Author's Note on Canonicity: My headcanon draws a lot from the Miraculous mythos, and I try to be as accurate to canon as possible. However, I wrote part one, Recompense, before Season 2 came out, so everything I've written is more or less canon with the first season—plus a few ideas of my own added in. Naturally, any fanfic turns into an AU as the series progresses, and I think that this is going to be a mostly canon AU.


Heart racing, Marinette charged out of the classroom with the other students. Hawk Moth seemed to be choosing victims of a more dangerous caliber all of a sudden. First, her own mother had transformed into the vicious Recompense who murdered criminals as if judge, jury, and executioner. Now there was a dangerous stalker of some kind after Ms. Bustier—and a stalker could be deadly enough without superpowers.

"Kids! No!" shouted Ms. Bustier.

With a snarl, the Red Knight swung his sword again. A blast of red energy shot through the air, slicing the stairs in half and leaving the students trapped on the second level as the Red Knight dragged Ms. Bustier away. "Follow again, and I won't see fit to spare your pathetic lives!"

Marinette ran down the hall and ducked into the girl's restroom. She popped open her purse. "I'm thinking what you said about using a Miraculous for evil is true, Tikki. It does seem like Hawk Moth is sinking to new lows, even for him."

"Yes," Tikki said sadly. "The Moth Miraculous is corrupted by now, and it's corrupting its wielder with every day that goes by. It's only a matter of time until these truly ruthless villains become the norm."

"Well, I still need to use Lucky Charm for good nine more times before I've paid for my own misuse of a Miraculous," Marinette said. She thought back to how she had almost murdered the man who nearly killed her father and suppressed a shiver at the memory. If it hadn't been for Cat Noir, she might have entirely succumbed to the thirst for vengeance lurking inside her. "Let's save Ms. Bustier from that creep.

"Tikki, spots on! Yeah!"

Tikki vanished into Marinette's earrings, turning them from simple black studs into their signature ladybug design. The power of the transformation swept across her entire body, and in an instant, Marinette had become Ladybug.

She ran from the bathroom out into the hall, grateful that no one had noticed Marinette leaving. And, as a bonus, everyone's backs were turned to her as she emerged into the hall. Ladybug's luck, she thought, a smile creeping onto her face.

She flung her yo-yo into the rafters of the school building and swung down on to the main level of the gym.

"Release her right now, Red Knight!" Marinette called.

"Ladybug!" the Red Knight snarled. "Come one step closer to me and I will kill this wretched woman!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

The Red Knight released his hold on Ms. Bustier's wrist. She tried to get away, but not fast enough. In an instant, the Red Knight's hand was around her throat. He lifted her bodily from the ground, squeezing tightly. Ms. Bustier struggled and choked, desperately prying at his hand to no avail.

Panic surged through Marinette. Just because Miraculous Ladybug had brought people back from the dead last time was no reason to play fast and loose with people's lives this time around. Besides, if she failed the mission, and Ms. Bustier died, then that death would be very, very permanent. "Stop!"

"Why? Why should I?"

"She said she didn't want to see you again because you weren't chivalrous. How is this going to convince her otherwise?"

"Please, Ladybug. This isn't about convincing her otherwise. This is about showing that chivalry is...dead!" He tightened his grip.

Where is Cat Noir? Marinette thought, her panic growing. What am I supposed to do?

"Don't follow me," the Red Knight said. He let go of Ms. Bustier's neck and she gasped for air. He seized her by the wrist again and began dragging her away once again. The school doors slammed shut behind them as they left.

"Lucky charm!" Marinette shouted, tossing her yo-yo up into the air. A swirl of magic congealed in the air above her, and down into her waiting hands fell a red and black-speckled object.

It was a first aid kit.

Marinette ran out of the school, holding the kit in hand. To her utter shock, she just found Ms. Bustier lying in a heap on the sidewalk, sobbing wildly. Marinette ran to her teacher's side. "Where did he go?"

"I—I—don't know. He said he'd be back to find me later. He was arguing with somebody who wasn't there, and then...just dropped me."

"Then we have to make sure that he can't find you. Come with me." Marinette slung the first aid kit bag over her should and helped Ms. Bustier to her feet. Dark bruises were all around the teacher's throat. Marinette gasped. "Are you terribly hurt?"

