Hive-Minded Part 2
Why do you people ask for these things? Why?
More creepy beneath the cut.
He had known it to be useless at this point, but Adrien still continued to scan the hallways for a hint of blue hair. It was as he turned from the side hall into one of the main pathways that he heard the voices of the others.
‘Any sign of her?’
He shook his head. It might have seemed pointless to any observer as there was no one around to see him, but his message was still carried to the others.
“No. I think I lost her.” Adrien replied, sadly. And he had been so hopeful, too. “I’m sorry, everyone.”
‘It’s not your fault!’
‘Marinette can be quick and sneaky when she puts her mind to it.’
‘Yeah, don’t sweat it, dude. We’ll find her and make this right.’
He sighed in relief, grateful for their understanding. They were so kind to him. He was happy to have his friends there to support him. It only made him feel all that much worse for the way things had blown up before, even though they assured him both in words and in feeling that they didn’t blame him.
How could they? When they were so grateful to him for this opportunity? No more lies. No more deception. No misunderstandings. No more loneliness.
Now they all knew perfectly well how each other felt. What each other thought. It was like their innermost selves were revealed and everyone was accepted for who they were. Their happiness was his. His happiness was theirs.
He’d never felt this complete.
Or rather—this close to being complete.
After all, Marinette still wasn’t with them, much to his disappointment.
‘Don’t worry. We’re all looking for her now.’
‘Yeah! Soon we’ll be one big happy family!’
‘It’ll be cool.’
‘Ivan and Mylene should be joining us soon. Then we’ll have more help. It won’t be too much longer.’
He felt their reassurances as clearly as he heard their words. They hadn’t even needed to say anything for him to feel the depths of their support. And he agreed and sent his support back as well. The others were right. They were stronger together. Better together. And soon enough, they would find Marinette and become even better.
He was nearly bursting with excitement at the thought. What would she think? What would it be like? Would she be happy? Would she be scared? He didn’t want her to be scared, but if it meant he could offer her at least a bit of the comfort she’d given him all this time, maybe it would be worth it? Would she still love him? Would he get to feel that? Would he get to return it? What would that be like?
Laughter snapped him out of his wondering, and he blushed when he realized he had gotten sidetracked by his own thoughts.
‘Don’t make my girl faint when we finally get her, Agreste.’
He blushed harder at that. ‘I’m just nervous.’
‘With anticipation~!’
The others laughed and he joined in, feeling the teasing was kindly meant.
‘Come on, dude! You two can have your romantic rendezvous, but we still have to find her first.’
That’s right! Marinette was still missing. Probably scared, and certainly so horribly alone with it being just her in her mind by herself. He still didn’t know how he survived like that. None of them did. They needed to find her and save her.
It was for her own good. Even if she didn’t understand that yet.
‘Hey…’ Rose called, questioning with trepidation that made everyone pause.
Sensing her hesitation and uncertainty, Adrien grew concerned and stopped in the middle of the hallway to give her his full attention.
‘What should we do with Lila and Chloe?’
Immediately, it was silent. Adrien shuddered as he could feel the broiling negativity and resentment wash over him from the others. He felt the pain and bitterness they still held as if he had experienced their torment himself and it made him only feel all the more guilt for allowing it to happen in the first place.
Why had he ever let them act as they had? Why had he allowed them to get away with so much? Now that he could feel it for himself, see the thoughts and live out the memories the others shared, his previous actions seemed so alien to him. He’d had no idea of the extent of their harm at the time, but that was really no excuse. Not when he knew there was still some harm being done.
But the collective didn’t need his self-hate. They needed his support and he made sure to send it out fiercely so they knew that this time he was on their side. He would do what was best for the collective. Outsiders didn’t matter. Threats didn’t matter. They just needed to be dealt with.
And Chloe and Lila? They were threats.
The others assented with that and thus discussion began on what should become of the two.
It was a discussion that Adrien chose to stay out of, though not for any unwillingness to address the issue or desire to protect the two, no. They had more chances than they deserved and they wasted them. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to make the final choice. He couldn’t help the feeling that it simply wasn’t his place. He couldn’t quite explain it.
Whatever happened to them, he really couldn’t be bothered. It wasn’t like they were part of the group anyway. And nobody else seemed to want them. Whatever the collective decided, he was fully willing to carry out.
There was a part of him—some part still annoyingly reminiscent of the singular flawed person he used to be—that said he shouldn’t be asking this. Should not be okay with simply abandoning either girl, regardless of what had happened.
And yet…
He didn’t care. They were toxic. Harmful to the collective. Unpleasant to him. Worse to everyone else. Why would he want to defend them? Mercy for an old friend? Pity for the new girl? He had none of either, and didn’t feel inclined to change that.
The “old him” would have tried. He would have wasted his time and energy hoping and encouraging positive change in the most useless fashion for the most hopeless of cases only to be disappointed in the end. This was why things were better now. He knew what others felt and could feel it himself. People knew what he felt and supported him. He experienced more positivity and strength like this than he’d ever received when he was just lonely little Adrien. Lost. Alone. Always saying or doing the wrong thing. Upsetting someone no matter what he did.
And even better, this gave him direction. It was so much easier now. He didn’t have to question his decisions because he had others right there to make those choices with him.
These were the people who mattered. The collective was what mattered. Anyone outside of it was either something to use or something to remove.
The others seemed to feel the same way. Unfortunately, this led to a brief discourse in the collective as they were unable to agree upon the most appropriate way to deal with the two girls.
