Cat Noir appeared to be especially proud of himself having just brought in two middle-aged bakers. Tom looked a little the worse for wear, no doubt the man had put up something of a fight. His wife seemed to be quiet but otherwise had been spared. Both were confused and visibly frightened out of their wits by what had happened. They had been sleeping in their beds when they had received an unwelcome visitor. Naturally, they had welcomed the hero of Paris, until he had abruptly turned on them.
"Wasn't easy." Adrien took especial pleasure in gloating about his feats to the woman standing next to him. "You try carrying that big man across the rooftops."
Nathalie didn't reply. All she could do was stare that the Dupain-Chengs, feeling nothing but sympathy for them. She didn't know the couple all that well but recalled that back in the day, they had been particularly difficult to akumatize. That seemed to indicate that they enjoyed a happy life, free from much of the strife and anger which could and would otherwise corrupt their hearts, turning them to darkness and making them into the slaves of Hawk Moth. They didn't deserve this. They had been condemned to this solely because they were related to Marinette and therefore useful as leverage.
The woman felt awkward under their accusing glances. They seemed to be holding her accountable for this, no doubt assuming that she had found herself a new master. Perhaps they even suspected that it was Adrien Agreste who hid behind the mask.
She felt shame and struggled to look at them. Instead distracting herself by watching Adrien as he played with a knife, tossing it in the air then catching it by the blade before it fell down. It took all of her self-control to avoid averting her gaze. The woman had no idea just why she had been brought up here but was already confident that it meant nothing good. For the time being, he seemed to be content to gloat about his accomplishments. She could already see where this was going. The Dupain-Chengs made the perfect hostages and bait. With them here, Marinette was sure to come running.
Nathalie stood straight and said nothing. She knew her place. Provoking Kahn would only make things worse. That of course assumed that the man didn't expect or want her to comment. It was impossible to know for sure just what he intended. His attention drifted from her to his other two prisoners.
"How long do you think she'll be?"
"Considering?" For a moment, Nathalie tried to imagine just what it would be like if it were her parents at risk. "She'll be here in a heartbeat."
"Well, then… Perhaps I should grab a catnap." Cat Noir replied flexing his shoulder blades. "Before calling her. I imagine she'll be with blue guitar boy right now, assuming he survived."
"Guitar boy?.." Tom muttered thoughtfully. "You mean Luka! What have you done to him?!"
There was some fight behind Tom Dupain-Cheng's words. It wasn't lost on Kahn. The man turned around to face him. He frowned, as if he couldn't quite believe that the man would be so brazen as to risk picking a fight with him. Nathalie felt her heart sink as she realized just what was going to happen. It took literally nothing for the man to go after blood. Speaking to him in such a manner was certain to provoke him. Already, she could see that spark of cruelty making its way back behind the brute's eyes. It was as dangerous as it was thrilled at the prospect of what was to come.
He approached slowly, in a predatory like manner. Still, Tom stood his ground. He was a big man, perhaps too large for most to even contemplate fighting. Kahn of course wasn't so easily put off. The baker instinctively encouraged his wife to stand behind him, acting as a physical barrier to protect her. It wouldn't be enough. Adrien raised himself to his full height, hands open and fingers taught, clearly preparing to slice through some more flesh.
"You got something you want to say to me Tom?" If they listened, they would hear very clearly just who it was.
"What do you want?" Despite the situation, the man still put on a brave face.
"With you? Nothing..." Cat Noir left a pause for effect before smirking coldly. "It's your precious little daughter I'm interested in."
"Marinette?!"
It was like a red rag to a bull. Tom clenched his hands, balling them into fists. His face distorted into a snarl. Suddenly, compared to him, Cat Noir looked as if he was tiny. Still, the young man didn't seem fazed. That mocking little smile of his was there, perhaps he tried to hide it a little from the baker. He didn't want to clue the father in to his game. It was clear that it was a taunt. Albeit a true one. In truth, he didn't care about the Dupain-Chengs in themselves. All he wanted was the miraculous. Marinette just happened to be the one who was in possession of them. That made her a target.
