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Adrien stood by the door to the local jewellery store. His eyes were fixated on the rings in the display window. The rubies. The diamonds. The emeralds. The sapphires. He wasn’t sure which would suit her the most. Each and every one was beautiful, but none of them lived up to the dazzling beauty of his one and only.
He continued to look, his brow lifting as he saw reflections of passing citizens on the street. The hushed voices of overly cautious parents telling their children to not look at him and to move quick; of people taking their leisurely strolls into full sprints to keep clear. The citizens of Paris knew him well. Adrien Agreste, the depressed teen with a foul temper. And he couldn’t help by smirk. He was everything his father hated, and he loved it.
Looking down, he checked his watch. His love should be here any moment now. She was rarely late when it came to things like this. The excitement was always worn on her sleeves and dancing merrily in her eyes. She always told him he was reading too much into her, but he knew deep down she was a soft soul with depth and meaning; she hid her emotions away, wanting the world to see her as nothing more than an angry teen.
As soon as she arrived, the plan would be put into action, and she would have the jewellery she so effortlessly craved. He would do anything for his Queen.
He turned to look at the other side of the road. She would be there any moment. Ready to cross and join him on the other side of the street.
Adrien relaxed back against the wall, arms folded and one foot up. His eyes scanned the crowds of passersby looking for the tint of pink he always found so alluring, the tint of pink which became the most vibrant red transformed. The perfect match for her red, demonic eyes.
His heart fluttered at the thought; she was gorgeous both in and out of costume — and there she was. Perfectly on time.
Marinette stopped opposite him, a smile attempting to transform her lips, but instead just playing in her eyes. Wonderful.
She stepped out into the road, intent to come to him clear in her eyes. The road suddenly picked up, cars moving past at increasing speeds and proximity. A van crossing in-front of him and the store, blocking his vision of Marinette. The sound of screeching tires and a stomach, twisting thud sounded in the split second he wasn’t watching her.
The van moved, leaving the love of his life lying motionless on the ground. The car that had hit her backing up and swerving around the crowd which had formed, zooming off into the distance, committing a life destroying felony.
Adrien looked at the mass of black hair sprayed out around her head as her dark edged eyes were closed tight.
He needed to move.
Like a well-oiled machine, the man from the jewellers moved quickly, vacating the premises and heading towards where his Queen was lying motionless on the ground, his own feet turning him and taking him into the opposite direction.
The shop was manned by one person, and one person only — the owner. He was a good man, which was a shame really, but good guys always finished last. He didn’t make the rules — he just broke them.
Shutting the door behind him, Adrien ordered his kwami to appear. Plagg coming out of his hiding place slowly and cautiously. The small creature had a slight tremor, a shake and fear Adrien always thrived from.
“You know where it is! Show me,” he demanded. Plagg having no other option but to comply to his master’s orders, much like a genie from a lamp.
Plagg moved in the direction of a gramophone. It was playing some sort of ‘calming’ music and Adrien felt the need to take the vinyl and snap it over his knee. But that wasn’t what he was there for, not at the moment anyway.
“There,” Plagg said, waving a fin towards the golden buttons underneath the deck.
“Claws out.” Transforming Claw Noir checked the doorway before studying the buttons carefully. A couple had more prominent fingerprints, so those were the ones he pressed first.
The click was music to his ears, even more so when the final one snapped into place and the music stopped. The lid lifted slightly, unleashed from its latch and ready for his five-clawed discount.
What happened next caused him to smile evilly at his own reflection in the brass of the horn. Section after section popped open. The jewels displayed greater than those of the late Queen of England — more magical too.
“Bingo!”
Claw Noir grabbed them one by one, placing the ones they wanted in the zip pockets of his jacket. They weren’t taking them all, after all, where would the fun be in that? They’d leave him with a couple; enough to give them a decent fight before they took total domination.
Fu was an idiot for entrusting them with the Miraculous, and Adrien couldn’t help but hope and pray the old man regretted it every, single day.
Claw Noir, happy with his bounty, headed to the back door. The job done quickly and efficiently, just as it should be after months of planning.
“Cataclysm!” Placing his sizzling hand to the door, he spread a little more damage before walking out unseen.the message well and truly clear.
“Claws in.” Grabbing Plagg from midair, Adrien slammed the kwami back into his shirt pocket and twisted the ring on his finger. After years of planning, they were finally going to be feared by all. No one — not even his father would be able to stop them now.
Shadybug and Claw Noir would own Paris, Hawkmoth’s reign of righteousness well and truly over.
Adrien found the motorbike resting against the wall where he’d left it, two helmets in place and ready to go. The faint sound of siren’s insulted his ears, he needed to move before the medics arrived.
Slamming the helmet over his head, he hopped onto the cycle and headed back towards Marinette. They had to be quick.
Powering into the street, Adrien drifted the bike from the alley and speedily headed in the direction of his Queen, screeching to a halt as he approached the scene. The crowd backing away from the maniac on the bike.
Chatter surrounded where his Queen was on the ground. Comments of uncertainty of how it happened, of disbelief of what they’ve seen with no clear reason to why…
All of a sudden, Marinette’s eyes fluttered open, homing in on his instantly with a rather impressed expression. She pushed herself to standing, the small jeweller suddenly realising who she was and looking back to his store.
Giving him a little finger wave, she grabbed the helmet Adrien was holding out for her, jumping on behind him and tightly wrapping her arms around his waist.
As Fu ran back into his store, Adrien pulled them away from the scene and powered off in the direction of their hideaway (and their accomplice). He gave her hand a quick squeeze, weaving through the traffic single handed.
She squeezed it back. She understood and would be proud of him. At least someone was.
Taking them back to their hideaway, Adrien was sure they were minutes away from their next battle, but with their newly found Miraculous, they would never be defeated again.