Chapter Text
Marinette, Alya, and their respective kwamis stared at Adrien. Even Plagg was shocked at Adrien's claim.
"I know who Hawkmoth is, and Marinette and I are going to confront him," he said.
"And you think I'm going to willingly leave?" Alya said, handing what Adrien assumed were nuts to Trixx. "No, we're doing this together."
"Alya's right; it'd be riskier if only you and I went, Adrien," Marinette said. "Alya may not be as seasoned as we are, but the three of us are strongest together."
Adrien sat down. "Hawkmoth wants our Miraculouses; if we fail he'll have all 3 of ours and no one would be able to stop him. That's why Alya shouldn't be here. I don't even want Marinette to come along, but if anything happens, I'll need her at my side. I'm sorry, Alya."
He could see Alya's colour twitching inside of her, but she remained silent as all eyes focused on her. "Hawkmoth is trying to get yours and Marinette's Miraculous, not mine. If it's just you two and he beats you, he's won. So no, I won't go," she announced, crossing her arms.
"I hate to admit it, Adrien, but Alya's right. If we confront Hawkmoth, then either all three of us should go or only one of us goes with Alya. It'd be too risky otherwise," Marinette agreed. Despite her words, though, her colour said she was unsure.
"You still haven't told us who Hawkmoth is or how you found out," Tikki chimed in. Now, Adrien felt all eyes were on him.
"During today's akuma attack, Hawkmoth talked to the akuma as he usually does. But this time, there was a new colour in Hawkmoth's normal purple colour, one I know."
"And are you sure that it's the same person and not just someone who has the same colour thing?" Alya asked.
Adrien nodded. "No two people have the same colour; even identical colours have different feels to them, and this one...this one I know well." His heart began hurting as he thought of his father.
Marinette sat down next to him. "Who is it, Adrien?" she asked, her voice soft.
"I really don't all three of us should confront him," Adrien said, ignoring Marinette. "And, no offense to you, Alya, but Marinette and I work together best. Should things go south-"
"WHEN things go south," Alya interjected.
"IF things go south," Adrien repeated, "then I want her with me. And if things go south, then I promise that we won't fight a losing battle; if it looks like we won't win, we'll retreat."
Adrien could see Alya thinking it over. The orange inside her twisted and turned over itself, unable to decide on just what do say or do. He looked to his side where Marinette sat and saw her brilliant blue solid; she had no questions about her choice now. Turning back to Alya, he could see her colour settling down; she'd made her decision.
"Fine," Alya said, a hint of hurt in her voice, "but I'll stay around as Renard Roux just in case, but other than that I'll go. Trixx, transformez-moi." A moment later, Alya was replaced by her alter ego. "I'll be just a call away," she said, anger tinging her voice. She turned and jumped out the window. Marinette watched her until she was gone.
"Do you really think that was the best idea?" Marinette asked.
"You'll understand when we meet Hawkmoth," Adrien said.
"Now that Alya's gone, will you tell me who Hawkmoth is?"
Adrien mumbled something; Marinette couldn't understand him. "I couldn't understand you; who is he?" she asked.
He mumbled something again, but this time Marinette caught two words: Hawkmoth and father. Realization and fear began to creep into her mind as she sat back. They sat in silence for a moment as Plagg and Tikki finished their snacks, steeling themselves for the coming battle.
When both kwamis were satisfied, Adrien and Marinette transformed. Chat Noir took the lead, Ladybug silently following him out of his room, down the stairs to his father's office.
The house was empty; Nathalie seemed to be out on an errand and the Gorilla was nowhere to be found. With no one to stop them, they slowly walked to Gabriel's office. Chat raised his hand to knock, but hesitated. "Are you ready," he asked Ladybug. She wrapped her hand around his. "We can do this, Chat."
Chat Noir knocked on the door.
Gabriel's voice cut through the air as if there was no door. "Come in," a command, not an invitation.
Chat opened the door, and both him and Ladybug walked in, closing the door behind them. Gabriel sat at his desk, preoccupied with the latest designs. "What do you need, Adrien?" he asked without looking up.
Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other, then back to him. "Gabriel Agreste," Ladybug said, "we would like to talk with you about Hawkmoth."
Chat watched for any change in colour in his father; a shock of grey to maybe appear as if he had no idea what they were talking about. Instead, Hawkmoth's purple began to stir inside of his father. Slowly, he watched Gabriel put his pen down and look up. A knot formed in his stomach.
"Ladybug and Chat Noir," he said, his voice unchanged. There was no surprise in his voice, as if they'd had a meeting scheduled for this time. Gabriel pressed down on something on his desk; a clicking from behind Chat told him that the locks on the windows and door had activated. There was no turning back now.
"Gabriel," Chat said, his father's name leaving a weird feeling on his tongue, "we have reason to believe that-"
"I am Hawkmoth. There's no need to beat around the bush; I had a feeling that you'd figured it out with today's akuma, Adrien," he said, sending a shock through the two super heroes. "And am I right to assume that Ladybug is Mlle. Marinette?"
Chat's blood ran cold as he looked to his partner. Fear was swirling inside her colour, so he took the lead.
"Hawkmoth, return the Butterfly Miraculous to us and turn yourself in for your crimes against Paris," he commanded.
"And if I say no?" Gabe interlaced his fingers, putting his hands on his desk.
"Then we have no choice but to take it by force," Ladybug said, regaining her composure.
Gabe laughed softly. "I would advise against that, Ladybug. It's true that there are two of you, but I have been doing this for much longer than either of you."
Chat felt a small bit of anger grow inside of him. "If that's true, then why don't you face us rather than sending out your akuma?"
Gabriel ignored the question, instead opening a drawer beside him and pulling out a small ornate wooden box. Ladybug immediately recognized the symbol on the box and guessed what was inside: the Butterfly Miraculous. Her hand twitched to her yo-yo, wondering if she could grab it and snatch the box away before Gabriel could react. Chat could feel the power emanating from the box and could sense Ladybug's urge, but grabbed her hand, sensing something far more dangerous in the room. Something about his father's colour scared him.
"I prefer to settle this in a non-violent way," Gabriel said, then motioned to the chairs in front of his desk. "Please, let's sit and talk this out like gentlemen and gentlewomen." Ladybug immediately realized why so many had become his victim: his voice was sincere and trustworthy; she'd almost moved to sit down immediately. Almost.
"There's no need for discussion," she said, "we're taking the Miraculous away from you."
Gabriel sighed. "Very well; perhaps a demonstration is necessary." He opened the box and took out the Miraculous, latching it to his collar. "Nooroo, transformez-moi."
Before either superhero could see their nemesis' kwami, it disappeared, and a moment later Hawkmoth's purple replaced his purple-tinged grey. Ladybug's hand went to her yo-yo as Chat grabbed his staff. Chat sensed a hole open in the floor and the room was almost instantly filled with butterflies fluttering everywhere. Although a single butterfly is near impossible to hear, thousands created a blanket of noise that covered the room, blurring where anything was. Chat looked for Hawkmoth's purple, but the white from the butterflies was blinding. He heard the sound of a sword unsheathing behind him and turned, but saw nothing. Suddenly, a path cleared of butterflies, and Chat saw Hawkmoth standing directly behind Ladybug, one of her arms pinned behind her and something pressed against her neck. The butterflies slowly cleared from the room, filtering down the hole.
"One on one, neither of you are a match for me," Hawkmoth said once the butterflies were gone, "and since I know your weakness and how to exploit it, Chat Noir, that makes any fight with you even easier. Now, put away your weapon and detransform so that we can talk like respectable people."
"Don't do it Chat! You can beat him; don't worry about me," Ladybug said. In a flash, Hawkmoth dropped his cane and swirled Ladybug around, snatching both of her earrings in a single motion. Immediately, Ladybug detransformed into Marinette, and Hawkmoth brushed her aside.
Chat's fears immediately dissipated as he leapt across the room at his father, but Hawkmoth didn't flinch. Instead, he kicked the sheath of his cane up to his hand and struck Chat mid leap, knocking him to the floor.
