Ladybug had seen enough of André Bourgeois for one day. She had seen enough of him for one lifetime. If she had been given any say on the matter, she would have avoided him until the end of his mandate. She was not that lucky. She crossed his path again not one hour after that disastrous conversation in miss Lenoir's room. And - because why would things have gotten better when they could get worse? - that second meeting occurred right after she had been delivered awful news.
After leaving miss Lenoir's room, Adrien had fled . That was the term. He had not stayed to discuss the mayor's affirmations. Marinette did not want to believe what the man had said. Surely, the people of Paris would understand that the law applied to everyone? Surely, they would want justice to prevail?
Yet, Chat Noir had doubted, and her partner was by far subtler than she was. He was the one who could find brightness in anyone, even Chloé. At the same time, he could see the darkness and the flaws in Marinette herself, when she failed to admit them or even to notice them. He saw shades of grey where she only saw black and white. He understood better.
If Adrien thought mister Bourgeois had a point, then she had no choice but believe it. She wished her partner could have stayed and tried to figure out a way to hold everyone accountable, in some way, but she supposed she couldn't ask him that. It would mean getting his father arrested and she was not about to force him to make that choice.
She was so worried for him, and not just because of his father's situation. There was one issue Adrien had not mentioned at all, not before yelling at Chloé's mother, one that was undoubtedly just as crushing for him as everything his father had done: mister Kubdel did not know what had happened to his mother.
Hawk Moth had been the only lead.
They would never know.
Marinette hoped he had discussed it with someone , because he had not told her a single thing about the hours he had spent as Hawk Moth's hostage. She was not even sure he had talked to Plagg.
She fully planned to bring the topic up later on, of course, but softly. She would not force him to talk. If he needed to confide in someone, she would be there.
To be there for him, however, he had to be there.
After finding herself alone on the roof of the hospital, she had figured that, since she was already there, she could check on mister Kubdel. He was out of surgery, in a heavily guarded room at the end of a heavily guarded corridor.
Her appearance caused a buzz among the cops. One of them stopped her at the end of the corridor, apologetic, while another hurried to the nurse's office.
"I'm sorry, Ladybug," the policeman said. "It's not that we don't trust you, just…"
He trailed off.
"I understand," she replied. "How is mister Kubdel?"
"Awake, good prognosis. He's here for a few days, then we'll have him moved. In the meantime, well, we'll make sure he doesn't run."
"What about his family?"
"His wife and son are being questioned. The girl is… I don't know, I think social services is taking care of her? You'd better ask the commish."
"Sure, where-"
"Miss Ladybug!" came a voice from the nurse's office. A man had walked out and was trying to get her attention with the loudest whisper he could manage. It was the commissioner. He joined them. "I was hoping you would show up. There's definitely…" - He looked uneasy. His eyes shifted from one side to the other, and he guided her to the nurse's office. - "I have a few questions."
He locked the door, sped to a tiny radio on the closest desk and turned it on, then breathed out.
"I am going to be direct, since we seem to have a big, urgent problem to handle." - That was not very direct. - "Do you have any tangible proof that Alim Kubdel is Hawk Moth?"
Marinette blanched.
"What?"
"Proof. Other than your word. Not that I do not believe your word, but it'll be hard to convict him based on that only, and you'd have to be willing to reveal your true identity to be an acceptable witness."
" What? " Ladybug repeated. "I gave you that video of him threatening Chat Noir!"
"And that's good, that's quite a few crimes we can pin on him, but it doesn't prove he was Hawk Moth. We'd need footage of his transformations, witnesses who saw him use his powers, something indisputable. But his victims never saw him and don't remember anything about him. His family was totally out of the loop. His kids thought he was having an affair. All we have is your word, and that might not be enough."
"I…" Marinette replied. She went silent and started to think. Would it be safe to reveal her identity? Would it endanger her parents? Her friends? Those were moot points. "If it is necessary, I will reveal myself. He is not getting away with it. Not if I can help it. His victims deserve closure. But is there any other-"
There was a knock at the door. They both jumped and looked at it. Whoever was behind it tried to push it open, in vain. The commissioner sighed and unlocked it. A cop was waiting on the other side.
"The mayor is here, commissioner," he announced. "Says he wants to talk to you and 'miss Ladybug'."