"Nothing that some time—and therapy—won't fix..."

"Okay. Still, we should get you to the hospital. They can hide you there."

Marinette felt slightly unnerved to whole way to the hospital. Why had the Red Knight run after arguing with himself about something?

A chill shot down her spine. No, she thought, he wasn't arguing with himself, he was arguing with Hawk Moth.

So what did Hawk Moth want the Red Knight to do?

Another chill. Cat Noir hadn't shown up yet. What if the Red Knight had gone after him?

Marinette shook her head, clearing away the thought. She only had five minutes to get Ms. Bustier to the hospital and contact Cat Noir. This was no time to let fear get the best of her.

Once she had safely brought Ms. Bustier to the hospital, Marinette hooked her yo-yo around a tree and used it to swing onto a nearby secluded rooftop. She slid the yo-yo apart and called Cat Noir, but all she got was his voicemail. "Come on, Cat Noir, I really need your help. Call me when you can. I'm going to sweep the city for Hawk Moth's latest villain."

Her earring beeped loudly, signaling that she was out of time. Tikki came spinning out of the Miraculous and the yo-yo vanished from Marinette's hand.

"That was a close one," Tikki said.

"Here, Tikki." Marinette reached into her purse and pulled out one of the cookies she always kept on hand. She handed the cookie to the little kwami. "How am I going to find this guy? Paris is huge, and I have no way of knowing where he's headed." She looked at the first aid kit in her hands, wondering what she should do with it. She opened it up and rummaged through the contents—gauze, bandages, ointment, and the like. But none of this seemed to fit her current needs. She zipped it back shut and slung it over her shoulder. "Why would the magic give me a first aid kit? It doesn't make sense to me."

Tikki shrugged as she ravenously ate the cookie.

Marinette's cell phone went off, startling her. "Oh no, it's mom!" She accepted the call. "Hey, Mom. What's going on?"

"Marinette, where are you? We saw what happened at the school. Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine."

"I want you to come home right away, Marinette. Do you understand?"

Marinette bit back a groan of frustration. "Yes, Mom. I'll be there." She hung up the phone.

"But Marinette, the Red Knight!" Tikki said.

"I know—I'll go home, then go upstairs and watch the news to see if I can figure out where he went."

"How are you going to hide the Lucky Charm from your parents?"

"Uh...that's a good question. I'll, um...uh...hide it on the roof, then go back to ground level, change back, and then go inside, say hi to my parents, and go upstairs."

"That works. Let's hurry!"

"Ok. Ready to go?"

Tikki nodded.

"All right, let's go then! Tikki, spots on!"

Once transformed, Marinette raced across the rooftops of Paris until she reached the top of her parent's bakery. She landed on the rooftop lightly, hid the Lucky Charm behind one of the potted plants, and then swung down into the alley behind the bakery. "Spots off, Tikki."

In a flash of light, Marinette transformed back into her regular form. She ran around the building and burst in through the door. "Hi Mama, hi, Papa," she called, running past the shop and booking it toward the stairs. "I'm so exhausted, I'm going up to my room to de-stress—you have no idea how freaky school was today!"

"But Marinette—"

Marinette ignored her mother and ran up the stairs, climbed the ladder into her room, and shut the door in the floor. She immediately turned on the computer and went to the news channel's website.

"No more new sightings of the villain have been reported," Nadja Chamack said, "but it's only a matter of time until this 'Red Knight' has been found and brought to justice."

Marinette drummed her fingers on her desk. "Tikki, this is a disaster. I've lost a villain, and Cat Noir never called me back..."

The door opened. Tikki whisked behind the computer.

"Marinette," Sabine said, wearing a stern face. "Come down into the bakery, now. We need you to talk about your experience, honey. I don't want you bottling up your fear and becoming a villain yourself!"

"Mom, I'm not going to-"

"It's not an option, Marinette."

"I'll be down in a minute..."

Sabine nodded, and closed the door behind her.

Marinette shook her head. "I'll figure out a way out of this somehow, Tikki. Come on, get in my purse..."

"I hope you figure it out fast," Tikki said. "The Red Knight could do a lot of damage!"

Sighing, Marinette climbed back down the ladder, thinking of excuses she could use to get back into her room again.

Let's just hope I can get out of this in time...