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We Passed Unhealthy a Long Time Ago

Adrien slowly took a step towards Helena, then another. "Mom?" he repeated. "Is- is that really you? You're back?"

Helena looked around the room, very aware of the fact that every eye in the room was on her, waiting for an answer. Finally, she looked back down at Adrien. "I'm sorry, kid. My name's Helena."

In that instant, Adrien could feel his heart breaking, and when he looked up at her, Helena looked like she'd just accidentally kicked a puppy. He took in a shuddering breath; every painful emotion he'd felt upon learning his mother was missing flooded back to him.

He had to say something. Had to prove he was okay, had to… he wasn't sure what. "Oh." His voice cracked when he said it. "I-I'm sorry."

"Kid, I'm so sorry-"

"It's fine," Adrien cut in, taking in another shaky breath. "I… I should go." He turned and pushed past Gabriel, Nathalie, and The Gorilla, heading straight to the bathroom. He shut the door and locked it behind him, then headed over to the sink. He braced his hands on it, and the first sob escaped him, then another and another.

He felt a small paw on his shoulder and suddenly remembered there was one person's company he could never escape, even when all he wanted was to be alone. "It's okay," Plagg cooed, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Another sob bubbled up from him, and he pushed off the sink just long enough to lower himself to the floor. "I-I thought it- I thought it was her." He sniffed and reached up, grabbing a paper towel from the dispenser above him to wipe his face. "I thought she was back, I thought we'd be a family again."

Plagg nodded, rubbing Adrien's arm. "I know you did… I know you did."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Go! Away!" Adrien shouted.

"Kid," Plagg whispered. "You've gotta face 'em eventually."

Adrien took in a shaky breath. "Does it have to be now?"

Plagg shrugged. "It's really up to you, but the longer you wait, the more likely they are to send you to inpatient therapy."

"Right," Adrien replied with a sigh. "And then I won't be able to help Ladybug." He breathed in deeply and stood up, wiping the tears from his eyes. Plagg flew back into his pocket to hide.

"Adrien!" Nathalie called through the door. "Adrien, you have to come out someti-"

Adrien unlocked the door and opened it, cutting Nathalie off mid-sentence. "Can we go home now?"

Nathalie looked shocked for a moment, then looked to Gabriel, standing at the other side of the hall on his phone. Of course. After a moment, she looked back to Adrien and nodded. "Let's go."

Slowly, shoulders drooped, Adrien followed Nathalie out of the airport, getting back in the car where The Gorilla was waiting. He must've left when Adrien locked himself in the bathroom. Gabriel, of course, chose to stay behind and take care of some other business he had in the area. Typical.

"I know you're disappointed," Nathalie said, her eyes not once leaving her tablet.

Adrien let out a breathy laugh. "Disappointed does not begin to cover it."

Before Nathalie could respond, the car slammed to a stop, throwing them both forward in their seats. After taking a moment to collect herself, Nathalie leaned forward and tapped The Gorilla on the shoulder. "What is going on?"

The Gorilla let out a grunt of frustration and pointed ahead. Adrien followed his gaze and saw a car with long, spider-like legs made of metal crushing every other car in its way.

Adrien's jaw dropped. "We're in Le Bourget; Hawkmoth's never sent an akuma this far out before!"

"He hasn't," Nathalie replied through gritted teeth. Some underlying frustration Adrien couldn't quite pinpoint.

"We have to get out of the car; that's what it's going after!" Without a second thought, Adrien unbuckled his seat belt, opened the car door, and jumped out. He took off running away from the road, stopping only when he was out of sight of his bodyguard and his father's assistant.

Plagg flew out of his pocket the second he could. "They're gonna come looking for you," Plagg sing-songed.

"Yeah, so we better hope Ladybug is in the area, too," Adrien replied. "Plagg, claws out!" He felt the familiar destructive energy wash over him, and Chat Noir jumped out of Adrien's hiding place. He ran up towards the akuma, trying to get a read on it. Nothing stuck out immediately, other than the obvious.

"I spy-der with my little eye-der- whoa!" He narrowly ducked the akuma's arm (leg?) as it spun around.

"I am Le Commercer!" the akuma roared. "Every day, I have to deal with these tourists coming from CDG to Paris while I just want to get home!"

Chat Noir's brows furrowed in confusion. "It's not even noon."

"I WORK NIGHTS!"

Chat Noir put his hands up defensively. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to drive you away!"

The akuma put his head (was the car its head?) in his hand (the end of one of its spider legs?) and groaned. "That was awful."

"Don't you mean pawful?"

The akuma swung two of its arms at him, and while Chat Noir managed to dodge the first, the second hit him in the stomach and threw him into an overpass. Chat moaned in pain as he dropped down onto the ledge, and he slowly began to push himself back up. "Oh… that sucked. That sucked a lot."

"The last thing I need is a damned cat in the road blocking my way!" the akuma roared. It made to swing again, but Chat jumped out of the way and onto the overpass. Ladybug wasn't there yet and surely wouldn't be for a while. What the hell had possessed Hawkmoth to send an akuma that far out anyway? If his goal was to get the ladybug and black cat miraculous, he'd be better off sending them where he knew they were bound to show up…

Unless he knew Chat Noir would be in the area without Ladybug.

Shit.

That was not the kind of thing he needed to focus on at the moment.

Chat dodged another attack and jumped onto a light pole, biding his time with brilliant acrobatics in an attempt to keep the akuma distracted and away from civilians.

He couldn't help but lose track of time quickly; it wasn't uncommon for him and Ladybug to do so during fights. "Quick" fights took their entire two-hour lunch break, and long, drawn-out fights ended within ten minutes. He did, however, know he'd been at it for a while when Ladybug showed up.