‘They’re still unconscious where we left them.’ Max confirmed. ‘We have time to choose the most effective way of handling them.’
‘Maybe give them a chance?’ Rose suggested, true to her kind nature. ‘If they experience this for themselves, maybe they can change?’
Alya nixed that real quick. ‘No way. They’ll both just fight and try to take over for themselves.’
‘The amount of discord either of them would create would be enough to disrupt the harmony of our unit.’ Max warned..
‘Neither of them seem capable of working for the greater good.’ Nathaniel agreed. ‘Or really for anything other than themselves.’
‘Maybe just arrange an accident?’ Alix pointed out. ‘They’re teenage girls prone to stupid things. No one would question it too much.’
‘Maybe keep them around? As drones, of course. That way there will be less notice and no risk of either of them attempting anything.’ Sabrina recommended. Her induction into the group had been suspect—given her previous loyalty. Despite their initial reservations, however, she had certainly been proving herself, especially after she had successfully knocked out Chloe and happily presented her to the group in the first place.
Drones were lower class in the hierarchy. They were connected to the hive but only insomuch as to better serve it. He hadn’t made any himself yet in the course of bringing in the rest of the class, but his understanding of it was that it was like induction but without preserving the will of the person. ‘Thrall’ was another word for it.
That Sabrina would suggest it…Adrien wondered if there wasn’t some lingering bitterness in the girl towards her former ‘friend’. Still, her devotion was to the whole at this point and she wasn’t necessarily wrong. And he himself didn’t see any problem with the idea.
Juleka hummed, thoughtfully.
‘Maybe…lunch?’
Several of the others paused at that, considering.
Some part of Adrien felt he should be unsettled by these suggestions. Murder. Removal of free will. Sustenance. Wasn’t there some part of him that should be saying this was wrong?
There wasn’t. No part of him was screaming or whispering that he shouldn’t be allowing this. Even that annoyingly persistent part that used to cow him before was blissfully silent. And the rest of him didn’t care.
He just wanted his ‘family’ to be whole and safe.
It was Nino who broke in. ’Wait a minute. You said we had time to decide, right? Why do it without everyone here? Isn’t that what caused trouble before?’
The others hesitated at that.
‘We need to make sure Mari is part of this. We left her out of the decision-making before and it really hurt her. It would be cruel to do it again.’
That got their attention.
‘Yes!’
‘We should wait for Marinette to have a say.’
‘Actually, why not let her have the final say?’
‘Yeah, she’s the one who was bullied by those two all this time. We should let her decide what to do with them.’
‘That sounds fair.’
‘Let’s allow Marinette to choose.’
A chorus of agreement followed, and Adrien found himself nodding along as well. It did only seem fitting.
“It’s a decision meant for the Queen, after all.”
THAT thought brought everything to a standstill.
Adrien froze, realizing what he had let slip.
“I…I mean…”
‘Adrien? Something you want to tell us, buddy?’
“I…just…”
It just felt right. The hierarchy needed a Queen, and if it was going to be anyone, why not Marinette?
Now that the thought was shared, he realized he meant it. And soon enough, the idea seemed to resonate with everyone else as well.
‘That…actually makes sense.’ Max stated.
‘Who else could be fit for the role?’ Alix added. ‘She’s been the best class rep we’ve had.’
‘And wouldn’t it be wonderful?’ Rose asked, cheerfully. ‘What better way to show how much we love and appreciate her?’
‘She deserves it more than anyone.’
‘Yes! Let’s choose Marinette!’
‘She would be a perfect Queen!’
There were many cheers and affirmations that seemed to build up between the group like its own energy. Everyone seemed in agreement. And they all seemed not only intent on this plan, but dedicated to it. Happy for it, even.
He felt the happiness thrumming in his head and couldn’t hold back a smile.
“She would, wouldn’t she?”
He had always thought she was amazing, but hadn’t fully considered just how much. But now that he could really see, it was so clear. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized it sooner.
Marinette was kind. Whether standing up to bullies or helping those who had been hurt, she was always putting in an effort for other people. And she never seemed to ask anything in return. It was part of what made him so desperate to have her join them. So he could see the world from her eyes—to feel what she felt. To feel just how much he was loved.
But her kindness was only one of her best traits. She was also a natural leader, able to take charge in a crisis and assign tasks accordingly. And she was amazingly clever and creative. Not only able to design things but to bring her creations to life as well. For all her nervousness and anxiety, she was perfect at planning things—whether for dealing with bad situations or creating good ones. It was no wonder she was the class rep. If anyone needed anything, Marinette was the person to go to.
It was what made her the perfect person for this role.
He nodded, and felt the others were in agreement as well.
She would know the best ways to proceed from here. Adrien was perfectly content with his small ‘family’, but that didn’t mean they had to stay small. He briefly heard the others discussing the possibility of converting others. Nathaniel had asked about adding Marc to the collective. Alya was hopeful about inducting her sisters. And Juleka was rather insistent about her brother. Friends. Family. Others who would strengthen the collective and help it grow.
He made so many mistakes before. Even as he felt the forgiveness and support of the others, he didn’t want to risk making another wrong decision and potentially cutting them off the way he had before. It was better—so much easier this way when there was someone to direct him.
That was why they needed to find Marinette. She could decide what they would do. She could plan for the future to make them all happy. She could choose who was worthy of joining them.
“Let’s find Marinette.”
With that decision set, Adrien headed down the hall to continue his search now that it was all the more important.
Marinette would make the perfect Queen.
She just needed them to help her see that.
