A/N: This is set immediately after Jackady but contains spoilers for all of season one and follows the assumption that Gabriel Agreste is Hawk Moth. The idea for this sprouted during a conversation I had with Ariette5 (a couple of months ago now, admittedly) and grew into something a little too long to be contained in a one-shot. Standard disclaimers apply.


Gabriel Agreste was a man of secrets.

He was well acquainted with playing his cards close to his chest, of knowing when to drop hints and when to simply let others draw their own conclusions—however false—by what could be taken as an implication. He was a successful businessman, after all. He knew when to make his move and how to strike most effectively.

She was the only one who had really known him, but then she had slipped through his defences before he'd ever realized it.

She'd played him, and she'd stolen his heart before he'd understood it wasn't a game, let alone one he couldn't win.

And now that she was gone, he had devoted himself to getting her back.

He had tried keeping Adrien at arm's length to keep him from being swallowed by the vast hole she had left in their lives, had tried to keep him away from everything that had destroyed Gabriel's own life. He had tried to keep his son safe.

He was now absolutely certain that he had failed.

Gabriel shut the ancient book with a snap, allowing himself only that one show of anger. There was no doubt in his mind now. Adrien had never worn that ring before, just as he had never….

Gabriel took a measured breath as he replaced the book, closing the safe and concealing it behind the commissioned painting. Façades and masks were more a part of his life now than they had ever been before. He should not have been surprised that the web of lies spun in this family had extended to his son, but the realization that he'd been fooled by the same mask as the rest of the city left a bitter taste in his mouth.

His son was Chat Noir.

He had been trying to lure out and vanquish Chat Noir for months, convinced the hero's destruction was the only way to secure his Miraculous, and his own son wielded the Ring of the Black Cat.

Gabriel needed far more than the ring, of course. Quite aside from the fact that he needed both Miraculous to achieve what he had in mind, Ladybug had the ability to cleanse his akuma. Obtaining her Miraculous was paramount to his success, both short term and long term. So far, she had been lucky enough to evade every trap he had set, every web he had spun. Her Miraculous had always been his priority, had he had a choice, since she was the greater thorn in his side. Acquiring Chat Noir's Miraculous would be child's play if Ladybug were not there to fight with him. Gaining Chat Noir's first, however, would strike a deep blow, one arguably more psychologically crippling than physically.

There was less room for error without her partner to back her up, but he had pitted Ladybug against Chat Noir before and she had come out victorious.

When she had reason to, she could defeat her partner in battle.

But that was when she had been fighting to free him.

If she weren't fighting to free him, if she were merely fighting him, the terms would be different. And if he could disrupt their trust, that became much more likely. He needed Ladybug unbalanced. He needed to her to make mistakes. He needed to force her to rely on her partner and pull that support away.

That could very well be possible now that he knew what he did.

Adrien could not know the truth, of course. His insistence that he attend school had been the first in a long line of rebellious acts. Still, Gabriel was Adrien's father. He knew which battles were worth fighting. And he knew when persuasion was his best weapon.

Gabriel's right hand tightened into a fist before he could stop it, but he forced his fingers to unclench as he turned away from the painting. He could not allow anyone to see that everything was different now; he could not risk someone questioning any apparent change. His newfound knowledge gave him a great advantage, but a foolish move on his part could squander it, and he couldn't have that.

He needed his mask to fool everyone, especially those closest to him, and most particularly Adrien. He needed time to plan his next move, to set the board as he required. When he was ready, he would begin, and this time the game would end with both the Earrings of the Ladybug and the Ring of the Black Cat in his possession.


Chat Noir landed next to her on one of the balustrades of the Palais Garnier with a grin and took a moment to survey the people milling about below—innocent people who were still unaware of the danger they might be in, people who hadn't yet noticed the arrival of Ladybug and Chat Noir. "This one blends into the crowd well, doesn't he, my lady?" he asked.

Marinette rolled her eyes. Hawk Moth's latest akuma victim called himself Mirror Image, and they knew little else of him. Unlike Reflekta, he did not remake everyone who crossed his path in his image. Instead, he gained the ability to steal theirs, and that made him nearly impossible to track. He was a shapeshifter, and his likenesses were as good as Copycat's had been to Chat Noir.

