Work Text:
The sky is clear this morning. The cheerful birds chirp, soft morning rays fall over the city, and a warm breeze sweeps over the rooftops.
Half-hysterically, Chat Noir can’t help but wish for a much more appropriate thunderstorm.
Panting, he leans against a chimney and slides down to the floor, hidden out of sight of the pedestrians below.
Not that it would stop Fa—Hawkmoth if he realizes what Adri—Chat Noir just discovered.
Swallowing, Chat pats his belt again, reassured by the bulge that wasn’t there when Chat transformed earlier. He trails a clawed finger across the ridge of the book tucked into the crook of his arm, and debates his next course of action.
The Peacock miraculous, and the Grimoire.
Two of the three objects Master Fu lost during his escape from the temple, the objects that they all assumed were in Hawkmoth’s hands alongside the Butterfly miraculous.
The objects that Adr—Chat Noir found inside his father’s secret vault.
Ad—Chat wants to give Father the benefit of doubt. Maybe Father simply picked up the miraculous and the Grimoire from some random vendor on a trip to Tibet, but—
Ladybug and he have been observing the residential area near his home—where Ladybug theorized Hawkmoth to be hiding—for weeks. Weeks of patrols spent on stakeouts on the roof of the mall, with zero sighted butterflies to show for it. And the Agreste mansion is within the perimeter they established must contain Hawkmoth’s base of operations.
Father has a secret basement not on the blueprint of the house. A basement like that is a prime location for magical crimes to be conducted.
It makes too much sense.
Chat Noir’s hand twitches to his baton. He should go to Master Fu, who would contact Ladybug, and they would storm the Agreste mansion together. But…
Master Fu won’t understand. His duty—his entire life revolves around the miraculous. He will be glad Chat Noir did his duty—perhaps even proud that Chat turned his father in despite his familial attachments—but comfort? Understanding? To him, Chat Noir has always been a soldier, first and foremost.
And what about his civilian friends? Even if he’s willing to drag them into this convoluted mess about the miraculous and superheroes and fathers who might be villains—which he isn’t, Chloe and Nino will comfort him, but they won’t understand. They can’t.
(In another world, they understand. In another world, Nino is the holder of the Turtle miraculous, while Chloe holds the Bee miraculous, temporary as that is. They are Chat Noir’s comrades, superheroes in their own rights, and they understand.)
(But in this world, with so much power within her bones, Ladybug never called on any temporary heroes. In this world, Ladybug is the only other superhero, the only one who can understand.)
It has to be Ladybug.
He grabs his baton, flips it to phone mode, and dials a number he knows by heart. “Ladybug, pick up, please pick up, please—”
A too-loud beeping sound permeates the air. Chat blanches, even though he knows nobody will be able to hear the sound unless they’re on the roof. But what if Hawkmoth creates an akuma with superhearing to track A—Chat Noir down—
The call connects. A familiar voice, warm and soothing and tinted with the slightest bit of concern, rings out. “Chat? What’s wrong?”
Chat doesn’t break down in tears at the sound of his Lady’s voice, but it’s a near thing. “Ladybug, please! You—you have to come. I—I have something I need to show you.”
There is the slightest hitch of breath, so quiet that Chat would’ve mistaken it for static if not for his enhanced hearing. “Where are you, Chaton?”
“The—our usual meeting spot.” Ladybug has to be able to come. If not, he will—he will—
“Okay,” Ladybug says firmly, and Chat almost collapses in relief. “Hang on, Chaton. I’m on my way.”
It’s a stroke of luck Ladybug receives the phone call when she does.
She had a nightmare, as she sometimes does. So, she transformed to wander the city, the fresh dawn air clearing her mind as she watched the sun rise, the birth of the new day searing away all the shadows in her mind away.
When it was about the time she usually woke up, Ladybug began heading back to her home. She was just about to drop her transformation when her phone rang.
Not her normal phone. Her bug-phone.
Only Chat Noir calls her on this phone.
Frowning in concern, Ladybug answers the call. Chat should not be transformed right now; she knows he has school to attend as well.
When Chat begins speaking though…from the moment he opens his mouth but does not greet her with a flirtatious my Lady, Ladybug knows something is wrong.
Abandoning all thoughts of getting ready for the school day, she leaps off her balcony towards the roof across the street, red and black lightning dancing across her suit.
