Yeah! Inventory's over! Back to a normal-ish schedule for me. No more posting close to midnight if I can help it. Anyway it's time for Varian to meet a good parent for once. Which is good because he's in for a not so great time.
Content warning: fighting, anger issues, and sudden illness
Chapter 13
Space Mom
Ladybug almost longed for the days when fighting Akumas were simple. Figure out where the Akuma was, call her Lucky Charm, use it to defeat the bad guy and save the day. Now Tanuki had her second guessing her every move.
Because of that she hesitated using her Lucky Charm and Taniki had managed to steal it. She hadn't even seen him during the battle, which wasn't unusual; he was a strategizer after all. She had just gathered the last thing she needed to complete her plan when he grabbed it right out of her hands. She was expecting a complicated and tricky strategy so something so simple caught her off guard.
The villain was currently holding it up like a trophy.
"I have to wonder, would the lucky Charm work just for you or could someone else put it to good use?" It was almost funny to see two people fighting over a garbage can lid, but here they were.
"Tanuki! I'm warning you-"
"Save your breath Stink Bug, I have the advantage here." He pulled out one of the orbs from his staff and held it in his other hand. "Let's change this into something that suits my needs instead of yours." She suddenly realized he was going to use his fusion power to try and change the Lucky Charm.
"Wait, stop! That's too dangerous, you don't know what will happen!" He just smirked.
"Oh I've got a pretty good idea. As soon as I-" but his words were cut off as he stared in disbelief at the banana that just hit his staff. His eyes widened in shock however as his orbs began changing color rapidly, turning into random objects and sparking in a very familiar way.
"What? No wait, stop!" He was forced to throw his staff away which exploded covering him and everything in a twenty foot radius in glitter. He blinked in confusion as another bo staff knocked the Lucky Charm out of his hand and back into Ladybugs. Now it was her turn to smirk at him.
"Thanks for the help King Monkey!" Ladybug praised as he swung onto the roof across from Tanuki.
"No problem Ladybug! Happy to help." Tanuki spat glitter out of his mouth and glared at the new hero.
"Keep him busy while I take care of this Akuma." Ladybug said while she assembled a weird looking contraption that only made sense to her at the moment. King monkey saluted, turning his attention to the Raccoon user.
"Hi, I'm Monkey King, I don't think we've met." Oh they've met alright. "Looks like you're not so smart after all. One little banana took you down." Tanuki's face contorted in rage. This dumb ape ruined his staff and stopped him from taking control of the Lucky Charm.
"Of course you'd use chaos magic, why beat your opponent with brains when you can just flip the board?" Monkey King just shrugged.
"Still beat you Trash Panda." If possible Tanuki looked even more enraged. "Uh oh, looks like someone doesn't like monkeys." He taunted trying to goat him. It worked.
"I'm not a fan of kings either!" he screamed, grabbing a steel pipe from the ground and lunging at him. Unfortunately this was exactly what the Monkey hero wanted. While Varian was stronger in this form, so was Kim.
"There's just no pleasing you is there?" The fight didn't last long before Tanuki was pinned under the Hero.
"Get your hands off me you damn dirty ape!" but he just smirked.
"I think I'll hold you for Ladybug so we can unmask you." Tanuki's rage quickly turned to fear. He had been foolish and let his pride get in the way of reason. And now he risked being unmasked, he couldn't let that happen. He managed to get an arm free and scrapped up a handful of glitter still stuck to his coat.
"I don't think so." Quick as lightning he threw the fist full of glitter into Monkey King's face. He yelped in pain as Tanuki slipped away. Moments later Ladybug used her Lucky Charm and everything was reset including the glitter. His eyes now clear he scanned the area for Tanuki but he was gone without a trace.
"Good job Monkey King!" Ladybug complimented as she landed next to him.
"Yeah, sorry he got away." she shook her head.
"Don't worry about it, he can be very slippery. Anyway it was good you were on hand this time. Half the time I don't know what he's up to."
"I can be ready anytime!"
