Chapter 1

A light at the end of the tunnel, that's how many would describe death. While it wasn't a tunnel that awoke her it most certainly was bright. She looked at her surroundings trying to focus her eyes to the light. Realising it was actually the sun that produced the light she adjusted to her surrounding. Was this what heaven was supposed to look like. Strange.

While in the process of trying to figure out where she was, she found there was an object in her hands, a parachute doted with black and red spots. This felt... like de ja vu, like she'd been here before, wasn't this a lucky charm? What... what was going on. Before she could probe the parachute she felt a hand on her shoulder, whizzing around she grabbed hard and glared at whoever dared to go near her-

Chat Noir...! No. It. Can't... be...

"Yo-you're... you... wha... Chat Noir, how are",

"My lady, are you ok? You look a bit dazed",

Dropping her hands, she felt the gears turning in her head. She was in Paris, she was still in Paris, at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, where she should've died. She should've been gone. Marinette felt a wave wash over her,

This can't be right.

"My lady? We need to do something about the other victims, and then there's also the mess",
Looking down to think, she realised she needed to deal with the issue first before dealing with... whatever the fuck is going on. Throwing the lucky charm in the air, she called out her signature phrase.

"Miraculous Ladybug!",

a swarm of bright ladybugs burst out the parachute, zooming in all directions to do its work, repairing and fixing any leftover problem caused by

Hawkmoth... he's also, still alive. He... HE

"My lady look!",

"Wow, this is amazing, Ivan, look, they're repairing everything!",

"Mylene..."

Can't get distracted, I've got to deal with these lot... judging by my surroundings and their reaction to the lucky charm, this must be before I gave them their miraculous, before they saw what my lucky charm can do... so that means, this is my first... my first day on the job...!

A whisper escaped from Marinette,

"I'm fourteen again...",

"What was that my lady",

Marinette felt a twinge at her heart. He was here, still alive, still with her...
But she can't deal with that yet, not now, not here, she needed to steady her heart, else she may get akumatised if not careful.

"Ch-Chat Noir, can I trust you deal with the two of them, I need to deal with something first, afterward meet me at a specific location, I'll text you where it is",

"Ooh you already want my number, didn't know our relationship was escalating so seriously"

"Silly kitty, we don't have numbers for our miraculous, I'll text you the adress"

"Heh, so you admit our relationship is getting serious",

Marinette felt something tug at her heart, looking at Chat Noir so young and happy made her feel... wrong...

"Chat Noir... I-I'm sorry... I couldn't do anything for you... I left you like this... for so. Long. I...",

"My lady, are you ok, I didn't mean to tease you that bad, I'm sor-",

"Why are you apologising?! It was my fault, I-"

Marinette felt a trickle fall down her cheek, she finally realised that she was crying... No. She couldn't be negative right now, she needed to sort her psyche out before attempting to speak with him,

"I'm sorry kitty, I need to get going, just meet me at the place I'm going to text you",
Wanting to put some distance between the two, Marinette dashed off to hide somewhere before her emotions got the best of her.

Chat Noir felt a little dazed, more confused then he should be, did he do something wrong? Pushing the thought out his head he walked to Mylene and Ivan to help them out... if he could... clearly relationships were too complicated for him. With a sigh he got to work.


Marinette found a building to hide behind before transforming back, she felt the hot tears swell on her cheek, she needed to calm down or else hawkmoth may get to her. She sat down to meditate and focus on driving away the negative emotion.

"Marinette, are you ok!? What happened, was it too much to handl-",

"Shhh, I need to focus",

"Wha? I don't understand",

"Tikki please give me a moment, I need to focus.",

Marinette could feel the hard stare from Tikki, but she couldn't allow to focus on her, she needed to expel any negative emotion, she needed to be calm...

After meditating for about an hour, Marinette finally stood.

"Marinette! Are you ok!? You were sitting there for a long time! What happened back there?!",

"Tikki, are you well rested",

"Y-yeah, but more importantly what happened back ther-",

"Tikki spots on",

"Wait Marinette!",

Not waiting a moment longer Marinette transformed, she hadn't done this in a long time so it was a bit nostalgic going through the motions again. Once she was done she texted Chat Noir the location to meet up. As she leapt across buildings, Marinette couldn't help but want to take in every sight, every smell, every feeling.

