"Sir, I have to object-"

"My decision is final, Nathalie, and I will not tolerate your disrespect!"

"Monsieur Agreste, I simply mean to say-"

"ENOUGH. I will not jeopardize my son's safety so he can waste time with his friends. If you have forgotten the recent burglary, allow me to remind you of the risk - which I have been against from the beginning - posed by hours every day in an unsecured public school!"

"You're going to destroy him! Maybe you didn't notice how miserable he was before, because you didn't see him at all! Locking Adrien up for a theft that may not have occurred at all is cruel and unreasonable, and I will not participate in this!" Her voice, normally quiet and composed, rose to an angry shout.

Silence. Adrien counted his breaths, forcing his knees not to drop to the cold marble floor. One... Two... Three...

"That will be all, Nathalie. I expect you to make the necessary arrangements this afternoon. If you cannot fulfill your job requirements, I expect you to remove your personal items from the office by tonight."

Another pause.

"Yes, sir," Nathalie replied, her voice now cool and hard.

Adrien, whose ear had been pressed against the wall, straining to hear, crouched behind the pillar as the double doors leading to his father's office swung open, and he heard soft, measured steps as the assistant's heels clicked against the tiles and stopped in the middle of the hall. A muffled gasp - a sob? - broke through the silence, followed by jarring snaps of wood against stone as Nathalie ran from the room.

The boy stood frozen, leaning against the pillar as he tried to process what just happened. Adrien couldn't believe his father's assistant had yelled at Gabriel Agreste to his face, risked her job… and for him. To keep him in school, with his friends. To make him happy. Not that it had made any difference, in the end, other than adding another casualty as a result of his mistake.

"Hey, kid. We knew this might happen, and it could have been worse - at least we erased the security video. Which, I might add, you still owe me for." Plagg's voice cut through Adrien's shock, pulling him back to the present. The present, in which he was crouched outside his father's office, eavesdropping.

Gathering his thoughts, Adrien pushed Plagg back into his pocket and murmured, "Yeah, dad doesn't know I took the book, and he didn't see you. But he knows it was stolen - I was hoping maybe he'd think he misplaced it. Now they're going to keep me penned up and probably hire three more Gorillas. There's no way I'll be able to get out to help Ladybug. And Nino's not going to take this well."

Plagg sighed, but couldn't deny the grimness of the situation. It wasn't Nino he was worried about not taking it well. Adrien's face was pale as they slipped back to his room… He should have known better than to simply try to distract Adrien from the book. Cats were curious. Plagg knew that as well as anyone. But the kwami had let his charge take it anyway, and lose it, and now… Well. He watched the boy collapse onto his bed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. One side effect of becoming Chat Noir was an increased need for sleep, which, combined with late nights and near-daily battles, resulted in Adrien falling unconscious whenever pressure built up too much.

Stress naps. The kwami was constantly bemused by humans, but it was reassuring that he was working with one who made at least some sense. Plagg longed to curl up under the warm covers, but someone had to start planning damage control. For ten, fifteen, forty minutes he thought and restlessly floated around the large bedroom.

Where they would be for a long, long time… unless they came up with a scheme immediately.

As if on cue, a scream split the air.

Ok, 'immediately' could wait a bit.

Adrien bolted out of bed as a second shriek echoed through the mansion. Plagg barely had time to slip into the pocket sewn into the boy's white overshirt before they were out the door and running directly towards the source of the disruption.

"Shouldn't you transform or something?" Plagg hissed.

"Not yet! We don't know if it's an akuma. Besides, wouldn't it be a little suspicious to have Chat Noir pop out of my bedroom? I need to see what's going on firs-" Adrien cut off mid-word as he skidded to a halt on the landing, peering around the balustrade.

There was a… Valkyrie?

She sat astride a huge gray horse – a huge winged gray horse - in the center of the entrance hall, paying no heed to the hysterical housekeeper huddled in a far corner. A sword was strapped to her hip.