They weren't sure of his goals yet; there had been no flashy displays of revenge, no public kidnappings to inspire terror. They didn't know his motives, and they didn't know where the akuma was hiding.

Right now, they didn't even know where he was hiding. She and Chat Noir had tried to slip inside quietly and stay above the crowd, but the few seconds they didn't have their eyes on Mirror Image had been enough for him to change. She'd thought he wouldn't be able to in the open, but clearly she'd been wrong. There was no sign of the man they'd tailed.

"There has to be something common in every appearance he takes," Marinette said, trying to reason out a way to defeat him. "That would be where the akuma is, and it's the only key we've got to finding him out if we're faced with two identical people. That will be the only way we'll be able to spot the doppelgänger."

"But we don't know what that thing is," Chat Noir pointed out.

"I know. We need to find out." Marinette bit her lip. It wasn't time to use Lucky Charm yet, not when she wasn't even certain they had Mirror Image in their sights. Cataclysm wouldn't do them any good, either. Had Mirror Image led them here because he had other business to accomplish or had he simply been trying to lose himself in the crowd?

"Any idea how?"

No. But she couldn't say that. Chat Noir was counting on her; Paris was counting on her. She needed to come up with something. Marinette leaned forward over the railing, eyes darting everywhere at once as she tried to put together a plan. She needed to draw out Mirror Image, but how was she to do that when he hadn't even told them what he wanted?

Except he had, of course. Not clearly, but each supervillain they fought had powers designed to achieve whatever they had sought in the first place. Mirror Image was a shapeshifter; he had not become a duplicate of one specific person. As Chat Noir said, he blended into the crowd. Maybe that had been his desire all along: to blend in and not be noticed. Stealing their Miraculous might seem like a fair trade to someone who craved anonymity, and she had to admit it wouldn't necessarily be exactly difficult when they weren't sure if they could trust anyone, even each other, without being confident that the other person wasn't just the current persona of Mirror Image.

"Maybe he's someone famous," Marinette murmured, "and he's tired of the spotlight, tired of the pressure of always being who he is. Maybe he was just tired of being so recognizable."

Beside her, Chat Noir was quiet. She'd expected one smart remark or another to come out of his mouth, but in the end all he said was, "An escape like that never is forever, even if it might feel freeing."

Marinette blinked. He made it sound like—

"If he doesn't want attention," Chat Noir reasoned, "then he'll still try to avoid it."

Marinette realized what he was thinking almost immediately. "You have better eyes than I do, kitty, so I'll be the distraction." She didn't add what they both knew: the media favoured focusing on her, anyway, and it was to her that the people looked first during an attack. It was attention she wasn't sure she deserved, especially when Chat Noir was her partner and didn't receive an equal share, but he seemed happy to stay in the shadows and let her be the face of their partnership.

Still, whether she liked it or not, the simple fact of the matter was that she would draw a larger crowd than he if she dropped down in the midst of the people below.

For all that people knew Copycat had merely been another supervillain and not Chat Noir himself, she wasn't convinced they didn't still judge him for Copycat's actions, either.

Marinette wrapped her yo-yo around a chandelier and dropped into the crowd. She quickly assured people they weren't in any immediate danger—which was true, given Mirror Image's abilities—and the crowd around her increased as a result. Phones and cameras were shoved in her face as people pushed up beside her to get a picture with her. Others flooded her with questions—everything from what brings you here? to what's it like to be a superhero?—and she tried to answer without giving too much away.

Good luck, Chat Noir.


No one spotted Chat Noir lurking in the shadows, but Adrien had been counting on that. Unfortunately, he couldn't see anyone shying away from the crowd, either, which was also what he'd been counting on. No one was trying to get away from the crush of people, away from the attention, away from Ladybug.

Which meant Mirror Image wasn't among them, he was being clever and going with the flow of things, or Ladybug was wrong about him and why he'd been akumatized.

Adrien headed for the exit, planning to circle the building and maybe catch Mirror Image when he fled—assuming he didn't go out the main entrance. He thought he'd gotten lucky when someone dressed as an employee opened the back door and froze, but the stammering woman in the black and white uniform didn't make any snide remarks or try to take his Miraculous. Since Adrien knew Hawk Moth didn't tolerate people who strayed from his primary objective, he thought it was safe to say that she wasn't the one he was looking for.