This was Paris before the fight before Hawkmoth started destroying the city. Marinette felt something bubble within her, a fighting spirit that she thought long died out with her soul. She wouldn't let Hawkmoth hurt them, not again!


Chat Noir stood a long while waiting for the supposed text from Ladybug. She said she would do it later but he didn't know how much later, it was better to be safe rather than sorry, he sat waiting on the building for nearly 30 minutes, he had to transform back before heading back to Mylene and Ivan, God it was so hard trying to get Ivan to speak out but he finally did it, after sitting silent for about 20 or so minutes.

Hearing a noise coming from his baton, he realised that he received a text... on his stick. He'd thought it'd be on something normal like a phone but it was easier to have a phone on his baton... probably. Chuckling he pulled up the text that showed the location and dashed off, he didn't know where he was heading but he had a lot of trust for his Lady.


Standing in front of Master Fu's door is something she didn't think she'd do again in this lifetime, but here she was. She needed to head in to speak to him, but... it felt too much, the Master Fu in her time went missing after she handed her miraculous back, he said he was going to search for the rest of the miraculous since they went missing when her teammates died.

She didn't know if he'd survive long enough to find them, and she may never know but right now he was here and she needed to get his help. Sighing, just as she was about to open the door she felt a tap on her shoulder, spinning around she turned to face Chat Noir.

"Hello my lady, is this the location you mentioned in that text".

Steel yourself Marinette, we need to deal with the crisis at hand, don't let your mask slip.

"Yeah. Right here, Chat Noir, there are going to be things that may confuse you, please don't worry too much ok?",

"Heheh, don't worry my lady, I won't cause too much trouble",

Feeling a bit more confident with Chat Noir by her side she knocked on the door...

"Master Fu...",

"Please come in",

Entering the room she found herself quite nervous, nauseous almost, she hadn't seen Master Fu in quite some time.

"So what can I do for you two superheroes",

Feeling a lump at her throat, she forced herself to swallow it down and talk.

"Master Fu... I need the bee, fox, and turtle miraculous",

Watching the man closely she found he didn't react as much as she thought.

"Now this is a bit of a surprise... Ladybug, how did you find where I live.",

"My Kwami.",

"So you're saying that your Kwami decided after your first Akuma, you would come here, she even told you my identity and told you about the existence of the other miraculous.",

Marinette felt herself pale a little, she forgot she was not meant to meet with Master fu until a few months later and even then, she wasn't supposed to know his identity until much later.

"My lady, I know I said I wouldn't cause any trouble but honestly I'm a bit confused",

"And you have reason to... Master fu, I wasn't lying when I said my kwami told me about where you lived however how I know who you are and the existence of the miraculous is something... a bit difficult to explain",

"Hmmm try me",

"...Master Fu... I promise you, you don't want to know why.",

"Ladybug, you've learned this information somehow within the last 12 hours, it hasn't been that long since you've gotten your kwami, Ladybug, I would like you to explain",

Explain!? How would I begin to-

"My lady, it's most likely a complicated story, so I won't force you to say it, but honestly I would like to understand what's going on here",

"I don't understand my lady! Why-"

"Alright I'll explain but we need to transform back",

"Wait what? Didn't you say we were supposed to keep our identity a secret",

"That secret led to a lot of misunderstandings, I'd rather not take my chances again",

"Again I don't underst-",

"Spots off!"

"Wait what are you-!",

Letting her transformation fall, she felt herself become Marinette once again, this time she could see a shocked expression coming from both Master Fu and Chat Noir. In her time trying to keep the secret, it led to Chat Noir death in the long term, she was not going to allow such a thing to happen again.

"M-Marinette?! You-you're Ladybug?!",

Hmm, He's more surprised then I thought.

Feeling another couple eyes staring at her she realised Tikki was the source.

"Marinette! You didn't let me finish speaki- Master!?",

"My, I'm quite surprised, I thought you'd want to keep your identity a secret",

"It's not as helpful as you'd think... Chat Noir, it's your turn.",

"Wait! Stop ignoring me!",

"Don't Tikki I'll explain in a second",

"Hmph, you better!",

"Well Kitty",

Feeling everyone's eyes on Chat Noir, he felt a blush spread to his cheeks

"Huh, I'm kind of embarrassed seeing as everyone's staring at me",

"There's not a lot of people here kitty,"

"Well, there are three pairs of eyes-",

"Four actually",

Looking to the source of the voice Chat Noir realised there was another kwami.

