__________________________________________________
{Bakery, Marinette's bedroom - 19:30}
The bright light blinded her for a few seconds, causing the blunette to cover her eyes. Thank God she closed the blinds and both doors in her room. Once the light died down enough, she lowered her hand to see...
"Ahh! Help! It's a giant bug! A... a mouse! A... a bug-mouse!"
"Woah! Calm down would you!"
In a great moment to self-preservation, Marinette started to throw the discarded dresses at the bug-mouse. Yet, it never seemed to stay down. now with all her dresses on the other side of the room, it was time for a last resort. The jar! Emptying the glass jar that stored some of her pens, she caged the creature between it and the floor.
"Guess I'll have to go with Tikki's approach," the tiny thing sighed.
Upon closer inspection Marinette realized the thing looked more like a mouse, "what are you? And why did you come out of my necklace?"
"Rude, what you should be asking is what my name it. Which is Mullo by the way! The kwami of multiplication!" It- Mullo spun around, "and that necklace is a miraculous that belongs to the guardian, not you!"
"Kwami? Miraculous? Guardian? You mean like how Lady Ruby, Cat Knight and Hawkmoth got their powers?" One hand on the jar, the other picking up a magazine from her desk to slip under.
"Lady Ruby and Cat Knight?" The kwami raised an eyebrow, "I can guess who's miraculous they're using, but Hawkmoth? There's no moth miraculous in my box!"
The human placed the jar upon her desk right-side up, "he used butterflies, though I don't think anyone brought up how weird his name is."
Mullo sat down, "well that explains it, that's the butterfly miraculous."
This isn't what I should be focusing on, "you mentioned a guardian and that the miraculous belong to them. Do you know who he is so I can return you to them?"
They sighed, "the miraculous take secret identities incredibly seriously, to the point us kwamis can't say the name of our wielder or guardian. For example, since you hold my miraculous, you're my wielder, and thus I can't say you name."
"Oh... oh! I completely forgot to tell you, my name! Sorry! I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng." The blunette apologised, "and don't worry, I'll help you find your guardian."
Moving the magazine off the jar, Mullo's eyes widen, um, widen more at the symbol on the back of Marinette's right hand. "You're a trainee!?"
"A trainee?" Trainee designer?
"A guardian trainee!" She flew over to and pointed their... paw? Fin? At the symbol. "This is the mark of a guardian trainee!" Mullo flew across the room, as though sensing something through the realization, when her eyes set on the metal lotus box. "The Chinese miracle box"
Marinette made her way over, "Chinese miracle box?"
"This box was once full of miraculous, but the guardian had to use the spell to scatter them around Paris," taking her holder's hand, she led it over the golden centre. "Push it down."
Following as told, the fifteen petals Lilypad and yellow pistil opened, each containing a different symbol, nineteen in total. "Woah..."
"If you're a guardian trainee, then that means that you've either met them, or..." panic overtook her features as she whizzed around the room. "They're at death's door! And you were chosen as an emergency guardian!"
"Hold on a second!" Thank God mama and dad are asleep already. "What do you mean emergency guardian? The current guardian is dead?!"
"Not yet! But he's close!" Mullo stopped right in Marinette's face, "when the current guardian doesn't have a trainee but is close to dying, then the box will choose a trainee. Usually, the first person who comes in contact with it. In this case, it was you."
"I see... No offence but having such a big responsibility isn't something I'm cut out for. Do you know how to remove this?" She held up the symbol.
"Only the guardian can remove it and considering I can't exactly tell you who they are, you're stuck with it."
"Seriously?" The human groaned dropping her eyes to the ground hidden behind her cloths, "I should clean this all up." Draping them over her arm she continued to talk, "do you eat anything?"
Mullo picked up one of the lighter cloths, "I like cheese! Specifically Swiss."
"I don't think there's any Swiss cheese, but we do have cheese bread. I live in a bakery after all. You have been stuck in the necklace for a long time."
"Food to Kwamis have a different meaning, we don't need it to live, but after every transformation we need to eat. There's also the fact that after child users will de-transform in five minutes after using their powers."