Tom lunged at the young man. It seemed to be little more than a formality for Cat Noir to block the attack. He didn't even blink. He raised a hand, stepping to one side in order to avoid the fist. Like lightning, he lashed out and grabbed the man's wrist, twisting it backwards until the bones threatened to crack. The man let out a loud yelp of pain and was eventually brought down to his knees. Kahn smirked, raising his hand back behind him, ready to deal a blow of his own. Sabine was quick to rush forwards to her husband's defence but barely even seemed to register. One or two of them, he'd tear them apart all the same.
Nathalie tried to distance herself from what was about to happen. She'd lived through it herself and knew there was nothing to be done. From the looks of them, they were aware that this could easily be it. She saw fear but also love as they clung to one another. It was something that she'd never had. Someone to be there for her when she needed it...
Oh to hell with it!
"Don't!"
The words just slipped out. Nathalie rushed forwards, positioning herself between the two of them.
In some respects, the tactic seemed to work. Startled, Kahn backed off. It likely wasn't the fact that he didn't want to harm her so much as the fact he very clearly hadn't anticipated her intervention. He blinked a few times, clearly shocked as he fixed her. The way that Cat Noir looked at her, it was almost as if she was an alien. She didn't make any theatrical gestures. She just stood there, a physical barricade. There were a dozen ways that he could have made her move. He could have shoved her to one side, struck her down or even likely just stepped to one side. He didn't however.
That gave her a few moments, to think. To express herself and justify her actions. Already, she could see his face behind to cloud over with the same old rage.
"What do you think Marinette's going to do if she gets here and finds you've harmed her parents?"
Her words didn't even seem to register. Kahn continued his approach. It was his standard tactic which he adopted; one of very simple intimidation. He was larger and stronger than her and could kill her in a heartbeat. It was a fact he was quick to remind her of. Nathalie didn't move. Behind her, she could sense the fear of the Dupain-Chengs. Sabine tugged briefly at her sleeve, eager to get her to back down. Still, she held her ground, even as Kahn towered over her, breathing down her neck, so close that their noses were almost touching. He truly seemed to have no concept of personal space.
He spoke in a low and dangerous voice:
"Nathalie, as cute as your periodic acts heroism are, they are are beginning to wear a little thin on my patience. I suggest you give them a rest before you find yourself with a symmetrical face again."
"Of course."
He was gone a second later and she was too terrified to question just why.
Breathing, perhaps not a sigh of relief but at least allowing oxygen out and in of her lungs once more, she felt the tension in her muscles vanish as she threatened to collapse. It took all of her self-control to remain calm. Perhaps now the family would realize just who or rather what they were faced with. She turned back to face them. They were lucky, it was unlucky that they would be as fortunate another time. As such, Nathalie only had one piece of advice to give:
"Stay quiet and do what he says or else he'll kill you." She left a pause before adding under her voice. "I know what I'm talking about."
They didn't question, having already seen enough. Instead, both sat down, in a corner, holding onto one another. It was all they could do.
Nathalie's attention turned back towards Cat Noir. He seemed to have lost interest in them abruptly. Instead, he climbed up into the rafters of the lair. The darkness of the beams made it difficult to keep track of him. She listened but found him to be silent. He would be up there somewhere, just waiting, ready to pounce. She tried not to think about it too much. He would come down quickly and quietly, striking in a split second and likely taking them by surprise.
Instead, with her legs shaking, she lowered herself down so that she was sitting. Her injuries and the shock of everything that had recently made her feel heavy and unresponsive. At this point, the rest of the world barely even seems to register any longer. There's nothing more to be done than to wait. Ladybug and her friends will be coming. After that, they would have to fight or die. Can they stop Kahn? She honestly didn't know. Closing her eyes for a moment, Nathalie resigned herself to the reality that they found themselves in.