"Glad to hear that. Your unpredictable power could be very useful against him." Unbeknown to them, Tanuki was only a short distance away, watching and listening. Just when things were starting to go right for him there was another roadblock. He slowly retreated to lick his wounds. Shadow Moth was not going to like this one bit.
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It had only been a few days since Tanki attacked the festival and not all of the wounds have healed yet. The truth could be an ugly thing and when it was all unleashed more than just feelings were hurt.
Adrien was still reeling over the fact that his friend Marinette was in love with him. He simply didn't know how to talk to her without hurting her.
Adrien was contemplating what school would be like when Varian came down for breakfast. He may have set his plate down a little hard and tore at his bacon a little more violently than needed but when he slammed his drink down his orange juice spilled all over.
"Damn it!" he cursed, trying to clean himself up and stop the liquid from spilling everywhere. Adrien took pity on him and helped him clean up.
"Thanks." he said somewhat embarrassed.
"Still thinking about Kim? I heard you two got into a pretty big fight." He paused for a moment then let out a deep sigh.
"Among other things."
"Did something else happen?" There was another pause before he answered.
"Just…thought we were making progress with the project when we had another set back. In other words, a rough weekend." Adrien noticed he was trying to ring out his gloves which seemed to have absorbed most of the juice.
"You should give those to the maid so she can wash them for you. It can't be comfortable wearing them when they're all wet like that." He looked a little uncomfortable at the suggestion.
"Yeah I'll do that later." he agreed but didn't remove his gloves. Adrien thought it was strange but he didn't want to push it. Varian went back to eating when his phone went off. He frowned at the screen and to Adrien he looked a little sad.
"Something else wrong?" Varian put his phone down now looking conflicted.
"It's Max again. He's been trying to talk to me since the festival, but…"
"You're worried Kim will be there?"
"Or that he'll want us to try and make up." He shoved the rest of his eggs in his mouth as he finished his breakfast but made no move to get up. He just sat there playing with his fork shooting glances at his phone.
"I think you should call him anyway, he's probably worried about you."
"But-"
"You can be honest with him and just say you're not ready to deal with Kim at the moment." He glanced back at his phone still looking sad.
"Maybe it's best I don't."
"But Varian-"
"I don't want to turn this into a competition and I don't want to make Max choose between the two of us. He and Kim have been friends for years, and as much as I don't like Kim, I don't want to come between them. Besides, once this project is finished I'll…probably go back home."
"You…don't sound too happy about that."
"Except for my Dad there's not much for me to go back to." Adrien couldn't help but feel a little concern. Varian had been with them for a few months now, and it didn't sound like his family had any resources. What would happen to him after that?
"I'm sure Father would let you stay or find a place for you and your father here." the other boy smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Your father has been more than generous. I don't know if I should ask for anything more."
"You're also thinking way too far into the future, you're going to stress yourself out." Adrien walked over to where the other boy was sitting, picked up his phone and handed it to him. "Just talk to Max, he must be worried about you." Reluctantly he accepted the phone as Adrien waved him goodbye and headed off to school.
Varian went back to his room for a little privacy before calling up the other boy.
"Varian, is that you?"
"Yeah it's me. Sorry I've been ignoring you this weekend. I kind of just needed to be alone for a while.
"That's understandable." There was a pause on the line before Max spoke again. "Listen about Kim-" This was the part he was dreading.
"Max, I'm sorry but…can we not talk about him right now. Everything's still a little sore and…I'm just not ready to talk about it OK?" He really hoped Max would understand and hopefully not get offended.
"It's ok Varian, I understand. I really just wanted to make sure you're OK." Varian smiled for real this time.
"I'm doing OK, I had some time to cool off. What about you, I hate that you're stuck in the middle like this."
"While these last few days have indeed been stressful, I'm managing. Mostly keeping busy with my project for the science fair next weekend."
"Oh right, you told me you had this new invention you were looking forward to debuting."