Of course, he couldn't explain who he was looking for, either. Not really. "Have you come across anyone who hasn't been acting like themselves?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Sorry, no." She hesitated before stepping back to allow him entrance, tucking an escaped lock of auburn hair back into place in her braid as she did so. "If you wouldn't mind, could you sign a photograph for my son? He idolizes you and Ladybug. If you possibly have the time…."

Adrien smiled. "Of course." He didn't mind signing autographs as Chat Noir, and even though he risked losing Mirror Image, they hadn't found him yet anyway. It wouldn't be the first time he and Ladybug had had to sit back and wait for a villain to make a move before tracking them down.

The woman's name was Lucille Moreau, her son Pierre. She only had a piece of paper for him to sign, not a photograph itself, but he knew her name and that she was a custodian here at the Palais Garnier. He would be able to track her down and drop a signed picture off from both him and Ladybug. She wouldn't protest posing for one when this was over, not when he explained why, and that way he would have a copy, too, even if he could never show it to anyone else.

"I could show you the back rooms," Lucille offered. After thanking him profusely, she had tucked away the signature—which was nothing more than a tiny black cat he'd drawn on a scrap of paper from her pocket—and now she was ready to lose her job for his sake. "Is there anything specific you'd like to see?"

"No, no," he insisted, even though he knew there was no use dithering in the entryway. One door led to the nearest stairwell, while the other exit looked to be the nearest path to those back rooms Lucille had mentioned. He had no idea which way Mirror Image might have gone, and his best hope—futile though it was—was still guarding the exits to see who was willing to pass up the opportunity to speak with Ladybug. "I don't—"

"Perhaps you're looking for someone?" Realizing she'd already voiced this question, she flushed. "I mean, someone else, as well as anything out of the ordinary…."

Adrien blinked. "No, I'm not—"

"Of course," she continued, overriding him, "you must be searching for Ladybug, yes? You wouldn't be the sort to be unfaithful to her or imagine she is that way to you. You are Chat Noir. But perhaps I should let someone else show you around, simply so there are no misunderstandings." She avoided his gaze and managed to duck away from his outstretched hand. "André's on shift; if you'll wait a moment, Chat Noir."

She disappeared around the corner before he could voice a protest. He followed, but the corridor was empty and every door in sight was shut. Were all women so good at disappearing like that when they wanted to? Ladybug could vanish in a moment, but he'd always assumed it was because she could remove her mask and blend into the crowd.

He strode halfway down the hallway, looking for some sign of Lucille if only so he could apologize—he wasn't even sure what he had done wrong, but he had a feeling he needed to apologize for something—but he knew he shouldn't stay here. Reluctantly, he turned back.

And nearly jumped when he saw someone standing patiently behind him.

"Chat Noir?" It was a young boy, perhaps eight or nine—too young, he assumed, to be this André Lucille had mentioned. He wasn't dressed in any sort of uniform, either, but rather jeans and a black windbreaker over a red shirt—which begged the question of why he was back here in the first place. Someone's son, come to meet them as they got off shift? He wasn't carrying a backpack, didn't have a hat or a pin or any sort of identification that Adrien could see, unless it was in his pockets. Surely he wasn't simply lost.

Adrien crouched down so he could look the boy in the eye. He still felt like curling in on himself whenever his father loomed over him, and he didn't want to intimidate this kid. Especially if he was just lost. Hopefully Lucille would come back soon; she'd know and be able to help either way. "Yes?"

The boy grinned suddenly, and it was a grin which looked horribly out of place on his young face. It was more sinister than joyful. Adrien reached for his staff, but the boy's words—Mirror Image's, really—froze him in place. "Bring me Ladybug's Miraculous or I will destroy her."

Adrien faltered, and Mirror Image turned and ran. Adrien scrambled after him, trying to come to terms with the fact that Mirror Image hadn't changed form—even into him, like another Copycat—in order to fight. The boy had been a suitable distraction but would now be easy enough to overwhelm, if it came to that. Changing forms would have made sense.

Running?

Running didn't make sense, not when he would be under Hawk Moth's orders to collect Adrien's Miraculous.

There was no sign of the boy when Adrien got outside, and though he imagined Mirror Image had already transformed again, he extended his staff and took to the rooftops. He'd have a better vantage point from there. And looking would give him time to think, to figure this out. Hopefully.