"As I said previously, I have been doing this much, much longer than either of you have. If you wish to continue fighting, then by all means, do so. It would be so easy to steal your Miraculous that way. But, I am giving you one more chance; take Marinette and sit in the chairs so that we may talk." Hawkmoth turned around and walked to his desk, sitting down at it and looking to Chat Noir and Marinette.
The blow had knocked the wind out of Chat, and he remained on the ground for a moment, trying to regain his breath. Marinette ran to him. "Are you okay?" she whispered. Chat nodded as he breathed deeply, still reeling. "What are we going to do?" Marinette whispered, looking over to Hawkmoth, who mockingly tossed her earrings in the air, catching them a moment later.
Chat sat up. "Plagg, destransformez-moi." Adrien stood up, Plagg hiding in his shirt, peeking out. "We talk," he said, taking Marinette's hand. The two of them walked over to the desk, taking their respective seats. Hawkmoth smiled. "I'm glad you two came to your senses," he said. "Destransformez-moi, Nooroo." Much of his father's grey colour returned, but there still lingered some royal purple. A purple kwami floated in the air next to him. "Hel-" the kwami was cut off as Gabriel took off his brooch, sending Nooroo away.
"You want to talk? Then go ahead and talk," Marinette said bitterly.
"Very well. First off, I know that you do not trust me, and you have ample reason not to. But, I promise that I do what I do for a noble cause. I am evil, but that cruelty is necessary."
"For what?" Adrien asked, pain and anger in his voice. "Why are you doing this? Why do you want to take our Miraculouses?"
"All in due time, Adrien. But first, as we now know who each other are, this complicates matters. Had I not personally known either of you, then I would've directly attacked your civilian selves. But, as you are my son and you are his girlfriend as well as a promising fashion designer, I am at a crossroads. I'm not the only one at a crossroads, though," Gabe warned.
"What will you do with my information, I wonder? Turn me in to the police? That will only cause harm. I am financially powerful enough that, if need be, I can escape without a problem. And where would that leave you, Adrien? You'd bear much of the hate that I would receive as being the sole heir to me. That would also negatively affect you, Marinette, as my son's girlfriend. The both of you would be outcast and I would get away without trouble. Tell the Guardian? Who do you think I outwitted in order to get this Miraculous in the first place?
"And what if you team up with the new Miraculous user, Renard Roux? Surely a three on one would seal your victory, no?" Gabe chuckled. "No is correct. If you two are far too green to best me, then she is years away from hoping to defeat me as well. Now, I do not wish for any of these problems as I am a very busy man when I'm not trying to beat you. So, I wish to offer a compromise." Gabe put Marinette's Miraculous on the desk and pushed it across to them.
"I will not directly attack Marinette Dupain-Cheng or her direct family, nor will I directly attack Adrien. I will keep your identities secret as well, knowing how important that will be. I only ask that, in return, you do the same for me. I respect both of you, whether or not I show it. That is why I haven't directly attacked either of you yet. It is also why I am giving you back your Miraculous, Marinette. That shows your promise to me. But know that if you ever challenge me again, I will not be showing this kindness again."
Marinette hesitated, then took her earrings from the desk, her eyes never leaving Gabriel. She quickly put them back on, Tikki reappearing immediately. Tikki flew to her Chosen, hugging her cheek.
"Why are you doing this, father?" Adrien asked. "And how did you know who we were?" Marinette added.
"I told you, Adrien: because I respect the both of you as human beings. I tested you through a few akuma in order to learn more about you, and everything you did proved that you earned your Miraculouses. If I didn't believe you did, then I would have immediately shown myself alongside and akuma and taken them from you. And I knew who you were thanks to my son. I discovered Chat Noir was blind after that girl Sabrina was akumatized. The fact that he seemed to know who most of the akuma were put him in your school, where there was only one blind, blond student. I will admit, I was stumped on who you were, Marinette, until Chloé complained about the two of you dating, so you can thank her for that."
"Figures," Adrien heard Marinette mumble beside him.
