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This is perfect. Hawkmoth was ecstatic at this turn of events; he couldn’t believe his luck.
He wasn’t sure how Chat Noir had become so riddled with anger, frustration and heartbreak that he was susceptible to an akuma, but it didn’t matter now. The cat-boy crouched in front of him, silent and white; icy blue eyes focused on Hawkmoth’s face, the tip of his belt-tail twitching ever so slightly. The ring on the boy’s finger, formerly a jet-black, was now snow-white; the silver bell at his throat was lit faintly from within with purple.
He had also tried to make a sentimonster, but his amok had not found a target. Perhaps Ladybug had caught the feather before it could reach Chat Noir, but that didn’t matter now. Hawkmoth couldn’t wait to set his new akuma on Ladybug. Once Chat Blanc (unoriginal, but accurate) secured the earrings, he’d remove the ring and recall the akuma, and Emilie would be restored before nightfall. The villain took a step towards his new servant, scattering the butterflies around his feet-
-And Chat Blanc’s focus shifted to the fluttering insects. Letting out a low growl, the feline launched himself at the nearest butterfly, batting at it with his clawed hand. The butterfly dodged, but another fluttered past, capturing Chat Blanc’s attention.
Hawkmoth gaped; how dare the akuma go after his butterflies! He chased the cat-boy as the latter continued to leap after the butterflies, paying Hawkmoth no attention at all. “Stop this nonsense, Chat Blanc! I order you to go after Ladybug and retrieve her earrings!”
“ Miaouuu… ” was Chat Blanc’s only response as he pounced on a butterfly that had landed on the floor. He looked back up, and Hawkmoth saw the butterfly in his mouth.
“Don’t eat that!” Hawkmoth reached toward his akuma, unsure if he should try to retrieve the insect or swat the errant Chat.
But Chat Blanc turned his head quickly, sniffing Hawkmoth’s hand. He reared back-
-and growled, the butterfly dropping out of his mouth. The catboy lunged into a run, darting to the other side of the room, where the elevator was. Hissing like a teakettle, he arched his back, tail lashing as he mock-swiped at the villain.
Fear? All right, he could- he could work with that. Hawkmoth stalked toward his akuma. “You will go after Ladybug and retrieve her Miraculous,” he intoned, putting all the pressure on the connection to his creation that he could-
-except there was a wall; some kind of barrier that he couldn’t get past, that would not let him connect to Chat Blanc’s mind. Hawkmoth had a sudden frisson of apprehension. If he had no connection to the white cat, then…
He focused on the akuma, trying to recall it. Yes, it was a risk if he pulled it back now, inside his lair; Chat Noir could not be allowed to escape and tell Ladybug where he had been. But Hawkmoth had a sinking feeling that it was a moot point.
He could sense the akuma, which was normal. But- there was something blocking any access to it beyond that. He had created an akuma that was not his to command.
A swipe from the boy’s claws connected and tore through the magical suit at the hip. Hawkmoth could feel the claws barely scratching the skin underneath. The chill crawled down his spine again; he shook it off and glared at Chat Blanc.
“So, you defy me. Let’s see how you do locked up here, with no way out.” He stepped onto the elevator platform and triggered the button for the atelier. As Hawkmoth descended, his last view was of the white catboy watching him as he disappeared from view.
He grimaced; how had things gone so terribly wrong? “Nooroo, dark wings fall.”
As the kwami appeared beside Gabriel, the sealed lift opening began to groan above him. He glanced up, and got a face full of dust as the door disintegrated in a burst of white energy. As he frantically tried to clear his eyes, he heard a thump! on the platform, which trembled under his feet.
Gabriel finally got his watering eyes to clear, and found that Chat Blanc had joined him in the lift. Crouching on the fashion mogul’s left side, the catboy regarded the man with utter disinterest before turning his head and proceeding to lick his shoulder.
The lift shuddered as it shifted direction; Gabriel, who was used to the motion, barely moved, but Chat Blanc swayed and almost toppled over. He caught his balance again and glared at Gabriel with the affronted expression of a cat who has, against his previous judgment, expected better of a human. When no further jolts occurred, the catboy resumed preening his shoulder.
“That’s disgusting; stop that,” Gabriel ordered. Not that he expected the akuma to obey at this point, but the sight of Chat Blanc’s pink tongue against the white of the suit was turning his stomach. A tiny giggle on his right caught his attention; he turned to glare at Nooroo.