His superior let out another sigh, cringing.
"Show him in," he replied.
He waited for the policeman to leave, then massaged the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry about this," he told Ladybug, without looking at her.
She saw him tense when mister Bourgeois entered.
"Ladybug!" the mayor exclaimed. "Julien. I'm glad to see the two of you got a chance to talk."
He was grinning, he looked confident, but there was sweat on his forehead and his smile flickered. He most likely believed Marinette had told the police everything she knew about mister Agreste and Anne-Laure Lenoir.
"Mister Mayor," the commissioner said. "I was just telling Ladybug about that lack of evidence problem."
"I'd be willing to testify," the young heroine cut in. "Under my real name. I'll do whatever it takes."
Mister Bourgeois waved his hand.
"That's kind of you," he drawled, "but it might not be sufficient."
"I'm sure Chat Noir will be more than willing to join me as a witness," she added. "And I am sure we can find other people who knew who he was, if we search far and wide. Who knows? Those people might be closer than you think!"
The mayor gave her a nervous smile and tried to regain his composure.
"Now, now, now, let's not resort to extreme measures if they are not necessary! Your real name! Think about your family! You have caught so many criminals, you can't take the risk of letting them know who you and your family are. I'm sure things can be solved without all that fuss."
"We'd need a miracle, mister Mayor," the commissioner commented. "Short of a confession, Kubdel-"
"Well, has he been questioned?" André asked.
"Barely. The anesthesia wore off, but we are not interrogating a man under the effect of strong painkillers, in his hospital bed. The interrogation will be done by the book and filmed from beginning to end. If he says something incriminating, I want it to be usable in court."
"He hasn't been questioned! Well, Julien, you're being horribly pessimistic. For all you know, Hawk Moth is in a hurry to confess."
"I sincerely doubt it. He knows how little we have."
Mister Bourgeois dismissed those concerns with a wave of the hand.
"I'm sure he will show exemplary goodwill. He has every reason to."
"With all due respect, mister Mayor, I don't think you understand what I'm trying to explain, here."
"I suppose I'll check for myself," André drawled.
Ladybug's stomach turned to stone. She tensed. What kind of trick had he prepared?
"I don't think that would be wise," she said. "He is a very dangerous man, even without magic."
The police chief sided with her, back straight as a pole, tense all over.
"Not to mention no one but my detectives and Kubdel's lawyers will be talking to the man for the foreseeable future."
Bourgeois ignored Marinette entirely and scowled at the cop.
"Do we need to discuss your retirement again , Julien?"
The commissioner turned beet red.
"I hardly see what you could tell him," he replied in a much lower voice.
"I merely want to appeal to his better nature. Give me five minutes."
Ladybug stepped forward, arms on her hips.
"I'm fairly certain it would break a million laws, so why don't you ask mister Kubdel's lawyer what they think about it? Or wait for him to get a lawyer?"
"Me! Breaking the law! I believe I know more about the law than you do, young lady."
"Well, you sure know all about evading it."
He gave her a sweet, saccharine smile.
"That is certainly an interesting accusation from a vigilante."
"You liked that vigilantism just fine up until one hour ago," she snapped back. "You are not talking to mister Kubdel. I don't know what you are planning but it's not happening."
Bourgeois rolled his eyes.
"I merely wanted to have a quick chat with the man. What was I going to do? Bribe him?" - He shook his head. - "Very well. I'll leave. I'll be at the Grand Paris if I'm needed."
Marinette scoffed.
"Goodbye, mister Mayor. Have a nice evening."
"Likewise, Ladybug. Julien…"
The two men exchanged a few (tense) pleasantries, then Chloé's father left. Ladybug shot daggers at the commissioner, who was a grown man and should have been able to resist Bourgeois' bullying, then she ran to the roof. She watched the parking lot until she saw the mayor's white limo drive away.
After that, she ran back home, praying for her absence not to have been noticed.
###
There was nothing more terrifying than to be the parent of a child, save maybe being the makeshift parent of a shattered boy who would have needed so much more than what little warmth you had to offer.
Mimicking happy families on television was never going to cut it.
There was little Nathalie could do but try to take the less damaging decisions, following her logic and common sense, all of that without succumbing to panic. She was terrified. Every syllable she uttered sent cold sweats running down her back: every single word she said could hurt Adrien more. She had no idea what to do. She was not cut out for this.
