperer. I would help you as a friend." Marinette whispered really not wanting to find him as the next Akuma victim, dead, or worse.
Mime let out a small humorless chuckle, "I know you would Marinette, which is how I know my daughter will be safe as well as any other Hawkmoth members that come seeking asylum. Poppy flipped once her partner vanished, and I fear that the thugs that have become more commonplace in the gang are simply hired puppets. Although I did hear through the grapevine that Hawkmoth was truly pissed that you stole Chloe right out from under us. You might want to watch your step. I fear that Hawkmoth might have something exceptionally nasty planned for you."
A chill ran down Marinette's spine, "Anything concrete or just ominous whisperings?"
Mime shook his head, "I really don't know. With you being a constant thorn in Hawkmoth's side the Akuma might have been the gambit to try and knock you off without kicking the hornets' nest so to speak. Seeing how even that's failing… I don't know what he will attempt next. This Hawkmoth is a tactician and seems to plan things several steps ahead. There is no telling what he has planned for the future."
"Well he's tried to have me killed before and failed. Hopefully my luck will keep holding out." Marinette murmured, squaring her shoulders as she did.
Mime stood, tucking the bag of cookies under his arm as he did. "Just don't walk the streets alone alright? Keep your Chaton with you at night or your new friend Adrien if you go wandering the streets. Has he and your pet met by the way?"
Marinette flinched, the knowledge that they were one and the same smashing through her again like a fist to the jaw. "Yeah they've met. No one died."
Mime threw back his head and laughed, nearly losing his hood in the process. "You have always had a talent for taming the most unruly of people. Be safe Marinette."
"You too, I don't want to get a call from anyone saying you've been injured or worse." Marinette called to his retreating form, and Mime raised a nonchalant hand before vanishing around the corner of the path.
Leaning back against the bench Marinette let out a breath and looked down at her art book. A half formed drawing of a large hunting cat with a faceless person beside it stood out on the paper and she groaned. It would seem that she couldn't get Chat or Adrien off her mind, even when she was absently drawing. Frowning at the picture and knowing she really needed to get over herself, Marinette turned the page.
Before she forgot anything Marinette wanted to write down everything Mime had told her. The fact that the Man who claimed the Hawkmoth leadership title now wasn't the same man Gabriel hunted was important. Marinette had been going off Gabriel's old notes as she had tried to make a mental profile of the leader. Now those notes were null and void and she really needed to go back through her files to see what she could uncover to give herself a clearer picture of who this new Hawkmoth was. Gangs changed leadership rarely since it threw everything into chaos, if it didn't destroy the gang completely. Fortunately the influence those leaders had on the gangs were like a fingerprint, sometimes it was subtle but it was always different. Adding the last of her notes Marinette closed the book and stood. At some point she needed to add this information to her private files and she needed to talk to Fu. The criminal world was changing, and Marinette had a feeling that soon they would be receiving an influx of people from the Hawkmoth gang which was probably going to get messy. As it was, she needed to get all these problems sorted before she was back on the clock and stuck at a desk. Grimacing, Marinette glanced at her watch and decided to return home so she could get something done that day.
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