"Any moment now..." Came the voice from somewhere above their heads.
Ladybug and her friends weren't far behind. Cat Noir would kill one of her parents if she hesitated just to make a point. That left them with precious little time. They'd have to fight. Bringing the book and the miraculouses had been out of the question so they'd left them with Luka who had promised to call one of the others to have them spirited away to somewhere safe where Kahn would never be able to get his hands on them. He wished them luck. It was all that he could do.
If they failed, their enemy would almost certainly come for him.
The group set off for the Agreste mansion. All four of them were ready and expecting the worst. They didn't feel the need to make their approach particularly stealthy. Kahn would see them coming and be ready for them. It would almost certainly be a head on fight. At least that's what they were anticipating. For that reason, they would stay together. Their greatest strength would be their superior number. One on one, Ladybug didn't fancy their chances. Their strategy was a simple one: take Cat Noir down no matter what. For that, Queen Bee would be indispensable.
As they walked through the halls however, they found them to be empty. The lights were off but there was no trace of anyone inside. The heroes formed a circle, each watching the other's back as they made their way through the seemingly deserted home. It was difficult to be in this place like this without thinking back to their childhood and their battles against Hawk Moth. Even in broad daylight, there was something about the place which felt off. It was a wonder that Adrien and Nathalie managed to stomach living here full time.
It was that chain of thought which lead Marinette to a simple conclusion:
"He'll be in Hawk Moth's lair..."
It made sense. As cocky as Kahn might be, he wouldn't want the fight potentially spilling out into the streets. The place where Adrien's father and mother had made their final stand. It seemed almost fitting in an odd way that he would go there.
There were echoes of the past here.
They entered Gabriel's old study cautiously. The portrait of Adrien's mother, a former enemy of theirs still hung ominously. They knew the code which would allow them to use the elevator to access Hawk Moth's lair. That was to assume that he hadn't changed the password. There would be another problem however. Only one of them would fit at a time. By definition, that would leave them terribly exposed. They spent a few moments contemplating the issue before Carapace offered to go.
He would keep his guard up. He could protect himself for long enough, even from Cataclysm to allow his teammates to join him. They contemplated sending in an illusion curtsy of Rena Rouge but that wouldn't be as efficient. Cat Noir would simply destroy it and still have the opportunity to ambush the next person to come up.
"Good luck."
The words seemed to be ineffective, almost pathetic. It was all they could offer their friend however as he disappeared. The young man offered them a warm smile and promised the woman he loved that he would be alright. They could only hope that he would be correct.
With their hearts in their mouths, they waited. It would be less than a minute before they could join them but each and every second felt like an eternity trickling by. It was impossible not to envision the absolute worst. In silence, they listened. Fearing that at any moment they might hear an agonised cry from somewhere above their heads as Cat Noir struck down his target. Instead, all that they got was nothing. In some ways, that was worse: not knowing. Rena Rouge was next to go, she simply wouldn't wait any longer. She disappeared. Marinette went next. Allowing Queen Bee to follow up behind.
Travelling through the elevator was a terrifying experience. It was cramped and dark and invited all of the worst thoughts into her mind. What was in reality only a few seconds seemed to stretch out so as to last far longer. She closed her eyes, trying to steady her breath. She had to be ready. Being ready didn't mean being tense. She did her best to relax herself. Things were too tight for her to swing her yoyo. So she contented herself with holding it tightly against her, ready for everything.
In a flash, she emerged into the room and took a breath of air.
She staggered forwards. Her mind and heart were racing as she expected to find herself in the middle of a life and death battle. She had to stop and do a double-take when she realized that there was nothing. Her eyes were quick to settle on the figures of her parents. They were in the corner of the room, Carapace and Rena Rouge were already by their side. Nathalie was there also, her strength seemed to have completely left her. Something which she instantly noticed however was that their attention wasn't focused on her, so much as it was the rafters of the building.
