A large piece of wood flew through the air. Two dull blows. Sabrina and Chloe collapsed. Kim hissed like a cat. The next moment, the wood hid his head and Kim collapsed as well.
A man with a bunch of curls threw the board away and looked at the now, unconscious teenagers. He whistled between his teeth and shook his head. "Speaking about garbage!" He then turned to Adrien and Marinette. "You two alright?"
They both nodded silently and looked at the man in surprise. His curls framed a small face that had not been shaved for the last three days. He was wearing black leather jeans, boots with silver buckles and a black leather jacket. On his fingers were silver rings in the form of lightning bolts. He wore a black pouch on his hips that was also covered in lightning bolts.
Shit, a heavy-metal figure, Adrien thought. He stood in front of Marinette, trying to look brave. This was the driver of that black van, who had spied on him multiple times.
"What are your names?"
"I'm Adrien, this is Marinette. We…"
"Listen Adrien and Marinette. It's dangerous tonight. The both of you should go." Adrien looked the man straight into his eyes. They were a blue-grey, to his relief.
"We're not going anywhere. We're looking for our parents."
"And my little brother." Marinette quickly added. The man looked at them and saw how determined they were.
"So, I've come here to rescue you guys and then you won't listen to me."
"Our parents first." Adrien said. The man sighed and nodded.
"Alright, if you want. Come with me." The man nudged them to follow him.
Before they could leave, Marinette grabbed Adrien's face and kissed him. Adrien immediately melted into the kiss. The man was staring at them in surprise.
"I just disinfected you from that blond girl's germs." Marinette said, as she broke the kiss. She walked over to the man and passed him. The man cleared his throat and Adrien soon followed them, completely red in the face.
They walked behind the man over a path next to the church. Adrien looked to his side to the unshaved face. Who was that man? What was he doing here? Weren't they a little careless to follow a stranger in the darkness? A stranger that looked like a singer from a hard rock band and had earlier shown a suspicious interest? But, as he was asking those questions to himself, Adrien noticed that he kept walking next to the man without any fears.
"Who are you?" Adrien asked. Marinette walked behind him and grabbed his hand. It was dark behind the church, but the moon gave enough light to avoid tripping. There were a lot of loose rocks and plastic cups. The path ended on a little street that made a turn next to the houses with broken roofs and boarded up windows. It was a neighbourhood full of demolition houses. At the end of the row of houses stood a big, square building. It looked like a giant coffin.
"Suez," Said the man.
"Suez?"
"That's my name."
"Just like the channel?" Marinette asked. The man nodded, distracted and pointed.
"Do you see that big building? That is an old shoe factory that has been out of use for years. Nowadays, it's the new studio of TV 12."
"Are they in there?" Marinette asked. Suez nodded.
"There they are prepared for The Becoming. Look, this is a long queue in front of the door."
"What even is that, The Becoming?" Adrien asked. "What happens with all those people that go inside?"
"There in the last stage," Suez said. "When they come back outside, they will be changed forever. In wolves."