The Great Paon
So sorry for the delay on this! My computer crapped out and I haven't been able to access word since. This is an old copy I was finally able to get my hands on, but it's before the editing process. Hopefully I'll be able to replace this with the finalized version one day, but I didn't want to leave you guys waiting forever. Thanks for your patience! 3
Chat looked at his hastily-prepared speech, then up at the sea of reporters waiting for him to start. His heart pounded in his chest, and it felt like his blood had turned to ice. God, he wished Ladybug could do this. She was so much better at talking with the press.
No, the irony was not lost on him. The model, who spent hours a week in front of the camera, was nervous being in disguise in front of them. Well to that he said, he didn't have to answer questions when he was modeling, just stand there and look pretty. Ladybug knew how to answer questions. He didn't.
A sigh escaped him. The sooner he got this over, the better.
"Citizens of Paris, I am here today to update you regarding the situation involving Hawkmoth and his akumas," he began, his voice somehow sounding steadier than he felt. "The short version is that he is no longer a threat, but a larger one has risen in his place.
"There is an organization called the Order of the Guardians that seeks to obtain and control magical artifacts. Two years ago, they cast an apathy spell on Hawkmoth, causing him to begin sending out akumas in search of the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous in the first place. As I said before, he is no longer a threat as the spell has been broken, but the Order is now seeking to gain the miraculous through other means.
"Some of you may know about a woman named Emilie Agreste, who went missing approximately two years ago. The reason she went missing is because she had information on the Order and was preparing to turn them into the police. The Order kidnapped her and, using magic, replaced her memories with those of a deceased woman in the United States, Helena Oxley. When she grew suspicious of her own identity and returned to Paris, the Order again attempted to kidnap her and alter her memories.
"Instead, her body has been inhabited by the ghost of an associate of the Order from the 1200s, Madelaine Foy. She has similar but non-identical goals as them, and if she is spotted, I ask that you please do not engage. She has magical abilities and will kill anyone who gets in her way. Ladybug, Hawkmoth, and I are hard at work finding a way to stop her and return Emilie Agreste to her family. I will now open the floor to any questions you may have."
Gabriel elected to take Adrien out to dinner that night, as a way to distract him from the press conference and all the other stresses in his life at that moment.
It wasn't working, Adrien thought as his leg bounced up and down under the table. A sense of foreboding overwhelmed him, threatening to send him into a full-blown anxiety attack if he wasn't careful. Despite the calm, light atmosphere of Le Grand Paris, he couldn't stop stressing, couldn't get himself off high-alert.
"Hello, boys," a sing-song voice cooed, and Adrien froze in his seat. A quick glance at his father confirmed that he had the exact same reaction.
Slowly, Adrien turned his head, watching as Madelaine pulled a chair up and spun it around so the back faced their table. She sat backwards in it, legs straddling it.
"Having dinner and you didn't even invite me." Madelaine made a tsking sound with her tongue. "Disrespectful."
"You're a monster," Gabriel whispered. "Let my wife go and move on; you had your life, now give her back hers."
Madelaine gave a Cheshire grin and burst out laughing. "Oh, you think I've had a life?" she asked. "Running from the Order, hiding my abilities?" She scoffed. "No, any semblance of a life was taken from me by them and by her. I'm driving this bitch now."
"Why are you here?" Adrien demanded.
Madelaine sighed and tilted her head. "Now is that any way to talk to your mother?"
Adrien shook his head. "You're not my mother," he spat. "Now get out or be prepared to give yourself up to the police."
"The police?" Madelaine asked, an amused look on her face. "Please, they're no more useful now than they were in my time." She plucked Gabriel's wine off the table and took a sip. Lowering it, she said, "Let me tell you how this is gonna go: I'm gonna take the kid, and you're gonna let me, or more people are gonna die."
"Over my dead body."
In the blink of an eye, Gabriel picked up his steak knife and stabbed it into Madelaine's shoulder. She cried out in pain, stumbling back and raising a hand to the blade sticking out of her body.
"Ah!" she cried out. She'd managed to go through the whole conversation without drawing any attention, but now all eyes were on her. "Oh, it hurts! It-" Any illusion of pain disappeared, and she stood up straight, a smirk on her face. "You really thought that would work?" She pulled the knife out of her shoulder, and the wound and her clothes instantly repaired themselves.
Madelaine laughed and pointed the knife at Gabriel, but he was too far away for her to cut him. She spoke again, projecting her voice so everyone in the room could hear her. "You know, I was gonna let you get away with just all these people's deaths on your conscience, but now you've pissed me off. Really, Gabriel? A steak knife? I would have thought the great Paon could do better- then again, you did fuck up enough that Mayura got your miraculous." She walked up again, sitting back down in the chair, and she drove the knife a third of the way through the table. "It must kill you, knowing you're the reason a supervillain got their powers."
"Leave them alone, Madelaine."
All three of them turned to see Ladybug standing by the entrance to the restaurant.
"Aw, the cavalry's arrived," Madelaine cooed. She looked her over and hummed. "And still no kwami, not that I'm surprised. It'll be at least a hundred years before she's strong enough to go back in those stupid earrings, and by that time… well… you'll be long dead even if you don't keep trying to use her powers."
