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The sound of an explosion ricocheted behind Marinette’s eyes, followed by the chilling sound of screams. Or was that just the ringing of her ears? She couldn’t be too sure. Marinette scrunched her eyes reflexively against the painful rattling in her skull. Somewhere in the darkness, she had the vague sensation of being swung from side to side. Another explosion rocked her mind. Then, she heard someone scream once more, fraught with an obvious desperation that made it echo with painful clarity. “LADYBUG!!”Marinette’s eyes flew open, and the view she was immediately greeted with was no less disorienting than her thoughts. Asphalt raced before her eyes, bouncing with every—every footstep. That was what the rocking sensation was, Marinette’s mind concluded. And this view was upside down...which meant someone was carrying her, like a sack of potatoes...and the rigid tightness of the grip in which she was held suggested whoever it was wasn’t doing so with benevolent intent. Marinette’s thoughts ground to a halt. She was being kidnapped. So, Marinette did the natural thing. She panicked.Pulse jumping, Marinette jerked her head up as she tried to get a look at her attacker, limbs flailing like she’d been shocked. She heard a yelp as her knees and elbows connected with flesh, and the world abruptly spun until she was no longer upside-down. Marinette blinked. Somehow, she’d landed in a neat crouch, the man she presumed was her attacker lying flat on his back on the pavement, holding his nose and groaning in pain. Then, the man began to stir. Eyes widening, Marinette stumbled to her feet and ran.“Curse you, Ladybug!” A voice behind her roared. Marinette didn’t have time to wonder what that meant. She darted down the sidewalk, barely aware of anything except the obstacles that appeared in her path. A woman carrying a shopping bag. A baby stroller. A piece of debris. She wasn’t sure when she’d noticed, but the screams that had echoed in her subconscious were still there. To her right, a haze of acrid smoke slowly billowed across the boulevard. But Marinette only had time for one thing. She had to get home. She risked a glance behind her. The man was perhaps fifteen feet behind her, streams of blood trickling down from his nose. Eyes narrowing in concentration, Marinette decided to try to lose him, perhaps by darting amidst the buildings to her left. She spotted an alley coming up, fifteen meters, ten meters, five… now.Marinette launched herself to the left, her body responding with surprising speed. In the blink of an eye, she was soaring through the air… and then, inexplicably, she found herself on the rooftop. Marinette froze. To her right, down below… so far below… the plumes of smoke rose, their source clearer with the perspective of altitude. She whirled to look behind her, shrieking as her foot caught the lip of the roof, threatening to send her off the edge. After regaining her balance with a good deal of arm-flailing, Marinette took a shaky breath in. Think, think… her first priority should be keeping an eye on her pursuer. She scanned the streets below, swallowing down her nausea from the dizzying height. There. To her dismay, he was closing in at an alarming rate… and then he jumped, landing halfway up the side of the building behind her, clinging to the bricks with spider-like dexterity. Marinette let out a choked sob, her heart leaping into her throat as panic took over once again. Before she could even think, she’d taken off once more.The wind whooshed by her ears, her pigtails bouncing from the impact of every step. If she hadn’t been so terrified, perhaps, in another life, Marinette could imagine herself loving this. She-she was somehow running across the rooftops of Paris, a strange and intoxicating energy filling her limbs from head to toe. Some sort of special instinct had unlocked within her, informing each stride, calculating the distance she needed to jump from roof to roof. Marinette let her mind go blank as she ran, knowing with horrible certainty that if she stopped for one moment to think, dared to let in the million fears and questions and reservations flooding her subconscious, she’d lose whatever it was that was guiding her and… bad things. Bad things would happen. She gave her head a shake, her arms reaching on their own for—was that a yo-yo? Before she knew it, Marinette was swinging across an entire street’s distance, her body tucking into a somersault to lessen the subsequent impact before straightening up once more and launching Marinette headlong into a sprint. Marinette swallowed down another stab of fear as the death-defying trick she’d just accomplished registered in her mind, her feet already five steps ahead. Don’t question it. Just run.Finally, Marinette found herself in a neighborhood she recognized, if not usually from this...higher angle. That balcony—yes, it was hers. Hope rising from her chest, Marinette swung what she’d decided was definitely some sort of yo-yo and sprang into the air, her body twisting to align vertically with the trapdoor connecting her balcony and her room. She dove through it and landed squarely on her bed, its softness a shock coming from the hard, unforgiving nature of concrete roofing.Marinette swallowed and tried to control her breathing, now coming in short gasps. She was home. She should be safe.Why didn’t it feel that way?Marinette bowed her head to look at her lap, and then practically jumped a good meter into the air at what she saw.She seemed to be wearing some sort of red and black polka-dotted leggings, composed of a strange, tough fabric Marinette had never seen before. At her hip rested the yo-yo she’d observed from before, already back in some sort of holster. As Marinette reached to examine it, she froze. Her hands, too, were covered in the same polka-dotted material. She stared at them, watching as they began to shake.What in the world was she wearing? Did it—did it have something to do with how had she managed to get home? What, for the love of God, was going on?Now that Marinette thought about it, she couldn’t remember what had happened before...before she’d woken up. She had a hazy inkling of going to school that day, but what had immediately preceded her blackout? Marinette lifted a hand to tug at her pigtails. She couldn’t remember. She must be losing it. Wearing a strange, skintight bodysuit, jumping across rooftops, swinging from a yo-yo, escaping kidnappers… Running away from explosions. There’d been some sort of attack, she knew it. She’d encountered the evidence during the chase—the smoke, the screams, the debris. She should be grateful she was able to avoid it, to get home safe. But instead, she just felt guilty. Why? What could she have done?Restless, Marinette slid down from her bed and paced across her room, before tripping and almost crashing into her dresser. She braced her hands on either side of its surface to steady herself, and looked up into the mirror. She looked… she looked like some sort of superhero.Ladybug, the voice in her mind had cried. Ladybug, the man had called her.Marinette jumped back. This was wrong, this was all wrong. She—she couldn’t be—there were no such things as superheroes, and if there were, it wouldn’t—it couldn’t be her. She was the last person who should be tasked with saving anyone—silly, clumsy Marinette Dupain-Cheng—Suddenly, Marinette couldn’t stand the—the suit she was wearing. She had to get it off. Get it off her. She rubbed her hands down her sleeves, fruitlessly searching for a break in the fabric, picking at it as if the action could help. She tried her back, her waist… no zippers, no way out… Panicking, Marinette tore at her pigtails, her feet, her gloved hands, before arriving at her earrings. She ripped the foreign stud out of her right ear. Immediately, half of the suit seemed to dissolve in some sort of pink light.Marinette cried out, losing her balance and landing on her derrière. Scrambling back, she tore out the second earring, before looking back down at herself.The suit was gone.Marinette stared at her trembling hand, slowly uncurling it to reveal the two earrings in her palm. The earrings… they must have been some sort of...She clenched her fist quickly and rose, marching to her dresser, opening a drawer, and shoving the earrings inside. She was seeing things. She had to have been seeing things. And she had things to do. Homework. Baking. Fashion. Friends. Something.Marinette crept back towards her bed, hauled herself up, and draped herself across the blankets, clutching at her pillows. Tears blurred her eyes, and she squeezed them shut, attempting to block out the gnawing feeling that she was missing something.
Ladybug.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Multiple akumas at once? Again?There was no way in hell this was fair. Chat Noir coughed as he struggled to his knees. Lifting his head, he scanned, attempting to get a fuller glimpse at the situation—Merde. Chat flung himself prostrate on the rooftop—again—to avoid the gargantuan, plastic?, crane-like arm that swung his way. Scrambling to his feet, he completed a couple of back handsprings to put a little distance between himself and the closest akuma. If he could just get two seconds to breathe, maybe he could actually figure out what this akuma’s deal was—“CHATON! Catch!”Chat jerked his head up just in time to catch the polka-dotted canister Ladybug had thrown his way. He frowned as he gave it a once-over. Did it—did that say Lego glue?A crash from the street below caused Chat’s cat ears to stand up on end. He jumped to the edge of the building and peered over. Absolute chaos. That was Chat’s first impression.Rubbing his eyes, he took a closer look. The akuma with the crane arm that had been after him, and making the bigger mess out of the two akumas, appeared to be composed entirely out of jumbo-sized Legos. Around him, swarms of Legos arranged themselves as if by their own volition, creating walls in Ladybug’s path as she swung from lamppost to lamppost. She was headed in his direction, away from the other akuma, which, to Chat, looked simply like a blanket of white fog. Fog that was approaching at a surprisingly rapid clip. Call it a hunch, but Chat was pretty sure they did not want to find out what would happen if they were overtaken by that stuff. Crap. His Lady was in trouble. Chat needed to move, and fast. He glanced down at the Lucky Charm in his hands. Lego glue. The Lego akuma seemed to purely rearrange its bricks, instead of creating entirely new ones to suit its needs, so if Chat were to adhere the bricks together…Chat backed up a few paces before bursting forward and diving off the roof. Extending his staff over his head, Chat dug it into the ground and used the momentum to flip him back, right-side up, onto the corner of the Lego akuma’s latest ramparts. Chat whipped out the canister. Time to start spraying like his nine lives depended on it——which they pretty much did.Chat’s ears pricked as a light thump sounded from the wall behind him. Still spraying the walls, he swiveled his head around to catch a glimpse of his Lady. She was covered in dust, her yo-yo swinging in a protective circle around her head. “Legos. How a-mew-sing,” Chat smirked, by way of greeting.Ladybug usually deigned to give him a good-natured eye-roll or a gentle nudge, but this time, she didn’t even glance his way. “Chat, the fog is bad news.”Chat’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, I sort of figured that. Do you know what it does?”Ladybug’s earrings gave a sudden beep, and Chat grimaced. He’d forgotten—she’d used Lucky Charm, so she only had so much time. Maybe that’s why she seemed so serious. “No, about the fog,” Ladybug sighed. “It hasn’t receded at all from the areas it covered first. We have no way of knowing what it does to the people within it.” Ladybug swept the bangs out of her eyes using her free hand and looked him in the eye, determination and worry filling her features. “Chat—they could be suffering, or maybe they disappeared, or—I don’t know, but when I got close—” The Lego akuma took this moment to strike, sweeping its arm across the place where the two heroes were standing. Chat did a somersault off the wall and took cover behind it as Ladybug swung her yo-yo, ensnaring the arm. She dove behind the wall as well, using it as leverage. “Chat— the joint! Go for the joint!”Chat nodded, securing the glue canister to his waist, and extended his weapon, using it to vault himself onto the Lego akuma’s shoulder. Raising his staff above his head, Chat gathered all his strength, then plunged it down into the plastic joint that connected the arm to the shoulder. As Ladybug pulled, Chat twisted his staff, now wedged in the joint. The connection between the Lego bricks shuddered. Chat adjusted his grip and pulled harder—Pain shot through the side of Chat’s head, and he had only a fleeting glimpse of the cobblestoned street before crashing into it and skidding hard, his suit thankfully taking the brunt of the road rash. With effort, Chat lifted his head to assess what had hit him. Zut alors. Ladybug was still pulling on the crane arm, which was almost off, but his staff was still firmly wedged into the shoulder. The real problem, however, was that they hadn’t taken into account the Lego akuma’s other arm. Chat watched in horror as what looked like some sort of wrecking ball descended onto her hideout. Gritting his teeth, Chat managed to bring himself to his feet and ran as fast as he could in her direction.BOOM. The Lego wall burst into plastic shards, obscuring Chat’s vision, along with a wave of dust from the crater the akuma had put into the street. Coughing and fanning the dust away from his face, Chat squinted into the aftermath for a hint of polka dots. Suddenly, a beeping noise sounded from behind him, and Chat barely recognized the sound of Ladybug’s draining miraculous before a firm arm swept him up and he was soaring through the air. Before he could blink, the two heroes were on a rooftop, thankfully away from the Lego akuma. Chat stumbled, panting, then lifted his head to take an instinctual glance around him.Chat gasped. The fog—it had gotten closer. The building on which they were standing—and every other building near it, in fact— looked like a floating island amidst the clouds. He snapped his head toward the place where he’d been standing moments before, and found it enveloped in white. Chat looked up at his Lady, gratitude and admiration swelling in his chest.“We need the others—Rena, Carapace, Chloé,” Ladybug stated, already rushing towards the door that led to the stairs into the building. Her miraculous was beeping in earnest now. Chat moved to follow her, before freezing as he realized that she needed privacy to detransform. He bit his lip. Damn those rules, especially now. Ladybug wrenched the door open, before pausing and looking over her shoulder. Chat’s breath caught. She was so beautiful in that moment, her face set with determination. “Hold on, Chaton,” she called. Then, she disappeared into the building. Chat stared at the door through which his partner had disappeared for a moment, before tearing his gaze away. His Lady was counting on him now. He had to think, think of something. Even though he was standing on top of a building surrounded by evil fog, and he couldn’t even see the other akuma at this point, and he’d lost his staff, leaving his options at about zero—Chat cradled his head in his hands. No, no, no, this was bad. It had been—what, five minutes?