Progenies

Chapter 6

Adrien/Cat Noir POV

"This way, Cat Noir" the woman says. I follow her through the hospital corridors. The walls and ceiling are white and the floor is tiled.

She leads me to a room with the number 25 on it. "He's in there" she says. "About his condition... it confuses us. It seems like a disease, but the disease seems unfamiliar. At first, we thought it was rabies, as he is showing symptoms, but taking a closer look... it wasn't. If it was rabies he would be dead by now. He is also showing signs of insanity, so we have been doing our best to treat it, but he hasn't been improving. We will keep an eye on him while you're in there, to make sure things go okay", I nod, and push the door open.

Martin Johnson sits on his hospital bed with puffy eyes that look at me, filled with sadness and despair. His bottom lip is quivering, and suddenly I feel a pang of guilt, but I'm not sure why. He is curled up on the far side of the bed, shaking, desperately looking around the room. He looks completely terrified. Suddenly, there are tears streaking his face.

"It's okay, I just want to talk", I tell him softly. He shakes his head quickly, still staring at me with wide, desperate eyes. "Can I ask you some questions, about the miraculous you were holding?"

He doesn't answer, but I need to know.

"How did you get the miraculous?" I ask him.

He keeps fidgeting and twitching, but no words come out. I don't think I will get far. I'm about to ask again, when he says something.

"The..." his voice is raspy, it sounds like he hasn't talked in months. "The Master"

The Master. Those words send chills down my spine.

"Who..." I start.

"He's coming", his speech is slightly slurred. "He will kill", his eyes are looking all over the room, he looks like he is about to completely panic. Suddenly, he does something that surprises me. He grabs my shoulders, hard.

"He can hear us, he is watching", his voice is so hoarse as he said it. "They will come"

The moment the last word leaves his mouth, he screams. His nails dig into my shoulders, and I try shake them off, but his grip is so strong. Nurses and doctors rush in, and grab him and inject him with a clear liquid. His eyelids droop down, and he falls onto the bed.

"I... he just started screaming and...." I try to say.

"It's okay Cat Noir, it's not your fault", a dark skinned nurse says to me.

"I'll go now", and I get up and leave, trying not show show how much I am dying to get out.

I only allow myself to be calm once I am home.

"Plagg, claws in", and I am Adrien Agreste again.

I fall onto my couch, exhausted and shocked at the same time. I need to find out who 'The Master' is. At least I have something to search for now.

I wake up on the couch, the sun shining through the curtains. I hear a buzzing noise, starting for a second then stopping. It's my Cat Noir phone (the phone people use to call Cat Noir, so my identity is secret). I stretch and go up to grab it. It's from the hospital.

"Hello, Cat Noir?" a woman's voice says. "It's Martin, he... he died overnight"