"Je suis La Défenseure! Gabriel Agreste, come forth!" She turned towards Adrien as she yelled her challenge into the cavernous hall, revealing a familiar face.

"Nathalie?"

Adrien assessed the situation. "Three akumas, dad's gonna beat Chloé at this rate." He began to inch backwards, eyeing the door to his right. It was in La Défenseure's line of sight, but if he got a good start he could be through it before she could move –

It was a good plan, he thought, feet dangling as she lifted him by his collar. She had moved faster than he had expected, launching herself off the horse to land in front of the large double doors, snatching him off the floor with one hand. Nathalie's akumatized form continued pulling him upwards through the air until his eyes were level with hers, and he flinched, preparing himself for whatever violence she was about to inflict.

Instead, she smiled gently, and flung him over her shoulder.

"Don't fear, Adrien. I will not let you be imprisoned here."

Then they were back on the horse, galloping towards the front gate and –

Adrien definitely preferred heights when he was the one in charge.

"Adrien, hold on!" Ladybug's shout was muted by distance. Right on time.

Holding on sounds like a good plan, he thought, watching Paris fall away beneath them as the horse's powerful wings beat the air. But he couldn't just sit here with his eyes closed - Ladybug was expecting Chat Noir at any moment, and he wasn't about to disappoint her.

The sword.

Adrien shifted on La Défenseure's shoulder, straining towards the leather sheath strapped around her waist. His fingertips brushed the cold metal of the pommel. Almost.

He stretched, shoulder protesting, as the pegasus banked sharply to avoid Ladybug's yoyo...

And slipped into the empty air.

The valkyrie's eyes widened as she grabbed for him but missed by centimeters. Adrien briefly contemplated the implications as her expression shifted from surprise to fear to rage before his own mind caught up (or rather, down) to his body.

Which was falling.

Quickly.

Well, it's not the worst thing that's happened to me today.

Ladybug watched in horror as the distant figure of Adrien plummeted towards the earth.

Without pausing to think, she flung her yoyo up to the school roof and leaped, flipping midair to face the falling boy. If she wrapped the wire around there, and there, that should give her enough force... And then she was flying upwards, launched like a pebble from a slingshot.

They met in midair. Ladybug wrapped her arms around Adrien and curled around his body protectively as she braced for landing. Her suit would keep her from harm, but this momentum could be fatal for an unprotected human. They hit the pavement together and slid several meters before Ladybug rolled to her feet and ran for the school entrance, still carrying Adrien, as La Défenseure swooped towards them. They crashed through the doors, followed by a shriek of rage from the akumatized victim as her horse shied away, its wingspan too large to pursue the teenagers inside.

Ducking under the staircase that led up to the principal's office, Ladybug froze, listening for the click of approaching hooves. Nothing, for now.

"Er... Thank you," came a quiet voice by her shoulder.

Adrien.

Whom she was still carrying, bridal-style. Shit I'm holding Adrien why am I still HOLDING ADRIEN I should -

She dropped him.

He broke his fall easily as he hit the floor, years of fencing practice kicking in, and stared up at the spotted heroine in awe. Green eyes met blue, and they both flushed deeply before a crash from upstairs startled them back to the outside world.

"I should-"

"I'm so sorry-"

They both cut off mid-sentence. Adrien glanced at the ceiling, which was beginning to shake.

"I'm just gonna... go..." He forced himself to say. Things were getting serious, and Ladybug needed backup - Chat Noir had better make an appearance soon.

"Uh. Me too. You know. Hero-ing and. Er. Stuff." Fighting the urge to slam her face into the stair's metal supports as she heard herself stutter over the words, Marinette took off towards the failing roof, watching Adrien duck into a nearby classroom out of the corner of her eye. At least he would be safe now.

Chat, where are you?

He dropped down behind Ladybug on the roof as she faced down the valkyrie and her steed.

"Sorry I'm late, my Lady. I was a bit cat up in something."

She rolled her eyes. Business first, banter later.

"Chat, I can't find the akuma. La Defénseure won't let me get close enough to see where it might be."