—and already, everything had gone to shit. That had to be some sort of record. Rubbing his eyes, Chat started to pace. It was no good to freak out. He was Chat Noir, part of Paris’s elite superhero team, and it was his job to protect people. The last thing the people of Paris needed was for him to incapacitate himself by getting all worked up. He needed to act. What would—what would his Lady do? Chat came to a halt at the left corner of the rooftop, poised above the street where they’d fought the Lego akuma. Ladybug used her mind to solve whatever problems came her way. She’d survey her surroundings, find a way to make the most out of them, and then execute her plan of action. Chat turned around, scanning the roof. Maybe there was something here—if he just looked hard enough—Chat’s eyes came to rest on a large, plastic tarp, vaguely secured next to the door that led into the building. A tarp—there were so many things one could do with that. Maybe he could use it as cover from the fog? Or he could drape it over the Lego akuma to confuse it and blind it? Or he could even figure out how to use it as a parachute—CRASH. Something careened into the roof, causing the lip of the building to crumble and throwing Chat off his feet. Chat closed his fingers around the edge of the tarp and shifted so he could look behind him. A large grouping of Lego bricks, shaped like a giant, disembodied fist, were now embedded into the brick of the building. Well then. Chat didn’t quite have to worry about finding the akuma anymore, since it just came to him.Scrambling to his feet, Chat yanked the tarp away from the weights holding it down and began wrapping it around his arm, trying to make it somewhat portable. He didn’t quite think that part through, when he chose the tarp as his makeshift weapon—A whistling noise was Chat’s sole warning as the Lego akuma’s crane arm swung towards him. Gathering up the tarp in a haphazard bunch, Chat sprang into the air, before being yanked to the side by—oh, crap—the tarp had gotten tangled in the arm. Chat scrambled to get a good grip on his tarp, claws shredding through the plastic material, before his feet lost purchase and he was flying through the air, mere inches above the fog. Feeling his claws ripping through the material, his chest tightening in fear, Chat made a last-ditch effort to hoist himself upward and grunted in relief as his claws scraped across the hard plastic of the crane arm. He wrapped his arms and legs around it and hung on for dear life until the arm paused a moment, suspended horizontally above the blank, white cloud. Chat swallowed, ignoring the jittering in his stomach at his precarious position. What would Ladybug do? She would—he needed to find some way to twist this situation to his advantage. If only he had his staff—His staff.Chat reached his arms up and began to scale the arm like a tree, keeping all four limbs hugged tight around it at all times, just in case it started moving. His staff was still lodged in the shoulder joint, only three meters away. Two and a half meters. Two meters? Chat really wasn’t that good of a judge of distance—but he was getting closer—Chat’s stomach lurched as the arm began to swing again. Gritting his teeth, Chat kept moving until he was able to place one hand—then two—on his staff. Now he needed leverage in order to pry it out—The arm came to a sudden halt, bucking Chat into the air. Fortunately, this appeared to provide the force he needed in order to free his staff, as he now had the instrument in his arm. Chat extended his staff, overwhelmed with the relief the familiar weapon brought him, and launched himself up onto the roof he’d been on before he could get low enough to touch the fog. A crash behind him caught his attention, and he snapped his head back to find that the akuma’s crane arm was no longer attached—it must have come off when he’d pulled the staff out. Chat grinned and swung his weapon with a flourish. Just then, the sound of a swinging door pricked Chat’s ears. “My Lady!” he cried, turning in her direction. He was met with a polka-dotted object flying in his direction—a gas mask?“Al-Rena’s not picking up,” was all Ladybug said as she came up next to him.Chat frowned. “Wait—I thought you could only contact her if—”“I have her civilian number,” Ladybug jutted in. “I don’t know where exactly to find her. I did an extra transformation to give us another Lucky Charm, since that one,” she gestured towards Chat’s belt, “didn’t seem to affect Lego guy much at all.” Chat fished the polka-dotted canister out of his belt, only to find that it was dented and leaking—pretty much useless. He looked back up into Ladybug’s eyes. Her determination hadn’t changed, but she was even more serious now. Chat swallowed. “I’m going to go look for Rena. Stay here and hold them off.” She turned to leave.“Wait!” Chat cried. “The mask—you should take it.” He held the mask out. “It’s your Lucky Charm. You’ll need it—”“You’re the one that’s going to be still fighting here!” she shot back. “But you—” Chat squeezed his eyes shut. His Lady hated it when he brought this up, but— “You’re more important than me.”“No, Chat—” Chat opened his eyes to find his Lady’s glaring back at him. She didn’t understand. “You’re the only one that can purify the akuma!” Chat shouted, desperation creeping into his voice. “Please, my Lady—”“No, and that’s final,” Ladybug snapped, swinging her yo-yo and leaping off the roof before Chat could argue further. Chat bit his lip, trying to push down the unsettled feeling in his stomach, and slipped the gas mask over his head. He needed to get back into the fray in order to cover Ladybug, so she could get away. Now, where was that Lego guy—Suddenly, a crash echoed from the left—the direction in which Ladybug had gone. Chat took off running, watching as the Lego akuma—having somehow moved a block’s distance in the cover of the fog—punched out a whole corner of the building on which Ladybug had been standing. Chat leapt across the rooftops, gaining speed as—
The world seemed to slow down as the Lego arm reached out for another attack. Ladybug moved to leap out of the way, but was suddenly knocked over by a piece of debris from the new impact, and then she was falling, falling off the roof… and into the fog. “LADYBUG!!” Chat screamed. No, no, no—he couldn’t be sure what the fog was, but if she were put under its influence—no, no, no—Chat threw himself off the building, his body following through for him, extending his staff, somersaulting to slow his gravitational acceleration. His vision blurred. Everything was white—so white, and blank, and cold. His movement slowed, and even when he crashed into something, something that wasn’t the street as he’d planned, he still felt as though he were moving through water, swimming upstream. Something gripped him around the waist, and Chat struggled, still crying out her name, the fog clinging to his limbs. He took out his staff, blindly whacking whatever was in his way, whatever stood between him and his Lady. He was vaguely aware of something shattering, something collapsing to the ground, though all he could see was that suffocating whiteness.And then—it wasn’t all he could see.As swiftly as the fog had rolled in, it rolled out. As Chat watched it recede, he got the feeling it wasn’t dissipating, rather afflicting a different area of Paris, but Chat wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Chat lifted off his gas mask and whipped his head around, panting, looking for the telltale spots that would lead him back to his Lady. The street had a handful of people in it, all of which looked to be coming out of some sort of shock, but none of them were Ladybug. Chat dropped the mask and started to run. No, no way. She had to be there. She had to be. Chat searched all over the block, running and calling and checking alleyways and doors. She wasn’t there. He clenched his fists, then looked back where he’d come from, expecting to see the Lego akuma—Except the Lego akuma wasn’t there anymore. In its place sat a wide-eyed toddler, looking about to burst into tears. Chat ran to the boy, realizing he must have broken the akumatized object—but wait, then where was the butterfly—and where was his Lady—Panic threatened to suffocate him, and, with effort, Chat gulped it down. His Lady. He needed his Lady—A burst of movement flickered in the corner of his eye, and Chat turned in its direction, down the city street. He froze. The fog was back. Chat scooped up the mask and yanked it back over his face. Scanning the street once more, and still finding no sign of his Lady, he scooped the now-bawling toddler into his arms and gripped his staff with the other. As he rose into the air and streaked across the rooftops, away from the looming fog, Chat tried to ignore the creeping fear tickling at the back of his mind, threatening to seize his throat and freeze his limbs. He needed to push on, and he couldn’t do that if he let himself think.After all, what could be worse than if he was right.That Ladybug was gone.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Adrien sat on his bed, his gaze fixed straight ahead, unmoving save for the rapid rise and fall of his chest. This had never happened before. This was—how—how was he supposed to proceed after this?The fight wasn’t over. Adrien knew that it wasn’t, that the fog akuma was still on the loose, untouched, and that it was only a matter of time before the Lego akuma butterfly multiplied and affected half the city and how was he even sure Hawkmoth wouldn’t create even more akumas on top of that and—And here he was, just sitting there, in his room, attempting to process. But what else could he do? Because none of this mattered if he didn’t have Ladybug.His partner. His lady.His lo—his crush. “Adrien. Helloooo, Adrien.”A small, black blob fluttered before his eyes, and it took Adrien a moment to focus on it and recognize it as Plagg, waving his arms—paws?—whatever kwami appendages were called. “I need to recharge, kid. Camembert.”Adrien turned his head to the side, burying further into his pillow. “There’s some in my bag, Plagg. You know where.”Plagg hovered back into Adrien’s field of vision. After a pause, in which Adrien still refused to acknowledge him, the kwami let out a sigh. “Look, kid, I know this seems really bad, but—”“Seems bad? Plagg, nothing worse has ever happened to me, or to—to Ladybug. Ever. In the history of our akuma fighting.”“You’re forgetting you two aren’t the first Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Adrien sat up a bit at this. “Believe me,” Plagg assured him. “I’ve seen worse.”“Great,” Adrien muttered. “It could always be worse. And this is supposed to help me, how?”“Experience, kid,” Plagg said, puffing his chest out and pointing to himself. “So, your day has gone horribly. The city is in shambles. The way forward looks completely impossible—”“Not helping,” Adrien grunted.“—So now’s the perfect time to get up and get at ‘em. Need to take a pause? Use that time to make a plan! We’ll take the city back in no time!” Plagg did a little pirouette and entered what he probably thought was a heroic pose.“You are really not good at motivational speeches, Plagg,” Adrien huffed. “And this is serious. Don’t you get it? Ladybug’s been compromised, Plagg. Ladybug. Hawkmoth might has well have won. Heck—” A pang of fear jolted through Adrien’s heart, causing him to sit up, ramrod-straight. “Oh, no, what if she’s not just gone, or under the akuma’s influence? What if he already has her miraculous—”“Shh-shh-shh,” Plagg said, flying overhead. A moment later, Adrien felt Plagg attempting to smooth his hair, patting his paws on his head awkwardly. Adrien’s eyes narrowed in indignation as he ducked to get out of Plagg’s way. After a small struggle, Adrien planted his feet on the ground and whipped around to look his kwami in the eye. “God, Plagg, can you just leave me alone?”Instead of giving him a proper response, Plagg simply chuckled and moved to drift away. Biting back a growl, Adrien grabbed his kwami by the tail and dangled the creature in front of his eyes. “Ugh, what is your problem? What are you even trying to do?”Plagg only yawned, stretching his arms. Adrien gritted his teeth, feeling like he seriously was about to throttle the freaking god of destruction, before Plagg grinned and said, “Good. Now you’re up.”Adrien frowned. “What—”“You weren’t doing any good just sitting there,” Plagg drawled. “So, now that I’ve gotten you up, let’s go make a real plan.”That little—Adrien spluttered, before drawing Plagg closer and letting him swing back and forth in the air. “Wait, so—you were just trying to make me mad, weren’t you? Why, you little—”Plagg raised an eyebrow, looking slightly lost, before clearing his throat. “Ah. Yes. This was my intention all along.”Adrien groaned, dropping his hold on Plagg’s tail. “Sure. Now can we please focus?” Adrien ran his hands through his hair, beginning to pace. He couldn’t believe this, any of this. Ladybug was gone, and Plagg was being a little shit, and now he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to sob hysterically into his pillow, or scream, or shove Plagg somewhere even kwamis wouldn’t be able to escape. “Alright. So. We are planning!” Plagg announced, his tone dripping with faux-enthusiasm.Adrien really did growl this time, but, with effort, he kept his thoughts on topic. He dropped his hands to his side, wringing his wrists as he paced. Plan. Planning. So. Where does one start. For a plan. Plans need—information.“Ok,” Adrien continued out loud, trying to keep his breathing steady. “Let’s start with what we know. Hawkmoth has learned how to make multiple akumas at once.” Adrien spared a glance at Plagg, who nodded gamely. “One of the akumas was a Lego akuma, composed of a tall, blocky, mech-suit-ish form, completely encasing the toddler inside. Uhhh…” Adrien rubbed his hands over his face. “This akuma seemed to be better able to control his giant plastic bricks, instead of creating new ones. The strategy of gluing the blocks together didn’t really seem to work all that well, since, um, the first lucky charm was kind of a bust.” Adrien’s hands slid down his face and he switched to rubbing them together. “We don’t know what the akumatized object was, since I smashed it up in the fog. And the butterfly got away, so we’re going to get a lot more of those.”“That’s right kid, but you need to remember to—”“The other one just looks like fog,” Adrien continued, wracking his brain for as many strategic details as possible. “It seemed—seems to be able to cover large areas of Paris at a time. Its speed is variable. We don’t know where it is now, or what it does—” Adrien straightened. “The news. The news might have information.” He spun on his heel, eyes scanning for his TV remote.“Alright kid, good deductions, but geez, willya just sit down? I’m getting whiplash just looking at you,” came Plagg’s voice. Adrien pursed his lips at the interruption as he searched the room. “Urgh, Plagg, where’d I put the remote? It was right here—oh—” Adrien bounded to the side table on which he’d found the remote and pressed the power button, before jumping into his rolling desk chair and scooting up close towards the screen.After a few, agonizing moments in which the TV took its sweet time booting up, Adrien’s heart skipped a beat as the broadcast started up. “—downtown today. Hawkmoth seems to have sent not one, but two akumas to face off against Ladybug and Chat Noir,” Nadia Chamack’s voice narrated as Adrien watched himself and Ladybug attempting to wrench the Lego akuma’s arm off. Biting his lip, Adrien fought the urge to shrink away. Normally, he hated watching himself fight—there were always things he should have done better, to protect his lady, and the bystanders, and anyway, his form always needed work. But, there could be visual clues amongst the footage. Adrien’s grip on the armrests of his chair tightened. “While the Lego-themed akuma was creating most of the property damage,” Mme. Chamack continued, “The fog akuma appears to be even more dangerous. Reports say several areas of Paris that were caught in it have lost all memories of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s existence.” Adrien’s eyes widened. What—no, no no no—“The effectiveness of Hawkmoth’s newest strategy remains to be seen,” Mme. Chamack’s voice droned on, “and the Lego akuma seems to have been defeated, but Ladybug and Chat Noir have disappeared from the scene. Neither hero has been spotted in hours.”Adrien stared. This couldn’t be—no, no way. Ladybug had gone into the fog, so the absolute best case scenario was that she had forgotten, completely forgotten, about… everything. About how to fight, how to cleanse the akumas, her own identity, him—He swallowed. Nope. No, he could not let his mind go there. Paris needed Ladybug, first and foremost. Heck, the whole city was in danger of the fog, this was not just about his own petty wishes and—The TV screen blurred, and Adrien sniffled. No. He couldn’t just fall apart like this. His lady needed him—especially if she wasn’t there—The drone of the TV, along with Plagg’s concerned voice, faded into the background as, for the first time since he’d gotten back from the fight, Adrien burst into tears.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ladybug and Chat Noir:
We know it’s hard. Things look pretty bad right now. But don’t, even for a second, think we don’t believe in you.
Wherever you are, whoever you are, keep fighting. We know you can do it.