"Oh come one, now there's another",

"Chaton, we don't have all day",

"Fine...",

Grumbling, Chat Noir let his Transformation off,

"There. Happy.",

"Nice work Adrien",

"Wait you don't seem surprised",

Rolling her eyes, Marinette got everyone to sit around her.

"Well then, I'll just get straight to the point, this is not my time. I was living 16 years into the future, I lived bleak life where all that I loved died, hawkmoth was defeated but Paris took a bad hit that they didn't recover from.",

...

...

"Well. You got what you wanted".

"Marinette, when I asked you to explain yourself, I was hoping for a bit more detail.",

"I apologise Master Fu but I'm not in the right state of mind to be talking about this, for now, I need to get my team ready, I have to defeat Hawkmoth as soon as I can.",

"Uh, my la- Marinette. You said... everyone you loved... di- passed away.",

Sigh

"Yes, I did say that Adrien, please, I'll tell you all I can... later",

"Ok Marinette, I trust you",

"I trust you my lady"

"Master Fu. The miracle box if you would",

"Marinette...",

"I'm sure at this point you don't want to trust me... but I beg of you, I need to make sure my team is ready, they weren't ready before and... that lead to their demise... I need your help Master Fu...

"Ok... but I will need to know who you will be giving them to.",

"The fox miraculous will be going to Alya, the turtle to Nino and the Bee... will be going to Chloe...",

A chorus emanated from the room

"Chloe?!"

"I know you're all surprised but trust me when I say this, she is someone we need",

"Marinette I've known Chloe since I was young, I don't think she's a good choice",

"You're right, as she is now, she'll be no good, you know before she got her miraculous she cause 70% of all Akuma attacks.",

"You know this isn't helping ease our worries my lady",

"Yeah I know, but back in my time, Chloe was one of the last of us to survive, I grew close with her and I know what she's really like.",

"Marinette... are you confident in your decision",

"Yes Master Fu.",

Staring hard into Marinette he saw a resolve that he didn't see the first time he saw Marinette. Trotting over to the record player, he pressed a few buttons to bring out the Miracle box. Adrien was absolutely delighted watching the box pop out of the player, he felt a giddiness that he hadn't felt since he was a kid. Pushing the Miracle box towards Marinette, Master Fu opened it up.

A series of small draws opened in configuration before finally unveiling the top box of the miracle box. Inside it held two other Miraculous, grabbing both the last remaining miraculous, Marinette noticed something on the box. The peacock Miraculous... it was still in Hawkmoths Hand wasn't it... if she was to succeed this time around, she would have to get her hands on the Miraculous Spellbook and the peacock Miraculous and get them away from Hawkmoths possession.

"Master Fu, if I could also get the miraculous on your wrist.",

"Marinette. May I ask how likely would you trust the new holders of the Miraculous...",

"With my life and so much more...",

Chuckling he handed the last miraculous, leaving the top of the box barren. Finally, She could train her team properly.

"My l- Marinette, will you tell them our identities as well",

"Actually, for the time being, we'll keep our identity a secret to them, I need to train them to be good with their powers individually so if the time ever calls for it they can handle a situation on their own. Letting them know who I am isn't going to help them become stronger. They'll see Marinette before they see Ladybug",

"So the reason for my identity being a secret...",

"Is nearly the same as mine, for you, it's more for Chloe rather than Alya and Nino.",

"Why for Chloe?",

"Adrien... you're pretty clueless huh",

Chuckling Marinette put the miraculous in their respective box.

"Right let's get to work",

"Marinette you still haven't answered my question",

"Silly kitty, Chloe loves you, if she knew you were Adrien as Chat Noir she'd cling to you as she usually did when she saw you",

"Hmm, that makes a bit more sense but I don't think she likes me, I think she's close to me because I'm one of the few willing to be her friends",

"No trust me, she likes you. Ok let's get these Miraculous to their new owners",

"My l- Marinette, I still think you're off on your theory-",

Watching the kids leave, Master Fu put away the miracle box, saving the rest for when Marinette will need them. Now alone, realising Wayzz was gone, he needed to find something to do in his newly found quiet time...