“Did you have something to do with this?” he asked icily as he fixed his cravat over the two Miraculous pins he wore.
“No,” came the response- too quickly, in Gabriel’s opinion, as the kwami glanced at Chat Blanc. Not for the first time, Gabriel congratulated himself on ordering Duusu to remain in the lair and silent; dealing with one kwami at a time was more than enough, and Nooroo was easier to intimidate.
The lift rose into the atelier and snapped into place; Gabriel stepped quickly towards his workstation as Nooroo followed. “I cannot work against you,” the kwami reminded him.
Gabriel opened his mouth to respond, only to hear a ripping sound coming from behind him. He whirled to find Chat Blanc, with his fingers claws-deep in the drapes on the left side of Emilie’s portrait. As he watched in horror, the catboy began to climb the drapes, somehow using both hands and feet to scale the fabric. Are there claws in his boots ?
He shook his head; he could hear the ripping sound growing louder. “Get off the drapes, you idiot cat-“
Suddenly the drapes came loose from the wall; Chat Blanc released his hold and twisted midair to wind up in a four-legged crouch. As the curtain rod landed behind him with a crash, the akuma darted across the room to stare wide-eyed at the source of the noise before turning his back on it.
Gabriel growled under his breath. A knock on the door reminded him that there were other people in the house. “Sir? Is everything all right?”
Nathalie, of course; she must have stepped away from her desk. “Enter,” he said.
She walked in, tablet in one hand and a mug in the other. She set both on her desk as she spotted the mass of fabric on the floor behind Gabriel. “What happened?” she asked, following Gabriel’s glare across the room, and started as she spotted Chat Blanc. “You- who is that?”
“Chat Noir. Or it used to be.” The akuma paid absolutely no attention to the newcomer, instead choosing to groom himself again. The pink tongue swiped across the former hero’s fist before said fist was rubbed against the mask and hair. “I can’t control him, and I can’t recall the akuma.” Gabriel turned back to Nooroo. “ Tell me why!”
Nooroo shook slightly in midair. “I truly do not know, master,” the tiny purple being quavered. “Perhaps his strength of will is simply too strong to be controlled. Or perhaps Plagg did something. Or there may be another reason. Without a full connection to the akuma anymore, I can’t tell.”
“Anymore?” Gabriel echoed, as Chat Blanc stuck his left leg in the air and began licking it. The catboy noticed Gabriel’s attention and paused mid-swipe with the feline version of ‘nothing to see here, move along’ written in his face as he gazed back.
“Something disrupted the connection right when the akuma took him over, Master. You can sense him, but nothing else.”
Gabriel growled again, and Nathalie pursed her lips. “Perhaps that could still be useful, sir. If he tries to go to Ladybug, we could still follow him. Cats are notoriously self-centered, so he would have no reason to fight; it would just be us against her.”
The akumatized hero, apparently finished with grooming for the moment, sniffed the air as Gabriel considered the idea. Spotting the design statues on one side of the atelier, he crouched and wiggled his butt. Gabriel tried to shout at the catboy, but-
-too late. Chat Blanc leaped to the top of the first statue, balancing precariously on the head as the statue wobbled on its stand. He gathered himself and leapt to the second, sending the first crashing into the enlarged drawing behind it.
Gabriel raced to the statues, but Chat Blanc leaped again, landing on the third and sending the second to the same fate as the first. As the akuma prepared to leap again, Gabriel caught the belt-tail and gave a good yank.
Thrown off-balance, Chat Blanc scrabbled at the statue in an attempt to not fall, leaving deep gouges in the stone. The fashion mogul shrieked incoherently at the damage, and chased the catboy around the room and back to Nathalie’s desk. The akuma leaped to the top at full tilt, sliding across the surface and sending tablets, styli and monitors flying before skidding to a halt at the edge.
“Stop this destruction at once!” Gabriel commanded. Or attempted to.
Chat Blanc glared at Gabriel, before being distracted by Nathalie’s mug (which was miraculously still on the desk). Extending his tongue into the mug, the catboy lapped up a taste of whatever was in it- and then tried to shove his entire face into it.
Nathalie sighed, irritated. “So much for my hot chocolate. Perhaps if we fed him, sir, he would settle down.”