"Child miraculous users?" She placed the final discarded dress away, "then that means that Lady Ruby and Cat Knight are the same age as me." The dress she chose for the fashion show was left hanging on the back of her divider.
Mullo sat on her human's head, "what about Hawkmoth? Is he an adult?"
"Nobody really knows as we've never seen him, in fact, Hawkmoth is a villain. Or a terrorist as publicly declared."
"He's using the miraculous for evil?!" She yelled this while hanging upside-down Marinette's face.
No reply came as the blue hair girl opened the trap door, "I was his latest victim, Marionette. I wanted to get back at the girl who'd made my life a living hell and exposed her in a huge lie on live TV."
The kwami moved back to her original position, "so he's feeding off negative emotions?"
"Pretty much, he's been active since the first day of school, which was about two months ago." Opening the fridge the blunette opened a packet of tiny cheese cubes, "the cheese bread is probably in the bakery, I'll have to get it in the morning."
"That's fine, as long as I can get some eventually!" Mullo graciously devoured the bag.
A yawn escaped the lips of the blunette, reminding her of just how late it was to an exciting day. "I need to plane my outfit for the fashion show in the morning, so I'm gonna head to bed now," retreating back to her room, Marinette placed a scarf on her chaise lounge pillow, Mullo between the two. "Goodnight."
"Night blue," replied the tiny voice.
__________________________________________________
{06/11/2040, Wednesday, Agreste Mansion, Hallway- 6:30}
Adrien rolled over in his bed to turn the alarm off, it really annoyed him. But with his perfectionist winter wardrobe coming out on Friday, triple checking everything became commonplace. Stretching his yawns away, the golden boy rubbed his sleepy eyes and headed for the bathroom. Finishing up his morning routine he changed into his new cloths for the season.
He wore a white button down top, a black waxed cotton jacket with fur around the collar and gold hardware. A pair of black slacks and black knee-high Frye with gold hardware, and golden ring belt buckle with a black belt. And a golden bracelet he left on from last night.
Wait, a golden bracelet? Moving his sleeve Adrien noticed the metal bracelet on his right wrist. Which means...
"I see you're already awake young serpent."
That voice! Darting his head, emerald eyes came face to face with a tiny snakelike creature. A kwami named Sass. Stretching his s that made it sound like he was hissing. Sitting on his desk chair, wrapped up in a jumper.
"Why the shocked face? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"It wasn't a dream?" Was all he breathed out.
"Looks like you're still processing everything, understandable, considering it was rather late last night."
"I do have a question though; I understand the whole camouflage thing with the miraculous is to keep them hidden. But does it have to stay like this? I'm the son of a fashion designer, and everything I wear is part of his brand."
Sass sat on his wielder's shoulder, "just think about what you want the miraculous to look like, and it will change. Keep in mind however, that it will stay a bracelet, not a different accessory like a headband."
Looking at the accessories at his disposal, the model closed his eyes. He imagined it to be a golden cuff bracelet. A feather pattern engraved within, emerald on the back left in the shape of his father's logo. Opening his eyes once again, the miraculous did indeed turn into that same bracelet.
"Now that's done, I believe you mentioned something about having a busy day today?" Sass reminded.
"Yeah, a practice run for the fashion show on Friday," the boy opened his jacket for Sass to hide in and picked up his backpack. "I also need to stop by the library later and checkout this book."
Leaving his room, the blonde left his room and skipped into the empty hallway, past his father's office. "Yes, I'm busy. I was right in the middle of something particularly important. What do you want?" Which of course meant he'd overhear his father in the middle of an angry rant.
The door was slightly ajar, odd, considering his father's rather secretive when it comes to the more political side to his business. Especially after his mother's paralysis. Under normal circumstances, he'd simply ignore the conversation and continue to walk on, but the sight inside made him freeze.
"What?! This is unacceptable!" There was a safe open where the painting of Emilie Agreste, Adrien's mother, normally hung. "The sample garment doesn't match at all! All you had to do was follow a pattern. Imbeciles!"
Gabriel placed a book within the safe before closing it revealing the safe was hidden behind the painting. "What am I supposed to do? The show is in three days!" He was moving to leave the office, in a panic, Adrien hid behind a close pillar.
