When Walls Crumble

Chapter 20: Hawkmoth

The next day, Gabriel received a message from Lila.

You have two days to give my powers back or I'll tell the world who you are.

He was in the privacy of his office when his knees gave out and he collapsed to the floor.

"How, Nooru?" he gasped. "What did I...how?"

"I was starting to warn you, but you transformed too soon. Unless Ladybug cleanses the Akuma and uses her miraculous ladybug, your victim remembers it all. Also, Lila lost nothing. Everyone else still believes what she made them believe. And I think she can play along with her act."

He breathed heavily, unable to comprehend how badly he messed up in one day.

"Then...then why does she want them back?" he asked.

Nooru shrugged. "She can keep her current status, but if she wants to keep progressing, she'll need them back. But this is Lila. She isn't bluffing.

"Then what should I do?" he asked.

Nooru hid his smile. He might gain his freedom after all, but he'd have to be careful. "Give her powers, but a different set. Set her up against Ladybug and Cat Noir and have them wipe her memory."

"Excellent," Gabriel smiled, getting back to his feet. "Dark wings rise!"

As Nooru was sucked into the pin, he smiled at how easily Gabriel was manipulated. Lila would only lose the memory of what happened under the new akumatization. And then she would expose him, setting Ladybug and Cat Noir after him. Hopefully, they could retrieve the miraculous and return it to the guardian.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Lila's plan was different, although it ran on a similar path. 

She wanted the butterfly miraculous.

She had no intention of actually exposing him. She would just hold it above his head until she got what she wanted.

So, sure enough, three minutes after her text, a little black and purple butterfly flew right for her bracelet.

She laughed. "I knew you'd come around eventually, Hawkmoth. I mean, what would poor Adrian think if he found out his daddy was the bad guy?"

Hawkmoth growled. "Shut it, Rulebreaker. Do you want this power or not."

Lila accepted, but she failed to notice that he didn't call her Espionne. The second she accepted the powers, she grew into a giant-sized version of herself with a glowing gun mounted on her wrist. He couldn't have made the Akuma more obvious if he tried.

"No!" she shouted, realizing she had been tricked.

Marinette and Luka saw the glowing giant across the city. She was kinda hard to miss.

Luka sighed. "We've been married for less than a day. He couldn't take the week off?"

Marinette sighed. "I better go."

Luka stood and offered his hand. "Do you want my help?"

Marinette looked out the window to assess the threat and saw her black-clad partner ready to jump into the scene.

"Maybe. I'll come back. Right now, I need to stop him before he rashly enters a fight he knows nothing about. Spots on!"

She swung off the deck and into the distance. Luka let his hand fall and sighed, watching her leave. It was hard to let her go into any dangerous situation. She had been doing it long before he met her and was more than capable, but it was still hard to accept that he couldn't always be the one protecting her. And Cat Noir was great. He would make sure she came back safe.