He scratched his ear. "What triggered the transformation?"

"No idea, but she had Adr- a boy earlier, as a captive. He got away, but I think she's still looking for him. It was a nightmare."

Chat Noir narrowed his eyes against the sunlight and squinted up at the figures circling far above.

"I think that's a stallion, actually," he commented. Where did Nathalie get a horse? Right - Nathalie. There's no way Chat would know the face behind La Defénseure without even seeing her up close. "Any ideas about who the victim is? That might give us a clue."

Ladybug shook her head in frustration. "We need to get near her first, and before she gets tired of just looking for him and decides to change her strategy."

Then a familiar gleam shone in her eyes, and Chat couldn't help but grin widely as he watched an idea spark to life.

"How do you feel about flying, kitty?"

And that was how he found himself dangling over the street from his claws, grasping the end of his baton.

"Ready?" Ladybug called from above him, bracing herself as she prepared to pull down on her end of the metal staff, which formed a makeshift seesaw whose fulcrum rested on the cement corner of the roof.

"Prepared for launch!" Chat kept his eyes on La Défenseure, still circling above, and held his breath as he waited for the perfect moment.

"Now!"

"Roger that!" Ladybug slammed the baton down, catapulting her partner into the sky. He soared, preparing for impact just before he slammed into Nathalie, knocking her off the winged horse. Chat toppled over the animal's back, but slowed his momentum by clutching a crude stirrup. La Défenseure tumbled below him as he scrambled up onto the leather saddle, and he saw Ladybug snap the villain out of the air with her yoyo. Victory was –

- going to be a rough ride. The horse made his objections to the change of riders clear, bucking and twisting under Chat, who held onto the thick mane for dear life.

"Whoa, Peggy. Mind if I call you Peggy?" Peggy tried to bite his new passenger. "I'll take that as a yes. Anyway, it's time for a detour." With that, he grabbed the reins and guided the snorting horse towards Ladybug and La Défenseure, where the fight wasn't going well. La Défenseure knocked Ladybug's yoyo away easily with her sword each time it was thrown, and had begun to advance towards the heroine, a cruel smile on her face.

"Chat!" She dodged a fierce swipe from the blade, "I need a distraction!"

"Don't worry, I'm here to bale you out!" He wrestled with Peggy for a moment, and they shot towards the valkyrie, drawing her attention away from Ladybug, who took the chance to flip away, landing safely on the opposite side of the roof.

"LUCKY CHARM!" she shouted. "Une pomme?! What do I…"

La Défenseure doesn't have glasses, Chat noted. But she does have –

"The akuma's in her helmet!" He narrowly avoided a sudden fierce charge from the villain, who was now between the heroes. "I don't mean to rush you, my Lady, but I'm about to get sent to the school Norse!"

There. He saw her body straighten, comprehension dawning. She'd figured out the puzzle.

"Here, horsey-horsey!" She tossed the fruit towards them. Peggy's eyes went wide when he saw the treat, and he lunged at it, knocking La Défenseure to the ground. Ladybug snatched the helm and crushed it against the concrete, capturing the akuma that fluttered up from the ruined iron.

White wings flapped as she released the purified insect. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" La Défenseure's furs and armor disappeared, leaving Nathalie behind. Peggy shrank to a cheerful Golden Retriever, who licked the assistant's face as she sat up.

Nathalie has a dog? Why didn't I know that?

"Chaton, you didn't use cataclysm…" Ladybug's face was determined.

"Follow that butterfly."

Adrien hated bugs, even though he hadn't felt one way or another about them before running across Paris after one. Chat was crouched on the brick ledge of an apartment complex, gasping for breath. He had followed the butterfly northwest for several kilometers, all the way into the 18th arrondissement, before it slipped out of sight as they approached Montmartre. They didn't look like it, but butterflies were fast... Or at least the magical demon varieties were.