She’s missed quite a few days of classes over the past few months. What’s one more?
Ladybug skids to a halt in front of Chat, red and black sparks leaping off her suit.
Chat looks up from his position on the floor, his shoulders slumping in relief. “My Lady…”
Ladybug drops to her knees, her eyes scanning over Chat’s body for signs of injuries. She won’t find any except for the injuries in his heart. “Chat? What’s wrong?”
Chat swallows. Hesitantly, he drops the leather-bound book he had been cradling onto the roof. The action almost feels unnatural after how tightly he was holding onto the book.
Then, he reaches a hand to his belt and takes out the brooch he had tucked snugly there.
“Look.” He breathes, desperate for...something. For Ladybug to confirm what Chat already knows? For Ladybug to tell him these are somehow forged? “Look.”
Ladybug’s eyebrows rise as she takes in the thick book and the peacock-shaped brooch. Slowly, as if afraid it would disappear, she grabs the book and flips through its pages. Her brows furrow. “Isn’t that—”
“The Peacock miraculous and the Grimoire.” Chat Noir admits softly. He doesn’t think he’s ever said the truth out loud. Speaking it into existence only makes this whole thing seem more real.
Never has Chat wished he’s dreaming about the elaborate plot of some non-existent anime.
“I…I think I know who Hawkmoth is.”
Ladybug’s eyes widen.
“But—” Chat’s voice is so quiet that it ought to be carried away by the wind. Part of him wants it to be carried away—for this truth to be swallowed and erased entirely from existence. “Hawkmoth—he’s my father.”
Ladybug’s face goes impressively blank.
But before Ladybug can interrupt, Chat continues. “I—I found out my father has a secret vault and a hidden basement. I thought—it felt wrong, so Plagg helped me break into the vault. And then—I found these.”
“A vault?” Ladybug whispers, a strange expression flashing across her face.
Chat Noir nods absently, barely registering his partner’s response. His fingers clench into a fist. “He—he—Father is a strict man, but he…he isn’t…he isn’t a villain. He can’t be, right? My father—I mean, I know he isn’t the best father or even the best man, but—there’s a difference between being cold and being a villain. And if I’m right—we’ve been living under the same roof all along! How could I not have noticed something is wrong? What sort of hero has a villain for a father and doesn’t notice? I don’t—I just don’t know what to—what to think, Ladybug.”
“Chaton?” Ladybug asks softly, reaching out to grab his curled fists. “Who is your father?
Chat takes a deep breath. That’s the moment of revelation, isn’t it? “Gabriel Agreste.”
He watches carefully as Ladybug’s breath hitches. Her eyes widen slightly, before her expression softens and she gives him a gentle, fake smile. “Chat—”
Ladybug’s eyes sharpen. In an instant, she lets go of his hands, and—
He doesn’t register what happened until he’s on the ground, pain sparking through his shoulder. Ladybug shoved him. He looks up, betrayed—
A purple butterfly enters Ladybug’s mask.
Chat Noir’s eyes widen as dawning realization bubbles from his gut into his throat, thick and choking. That—he—the trajectory of the butterfly—that akuma was meant for him.
The outline of a butterfly manifests over Ladybug’s mask, shaded a poisonous purple. Chat stays on the ground, unmoving, his muscles locked into place as terror binds his limbs more firmly than any chains can.
He—she—he has to save her, but how? Their suits can’t be removed or torn, and if he Cataclysms Ladybug’s mask, who’s to say he won’t hurt her as well?
But won’t it be worse if Ladybug turns into an akuma villain?
In the worst-case scenario, if he Cataclysms Ladybug’s mask but the destructive energy spreads to her face as well, Chat can still bring her back as long as he saves the Ladybug miraculous. But if Ladybug surrenders her earrings to Hawkmoth…
Chat swallows, coming to a decision. “Cata—"
A loud, cracking sound rings through the air, like ice shattering but wrong—
The butterfly outline shatters.
A little purple butterfly tries to fly out of the mask, but before it can even leave, the akuma crumbles before Chat’s very eyes, disintegrating into purple-tinted dust.
The akuma’s remains falls onto Ladybug’s face, staining her eyelashes violet. Purple powder is splayed across her cheeks, giving the impression of too-innocuous makeup.
Ladybug grimaces, refusing to meet Chat’s eyes. “…opps?”