"That's not what I meant," Adrien said. The purple inside of his father vanished, leaving only the steel grey.
"You want to know my end goal, then? Very well. My wish is to save your mother, Adrien."
"Save my mom? You know what happened to her?" Adrien asked, his shock apparent.
"Of course I do; but you're not ready to know. Not until you're older will you truly understand."
Adrien turned to Marinette, but she shook her head. "The Miraculous Wish isn't perfect. It causes a reaction of equal and opposite power: whatever you do to help your wife will cause someone else to fall to the same problem."
Gabriel folded his hands. "I am aware of what will happen, and I do not care as long as I can save her."
Adrien's heart grew hard to his father. "You will never get our Miraculouses, then," he said.
Gabe laughed. "You two will fall, one day. No one is perfect. Now, before you two go, I would like to talk about one more thing. I know you two must detest me as of right now, but as we will be keeping our promises, it is imperative that you two learn to separate your superhero lives from your personal lives. Neither of you have reason to hate Gabriel Agreste, even though you hate Hawkmoth. I have no reason to hate you, Marinette, or you, Adrien. If you cannot learn to do this, that will make our lives unnecessarily difficult. Especially when you come over, Marinette."
"When I come over?" Marinette asked.
"For our dinner date," Gabriel said. "Surely Adrien told you about it: as you are dating my son I would like to formally meet both you and your parents."
Marinette let out a sharp laugh. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but my parents are too busy to dine with a supervillain."
"But I'm no supervillain," he said, "I'm Gabriel Agreste, a CEO of a world-famous fashion company. And it's interesting you say that your parents are too busy; when I called them to invite them and you over, they said that they were free all week."
"You set up an invitation before I could even tell Marinette about it?" Adrien asked.
"Of course. I knew you wouldn't tell her once you knew who I was." Gabriel pressed the button on his desk again and the locks all disengaged. "I will see you Thursday, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, and remember our promise. You may go; I'd like to have a final word with Adrien. It should only take a moment, if you'd like to wait outside." Marinette stayed seated. Gabriel sat in silence, staring at her.
Adrien put his hand on hers. "You can go, Bugaboo; I'll be fine," he whispered. Hesitantly, she stood up and left. When the door closed, Gabriel sat back in his chair. Before he could say anything, Adrien asked, "did you ever think what would happen if whatever you're trying to save mom from affects me because of your wish?"
"I have. But you would not be in danger, not like your mother is anyway. But that is not why I asked that you stay behind. I asked you stay behind because I want you to think about discontinuing your lifestyle of being Chat Noir. I will not pull anymore punches when it comes to akuma, including the slight handicap I've been giving you due to your blindness. I do not want to hurt you, but I will do what is necessary in order to save your mother."
"And I will do all that is necessary in order to stop you," Adrien retorted, "and I have no qualms about fighting you either."
Gabe's colour slowly began to change; Adrien could see the silver that he once knew form in his father's center, but it quickly disappeared, leaving only the steel he now knew. "So be it. You are dismissed."
Adrien said nothing as he left the room, his mind processing everything that had just happened. I have to live with my nemesis and act like nothing's wrong...
Marinette was waiting at the stairs, resting her head in her hands. Adrien walked over to her, sitting down next to her. "How are we going to do this, Adrien? You saw how quickly he took us down. He can do that whenever he wants!"
Adrien wrapped an arm around her. "But he won't; he promised."
"And how do you know he'll keep his promise?"
Adrien shrugged. "I don't, but it's all we can do."
"I should probably go tell Alya what happened..."
Adrien turned to her. "Please do not tell Alya about my father, though. I don't know how she'd react."
Marinette nodded. "I won't tell her. She won't be happy, but I'm not that happy about this situation, either."
"Thanks, Marinette. Thursday's going to be interesting to say the least."
"Why didn't you tell me about the dinner date before?"
"Oh, my father told me about it this morning, but I guess he figured I learned about his secret identity and sent out the call before we got back. It wouldn't be the first time he calls ahead."
"Oh, fun. It's going to be a looooong night..."
Adrien sighed. At least we have close to a week to prepare, he thought.