As if on cue, Ladybug coughed, putting a hand on her chest and making a strained face like she was in pain. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "I thought you took her."
"Your kwami ditched ya, sweetheart," Madelaine declared simply. "And every time you try to use her powers, you'll get weaker and sicker until you're just a husk."
Ladybug took in a shaky breath and stood up straight, a mask of determination on her face. "I just need to defeat you once," she replied. "After that, none of this will matter. Paris will be safe."
Madelaine grinned and laughed again. "Oh, you're too cute. And really naive." She yanked the steak knife out of the table and threw it at Ladybug, but she dodged and moved behind a table, kicking it onto its side to act as a shield.
"Everyone out!" Ladybug shouted, shooing the civilians away as she moved further into the building, pushing the table along as she went.
Adrien didn't hesitate, hopping on Madelaine's back to distract her, only to get flipped over onto the floor on his back. He moaned in pain, unable to get his bearings for a moment because of it. He rolled over onto his stomach, groping around for a weapon.
His fingers wrapped around the handle of a knife, knocked from its table in the fray. He looked up, seeing Madelaine facing off against his father, wielding a knife of his own with expert ability. But for every stroke and stab he made, Madelaine deflected with expertise of her own. Even with Ladybug throwing her yoyo around, temporarily incapacitating one of Madelaine's arms or legs, she kept fighting like they were nothing but a couple of gnats.
Adrien lurched froward and slammed his knife down, impaling her foot.
Madelaine let out a cry of rage and surprise and, maybe even a little pain, and leaned down, plucking the knife from her foot. Even the interruption in her rhythm wasn't enough to throw Madelaine off, and she used the knife to start fighting back.
Ladybug fell back with a poorly-timed coughing fit, and Madelaine cut a slash into Gabriel's arm. He stumbled and Adrien jumped up, picking up the first thing in his reach- a knife- and throwing it at Madelaine. It hit her in the head and she turned, glaring daggers at him.
"Fine," she said. "You've got a death wish? Death is what you'll get."
Madelaine lunged at him, and Adrien winced, bracing himself for the knife, but it never came. He opened his eyes, and instead of Madelaine, he saw the back of the brunette woman from the fight the day before, a knife run through her hand.
Slowly, the woman grabbed the knife and removed it, and just like Madelaine's wounds, it healed as though nothing had happened. "Leave them alone, Madelaine," she growled.
A smirk wound its way onto Madelaine's face, vicious and cruel and so unlike anything Adrien had ever seen on his mother. "So I guess you're Tikki," she said, looking the brunette up and down. "It's about time you came to collect your brat." She glanced over to Ladybug, and Adrien's blood drained from his face when he saw her lying there, prone and barely conscious, breaths shallow and labored.
"This isn't over," the woman- Tikki- growled, backing up and pushing Adrien behind her.
"Counting on it, sis," Madelaine replied, and then she was gone, running back through the kitchen as an escape route.
The second Madelaine was out of sight, Tikki ran up to Ladybug, scooping her up in her arms, and Gabriel ran to Adrien, checking him for injuries.
"Are you okay?" Gabriel asked. He pushed Adrien's bangs away from his face to check for cuts and bruises.
Adrien nodded, wrapping his arms around his father's torso and burying his face in his chest. "I'm okay," he choked out. As soon as the hug began though, Adrien, pulled away, looking to Tikki, who now had a limp Ladybug in a bridal carry.
"You two do what you have to out there," she ordered. "I'm going to take her to your place so we can regroup."
Both Gabriel and Adrien nodded their assent, and just like Madelaine, Tikki and Ladybug were gone.
It was a testament to Gabriel's underutilized people skills that neither he nor Adrien were taken down to the police station for a statement, especially when Madelaine had revealed that he was a freaking superhero over a decade ago, and his miraculous had ended up in the hands of a villain.
Instead, they were home within the hour, exhausted and sore. Gabriel's arm had been bandaged by the EMTs on the scene, and the eyes on them both felt like a million lasers burning into his skin. Emilie was his mom, Gabriel's wife. That meant Madelaine was, too.
He heard whispers, both saying how sad it must have been for them and how they must have been helping Madelaine. Plagg did his best to tune them out by hiding in his collar and talking about camembert whenever he was isolated enough. But Adrien knew he wouldn't feel better until he was back home and sure Marinette was safe.
As he trudged into the den, his eyes went straight to the two women in the room. Marinette was weakly struggling against Tikki as she tried to rub her forehead with a wet washcloth, and Tikki looked ready to cry at the sight of her weakened chosen.
Marinette finally glanced over to them, eyes going wide. With what Adrien could only describe as insurmountable effort, she got up past Tikki and stumbled away, leaning on the arm of the couch. "She's working with Madelaine," she said.
"What?" Adrien asked, eyebrows furrowing together in his confusion. "No, Marinette, that's Tikki. She just saved all three of us."
Slowly, Marinette turned back, looking at her humanized kwami in awe. "Tikki?"