...

This was going to be more difficult than he thought.


With their transformations back on Ladybug and Chat Noir both dashed to their first target, Alya.
Resting at home in her room, Alya wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. Feeling her eyes droop she put away her Laptop for a while, she was trying to create something she dubbed the Ladyblog. Despite the fact it was only 5 pm Alya felt so. Tired. The whole "akuma" event tried her out, when she came home she bombarded by her two little sisters, going on and on, asking if she was alright. When she finally tore herself away from them she felt exhaustion overtake her.

Finally done posting what little footage she was able to take during the whole fight she lay down on her bed in hopes of getting a little shut-eye. She was just about to enter sleep when she heard a knock at her window. She shot up when she saw who was actually knocking. Ladybug! She wasn't sure why the superhero was here but she didn't want her to hang on her window edge. Scuttling to the window she flung it open,

"Yo-you're Ladybug!",

"Thank you for letting me in Alya",

"You know my name?",

This warranted a slight giggle from Ladybug. From behind her, another person entered, while it was still light out, Alya had a bit of a hard time recognising who was behind Ladybug,

"Come on in kitty",

"Thanks ma-my lady...bug",

Ladybug shot a slight glare at the aforementioned kitty. Alya watched as the dark figure because more noticeable, were it not for the exhaustion from the fight from before she would've jumped in the air realising the person was Chat Noir. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir were in her room, Alya could feel her excitement rising!

"Sorry about the trouble Alya",

"No! T-there's no trouble a-at all!",

"Alya, I'm sure you're confused as to why we're both here",

"Uh yeah, a little...",

"I'm sure you saw the fight from earlier",

"Heheh yeah, I kinda got caught in the aftermath of the fight",

"Marinette I'm caught, you have to run, you have to get away, only you can purify the Akuma"

"... I'm sorry..",

"Heheh no worries, wasn't your fault",

"This is all because of you! If you didn-"

"Alya... I'm going to ask you something",

"Er sure? Ask away",

"When you see someone in danger... what's your immediate reaction",

"Obviously help them",

"What if your life is in danger if you attempt to help said person",

"I'd help them of course! Regardless of the danger, Ladybug I'm sure you'd do the same thing",

"... mmm",

"Ladybug?",

"Alya I'm going to be straight with you... I want you to be the holder of the fox miraculous",

"Whu? What are you on about",

"Alya, do you know how me and Chat Noir fight",

"Radioactive Ladybug?",

"Haha not quite, we use our miraculous to transform. This is also where we get our powers to fight",

"I'm still a bit confused",

Bringing out the prepared box Marinette handed it to Alya

"Alya Cèsaire I would like you to fight alongside me and Chat Noir... do you accept",

"You want me?! To help you guys...!",

"Yes, I was tasked with finding eligible people to help me and kitty here to fight Hawkmoth and protect the people of Paris",

"Ladybug... I don't know what to say...",

"..."

"Except yes!",

"Thank you, Alya. I hope to see you soon. I send you a text around the same time tomorrow, find a quiet place to hide and transform. Your kwami will tell you more of the details",

"Kwami?",

"Yes, me and Chaton don't have too long now, we need to assemble the other miraculous users, please be ready, as mentioned your kwami will tell you everything you need to know",

"You still didn't answer my questio-",

"Oh and one more thing, no one can know your true identity. Do you understand.",

"Y-yes?",

"Good",

With the formal introduction out the way Ladybug and Chat Noir dashed out into Paris.

"A superhero huh...",


Leaving Alya to her thoughts Ladybug directed Chat Noir to a hidden spot on the rooftops.

"Adrien, it's going to be late, head back home before your father gets angry",

"Oh.. right, I've got to head back... man he's going to be so pissed, I'm sure he's not even going to let me go to school anymore",

"Don't worry too much chaton, you'll get through",

"Thanks, Marinette...",

"Thank you for the past 5 years... it's been a pleasure..."