"No, don't use him, he's completely useless." His father's voice faded out as he walked over to his bedroom, presumably to cool down.
He hides stuff behind the painting of Mom?
"Sass!" the teen hissed, opening his jacket enough to see the sake, "aren't you supposed to stay quiet?"
I was, I spoke to you telepathically. The only one who heard me was you, young serpent. True to his words, Sass hadn't moved his lips once. It's as easy as changing the camouflage form of your miraculous. Building up a mental wall to keep thoughts private on the other hand, is quite the marathon.
Saving that to practice on later, the son snuck into his father's office. Why am I doing this? I should be leaving his stuff alone. But what if it has something to do with mum? His resolve only weakened when he moved the painting to see a keypad blocking access to his goal.
Don't worry, leave it to me! Whipping out the inside pocket, Sass fazed right through the safe door.
Sass! What are you-a second later and there was a click, moving on curiosity alone, Adrien revealed that the safe door was open.
Now what do we have hidden behind here? A book on Tibet, an old flyer from a hotel... Once he found the book Gabriel held only moment ago, he threw it right into Adrien's arms. I've seen this book somewhere before; I'll need to take a closer look into it.
Are you sure? It belongs to my dad.
The steps of two adults brought him back to the severity of the situation. Rushing, he placed the book into his bag while Sass closed the safe and painting. Reverting the room to its original state and hid right when Natalie and Gorilla walked into the room.
"Adrien? What are you doing here?" The professional woman asked, "you're going to be late."
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "sorry, I was wondering if father would come."
"I'm sorry Adrien," she apologised "but I'm afraid he's still not comfortable enough to go outside yet."
__________________________________________________
The rehearsal went by smoother than Adrien thought it would. Giving him ample time to head over to the library after lunch. His jacket hanging on the chair thanks to the heating. He was hoping to stop by the bakery and congratulate Marinette, he couldn't do that yesterday thanks to his father's worries.
He already turned in his book and checked out a few news ones. Now he's sat in the library corner, overlooking the book he'd found in his father's study. Why is my dad keeping this locked in a safe? Shouldn't he give it to the heroes? The book was full of miraculous holders, their cloths more on the old fashion side, but identifiable, nonetheless. Turing the page he gasped at the image before him. A butterfly miraculous? Hawkmoth? What's this monster doing in a book about superheroes?
You seem to have forgotten what I have told you last night, the miraculous are meant to be a force used for good. Sass's calm voice explained as Adrien flipped the page again. The butterfly wielder you're looking at right now is also a hero.
"Adrien?" Looking up at the mention of his name, he saw the same girl he'd been planning on visiting.
Marinette wore a white sheer smock top with a leather black under-bust corset, a white turtleneck with thumbholes underneath, tucked into a pair of midnight blue skinny jeans with white lotus embroidery on the bottom left and top right sides ending at the knee. A pair of black calf riding boots with a thin line of white fur and belt.
Under her collar was a black chocker with a dangling silver lotus. She had a pair of pearl stud earrings. Hair down with a thin white headband. A black satchel purse that matched her jeans with silver hardware and tote bag. Her black and azure Norfolk jacket in her hand with silver hardware was tucked in her bag.
"Hey Marinette," he greeted.
"Hey back," she giggled. "What you looking at?"
"Oh, uh... jus- just a book I found!" He did his best to keep the panic out of his voice.
"Go right ahead," he gestured to the seat next to him.
Taking the invitation without fail, she slid right in, "a book on heroes?" Eyes taking in all the information before her at an alarming pace, "this doesn't look like Chinese dialect I know."
"I noticed the same thing, and take a look at this," he flipped the page back to the butterfly user.
In a barely audible whisper, "is that who I think it is?"
"If you're thinking Hawkmoth, most likely," he turned the page away. "The miraculous all seemed to be intended as a force of good, and Hawkmoth's misusing them by being a villain."
"Isn't this something you should show the g- uh, heroes?"
"I'll get onto it soon, I just... want to look through it a bit longer."
"That's understandable, I'm also kinda curious," she nodded.
A few minutes of scanning the pages later and Adrien got a call. "Hello? Alright, I'll be there right now," turning off his phone he faced the blue girl. "Sorry, I got a call from my father saying he needs me home right now."