He was up there…
"No sign of him!" Rena Rouge called out to her.
"He could be anywhere..." Was Carapace's quiet response.
One touch. One touch from his cataclysm and one of them would be dead.
With his dark suit and night vision, he would have the advantage up there. He would both be able to blend into the shadows and disappear. He was still up there. He couldn't even have slipped out. There was only the elevator which acted as an entrance or exit.
No he would be waiting up there, hunting. Whatever he was waiting for, apparently having all of his enemies gathered together wasn't quite enough. What else could there be? She was fearful, refusing to even blink least it cost her her life. On the other hand, they plainly couldn't stay here like this. Marinette attempted to formulate a plan in her mind. She had to summon her courage, to breathe deeply and make sense of what was going on. Remaining idle would inevitably play into their enemy's hands. She was going to have to take the initiative.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, we're getting you out of here." The young woman's gaze fell upon the figure of Adrien's former assistant. "You too Nathalie."
The woman didn't acknowledge the statement, her eyes were fixed only upon the rafters. So the hero turned towards her parents. She'd rescued them before. Always, she had to try and put some distance between herself and them, emotionally at least. They were just other faces that Ladybug had to save. They were however looking at her differently, there was no denying that. She didn't know how they had been taken, what they knew and what they had been able to guess. If Nathalie was here, then maybe they'd put two and two together and realized just who they were dealing with behind Cat Noir's mask.
The couple were fixing her in a way that she'd never seen before. She didn't know what to make of it. It wasn't hostility but neither was it the same reverence which she was more accustomed to receiving. There was a gentleness behind their eyes which, given the current situation, she could only describe as being somewhat worrying. After a few moments, it was Sabine who finally spoke in the gentlest of voices:
"We know it's you sweetie."
Just like that, the disguise which had lasted over a decade fell. Ladybug could only stare at her parents. They said nothing but gave her one of those gentle and understanding smiles that she was accustomed to receiving. The way that they were looking at her just seemed to scream: It's okay. You don't have to pretend any more. For a moment, she contemplated playing dumb. She could have told them they were wrong. She wasn't Marinette, their daughter, she was someone else. She was Ladybug.
No such claim would come out however. Instead, her own gaze softened as she fixed them:
"I'm sorry for not telling you. I wanted you to be safe…" She shook her head slowly, bitter regret setting in. "Guess I messed that up."
Her mother slipped her arms around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug. Marinette didn't resist. Even right now, there was something inexplicably comforting about her parents. She wanted to close her eyes, to forget about the world around her.
Perhaps some kind words of advice and comfort would have been given were it not for the devil which dropped upon them. It was silent, a shadow which seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Before any of them could process just what was happening, Rena Rouge was down, a quick blow to her temple sent the hero crashing to the floor. Next to her, Carapace and Queen Bee jumped back, taken by surprise. They had just enough time to raise their defences as their enemy smashed into them.
His attack was as quick as it was brutal. He left them on the ground but gave them no opportunity to recover. He didn't speak or taunt as he had done previously, the aim was clear, to take down as many of them as he could as rapidly as possible. He danced around, leaped over their heads. He moved like grease lightning, made himself difficult to follow. Queen Bee readied her spinning top but struggled to get a fix on her enemy. Carapace was eager to rejoin his friend, every attempt he made however he found himself forced to dash backwards to avoid his foe's attacks. Somehow, Cat Noir was somehow both everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He made use of the shadows, disappearing before charging them once more.
They were in trouble. Marinette recognized that much in a heartbeat. Panic set in but she fought against it, concentrating as hard as she could on the matter at hand:
"Come on!" She pushed her parents towards the elevator. "We've got to get you out of here!"
They didn't object, allowing themselves to be hurried along back towards the elevator. The other heroes must have caught on to what she intended to do as they attempted to cover for her, ensuring that their enemy couldn't come anywhere near her. She could hear them struggle and shout. It took all of her self-discipline not to look over her shoulder, to trust that her allies had the ability to protect her whilst she ensured that the civilians were safe. It occurred to her as she ran along that she had no idea whatsoever what had happened to Nathalie. She didn't dare check but Ladybug was reasonably confident that the woman hadn't moved. She was spent and had already given everything that she had.