Ladybug feels something anchor in her mind, a too-familiar mental link between her and Hawkmoth.
But this time, before Hawkmoth or Toshinori or Banjo or any of the other vestiges can react, Ladybug Marinette Deku reaches out and pulls.
The thread between hero and villain is cold and cutting in her hands. She does not care. Hawkmoth’s unfiltered terror vibrates across the bond, as she violently tugs and claws at the thing anchored in his mind.
Good, an angry, vicious part of her snarls, the part of her that has been hurt over and over and refuses to let her Chaton be hurt the same way. He deserves it.
Hawkmoth tries to break their bond, to destroy the bridge Deku is using to claw towards his mind. But no, she refuses to let him get away this time, not after what she knows.
He will not escape.
Ice crackles and climbs across the thread, cold and cruel and nothing like Shoto’s ice. Their mental bond is frozen in place, now, with Deku at the reigns. Hawkmoth will not be going anywhere until she frees him.
She can sense Hawkmoth’s fear claw up his throat, this putrid, choking thing that he made her Chaton feel. Cold, gleeful satisfaction glows in her chest.
“Tenth,” Yoichi hisses, “what are you doing?”
Deku ignores him.
“Stop it!”
“This isn’t you, Marinette!”
“It’s that villain’s influence. He’s amplifying your emotions, Tenth. You have to fight these compulsions.”
“You have to let go, Marinette.”
“You’re going to break his mind!”
That’s the point, she thinks. And her name is Deku.
Hawkmoth’s screams echo in her head, forming a beautiful chorus. She’s almost there.
Hawkmoth. The villain’s thoughts sing, as she reaches the metaphysical nexus of his being, a purple miasma of smoke with a solid, gel-like nucleus. Gabriel Agreste.
Ah. So Chaton is right.
She pushes her fingers into the pulsing cloud of purple in front of her, fascinated. Curls of smoke retreat as her metaphysical self brushes against the surface of the miasma. She has barely done anything to it, and it’s already screaming with such fear. Already, she can see Hawkmoth standing in his lair, paralyzed like a corpse with rigor mortis. What will happen when she tears Gabriel Agreste’s mind apart?
The smoke parts before her as she pushes her hands further inside, until her fingers brush the gel-like purple nucleus of the miasma.
Gabriel Agreste’s core is a beautiful thing, for a villain, a not-quite her part of her mind thinks. She has never seen another person’s core before. It will be a pity when she destroys it.
Her fingers tingle, as she presses them against the nucleus. A shudder runs across the miasma, through Gabriel Agreste’s entire mind. Then—
Please no no stop I’m sorry I didn’t mean to I’m only doing this for a Wish I have to save her my wife Graham de Vanily she is my life my body my soul I am nothing without her—
Deku almost laughs. How pathetic. Even after all he did, the villain is begging for mercy.
She doesn’t bother with the façade of gentleness anymore. Pulling back her hand, she prepares to plunge herself into the nucleus and tear it apart from within—
Something—someone—collides into her, their metaphysical limbs tangling and coiling into each other as they roll back—
A loud crackling sound echoes—
The mental bond between Hawkmoth and One For All collapses.
Deku gasps as she opens her eyes to an unending grass field. Scarred hands cradle her face as familiar green eyes find her blue ones.
“Marinette.” Deku Izuku says firmly. “It’s time to wake up.”
She blinks.
She is—
A boy a girl quirkless quirked the son of a villain of two bakers green hair black hair green eyes blue eyes a child an akuma a hero—
She is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and she is a hero.
Marinette opens her eyes.
“…what was that?” Chat asks dumbly, though he thinks that can be excused considering the…circumstances.
An akuma did disintegrate before his very eyes, after all.
Ladybug winces, reaching up to rub her face. It only serves to spread the purple powder further.
She stares at her violet-stained gloves. “Huh.” She says distantly. “That wasn’t a hallucination.”
“Are you okay?” Chat asks, finally standing up. Ladybug doesn’t react. “Lady—”
“I—” Ladybug breathes. “I nearly broke his mind.”
Chat Noir freezes. Ladybug is still staring at her hands, but her eyes are distant, as if her mind is stuck on what happened. “What?”
