A single figure stands impassive, highlighted by a stream of light through a round stained-glass window that casts a violet butterfly at the heart of the room. On his chest sit two brooches, shimmering eerily in the light. Mauve shades dance around his billowing cape, that sits around him like malignant wings. From behind, he is barely visible against the shady hues that intertwin around the tall pillars that reach up to the high ceiling. As the last rays of sun bleed out of the sky, he leisurely plucks a single feather out from a feathered fan. Gently, he encloses his hand around the lone white feather, and navy power courses through the air, turning it a deep, darkened blue. The feather floats, now free from the confines of his hand as it drifts of its own accord to a ring on his finger. Not a wedding ring, but silver and sleek. As the feather infuses itself into the ring, it glows with a faint power, turning the ring transparent. In that fraction of a second, the feather joins its twin, already residing within the ring, before it becomes opaque once again.
The figure stretched out a hand, as a blue form coalesces in front of him, shaping and moulding it from afar with flourishes of refined, practised movements, as though this were an art he was already long since practised with. The form gathers closer, tighter into the form of a purple hat, with but a single feather. The man smiles sly, as he places the hat upon his head, and as he does so his eyes flash blue with power.
There is nought but the subtlest change in his demeanour. Most would scarcely even consider it worth mentioning, unless they were to look inside his head, where the speed of his thoughts has multiplied a thousand-fold, his cunning now far magnified by the power of the Sentimonster atop his head. His intelligence sharpened far beyond that of a normal man, he stands unmoving a while.
He is interrupted from his thoughts for a short moment, as he senses the distress of a girl far away, scorned by a loved one. A lone butterfly flits to his hand, where it turns purple with the tiniest novel hint of blue and quietly makes its way out of the window, seeking out one Kagami Tsurugi. As it fuses with an earring, and Desolater is born, his suspicions are pleasantly confirmed as he feels the girl's emotions, and with but a thought can mould them like putty. Simple arithmetic really, when one combines the powers of Emotion and Transmission. This is something new, but the icing upon a cake. He has more work to do. More new powers to explore.
He returns to his meditation a while, drawing up plans and schemes he would never have thought of before. In the midst of his planning, Desolater is defeated. No matter really. She was never more than a test subject for a new idea. Hawkmoth would've bemoaned the loss of such a powerful villain, but now this man would not. A game of chess is nothing without a few pawns sacrificed for the greater goal. He leisurely strolls forward to begin his work, drawing nearer the only sound in the room.
As he comes closer to the faint fluttering of butterflies, the figure extends his cane, the orb atop now open. In a flash, the cane darts towards a stray butterfly, the orb onto top slamming shut around it. The man brings the orb close, tapping soothingly against the glass, till the white butterfly ceases struggling.
"The miraculous are only restricted by the limits one imposes on oneself." He murmurs.
He gathers violet energy in his hands, gently imbuing it into the imprisoned butterfly, turning it a darkened purple. He continues, drawing more and more power into the lone butterfly, which writhes under the strain, fliting desperately against the confines of the glass orb in which it is held.
He continues still, drawing more power into the creature, until its wings fry. It cries out pitifully and it collapses into itself, turning into a small shimmering ball of concentrated malignant energy.
Shadow Moth takes the ball out into his hand, and smiles.
Now this, this is something revolutionary.
~
Shaken by the doctor's conclusions, Chat messages Ladybug straight away, requesting they meet atop the Eifel tower. Perhaps it was too predictable for a usual meeting spot, but so far Hawkmoth never seemed to overhear them, or seek to bug the location. Although now he had become Shadow Moth, so all bets were off, really. Who knows what was possible now with the combination of the Butterfly and Peacock miraculous? It made Chat wonder why he hadn't combined them before, instead giving it to Mayura. Perhaps Ladybug would have something to fill in the gaps.
She'd said she was busy, but would meet him there at 8pm, sharp, so he had some time free. Well, 'free' was relative. Adrien would be 'missing' after the akuma attack, so since he was going to have to pull up some excuse for where he'd gotten lost, he might as well stretch it out. He'd dropped a quick text to Nathalie after the akuma had been defeated, making sure she knew he was okay, but was displaced 'in an area with low signal.' He'll work out the nuances of his story later. For now, Chat Noir is going to make a quick visit to check in on one Mr Couffaine.
Just to make sure he was okay, after being targeted by an Akuma. Nothing more. Definitely not.
Sure kid. Plagg expresses a feeling akin to eye rolling, if he had a corporeal form. Luckily for Adrien, he's bound up in the miraculous, so he doesn't have to watch the kwami's exaggerated attempt at a human facial expression. Just make sure you detransform before you get to the smooching. I don't WANT to be in your brain when that happens. Also - get me some more cheese after.
Stealthing through the darkened Parisian backalleys, Chat pinches his nose to hide the smell of urine. As beautiful as the "city of love" was, the backstreets could really use a clean-up. One time there was a villain whose power had the side effect of cleaning up the city, and honestly it had broken his heart a little when Ladybug insisted that they perform a Miraculous Repair. Really? Chat knows she's a stickler for the rules, but the villain hadn't really caused any actual damage to the city. They'd been stopped. There was no need to restore the status quo when it was objectively worse.