—Alya
Alya sighed as she scrolled, proofreading her post one last time, before posting it to the Ladyblog. Pocketing her phone, she scooped up her backpack and marched toward the door. She placed a hand on the doorknob, before realizing. Wait.Taking a cue from the local news stations, Alya took a deep breath, donned her face mask—as well as a scarf, just to be doubly sure—and opened the door.The first thing Alya saw was the whiteness, stopping her dead in her tracks. It was even worse than she’d thought—the fog was everywhere, and thicker than pea soup. Alya ducked her head into her arm, coughing. She couldn’t breathe it in. She couldn’t forget. No. She had a duty to Ladybug.After a moment, Alya raised her head and looked around. Ladybug. She still knew who Ladybug was, right? Heroine of Paris, wore a ladybug-spotted suit, used a yo-yo, gave her the fox miraculous in times of need—Alya sighed, wringing her hands in relief. She was safe. The mask worked. Now, for trying to actually navigate her way to school.Alya stared at the ground, scanning for the parallel lines that marked the edges of the sidewalk, and started forward.She still thought the school was absolutely crazy for still holding class. Plenty of businesses had cancelled, after all, since what person in their right mind would want to go to work if all of Paris was wrapped in thick, mind-altering fog? Maybe the school superintendents were affected by the fog.Oh.That was probably it.Alya shuddered. On the Ladyblog, she needed to put on a brave face, since that was public crisis management 101—a state of panic would always make things worse. But ever since she became a hero of Paris herself, she knew, all too well, that the safety of her city was far more fragile than it appeared. Sure, Ladybug had managed to convince her, albeit briefly, that she was thousands of years old, but after working with her? And after Chloé and Nino became part of the team, too? Yeah, that was BS. They were all just five teenagers, who didn’t really know what they were doing, trying to keep Paris from disaster at the hands of a mysterious psycho.Granted, Ladybug was a real professional. Alya had rarely seen her panic, or seem off-balance at all. Despite her probable age, Ladybug seemed to have it covered. But that was just the thing—Ladybug hadn’t been seen in nearly a day. Alya pulled out her phone and refreshed her blog. So far, she’d gotten likes and comments of support, but no new submissions or sightings. Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair. Ladybug missing in action—that was a big problem. There hadn’t been any good videos taken of the original fight in the afternoon, just shaky snippets and clips. Chat had been seen more recently—Alya had been notified with a couple of sightings in the early hours of the morning. Apparently, he’d been wearing a spotted gas mask—probably a Lucky Charm from earlier—and he’d covered a lot of ground, the sightings being at locations pretty far apart from each other. Whatever he’d been doing out so late, Alya wasn’t sure, but the Lucky Charm was a bad sign. Firstly, because Ladybug usually was the one to use her own Lucky Charms, and secondly, because its existence suggested that the Lego akuma might not have been cleansed. Granted, there had been a different Lucky Charm at the scene of the original fight, but Alya couldn’t be sure. All of this evidence only pointed towards one conclusion, one that Ayla didn’t like. Ladybug was gone, and even Chat didn’t know where to find her. And, without Ladybug, Alya had no way to access her own miraculous— Alya shook her head. No, that wasn't a foregone conclusion yet—she had to keep on the bright side. Perhaps for her own sake.Finally, the stairs that lead to Collège François Dupont became visible at the edge of the sidewalk. Grateful to get inside, Alya jogged up the stairs and hurried down the hallway. She raised her hand to her mask, briefly considering taking it off, before glancing backwards at the door. Several students opened it and walked in, some of the fog drifting through as they did. Alya cringed and left her mask in place. Until the door to the school was sealed, there was no way in hell she was taking this mask off.When Alya reached her class, only a smattering of other students were there, but the place was already full of animated chatter. Chloé was in the middle of a shouting match with Kim—apparently, Kim had the audacity to have been affected by the fog, and Chloé, as a true Ladybug fan, felt, of course, that she needed to rectify this situation. Juleka and Alix were engaged in heated whispering in the corner. The only person there who wasn’t talking, surprisingly enough, was Alya’s own boyfriend.Alya walked up to Nino, sliding into Adrien’s seat for the time being—she was sure Nino’s best bro wouldn’t mind. “Hey,” she greeted. “I can’t believe this mess—Hawkmoth is really getting some better strategies, for sure.”Nino frowned. “About that—do you know what’s going on? The fog this morning was ridiculous, sure, but what’s this about ladybugs and—what is that word Chloé keeps saying? Akumas?”Alya froze. Oh god—not Nino, too. She blinked, trying to swallow.“Alya?” Nino asked, confused.“So it happened to you too,” Alya murmured. Nino took his hat off to scratch his head, then replaced it. “Dude, what is that supposed to mean? I come into class today, and suddenly, everyone’s telling me there’s something I’ve forgotten, and—”“One of the only other heroes. Our only chances. And you’ve forgotten, too,” Alya said. Nino quieted at this and looked her in the eye, still evidently confused, but also showing some concern. “Alya—is everything ok—”Just then, a pair of familiar feet flew by, only to trip on a stair, causing papers to go flying. Alya jerked her head upwards. Marinette was here. “Marinette!” Alya cried, jumping out of her seat to help her pick up her things. “Thank God! Are you alright? Did the fog get to you, too?”Marinette groaned as she hastily grabbed a fistful of papers off the floor and placed them at her seat. “Ugh, that fog was terrible. I could hardly see where I was going. They really shouldn’t have given us school today.”“Ugh, exactly!” Alya exclaimed. “Especially since it’s so dangerous—even Nino’s forgotten.” Alya gave Nino an apologetic glance. It wasn’t his fault, really, but...Marinette’s face scrunched up. “Forgotten what?” she inquired. Alya stilled, the papers she’d been holding fluttering to the floor. “No, no no no.” A cold feeling began to creep in, closing around her heart. It couldn’t be happening to her friends, too. How was she going to—how many people in Paris had forgotten, anyway?Alya sat down in her chair, holding her head in her hands. Hawkmoth’s angle. It was all too obvious now. If no one remembered Ladybug and Chat Noir, if no one believed in his akumas, no one would even know to protect them. And, the fact that they all had school today had probably exposed—and re-exposed—scores of students to the fog. In fact, this was probably happening to the whole city, everyone who had work today, anyone who hadn’t seen the warnings on the news about the fog, or who weren’t lucky enough to possess face masks or gas masks…“Hey, Alya, look at me,” Marinette’s voice said, soothing. Alya felt a hand rubbing circles on her back. She glanced up to see her best friend’s concerned face. “Whatever it is, it’ll be alright.”“Alya, you can talk to us, you know that,” Nino’s voice said to Alya’s left. She turned to look at him, too. “We’re here for you.”But that’s the thing.They couldn’t be, not for this anymore.Tears began to blur Alya’s eyes, and she bit back a sob. She couldn’t just break down like this, no, she needed a plan, she had to keep her head on her shoulders. “I’ll—I’ll be ok, guys,” she choked. “EXCUSE ME, CLASS!” Madame Bustier’s voice boomed. Alya sucked in a breath as silence, unlike any she’d heard before in her class, descended upon the room. Mme. Bustier never raised her voice like that. “I’m well aware of the news,” the teacher continued, her tone ice-cold, “but this is not how we behave ourselves. Ladybug and Chat Noir need support, not gossip.”At this moment, Adrien came bursting through the room, effectively breaking the tension. Seemingly unaware of the situation around him, he dropped his bag at his seat and began rummaging through it, urgency filling his every move. Alya frowned, wondering what was up, before noticing—he had a mask on. Alya’s heart leapt, and she rose from her seat.“Please, tell me you remember,” she breathed.Adrien’s head jerked up. Alya’s eyes widened at his appearance. Adrien was frequently tired in class, probably because of his jerk father and his crazy schedule, but today, he looked like absolute death. And, Alya noted, like he wanted to cause a few deaths, too.“Oh, thank God,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Alya. We need to talk. This is really important—”And, at that incredibly inopportune moment, the bell rang.Alya bit back a curse. “Later,” she whispered, before slinking back into her seat. Marinette gave her a sidelong perplexed glance, but Alya was too relieved to care. Finally. Someone else.Although, Adrien’s behavior was also raising just a few questions… Alya’s fingers itched for her phone, where she kept all her reporter’s notes, but thought better of it and drummed her fingers on the surface of her desk to quell some of her antsiness. Class. She needed to at least pretend she was paying attention.Alya took out a pencil and a pad of paper and started pretending. ***By the time the bell rang for lunch, Alya certain she was starting to lose her goddamn mind. Hearing the sound of freedom, sweet, sweet freedom, Alya jumped up and began to gather her things. She needed to get out of here so she could start working on her theories and plans again. Alya would’ve been shocked if anyone had told her that there was anyone more energized and crazed-up and focused than she…… until Adrien turned up at her desk. Right, she’d forgotten that he’d had something to say to her.“Alya,” he prodded, grasping her arm. “Alya, I need to talk to you, like, right now.”The journalist extraordinaire in question lifted her head, only to be met with a pair of green eyes, way too close for comfort (for anyone but Marinette, that is.) Alya took an involuntary step back. She’d also forgotten that he was acting strangely enough to deserve his own fieldnotes.“Uh, yeah, what is it?” Alya started, giving the boy a cautious once-over.“Ladybug,” he whispered—no, more like hissed. “We need to find out who she is.”Alya raised an eyebrow. “Well, uh, yeah, I’ve been working on that.” Less so, since she’d become Rena Rouge and had thus begun to understand the importance of keeping a secret identity, but no one needed to know that. “No,” Adrien said, rubbing the heel of his palm on his face, before lifting his head to meet her eyes once more. “I mean, like, now. We need to find her. Right now.”Alya gave a nervous glance to her left. Marinette and Nino were looking at them strangely, the former with a nervous, embarrassed expression—most likely caused purely by close proximity to her crush—and the latter with a confused—was that slightly jealous?—expression. “Um,” Alya started, before shifting her gaze back to Adrien, who still hadn’t let up his hold on her arm. “Alright, uh, let’s, um, get lunch together, and we can have a brainstorm session.” “Great,” Adrien replied, his face lighting up in a semi-crazed grin——before Alya was suddenly yanked towards the door. Stumbling in surprise, Alya sent an apologetic glance over her shoulder at Marinette and Nino. Ookay. Now this was getting really weird. She’d never thought Adrien could come even close to this intense. Was she like this when she was trying to get a story? Alya shook her head. Never mind—that kind of thinking would only drive her crazy.“So, Adrien,” Alya started, making sure she didn’t trip over her feet due to the fast clip at which he was dragging her. “What brought this about? I mean, I have a lot of theories about what’s going on, with the recent akuma attacks, but—”“We need to find her,” Adrien repeated. Nino appeared at Adrien’s side, obviously having jogged to catch up. “Dude, how many coffees have you had?”Adrien tilted his head. “Three.”
“Bruh.”
Adrien frowned. “You don’t understand, this is really important. I’ve got to find her before…” He swallowed, absently tugging on Alya’s arm in a manner that was, frankly, not the most comfortable. “Uh, well, anyway, I really need to know who she is.”Alright. This had gone on long enough. Alya stopped in her tracks, wrenching herself free from Adrien’s grip (with a good deal of effort—the kid was stronger than he looked.) “Ok, what’s going on?” she asked, giving Adrien the best evil-mother-eye she could manage.For a moment, Adrien looked almost panicked at the question. “Um, well, I mean—” he gestured broadly— “look at what’s happening. Half the people in the city don’t remember who Ladybug and Chat Noir are, there are two akumas on the loose, and one of them is about to start multiplying—”“Wait, what?” Alya’s pulse jumped—he sounded pretty dang sure, even though she wasn't, not quite yet. “Are you talking about the Lego one?”Adrien gave an impatient grunt. “Well, yeah, but the important part is, Ladybug likely forgot about who she is and if we want to save Paris, we have to find her because she’s the only one who can purify the akuma and you’re the Ladyblogger so if anyone would know—”Oh, crap. It was a terrifying possibility. What if Ladybug had forgotten, and that's why she was missing? If that was true... the only way she could be found was as a civilian. She hated to plunge into the pessimistic option headfirst, without enough evidence, but Adrien looked so desperate that Alya couldn't help but placate him, for now.“I’m in,” Alya declared. She reached out and gently grabbed Adrien’s arm. “Now, let’s try to calm down, just a little bit, maybe?”“Seriously,” Nino grumbled from behind them. Right—Alya had almost forgotten about Nino and Marinette. “Sorry guys,” she said, allowing her pace to slow until she was walking at their side. “Ok, so basically, Ladybug and Chat Noir are the leaders of Paris’s superhero team—”“Wait, what? That’s what this is about? Real superheroes?” Nino interrupted, eyes shining. Alya nodded. “I’m not kidding. I run the Ladyblog—the top source for all things Ladybug,” she announced, pulling out her phone. “See?”“Alya, now is not the time to plug your blog,” Adrien groaned.“Hey, I resent that. And it is relevant,” Alya shot back. Scrolling through her blog, Alya clicked on a recent press conference photo. “Here, this is what they look like.”Nino and Marinette leaned in to take a look. “Huh,” Marinette murmured. “She looks kind of like me.”Instantly, Alya and Adrien whipped their heads to stare at the girl, but before either could respond, Nino leaned in closer and yanked Alya’s phone out of her hands. “Whoa, is this them in action?” he breathed, clicking on a video from the blog. “Nooo waayy.” Alya gritted her teeth. On the one hand, yes, Ladybug and Chat Noir were badass, but on the other hand— “Hey, what have you learned during the time you’ve been my boyfriend? Don’t. Touch. The phone.” Alya wrenched her prized possession out of Nino’s hands with a huff.“Aww, come on,” Nino complained. “You don’t get to see this kind of stuff every day.”Alya arched a brow, and Adrien cleared his throat. “Uh, this is Paris,” he said. “We kind of do see this stuff every day.”“Right.” Nino stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I was somehow supposed to know that.”“That’s the part I’m getting to,” Alya sighed, searching her blog for yesterday’s footage. This was going to be just a little hard to explain. “So, yesterday, there was an akuma attack—”“You guys keep on saying that word,” Nino sighed. “Sorry to be Captain Obvious here, but what’s an akuma?”“An akuma is a temporary villain created by the real evil mastermind, Hawkmoth,” Adrien jutted in. “He sends out this evil-ized butterfly, which goes and finds someone who’s feeling upset, infects an object they’re touching, and turns them into a mind-controlled supervillain.”Alya scanned her friends’ faces. Marinette’s face was scrunched up in concentration, while Nino’s was simply frozen in a blank stare. Alya resisted the urge to facepalm in frustration. “Basically, Hawkmoth amplifies negative feelings to make people do what he wants,” she clarified.Marinette made a face. “Sounds fun.”Tell me about it, Alya groaned inwardly. Her turn as Lady Wifi was not one of her fondest memories.“So anyway. Yesterday.” Alya cleared her throat. “Usually Hawkmoth only akumatizes one person at once, but this time, there were two akumas on the loose. One of them was Lego-themed, and we think Ladybug probably took care of that one.” Adrien grimaced at this—oh, right, he seemed convinced it hadn’t been purified. Alya filed this tidbit away for later. “The other is the fog.”Nino and Marinette both inhaled sharply. “We’ve been breathing that,” Nino spluttered.“Yeah. That’s the thing—whenever you breathe it in, according to the news, you forget all about Ladybug and Chat Noir’s existence.”Marinette nodded. “So that’s why you were wearing a mask earlier.”Something in Alya began to relax at this. They were starting to understand—somehow, that made all the difference. She wasn’t alone anymore. But, she thought as she gave Adrien a sidelong glance, this situation could be worse than I thought, if what he’s said is right… She shook her head. One thing at a time.“Oh, and just in case,” Adrien added, “I have some extra face masks for you guys. So we don’t have to explain this stuff again.”“Sweet,” Nino replied, just as they reached the cafeteria. “Please don’t let me go outside unless I have one on.” Nino chuckled. “I mean, real superheroes? This is great!”“It’s also serious,” Adrien reminded him as they chose an empty table to sit at. “If Ladybug and Chat Noir can’t defeat Hawkmoth, Paris will live in disaster.”Nino shrugged. “Ok, but it seems like they probably have it in hand.” Alya bit her lip. If only he remembered…Adrien didn’t take as kindly to this suggestion. “You don’t know that,” he snapped. “What if Ladybug has been affected by the fog? What then? She’s the only one who can purify the akumas.”Hands raised in a placating gesture, Nino took a step away from the table. “Whoa, there, bro. Trying to keep things optimistic. And anyway, there’s another super out there, right? Chat Noir? He can probably take care of it.” Nino turned and walked away, presumably to go buy lunch.Alya’s gaze shifted to Adrien. She wasn’t sure what she expected—he’d been more intense and and snippy this morning that she’d ever seen him—but instead of making another retort, he lowered his head, something in Nino’s words striking a chord. Silently, Adrien sat down, and Alya followed suit, taking the place across from him with Marinette by her side. What is up with him? Alya mused, opening her lunchbox to access her sandwich. Nino did have a point, Alya realized. She had a responsibility to research and plan—after all, she not only ran one of Paris’s top sources on the heroes, but was also a hero herself. Alya, the queen of the Ladyblog, had a duty to inform the public, while Rena Rouge, holder of the fox miraculous, had a duty to keep the public safe and to aid Ladybug as best she could. But Adrien—Alya peered over her sandwich at the blond. He was slumped over his salad, looking almost defeated, yet still held himself with some of the same purposeful tension he’d come in with that morning. Alya narrowed her eyes. Adrien was different from her—he didn’t have a responsibility to the heroes of Paris, much less a way to enact any plans he might create. Well, Alya stopped herself, as far as she knew—she couldn’t rule out any possibilities as a reporter, after all—but she was pretty sure she’d know if Adrien had an important role. Whatever the case, Adrien had come in today with fire in his eyes, as well a couple of key assumptions—Alya was reluctant to call them facts, since she didn’t have enough evidence to support them yet—that Alya herself didn’t possess. In fact, if Alya didn’t know better, she’d say Adrien was acting as if saving Paris was his responsibility. And Alya needed a reason. Fishing out her phone, Alya created a new file in her notes titled Adrien’s Behavior. She typed up a couple of quick qualitative observations concerning his general actions, then recorded the two ideas he’d presented that were gnawing at the back of her mind:
1). The Lego akuma was not purified and will soon multiply.
2). Ladybug was affected by the fog and has forgotten who she is.