"Oh thank God," he breathed when she dropped down beside him.

Ladybug looked him over worriedly. "You okay, kitty?" she asked. "How did you get here so fast?"

He was panting, he realized, when he couldn't quite catch his breath to answer. "I… was in… the area."

"Think you can make it a few more minutes?" Ladybug asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He nodded in response.

"Always."

Ladybug glanced at the akuma, then her grip on his shoulder tightened as she yanked them both out of the way. They landed on the median, in a heap of rubble from the akuma's warpath. "We need to end this now. Lucky Charm!"

A crowbar landed in Ladybug's hands. Not a second later, she said, "I've got it! Chat, can you get one of the legs?"

"On it, m'lady!" Chat leaped up, running towards the akuma. "Cataclysm!" He lunged, taking out one of the akuma's legs just as it leaned on it, causing it to collapse to the ground. Ladybug ran up and pried the car door open leaning over the driver to yank the fuzzy dice off the rearview mirror. As they tore, a little, purple-and-black butterfly flew out, and Ladybug cast out her yoyo to catch it.

Chat let out a sigh of relief as Ladybug captured and released the akuma, letting little ladybugs swarm the area.

"You okay?" Ladybug asked.

"Yeah," Chat sighed. "A little winded, but otherwise okay. Not sure what an akuma was doing this far out."

Ladybug shook her head. "Me neither," she replied. "I'm just hoping Hawkmoth doesn't plan on making this a regular thing."

"Same." He still hadn't quite caught his breath. "I suggest getting as far back to the city as you can before you turn back. I've got a ride."

"Alright," Ladybug said with a nod. "I'll see you later, kitty."

"See ya."

While Ladybug ran off towards Paris, Chat Noir jumped up onto the side of the road and checked around, making sure no one was looking before he detransformed.

Without hesitation, Adrien jumped back over the barricade and ran down the side of the street until he saw Nathalie and The Gorilla.

"Adrien!" Nathalie snapped. "Where did you run off to?"

"Uh, I- I thought that since the akuma was crushing cars, I should get out!" He laughed nervously. "I guess I kinda… got lost."

Nathalie let out a frustrated groan. "You're going to be the death of me," she sighed. "Come on, back inside. I've canceled your extracurriculars for the rest of the day so you can have some time to process, but your father will want to know you arrived safely, especially after that."

Process? Process wha- oh. Right. Any adrenaline from the fight fled Adrien's body, and his shoulders fell. He walked over to the car and got in, but it was still a good five minutes before they could move again as traffic recovered.

He was silent the entire drive home and through lunch, not daring to say anything that could spawn another breakdown. That woman… whoever she was… she looked so much like his mom; how could she not be her?

The thought repeated in his head as he returned to his room, knowing Plagg would fly out the second he got the chance.

"You know what would cheer you up? Giving me camembert!"

Adrien scoffed, a small smile playing at his lips as he headed over to the fridge by his bed. "Oh-kay, Plagg, sure." He pulled out a piece of camembert and held it up for Plagg. "You deserve it, making it through that car ride without saying anything."

Plagg smiled smugly. "I do, don't I?"

Adrien looked at Plagg for a moment, then took a deep breath and asked, "Do you think Hawkmoth knew I would be there on that road without Ladybug? Like, was he trying for a divide-and-conquer thing?"

"Doubt it," Plagg replied dismissively. "Odds are he was in the area when something happened to upset him enough to make him want to akumatize someone. Just be careful where you transform for a few weeks just in case."

Upset him? "What do you mean 'upset him?'" Adrien asked. "He doesn't have to be upset to make akumas, does he?"

Plagg shook his head. "No, but there's probably a trigger that makes him decide when to akumatize people. Some are obviously scheduled, but the random ones- there's probably a stressor in his life causing him to lash out."

"Gee, that's healthy."

"He's making supervillains to hunt for jewelry, kid. We passed unhealthy a long time ago."

Adrien let out a frustrated, exhausted huff and flopped down on his bed. "I'm gonna take a nap before dinner, okay? Just… recover and process for a bit."

The smirk on Plagg's face softened, and he nodded at Adrien. "Get some rest, kid. You need it."

"Are you okay?"

Adrien spun around to see a woman in blue, her back turned to him, talking to a brunette woman in a black knight's uniform. June 29th, 1613. As with the night before, his mind provided a time all on its own.

The brunette accepted the woman's extended hand and stood up. "Thank you," she sighed. Then, a cough escaped her. She nearly fell over, but the woman in blue supported her. "Is it gone?"

The woman in blue nodded. "It is," she confirmed. "Kaalki is gone, too. We couldn't have done it without you, Anne."

The brunette, Anne, gave the other woman a smile, but her eyes showed sadness. "William won't be happy that his theater is gone."

"It had to burn. If it hadn't… who knows what would have happened."

Anne looked her up and down for a moment before saying, "You do." It definitely wasn't a question.

"I do. And it's not pretty."

Anne nodded slowly and sighed, only for another cough to come out. "Plagg, claws in," she managed to get out.

Adrien watched, eyes wide and mouth hung open as he watched his kwami fly out of Anne's ring. Plagg gave her a sympathetic smile. "You did well, kid."

"Thanks," Anne sighed. She looked at the ground, then back up to Plagg. "Was it the right thing?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation in Plagg's voice. "I've seen firsthand what happens when it doesn't."

Beep- beep- beep- beep-

Adrien woke with a gasp, yanked from his dreams. He rubbed at his face and looked at the clock. Seven a.m.… Had he really slept all night?

He reached out and hit the off button, pulling himself out of bed to get ready for another day.