"N-no problem Adrien...",

"Hey, I was just wondering... if you were still angry about the bubble gum incident",

"Haha, no don't worry. It's been a long time for me since the gum incident.",

"Ok then! See ya tomorrow... I hope",

With a soft smile, Chat Noir dashed over the rooftops to head home. Maybe his father would be really nice today and let him off the hook.

Finally, I thought he'd never leave

Marinette didn't want to leave Adrien's side but at the same time she didn't want him near her, every time he looked at her, eyes full of trust, Marinette felt nausea build up inside her. She watched him die in her arms, slowly and most definitely painfully. She didn't want this to happen to him again... not when she's gotten a second chance to make everything right again. Running off to her next member she threw out her yo-yo.


Feeling the wind in his hair, Adrien cherished the feeling of freedom before he had to transform back. The past couple of days had been so hectic. His father had finally allowed him to go to a normal public school, despite previous protests, but now he may not get the chance to continue his schooling thanks to his "sudden" disappearance. He just couldn't stand by while others had gotten hurt.

Despite his worries, Adrien had to shove them down. He needed to be the perfect son if he still wanted the chance to go to school again. Sighing Adrien hopped down to the side of a building to transform, careful not to let anyone see.

Putting on his "perfect son" mask Adrien scurried off to his house, hoping to convince his father that he was still obedient enough to allow him to go to school. Adrien slowly crept up to the gate only to find no one was there?! He tried pushing open the gate but found was still locked, so he had no choice but to ring the bell.

...

Surprised to find there being no one to answer he opted to run to another building to transform and hope to climb back in his window.

"Adrien I really hope you're not going to transform",

"But Plagg I need to get home, for some reason no one's responding",

"But I'm so exhausted, I really need some delicious, delectable, pungent camembert...",

"Sorry Plagg I don't have any right now, but I really need to get inside can you hold on for a bit longer?",

"Alright but give me a five-minute rest ok, I can't keep up with all this stuff",

"..."

"Hey, Plagg...",

"Yeah...",

"Marinette... she's Ladybug huh",

"Did it ruin your perception of your 'lady' Adrien",

"No! I just didn't know I knew her in school... but now I might not even get to do that",

"Adrien...",

"It's just when I first saw Ladybug, she was just... amazing! She was brilliant, smart and courageous, to think she was also sweet Marinette.",

"Not so sweet now huh",

"What...?",

"Marinette... do you really think she's from the future",

"Honestly I couldn't really believe it when I first heard about it, I mean she said it so bluntly!",

"Heheh",

"But watching her talk, watching her move, watching her run... it should've been obvious something was hurting her. She must've suffered so much in that future...",

"mm..."

"Plagg I just want to hope that she won't have to go through something like that again.",

"Mm...",

"It's weird... watching her talk about the past, there's so much hurt in her eyes... I can see she's trying to hide it but I don't want to pry... I don't know if she can even trust me.",

"Mm...",

"Plagg you're being too quiet",

"Sorry Adrien, honestly this is one of the few times I'm lost for words. Even Tikki looked confused",

"Mmmm..."

"You know I think I'm pretty rested no-",

"Adrien!",

Spinning round to the source of the voice, Adrien found both the gorilla and Nathalie running towards him,

"Adrien! I'm glad you are ok, we must return home immediately but before that, tell me why you had run off before!",

Shoot

"Oh er, it was, coz... I was scared?",

"Scared?!",

"Yeah! The big rock... thing looked like it was coming towards me... so I ran, I didn't want to die?",

Sighing Nathalie had no choice but to believe his excuse,

"You're father will want to have a word with you when we get home",

"... I know... I'm sorry Nathalie...",

"... No, I should apologise... we couldn't keep you safe",

Adrien felt a twinge in his heart, he must've caused so much trouble for them, his father must've been angrier at them then he could towards Adrien. Letting the gorilla go park the car Nathalie directed Adrien to his father's study.

As usual, his father stood, staring at his mother's portrait. Gabriel Agreste didn't take well to his wife disappearance last year, he secluded himself to his "work" and almost never appeared in the public eye. Adrien didn't know the reason behind his mother disappearing, but he did know that it made Adrien and his fathers already distant relationship a bit more distant with each passing day. Letting Nathalie announce their presence, Adrien braced himself for a berating.

