6Author's Note: Due to formatting issues I recommend this chapter be read on AO3. You can find it at /works/20883875/chapters/49640702
Hawkmoth Comes Forward: "The Akumas Are Ladybug's Doing" A Shocking Reveal!
By Lillian Rousseau
Scandalously close from the source: The man, the myth, the legend, but a villain no longer! An exclusive interview with none other than Hawkmoth himself!
Following up on the strangest phone call of my journalistic career thus far, I meet Hawkmoth in a dark alley, the exact kind of place one would expect to find a supervillain. He's tall, but hunched over. His face is hidden by a dark hood. Underneath it, I can roughly make out the silhouette of a handsome face.
"It's not safe here, come," he says, and despite the chill in my bones at the sight of none other than Paris' most famous terrorist, I follow.
"She watches me everywhere I go," he explains as we walk. I ask who he means by that. "Ladybug, of course. Ever since she found out about my powers, she hasn't left me alone for even a moment."
We settle down in his hiding place. "Just this week's hideout. She always finds me eventually. And then she punishes me." He appears genuinely frightened, and I'm starting to get the impression that Hawkmoth is nothing like Paris has been led to believe. I ask him what happens when she finds him.
"An akuma appears, what else? Every time she finds me, she forces me to use my powers to create those wicked things. It's not what my magic is meant for. Originally, the power of the Hawkmoth is to grant magical abilities to those in need. Not for selfish reasons, but to help them."
To the question why Ladybug would do this, Kawmoth tells me: "She's a psychotic narcissist with a hero complex. And since she can't be a hero on her own, she created a problem for herself to solve. She hungers for adoration. She craves for the city to worship her. She doesn't care that people get hurt in the process, so long as she succeeds."
I ask him why he chose to come forward now, after all these months. "I was afraid to tell anyone at first, she said that if I did, she'd kill them. But the akumas she tells me to make are becoming worse and worse. People are getting hurt. I'm afraid one day she won't be able to defeat the monster she's created."
(Read more.)
Comments
Korsaku77 4 oct 2019
I always knew there was something fishy about that chick, hope they arrest her! #savehawkmoth2k19 #ladybitch
RealQueenBee 4 oct 2019
THIS IS A LIE! #believeinbug
RickyB2002 4 oct 2019
RealQueenBee so your admitting your in on it! #ladybitch #queenliar
Ei-ffel-Tow-er-0 4 oct 2019
do u think chat knows!?I!? #savehawkmoth2k19 #prayforchat
GreenStar42 4 oct 2019
RickyB2002 *you're
hope the police do something, brb burning my #ladybitch poster
KarenDuvall82 4 oct 2019
My daughter had a Ladybug themed birthday party just yesterday! How do I explain this to my child? She will be heartbroken. #savehawkmoth2k19 #arrestbug
MoreLikeHotmoth 4 oct 2019
I believe you, Hawkmoth! #savehawkmoth2k19 #ladybitch
It had been the headline that initially caught Adrien's eye, some nonsensical clickbait about Ladybug secretly being evil. The more he reads, however, the more it fills him with rage. He skips past the read more link, knowing he'll only find more bullshit, but he can't stop scrolling.
As he reads the comments, Adrien can't believe his eyes. How can the people of Paris just fall for these lies? They know Ladybug. Most of them have seen her with their own eyes. Hundreds have been personally saved by her. But this one article appears and they suddenly lose faith in her en masse?
He follows one of the comments to Twitter, where he realises it's even bigger than he thought. #ladybitch is trending.
Suddenly, the screen of his phone cracks, and then abruptly turns black. In his rage, he realises he squeezed his phone so hard that it broke. Normally, he holds back the considerable strength he's gained since becoming Chat Noir. Today, however, he seems to be losing any semblance of control.
"How can they do this to her?" he whispers, his shoulders heaving with every heavy breath he takes in. "After everything she's done. How can they just turn on her?"
"Adrien?" he distantly hears Plagg say, and the voice is unlike anything he's ever heard from his companion. Cautious. Afraid. "Adrien, you need to calm down."
His hands ball into shaking fists, still holding his phone. With anger clawing painfully at his insides, he turns towards his kwami. "Calm down?" he says, incredulous. "Did you not see that? How can you tell me to calm down! Paris is vilifying Ladybug with virtually no proof!"
Plagg's eyes are wide with panic, and he doesn't even seem to be listening to Adrien's concerns. "I know that, and we will think of a solution, but Adrien, there's a—"
Suddenly, Plaggs voice falls away. Adrien's phone feels red hot against the palm of his hand. Then, his muscles unclench all at once and he feels his posture strangely relaxing as he stares into the distance, unseeing. But still hearing.
"Butterfly, butterfly in the sky, which Parisian feels the most anger over this lie?" A gruesome laugh echoes through his head, but Adrien can't move. Can't see. Can't even begin to try blocking it out. "Revelator, the fakeness of this news is too much for you! Why don't you try to reveal the truth? I will give you the power you need, and in return you will give me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses!"
A haze of purple light spreads across Adrien's features, and he's powerless to do anything but smile as he hears himself say, "Hawkmoth, I won't give you Ladybug's Miraculous, but I can definitely give you Chat Noir's."
"How interesting, you really seem to care. Well, having one will certainly make getting the other easier. I believe we have a deal."
His hearing pops back into focus just in time to hear a muffled scream somewhere closeby. But he doesn't look for the source, instead, he looks down at his hands. He sees that though one is now clad in a black glove, the other is still bare, with only a ring on his finger. "Guess I won't need this," he hears himself say, and then he sees the gloved hand pry the ring off his finger. It's tossed onto the bed, and then Revelator pockets his phone and turns towards the window. Gravity has no meaning as he gently floats up and then out through the large window.
Tonight, Paris has hell to pay.