He understood her point, though. They didn't fully understand the nuance of the villain's power, and it was probably safer revert it, in case it was secretly some spy cleaning effect. Chat doubts it was though. Still, it's always him that has to stealth through the stinky alleys and not her, so it's him that has to pay the cost.
Eventually, he reaches a point near the dock where he can seamlessly leap from the shadows onto the deck. It doesn't take him long to find Luka's window, where a few discreet taps are made, whilst Chat scans behind him for signs of any onlookers.
"Chat?"
"Hey Luka," he grins leisurely, "Fancy popping the window open?"
"Oh- I don't know" Luka tuts, "I don't want to let in any strays."
"Strays?" he cries out indignantly, "Does this mane," he flicks his hair, "Look like that of a stray?"
Luka shrugs, the corners of his lips tilting up a little. A hard-earned smile, but a victory that Chat would fight for time and again. "I guess you can come in."
The window tilts open ajar, and Chat slinks in through the gap, watching Luka's eyes trace the way his body contorts with catlike flexibility.
"Like what you see?" he purrs.
Luka pulls his tail.
"Ow!"
"Behave kitten." The two make eye contact, before Chat bursts out laughing, rolling comfortably onto Luka's bed before detransforming.
"Alright kiddos" Plagg appears, already beelining his way out from Adrien's pocket, camembert in paw. "I'm off into Luka's sock drawer where things smell like cheese and I don't have to listen to flirting. Keep it PG – alright?"
Luka nods politely, perhaps taking Plagg a little too seriously for the kwami of literal Chaos. "Understood."
Adrien pulls a face, tucking his lips in and crinkling his eyes.
"What?"
He chortles a little.
"What's so funny, Kitten?"
"It's just... the look on your face." He laughs again, "It was like you were talking to my guardian."
"He's a literal deity Adrien."
"He's also smelling your dirty socks right now."
"Point taken."
"I mean, what's your relationship like with Sass?"
"Well, you know I don't exactly see him a lot, so very formal. He is the literal incarnation of Intuition. He's owed some respect."
"You should see him at parties." Plagg chirps, sound half muffled in socks, "He really uses that intuition, let me tell ya."
"Kwami's have parties?" Luka's brow furrows, "How? Why? Where?"
"I wouldn't think too much about it," Adrien pats the spot next to him on the bed, back against the wall. "Hanging out with Plagg so long has taught me not to question it."
"You know, you're really different to how everyone says you are." Luka sits down after a little deliberation over what is the 'correct' distance at which he should sit from Adrien.
Adrien cocks his head, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you talk differently in private than you normally do." Luka picks at his nailbed a little, pulling away at it. It's only now that Adrien notices how red they are, clearly picked at regularly. He wonders if it's a nervous habit. "Everyone described you as this cool, distant figure who didn't really talk much, and that the only time you really say anything you sound so sophisticated."
Adrien chuckles, "Is that what they say? I mean, I can kind of see where they get it from?"
Luka nods, inviting continuation.
"When I first arrived at Francoise Dupont, which feels like so long ago now, I'd only ever socialised with the kids of my father's colleagues and friends." He snorts bitterly, "And Gabriel is not exactly known for being rich in friendships, and the few he does have are more work/class based than anything else."
Luka hums his understanding, without a drop of judgement.
"So, I didn't really know any slang. I'd been mostly socialised at High Tables with adults. The broadest experience I'd had was working with photographers. So, people's initial impression of me was Chloe's friend who didn't talk much. I mean, I was so scared to start at a public school. I'd only ever been home-schooled and only ever known two people our age when I arrived." Adrien slouches back into the cushion. "So, I can see why people got that impression. It's... weird looking back on that person I used to be. I mean, quietly I made friends with people like Nino, but I don't think most people ever really got past the initial impression. Becoming Chat didn't really incentivise making new friends in school when I had to keep this massive secret, you know? I mean Plagg taught me how to loosen up. I mean, somehow the ancient kwami knew more slang than I did! Isn't that crazy?"
"I suppose, since I wasn't in the same class as you, I just took Juleka's description at face value." Luka swallows, "I should've made my own opinion, I'm sorry"
Adrien laughs, "Don't apologise. It's not like I was really trying to change that image either. Nathalie said Father wanted me to keep it because it's 'good for business'" Adrien hums a little, "I'm sorry, too. This is the second time I've just completely monopolised our conversation to talk about myself."
"No, no." Luka smiles softly, eyes crinkling gently. "I like listening to you. Especially now. It's like I get to see the real Adrien, hidden away under all those layers you put on for everyone. Makes me feel honoured, you know."
"Trust you to make it sound so poetic," Adrien lounges back, smiling easily. "See the truth is 'refined' Adrien actually loves making chaos. Since you like the real me so much, that means you're going to have to put up with all my shenanigans."
"I won't mind." Luka shrugs.
"Is that a challenge?" Adrien's eyes glint with mischievous intent.
Luka eyes him cautiously, running his hands along his head before he laughs. "Oh god, what have I signed up for?"