She couldn't afford to give much thought to the matter. If Nathalie was just sitting there, then she likely wouldn't pose a threat. Cat Noir would likely have other matters on his mind and leave her be.
A second later, she found herself faced with Carapace. The young man was now sporting a nasty scratch on the right side of his face, just above his eyebrow. His eyes were wide and panicked. No doubt he had just experienced first hand what their enemy was capable of. She didn't question him, ensuring that her parents were as close as possible. There was a sudden loud bellow as he summoned forth his power:
"Protect!"
The shield was raised around them. There was an audible "thud" as Cat Noir crashed into it. He must have only been a couple of feet away from them. There was none of the mockery that she'd been used to. No. He was taking this dangerously seriously. His green eyes were wild. Whilst there might have been a barrier in place, it didn't feel like it would be enough. He pressed his head against the forcefield, almost trying to grind it through. He was breathing heavily, anger and frustration radiating from him. After a moment, he stepped away and began to pace. Only a couple of steps one way and then another few the next. Like a lion waiting for its meal, he didn't even blink as he fixed them.
Carapace gasped, falling to his knees. Marinette was quick to run to his side. He was out of breath, evidently in some pain. As concerned as she was, another thought came to her. The others would now be trapped out there with Kahn. It was with a certain amount of relief that she realized that Queen Bee had managed to carry a still unconscious Rena Rouge over to them. She did however look decidedly shaken.
Ladybug had missed most of the fight but surely it had only lasted a few seconds. A terrible feeling of dread settled into the pit of her stomach. There wasn't a scratch on Cat Noir but he'd managed to do all of this in less than a minute… Perhaps he sensed her fear, as he came to an abrupt stop, fixing her.
"No sense hiding Marinette… You only have five minutes."
"Please don't do this Adrien. I know you're still in there." She pleaded with him. "You can stop him."
Cat Noir paused, he looked at her, blinking steadily. Ladybug hesitated. It was impossible to know what was going through his head. She'd thought that she was getting through to him before only to be proven terrifyingly wrong. As such, she wasn't holding her breath. He fixed her, eyeing her from head to foot. It was unnerving. A shiver ran down her spine. It was almost as if the young man was rediscovering her.
Feeling determination coursing through her veins, she grit her teeth, determined. If there was anything left of the young man inside, she was determined to reach him. He frowned, it was almost as if he was challenging her to back down. Her courage was such that she readied herself, clenching her fists as she straightened herself. She took a deep breath readying herself to whatever was to come. Still, something had shifted, she couldn't say just what it was but there was no denying that his cruelty seemed to have faded away. Then, after what must have been approaching a minute that he finally spoke:
"Just give it up." His voice was softer now, more measured. "You can't beat him."
"Yes we can." She punctuated each word, letting her determination shine through.
"You'll get hurt Marinette." He tells her as if he were informing her that it was raining outside. "He'll tear all of you to shreds and worse."
She fixed him for a few moments, unsure just what to say. Was Adrien really gone? They had no idea of just what had been done to get in him into this state in the first place. Some form of magic. Nathalie seemed to think that he was impossible to reach. Her own experiences seem to point in that direction. Was he a prisoner of his own body or slowly being erased? She looked at him once more, pleading silently. That's when she saw it, for the first time, behind his green eyes, she could make out some pain.
"Him..." She muttered under her breath. "You said "him"."
Cat Noir didn't respond, other than to fix her with a pained look and for the first time, she saw past the outer skin and into who she was currently talking to. She couldn't understand how or why but that wasn't Kahn any longer. For the first time in a week, she found herself looking at Adrien. Adrien who against all odds and expectations had somehow managed to fight his way back to them.