As he entered his own time, Hugo fell to his knees and entered into a coughing fit, nearly losing consciousness.
He'd used the Peacock Miraculous to open a portal to his temporary base of operations, a small apartment in Shanghai. It wasn't as large or as high-tech as his other base in Paris, but it was inconspicuous and gave him a nice place to rest and recover.
Eventually, he was able to bring himself to stand. He leaned on the wall and walked to his nightstand, where he'd left his wrist pad. It was the latest model, complete with everything a villain like himself could ask for. He quickly did a medical scan of his body. Bumps and bruises mostly, but the thing that caught his attention were the cuts in his lungs. They weren't deadly now, but without proper treatment, he could end up like Emilie Agreste and his mother. If only he hadn't needed to use the peacock Miraculous...
He then placed his wrist pad on his desk and turned it into a laptop setup. He clicked open his files and began receiving footage from a hidden camera he'd placed a few blocks away. The camera was located in a kitchen a block away from his location, where a young white man was assisting an elderly Chinese man prepare a meal for his restaurant. The young man paused and pulled out an engagement ring to show to the elderly man. They both spoke in Mandarin.
"I hope she's going to like it," the young man said.
"Nonsense!" the elderly man said. "She'll love it. So long as you put your heart into your proposal she'll say yes."
The young man smiled and put away the ring. "We've been together for over a year, but I'm still nervous. How do I even do this? Should I take her to dinner first? Or maybe take a boat ride?"
The elderly man laughed. "You remind me so much of your father when you talk like that. He had the same dilemma when he was thinking of proposing."
The young man stirred a pot of soup while continuing the conversation. "So what did he do?"
"Oh it's very simple," the old man said, chopping vegetables. "He did something memorable for the both of them. He set up a picnic on top of a roof, only to accidentally lose the ring in the basket, where your mother found it before he got the chance to propose!"
The young man's expression dropped. "So he messed it up?"
"It wasn't perfect, but in the end, she said yes." The old man reached up and placed his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Just remember this, it doesn't have to be perfect. Just make it memorable and happy for you both."
The young man smiled. "Thank you Cheng-sifu"
Cheng-Sifu chuckled. "Please Louis, we're family! Call me Uncle Wang."
"Sorry," he replied. "Thank you, Uncle Wang."
Upon seeing the end of the footage, Hugo checked the timestamp. This was from four days ago. After a bit of research, he dug into Louis's financial records and found two tickets to Paris, round trip, as well as his internet search history, where he found several wedding planner sites. Apparently, the proposal had gone well.
"A wedding, huh?" Hugo asked. "Well, I suppose there's no better place to reconnect with family."
He got up from his desk and began to pack his bags. He took one last look at the footage and zoomed in on Louis's face, a face identical to his own. Down to the last mole on their neck.
"See you soon, brother," he said.
TO BE CONTINUED...