The Other Side of the Mirror -- genderbend

13: Fateful Battle

Adrienne scaled the Eiffel Tower as fast as possible, being sure to keep Hawk Moth in her sight. She swung herself onto the top platform and immediately raised her staff to deflect a hit. She took a swipe at the villain and was pleased when it hit her in the arm, causing her to stumble back. Hawk Moth straightened up and raised her staff.

"Cataclysm!" Adrienne shouted, running forward.

Hawk Moth ducked, but Adrienne wasn't aiming for her: her hand closed around the villain's staff, destroying it immediately.

"You idiot!" Hawk Moth hissed. "Now you will detransform in five minutes!"

"Five minutes is more than enough time to defeat you," Adrienne growled, lunging.

Hawk Moth blocked her staff with both hands and landed a kick to Adrienne's stomach. She leaped back, using her momentum to spring forward again and pin Hawk Moth to the edge.

"Stop terrorizing Paris," Adrienne said.

"I'll stop when I have your Miraculouses," the villain answered coldly. "Not until then."

Suddenly Adrienne's ring beeped. She looked at it and was shocked to see that she only had a minute left.

"I'm not giving you the Miraculous," she said. "You'll give me yours."

Hawk Moth smirked. "Not so fast."

She swung off the edge, catching herself on the ledge. She used her other arm to swing Adrienne off.

With a cry of shock, Adrienne found herself falling.

There was a flash of green; Adrienne had detransformed. The last thing she remembered before everything went dark was a look of pure shock and horror on Hawk Moth's face.

*****Marin*****

Marin watched as in the distance, Adrienne fell off the tower. He saw her detransform, saw Hawk Moth dive off the tower after her, and realized she was about to die.

"No!" he shouted.

He wound his yo-yo around the bars and pulled as hard as he could. They snapped cleanly in half. He did the same for Alyo.

"Take care of these," he ordered. "I've got to get to Noire."

Alyo nodded. Marin used his yo-yo to swing from rooftop to rooftop as fast as possible. Adrienne was halfway to the ground. Hawk Moth was halfway to her. He got closer and saw the villain notice him.

"Make a net with the yo-yo!" she shouted. Marin was so shocked he immediately obeyed. He wound the yo-yo between several lampposts. When he pulled tight, the string made a thick net. He held it in place as Adrienne fell. It pulled a little when she hit the net. Gently Marin lowered the net to the ground. Hawk Moth landed on her feet beside Adrienne.

"Get away from her!" Marin said, throwing his yo-yo at her. She deflected it with her arm, not removing her focus from Adrienne's unconscious form.

"I have as much right to be here as you," she hissed.

Marin walked forward and knelt beside Adrienne. She was breathing, but he didn't know how injured she was.

"You threw her off," he said softly. "You've only ever wanted our Miraculouses. Why did you try to kill her?"

"I didn't know who she was," Hawk Moth said. "Had it been any other person, I would not have felt remorse."

"So...why did you try to save her?"

She looked up at him.

"Because she's my daughter," she whispered.

Marin stared.

"Dark wings, fall," she said. In a flash of purple light, Hawk Moth became Gabriella Agreste.

"You--you're Hawk Moth?" Marin asked, shocked.

"Yes. But I had no idea that one of the people I fought so hard every day was my own daughter. I have caused her so much pain."

"You could stop, you know."

Marin and Gabriella looked up to see a tall blond man in a blue suit. He seemed familiar to Marin. Gabriella recognized him.

"Emilio?" she said, surprised.

This world's Le Paon,  Marin thought.

The man knelt beside them.

"You could stop causing people pain," he said. "Stop being a villain. Just...put more time into being a mother for Adrienne."

"Don't think you're blameless, sir," Marin snapped. "You left your daughter. She misses you all the time." Turning to Gabriella, he continued, "You shut her out. She sees you as a cold, emotionless woman who is always controlling Adrienne's life. Both of you could stand to be a little warmer to your daughter--who, by the way, hasn't given up on either of you."

Both stared at him.

"When Adrienne wakes up, you both will have some serious explaining to do. She loves you, and she needs to feel that you love her. If you're lucky, she might forgive you. You had better earn that forgiveness."

They kept staring at him.

"You're Marin," Gabriella finally said.

"Yes."

"You're in love with her, aren't you?"

Marin swallowed, though it was hard. "Yes. I love her."

"He would do anything to protect her," Emilio said. "Just like we would have, before."

Gabriella looked up at Emilio.

"That's why I wanted the Miraculouses," she said. "Put together, they grant a wish."

"You wanted him back," Marin said.

"Well, I'm back, no wishes necessary," Emilio said. "Look, Gabriella, I left the villain life. I thought that would help you turn away from evil. You can be good. I know it."

Gabriella looked between her husband and her daughter.

"For Adrienne," she said.

"For Adrienne," Emilio and Marin echoed.

Adrienne stirred.

*****************

They're going to have some serious explaining to do. Poor Adrienne is going to be so confused.

I mean, her father disappeared without a trace.  I'd be confused too.

Shoutout to PrismCat for being encouraging about this story, especially seeing as it's maybe not my best story ever. I will try to update more often, but I don't get opportunities often (too much homework). Thanks for your support!

-Cassie ✪