"That's okay, I understand." Waved her hands at him, as they both grab their things to leave, she ended up bumping into him. Causing them both to drop their stuff. "Sorry!" She squeaked as she dropped down to the ground to gather her stuff and
He bent down to help, "don't worry about it."
Once they were done, they both left the library and bid each other goodbye.
__________________________________________________
{Agreste Mansion,Gabriel's Study- 14:30}
"Why did you take the book?"
Adrien sat before Gabriel and Natalie in the study, the assistant had just played security footage of Adrien opening the safe and taking the book. Fortunately, for some magical reason, Sass did not appear in the footage. And the telepathic link meant he didn't seem crazy having a conversation with himself.
"I... I just wanted to know what you were hiding behind that portrait that was so important," Adrien eyed downcast in shame. "You... you never told me about those things. I was intending to give it back to you, I swear! But then... I lost it."
He indeed had, while looking through his bag in the car, he noticed that it hadn't been in his pile. He was hoping to ask Marinette if she accidently picked it up by accident.
"How can I possibly trust you again, Adrien?" Gabriel paced around. "It's one of a kind! The book's the source of my inspiration.""
"I didn't know that. I hardly know anything about you, Father," his eyes shifted to the side. "Especially after mom got paralyzed."
Shoot, did I say that aloud?!
"You will be staying within the mansion for the rest of the term break and the following term," Adrien gaped at that. "You're lucky your mother wanted you to attend school, if it weren't for that wish you'd be back to being homeschooled. Now go to your room. Now."
"Now." Gabriel was much firmer this time, leaving no room for arguments as the dejected teen left for his room.
Natalie turned to her employer once Adrien left the room, "what will you do without the book?"
He walked over to the painting of his wife, "you know where this goes."
__________________________________________________
{Dupain-Cheng bakery, Marinette's bedroom}
Marinette leaned back in her desk chair, feet in the air, taking a picture of every page within the grimoire. "So... this belonged to the guardian?"
"I guess I'm not gonna be returning it to Adrien," she sighed. "And did you have to pinch me?"
"I'm really sorry blue, but its information is invaluable," the kwami frowned. "And I doubt you'd purposefully bump into him."
"But it's all written in code."
"That's because it's in a special code that only the guardian can decipher," Mullo stated in a matter of fact.
"But doesn't that make it useless in my hands? Or anyone's?" the human questioned as she took the last picture, "I mean you can't tell me who the guardian is."
"While you have a point, you still can't just give it away!"
The ringing of Marinette's phone caused her to fall off her chair, just as every teacher warns their student. Picking up the phone she realized the ID was Adrien. Shoot! He must have found out his book's missing! What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?
Intending to do so, her hand accidently touched the green button, answering the phone. Oh no! "Uh, hi Adrien!" I sound like a whistle.
"Is this Mademoiselle Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" That wasn't Adrien, but the voice was familiar.
"I'm sorry, who's asking? I thought this was Adrien's phone. And what is that noise in the background." Sounds like someone's throwing things.
"Apologise, my name it Natalie Sancoeur, we met during the beginner designer contest." That explains the call. "And the noise it just the bodyguard training."
"I see, may I ask why you're calling?" Though I think I know why.
"Adrien said he met you at the library today, your thing fell on the floor, and you may have accidently picked up a book belonging to Monsieur Agreste." Monsieur Agreste? Gabriel Agreste? The book belonged to Gabriel Agreste?!
"If you do have it, I'd like you to return it, preferably today. As Monsieur Agreste had grounded Adrien till the book is returned." Until what now!?
"I- I may have it." Mullo facepalmed but the words came out before her holder could stope herself. "It wasn't on purpose I swear! You see our thing fell on the floor a-and-"
"I'm aware of the accident you had with Adrien, so rest assured, you aren't blamed for anything. Though I am inclined to ask as to why you didn't call first."
"W-well I just got really interested in it, it is a book on the wielder's of the miraculous after all. Anyway, I did plane on returning it but then I just started looking through, and I guess I zoned out." That sounded believable right? "Anyway, I can return it today. Should I come or will you be coming over?"