After losing the trail, Chat had prowled around the neighborhood on the off chance that he would find something relevant, like an ominous, decrepit old building labeled "Papillon's Lair." Unfortunately, he had no such luck, and turned back towards his home in the 5th district. There was no point in trying to contact Ladybug, who had no doubt long since detransformed, but he called the bug phone anyway. There was no response. He saved the coordinates in his baton for later reference, before ducking into an empty subway station to detransform and take a train home.

Adrien's phone vibrated wildly as he climbed the stairs of the station near Collège Françoise Dupont. He hadn't wanted to risk calling the Gorilla for a ride, fearing that the distant location might raise too many difficult questions. And of course there was no service underground, and his mobile had just begun to receive messages from the last two hours.

11 missed calls

8 voice messages

14 text messages

6 emails

53 notifications (misc)

He checked on Plagg, who was still asleep in his pocket, and opened the voicemail just as the phone began to buzz in his hand.

Incoming call.

"Father?"

"Adrien! Are you safe? Where have you been?" Gabriel's words were rushed, his voice tight with anxiety. Adrien gaped in shock for a moment, unused to his dad's concern. The Agreste elder had never checked up on his son after an attack before... but then again, Adrien had never been hauled all over Paris by a supervillain as a civilian before. It was probably all over the news by now.

"I'm fine! I'm, um, at the school now."

"Stay there - we're coming to pick you up."

A minute later, the silver car pulled up in front of where Adrien was standing. The door was flung open and Gabriel emerged, looking uncharacteristically ruffled. The tall man rushed towards his son, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders as he looked him over.

"Adrien… why weren't you in class?"

Marinette lay on her bed, staring blankly at her white stucco ceiling. It had been a Day. That's the only way she could describe it. First, her heart had leapt into her throat when she realized the supervillain had Adrien - and this time, there was no chance it was an illusion. When he fell...

Marinette didn't usually struggle with the pressure of being Ladybug anymore. Confidence had come slowly, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The months had built up a strong foundation, reinforced by each success. Ladybug knew herself: skills, flaws and all.

At least, she'd thought so. The last few weeks had shaken her, and Marinette hadn't yet come to terms with her role in the Volpina situation, or the helplessness that took over her when Adrien was involved. Normally, Ladybug's love was her strength; the thought of her parents, her friends, Alya, of Paris as a whole, kept her fighting even in the darkest moments... but the model seemed to be Ladybug's weakness, a bad luck charm she refused to relinquish.

It was ironic. Chat Noir, the symbol of bad luck and literal embodiment of destruction, always managed to turn chance in Ladybug's favor. Adrien, as close to sunshine as a human could be, left her stumbling, failing, risking everything as logic abandoned her - he replaces Ladybug with plain old Marinette (though she knew better than to let Tikki hear that).

Marinette was startled from her melancholy thoughts as her phone chimed, displaying a text from Alya.

"Hey girl - Adrien texted me back. He's fine, just tired. 3"

Alya was the best. She was literally best girlfriend in the world. Marinette didn't know how she would have gotten through the last few months without her constant support in everything from design contests to her crush (while never showing a hint of jealousy. It didn't even seem to occur to her - she knew Marinette had enough love to go around). Sure, it could be hard to feign detachment when Alya was telling her all about the latest exploits of Ladybug and Chat Noir (especially regarding evidence suggesting they were, or were not, dating), and the flashes of guilt over her secret sometimes flared like physical pain when Alya took her hand or kissed her cheek. But the girl was amazing. Even if learning who Ladybug was would hurt her, she would understand. Eventually.

It had been easier to hide recently. An increase in akuma attacks, and Alya's budding relationship with Nino, had cut their time together outside of school.

The momentary distraction faded, and Marinette slammed her face into a soft pillow as she reread the text.

I can't believe I rescued Adrien. And I - I just dropped him. On the ground. Just. Dropped.