Threatening Ladybug wasn't new, exactly, but threatening her in this way was. Plenty of villains had tried to destroy her, and she had bested all of them. Mirror Image's powers were arguably limited when it came to offense. He couldn't destroy Ladybug.

Could he?

Copycat had managed to turn the city against Chat Noir with one act, and Mirror Image could do the same.

But that was destroying her reputation, not destroying her.

Surely…surely Mirror Image could just mimic people's appearances. Surely he wasn't a copy like Copycat had been, one who could also mimic his powers….

The thought made Adrien's stomach turn. What if Mirror Image tricked Ladybug by pretending to be him? If he did possess Chat Noir's own powers in that case, and he could use Cataclysm, then….

No. That wouldn't happen. It couldn't; Mirror Image wouldn't have tried to bargain with Chat Noir for Ladybug's Miraculous if that were the case. He would simply trick her and take it himself. He wouldn't need Adrien to do it for him.

Why did he need Adrien to do it for him? It didn't make sense. Copycat had nearly tricked Ladybug into giving up Chat Noir's Miraculous; she wouldn't fall for a similar thing again. Ladybug knew him too well for that. Hawk Moth had to know that.

But maybe Hawk Moth did know that. And maybe that wasn't all he knew. Maybe it wasn't a proposal from Mirror Image but an ultimatum from Hawk Moth. Bring me Ladybug's Miraculous or I will destroy her. Hawk Moth would be more capable of carrying out such a threat than Mirror Image. His primary objective had always been the Miraculous rather than destroying Paris's heroes—at least, that's what Adrien had thought; clearly he could be wrong on that—but maybe Hawk Moth had decided that destroying them would be the only way to achieve that objective. And maybe he knew Chat Noir would do anything to keep Ladybug safe.

But…could he really trade her safety for her Miraculous? Hand that power over to Hawk Moth? She wouldn't thank him for it. He knew she wouldn't. She took terrible risks as Ladybug. He had nearly lost her more than once, and it had torn at his heart every time, but she would do anything to save Paris and its citizens.

And he would do anything to save her.

He loved her.

She hadn't realized that, but Adrien was filled with a horrible conviction that Hawk Moth had.

Taking Ladybug's Miraculous…. It didn't ensure Hawk Moth's victory. Adrien might still be able to best him. But without her ability to cleanse the akuma, Adrien would be at a distinct disadvantage—quite possibly one from which he couldn't recover. By that thinking, Ladybug's Miraculous was more valuable to Hawk Moth than Adrien's own, but he clearly wanted both of them. They didn't know why, exactly, but they didn't need to know the details to know that no one else would benefit from the Miraculous falling into Hawk Moth's hands.

Adrien couldn't betray Ladybug and hand over her Miraculous.

But he also couldn't stand to see her destroyed—killed, his mind whispered, the mere word as sharp as a dagger to his heart—when he had a chance to prevent it.

Adrien didn't think Hawk Moth's threat was empty. The villains he created gloated and boasted, but this had not been a challenge from one of them. Adrien understood that now. It had been a challenge from Hawk Moth himself, an ultimatum he wouldn't have made unless he was confident that he could carry out his threat. He had devised some way to destroy Ladybug, whether or not Mirror Image was his means. And then he had used that to lay his trap for them.

Adrien knew agreeing to Hawk Moth's demands would be foolish, but he couldn't lose Ladybug. She meant too much to him. But she meant much to this city as well; Paris looked to her as a symbol of hope, a means of fighting the villain who had cast a shadow upon them all. Taking her Miraculous would destroy that symbol even it preserved the girl beneath the mask.

But if Hawk Moth would destroy her either way….

Adrien stopped and crouched on the rooftop of the Palais Garnier, overlooking the main entrance. People swarmed below, coming and going, and if Mirror Image was among them, he couldn't tell. Ladybug's plan had failed because he'd been too slow, and he'd allowed Mirror Image to issue that ultimatum which was slowly tearing him apart inside.

He wouldn't fear if he doubted Hawk Moth's ability, but for him to make this move, Adrien couldn't take the risk that it was merely a bluff. He couldn't gamble Ladybug's life. But, maybe, if he had to, he could gamble her Miraculous—and, inevitably, his own.

"Guess we're going to play a game of cat and mouse," Adrien murmured. He only wished he knew for certain which player he'd be.