Grimacing, Alya set her phone down and took a bite of her sandwich. If Adrien was right… that would not be good. She had to know where he’d gotten these ideas, and if they could be proved with evidence. And, in Alya’s humble, journalistic opinion, the best way to do that would be to go over the facts with him—while fitting in some subtle probes, of course.Alya cleared her throat to get Adrien’s attention. The boy in question started, almost like a scared animal, before his posture relaxed, if only slightly. Alya swallowed. “So,” she started. “Um… how about we watch the video from yesterday. You know, maybe we missed something.”Adrien set his fork down to look at her. “Do you think that will help us find her?” he asked, tone… guarded, Alya decided. Yes, it was almost as if he was trying not to seem too eager. Alya frowned. That ship had long past sailed. “Well, I think it is important to start with what we know,” Alya replied, slowly. Sure, she would like to discuss Ladybug’s identity, but Adrien was making her too suspicious to change the topic. “And we can’t be too sure that she even fell victim to the fog in the first place.”Adrien pursed his lips. “You said you’d—” He paused and stabbed a lettuce leaf with his fork. “We only have so much time,” he said instead. “I know, I just don’t go into things blind,” Alya responded.“Alya—” he met her eyes. “Please. I—” Adrien lowered his head, his grip on his fork relaxing. “She needs me,” he finished, the words barely a whisper. Marinette shifted uncomfortably to Alya’s right, causing Alya’s stomach to sink. Marinette’s crush—she felt like a horrible friend. All this talk of Ladybug——wait. Alya sat up straight. She’d heard it before in passing, a couple of hushed rumors here, a couple of whispered jabs from Nino there, but never had it been so plain before today. Adrien—he had a crush on Ladybug. A pretty big one, if Alya would say so herself. Alya coughed. This was—this was going to be interesting.Especially since—now that Alya thought about it, Marinette had been unusually quiet today. She peeked a glance at her best friend. Marinette’s posture seemed more closed off, less self-assured. Alya could brush this off as having to eat with Adrien, yet… yet Marinette had been much more comfortable around him as of late. Alya was going to need to pull Marinette aside to perk her up later. But, first things first. Adrien. Ladybug. Crush.Putting down her sandwich, Alya contemplated placing a comforting hand on Adrien’s, before thinking better of it. “Adrien,” she sighed. “I know you’re worried about Ladybug. But you have to give her some credit. She’s a pretty tough gal.”Adrien clenched his jaw. “Alya, I know. But this—please, Alya, you have to understand. Hawkmoth could have taken away her ability to fight altogether.”He was being unreasonable. They couldn’t just go about revealing Ladybug’s identity that lightly, and for what—a crush? “Adrien, we don’t know that. We have to find the evidence—”“We have the evidence, Alya, we need to find her—”“I’ve already searched for her identity before, what makes now more urgent—”“Alya—”“Hey, is everything all right?” Nino suddenly appeared to Adrien’s right, effectively causing silence to descend upon the table. Adrien averted his eyes. With a sharp exhale, Alya took a bite of her sandwich. Perhaps Adrien had a point—she could always use more information on Ladybug to aid her efforts, and what if—Alya swallowed. Had she even allowed herself to think…What if Ladybug had forgotten?Alya drew out her phone. “Alright,” she said. “Let’s—let’s see what we can figure out. I’m going to pull up my blog, and—” She set her phone down on the table, rotated so Adrien could see, and zipped open her backpack. “My notes are in here. Fair warning, there’s a lot of them.”Adrien’s reaction was immediate, his eyes lighting up as he leaned in to look at the Ladyblog. Alya furrowed her brow—if his crush was this obvious right now, how had she not noticed it before?Later.Alya found the notebook she was looking for and hefted it onto the table, scraps of newspaper clippings and photos spilling out the sides. “Here.”Nino whistled. “Dude.”Adrien sprang up and began flipping through the notebook. “This is…” Adrien’s face was Alya’s little sisters’ whenever she took them to the candy store on the corner. “You’ve had this this whole time?” He gave her a look that was almost accusatory.Alya folded her arms. “Hey, I’m a competitive journalist, I’m under no obligation to reveal all my notes.”Adrien turned his gaze back to the book, running his fingers across a page. “No, it’s just…” Adrien flipped to Alya’s spread on the first recorded akuma attack. “Wow.”“Was that the day Ivan confessed to Mylène?” Marinette’s voice piped up from behind Alya’s shoulder. She traced her fingers along a photo of Ivan and Mylène together. “I—I can’t seem to remember much of that day.”Nino lifted his cap to scratch his head. “Yeah, I don’t remember there being a part in which Ivan was, apparently, turned into some sort of rock monster.”“No, I mean—” Marinette’s nose wrinkled as she narrowed her eyes in thought. “Like, it feels different from an ordinary memory. Usually, we remember things in vignettes, in bits and pieces, but I don’t know, I’m getting a funny feeling every time I try to picture—” Marinette rubbed her head. “I don’t know.”“So maybe there are hallmarks of stolen memories, which we can use to track which ones have been taken,” Alya mused. Adrien made a non-commital grunt and turned a page. “You seem to have a lot of information about her hero career, but do you have any… personal details?” He turned his head, giving Alya a grave look. “You know, ones that can better lead us to her identity.”Scowling, Alya grabbed the book. “Who do you think I am?” she grumbled, flipping the pages. Where was it… there.“Voilà,” she announced, shoving the book back onto the table. “Everything we currently know about one Ladybug, spotted heroine of Paris.”Adrien pulled the book toward him and leaned over. “Hey,” Nino whined—because really, Adrien, no one else could see—but was met with no response. Alya bit her lip, annoyance mounting. For a moment, there was only silence as Nino and, albeit much less forcefully, Marinette, jostled to see the book. Alya kept her eyes on Adrien, whose frown was deepening. “Her favorite color isn’t red, it’s pink,” he muttered.Alya took a step forward. “What?” How would he know—Alya had the most exclusive evidence in Paris, so who was he to think he knew better—Suddenly, a chorus of screams erupted from the direction of the street. Alya and, she observed from the corner of her eye, Adrien, jolted to attention. “No, please no,” Alya muttered. Not more akumas. Not now. A crash shook the street, and the cafeteria flew into chaos. Alya grabbed Nino and Marinette’s hands and streaked towards a more enclosed, and hence safer, area of the room. “You guys stay here,” she shouted, not waiting for a response before she took off running. She needed to get outside and film this——wait. The fog. Masks. She needed protection. Alya pivoted mid-stride and rushed to her backpack, hastily pulling out her mask, and, after a moment’s thought, a couple more, just in case. She straightened, surveying her surroundings once more. Her friends—Nino and Marinette were still where she’d left them, thank goodness, although they were crowding towards the window with the other nearby students in an attempt to make out what was going on. Alya turned to scan the rest of the room. Adrien—she’d forgotten about him in her rush. Nino and Marinette, who now didn’t know what to do in case of an akuma attack, had needed her protection first, since Adrien did remember living through many of them, yet he was still a civilian—one who had a big crush on Ladybug, had a stubborn, insane urge to protect her, and was in a fouler mood than Alya had ever seen him—Alya’s eyes widened. Oh, no. He was going to do something stupid, wasn’t he.Confirming with another look around the room that Adrien was elsewhere, Alya took off out the door, towards the stairs, and through the hallways, plotting out in her head the fastest way to the street. Finally reaching the double doors that led to the outside, Alya donned her mask, bracing herself, before pushing them open.For a moment, all Alya could see was the fog. She squinted in the direction of the screams. Curse that stupid fog—how was Alya supposed to gather evidence against the enemy if she couldn’t freaking see?But, gradually, the shapes of buildings and cars became more apparent as her eyes adjusted to the whiteness of the fog. She could still hear the screams, and the crashes, coming from perhaps a block to her left. Alya began to jog towards the sounds. She needed a better angle on the action—CRASH. Before Alya knew it, she’d been thrown to the ground, her palms, knees, and the side of her head gathering a couple of unpleasant scrapes. Gritting her teeth, Alya crawled to a sitting position to look behind her in the direction of the shockwave. First, she saw the feet. They were about the size of cars, and made out of plastic—Oh, no. Adrien was right.As Alya lifted her head, the silhouette of the Lego akuma’s body became clearer, a dark shadow looming over her as it marched forward.This had just gone from bad, to reeeaaalllly bad.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Nino cringed as another crash shook the building, causing a girl near him to emit an unnecessarily loud shriek. His eardrums. He glanced to his right, where Marinette was similarly crouched, too stunned by the arrival of actual, honest-to-goodness supervillain-caused danger to move from where Alya had deposited them, and caught her eye. This was simply too surreal, and they were both thinking it.Nino scooted in closer to Marinette in an attempt to make his voice audible above the cacophony of screams, crashes, and far-away, ominous-sounding thumps. “So,” he started, nearly shouting. “Uhhh… this is supposed to be normal?”Marinette grimaced and shrugged. “Tell me about it.”“Yeah, I dunno, man,” Nino continued. “For a second, I thought this day was going to be, like, the best ever. I mean, the real superheroes part sounds awesome, you know!” Marinette nodded, clear empathy showing on her face. Something in Nino relaxed at the sight of it, relieved that he wasn’t the only one feeling this… completely and utterly confused. “But then, Alya and Adrien were acting really weird, you know what I mean, and then—” Nino waved his hands in the vague direction of outside— “all this happened. And I totally have no clue what to do now.”“It’s like you can read my mind,” Marinette agreed, her response barely audible over the sound of another, too-close-for-comfort, crash. Silence descended upon the pair, and Nino turned his attention back to the window. There were a couple of students in the way, but, as Nino was quite peeved to discover, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. That stupid fog was too thick for the view to be anything but the soupy, gray-ish white that had enveloped the city. A frustrated grunt escaped Nino’s throat. This whole situation was the definition of not cool.Impatient, Nino turned instead to surveying the chaos-stricken cafeteria. Somehow, the scene managed to be completely overwhelming, yet still underwhelming, at the same time. While overly inundated by the flashes of movement and alarming noises, Nino could detect no new developments of any importance whatsoever, and all this waiting was starting to get on his nerves—Nino felt a tap on his shoulder, and whipped around to find Marinette, staring at him meaningfully. A beat went by as Nino studied the girl in front of him. Her mouth was pulled into a thin line, her posture was tense, and her gaze was alert. She was just as impatient as he was, Nino realized. Wordlessly, they decided. All this waiting? It simply wouldn’t do.As the cafeteria was rattled by some sort of blow yet again, Nino and Marinette rose to their feet, using the cover of the chaos to run….actually, where he was running, Nino realized, he wasn’t quite sure. Fortunately, Nino felt a tug on his arm, as Marinette decided for him. Guessing by their new trajectory… Alya’s bag. Right. He remembered vaguely that she’d had a good stash of masks with which to combat that fog, and considering they were probably about to make an ill-advised break for the outdoors, they’d probably need some. Right. Smart. Suddenly, a loud crack sounded, and Nino cursed as they dodged a column of dust descending from the ceiling. He glanced at Marinette, who looked just about as freaked as he felt, her eyes wide. On second thought, neither of them were being all that smart. But, Nino mused as they finally reached the table where they’d left their bags, simply staying here, considering the current state of the building, wasn’t looking all that smart, either.After what seemed like minutes as Marinette rummaged through Alya’s bag, Nino sighed in relief as she managed to unearth two masks. Accepting his with gratitude, Nino turned to scan the exit. What luck. There didn’t seem to be any obstacles between them and the door—yet.Nino and Marinette exchanged glances. It was now or never.They sprinted for the exit.***As he was being slammed into the side of a building, the crane arm of the freshly re-formed Lego akuma encircling his whole torso, the only thing Chat Noir could think of was a meme.Granted, it was a particularly appropriate meme. In fact, staring up at the akuma that had gripped him almost immediately after he’d joined this fight, and still dazed from the impact, Chat could see no difference. Life might as well be a giant house fire, and here he was amidst the flames, pretending he could keep a level enough head to sip his tea and proclaim, “This is fine.”As soon as the pain dissipated enough that Chat could properly process his surroundings, his mental dialogue turned into a string of curses. The akuma arm was winding up to ram him yet again—Suddenly, Chat’s vision winked out, only to return a moment later, and along with it, another mountain of pain. Yup. There it is. Chat coughed as the air returned to his lungs—good, he could breathe again. He then blinked and tilted his head, trying to gauge how bad his head injuries were. He had to get out of this hold before—The arm swung into motion once more, causing Chat’s stomach to lurch and his head to spin. No, not again, Chat’s mind screamed——And then, the arm’s grip released, and he was sailing through the air. Although Chat himself was still drawing a blank, his instincts thankfully kicked in, and his arms reached for his staff to extend it towards… the ground? A building? Something? For what felt like the millionth time this day, Chat cursed the fog. This time, out loud. Because his father wasn’t here, and who was going to see him do it when he couldn’t even see enough to find a place to land?And then, land came. Chat felt the wind get knocked out how him as he skidded across an unknown, hard surface. Scrambling to his feet as fast as he could—which was pretty fast, considering—Chat studied the ground beneath him. This, at least, actually did appear to be the ground, judging from the cobbled stones one only found on the streets of Paris. Alright, so he must have been tossed clean over the buildings and into the next street. Lifting his head, he squinted into the fog. If only his night vision skills could extend to seeing through this pea soup… Chat shook his head. This was hopeless.How on earth am I supposed to manage without Ladybug? Chat wondered for what felt like the thousandth time that day. Despite his enlistment of Alya, he’d made no further progress on Ladybug’s identity before the Lego akuma’s lack of cleansing came back to bite him. And now, look where he was. Beaten up and tossed aside like a ragdoll by what was likely only one of the destructive akumas galumphing around the city, without any backup, unable to rely on his sight, one of his most vital senses, and barely able to breathe due to the stupid mask he needed to keep on him at all times…Breathe, kitty, Ladybug’s voice sounded in his head. You’re Chat Noir, you’re a superhero, and you can do this. Chat gave his head a toss to clear his mind. So, since vision was out… what else did cats use? Chat’s eyes widened a fraction. Hearing. He still had purrrrty excellent hearing, if he did say so himself. Closing his eyes, Chat focused on his ears, amplifying his perception of the noises around him. At first, all he could pick up was screaming—damn those high-pitched sounds—before gradually, the din started to sharpen, the directions in which it came from rendering more and more complete, until Chat had a fairly three-dimensional picture of the world around him. Opening his eyes—just because there was fog didn’t mean he’d willingly let go of what little of his sight he could use—Chat took a mental tally. Silence behind him, as well as to the left—fortunately, there was no mess there. To Chat’s right came the screams, which sounded like—like collège students. Chat attempted to ignore the flip in his stomach at the sound of his friends possibly in danger. They probably didn’t have direct contact with the akuma, Chat reasoned, the crashing noises indicating the akuma was in the street in front of him. Chat took a deep breath and focused his hearing further. Currently, it sounded like… footsteps. Toward the right—not good, not good—and the telltale noise of rumbling bricks echoing slightly behind it as it went. The arm. Dragging down buildings. Great…Wait. If the arm was occupied, maybe he could go in and strike?Chat tilted his head. Was that idea stupid? Sure. Did he have any other ideas? No. Chat took off running, extending his staff to launch himself into a neat flip, before landing on the top of a building. Fortunately, his instincts and hearing had served him well enough that he hadn’t needed his sight for this one. Edging towards the lip of the building, Chat surveyed the street below him through sound as best he could, looking for a landing spot. Not on that side of the road—too much crumbling and shaking, indicating he’d be in the line of fire…hmm… maybe in front, what was in front—Suddenly, a voice he recognized cried out in defiance directly in the akuma’s path, causing Chat’s heart to stop.Alya. Oh, no, Alya—Caution thrown to the wind, Chat launched himself off the building. As he hurtled through the air, panic kicked in—he couldn’t see, he couldn’t freaking see, where was he going to land— —and then he could see, just enough. Chat picked out the red-brown of Alya’s hair and the enormous fist of the akuma and dove right between them.Clang. Chat’s muscles shook, his feet sliding backward, as he met the incoming impact of the plastic arm with his staff. Gritting his teeth, he risked a glance backward. “Alya!” he choked. “Get out of here!”Never one to do the safe, ordinary, or sane thing, the Ladyblogger instead rose to her feet and came in closer. “Chat Noir!” she cried. “Where is your partner? Can I get a quote—“Just then, the akuma decided to pound its foot into the street, creating a mini-crater and knocking Chat off balance and onto his knees. Coughing amidst the dust cloud, Chat rolled out of the way of a swing from the akuma’s arm and scrambled to his feet. “Alya, not now!” he yelled, hoping the concern in his voice would convince her to actually leave. “Go!”Another whoosh of the akuma’s arm reached Chat’s ears—just in time for him to hit the street as it sailed over his head. That one was close-far too close. As Chat scrambled back to his feet, claws scraping across the cobblestones, another pang of loss shuddered through him. Ladybug wouldn’t have let the akuma get the jump on her like that. Shaking his head, Chat shoved his grief down as far as it would go. He was the only one here, now. And—yes, that’s what Ladybug would say—he needed to get ahead of the akuma’s pattern of attack if he wanted to have any success. Lifting his head, Chat squinted up at where the akuma had been moments before.And realized, with a start, that he could see it. Through the enveloping fog, the swipe of the akuma’s crane arm he’d just managed to miss had created a swath of clear air, just enough for him to be able to see up to the akuma’s towering head. Chat felt the corners of his mouth quirk upward. Finally, a new strategy. All he had to do was—“Twirl your baton, Chat!” Alya shouted from behind him. Chat started, and shot her a glare as he jumped back from another swipe of the akuma’s arm. Why on earth was she still here? Plus, he’d already thought of that idea. He had! Moments before! Gritting his teeth, Chat spun his staff through the air in front of him, dissipating some of the fog so he could see......just in time to watch the akuma pound its wrecking ball arm into the street, creating a shockwave that sent Chat, and everything else within a ten-meter radius, careening backward. Still twirling his baton, Chat managed to keep enough balance to keep his purchase on the ground——that is, until he slammed into something behind him, causing him, as well as the—person, it was a person!—to go tumbling backward across the cobblestones. Recognizing, from a flash of clothing and unprotected skin, that the individual he’d hit was a civilian, Chat’s protective instincts kicked in, causing him to wrap his arms around them and shield their skidding impact with the ground with his own body. Which, of course, knocked the wind out of him yet again, but Chat couldn’t quite care. There was another civilian in the middle of the fight. One he had to get out of here right now.Chat coughed and rolled out from underneath the civilian, before clambering to his feet. Extending his hand to help them up, he got a look at the person he’d run into for the first time——and saw a pair of wide blue eyes, ones that he recognized, staring, dumbfounded, back at him. Chat inhaled sharply. Marinette. She was supposed to be inside! “Come on, let’s go,” Chat prompted. Thankfully, after blinking twice, she seemed to gather herself and accepted his hand. Chat pulled her as fast as he could to the side of the street, glancing over the sidewalk. What would provide an adequate shelter for Marinette—surely not a street light—wait—was that Nino?Chat groaned. Indeed, it was. Nino Lahiffe, the big idiot, was running in the direction of Alya, who was—oh no—still on the ground following the akuma’s latest attack. Did his friends have any semblance of self-preservation?With a hurried “Stay here” and a once-over to make sure that she wasn’t injured, Chat deposited Marinette behind a sturdy-looking car and dashed off towards Nino and Alya. As he got closer, Chat observed his friend pull a conscious Alya to her feet—thank goodness she was fine–and start to help her out of the way. Alright. So, the civilians weren’t hurt. Instinctively, Chat checked next for the akuma, and was rewarded with a loud crash and the sight of falling rubble in the distance. The akuma’s wrecking ball must have been off causing more property damage—which was not good, of course—but Chat couldn’t bring himself to feel anything but relief at the sight of at least a little distance between his friends and the threat. He had precious little time to get them safe and out of the way.“Are you okay?” Chat inquired, breathless, as he reached his friends, and frowned. Alya appeared to be leaning on Nino for support to walk.Nino blinked at the sight of him. Oh, right—from his amnesiac perspective, he’d never seen Chat Noir in action before. To his credit, however, Nino recovered quickly and responded to the question. “I’m alright,” he said, pointing to himself, “but I think Alya’s a little dazed.”Chat nodded. “Can I?” he asked, gesturing towards Alya. At Nino’s nod of assent, Chat scooped Alya into his arms and started towards the sidewalk, Nino trailing behind. Fortunately, Marinette seemed to have stayed put, for once. With a furtive glance over his shoulder—the akuma was getting closer—Chat laid Alya down as gently as he could next to her best friend. “Alright, I don’t want any of you moving. Really, you shouldn’t—” Chat cringed as a thud echoed from behind him—“be out here right now. Stay safe, and leave it to the professionals.” Chat tried to muster up enough bluster to crack his signature grin, before turning to leave.“Wait—Chat Noir.” Alya coughed from behind him. Chat swallowed and turned back to face her, the back of his mind screaming at him to move as the akuma’s steps registered in his hearing as getting closer and closer. “Please, just tell us where Ladybug is. Why isn’t she here?”Chat stared down at Alya’s face. Her usual manner of brisk professionalism was gone, replaced with a pleading, vulnerable gaze. Chat’s heart lurched. He hated to disappoint his friends.Chat pressed his lips together. “She’s gone. Alya, she’s been hit by the fog.” Alya’s eyes widened. “So it’s true.”A stab of grief coursed through Chat’s heart. He’d been trying to avoid thinking about it, this whole fight, for exactly this reason—too painful, too distracting—no, he had to keep himself together—Tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes as Chat nodded in response. Unable to face his friends—as a superhero, he was supposed to be the one to put on a brave face, no matter the situation—Chat turned his back to leave—Before an earsplitting crash knocked him off his feet, and the world went black.