"I have some work to finish so I'll be over there in an hour and a half to collect the book. And while I'm on the phone, may I ask for an update on the catering for the fashion show?"
__________________________________________________
The blind opened to reveal a butterfly shaped window. A man stood, dressed in a purple and black suit, black dress shoes and gloves. Pale purple skin, grey hair with a lilac tint, lilac eyes surrounded by a silver butterfly shaped mask. A lilac cape in the shape of butterfly wings, and to complete the look, a butterfly broch at the top of his tie. Cane in hand.
"There's no other negative emotion of such a high calibre today, making it a prime day to use this opportunity..." Someone walked up behind him, "... to keep the heroes off my trail."
"With all due respect Monsieur, how do you know the heroes even know you have the book? The girl said she still had it after all." A woman's voice stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself to be Natalie Sancoeur, personal assistant to Gabriel Agreste, meaning...
"With a civilian who admires them so much, there's a chance might have informed them." He looked back, "and who's to say they won't make a digital copy? Such an easy feat in this era."
"I see, that is a possibility."
"Nooroo! Dark wings, fall!"
... The man terrorising Paris is Gabriel Agreste, king of fashion and the father of Adrein. A lilac kwami resembling a butterfly, Nooroo, came out from his broach. He took the miraculous off and handed it to Natalie.
"Yes Monsieur," she nodded. "Dark wings, rise!"
"Well," Gabriel picked up an empty sketchbook. "Shall we begin?" A butterfly flew from Natalie's hands to the sketchbook, engulfing Gabriel in a purple and black mist.
__________________________________________________
{Agreste Mansion, Adrien's Bedroom}
Adrien sat at his desk, his homework open before him, but none of the information going through. "My father's angry because of me; he won't forgive me until I find that book."
"That book seems to mean an awful lot to him," Sass was perched upon one of the monitors with a grape. "May I know the reason as to why?"
"Trust me, I'd tell you if I knew," the blonde pushed himself back. "But ever since mother's death, he's been rather secretive about anything that concerns her."
I thought your mother's death was a recent thing. This went through Sass's own head and safe from his holder.' It would be rather insensitive to ask. Though he guessed that romantic things were preferably kept to the parent's self than shared with his son.
"Oh, there's probably something you should know," Adrein held up his phone and drew a complicated pattern. "This is the backup password; it's a bit complicated but still easy."
"That's complicated? That looks easy to me," the kwami couldn't help but comment and repeated the pattern himself successfully. "But why are you showing me this?"
"Let me show you," Adrien scrolled through his apps and stopped at a purple butterfly. "This is the akuma alert app, used to alert others of an akuma. In the case of an emergency, and I can't alert anyone, you can do it. Let me show you how it works."
They did just that, pointing but not touching any of the buttons so they didn't file a false report. It was simple and quick to use, making it ample in an emergency with only seconds to warn others. The app was only recently released to the public, around the time before Marionette, but after Animan.
"Hm?" Adrien perkedhis head up at the noise, he thought his father was done throwing things aroundbut apparently not. In fact, it sounds like it's getting closer. And the sourcekicked his door down, giving Sass barely any time to hide.
"Adrien! You'll be the first of my many inspirations to come."
The teen jumped out from his seat, backing up at the sight before him, "father!?"
"You will call me...the Collector!"
With a single swoop, the book in man's hand was thrown at his son. Open, blank pages met human skin, having the boy vanish from existence. Returning to the akuma's hands like a boomerang, the page was open on a sketch of Adrien, hands held up in fear.
While the sight did give Gabriel a hint of regret, he steeled himself, he couldn't falter when he needed to take this chance to prove he was an innocent man. No connection to the miraculous but an old book that nobody could translate. At least, not anyone they would know.
Closing the book, he struts out the room, not bothering to close the door on the way out. Heathen. The slippery snake kwami came out from behind the computer monitor, he just couldn't believe the sight before him. So that's what a champion of evil looks like? His aura is quite disturbing. Was the book that personal to him?
The look of fear across the young Adrien's face when he was captured sprung in his mind. No, I can't lose my cool now. I need to use the app. He shot around in a panic The phone. Where's the phone? His eyes finally landed below the desk; it was most likely dropped there in the panic of being targeted.