It pained her to see how little he was able to express. Despite her best efforts to encourage him to let his anger out - and he was angry, with good reason - he was still containing himself. He had been shaped into silence and obedience for so long that the damage would be hard to undo. But there was hope. He had learned to resist his father and Nathalie firmly believed he would never give in again.
As for Gabriel… She had a list of requirements, and he had ticked one of the points off.
That was good.
He had recognized Adrien would be safer away from him and had shown the willingness to find a solution. She would have taken steps to separate them quickly enough, but to see Gabriel figure it out by himself was a positive development. His idea had been to leave his home to have Nathalie live there with his son. She had provided the two alternatives.
Adrien's choice had not come as a surprise. He was hurt deeper than she could imagine.
And that was just the family angle. She had not dared to ask him about his abduction yet. She would wait for things to settle down before doing so.
In the meantime, she would be present, reliable and ready to listen. Also, to bring some normalcy back into Adrien's life, she would fill the time with logistics.
"So what are we buying, exactly?" Adrien asked as Nathalie circled IKEA's parking lot to find her car a spot. "I thought we were getting groceries."
"A bed," his guardian replied, speeding through an alley to steal a spot from a slower driver. She ignored the honking. "You need a bed. You can't sleep on the sofa forever."
"I… guess… not?" Adrien replied.
"But the sofa is right next to the TV!" Plagg protested.
"Well then we'll order another television for the bedroom," Nathalie snapped. "Out of the car, hop, hop, hop."
Adrien got out, wincing as he stood, and Nathalie cringed. She would heal his wounds later. She just needed a suitable candidate.
"How come you don't have a guest room?" Adrien wondered. "Your place is huge."
'Huge', said the boy who lived in a mansion.
"Do I strike you as the kind of person who would entertain guests?" she replied, exiting the car and locking its doors. "I have a bedroom and a library. "
"You don't strike me as the kind of person who would have a library," Plagg commented from his hiding place under Adrien's shirt.
Nathalie found herself glaring at a front pocket.
"I mean, you do everything on your tablet. Don't they make books in electronic form, now? Why would you need the paper ones for?"
"I do happen to like nice, hardback editions of fashion artbooks. I own quite a few."
"Nothing about food?" Plagg asked.
"No."
"Nothing about cats ?"
"No."
"And here I thought I liked you."
Both Nathalie and Adrien rolled their eyes. The boy ran into the store, stopping at the map near the entrance.
"I'm not sure where they would put the air mattresses," he said when she joined him. "I'm not sure they have a camp-"
"We are not getting you an air mattress," she cut in, brandishing Gabriel's credit card. "We are getting you a bed. And, while we're here, let's see what else we can carry home. You will need cushions, you will need blankets, and nightstands, and lamps, and a wardrobe, and maybe even wall decorations."
"It's not really necessary."
"No, you don't get it. I have your father's credit card. We are taking the money and running. Do you want a Playstation to go with that TV we are getting you?"
That got Adrien to chuckle.
"Come on. What will you do with all of that once I go back home?"
She led him towards the furniture aisle.
"Even if you go back home, I suspect you will be a frequent visitor at my place for the foreseeable future. And maybe I should see why everyone seems to love Ultimate Mecha Strike."
Adrien whirled to her with wide eyes that spelled doom. She had not even said that she would play with him (though it was implied), but not doing so would no longer be an option.
"Oh boy," Plagg muttered.
"It's great!" his chosen exclaimed. For a boy who had been on the edge of clinical depression for most of the day, he was incredibly cheerful. "I'll show you. So basically it's a fighting game with robots, where you control a robot that evolves, and you have to defeat either the AI, either another player. I'm pretty good at it. Marinette is better, though. She even won a trophy with a boy from our class."
Nathalie latched onto that unexpected and most welcome way out.
"Maybe we could invite miss Dupain-Cheng, then," she suggested. "I'm sure she'd love to play with you."
Plagg snorted. Adrien, who was either more innocent or more mature than the millennia-old small god, merely smiled.
"Only if you don't mind that. Thank you, Nathalie!"
She gave a little sigh and led him towards the bedroom section.
"Come on," she said. "It's getting late and the store will close soon. Let's get you that bed."