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It was ironic, some hidden part of Marinette’s mind mused amid the chaos, how there could be so much deafening noise surrounding her, and yet all she could truly hear was the thumping of her heart.Without warning, the akuma had struck something above them, and now concrete was raining from the sky. Frozen, Marinette watched a large, jagged chunk strike down Chat Noir, before an even bigger piece embedded itself inches from Nino and Alya. Someone screamed. Whether it was her, Alya, or Nino, Marinette couldn’t say. More rubble cascaded down. Something struck Marinette’s shoulder, and she lurched over, crying out in pain.And then, with one final crash, Marinette’s visibility was plunged into darkness.One heartbeat went by. Then, two. Marinette held her breath, blinking back tears from the throbbing in her shoulder, as silence suddenly descended upon them, broken only by the sprinkle of falling dust. Was it over?Alya decided for them. “Marinette?” her voice rang, filled with trepidation.“I’m—” Marinette coughed, trying to get her voice to work. “I’m—I’m here.”Two sighs of relief, then a groan as one of her friends started to shift positions. “Whoa, there, Alya, take it easy,” Nino murmured.“Nino, Chat’s hurt,” came the reply.As Marinette’s eyes adjusted, she identified through the light from a glowing crack up above that Alya was attempting to crawl towards the prone form of Chat Noir. Marinette could only see his upper half—his legs disappeared into the darkness… and, Marinette realized with a sudden burst of nausea, could very well have been crushed beneath the concrete. She tore her eyes away. Real superheroes. Real superheroes existed, and with that reality came the awful truth that they were more vulnerable than she’d allowed herself to think.Marinette’s mind flashed back to when she’d seen Chat Noir for the first time—well, at least, the first time that she could remember. He’d been struggling, from what little she’d been able to make out through the fog, and then he’d been knocked back by the monster—the akuma. She couldn’t help but be worried. He was far from infallible. And yet, after she’d taken her eyes away for two seconds—stupid—and he’d hit her and she’d gone flying, his strong arms had been around her, and she hadn’t been hurt. Only after they hit the ground did she realize he’d taken the impact for her. Marinette had been in awe. Part of the legends she’d only ever believed could exist in fiction were true. Chat Noir, with a heart as pure and self-sacrificing as this, could only be a true superhero.But then he’d offered her his hand, and she’d gotten her first glimpse at his face, and she’d been thrown for a loop again. Chat Noir was young. He was her age. In fact, he almost looked like—like Adrien, save for the jarring existence of his cat eyes.Marinette gave her head a shake. And now he was here, and he was hurt, and she had no idea what to make of any of this.A boom lurched through the ground, causing the windows of the nearby shops to rattle. Marinette sucked in a breath. Right. And there was still a supervillain on the loose, and her shoulder still hurt like hell. She made an attempt at taking a deep breath. She couldn’t lose herself to panic.“Chat Noir?” Alya’s voice cut through Marinette’s thoughts. “Can you—can you hear me?” Alya felt for a pulse, then sighed in deep relief. “He’s alive, at least,” she murmured.“Are we gonna be alive for much longer?” Nino’s voice was almost too quiet to hear, but Marinette froze at the thought. A rush of terror roared by her ears, and she swallowed it down. Nope. Not panicking. “Nino,” Alya scolded, though her voice was more subdued than usual.“What, we’re all thinking it,” Nino defended. Another shuddering boom from the akuma punctuated his point.“We can still do it,” Alya asserted. “Paris has been through a lot. We’re tough. We’ve just got to hold out until Chat wakes up.”"Right," Nino muttered. He pulled out his phone, the light from the screen causing Marinette to squint and shield her eyes. "Has anyone seen Adrien?"There was a pause. Marinette shook her head. She'd lost track of him so fast—and now he could be anywhere, out in the middle of the horrible crashes and the constant sound falling bricks.She shuddered."Crap," Nino said, upon receiving no response. His fingers flew across his phone's keyboard. "He's not answering any of my texts.""He'll be alright," Alya put in, though she didn't sound like she believed it. "We've just got to get Chat out of here."“So he can do what, exactly? I mean, what even are his superpowers?”“Cataclysm.”“And that’s supposed to mean…”“Destruction, Nino. He can dissolve one of these walls closing us in so we can get out. Happy now?”“No! Even if we do get out, he’s injured! What then? And he just told us his partner’s not here—”A moan came from the superhero in question, causing silence to descend upon the cave-in once more. Marinette’s heart thumped. Was Chat Noir going to wake up?Then, his eyes opened, answering for her. Moaning again, he seemed to make an attempt to sit up, before gasping in pain and flopping back down with a thud. “What—”“Chat Noir, thank goodness,” Alya exclaimed. “One of the buildings above us collapsed. We’re trapped right now, but we’re all okay.”“Mostly,” Marinette whispered, clutching her shoulder.Chat Noir closed his eyes. “What about the akuma?”“We don’t know,” Alya replied. “We’ve been hearing it getting farther away.”“Which direction.”Alya swallowed. “The school.”This seemed to have the same effect on Chat Noir as it did Marinette, for his eyes shot open in panic, and he made another attempt to get up, to no avail. Marinette’s heart leapt into her throat. Her classmates…“Can you get us out of here?” Nino inquired.With a cry of pain, Chat propped himself up upon his elbows, then loosed one hand and flexed his fingers in contemplation. “Maybe. There’s a problem, though. I don’t think I should use Cataclysm this early.”Marinette’s brow furrowed. What?“Wait, what does he mean by that?” Nino echoed her thoughts out loud. “He can only use it once before he needs to recharge, so he’s got to make it count.”Nino bit his lip in impatience. “Great,” he huffed.Chat Noir’s eyes looked apologetic. “I know, I know. But if I can get close enough to whatever’s trapping me, I can—” he made another chilling cry of pain as he slowly sat up further—“I can try to move it.”Nino gaped. “But that’s like… wait a second…” He turned to Alya and whispered, “Does he also have super-strength, and you didn’t tell me?”Suddenly, Marinette felt the tension lift, and she breathed in, as if free of a physical weight. Apparently, Chat Noir felt it too, because something in his posture seemed to relax. “Guilty as charged,” he smirked, wiggling his fingers. Marinette stifled a giggle.Nino turned back, eyes starry, towards the superhero. “Alright. So that might be just a little cool.”Alya sniggered. “What can I say,” Chat Noir drawled. “A cat’s got to have some moves.” With another wince, he leaned forward, sliding his fingers under the concrete. “Here goes,” he muttered, and then pulled.Marinette’s heart leapt as the concrete moved indeed, but then Chat Noir seemed to hit his limit, letting out a guttural scream. Horrified at the sound, Marinette scrambled forward before she knew what she was doing, ignoring her own pain, as did Alya, both wrapping their arms around his shoulders in an attempt to pull him free. Finally, they seemed to be successful, and Chat Noir let the slab of concrete go with a thump. Chat Noir’s breath heaved within Marinette’s embrace, and she dropped her hold on him with a squeak. Oh my god, I just touched a superhero, Marinette’s brain screeched. But wait—he touched me first–and why does that sound so wrong—argh—“Are you alright?” Alya asked, thankfully breaking off Marinette’s train of thought.Chat Noir took another shuddering breath. “It’s not looking good,” he admitted, reaching down to inspect one of his legs, which was—oh no—bent at a funny-looking angle. He winced. “I need to get this back into the right position.”Alya nodded and knelt next to him, gingerly picking up his leg from underneath. He sucked in a breath, hands—no, claws—clenching tight, scraping at the sidewalk pavement.“Are you ready?” Alya asked. Chat Noir nodded. “One, two, three—”Marinette’s hands flew to her mouth as he gave another heart-wrenching yelp of pain. It was over as soon as it began, however, and Alya lay Chat’s leg back down on the ground.“Is that going to help?” Marinette found herself asking. “I think you need a hospital…”Chat Noir shot her what must have been his attempt at a smile, but it ended up looking more like a grimace. “I heal fast enough that I’ll be able to tough it out,” he replied, before his smile faded. “Although, there’ll be no Miraculous Cure this time…”“What’s that?” Nino interjected.“It’s something only Ladybug can do,” Alya answered quietly as Chat Noir sighed, hanging his head. “In fact—” Alya turned to give Chat Noir a piercing look. “She’s also the only one who can purify the akumas.”“What’s that,” Nino mumbled.“Chat Noir,” Alya continued, giving Nino a raised give-me-a-second finger without turning to look at him. “What are you going to do with the butterfly when you release it?”Chat Noir’s gaze remained steadily on the ground. “I don’t know.”“Ok, what?” Nino exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. Marinette had to agree—she had a feeling that some sort of important information was being imparted, but she had no idea how to contextualize it with words like akumas and cures and miraculous and what-have-you. She tried to raise a hand to rub her forehead, then hissed in pain as she was reminded of her injured shoulder.Chat Noir gave a pained chuckle at their confusion. “Basically, the akuma, the thing that transforms people into supervillains controlled by Hawkmoth—you’ve all gotten that part, right?” Marinette nodded, and Nino did the same in the corner of her eye. “Well, it actually takes the form of a butterfly, one that’s been—well, for lack of a better word,” Chat Noir rubbed the back of his neck, “evilized.” Marinette frowned. “So, then, the, uh, magical butterfly isn’t supposed to be evil in the first place?”“Well, no, although frankly, we—Ladybug and I—have no idea what Hawkmoth does to them.” Chat Noir gave her a curious, appraising look, and Marinette tried to keep from shrinking back under his gaze. “But anyway, the akuma, or the evilized butterfly, infects an object that the victim possesses, and then transforms them.”Understanding dawned on her. “So, the butterfly is the key.”“Yeah, exactly,” Chat Noir smiled. It faded as he continued, though. “When we destroy the akumatized object—the object that holds the butterfly—it comes out, and unless we catch it and purify it—de-evilize it—the butterfly will spread throughout Paris.”“Wait, spread?” Nino asked, a note of horror in his voice.Chat Noir grimaced. “As in, it infects more people and transforms them into supervillains, not just the first one,” Alya pitched in.“That’s what’s happening now,” Chat Noir said, his voice lowered in shame. Marinette gulped. That didn’t sound good. She found herself struck, again, by how vulnerable these superheroes were. Heck, one was straight-up gone. She couldn’t imagine what she’d do in their situation.Although, she thought as she gave Chat Noir another glance, maybe I could. Because if he has to deal with all of this, and he’s our age, and he’s alone, the least I can do is help him.Marinette took a deep breath. “Well, then we need a plan.”All the heads inside the caved-in space turned to her. She swallowed. Maybe she wasn’t the right person to do this…Another ground-shaking crash shook their hideout, and everyone winced. “I—I’ve got to get going,” Chat Noir spoke up suddenly. Marinette’s heart sunk—did he not want her help? He squirmed, looking as if he was trying to get up, but failing. “I’ve stayed too long as it is—I’ve got to get rid of the akuma—”“Dude,” Nino cut in. “Like that?”“Please, let us help you, Chat Noir,” Marinette blurted. Chat Noir’s green eyes turned to her again, and she swallowed. “Nothing’s worked against the akuma so far. You’d do far better coming in with a strategy. We can make one with you. Please.”Silence rang out in the dark.Then Alya grinned. “That’s my girl.” Marinette shot her a grateful look.Chat Noir sighed. “Alright, but this is going to be the extent of it. I am not letting any more civilians get hurt. Understand?”Marinette found herself smiling at his sweet determination to protect Paris. A true superhero, indeed. Then, she gave her head a shake and refocused. “So, the akumatized object for this… Lego monster villain,” she started. “What is it?”Chat Noir scratched his head. “Umm, about that…” Alya rounded on him. “Wait, you don’t know? How don’t you know?”Chat Noir cringed. “Uh, I kind of destroyed the first one blind, while I was in the middle of the fog.”Ignoring the flabbergasted look Alya sent Chat Noir, Marinette cleared her throat. “So, that’s our first priority. Locating the akumatized object.”Alya nodded, while Nino glanced between the two girls, clearly not following completely. Before he could speak up, however, Chat Noir interjected.“Not to make this more complicated, but, uh…” Chat Noir lowered his gaze, fidgeting his fingers—no—claws. “The akumatized object will also only be in one of the multiplied villains. The rest are literally undefeatable unless we locate the prime.”Nino groaned, while Alya threw up her hands. Marinette squeezed her eyes shut, trying to maintain her concentration. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. “Then, we have less butterflies to capture, don’t we?”Chat Noir shrugged. “Last time, they all sort of flocked together with the first one.”Marinette contemplated this. Good, so there was less independence of control. They really only needed to worry about the prime. “And, since this particular akuma,” she waved in the vague direction of the one attacking outside, “was the first to appear that we know of, it also has a likelier chance of being the prime,” Marinette continued, confidence building.Chat Noir looked at her, a small smile playing at his lips. “That’s true.”“Plus, we can always compare akumas visually to locate any differences, and that might also lead us to the akumatized object.” Marinette nodded to herself. “Alright then. So, after we find the object. We need a way to attack the monster…” Marinette’s eyes drifted to Chat Noir’s injury. “And… well, disadvantaged like this, we need the element of surprise.”Chat Noir’s smile grew. “I like the way you think, Princess.”Marinette jolted. Princess? “What?—uh, umm,” she stammered, eyes wide. Chat Noir, for his part, covered his mouth, looking sheepish. “Uh, sorry, I forgot for a moment that you… well, never mind.”Marinette’s brain melted. That did not help, not at all… did she somehow know Chat Noir well?… and, god forbid, in that way…? Feeling her cheeks heating up, Marinette covered her face in her hands. What about Adrien, though? She still liked Adrien—and the idea of her, and a superhero??? That’s it. She was sure her head was going to explode.“Umm… Chat? Maybe lay off the flirting.” she heard Alya whisper. Peeking through the gaps in her fingers, Marinette was surprised to see him hang his head, sufficiently chastized. Unbidden, a giggle escaped her. He really was a kitten.Marinette lowered her hands and gave her head a shake. “So… surprise attack,” she started, lamely. “Maybe we could do a karate chop from the rooftops,” Nino piped up. Marinette, along with the others, stared. “What?” Nino shrugged. “Not like I know how this works, but I thought it would be cool.”Chat grinned. “I was thinking something more along the lines of a… DETROIT SMASH!” he shouted, punching the ground.Nino guffawed. “Dude, yes.”Marinette covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. Were they seriously referencing anime? Alya cleared her throat, arching her brow at the two… boys. Yes, Marinette decided, Chat Noir might have been a superhero, but he was also totally a boy. And somehow, that made him far easier to deal with. She straightened. “So, it’s settled. We track the akuma as stealthily as we can, with a focus on detecting the akumatized object. We can use the strategy Alya figured out—” “I figured it out too,” Chat muttered as Marinette gestured towards her best friend— “and use wind to increase our visibility. We then spring a direct attack on the akumatized object. Anything to add so far?”Chat shifted uncomfortably. “You keep saying ‘we’ as if you’re going, too. Remember, this is my job. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”Marinette bit her lip. Fair point, but she wasn’t about to let her classmates be attacked, so the more she could help, the better.Alya, however, was more indignant. “Excuse me? You mean, more injured than you already are?”Chat’s eyes narrowed. “I heal—”“Not without the Miraculous Cure, you don’t—”“Better still than you do!”