In his study, Gabriel Agreste fought the urge to bellow in frustration. Everything had been planned perfectly, his actions calculated to the very minute… First, Nathalie's irrational outburst had presented him with an unmissable opportunity to draw Chat Noir and Ladybug close, allowing the fashion designer to observe them, searching for weaknesses to exploit. He had waited for half an hour, predicting that the agitated assistant would immediately leave the mansion, probably to drive back to her apartment across the Seine. The chaos created as she transformed would draw the superheroes, who would follow her back to the Agreste residence, and Gabriel himself, when she sought her revenge.

In the beginning, everything had gone according to his meticulous plans. He drove himself to the abandoned church that held his butterflies and sent out the little akuma, encouraging La Défenseure to take vengeance, and then used the power of instantaneous transportation given by the peacock miraculous to bring him back to the mansion's gardens – inside would have been safer, but he didn't want to risk aggravating Adrien's severe allergy to feathers with his transformed state - as the enraged Valkyrie rode towards him, and returned to his study to wait for her arrival. Gabriel was confident that Ladybug, at least, would not be far behind, as she seemed to have a soft spot for his son. He would let her worry about Adrien – his son was safely away from the action, attending his fencing lesson in the school gym.

Or at least, he was supposed to be. The lesson had been cancelled after a water pipe burst, and Adrien had returned home several hours earlier than expected. La Défenseure, free of Papillon's influence, spotted him and decided that her revenge would be better accomplished by taking the boy. Gabriel's last sight of them had been the horse, rider and additional passenger disappearing through the main entrance and taking flight.

They were over the gate mere seconds before Ladybug burst into the room, but Gabriel Agreste didn't have time to manipulate her into revealing information. Instead, he brusquely pointed her in the direction La Défenseure and her captive had left, before sealing himself in his office to attempt to regain control of the rogue akuma.

Adrien was unharmed and returned home safely… but this could not be allowed to happen again. Gabriel's jaw clenched. His plans were perfect – but they needed to be better.

Marinette lay awake half the night with vague worry gnawing at the back of her mind before giving up on the possibility of sleep. Several minutes later, Ladybug crept onto the balcony, checked for any watching eyes and swung away across the rooftops. Below her, Paris was as quiet as it ever got; an occasional pedestrian bustled along beneath the pools of light cast by streetlamps and figures in sparkling dresses hugged themselves against the night's chill, reeking of stale beer and sweat as they emerged from the now-closing clubs and bars. She spotted a group of red-eyed tourists lugging overstuffed bags as they waited for the crossing light to change at a vacant intersection. One of the men peered at a stack of plane tickets, struggling to read them in the gloom. Marinette heard the familiar rumble of suitcases rolling along rough stones before she was gone again, flying through the darkness.

On a whim, she unhooked her yoyo and called Chat. Her partner had no more business than she did in roaming the city as night began to fade gently into dawn, but the blond boy seemed to have as much trouble sleeping as Marinette.

"I thought it was birds that called when the sun rose, not ladybugs." He smirked, and she saw that the rims of his eyes were red. The color contrasted well with his eyes, the green sclera and irises appearing brighter within the black mask. "What are you doing out so early on this fine morning?"

She groaned, exhaustion weighing down her body. "Stop being so chipper, kitty. We're not all nocturnal. I couldn't sleep, and thought I'd check up on how you did with that butterfly."

"Not so well." His voice was suddenly serious, all traces of mirth gone. "I followed it to Montmartre before it got away. No idea where it went after that, but it looked to be flying towards Sacré-Cœur." Chat Noir's ears drooped slightly as he sighed deeply.

"Hey," she said gently, "you did good. We have a place to start looking now." Chat perked up slightly at her words; her partner, for all his cockiness, had a tendency to shrink into himself when he thought he'd failed. Even when he'd done better than anyone else could have. Marinette hadn't expected him to trace the insect back to its master – she hadn't even been sure it was possible to follow them, and knew that even if it was, she would never have been able to keep up. Ladybug could beat Chat Noir in a race seven times out of ten (they'd tested it on another sleepless night), but tracking was an entirely different matter. He had a cat's eye for motion and unparalleled ability to hunt down prey.