###
Getting furniture delivered after eight in the evening was exceedingly easy, if you were exceedingly nice and punctuated every word of your requests with a fifty euro bill.
Nathalie walked out of her apartment at half past nine, leaving Adrien alone with Plagg, his newly assembled bed, boxes of unpacked decorations and his brand new TV. Between the 'getting it out of the box', the 'plugging it to a brand new xbox' and the 'picking a game to play out of the thirty-two they had bought', she figured he would be busy for at least one hour. That gave her ample time to drive to Gabriel's house and pack most of Adrien's clothes.
When she arrived there, the mansion was no longer on lockdown. She used Adrien's keys and cards to get through the door, finding the hallway emptied of the chairs that had littered it the last time she had visited.
It didn't look like anyone was home. The house was silent. The lights were off. You could hear the ticking of the dining room clock from the hallway.
Nathalie sighed, wondering where Gabriel had vanished to. She took a quick look at his office door. It was ajar on a darkened room. The study was just as deserted. Rather than checking the bedroom - they were not on those terms anymore - she called him to let him know she was there. She had texted him earlier on, to tell him of Adrien's decision, but he had not acknowledged that message. A real conversation couldn't hurt.
As soon as she pressed the 'call' icon, she heard Gabriel's ringtone. It was coming from the seemingly empty office. She backtracked.
"Gabriel?" she called, pushing the door open.
The room was dark, but she could see a shape crumpled on the desk. She panicked and slapped the light switch.
The shape was, just as she had thought, Gabriel. Thankfully, it was the only one of her thoughts to prove accurate: yes, he was crumpled on the desk, face buried against his crossed arms, with some drawings spread around him, but he was merely asleep. With his glasses on. He shifted and hid his face with one arm to protect himself from the light, then stopped moving altogether.
Well. That's new, Nathalie mused with her heart still thumping. She was mostly used to seeing him awake at inappropriate hours.
She walked to him and gave his shoulder a light tap, then softly shook it.
"Gabriel?" she called. He grumbled. " Gabriel? "
He grunted and sighed, rolling his shoulders and sitting up. Then he looked around, squinting, and blinked.
"Nathalie?" he muttered, confused. He shook his head and peeked out the window. The night sky seemed to surprise him. "What time is it?"
"About ten," she replied.
The folds of his sleeves had left creases on his face. With his befuddled, half-asleep expression, he looked ridiculous. Nathalie had to purse her lips not to smile. It would have been a sign of endearment, and she could not soften so soon.
"I thought I could rest my eyes for five minutes," he said, collecting his sketches and arranging them into a neat pile. "It looks like I slept through the whole afternoon." - He massaged the bridge of his nose, then fumbled to stand. - "I didn't expect you this late." - She saw him brace himself, if only for a second. - "Where is Adrien?"
Nathalie breathed in and tried to deliver the blow as delicately as possible.
"Adrien… decided to stay with me for a while. I'm sorry."
She was not actually sorry - it was probably the best for the boy - but she did not enjoy delivering punches to the gut. Not to the people she loved, anyway.
Gabriel closed his eyes.
"Good," he commented, his tone subdued. "I assume you came to get his schoolbooks?"
Nathalie nodded.
"That, and some clothes," she explained, studying his motions. He was still drowsy. He could stand, but he swayed a little. For an instant, she wondered if he was drunk. But the only glass in the room was filled with water, and she noticed a bottle of Perrier on the desk. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I need coffee." - He stretched his neck. - "If you could please give me ten minutes to grab a cup from the kitchen, I'll help you pack."
She acquiesced and followed him to the kitchen, where he served them both coffees. He took his black, and she diluted hers with as much milk as she could fit in her cup.
"I hear you went to work today," she told him as they waited for their drinks to cool down. She was spinning her spoon in her cup and staring intently at the twirling coffee.
"Yes. No. Briefly. I had to meet with HR so they would leave you alone, and to clear Adrien's schedule and mine. Then I went back home. You told me to rest…" - He rubbed the creases his sleeves had left on his cheek. - "I rested."
"Anything else?"
Gabriel shook his head.
"No. I barely even watched the news. If Adrien had not called me, I wouldn't have heard about Bourgeois' speech."