"It would mean a lot to me if you came as well." Normally Varian would agree but odds were Kim would be there as well. He really didn't want to deal with him right now.
"If you're worried about Kim, I'll talk to him ahead of time." Varian sighed, he knew how important this was to Max and he really did want to support him.
"Fine, I'll play nice for the day if he can behave himself. Deal?"
"Deal, though I really think you two should sit down and talk." Varian let out a pained expression with Max taking this hint and dropping the subject for now.
"Anyway I know this is a bit last minute but my Mother is coming home tonight and since Kim's going to be at a swim meet after school I'd like it very much if you would accompany me to greet her." Hearing this, Varian's eyes lit up.
"Wait, didn't you say your mother is an astronaut and she's getting back from a trip to the freakin MOON!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"That's correct! I'm quite proud of her, she put in a lot of hard work but she made her dream come true."
"She sounds awesome, imagine the stories she could tell and what she learned while up there! I'll…" he hesitated remembering he was supposed to have a meeting with Gabriel this afternoon but…"You know what, I'll make time." A very happy Max gave him the information and now all Varian had to do was inform Gabriel he had to reschedule. Fun times.
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Later that afternoon the two boys met at the airport awaiting the arrival of Max's Mother.
"I'm pleased you could make it Varian. I hope I didn't cause any trouble for you." Varian waved him off.
"It's fine Gabriel took it well." It was sort of true, he didn't say much, just gave him a disappointing look as he left. It was a little too similar to the looks his dad would give him when he screwed up. He almost wished he'd gotten angry.
They didn't have to wait long, her plane was right on time. Max held up a sign saying, "Welcome Space Mom'' which was apparently a nickname he gave her when she first started to pursue her dream of becoming an astronaut. Varian just held up her name. Varian quickly spotted a tall dark skinned woman wearing a NASA jacket waving excitedly in their direction.
Max nearly dropped the sign as he ran to his mother who enveloped him in a strong hug. It was a little bitter sweet for Varian. He was happy for Max but he longed for that to be him and his Father. Burying himself his big strong arms promising to protect him from the horrors of the world.
It's been so long since he'd truly felt safe. He's been running or fighting or planning ever since the blizzard only stopping when he was injured or sick or on death's door. Was it so wrong to just have his life back, his Dad back? He knew he had made a mistake, a horrible one. Why wasn't he allowed to fix it? His thoughts were thankfully interrupted when Max led his mother back to Varian.
"Mother, I'd like to meet my new friend Varian." She shook his hand with a smile.
"Hello Varian, I'm Claudie Kanté. Happy to finally meet you. Max has told me so much about you." Varian was a little surprised by that.
"He has?" she laughed as they headed out to the waiting car.
"Of course, they're aren't a lot of kids his own age that can keep up with my little genius." she said teasing as Max blushed.
"Mom!" he whined but it was a little half hearted one. Once they were on their way back to Max's home, booth boys had a ton of questions wanting to know what it was like to go into space and actually walk on the moon. She was more than happy to answer everything she could, this was her life's dream and she was delighted to share it with her son and his friend.
Varian must have been a little too excited because he noticed he was getting a small headache and that was starting to get bigger. Not wanting to ruin the reunion he kept it to himself figuring he could just get an aspirin when he got to their house.
"Well enough about my adventure, how about you two? Your science fair is still coming up right Max?"
"Yes, it's this coming weekend."
"Oh good, with all the prepwork for the mission and literally being off planet I was worried I'd missed it." Markov floated between them flashing a calendar in mid air.
"There was no need to worry, I calculated your arrival home with time to spare." Max nodded agreeing with his invention.
"I'm looking forward to it! Most of my friends are coming, even Varian." Max's mother turned to the other boy.
"I'm glad you'll be there for him as well. Are you submitting anything for the fair?" Varian shook his head.
"I'm a little too busy with my personal project at the moment. I'll just be there to support Max." Max tilted his head.
"Are you sure? You could submit one of your older projects if you don't have time to make something new. How about your environmentally safe and humane animal traps?" Max's mother looked at him with interest.