"Can you meet there tonight, maybe ten? I want to take another look around the area. Maybe we'll find something." His voice was determined. A moment later her yoyo beeped and a set of coordinates appearing on the screen.

Marinette quickly went over the day's schedule in her head. Her night was free, and she might even be able to fit in a nap after school.

"Sounds good."

"Hey, Ladybug…" His words were hesitant.

"Yes?"

"Get some sleep, will you?"

"I will. You too, chaton."

"Goodnight, my Lady."

The next day was not fun. Marinette finally returned to her bed and fell asleep an hour before the alarm began to beep. The world felt glassy and smooth, threatening to slip away at any moment like a bar of wet soap. She brushed her teeth, oddly entranced by the cold mint against her tongue, before Sabine called her down to breakfast.

School wasn't much better. She fell asleep twice in class, once on Alya's warm shoulder and once with her forehead against the hard wood desk. Madame Bustier roused her gently the first time, and in the second instance she was woken by Ms. Mendeleiev hitting the table sharply with a ruler and shouting. Marinette nodded dully and apologized to both teachers, fighting back yawns. The other students watched her curiously. A few – Nino, Rose and Nathanäel – were obviously concerned, while the rest appeared to be indifferent or amused, except for Adrien, who didn't look any better than Marinette felt. Not that she could blame him; it wasn't every day you were kidnapped by a Valkyrie who also happened to be your father's top assistant.

Cold flowed down Marinette's spine as her worries that had hounded her last night rushed back. She was suddenly completely awake with adrenaline and fear pounding in her veins. An akuma attacking the Agreste mansion, mere days after she found the book of Miraculous holders. The book that Adrien had been carrying the day Lila became Volpina, a link that had caused Master Fu's face to go tight with anxiety – no, fear - when she told him.

There's no way this is a coincidence.

Her thoughts raced. Was this why Fu had pushed her to close in on Papillon? What did the Agrestes have to do with it? How did Adrien get that book?

Had Adrien and his father become targets?

That night, Chat Noir spotted Ladybug sitting under a tree. The branches blocked the light of a nearby streetlamp, obscuring the telltale red and black of her suit from passersby, but even without his night vision he recognized the familiar outline of her hair in an instant.

"Good evening, my Lady."

She accepted his greeting with a nod. Her face was pale and pinched, the lines of stress and exhaustion clearly visible. He was about to suggest that they call it off and meet again the next night – after all, this had waited for nearly eight months, so surely it could be put off for one more night – but she started to speak before he could formulate the words.

"I looked at the numbers earlier. The akumas usually reach their victims no more than an hour after the initial event, but usually within thirty minutes. The shortest was reported by bystanders within twenty-five minutes, though we have to take into account errors in the witnesses' timekeeping, and you said you followed the butterfly for…"

"About twenty minutes."

"Then we're close. Taking into account the speed you were traveling, we can't be more than two or three minutes away, assuming the information about previous attacks is accurate." Ladybug's blue eyes were serious behind her mask, and once again, he wanted to ask why this was so urgent now. The akumas weren't getting stronger, even if their attacks had become slightly more frequent… it wasn't enough to leave her shoulders this tense with fear, hunched in anxiety as she turned away from him to look up towards the basilica.

But just like last time, he didn't let the words become real. Ladybug knew about his father's book and had mentioned it several times. She even knew that he – Adrien, that is – had been in possession of it before it was lost. Chat didn't dig too deeply into this, assuming that Master Fu told her. The guardian had spoken with him too, advising the teenager to pay close attention to Gabriel Agreste. Adrien had followed the old man's suggestion, which led to him eavesdropping as Gabriel and Nathalie argued. He decided that he didn't want to bring up the discussions with Fu. It came too close to revealing his identity, which she'd made clear long ago was not an option… and Adrien couldn't bring himself to cast more suspicion on his father when the inevitable questions arose. He'd seen it in Master Fu's face, though the guardian hadn't said a word about it directly, and Chat couldn't bear to see it in Ladybug's too.

He winked at her instead.

"Well, good thing I brought a net. Let's go catch some butterflies."