“Wait, guys, you never did explain what this Cure thing is,” Nino pointed out.Alya glared at Chat, who sighed in response. “Once Ladybug’s purified the akuma, which, yes, only she can do, she enacts the Miraculous Cure, which repairs all the damage from the fight, including physical injuries,” he explained.Marinette let this sink in. “So, any victory we have can only be temporary, until we find Ladybug. The akuma can’t be purified.”Alya and Chat nodded. “But,” Marinette mused, an idea dawning on her. “Can it be captured?”Alya looked at Chat, who shrugged. “Never tried it.”Marinette gave him a look. Silly cat, her subconscious scolded. “Well, I’m betting we can. I mean, butterflies are butterflies, right? Even if they’re evil. All we’d need is a butterfly net and a jar to trap it in.”Chat looked at her, surprised hope spreading through his features. “That might work,” he agreed. “Although, there still is no we here—”“Nuh-uh,” Alya jutted in, pointing her finger at him. “You’re wrong about that. While you beat up the akuma with a glorified stick, we’ll be getting you the butterfly supplies, and we’ll give them to you when the time is right.”Chat stared up at the cave’s concrete ceiling and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like Why’d I have to get trapped with them of all people.Of course, Alya bristled at this, so Marinette hurried to interject before her friend could escalate the spat. “So to recap.” Marinette sat up straight. “All of us will track the akuma. Chat Noir will attack from above and destroy the akumatized object. We will provide him with the butterfly gear and help him capture the akuma. Are there any questions?”Marinette fixed each of her friends with a glare. Alya and Chat Noir, wisely, said nothing.“Great.” Marinette’s heart swelled. Something about this felt so incredibly right— she was making plans, solving puzzles, making a difference, all alongside her best friends, as well as a real superhero. If the back of her mind wasn’t still so terrified, she’d say she’d never felt happier.Adrien, her head reminded her. Your classmates. They’re in danger.Alya beat her to the punch. “You doing good enough to break us out of here?” she asked Chat.He glanced at his leg and slowly attempted to bend it. While, in Marinette’s opinion, the wince he gave at the motion—and tried to hide—wasn’t promising, he seemed satisfied. “Never better,” he smirked, before struggling to his knees. There wasn’t enough room in the space for them to stand, but Chat seemed to find a way around this leverage issue, bracing himself with his knees as he grasped the bottom corner of a slab of concrete by the edge. Marinette chewed her bottom lip, glancing nervously above them. Chat had wisely chosen the piece the least structurally supportive, but what if everything were to cave in on them once more? She squinted. If they had something to brace the ceiling….“Chat!” Marinette gasped. “Your staff—how long is it?”The cat in question turned in surprise. “As long as it needs to be,” he started slowly. “Why?”“We can use it as a brace against the ceiling,” Marinette explained. “That way, we can be sure there won’t be another collapse.”Chat grinned. “Purrrrfect idea, Princess.”Marinette glared, this time unamused. “Staff. Ceiling.”Chat pressed his lips together, as though to try to quash his smile—although he was failing in this venture, Marinette noted with annoyance. “As you wish, my—” he froze for a moment, before shaking his head and unclipping his staff from his belt and extending it. After the whole group had finished testing the brace to make sure it would stand, they were finally ready. At least, Marinette thought—“Wait!” Marinette cried again. “Chat Noir! Your mask–for the fog! It came off during the fall!” For a brief moment, Chat’s face was full of comical horror. He swept it off the ground and slipped it on. “Meowch,” he said, his voice now slightly muffled, like the rest of them, by the mask. “That would have been a catastrophe.” He was met by skeptical silence from his audience.“Right, then.” Chat knelt by the slab he’d intended to displace. Marinette averted her gaze, her stomach twisting in knots. She wasn’t sure if she could bear to watch, if this didn’t work—And then, suddenly, the whole chunk of concrete slid easily out of place. Marinette snapped her head back to Chat and gaped, slack-jawed, as he bore the whole weight in his arms and then tossed it away, as if it were nothing. As it landed with a crash, Chat turned back to the three friends and grinned, brushing off his hands.“Duuuuude,” Nino spluttered. “You were holding out on us.”Chat shrugged. “Didn’t have the best angle before.” He staggered to his feet, trying and failing once more to hide his wince, but before Marinette could say anything, he walked back to the center of the space and grabbed his staff, causing the rest of them to get the hint and scurry out of the space where they’d been trapped before it collapsed.Which it did. With a sickening, crumbling crash. Marinette’s heart skipped a beat. “CHAT—”And then, the good-for-nothing, mangy tomcat sauntered out, covered in dust, smirking the whole way. “Well,” he drawled. “Shall we?”As they set off, Marinette swore to herself that, if knew Chat Noir like her non-amnesiac counterpart apparently did, she would have swatted him on the head right then and there. Silly cat.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chat Noir crouched on the rooftop, spinning his staff to try to dissipate some of the fog. He narrowed his eyes as a large, lumbering figure materialized into view. The akuma. Gotcha.Chat took out his baton and called the others, never taking his eyes off the Lego monster. “Guys, I found it. It’s down the boulevard like we thought, next to—“ He squinted. “Madame Duprevisy’s flower shop.”“Almost…there,” Marinette’s voice panted. “Chat Noir, wait for the rest of us to get there. We’ve got the supplies.”Ah, yes. The supplies. Chat grimaced a little at the memory. The closest store they’d found that sold butterfly nets was a toy store, so, naturally, his friends had raided it and were now dragging far too much makeshift weaponry down the boulevard with them. Along with three butterfly nets and a jar, Alya had managed to convince them all they needed hockey sticks to defend themselves with, and then she’d found several petite fans, which she’d declared were necessary to dispel some of the fog, and then she’d seen a Ladybug-patterned yo-yo and had to buy that, despite its total lack of weapon capacities, and then Nino had decided he could not leave without buying a giant-looking Nerf gun. Chat had to admit they needed something they could use as a weapon. But a Nerf gun?Although, it looked kind of fun for another time at Nino's house...“In position,” Marinette’s voice intoned from Chat's baton. “Alya, how close are you?”A large, window-rattling crash from the akuma almost drowned out the reply. “Right behind you. Girl, you forgot your hockey stick!”“Right,” Marinette squeaked. “Uh, I’m not so sure I’ll be any good with it, though—““Just take it. I’ll be there in a sec.”Through the small hole in the fog he’d made via the swishing of his staff, Chat could just make out the silhouettes of both girls as Alya arrived. Perfect.“Nino, what about you?” Chat inquired into his staff.“I’m getting there, man, don’t rush me,” his best friend replied. “Alya, this stick is reaaallly big.”“Any bigger than that Nerf gun?”“Guys, focus!” Marinette’s voice piped up. “All eyes on the akuma. We need to find the akumatized object. Nino, we’ve set up the fans next to us on the sidewalk to improve visibility. Can you do that when you get there?”“No problem,” Nino’s voice huffed.“Chat Noir, any info on what the akumatized object is? Or, at least, anything that it isn’t?”Chat cringed inwardly, feeling a little embarrassed at his minimal progress on that front. “Uh, the crane arm—“ he jolted back as said object of destruction swung over the rooftops, far too close to his position for comfort. “That thing, right there. It definitely isn’t it—the whole thing fell off the first time and the akuma just kept going.”“Right.” There was a pensive pause from Marinette. “Anything else?”“Uhhh…” Chat scratched his head. “That’s kind of it.”“Great,” Alya muttered. “Let’s look for anything that stands out. We’re starting to get a little better visibility here, with the fans.”“Yeah, me too, actually,” Nino’s voice chimed in. “Hey, what do you guys think about that big wrecking ball arm thing?”A crash shook the street. “You mean that thing?”“Uh, yeah. Sure.”Chat frowned. He didn’t really see it.“It doesn’t really look like any sort of real-life item to me,” Marinette’s voice agreed. “Though, I could be wrong.”“No, you’re right, I don’t think that’s it,” Chat put in. “The problem is, I haven’t seen anything on that akuma that looks like something a three-year-old might possess.”“What if it’s actually a Lego brick?” Alya asked. “Oh, no,” Nino’s voice complained. “Those things are so small. How would we find that?”“It’s moving,” Marinette jumped in, her point punctuated by the thumping footsteps pounding the street. “We’ve got to follow. Nino, don’t forget your fan!”“Uh, slight problem here. My sidewalk’s totally blocked off by a Lego brick wall.”“I’ll come get you,” Chat said, before extending his baton and jumping off the roof, checking in the akuma’s direction to make sure it couldn’t see him. He needed the advantage of surprise on his side. Fortunately, the fog seemed to have swallowed it up so thoroughly Chat couldn’t make it out at all. Chat’s boots hit the ground, and he immediately regretted the action, as his injured right foot roared with pain. Biting back a yelp, Chat used his staff to vault over the Lego wall next to Nino, landing one-footed this time. “Come on,” Chat greeted him, extending a hand.Nino just stared. “Wait, on that thing?” he asked, pointing to Chat’s staff. “Listen, man, I’m not so sure about going up in the air—“A boom sounded in the distance, causing Chat to glance back worriedly. “Nino, we don’t have time, the akuma’s getting away.”Nino‘s grip on his Nerf gun tightened. “Fine, I guess.”“Hold on.” Chat grabbed him in the middle, wincing at the hockey stick poking into his shoulder, extended his staff, and jumped to the roof, putting as much of his weight on his weapon as he could to try and take some of the pressure off his bad foot. It didn’t fully work—Chat staggered a little upon impact, and Nino’s arms around his neck tightened. “Dude,” Nino protested, his voice a little higher than usual. “I really don’t think—“He was cut off with a yelp as Chat made another jump to the next rooftop, this time managing to use the baton enough like a crutch to keep his momentum going. Finally, Chat made out the shape of the akuma through the fog and deposited Nino down on the street at a safe distance. Barely pausing, Chat lifted back off and landed with a somersault on a rooftop perch.“I’m back with the akuma in my sights,” Chat informed the group. “How about you guys.”“We’re good,” Alya’s voice panted. “It seems to have stopped moving so freaking fast, so maybe that’s a good sign.”A rumble shook the street, spewing brick dust into the air. Chat grimaced.“Or maybe not,” Alya admitted. “Nino, how you holding up?”“Never better,” Nino grumbled.“Hey guys,” Marinette interjected, “what about the akuma’s helmet?”Chat squinted, then started twirling his baton to try and get a better look. “Er, which piece of it? It looks like there’s several bricks making it up.”“The red one,” Marinette specified. “Look, it’s positioned sort of like it’s special.” Chat sprang to the next rooftop to try and gain a closer vantage point. She was right—the red brick was smaller, and shaped with a smooth curve that stood out from the rest of the oversized blocky bricks.But then the helmet turned to face him.“Uh-oh,” Chat said. “I think I’ve been spotted.”As the akuma’s crane arm reared up to strike, Chat took a flying leap off the rooftop, poising his staff to come down directly on the helmet——and then the akuma’s swinging arm suddenly changed trajectory, and Chat was knocked, facedown, straight into the street. His vision erupted into sparks, and he tasted blood. “Chat!” someone cried. His head throbbing, Chat attempted to pry himself off the ground. He had a blurry inkling of a Lego wall in front of him, and then there was a prickling at the back of his neck, and he dove to the side just in time to avoid getting smashed once more. Still dazed, Chat struggled to his feet and collected his staff. He had to be able to get on top of the akuma’s helmet, somehow, without it noticing. Maybe if there were some sort of distraction—And then, suddenly, a shape materialized out of the fog. It was Nino, running into the fray with a wild yell, pelting the akuma’s foot with Nerf darts. Chat’s eyes bulged. What was he doing—he was going to get himself killed! Chat launched himself in Nino’s direction and scooped him up and out of harm’s way. “Hey,” Nino struggled as they skidded across the cobblestones. “I had that. I was going to get its attention so you could sneak up!”Chat spluttered. “Yeah, you got its attention! In a bad way!”Both boys started as a giant foot pounded into the street, mere meters from them. Chat scrambled to his feet, staff in hand, as the akuma lumbered closer——and then it halted, foot still hanging in midair. Chat snapped his head around, trying to find the source of the akuma’s distraction——and this time, it was Alya. Judging by the splintered state of her beloved hockey stick, she’d just whacked the akuma with it, to no avail. Chat sprang into action, hoping to keep its attention off his friend. With a well-timed vault, he was able to land on the akuma’s shoulders with its back turned. The Lego monster immediately reared, head snapping every which way, and Chat clung on for dear life, ignoring the painful way all the movement was rattling his skull. “Hey, blockhead!” Nino’s voice called out from below. “This way.” Another paltry volley of Nerf darts rained down upon the akuma, barely reaching above its knee. The akuma paused at this, allowing Chat to catch his breath. “No, over here!” Alya shouted from the akuma’s other side. “Guess who’s going to knock down your tower!” Her threat was punctuated by the sound of a broken hockey stick hitting hard plastic. Chat’s heart pounded in his chest, anxious for her safety—yet, as Nino bellowed another insult, drawing the akuma’s attention away from his girlfriend once more, it slowly dawned on him that his friends had worked out the perfect strategy. The akuma was too dim to choose which one of them all it wanted to attack, and instead was settling for indecision. They were giving him an opening.Slowly, Chat crawled up the akuma’s giant, blocky head until he was perched on its helmet. With a final glance around to discern that his friends were still okay, he raised his baton and smacked the red Lego with all his might.The plastic came apart with a satisfying crack, and a butterfly materialized from within. Marinette had been right on.The akuma began to melt into the ground, lowering Chat down along with it—and, unfortunately, separating him from the butterfly that was escaping in the opposite direction. “Marinette!” Chat cried. “The net!”Without missing a beat, Marinette flung her butterfly net at him with all her might, which Chat caught handily. He extended his staff and gripped it as he shot upward, trying to catch back up with the butterfly before it was lost in the fog. When he judged he was at last close enough, Chat swung his net——and the butterfly phased right through it.Chat’s insides froze. No, no, no, there had to be some way he could stop the butterfly. All of their hard work couldn’t come to nothing.The butterfly was gaining in height, fluttering away. He had to do something—anything—Well, he could always just do what he did best. Destroy things.Crying, “Cataclysm!”, Chat sprang into the air, swiping at the butterfly——which, upon contact, blackened and crumbled into dust.For a moment Chat was relieved, until he realized that he’d launched himself into thin air, without his staff. Chat’s heart climbed into his throat as he plummeted back to the ground. Twisting his body, he tucked into a somersault——and then impact came, and his body erupted into pain. Chat moaned, his injured ankle flaring up again, and rolled onto his back, panting with exertion. He closed his eyes, waiting a moment for his head to clear.