Looking for the akuma app, he clicked the alert button, not before adding a note as to what the powers were. The location automatically added, and while it was anonymous, it was rather obvious there were only a select people who had access to this place.
__________________________________________________
{Dupain-Cheng bakery, Kitchen- Earlier}
Marinette had just placed the finishing touches on the frozen peppermint Pattie pie she and Mullo were making. It was an apology gift for taking the book. And not to worry about Mullo being seen, both her parents were working down in the bakery, so she had the place to herself. Mullo was really interested in seeing the process behind creating a sweet treat.
"And...done!" The human smiled, "now to just to place it in a box."
She'd informed her parents of her little apology project beforehand, and they set aside a box for her to put it in. I just hope I don't forget to give it when Mademoiselle Sancoeur comes in for the book. Said book was already placed in a zip-lock bag to prevent any possible stains that'd lead her to further trouble. Cake in the fridge and book safely away, only left one thing, cleaning.
"I never realized so much work went into baking," Mullo sat on the mixer. "The guardian could only make simple dishes that didn't require much work."
The blunette placed everything in the dishwasher, "I'm sure it didn't make it any less delicious."
The mouse flew over to the oven, "what about the cookies you left in here?"
Her human let out a little giggle, "did you know there are many desserts containing cheese?"
"Really? I never knew that. Nor have I tried any," she paused for a moment. "Excluding cheese bread."
"Well now you can! Since you're gonna be staying here for a bit, I made some cheddar cookies to take on the go." She placed the last piece away and moved to a baking book, opening it on certain treats. "When we have some free time, we can bake a different one of your choice."
"Oh! Can I choose something fancy?" Flipping the pages with excitement she rested on rose shaped pastries. "Cranberry, apple & gouda puff pastry roses? That sounds both weird and fancy, can we make these?"
"Sure," making a physical note of the recipe the blunette placed the paper away in her room note board. "But we'll need to get some more gouda, I don't think we have any left."
"I remember when the guardian tried that for the first time," Mullo hung upside-down. "They made the strangest face; said it was too heavy!"
"Speaking of the guardian..." Marinette turned her computer on, surfing the web to one of the two famous hero blogs. "This is the Guardian Animal blog, run by an upper classmate of mine named Aurore. She made a theory a while back that had to do with the Parisian lights, several coloured lights going through the sky not long before the heroes appeared."
She then picked up her phone to the security footage of the lights, "this is the footage from the lights from my balcony. I, coincidentally, had the trap door to my room open on that day." She then pulled up some news articles with pictures of people present at the accident, "are any of them the guardian?"
Mullo hovered in place, looking through all the pictures. And while Marinette couldn't see her face, she knew she was in deep concentration. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "I don't see the guardian."
"That's alright, it was worth a try." She turned it off. "If I thought of it then I'm sure Hawkmoth did too."
Mullo wanted to say something but was cut off by a loud buzz from her holder's phone, "What's that?"
"That's the akuma app, it has a special alarm, so people know just by the sound alone." Marinette picked her phone up from its place on her desk, bluebell eyes switching from joy to fear and guilt. "Monsieur Agreste has been akumatized!"
Mullo looked over her shoulder, "you mean the guy who the book belonged to?"
"This is my fault," the kwami barely caught her holder's words.
"Hold on a second!" She was right in her face, "how is this your fault?"
"Because I took his book," the wilder emphasized.
"First of all, from their perspective, they think you did it on accident. Second, they know you have it and are planning to return it." The Kwami left no room for argument, "So this akumatization is off."
"Maybe Monsieur Agrestes doesn't know I, have it? Mademoiselle Sancoeur might have kept it a secret to avoid anything unnecessary." Even saying it, Marinette wasn't convinced. "The book might have some sort of emotional value to him, like maybe it's connected to his late wife?"
"While that is a possibility, do not blame yourself." Mullo made an X with her paws, "it was my idea to take the book in the first place to return to the guardian."
The words didn't seem to go through as Marinette shot up from her seat, grabbing her purse, tote and the grimoire, she bolted down the stairs.
"Blue! What are you doing?!"