"You'll be happy to know he got you off the hook," Nathalie replied, her voice a little more snappish than she wanted it.
"I heard."
She sipped her coffee. So did he.
Then he spoke.
"And Anne-Laure called me to tell me Kubdel was not involved in Alice's disappearance."
Nathalie froze with her cup still against her lips. A handful of seconds went by.
"Is that what he told her?" she asked.
"That is what he told Adrien , apparently."
She slowly put her cup down not to drop it. She had not dared to question Adrien but, obviously, she should have.
The news did not come as much of a surprise, not to her. She had never been convinced that Hawk Moth had the answers Gabriel was looking for. She also knew that, if Kubdel had known the slightest useful detail, he would have taken it to his grave.
What was shocking was that Gabriel had not gone straight to Adrien to get the full story out of him.
"You have not called him," she stated.
There was the slighted lull. Gabriel's eyes lost focus.
"I have not. We agreed on that."
She nodded.
He took another sip of his coffee, looking straight through the cup. After a moment, Nathalie reached for his wrist.
"We will get information one way or another," she promised.
She did not tell him how, not yet.
He acquiesced but did not comment. Nathalie sighed and finished her cup. He downed the rest of his.
"Let's find some suitcases," he suggested.
###
When Ladybug knocked on Adrien's new bedroom window, a little after ten, Plagg would have gladly shouted 'transform back'. He did not want to see Ladybug. He did not want to see Marinette. He needed to talk to Tikki. Unfortunately, requesting to see his sister would have been suspicious, and he did not want to let the children see how serious his concerns were.
He rolled on Adrien's new bed while Tikki's young chosen slipped through the window and hugged Adrien. He sniffed the bed sheets while she explained that the Mayor had something fishy planned, then he answered the inevitable 'how can you smell things with no nose?' with his usual disdainful snort. He was magical. What he looked like did not matter. At the core, he was a black cat and a ghost, and he had kept all of his senses.
Then the children focused on the room. Marinette was in awe, as she had clearly never seen a lamp before and needed to inspect it for five minutes, then to do the same for every single little thing Adrien had purchased.
"How did you get all of that in here and assembled in the span of one afternoon?" the girl marvelled.
"Bribes," Adrien explained. "And a limitless visa card. They go hand in hand, really."
"It doesn't even look like the same room as yesterday."
Plagg yawned. Inside his head, he was screaming ' Bella told the story of the Magician's Boxes' . But he didn't show it. Instead, he grumbled and moaned about being bored.
"If you're going to talk about chairs and lamps for the whole evening, can you let Tikki out? I'm bored. I'm so bored."
Marinette hesitated, looking around, then realized that not only were they alone, Nathalie knew her true identity anyway. She tapped her earrings and reverted her transformation.
Of course, Tikki could not take a hint. Instead of joining Plagg, as her brother had hoped, she landed on Adrien's shoulder and nuzzled against his chin until the boy chuckled.
"Hiya, Tikki," Plagg's chosen greeted her. "How are you?"
"Fine! How are you? "
"Well, I got Ultimate Mecha Strike V !"
"That's not an answer."
"I'm fine," Adrien swore. "Nathalie is great. I think this is all for the best."
Marinette's enraged grimace at that was hilarious (undoubtedly, she was thinking of Gabriel), but neither Tikki nor Adrien saw it. No. Tikki was too busy looking at the boy with a resolute expression.
"So do I. Things will get better," she promised. "Time heals all wounds."
"TIME ISN'T GONNA HEAL THE HOLE IN MY STOMACH!" Plagg yelled.
That got him a frown, but he did not care: he had his sister's attention.
"Come on," he exclaimed, darting out of the room.
Tikki dashed after him and caught up with him in the kitchen.
"I swear, Plagg, you are insufferable. "
"Bella told Kubdel about the Pandora boxes. She told him about the ritual."
"WHAT?" Tikki shrieked. Then she lowered her voice. "Are you sure? "
"He told Adrien about it," the black Kwami explained. "Now, I don't know if she gave Kubdel all of the magical theory that goes with that story, but she shared too much already. Adrien started pestering me about the Magician. He asked me if I remembered being in the box."
They all remembered being in the box. The least lucky of them - the ones who had been born of creatures made of flesh rather than chitin - remembered much more than that. They remembered the flames.