“At this point, it would be an improvement. Have the kitchen make up a plate- fish, I think. But bring it here; I don’t want anyone else to see him.”
“Of course, sir.” Nathalie nodded and left, making sure the door was closed behind her. Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose, grateful that there was no chance of Adrien, at least, seeing the akuma. Perhaps locking his son in his bedroom was extreme, but clearly the boy did not know what was best for himself or the company. Miss Rossi, though otherwise self-centered, did have a point about the people around his son using him. Best to remove him entirely from the situation; I knew public school was a horrible idea. No going out, no possible blight on the brand. Simple.
If only this errant akuma could be so simple. Chat Blanc sat up on Nathalie’s desk, licking the cream off his chops in a manner most vulgar to the designer. Blue eyes locked onto the one tablet left that was teetering on the edge of the desk, and leather ears stood straight up amid the white mop of hair. He made one swipe at the tablet; it slid even more precariously on the desk edge.
“No-“ Gabriel got out, before a second swipe tipped the tablet and sent it crashing to the floor. “Bad Chat!”
He knew those last words made no sense, to either him or the catboy. Since when does a cat care about being scolded? he thought, irritated. Perhaps he should find Ladybug and see if her Lucky Charm could save him the thousands of euros of destroyed equipment. On the other hand, explaining how a rogue akuma got inside his house was a problem he’d rather not have.
Chat Blanc was now batting Nathalie’s mug ever closer to the edge. Gabriel shouted “No!” again, and took two strides towards the desk. He wasn’t sure what he’d do when he got there; he didn’t really want to be in range of those claws, but if he could grab the mug before it hit the floor-
Chat Blanc looked up at Gabriel’s voice, and the man stopped at the fire in the blue, slitted eyes burned into his own. Without looking away, the akuma gave the mug one last swat and toppled it onto the floor. The crash of breaking ceramic and the smell of chocolate filling the air broke Gabriel’s last nerve.
“ You foolish akuma! What do you think you’re doing, defying your Master??” He raised a hand as he stepped up to the desk, intending to grab Chat Blanc by the scruff like a real cat and shake him into obedience.
Chat Blanc crouched on the desk, hissing. He swiped at Gabriel, who felt the claws graze his chest painfully; he clapped his hand to his chest and was horrified to feel some wetness there. He didn’t want to look; the sight of blood made him faint, and he did not need that weakness, not with an akuma loose in his office!
Nathalie cracked the door, carrying a plate as she entered. Quick as a flash, Chat Blanc darted to the door and through the crack, nearly tripping Nathalie in the process and spilling the plate of shark across the floor. Gabriel took off after him; the last thing he needed was for someone else to see the akuma!
In the foyer, he saw Chat Blanc run up the stairs- well, the stair railings, anyway- and perch at the top near Adrien’s room. From here, Gabriel could see that his son’s door was still locked, the new chain-bolt still strung across the edge.
Chat Blanc glared at Gabriel, a length of red and white fabric dangling from his mouth. The idiot catboy had stolen his cravat! Gabriel put a foot on the stairs, fully intending to catch that akuma and make him return the cloth.
The akuma darted for Adrien’s room- and the door dissolved in a bubbling flash of white. No! If Adrien sees him-! He charged up the steps to the boy’s room, only to hear a female voice inside.
“-a clever kitty? You are, yes you are,” cooed the voice, which was answered by a loud, rumbling purr. Gabriel stepped inside softly, hearing Nathalie’s footstep behind him and her harsh whisper, “Sir-“
He waved her off, as he caught sight of the scene in the room. Chat Blanc was lying on all fours next to a girl, who was scratching his cat-ears and petting his back, triggering an elevator-butt in the process. His cravat was on the floor some distance away; Gabriel might be able to grab it before the girl spotted him.
The girl- spotted- yes, it had to be Ladybug, but she looked so different. Pale brown spots and bracers on both arms and legs, with a ridiculous circlet keeping her bangs confined- and her hair in twin buns that almost looked like ears on the sides of her head… she was obviously merged with a second Miraculous, but which one? She carried a long staff, and she was just putting the yoyo back to her waist as she looked up.
“Don’t worry, your peppermint-striped fashion disaster is right there, Hawkmoth,” she said cheerily, waving at the cravat. “By the way, thank you for leaving the window open for me to get in, although you could have left the door open, too.” She scowled briefly. “I mean, who locks a kid’s door from the outside ?”