"Adrien's in trouble and it's all my fault." She took the cake out of the fridge, thankfully she had taped the box shut beforehand. "I might not be able to save his father, but I might be able to get him to calm down."
Distress overtook Mullo's features, "but he has the power to make you vanish!"
Throwing her shoes on she gave a simple reply, "I have to try!" That was enough for the Kwami to phase into the purse to join her.
__________________________________________________
Ruby flew through one of the open windows of Gabriel's office, "whoa, what happened here?"
"Looks like somebody had a little tantrum," Cat commented.
"As much as I dislike the fact you insulted someone of such a high calibre, I have to agree with you." She rolled her sapphire eyes, "no matter how high up someone it, they've always got a weak point."
Cat knight's feet came in contact with a framed drawing, "his perfect son might be the reason behind this." He kicked a poorly drawn picture at his feet, it was a boy holding hands with a man and a woman. Three guesses on who they are. "Where is the Collector anyway?"
"Right here." The menacing voice of the elder male was the only warning before the sketchbook came flying in their direction. Grabbing objects scattered across the floor, the heroes threw them at the book in a failed attempt to redirect it. Leading them to actively dodging and retreating the room instead. "You won't be able to escape!"
Walking out the room, Gabriel realized he had filled up half of his book from all the paintings. Intending to at least give the heroes a challenge he swiped at some of the pages, removing all the items those pages contained.
"He has to empty out his book, meaning it probably hold a limited number of items" Unaware of the eyes in the sky catching those actions.
"Then let' head to Agreste Jr's room, there a lot of books, CDs and what not in there," he led her over to set up the trap.
Outside the mansion, Marinette had just arrived, panting on her knees. Hope they let me- oh. Looks like she didn't need to worry about being let in, since the giant gates were gone. Normally people would take this opportunity to break into the mansion, but an akuma meant visits were a big no.
Stepping into the reclusive den, the first thing she took in was the wild yet tames garden, littered with various trees. All bright, despite loosing majority of their leaves to the wild wind. It was almost as if this place was hiding some sort of magical secret. If Monsieur Agreste wasn't akumatized, I would have though he was Hawkmoth.
Knocking on the door would be stupid, not as stupid as visiting an active akuma site, but still. Thankfully, the door didn't seem to be locked, evident by the fact it was slightly ajar. Someone may have tried to escape, not bothering to close the door on the way out.
Peeking inside both she and Mullo, popping out from the bag, spotted a man in back with a sketchbook in hand. That must be where the akuma is, that or the glasses, since nothing else stands out. Collector opened the book flicking his hand over a few pages, the heroes were on spying from behind a pillar. As Gabriel walked over to one of the other ground floor rooms, the heroes headed to a room on the first floor.
Maybe I should explain the situation to the heroes first. Tiptoeing all over to the room the heroes were at, the blunette took a deep breath to calm herself.
"I deserve to live the life of luxury!" Huh? Was that Cat Knight? "I'm the one saving all of Paris! They should pay me for it too!"
"Need I remind you that there's another saviour of Paris?" Lady Ruby? Her voice is a little different. "But I do agree with the fact that they should pay us. A few million per a battle."
"Well, the clout's great, but only with the identity, if there wasn't the risk of Hawkmoth killing us," Marinette and Mullo peaked through the crack. "I'd reveal myself in a heartbeat and demand compensation!"
"Please, the moment Hawkmoth is defeated, our fame will be switch with the next big thing! At least people give us expensive things, free of charge!" Is she referring to the time when her mother gave them free food during Kim's akumatization?
"Wow, almost sound to me like you have no plan on ever revealing Hawkmoth's identity," the cat's eyes thinned down at the bug from next to the giant bookcase.
Said bug was fiddling with a red and black peddle on the foosball table, "unless someone else finds out about it." She then looked up at him, "and don't act like you aren't the same."
Cat Knight's smile never wavered, "touché."
Why is the door getting smaller? Marinette's legs moving on their own. What did I just overhear? The heroes only care about fame. Is it just me or is it hard to breath in here? Mullo hid back in the purse when the steps of an adult became audible.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
__________________________________________________
{Agreste Mansion, Adrien's bedroom}
By using the foosball to shoot CDs and books at the man, he had no choice but to capture them all in his book. Once he reached the red girl, the book had filled up. Not wasting any time, the female hero trapped the akuma in her yoyo, and the male hero tore the book into smithereens. Reversing the damage included the bookshelf the cat had destroyed to let the items fall.