“I.” Ladybug starts, then stops. She takes a deep breath. “Hawkmoth’s mental link with…his akumas goes both ways. One For All protected my mind from his, but—Hawkmoth. He doesn’t have any protection against me.”
Hesitantly, Chat wraps his hands around Ladybug’s palms. She doesn’t seem to notice. “I—I was so angry, and scared—I attacked his mind. I clawed my way across the mental bond, and I attacked—the v—One For All saved Haw—saved us. If they didn’t break the mental bond when they did, Gab—Hawkmoth won’t be—he’d be a vegetable man by now.”
…oh.
Since when was One For All sentient?
“He was—he was so scared. Gabriel Agreste. He told me he only wanted our miraculous to save your mother, and I—I liked his screams.”
Father…so Chat Noir’s suspicions were right…and he became Hawkmoth to save Mother…? Chat didn’t give much thought to why Father became a magical terrorist, but…
“I. I’m sorry, Chaton. I was so angry and scared about—about you and Hawkmoth, but—that wasn’t right. No hero should’ve thought like that.”
Chat opened his mouth, to say what or that wasn’t your fault or I don’t blame you or why would you be scared this is my family not yours or he wanted to save Mother?
But before any sound can make its way out of his mouth, Ladybug looks up.
“But—no.” She shakes her head. Slowly, a smile—plastic and fake—appears on her mouth. “I’m. I’m okay. This isn’t about me. This is about you. Don’t worry about me, okay? Now—how are you? I know this has been a lot—”
“Don’t give me that smile, Ladybug.” Chat doesn’t mean to snap, but he does.
He hates that smile, that too-familiar invisible mask stretched over her face, meant to comfort and placate, but hid Ladybug’s true feelings.
Just because Chat Noir calls it his model smile and Ladybug calls it her hero smile doesn’t mean they aren’t the same thing.
Ladybug tilts her head. “What do you mean, Chaton?”
“That smile. You’re not okay.” Chat takes a deep breath, and adds. “I’m your partner, right? You said you trust me. So. You don’t have to hide your feelings around me.”
Ladybug’s smile freezes. Her mouth wobbles for a few seconds, before her smile falls, leaving behind nothing but wide, shaken eyes.
It is in these moments that Chat is reminded despite how strong and unshakable Ladybug seems to be, she is still human. She is still a traumatized, fallible human girl with memories of dying and not-dead people she can never meet again and who knows what else.
“I don’t—I’m so sorry. Your—Hawkmoth—he reminded me of him, and the vault—”
Despite much bigger Ladybug seems to be, the truth is that Chat Noir is still taller than him. The superheroine easily buries her face in his chest.
Instinctively, Chat wraps his hands around her shoulders. He has imagined a scene like this a thousand times before, but never like this, after such a day.
It’s barely nine in the morning.
“I. I didn’t tell you everything about Izuku.” Ladybug’s voice is small and muffled, but with his enhanced hearing, Chat barely has to strain to hear her.
He knows that, of course. It’s impossible to summarize everything she has done in her eventful life.
“There’s a villain.” Ladybug continues. “All For One. They call him the Symbol of Evil, the Boogieman of the Underworld. The S-rank villain to end all villains. He was over two hundred years old when he died.”
…okay? Why does the villain has a name so similar to One For All?
Ladybug takes a deep breath. “All For One’s quirk allows him to take and give quirks at his own desire. During the dawn of the age of quirks, he built an empire by taking quirks from people who didn’t want them and giving them to people who did. He found an immortality quirk around that time, one that made him never age or die.”
Chat narrows his eyes. Isn’t that…All For One gives and takes quirks; One For All transfers quirks...
“When I was in my first year at UA, All For One unveiled the existence of nomus. They are—such tragic creatures, Chaton. All For One took people—kidnapped them—tore them apart and put them together again all wrong. He added quirks to them, until they became biological weapons that suited All For One’s purposes. It was horrible. Most of the nomus had bruised skin and exposed brains, and the earlier versions couldn’t even move without being ordered to. They were basically brain-dead walking corpses, hence the name ‘mindless’.”
Chat listens, enthralled.
“And they—All For One set them lose, on my class. I was only a few days into my schooling at UA when I fought my first nomu. Broke several bones.”
She did what when she was fifteen?
“That’s not all.” Ladybug adds helpfully. “All For One kidnapped a boy—one of my predecessors’ grandson—brainwashed him and raised him to be All For One’s successor, all to spite a woman who’s long-dead.”