"Oh, that is interesting." Varian rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"It's not really that impressive. Just a simple compound that solidifies when exposed to air. The neutralizing agent dissolves it instantly and is biodegradable."
"That sounds pretty impressive to me." She commented as Varian's headache started getting worse. "Are you alright?" begrudgingly Varian relented.
"Just a small headache, would you happen to have any aspirin on you?" Max gave some to his friend as they continued down the road.
"So what's this personal project you're working on?" Max's mother asked, but before he could explain Max stepped in.
"I'm afraid the details are classified, Mom." she nodded in understanding and didn't push it any further.
'At least some people respected boundaries.' Varian thought as they pulled into the driveway. Unfortunately for him his head ache wasn't getting better, only worse. As soon as Max's mother pulled her bag from the car, promising Max an unforgettable souvenir, Varian collapsed to his knees.
"Varian!" Max exclaimed running to his friend. "What's wrong?" Varian was having trouble forming words over the pounding in his head but he managed a few words.
"Headache…bad…real bad…call…Gabriel." Max didn't have his number so he called Adrien. Meanwhile his mother was helping the boy to lay down and gave him some water. She was thinking of taking him to a doctor when a limo pulled up. To her surprise Gabriel himself exited the car and went straight to Varian.
"I'm the boy's guardian, how long has he been like this?" he asked, seeing the boy's face scrunched in pain. Max twisted his hands nervously.
"He…he was complaining of a headache in the car and I gave him some aspirin. When he pulled in he suddenly collapsed." Gabriel effortlessly took the child into his arms and turned to the limo but Max's mother was still a little concerned.
"Where are you taking him?"
"Back home, our personal doctor is familiar with his medical history. He's already on his way." She was about to protest but then saw the way Varian was clinging to Gabriel's arm like the way her own son used to, so she held her tongue.
The ride from Max's place to the Agreste's estate was silent. Varian was trying to move as little as possible to ease his pain which thankfully was going back down. By the time they reached the manor Varian was more coherent but Gabriel carried him in to conserve his strength.
Adrien was racing down the stairs as soon as he heard the door open.
"Father, is Varian OK? Max sounded panicked on the phone." Gabriel didn't stop as he made his way to Varian's room.
"He'll be fine, now please stay out of the way, the doctor's waiting." Nathalie pulled Adrien aside while the pair raced upstairs.
"Your Father's right, let the doctor do his job." He looked upstairs wondering if that was really true. He couldn't help but think of his mother's illness and this was almost word for word what they said about her.
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About an hour later the doctor left with very few answers. He called it a sudden migraine but noted Varian was running a slight fever. He gave him some medicine but said to call back if it got worse.
Right now Varian was more tired than in pain. He couldn't explain what happened either. One minute he was dealing with an average headache the next it felt like something was trying to escape his head but his skull was in the way. But as Varian was starting to nod off Gabriel noticed his goggles.
"Have these always been scratched and nicked?" he asked, concerned as Ruddiger popped out of Varian's pocket to comfort his boy.
"The Miraculous's form has changed to blend in over the years but while in the other world they were heavily used as an everyday tool." This was disturbing news. Gabriel knew the dangers of using a damaged Miraculous.
"We'll have to get these fixed. You get some rest Varian while I-" but Varian's hand shot out instinctually not wanting the goggles out of his sight. Ruddiger tried to calm him down.
"Please Varian let him make the repairs, I should have seen the danger myself." But Varian shook his head and Gabriel sighed.
"Fine." He put the googles back on his nightstand, calming him down instantly. "You can repair it with me later. I'll show you how it's done. Until then you can keep them but don't wear them until we do. Understand?" Varian nodded and finally fell asleep.
That night he has a strange but prophetic dream. It felt like something very important but it was forgotten by the time he woke up the next morning.
To be continued…
Next time: It's time for the Science Fair! Varian is trying to avoid Kim while Adrien is trying to talk to Marinette. Neither one seems to be getting what they want.