"Adrien... I would like to hear your reason for running away from your bodyguard",

"... father there was a huge monster coming our way... I was terrified, I didn't want to get hurt, especially since I finally got the chance to go to scho",

"We could've protected you. There was no need to take matters into your own hands",

"Father...",

"... I'll make my decision about what I should do to you tommorow, Adrien you need to finish your Chinese lessons",

"... yes, father...",

Resigning himself to his room, Adrien left His father in the study alone. He sat down at his desk and waited for his Chinese tutor to arrive.


Marinette had just given the Turtle Miraculous to Nino, he surprisingly understood the situation well and seemed to trust Ladybug so it all went off without any worries. Now all that was left was Chloe... She couldn't remember if Chloe liked Ladybug yet but she needed her help. The Bee miraculous wasn't the most powerful but was extremely helpful in immobilizing targets that just wouldn't stay put, which was more than you'd think. Swinging over to the Hotel, Ladybug landed on Chloe's Balcony.

"Marinette, I never hated you... I just wanted to be your frien-"

Stomping the stupid flashback out of her head, she crept inside the room. She'd been getting a lot of flashbacks recently, but dwelling on them can cause negativity. Not good when you don't want to be akumatised.

"Er, Chloe, are you in here?",

Finding the room empty she sat down on one of the sofa chairs in her room, it was, of course, extremely big, her room was incredibly expansive, filled nearly to the brim with expensive clothes, the latest device and even a few toys laying on the shelves. The hotel was one of the first few buildings to get destroyed, so seeing the place intact and all the inhabitants safe made her heart feel a bit calmer.

It was a tough day when she was in her time, she was on a 2-hour train ride to arrive at the edge of the city, before purchasing a motorcycle to zoom to the centre of the city. The ride took her another hour. Adding the physical and mental fatigue from the day made Marinette feel really sleepy. She used to stay awake for days at a time back when she was... going through that time. Shrugging off her thoughts Marinette lay on the sofa, she felt her eyes get heavier as the seconds ticked by. Marinettes body was much younger compared to her older counterpart, because of this she felt fatigued much faster than she would as an adult.

Well, a little rest won't hurt too much... I'll just rest my eyes for a slight bit...

"Marinette... I can't lose you too, please don't g-"

Actually, scratch that, sleeping now will just push me into something stupid.

Standing up, Marinette tried shrugging the fatigue away, it was not a good idea to linger too long on her thought. Anything that could lead to negative thoughts will lead to being akumatised. She could not let that happen. Not again. Pacing back and forth, Marinette hoped to drive away from anything that would make her tired.

Damn it Chloe, where are yo-

"L-Ladybug? That new superhero! In my room!",

FINALLY

"Hi, Chloe",

"You know my name as well?!",

"Yeah... Chloe",

"Yeah?",

"Hmm this is a bit hard to explain so I'm just going to be blunt with you, I want you to be a part of my team",

"Wait... do you mean...?",

"I mean I want you to be part of my team and help defend Paris",

"so you're saying I can be a superhero too?!",

"Yeah, but before you can even receive a miraculous I need you to understand something",

"Alright! I can't wait to shove this into everyone's face! They'll understand why I am superior!",

"That's the thing, Chloe, you can't let anyone know of your identity",

"Then what's the point! Ugh, Ladybug, you can be so dumb sometimes, Hmph!",

"Heheh, Marinette, have I ever told you, you can be so dumb sometimes... Just run... I'm not far behin-",

"Chloe, I have some conditions if you want to join my team, that is, if you'd be willing to change",

"What are you on about! I'm perfect, what's there to even change!",

Uuuggggghhhhhh, was she always this annoying!

"Chloe, in order for you to receive the power to fight alongside us, you must change yourself... to be honest, you can be... horrible to other people",

"ugh this is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!",

"Alright Chloe, I can understand when to back away, I won't force you to make this decision",

"W-wait, you're just going to leave!? After making me think I could actually help you?",

"Chloe, do you truly want to help the people of Paris or just play around acting like a superhero. When you see someone in trouble is your first instinct to run and help them or just walk away to let someone else deal with them",

"..."

"Chloe, I came to you because honestly, I see the potential of you becoming a great superhero, someone who may not always be kind, but is determined to help in any way she can",

"..."