“Chat!” a voice exclaimed. He blinked and squinted up to find Marinette, running to meet him. “Did you get the butterfly?”Chat propped himself on his elbows, his attempt at a cavalier smile turning into a wince of pain. “Not exactly,” he managed. “It kind of phased right through the net, so I, uh, Cataclysmed it. Seems to have worked.”Marinette’s eyes betrayed that she was smiling under her mask, and she offered him an arm to pull him up. Chat accepted gratefully, noticing with surprise how firm her grip was. She was stronger than she looked. “Are you alright, Chat?” she asked, frowning as she looked him up and down. Chat pressed his lips together. “I’ll live,” he shrugged. He surveyed what he could see of the scene. Wait—““The kid!” Chat started. “I forgot. I need to—““Alya and Nino are already taking care of it.” Marinette placed a calming hand on his shoulder, and he swiveled to face her. Her blue eyes were warm. “They’re taking the akuma victim to the police station. Poor kid, he’s been through a lot in the last 24 hours.”Chat grimaced in agreement. “I wish he didn’t have to have gone through all that again. If I had just—““Hey,” Marinette placated. “It’s alright. You did your best.”Chat felt a silly grin wash over his face—this version of Marinette didn’t even remember him, yet she already seemed to have so much faith in him. He reached out, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips—or, at least, where his lips were underneath his own mask. “At your service, Princess.”At this, Marinette froze, her cheeks reddening, before turning her face resolutely away. “I—I’d better get home. School’s been cancelled for the rest of the day.” She peered up at him. “Well, uh, I mean my school, I don’t know where you go.”At this, Chat jolted. He probably needed to make an appearance at home—his father would likely want to exploit the extra time. Maybe even with a photo shoot… a spark of panic lit within him. How was he going to explain his injuries?“You’re right, Princess, this cat has places to be.” As he pulled his hand away, his ring beeped its agreement. “You have my gratitude for all your help. Your friends, too.” Chat gave her one last look in the eye. “Thank you.”Her eyes beamed. “You’re welcome, Chaton.”As Chat took off across the rooftops, having to focus harder than usual to avoid aggravating his injuries, his subconscious only registered what she’d said when he was already halfway home. Chaton. Chaton. His Lady called him that. Only his Lady. Chat swallowed at the reminder. He still missed her, oh so dearly. Where was she?And why—why didn’t it feel wrong when Marinette called him Chaton, too?Shaking his head to clear it, Chat did a mental survey of the state of his day. They’d gotten one akuma down, and if last time the butterflies had multiplied was any indication, the other akumas would dissipate without the prime. They’d done good. Chat finally had a chance to breathe—whatever his father had, waiting for him at home, it couldn’t be nearly as bad as what he’d just been through.Now, he just had to find a way to get rid of that fog. And——and find his Lady.Piece of cake.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Alya plopped down into her seat with a satisfied sigh.She surveyed the classroom. There weren’t many others here yet. Mylène and Ivan were holding hands and whispering, as usual, and Sabrina was watching the door, back ramrod straight—waiting for Chloé to waltz in and give her a tongue-lashing, no doubt. Also as usual.In front of Alya, the seats were glaringly empty. She shook her head, lips quirking into a small smile. Who was she kidding—she was friends with some of the biggest latecomers in the class. They’d come in soon enough…Alya’s foot started tapping underneath her desk. Ah, damn it, but she was too excited to be patient! Yesterday, she’d gotten to work with Chat Noir as a civilian (not a journalistic job, though she’d snuck a couple photos in when the superhero in question wasn’t looking), and they’d gotten rid of one of the akumas. Alya had double-checked to be sure—and all around Paris, the news blared that all the Lego akuma doubles had disappeared. They’d scored a victory here. Sure, there was still the fog—but one down, one to go. She couldn’t wait to catch up with Marinette, who she’d ditched with Chat Noir because of all the sparks she’d seen flying. (Sue her. She wasn’t an idiot, and even if her friend was going to insist she only had eyes for Adrien, she was going to make sure the girl had options.)Alya propped her chin up with her elbow, foot still jittering. Marinette had to show up soon——oh, screw it, the girl was going to be at least three minutes late.Alya whipped out her phone to check the Ladyblog’s notifications, for what was probably the hundredth time that hour. Let’s see… a couple more comments on her highly exclusive story…Wait. She had a new sighting submission.Alya tapped on it immediately.
Chat Noir spotted in the 13th arrondissement
Alya scrolled down to look at the picture. Somehow, the fog seemed to have dissipated just enough for Chat Noir’s form to be clearly visible. Alya frowned. The picture was blurred, Chat Noir obviously going somewhere in a hurry, and—Alya squinted. His ears were back. That was not a good sign.
I have no idea how, but right before Chat Noir ran through, the fog suddenly parted around the street. Snapped this pic before I noticed someone run after him on the rooftops. I think Chat was getting chased. Didn’t get a good look, but what I did see looked like a guy in a brown trench coat like some sort of old American spy movie.
Alya’s eyes widened. Was that a new akuma?“Hey babe.”Alya jumped at the sudden voice next to her ear, only to see her boyfriend’s smirking face leaning over her. “Nino!” she scolded…...before giving him a peck on the cheek. She was in too good of a mood to play the fake-mad game. “Something new on your blog?” Nino inquired, dumping his backpack next to his seat, then sitting down on the edge of her desk. Alya glanced back down at her phone. “Yeah, I think we have a new akuma.”“Dude, another one?” Nino exclaimed. “Already? We literally just—”“I know,” Alya moaned, slumping down into her seat. “Plus, Chat Noir looks like he’s in a bad way again, and we can’t do anything about it! I mean, yesterday was different, but now we have school, and the akuma hasn’t caused enough damage to cancel it so we can help.”Nino slid his arm over Alya’s shoulder. “He’ll be alright. Dude’s pretty cool.”Alya felt the corner of her mouth quirk upward. “Yesterday, you two were bickering constantly.”Nino folded his arms. “Well, uh, a guy’s got to keep up appearances. And he was being stubborn.” He let a small smile through. “Watching him fight was crazy awesome, though.”“Wait ‘till you’ve seen Ladybug in action,” Alya countered, giving him a soft punch in the ribs. “She’s the best of them all.” Alya couldn’t wait for his reaction to the Miraculous Cure—Alya’s heart sank as she remembered. Ladybug was still out of commission. Chat Noir had said her memory had been erased, and Alya trusted his word. She chewed her lip absently. Just like Adrien had said. Which explained why he’d been so desperate to find her secret identity yesterday——but where in the world had he gotten that information?“Ladybug’s your favorite, huh?” Nino said, cutting off Alya’s train of thought.“Yeah,” Alya agreed. “She’s amazing. But if she really got hit by the fog, that’s bad. We can’t cleanse the akumas or fix the damage without her.”“Chat Noir was able to get rid of that Lego one, though,” Nino pointed out.Alya sighed. “That’s a temporary fix.” One that they couldn’t have even been sure would work in the first place. In fact—Alya frowned. They’d gotten lucky. Really lucky, in fact, since it was practically a miracle that the akuma they’d decided to follow was the prime. And when Chat cataclysmed the butterfly—was that damaging to him? They had no real way of knowing if there were any side effects. And he was still injured. Oh no—he’d been getting chased by that new akuma while injured.As long as the fog was around, people would keep forgetting. The city couldn’t keep their masks on forever. Chat’s injuries would only increase the more he fought. And Hawkmoth could just keep on churning out more akumas.Adrien was right. The only way to fix this situation was to find Ladybug. Out of costume. Alya cringed. She hated to invade another superhero’s privacy like that, but what other choice was there?Alya felt another rub on her shoulder, causing her to look up at her boyfriend, who was peering down at her with a concerned look on his face. “You alright?”Alya placed her arm on his. “We have a lot more to go,” she admitted. “I’m worried. We need to come up with a plan while we still have the upper hand.”Nino nodded. He must have seen something in her face that told him she was serious, because he pulled away and slid off the desk. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”Alya pulled up her blog once more and stared at the photo of Chat. Man, she was itching to go out and do something—but if she couldn’t right now, she could always appeal to her fellow Ladybug fans.Alya lost herself in composing another blog post, informing her readers of the potential new akuma and to keep their eyes out to see if they could identify its powers. Once she’d explained the situation, she paused.There was more information she had, information the public didn’t know about.Chat Noir needed help. Alya could see that more than anyone, since her friends’ aid yesterday was the reason the situation in the city was looking up. But—could she really tell the public how vulnerable their superheroes were?Should she tell them the whole truth? That Ladybug had forgotten? Alya pressed her lips together.She pressed submit—as is. Despite her journalistic instincts screaming at her to expose the truth—she couldn’t.As a superhero herself now, she knew better. The people needed hope. They needed to look up to their heroes, to have faith that it would always be alright. Anything less would cause a panic.Alya could handle that burden, as Rena Rouge. She knew Nino could as well, even if he’d forgotten his alter ego for the time being. Alya was more reluctant to get Marinette or Adrien involved, but the two were surprisingly tenacious—and had proved integral to their plans. Even if the latter had run off and disappeared during the akuma attack yesterday.Alya frowed. That’s right. Where had he been?Suddenly, the door banged open, causing Alya to jolt and look up. Marinette had arrived. Alya smirked and discreetly checked the time on her phone. 7:59. The girl had made it—just barely.“Marinette!” Alya greeted her. Goodness, was she glad to see her friend safe and sound. Alya jumped out of her seat to sweep Marinette into a hug, who squeaked a little on impact, her chest still heaving a little, since she probably ran the whole way. “Alya,” she protested. “Ow. My shoulder—”Alya broke off the hug, feeling embarrassed. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Right. Marinette had been hurt by a piece of falling concrete yesterday—and had powered through it like a champ, Alya realized, not making a single complaint during their fight with the akuma. No wonder she’d forgotten about it. Alya herself had been a little shaken up, too, but not like poor Marinette. She placed a tentative hand on Marinette’s unhurt shoulder. “You all right?” Marinette gave a small, one-shouldered shrug. “Uh, yeah,” she mumbled, her voice still a little muffled by her face mask. Alya noted its presence with approval. She wasn’t going to have to explain things to her friend again.“Well, girl, the good thing is you’re on time! I’m so proud of you!” Alya congratulated her with a wink.Just then, the bell rang, and the two exchanged glances. They’d have to catch up later.Mlle. Bustier’s class began, and Alya found herself having just as hard a time concentrating as the day before, her head swimming with plans and questions. Sneaking a glance at Marinette, she found that her friend was doing no better. Marinette’s pencil drifted absently across the page as she stared, biting her lip, at the empty seat in front of her.Alya frowned and checked the clock. 8:07, and still no Adrien. Enough of a time gap to make Marinette concerned, she knew. Any longer and the poor girl might start spiraling. Alya tried to send her a sympathetic glance—to no avail, Marinette’s attention still thoroughly distracted. Sighing, Alya turned back to the board and started mindlessly copying its contents.Suddenly, the door burst open. The entire class whipped around to look, Mlle. Bustier pausing what she was writing on the board and looking, too.It was Adrien, but unlike Alya had ever seen him. He was breathing heavily and sweating, like he’d run a good five more kilometers than Marinette had, and the backpack slung over his shoulder looked on the verge of falling off. His shirt was rumpled, his hair was disheveled, and his sneakers were coming untied. Nothing about his appearance fit the perfect model aura he seemed to exude every day Alya had ever known him–except this wasn’t even what alarmed her the most. On both sides of his head, near his temples, were several bruises. They seemed to be half-covered with makeup, except now, mixed with sweat, the makeup was dripping down and revealing the dark patches underneath. Adrien’s obvious attempts to conceal his injuries weren’t enough to hide a split lip, too, as well as several more faint—or, perhaps just better covered—bruises down his left jaw.For a moment, he seemed frozen in place, his eyes darting around the classroom. Alya got the funny impression that she was watching a cornered animal. Then, he lowered his head and shuffled to his seat, sinking into it with one subtle, fluid motion, as if afraid to make any more movement to draw attention to himself.Too late. That ship had sailed.As the class gawked, Mlle. Bustier seemed to find her voice. “Adrien, do you have a late pass?”Adrien shook his head. “No, Mademoiselle, I—” He shifted in his seat. “Um.”Mlle. Bustier gave him a concerned stare. Finally, she said, “See me after class,” before turning back to her lesson.The class’s attention took a little longer to divert. Nino turned and whispered a couple of words to his buddy, no doubt to check if he was okay, and Marinette continued to gape in shock. The rest of the class erupted into murmurs, until Mlle. Bustier turned around and silenced them with one pointed glare.Teachers. Alya would be forever impressed.Alya gave her head a shake and started trying to copy notes… but before long, she found herself simply doodling as her mind wandered. Something was seriously up with Adrien, and some part of Alya’s brain had the uncanny feeling it had something to do with the recent akuma attacks. Let’s see… when had the fog started?... an akuma attack this past Tuesday afternoon. And then yesterday, Wednesday, Adrien had come in running on very little sleep and three coffees, worried out of his mind about Ladybug, especially since he had two key pieces of information, without a source, that both later had been confirmed by Chat Noir. Alya had written it down on her phone… yes, the first, that Ladybug had been mind-wiped by the fog, and second, that the akuma hadn’t been cleansed. Alya ran her fingers through her hair. When she phrased it like that, Adrien’s behavior was really suspicious. And then, he’d come to the conclusion Alya had realized herself, once she knew he was telling the truth. Ladybug had to be found, in her civilian identity, in order to fix the whole mess. Except, Adrien, as a civilian, didn’t have a good reason to take the task upon himself. Alya had chalked it up to his crush on Paris’s favorite superhero. Believable enough, and perfectly harmless, too.And then—and then, he had disappeared during the akuma attack, been fully out of communication with all of them, and only showed back up at school today, seven minutes late and looking like hell. Where had he gone during the attack? And what on earth had happened to him?Alya narrowed her eyes. She was going to need some answers. ***The sound of the bell ringing nearly caused Adrien to skyrocket out of his seat. Unlike much of the class, Adrien knew, his usual conduct during class time was to do what he was supposed to—listen and take notes. Because, to him, school was interesting, and a far better time than staying at home with one of his tutors. Although yesterday, he’d been too amped up on coffee and desperate to find his Lady to listen, today, focusing on the subject of the class had been a welcome distraction—from his father, from the new akuma he’d encountered that morning—and worst of all, from his embarrassment at the way he’d entered the classroom.But the way that bell had startled him from his attention was sure to draw some looks—again.Adrien knew he looked quite concerning, and he wasn’t surprised it had led to a few gapes. He just wished it would stop.Taking a quick glance all around him, Adrien confirmed that he was being watched by most of the class, and groaned inwardly. He swiftly packed up his things, as orderly as possible, of course, and stood to go wait by Mlle. Bustier’s desk.He’d already given a bad enough impression today, one his father would strongly disapprove of if he ever found out. Adrien couldn’t have that.“Hey,” a voice said behind him. A hand descended on his shoulder and wrenched him around—to face Nino, brow knitted with worry. “Are you sure you’re alright, man?”Adrien lowered his eyes and gently shrugged out of Nino’s grasp. “I’m fine.” Adrien angled his body to leave.“No offense, dude, but you’re totally not. What happened yesterday?”Adrien looked up to meet Nino’s gaze. “Later,” he said, and, without waiting for a response, wove through the crowd of departing students to Mlle. Bustier, trying to hide his wince as he trod on his bad foot. He needed to get this conversation over with. Sighing inwardly, Adrien went over the story he’d made up. He was going to make this go as quickly as possible. If his teacher called Père—Well.