“And then—when I was in my third year at UA, All For One started a civil war. He—wanted to raze civilization to the ground and build a new empire on its ashes, all because it amused him. He set Shigiraki—his successor and nomus lose on Japan’s cities—so many people died, and the only way to stop the nomus permanently was to kill them. And—you know what the worst thing is?”
Ladybug looks up, something indiscernible burning in her eyes. “All For One is both my father and the origin of One For All. His soul is locked up in a vault in my quirk right now.”
Chat Noir chokes. “What?”
“All For One had a brother.” Ladybug explains. “Shigiraki Yoichi. He…opposed what All For One did for a living, so to silence Yoichi but keep him close at the same time, All For One kept him in a vault. A vault the size of a prison cell. Then, All For One forced a quirk on him. That quirk mingled with Yoichi’s original quirk to form a stockpiling quirk that can be transferred.”
“One For All…” Chat breathes.
Ladybug nods. “Two hundred years after that, he fell in love with Kaasan and had…me. Izuku. I didn’t even know—I thought he was just another deadbeat father until that day during the civil war—he announced that I was his son, in an effort to isolate me from my—allies. Then, he made it abundantly clear he’d put me in a vault like my dead uncle if he ever captured me.”
That word again. Vault. No wonder she had a bad reaction when she heard where the Peacock miraculous and the Grimoire were being kept.
But… “What do you mean his soul is locked in a vault in your quirk right now?”
“Oh. That.” Ladybug winces. “Remember when I said One For All stockpiles souls?”
“Yeah? Doesn’t that mean the past users’ souls are absorbed into your quirk when they die?”
“They also manifest as physical forms of themselves in their prime inside a dreamscape. That—unfortunately—includes him. My dearest deadbeat father. Yoichi had the idea of locking him in a vault so All For One would stop ruining everyone’s lives. I’m pretty sure he only suggested it as some sort of petty revenge, it’s probably for the best, considering most of the vestiges died because of him.”
“A dreamscape…you mean like in Naruto?”
Ladybug blinks at that analogy. “I guess.”
“Oh. Wow. That must be awkward.” This is great. Chat Noir’s father is a magical terrorist, and Ladybug’s past life father was a serial human rights violator who also happens to be inside her quirk.
Is she—are they both cursed anime protagonists?
He clears his throat. “…same hat?”
Ladybug pauses, and then snorts. “Same hat.”
Strangely enough, after listening to the additional details to Ladybug’s tragic backstory, Chat doesn’t feel half as upset. Focusing on other people’s problem is a great way to distract himself from his own daddy issues.
That reminds him.
Removing his hands from Ladybug’s shoulders, he glances onto the floor, where the Peacock miraculous and the Grimoire is still residing.
“We should…probably go to Master Fu, right?” He says. It might be best to strike quickly, before F—Hawkmoth can recover from Ladybug’s mental assault.
Wait.
“Hawkmoth won’t—”
“Don’t worry about him.” Ladybug assures him. “After what I—after what happened, he shouldn’t be conscious for at least a few hours. We have time.”
Oh, thank kwamis. If Hawkmoth still manages to escape after everything he—they went through today…Chat might just have another mental breakdown.
“But—you are okay too, right?” This time, it’s Ladybug who clasps her hands on his shoulders. “You listened to—everything I talked about, but what about you?”
Chat Noir hesitates. “I…can I be honest? I feel so much better after you talked about your—Izuku’s father. I know I’m not alone in this; but I also—feel like listening to you distracted me from my problems? I don’t—I still think I should’ve noticed something, but Father’s always so distant…and if you didn’t notice anything either, maybe I’m not the problem. Maybe?” He shakes the thoughts away. “Anyway, I feel a lot better now.”
Curiously enough, he isn’t that concerned he has blood ties to a villain. That happens a lot in anime, so he knows better than to think there is something inherently evil in his blood thanks to his father. Besides, it isn’t like Father stuck around to raise him much. Chat doubts he had the chance to pick up supervillain habits from Father even if he wanted to.
“You’re right, you aren’t the problem.” Ladybug tells him firmly. “At least you noticed something; I only knew because All For One announced it to the entire world.”
“It isn’t your fault either.” Chat tells her. “From the sound of it, you barely ever saw your father.”
