A Miraculous Story Book 3: Rivals Part 1: Queen Wasp 2

• The Villains' Hideout •

Albibis climbed down a manhole into the sewage system, muttering angrily to herself. Princess Panda followed after her, holding her breath before going down.
They'd escaped with their Miraculous and identities safe and had achieved their goal of getting Chloé to talk, and that was enough for Princess Panda. But not for Albibis. They were so close to actually winning that round, if only they had tried a little bit harder, or paid a little more attention, then maybe they would have!

"Where are we going? It smells in here!" Princess Panda pouted, pinching her nose.

Albibis' pendant necklace began beeping rapidly, signaling that time was almost up. "Stay here," she commanded, before running off and turning around a nearby corner. There she detransformed, quickly (and forcefully) refueled her kwami, and turned back around the corner.
She held her winged wrist up and began tapping away on the small screen there.

"Who're you calling?" Princess Panda asked in a congested voice, her nose still pinched.

Albibis rolled her eyes, ignoring her partner, before holding her Wing Phone up to her ear.

Immediately a deep, dark voice answered from the other end. "Hello?"

"Hawk Moth," Albibis began, "I'm so sorry that we weren't able to get their Miraculous this time, but we did get information about Marinette out of Chloé."

"Albibis, it's fine. And yes, I heard too. I think it would be easier for all of us to strategize together in person. Is Sabrina with you? And where are you?"

"Yes, Princess Panda is right here, and I took us to the underground sewage system to hide out for now."

"Alright, perfect. We will meet up at my secret base, which can be reached from the sewers. I'll send you the directions now." Hawk Moth hung up and tapped away at his Akuma Phone located in the dome of his cane, sending Albibis a set of directions from a certain place underground to reach their secret base. It was a lot of directions, like a maze, so it would actually take a while for them to get there.
Hawk Moth turned toward the coffin where Emilie was being kept. It was kept at a cool temperature and her body was embalmed to preserve it.
"There are people coming now," he whispered to her, running his finger down the glass casing. He pulled a switch on the side of the coffin and a metal covering automatically slid underneath the glass, hiding the body from immediate sight.

"Gabriel! Er- sir, or, Hawk Moth!" Nathalie exclaimed, stumbling into the hideout. She waved some butterflies out of her face before she managed to regain her balance, straighten her posture, and adjust her glasses. She cleared her throat, putting on her signature straight face. "Ladybug brought Kagami home, and her and Adrien are ready to go to the band practice at Luka's residence, like you said he could. Shall I take them there?"

"Oh, is that today? Yeah, yeah, take him. Go ahead." Hawk Moth said, distracting himself by tending to a nearby shrub. "I have Lila Rossi and Sabrina coming over soon to discuss plans. When you return, we may very well be in discussion, so make sure you activate your Miraculous before entering," he said, tapping his own jewel pinned to his chest.

"I understand, sir." Nathalie bowed her head and walked out. Going through the secret platforms, locks, and doors that led between the ordinarily accessible parts of the mansion and the secret base, she arrived into the Foyer, where the two teens were waiting.
"Alright, Adrien, Kagami," she whispered to them, leading them to the front doors. "Let's go."

"Can you tell father thank you again?" Adrien asked. "For, letting me go out, I mean. I'm happy that he lets me go out now..."

Nathalie paused for a moment, then cleared her throat and forced a small smile. "Yes, I can," she nodded. The dark haired assistant opened the doors and led the kids down the steps of the mansion, ushering them into the Agreste limo.