"Future Rewoven" Book 3 of "Secrets Unraveled" Trilogy |COMPLETED|

Chpt 6: Future Plans.

"I agree to the deal," was all the message from G.A. said as Lila looked at her phone screen after hearing the notification. Lila tried to contain her relief. It had been two days since she'd been to see him and she'd nervously wondered how long to wait before trying to talk to him again.  She hadn't been sure whether he had been willing to accept what she said as fact. It all did sound fairly ridiculous! But, she was glad that she didn't have to put up a pretend confident front anymore. She was confident that everything would now work out according to plan.

She looked over at Maya and Max who were at the table poring over plans to build the portal. "Good news everyone! We have our funding! We should be able to get into the space by the end of the week and your equipment and materials can now be ordered."

Max smiled over at her. "You're amazing, Lila! I didn't know you were so good at business-related things," he said. Lila smiled back at him.

"Great," said Maya without expression, still concentrating on the plans. Something still wasn't quite right with the design, but she couldn't remember what it was, and she was starting to feel frustrated and panicky that she would never get home. She appreciated all that Lila and Max- her grandparents(!), she could still hardly believe she was interacting with their teenage selves- were doing to help her, but they were so young here, it was difficult to feel like this was going to end well. Though, Lila had been very resourceful so far- convincing her mom that Maya was a cousin on her dad's side so Maya could stay with them, involving Max (who, unlike Lila, didn't know who Maya was) to help her re-create the portal, securing funding. It would probably be smart of me to never underestimate her! Maya knew the reason Max became such a high powered, rich, and important scientist in the future was because of Lila. It was a little easier to believe now that she had seen her grandmother in action as a very determined and scheming teenager. She still wasn't sure what the plan was to get the Miraculouses, though. How were they going to hold up their end of the bargain with Mr. Agreste? Anyone who would willingly become Hawk Moth would not take an unfulfilled bargain lightly. She was pretty sure he would come after them if they didn't get him what he wanted!

"Maya?" Max said. Maya shook her head clear of her worries and focused her attention on him.

"What?" she asked, having no idea what he said.

"Are you ready to take a break for lunch? It's mid-afternoon and I believe we may need to re-think how to best connect the portal to the power source. We don't want to overload it," said Max.

Maya nodded. Max was right. As much as she disliked her grandfather in the future, she couldn't really take it out on the teenage version of him. He had been kind, considerate, and even deferred to her- very unlike his future self. If they were going to successfully work together, she was going to have to separate the two Max's in her mind. Maybe them working together now could have an effect on his future self. Who knew? Time was such a funny thing.

- - -

"So, this is where all of the science research is going to happen, huh?" Adrien asked Max, looking up at the building that housed the lab that Maya had managed to rent.

"Yes, it is an interesting assortment of scientific groups who have each secured funding for their specific research. There are a lot of different types of exciting research occurring in this building. You would never guess that from the look of the outside, would you?" Max asked him, taking in the stone building with mansard roof.

Adrien examined the exterior of the building that looked so much like so many other buildings in Paris.  "No, that's true. Can we go in?" asked Adrien, hoping to take a peek and look around for clues.

"Unfortunately, no, as it is not ready yet. But, as soon as it has all of the equipment installed, I can bring you in for a tour if you'd like," said Max, happy that one of his friends was actually interested in his work.

"I'd really like that, thanks!" Adrien tried to think how to phrase his next question without sounding suspicious. "So, if you don't mind me asking, are you getting paid to do this research with Maya or is it just for experience? Is she getting funding from somewhere that lets her afford all of this and you?"

Max's face brightened at the question. "Yes, I am getting paid. And all of the funding is due to Lila being a brilliant business woman! She secured the funding for us!"

Adrien looked at Max in surprise. "Lila got you the funding? How did she do that? I mean, I don't know many teenagers that could possibly figure out how to get enough money for this kind of research!"

"She's amazing, isn't she? All she did was meet with some local businessman that her family knows and not too much later we had the money!"  Max couldn't help a goofy grin from appearing on his face as he thought about Lila.

"Yeah, amazing," Adrien said, wondering who Lila might know. And what the business man was getting out of it. "Any idea who it is? It might be nice to know who to go to to get money for a project!" Adrien tried to sound like he was joking.

Max frowned a bit. "No, I don't know who it is. Lila never told me. I suppose it might be nice to know who to thank," he said, making a mental note to ask Lila when he saw her.

"What kind of research are you getting to work on?" Adrien asked, still trying to get any helpful answers that could prove or disprove that Maya was the faceless future villain.  "Or is it top secret?" he asked, before realizing he maybe shouldn't have put that idea into Max's head.

Max frowned again.  "I'm not sure actually."  Adrien looked over at him increduously, wondering how Max didn't know anything about the research he would be doing.  Max noticed Adrien's expression and rushed on to clarify.  "I mean, I know what research I am working on as we've already started drawing up the plans, but I don't know whether I am allowed to tell anyone.  I guess I better ask first.  And, I suppose that may affect whether I can show you the lab after the equipment has arrived."  He silently pondered what he could safely say.  "I guess all I can say is it seems quite futuristic.  Something no one else in our current time has yet figured out how to accomplish!"  Max smiled brightly at that, excited that he may be involved in something so important.

Adrien didn't like the sound of that.  While he supposed that much scientific research could be viewed as futuristic, it seemed too coincidental that Max would use those words and the word 'time' to describe his work with Maya.  Put that together with Marinette suspecting Maya to be the future villain and . . . it was all starting to make a more convincing picture.  He stifled a groan.  He really would never hear the end of this from her if she was right.  However, at least it would mean that they knew just where the villain was and also might be able to get some updates on what she was doing.  So, they could keep tabs on her anyway.  Pros and cons, he thought.

"Thanks for showing me where you're going to be working, Max! I'm really excited for you! It should be a fun way to spend the summer. You'll still get to have some fun with your friends, though, right?" Adrien asked him.

Max pushed his glasses back securely onto his face, thinking about how much work they would be doing soon. "I hope so," he said, "but I don't know how many hours or even what hours I will be working, yet. I'll have to see what kind of boss Maya is. She seems very driven and gets easily lost in her work, so I may not be the most reliable when it comes to showing up to things." Max pursed his lips. He didn't want that to be the case. He greatly disliked not following through once plans were made.

Adrien noticed Max's expression and tried to make his friend feel better by saying jokingly "So, like I used to be, then?"

Max smiled at that. "Let's hope not!" he said, making Adrien laugh.

The two teenage boys turned and headed down the sidewalk, continuing to talk about their hopes for the summer.