"The way you treat people, even those you call friend, can be... so sad sometimes. When I see you with Sabrina, I can tell you care about her, but you show it in such a strange manner",

"Huh! I don't care about an annoying girl like her! She's just some-",

"She's someone dear to you... I know it, she's one of the few people who befriended you not for your money or status but simply because she just wanted to be near you",

"I... you're wrong! I'm likable! Everyone likes me... I.. I...",

"Chloe you hide behind this wall, high up on a throne, curled up, head buried... refusing to see your surroundings. When even I, a stranger can tell-",

"but that's just not true! I'm perfect as I am! I... I don't need your stupid pity! I'm not alone! I'm happy! I'm better than everyone in this stupid city! I... I'm... I live... this way, because I'm just... better... even though I'm better than everyone... how come they always get to be happier...",

Marinette was stunned, she didn't think Chloe was this self-conscious at this age, she's even crying. This was perfect for Marinette, this was she can change Chloe before she Akumatises anyone... well except Ivan, to think she was the one who akumatised the first victim. Wow.

"Chloe-",

"It's not like I'm trying to be mean, they're all so annoying!",

Wow.

"Chloe-",

"I just wanted to be included! I n-never wanted to be outcasted! I just",

"Chloe!",

"Y-yeah",

"Chloe... I'm going to prove to you that people want you to be included",

"Wha?",

"Tomorrow at school, go up to... er... how about Marinette... yeah! Go up to her and just say, 'you can take back that seat, I don't really want it', see how she treats you",

"What but I don't-",

"I'll give you the Miraculous if you can be as nice as possible tomorrow",

"wait what's a miraculous again!",

"I'll see you tomorrow Chloe! That's a promise!",

With that Ladybug swung out the room and ran off.

"But I'm... so confused... how ridiculous...",


Running across the rooftops, satisfied with her days work Marinette ran to head back... head back... home? Could she even handle going into that place again... last time she was there, she was scavenging for old belongings, this time, she was going to have to go through that front door, explain why, after the "dangerous" situation, she came back home at around 7. Right now. Marinettes parents were still alive... how was she supposed to act normal around them... what if she starts crying randomly! Agggghhh why was this so hard!

Ok, I'll just walk in, explain I was at Alya's calming her down after the incident, say I forgot to call home... ok, put on your tough face Marinette! Push everything down... just stay calm. You're ok. You're ok. You're ok.

After pepping herself up she jumped down from a building, transformed back, and continued to pep herself. Slowly opening the door she attempted to enter quietly... if it weren't for that stupid bell! Alerting her parents, she heard them dash down.

"Marinette is that you!",

Hearing her mother call, Marinette could feel the emotion she tried pushing down, bubble up. She didn't know if she could even handle these two right now.

"Marinette!",

"We were so worried! Are you ok, are you injured, why were you so late! We tried calling you but you didn't answer! We even called Alyas house but you weren't there!",

Shoot that's one excuse out the window...

"S-sorry mum... I was trying to calm a friend down before I knew it-it was already late.",

Trying her best not to let her emotions bubble out, she begged her parents wouldn't find out she was lying

"Oh Marinette, I wish you would've told us beforehand",

"Sorry. Battery ran out. I'm going to my room. Night!",

Running to her room, she could feel something leaking out of her eyes, she could hear her mother calling for her but Marinette needed to sort out her emotions, if she didn't do it soon, she was at risk. Finally getting to her room she ran to the balcony, she sat on the floor with the wind on her face, letting it cool her down, cool her emotions down. She still had a lot to do. She was not going to allow herself to fail. There was too much at stake.

"Marinette...",

"Tikki, I know what you're going to say but now is not the time. I need to focus. Go downstairs and listen in my parents, see if they suspect me",

"But Marinette-",

"Please, Tikki... I beg of you",

"Ok, but after you must explain to me everything, not that half-done explanation from before... ok?",

"Ok...",

"Thank you, Marinette",

Tikki sped off downstairs on her mission leaving Marinette and her thoughts to herself. In order to make sure she wouldn't get those flashbacks, she had to empty her mind and feel only the wind. Calming herself, Marinette spent the next 40 minutes stabilising her emotions. She won't let Hawkmoth win.

Tomorrow's going to be a lot of work huh