Tikki covered her mouth and spun into place, horrified.
"She wouldn't. She wouldn't have. We promised to let that knowledge die."
"Adrien sounded concerned ," Plagg continued.
"That doesn't mean… No, no, she wouldn't have. Did you ask the boy what he knows?"
"Of course not. The more interest I show for the whole thing, the more easily he'll understand it's dangerous knowledge. We are going to have to ask Bella herself."
"If he does know the whole story, I doubt he has not realized how serious it is, Plagg."
"I don't know. I tell myself he wouldn't have stopped at vague questions if he knew everything."
"We have to ask him," Tikki insisted. "You know how childish Bella has gotten since her corruption."
"She has always been childish."
"You know what I mean. She'd lie just to spite us. And we need to ask him. We can't allow humans to remember how to bind more of us, not even Adrien, and especially not Hawk Moth. If Alim Kubdel is in possession of that knowledge… His memories will have to be wiped."
Plagg grunted. He did not like the idea of discussing the binding with the children. Adrien would worry, Marinette would dramatize everything, and Plagg and Tikki would never hear the end of it.
So we were ideas turned corporeal. So we were not given a choice. So what?
As long as no more Kwami were made, what was the point of bringing the whole debacle up?
"Now?" he muttered.
"Yes, now! This is important, Plagg. The more we wait, the more time Hawk Moth has to share the information!"
"Fine, fine, if you insist," the black cat mumbled.
He flew out of the kitchen, dragging his feet as much as one could drag one's feet while flying. He was halfway to Adrien's new bedroom when the front door opened.
"A little help?" Nathalie called as she walked into the apartment, dragging a rolling suitcase behind her.
Marinette and Adrien ran out of the bedroom, wondering what was going on. The boy took one look at Nathalie's suitcase and hurried to help her. His girlfriend joined them, then peeked out to see if something else needed carrying. As it turned out, there was one suitcase left, which she carried in.
Tikki and Plagg looked at each other.
The talk would have to wait.
"I didn't expect to see you here at this time of the night, miss Dupain-Cheng," Nathalie commented.
"I dropped by before patrol," the girl replied. "Adrien texted me. But it's really late, I should go."
"No. No, actually, that's fine," the woman answered, which surprised both of the Kwami. "Adrien, did you change your bandages while I was gone?" - The teenager shook his head. - "I see. Marinette, would you mind helping him? There's a few things I need to do."
"Of course not!" Tikki's chosen exclaimed, tripping on a corner of the sofa as she hurried to the bathroom. She mumbled a curse, then hopped to the door. "Where do you keep the gauze?"
"First drawer under the sink," Adrien answered, joining her.
Nathalie watched them go, then quietly removed her coat, collected her purse, and walked into the kitchen. Plagg frowned, nudged Tikki, and followed the human. They found her standing by the kitchen table with her open purse. She got an eyeglass case out, and put it down. She placed her tablet next to it, a plastic pen on top of the tablet, then a charger.
The next thing she pulled out of the purse was the electrum box that held Bella and her Miraculous.
Plagg peeked into the living room. Adrien and Marinette had found the bandages. The young girl was checking the cut on the boy's throat.
"Tikki," Nathalie whispered. "If I could have a second of your time…"
The red Kwami dashed to her and hovered next to the electrum box, that the human was spinning between her fingers.
"Are you planning to…" Tikki started.
"If you agree. You and the girl, of course. She is worried about Adrien's injuries, now would be the perfect time to turn her into a healer."
Plagg's sister frowned, pensive.
"You handled Bella's powers well enough with Adrien. No corruption, you barely impacted his mental state… I think this could work. As long as Marinette agrees with the idea, I don't see any reason to object."
"Good," Nathalie replied. "Let's consider this a test run. Marinette?" she called, turning to the door.
"YES?" came the answer. Then the girl trotted into the kitchen. "Yes?"
Nathalie looked down at the golden box she was holding.
"Would you like to try healing Adrien's wounds in a more efficient way?"
Marinette's eyes traveled back and forth between the woman's face and the box. She peeked at Tikki, then stared at Bella's new holder.
"You mean…"
"Yes."
The teenager closed the door behind her.
"We can try," she said.
Meanwhile, Plagg was studying Nathalie's face.
A test run for what?
###