Ladybug smiles, a soft, genuine one.
Then, she turns to regard the miraculous and book. “We really should get these to Master Fu, huh?”
“…can we not tell him how long we spent on this roof? And that you know my secret identity now? He’s gonna be so mad.”
Ladybug blinks. “Oh. Yeah. Adrien.” She laughs awkwardly. “I honestly forgot about that with everything that was happening. But—how about I forget about this again? We can do a proper identity reveal when Hawkmoth is defeated.” Her mouth twitches. “I can’t properly process my partner is the most popular teen model in Paris right now anyway.”
“Oh. That—that sounds good.” Chat pauses, then adds jokingly. “It’s a shame those stakeouts were for nothing, though. All those perfectly good patrols, wasted.” He gives a dramatic sigh.
Ladybug snorts.
It turns out to be a good thing neither of them thought to wear the Peacock miraculous and summon Duusu.
The miraculous is damaged. A large crack runs down its middle, and according to Master Fu, whoever wears the miraculous right now will have their health drained.
Master Fu, deciding he can repair the miraculous after Hawkmoth is defeated, summons Duusu with a touch. Apparently, it’s an advanced Guardian technique that they’ll only be learning after at least a year of apprenticeship.
Duusu blinks, disoriented, as she spins around the room. “Emmie…? Where are…Little Wang? You’re still alive!”
Emmie…? Did Mother hold the Peacock miraculous before?
Wayzz flies up to greet her. “It’s a pleasure to be reunited, Duusu.” He says, tugging on her hands. “Your miraculous was damaged, so you might feel…disoriented. Come, the other kwamis are excited to see you again. We have a lot to discuss.”
With that, the kwamis phase into the miraculous box in a flash of light.
“Well, Chat Noir.” Master Fu—is Wang his first name—turns to Chat and says gravely. “That is indeed the real Peacock miraculous. You said Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth? And that his son Adrien alerted you to his father’s possession of the Peacock and the Grimoire?”
Chat nods. That’s the cover story he thought of on the way here. “He thought it was—suspicious how much information the Grimoire had on the miraculous, so he caught me while I was out for a—individual patrol this morning.” He hesitates, then adds. “I stowed him away after that—no need to risk a civilian getting hurt after how much he helped, right?”
Master Fu nods. He almost looks approving. “Good job, Chat Noir. Please also offer Adrien my condolences and commend him on his commitment to doing the right thing. I know it must not have been an easy decision to make.”
He turns to Ladybug, “Now, what do you plan to do to defeat Hawkmoth?”
They contact the police.
Ladybug insisted on it, saying that Hawkmoth can’t be arrested without the proper paperwork.
(Chat Noir finds this extra procedure annoying, especially as Officer Raincomprix says skeptically, “What will we even charge him of? Magical terrorism? That isn’t a crime.”)
(“Domestic terrorism? Assault and battery? Destruction of property? Disruption of public order?” Ladybug replies dryly. “I can draft up a list if you’re too lazy.”)
(Officer Raincomprix turns red at that. It’s very entertaining to watch.)
As the one who found the evidence, Adrien will have to testify in court against Father. Chat resolutely doesn’t think of that. It is a problem for future him.
By the time they manage to arrange something under such a time crunch, Ladybug estimates Hawkmoth might already be awake.
The police set up a barrier around the Agreste mansion while Chat Noir leads Ladybug inside the mansion, cameras clipped on both of their suits. If they can catch Hawkmoth and force him to detransform, it will be indisputable proof that Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth.
Strangely enough, Nathalie and the Gorilla are both nowhere to be seen. Probably out looking for Adrien, considering he dashed off and never made it to school.
Secretly, he breathes a sigh of relief at that. It’ll be hard enough fighting his father. He doesn’t want to fight two people he’s known since childhood at the same time, especially if it turns out they were helping Father all along.
“Adrien told me the way to get to his father’s secret basement,” he says, mainly for the benefit of the cameras. He instructs Ladybug to stand on the trapdoor, then presses the hidden buttons on Mother’s portrait.
Kwamis. This would’ve been so cool if he wasn’t about to arrest his father.
They exit the supervillain elevator into a giant atrium, except atriums usually aren’t underground. There is a path stretching from the entrance to the center of the room, which displays a—
Is that a coffin?
