Miraculous Next Generations: Tales of Crimson Bug and Cat Midnight

Chapter 3

 "Oh my God," Alya said looking up from the note. "How..."

"We don't know."

"Have you contacted the police?" Nino asked. He still wore his headset. He'd come straight from the set of his latest film.

"No," Marinette said. "We can handle this ourselves. Anyway, the only thing the police will do is try to find where they are and who has them. We already know both."

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open, and Chloe entered. She plopped down into a chair, tossing her large purse to the floor. Her scrubs were rumpled. She'd come in a hurry.

"What'd I miss?" she asked.

Alya somberly slid her the note. Chloe scanned it. As soon as she was done, she lifted her eyes and looked straight at Adrien and Marinette.

"This is horrible," Chloe said. "What...what are you planning to do?'

Alya and Nino looked at Adrien and Marinette too. They seemed to be wondering the same thing as Chloe. Marinette and Adrien remained silent.

"You can't be serious!" Chloe exclaimed.

"We didn't even say anything," Adrien muttered.

"I know you, Adrien," Chloe said. "I know how you think, and I know how to tell what you're thinking. You can't give him your Miraculouses!"

"Is she serious, Mari?" Alya asked. "Are you really planning to give him what he wants?"

Marinette just looked down at the table.

"You can't!" Chloe exclaimed. "You can't, you can't, you can't! Giving him your Miraculouses could mean the end of the world!"

"We are aware of the risks, Chloe," Adrien said.

"There has to be another way, Adrien! There has to be! He can't win this easily! You can't go through with it!"

"You don't have kids, Chloe!" Adrien exclaimed. "You don't understand!"

Chloe looked stung by the outburst.

"Alya, Nino," Adrien said, turning to Alya and Nino. "You have kids. Don't you support us on this?"

"We understand where you're coming from," Nino said softly. "We really do."

"But we can't support you on giving up your Miraculouses," Alya said. "You two never give up easily. You always seem to come up with something. So don't give up now."

There was a pause. Adrien sighed. "I don't know what I ever would have done without you four."

Alya, Nino and Chloe all smiled slightly.

"Time for a good old fashioned Paris' greatest heroes meeting," Marinette said, speaking for the first time in the past few minutes.

"Let's kick some moth butt," Nino said, smirking.

---

Nino exhaled heavily, shifting from one foot to the other nervously.

"Calm down," Adrien said.

Nino just kept fidgeting.

Chloe kicked him. "Calm down."

"I am calm," Nino said, rubbing his sore calf.

"Ha," Chloe said.

Marinette turned into the alleyway holding three small, ornate boxes.

"Finally," Alya said, approaching Marinette.

"I feel like Fu would be pretty unhappy if he knew that I was doing this," Marinette said. "

"I think he'd be glad that you're not just going to hand over your Miraculouses," Chloe said, taking her box. Alya and Nino followed suit.

"I guess so," Marinette said. She took a deep, bracing breath.

"You guys ready for this?" Alya asked, clasping her necklace.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Chloe said.

---

Alya took a deep breath. You can do this, she thought. She nodded to Nino and Nino nodded back. They both ducked out from the shadows.

Hawkmoth was standing before a large, dusty window. Hugo, Louis and Emma were nowhere in sight.

"Ladybug, Cat Noir," Hawkmoth said. "I see that you decided to come. Do you have what I want?"

"Yes," Alya said. "Though" - she glanced at Nino - "we'd like to see our children first."

Hawkmoth smirked. "I am not surprised. Unfortunately, you will not be able to see the children until I get what I want."

"How do we know you're not lying? That you don't have our kids?" Alya said.

"That's the thing," said Hawkmoth. "You don't."

There was a pause.

"Let negotiations begin," Hawkmoth said.