Adrien reappeared in his desk chair, and Marinette right outside the bedroom. Gabriel was left exhausted in the middle of the room. If it weren't for the fact the duo had used their powers earlier, they would have tried to shmooze some free stuff out the golden boy for saving his father. Or maybe notice the possibility of the blue haired girl having overheard their diabolical confession.
"Father?" The boy fell to his father's side, "I'm so sorry!"
"The ambulance are on their way," his head shot up to the bedroom entrance and gasp.
"I came by when I heard your father got akumatized," she put the phone down from her face. "I feel responsible for this happening, I was the one who took the book after all." She took the book and cake box out from the bag and placed them on the bed.
The model just shook his head, "no, it's my fault. I shouldn't have taken the book in the first place."
The lotus girl opened her mouth to say something only to be interrupted by Natalie running in.
"Adrien!" She ran over to the boy, completely missing the teen girl. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. But father..." his eyes lead her to his father.
"I called an ambulance already," Natalie whipped her head round to the visitor. "They should be here soon."
"Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng?" Natalie got up, her employer in her arm. "What are you doing here?"
The girl rubbed her left arm, eyes seemingly distracted. "When I heard that Monsieur Agreste was akumatized, I thought I could stop him if I brought him the book." She gestured to the book on the bed.
The woman placed the man on the sofa, "what's in the box?"
The girl moved her hand from her arm to her fingers, "it's a frozen peppermint Pattie pie I made as an apology."
Apology? If either of the teens were looking at the woman, they would have seen the hint of guilt in her eyes. "It's not your fault he got akumatized," she knew they wouldn't believe her words, "Neither of you are at fault." Adrien's silence confirmed that the boy did indeed blame himself.
The sounds of sirens meant the conversation would soon be over.
__________________________________________________
{07/11/2040, Thursday Hôtel Dieu Hospital- 10:30}
Adrien, Natalie and Gorilla all walked into the hospital room of Gabriel Agreste, the blonde holding a book in a zip-lock bag.
"The book!" Gabriel's eyes lit up as he held it close, his eyes then landed on his son. "I'm sorry I became so furious over a book."
"I'm sorry too," Adrien twiddled his fingers. "I shouldn't have taken it without your permission."
"That book...was the very last gift your mother gave to me before...before she disappeared. All I have left of her is this book...and you." He looked back at the book. "While you may still be grounded, it will only be until your schools starts up again."
Emerald eyes beam, "really? Thank you, father!" Adrien hugged the man, "I'm gonna go to the bathroom quickly, be right back."
Entering the bathroom stall Adrien opened his jacket pocket to release Sass. "Father's not upset, and the book is back, speaking of, is it what you were looking for?"
"It's..." Sass trailed off, "a duplicate, a poorly written one at that. The code and text aren't even accurate, just the pictures."
"Oh, I see..." looking to the side, Adrien's face then turned to a determined one. "Well, that doesn't matter, we can still try to find the real one, and your guardian!"
The kwami smiled a toothy grin, "thank you, young serpent."
__________________________________________________
{Dupain-Cheng Bakery, Marinette's bedroom - 16:30}
"Pew, finally done," Marinette wiped the sweat away from her forehead.
The pearls for her dress tomorrow added and accessories chosen. She even found a fancy bag that should give Mullo and her things enough space. She already placed some cheddar cookies in a zip-lock bag for Mullo to munch on.
Speaking of the kwami, she's been rather silent since the akumatization yesterday. "Blue?"
"Can you, pull up those pictures again?"
She placed the dress away, "the ones about the Parisian lights? Why?"
"There's something I wanna show you." She sat on her human's shoulder, Marinette typing away before pulling up the article.
Mullo flew over to a picture of the victim, "this person, is the guardian."
____________________________________(A/N) ____________________________________
2087
dededos
annaxmalina
baratheonpilled
turnnoffyourmind
ellievsbear