“Ah, Adrien,” Mlle. Bustier greeted him, her tones drawn and careful. “Please, have a seat,” she invited, gesturing to a stray chair positioned next to her desk.Adrien sat in it without a word.“Adrien,” Mlle. Bustier began, lacing her fingers together. She paused, looking down, before continuing. “You’re a wonderful student, first of all. I want you to know that. You’re intelligent, and thoughtful, and very well-behaved. You’re not in trouble.”Adrien swallowed. There was a but coming somewhere in here, he could feel it.“But—” Mlle. Bustier sighed. “There are things I’ve observed that give me reason to be worried.” Adrien shifted, uncomfortable. “And, Adrien,” she continued, staring him right in the eye, “it’s not just today.”What? Adrien straightened, his mind whirring. He tried to think back. What did he do, what did he do—“Adrien, look at me.” Mlle. Bustier’s voice caused him to snap his head back to her. “I don’t think it’s your fault. Again, you’re not in trouble.”His mouth dry, Adrien tried to speak, but nothing came out. He swallowed and tried again. “I…”“You’ve come in late quite frequently,” Mlle. Bustier said. “And you also miss a lot of school, especially when there are akuma attacks.”Adrien leaned forward. “That’s because of my job,” he cut in. “I often have shoots in the mornings. And Father likes to take advantage of any of my time off school to get more pictures in. You can’t be—” He stopped, realizing he was coming across too strongly. “My Father schedules all of this. He’s given you the notes.”Mlle. Bustier studied him. “Yes,” she said slowly. “He has.”Adrien fought the urge to fidget. Why did he have the feeling he was missing something?“There are other times,” Mlle. Bustier continued, “where the cause of your delay in getting to school doesn’t appear to be because of a photo shoot. Like today.”Adrien’s stomach lurched. Oh, no. She’d noticed the times that were because of Chat Noir, the ones he couldn’t help.“Again,” Mlle. Bustier said, “I don’t think you were being truant. But Adrien, I can’t help but notice—you have physical injuries. And this isn’t the first time.”Crap crap crap crap crap, Adrien’s mind chanted.“Adrien.” Mlle. Bustier’s hand moved slowly across her desk, then coming to a rest hovering over the phone. “Do I need to call your father?”Adrien’s insides froze, before he rushed out of his seat. “No, mademoiselle, please, please don’t,” he pleaded. “Please—he’ll—” Then he remembered himself. Adrien halted in place, eyes wide. No no no, he can’t know. I can’t lose school.To his surprise, Mlle. Bustier simply laced her hands back together and gave him a sad smile. “And that’s just it,” she intoned, voice soft. “Adrien, I want you to answer me honestly.”Still frozen, Adrien could do nothing but stare.“Do you feel safe at home?”Adrien’s mind ground to a halt. “W-what?” he managed.“Is there something going on at home that makes you feel unsafe there?” she rephrased.Adrien gulped. How was he supposed to—it was home. Nothing was any different. He just went there every afternoon, and completed his photo shoots, and his lessons, and his homework, just like his father wanted. He couldn’t imagine going back to a life in which it was just him and his father, but he supposed it wasn’t so bad. “I...uh…” He looked down at his fingers, lacing and unlacing them. “It’s just usual.”“And what is usual?” Mlle. Bustier prompted. “I—I mean, I just do the stuff I have to do,” Adrien replied. “I go to my photo shoots, and I do my Chinese lessons, and I practice piano, and—““And what about your father.”Adrien stopped short and looked up at his teacher. She was just staring at him, her expression carefully blank. What about—what does she mean.“I’m not going to call him, by the way,” Mlle. Bustier mentioned suddenly. “No part of this conversation is being reported home. You can tell me whatever you need to.”Something in Adrien still felt very unsettled, but the other part of him was shamefully relieved. He sank back into the chair. “My father—“ he started, before his mind blanked on him again. Adrien shifted in his seat. “Uh, he’s just sort of...there sometimes. I, uh, don’t see him much.”Mlle. Bustier stayed silent, her eyes urging him on.Unsure of where this was going, Adrien took a deep breath and continued. “He—he never wanted me to go to school. That’s, uh, why I don’t want him to think I got in any trouble. He might pull me out, and then—“ Adrien paused. Maybe he’d said too much—he just had to get Mlle. Bustier to understand why he didn’t want any calls home.Adrien ran a hand through his hair. This was definitely not what he’d anticipated. And there was so much else going on—the akumas, finding Ladybug—how was he supposed to worry about his teacher, too—“Adrien,” Mlle. Bustier’s voice drew him back to the present. “Does he often listen to what you want?”Adrien squirmed. “Mademoiselle, why are you asking me these things? I don’t understand. Am I excused for being late?”Mlle. Bustier leaned her elbows down on her desk. “That depends on if you tell me the truth about why you were late,” she replied. Adrien’s stomach tied into knots. “What does that have to do with my father?”Mlle. Bustier’s gaze stayed constant. “Just tell me what happened,” she prompted. “The truth, please. And I promise, you won’t get into trouble.”Adrien met her eyes. He was still confused, but something in him really wanted to trust her. He suddenly forgot the story he’d come up with. His mind wheeling, Adrien settled on the closest thing to the truth he could manage.“Um, so yesterday, during the akuma attack, I, uh, got trapped. There was a building that collapsed, and a piece of concrete kind of—“ Adrien gave a nervous laugh. “Well, not kind of. It fell on top of me.” At this, Mlle. Bustier looked alarmed, so Adrien quickly backpedaled. “It wasn’t all that bad. Well, I mean, I got knocked out, briefly, and my leg got pinned underneath it.” He winced at the memory. “So, anyway, I finally managed to get out, and when the akuma attack was over, I went back home.”Here, Adrien paused, pressing his lips together. “My—my father wanted me to have a shoot,” he said slowly, giving a furtive glance at Mlle. Bustier, whose features were still carefully neutral. What did he want him to say? His father—his family was personal——but she said the truth.Adrien lowered his head. “I came home looking—well, like this,” he said, gesturing at his face. “We had to cancel. He, uh, wasn’t happy.” Adrien looked back at Mlle. Bustier.“I see,” was the response. She didn’t make a move, clearly waiting for him to go on.Part of Adrien’s mind still reeled—you’re not supposed to say anything like that, ever, it screamed, but Adrien bit it down and kept going.“This morning, he, uh, said I could go to school if I covered it up. I really tried,” Adrien clarified quickly, “but, uh, it took a while, and...uhh...”His mind ground to a halt. This was the part he couldn’t say anything about. That akuma—it had somehow detected his miraculous, even in his civilian form. Adrien was lucky he’d transformed fast enough to avoid getting outed, but he’d still had to try and outrun it, on his injured leg. He’d overestimated how much he could do yesterday, when the adrenaline was still flowing through him. Every step hurt now, and it was so much worse when he had to run—“Adrien?”Startled, Adrien snapped to attention. Crap. I have to say something—“I was chased,” he blurted. “Before school.” His heart pounding, he grasped for a believable explanation. “By...uh…”Finally, his mind started working again, and Adrien felt a rush of gratitude. “A fan,” he finished. “It was a fan, and they really wanted a selfie or something, at first, but I kind of got really scared near the end…” Adrien swallowed at the memory of pain and fear as he streaked across the rooftops. “I had to make some detours to try and lose them. So that’s why I’m late.” He looked up to gauge Mlle. Bustier’s reaction.She didn't speak for a moment, something in her gaze calculating, as if she could see right through him—but then something in her bearing shifted, as if she'd decided to drop it, for now. Her eyebrows knitted in concern. “Adrien, you said your leg got pinned. Are you alright?”Adrien bit back a wave of panic. He hadn’t meant to let that slip—his father couldn’t find out. “I’m fine,” he said quickly.“Are you sure?” she persisted, her gaze still steady. Something about the way Mlle. Bustier was looking at him was really unnerving—but at the same time, Adrien felt like she was really truly trying to help him. “No,” he murmured, before he could stop himself. Mlle. Bustier stood. “We should really get that checked out,” she said, walking out from behind her desk. “Let’s take you to the nurse.”Adrien’s panic returned. “No, I’m fine,” he protested, rising up to back away——before he stepped down on his right foot, and his wince of pain betrayed him.“Adrien,” Mlle. Bustier said. “That doesn’t look like it’s alright. Why don’t you want to get it looked at?”“Because Père can’t know,” Adrien burst out, before realizing what he’d just admitted. Oh, no. It’s just like what she’s been getting at all along—“Would he be unhappy with you?” Mlle. Bustier asked slowly.Adrien averted his gaze. “Yeah. He’d—he’d keep me home from school and from fencing if he knew,” he admitted. His father, always looking for an excuse to lock him back up into that mansion. Suddenly, Adrien just felt too tired to care about what he was supposed or not supposed to say. “He always hates it when I get hurt,” Adrien muttered. “Says I’ve been careless. That I need to remember to keep myself in perfect shape.” He shuffled his feet. “He especially hates it when my face gets messed up in any way, and—“ Adrien gestured towards his face with a humorless chuckle. “That happened yesterday. I couldn’t help it, but he doesn’t care. Says I shouldn't have been anywhere near the danger.” Adrien’s eyes narrowed. “But am I supposed to just let the akuma—“ he broke off, suddenly realizing his audience, and how close he’d come to betraying his alter ego. Adrien snapped his head up at Mlle. Bustier, his eyes wide and his stomach twisting himself into knots.For a moment, Mlle. Bustier showed no reaction. Then, she gathered herself, almost reluctantly, to speak once more.“Has he ever physically been the one to hurt you?”Adrien gaped in shock. “No!” he blurted. “No, he hasn’t—he wouldn’t—““I’m sorry, Adrien, I needed to ask you that question.” Mlle. Bustier strode back around to sit in her desk chair. “Have a seat again, please.”Numb, Adrien’s knees bent for him. Mlle. Bustier sighed. “I’m glad to hear that your father isn’t physically abusive. However, I’m concerned about some of the other things you told me about him.”Adrien stayed frozen, his mind a confused blur. “Adrien, it isn’t right for your father to be angry at you for things beyond your control. I want you to know that.”Adrien didn’t move, still frozen in trepidation.“You also need to know that your wants and needs are valuable, and should be heard. You’ve said you want to stay in school, but you’re worried your father will take you out?”Adrien felt his head nod up and down, almost as if on its own accord. “I want you to tell me if that happens again.” Mlle. Bustier leaned forward. “I can help you. But in the meantime, I’d like for you to please go to the nurse and at least get your ankle checked up. Your father won’t be notified, if that’s what you wish. I’ll send you with a note for the nurse.”Somehow, Adrien found his voice, amid the panic—and, also, hope—swirling around inside him. “I’ll go.” He stared at Mlle. Bustier. He still wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened—but he might have just gained an ally against his father.
Against? Father isn’t the enemy, he’s just—just—
Restrictive, said the voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Plagg.Adrien gave his head a small toss to clear his thoughts. “Thank you, Mademoiselle,” he managed. “Really. I—“ He paused. “Just, thank you.”“You’re very welcome, Adrien,” Mlle. Bustier smiled, handing him two notes. “I’ve written you a note for the nurse, as well as one excusing you for your next class.” Adrien accepted the notes, grateful. “You’re not in any trouble for being late this morning,” she continued. “And please, come and find me if you need anything.”For a moment, Adrien could only stare, before he felt a nip in his pocket that could only be Plagg, reminding him to be a human being. “Thank you,” he repeated dumbly.Mlle. Bustier only nodded in response, though there was something in her eyes that suggested that this conversation wasn’t over—that she still had questions. Adrien took that as his cue to leave, sweeping up his bag, and exiting the classroom, limping slightly.As soon as he was out into the empty hallway, the door closed behind him, Adrien found himself rooted to the spot, reeling. Shutting his eyes, he leaned against the wall.That was—that was a lot. Mademoiselle Bustier had been really kind—but all of the stuff he’d just told her about his father—something about it made him feel so ashamed. But also grateful. And——oh, Dieu, this was really the wrong time for this. He was missing class. He promised he’d get his leg checked out. And his top priority had to be finding Ladybug. Adrien’s eyes fluttered open. Right. I’ve got to get going.Instead, he remained rooted to the spot.“Kid,” Plagg’s voice murmured next to his ear, and Adrien shifted his gaze slowly to face the kwami. “Are you—are you doing alright.”A part of Adrien hesitated, surprised. He didn’t expect that sort of inquiry from Plagg, usually. Said black cat usually spent his days chowing on cheese, complaining, and halfheartedly trying to get Adrien to make him do less work.But, it occurred to Adrien as he took in Plagg’s concerned visage, his kwami was still helping, in his own way, every day. He made Adrien smile. And now, Plagg was helping in a different way.One that meant he must have been obviously in quite a bad way, Adrien realized. He bit his lip and looked down. “I—uh…” Adrien glanced back up. Plagg was still expecting an answer. “Um… I honestly have no idea.”Plagg shrugged. “That’s fair.”A small silence descended on the two, before Adrien realized Plagg was trying to let him speak more. “I mean, um, it’s just… a lot. All at once. I…” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you know what Mademoiselle Bustier… what she was getting at?”The only response Adrien got out of his kwami was a gently raised eyebrow. “What do you think, kid?”Adrien shoved his hands into his pockets and lowered his gaze to his feet. “Uh… she… she seemed to think that things at home… with Father… weren’t… um… all that good.”For a moment, there was only silence, Adrien fighting the urge to fidget. An undignified habit, his father had drilled into him long ago. Something about the reminder froze Adrien into his tracks. He-he knew that Father was only trying to instill good manners into him, so that his modeling career would be more successful, but——but did he ever really want to model at all? Adrien frowned and shuffled his feet. Deliberately.“And are they?”Adrien snapped his head up to blink at the question. “Are things with your father… ‘good’?” Plagg repeated.Adrien looked back down at his feet. “No,” he muttered. “No… but what does Mademoiselle Bustier have to do with that?”After a moment, Plagg spoke. “I think… she just wants you to know she’s on your side. Just in case.”Adrien frowned. “In case.” In case of what? She wasn’t implying… “In case things get worse,” Adrien sighed. He tilted his head upward to meet Plagg’s eyes. “Plagg, they aren’t going to get worse, right? Things just… are what they are. I…” Adrien rubbed a hand over his eyes, wincing when he was given a sharp reminder of the bruises littering his face.He was still injured. Father’s displeasure wasn’t going to go away soon—and because of Adrien’s duties as Chat Noir amidst the crisis in the city, he was just going to rack up even more offenses…Adrien slid down, his back against the wall, until he was crouching, knees up, on the floor. “Oh, no, Père is going to kill me,” he moaned.“Hey, hey, hey, kid,” Plagg started, floating down to Adrien’s level. “It’s going to be okay.”“You don’t know that,” Adrien whispered.Plagg huffed. “Fine, maybe I don’t,” he said. “But listen, you aren’t alone. No one’s going to make you face your father or those akumas alone. You have me, and your friends, and even your teacher on your side, alright? And—” Plagg’s eyes widened a bit in realization. “Master Fu. We should see Master Fu.”A spark of hope settled in Adrien’s chest. “You’re right. Maybe he’ll know what to do.”“That’s it, that’s the spirit,” Plagg said. “But nurse first.”Adrien’s shoulders slumped. “But—”“Look, your teacher even said she wouldn’t call your father. You’ll be of much more use to Ladybug patched up.”Adrien sighed. Plagg was right. Again. A part of him almost wanted to laugh at the thought. Who knew Plagg had it in him?“Alright. Up and at ‘em, kid. Up up up.” Adrien groaned, but Plagg flew in closer, his tiny form vibrating with authority. “One thing at a time. Let’s get it over with, okay?”One thing at a time. Adrien could do this one thing.He rose to his feet.