Chat Noir readies his baton. Ladybug unhooks her yo-yo. Just because Hawkmoth was knocked out doesn’t mean there isn’t a chance he’s already regained consciousness and noticed the police barricade outside his home.
Carefully, they walk towards the probably-not-an-actual-coffin coffin.
Chat presses the button on the maybe-coffin. The cover of the metal cylinder opens, and—
Chat Noir’s breath hitches.
Laying peacefully in the definitely-a-coffin is Mother, perfectly preserved in the condition of the day she disappeared, as if she was merely taking a nap and not missing presumed dead.
Has she been beneath him this entire time?
A hand lands on his shoulder. Chat Noir startles.
Oh, it’s just Ladybug. She points to a screen on the side of the coffin—how did he overlook that—and whispers softly. “She isn’t dead, Chaton. She’s just in a coma.”
Oh.
Chat Noir exhales.
So this is why Father wanted to get their miraculous.
In a coma isn’t that much better than dead, but at least there’s a slim, slim chance she’ll still wake up one day without a Wish.
“Okay.” He mutters. “Okay. Let’s go.”
They move on.
They finally find Hawkmoth in a room connected to the atrium by a flight of stairs.
Hawkmoth is lying on the floor of a spacious room. The walls are painted violet, and there is an open window to the side.
Chat Noir blinks. He recognizes this oversized circular window with extravagant grills.
They’re in the attic. How has no one ever discovered this place before?
Hawkmoth stirs as the two superheroes enter the room, raising his head to blink dazedly at them.
Ladybug stiffens. In a flash, she lights up in a storm of red and black—magnificent and deadly—and pounces.
Chat Noir blinks, and she is already pinning Hawkmoth to the floor.
His partner declares, “Gabriel Agreste, you are under arrest for domestic terrorism.”
She pries the Butterfly miraculous off Hawkmoth’s chest. Purple light flashes, as Hawkmoth’s transformation is washed away, until only Gabriel Agreste remains on the floor, staring blankly at the superheroes.
Haw—Ga—he meant to run, the first moment he sensed that thick, damning layer of fog covering his victim’s mind. But she—that girl—Deku—struck first, like a viper, and he was frozen in place with his magic entirely eluding his grasp.
And then—there was pain, and fear, a thick and suffocating sensation choking his lungs. He had screamed, in his mind, cried out and begged for mercy as Deku reached for that intimate part of himself he didn’t know existed. There was more pain, as Deku’s touch sent shudders through his mind and body and he could sense the girl’s intention to destroy his cognitive processes—
Then—
He wakes up to Ladybug pinning him to the floor. Red and black lightning leaps off her body, bright and searing and too much like standing next to a lightning rod in a storm, but Deku’s presence is gone and he can still think and there is too much relief in his mind for him to process that Ladybug is prying the Butterfly miraculous off his chest and he has lost and he’ll never get Emilie back now and how did she even find him he’s in his lair did Deku tattle—and—
“…I think he’s in shock, my Lady.”
“…yeah.” Ladybug grimaces. That…might’ve been her fault.
The end of Hawkmoth’s reign happens quietly.
Yesterday, he was still an invisible but omnipresent threat, a supervillain who sent an akuma that toppled the Eiffel Tower just that afternoon.
By today’s lunchtime, he is gone, unmasked and carted off in the back of an armored vehicle.
There is no dramatic battle, no fight that drove Ladybug and Chat Noir to their limits as they battled for the fate of the city, no flashy lights or crumbling building or even a wave of ladybugs to signify a battle even occured.
The city doesn’t learn the truth until the fight is a foregone conclusion, when a video containing Ladybug’s statement is sent to every major news company in Paris—and shockingly, the Ladyblog.
(Alya screeches so loud the entire cafeteria hears when she receives the video sent from an unknown number. That is how the Françoise Dupont Collège is notified of Hawkmoth’s defeat.)
Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth.
His son alerted Chat Noir to some of his suspicions, providing invaluable help to the heroes in defeating the threat that has been plaguing the city.
Hawkmoth has been defeated, and awaits trial for his crimes against the city.
All that information, put into a single five-minute video, which also contains the clip of Hawkmoth transforming back into Gabriel Agreste. The information that the city has awaited since that first akuma attack months ago, yet dreaded as it left a single question hanging in the air—
What next?