Gabriel stalked two paces towards the girl, only to receive a warning growl from Chat Blanc, whose attention was now firmly riveted on the man. I don’t like the way he’s flexing his claws… the ache on his chest reminded him what a bad idea annoying the catboy would be.
Carefully he said, “What do you mean, Hawkmoth? I’m not-“
His voice died at the disappointed look the girl gave him. “I found Chat Noir just as your butterfly hit him. Good thing I had the Monkey with me; a little disruption goes a long way, doesn’t it?”
“But-“
“I followed him here, and what a surprise to find Hawkmoth in a lair full of butterflies. Got some good shots of that for the police. Not to mention your office.”
Gabriel’s mind raced to deflect as he shook off Nathalie’s tug on his sleeve. “That’s- that’s illegal- even if you could prove anything, the case would be thrown out for illegal recording.”
MonkeyBug stood up and skipped lightly to the open window; Chat Blanc followed. She leaped to the opening and smirked at Gabriel. “Who says I was recording?” She gestured, and Chat Blanc leaped into her arms. “Just retrieving what’s mine before the hammer falls.”
Gabriel ran forward, but the heroine had already jumped away with her burden of Chat to the next roof. Once there, he saw her take hold of the bell and tug, then catching the butterfly as it escaped. The white Chat turned black again, and the green gaze full of hatred the hero turned on him pinned Gabriel even from that distance. Dimly he registered the sound of a bullhorn at the front gate.
“Nooroo, dark wings rise!” he thundered. No one was going to take him without a fight. He was more than a match for any police, though he would have to get to the safehouse via the sewers.
Nothing happened. Nathalie sighed beside him. “I was trying to tell you, sir. Chat Blanc got your shirt as well as your cravat. Your Miraculous are gone.”
As if to taunt him, MonkeyBug waved a small piece of fabric in the air. Attached to it were two pins- a lavender and a blue. Grinning, she popped them in her yoyo and vanished, Chat Noir following her.
The only thing Gabriel could think past his rage was at least Adrien didn’t see this.
“Tikki, Xuppu, divide.”
Ladybug shook with reaction as she slid to the floor of a random balcony. That…could have gone horribly wrong…
“Milady?”
She held up a finger. “Just…processing. Let me breathe for a second, kitty.”
Chat Noir sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Ladybug pulled a bag of trail mix from her yoyo so Xuppu could have a snack; he grabbed it with a squeal and took it to the other side of the balcony, digging into the bag and picking out the banana chips.
She heaved a sigh. “I am- so mad at myself- and so glad - that I stopped to pull Xuppu’s Miraculous out of the Miracle Box when I got your message, chaton. ” She took another breath. “This could have gone so, so wrong. If I had picked someone else- or been a minute later- if I hadn’t seen the butterfly take you-“
Chat Noir smiled softly. “I’m fine, milady. I’m right here.” He coughed. “I don’t remember anything- but I guess you used Uproar on me?”
Ladybug shrugged. “The butterfly was already in your bell, and I was too far away to stop you. The best I could hope for was to disrupt whatever power you had before you destroyed anything.”
“Did it work?”
Ladybug giggled. “Not quite the way I was expecting, but,” she pulled the chunk of Gabriel’s shirt out of her yoyo. The Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous glittered in the light. “More useful. I always knew you were clever enough to beat being akumatized, kitty.”
Chat Noir shrugged off the compliment,not even smiling. “So. Gabriel Agreste, huh?” He sighed. “Guess that’s going to be a problem.”
“Why?”
He threw her a look filled with more pain than amusement. “Well, although my dad locked me in my room with the intent of never letting me see my friends again- if he’s in jail, I’m going to need to live somewhere.”
Ladybug gasped. “Chat? A-Adrien?”
“Yeah. Chat Noir, son of Hawkmoth.” He said it flippantly, but the pain still filled his eyes.
She pulled her kitty into a fierce hug. “You are not him. You stopped him. Even akumatized, you knew enough to stop him.” Ladybug could feel the trembling in his frame, and squeezed tighter as his tears slid down the shoulder of her suit. “Don’t go back there. Come home with me. We’ll figure things out together.”
Chat Noir drew a shaky breath. “Together?”
Ladybug nodded as she put a hand up to stroke his hair. “Together.”