"You just don't give up, do you…?" Ladybug wiped the blood off her mouth as she glared at her enemy that stood before her and Chat Noir. The man smirked and said "Face it. You can't defeat me. Not without Hawk Moth by your side." "We don't need him!" Chat Noir shouted, clenching his fists. "If you think we'd need to rely on someone like him, you're dead wrong!" Ladybug looked over at Chat and could tell that he hated Hawk Moth from the bottom of his heart. "Chat, he's right-" "No, he's not!" Chat cut her off and pulled his staff out in front of him. "I'd rather die than to partner up with the likes of him." She sighed and lowered her head once Chat Noir raced towards the enemy, throwing punches and kicking with as much strength as he could. Ladybug turned her head to the black flames that raced along the sides of the rooftop and around the three of them. Her eyes widened after realizing that she and Chat Noir were in bigger danger than before. "It's useless!" The enemy shouted at Chat Noir. He said "You know you'll never be as powerful enough as Hawk Moth! So forget about even trying to defeat me!" Chat glared at him with anger flowing through his body. "Retreat!" Ladybug yelled at him, but he didn't listen. "Chat! Retreat!" Still nothing. She had no other choice but to force him to leave. Just as Chat leaped to attack his opponent, Ladybug jumped in front of him and grabbed him. She pulled him away from their enemy and ran off the building while still holding him. Luckily, she escaped in time. Right after they left, the building blew up into flames with large pieces flying all over the place. "What the hell!? I could have defeated him if you hadn't stopped me!" "I wish you would pay attention more often!" "Pay attention? I know exactly what I'm doing!" "Really!? Because you almost got yourself killed! Look!" She pointed at the building that fell to the ground while smoke emerged from the flames. Chat stared at the destruction while Ladybug got up and brushed the dirt off her chest, then began heading to their home. "Where are you going?!" He asked, hopping to his feet and following her. "Home. Lucy must be waiting for us." "What about the enemy!?" "We'll take care of him later. Right now, I need to check if she's alright."
Marinette hurried inside and towards Lucy's room to check if she was okay after her transformation wore off. She slowly and quietly opened her bedroom door with a sigh of relief after seeing that she was fast asleep on her bed. She then closed the door and headed back down the hall. "We could have defeated him, you know." Chat said, appearing behind Marinette. She turned around with shock to see him. "You're still upset about that?!" "Of course I am! If you hadn't interfered and let me take him down, then we won't have to deal with him anymore!" "Interfered!?" Marinette turned around and stared up at him. Now she was angry. "I did what I was supposed to do! You would have died if it weren't for me!" "I would have been perfectly fine! But you just had to get in the way!" "Excuse me!? Do you understand the situation we're in!? We have more enemies than before, and they're all after our daughter! YOUR daughter!" "I understand that! That's why we need to take the opportunity to finish these guys once and for all!" "It's not that easy, Adrien! You don't get it!" She turned, stepped away from him, and said "Maybe he's right. You can't do anything now that Hawk isn't here." Silence fell between the two of them after she opened her mouth. "What did you say…?" He asked with wide eyes, trying to understand what she just said to him. "You heard me. And you know it too! That's why you can't focus on anything. You're hatred towards your father is growing stronger each and every day! It's changing you, Adrien!" He stopped before saying anything and listened to Marinette. "This is worse than when he was in prison! I don't like what this is doing to you. Each day, it gets worse. I can tell by your attitude and by the way you do things, now. It's scaring me, Adrien…!" Marinette looked away from him once the tears began spilling out of her eyes. She wiped at her tears.
"Mom..?" Marinette jolted herself to move quickly once she heard Lucy's voice from nearby. She turned around to face Lucy who was by in the doorway, rubbing her eyes while she was half asleep. She hurried to Lucy and kneeled down one knee. "Lucy, what are you doing up at this hour? I thought you were in bed?" "…I heard yelling…" Lucy muttered. Adrien stepped out onto the balcony after his transformation wore off.
"Well…I'm just a little upset, right now." "Mom, you're bleeding…!" Lucy pointed at Marinette's right shoulder that was covered in dry blood. "Oh…This is nothing. I'm fine. Go back to bed." She looked down at the ground and said "You're mad at dad again, aren't you…?" Marinette sighed and nodded once. "Just a little…" "Why?" "Go to bed." "But, mom-" "Goodnight." Lucy shrugged and said "Night" then left the room.
Marinette turned her head to Adrien as he leaned on the railing of the balcony outside their room, staring out over Paris. She quietly stepped closer then stopped beside him. "I'm sorry…" She whispered. Adrien glanced down at her for a second then back at the Eiffel Tower that stood out in the night with its bright lights. "Don't be. You're right…" He took a deep breath and shook his head. "Ever since I found out that Hawk was my father…I guess I wasn't able to handle it since then, knowing that he'd hurt you and nearly killed you. I still can't stand the thought of it." Marinette set one hand on Adrien's and nudged closer to him, leaning on his shoulder. He placed his head on hers and clutched her hand, holding it a little tighter. "Adrien…I don't want to loose you. I don't want you going down any path of darkness. If you do…I don't know what I'd do…I wouldn't be able to handle it." Adrien turned and wrapped one arm around Marinette's waist, pulling her closer and leaning in for a kiss. He hugged her tightly and held her close to his body and didn't let go. "Marinette…" He whispered. "We have to get out of here…" Marinette's heart skipped a beat after the exact words that Adrien spoke. "What?" She asked, pulling away from him with a concerned look. Adrien glanced back over at the city, then back at her. "We have to run away. Far away. I have a strong feeling that things are going to get worse soon." "But, Adrien, We can't just-" "We'll move to a different country. Maybe even Canada or some place far away from here, where we'd be safe." "How do you know this will work?" Adrien took a deep breath then turned his head to the Eiffel Tower. "They can't find us if we leave Paris. Our Miraculous are connected to the city, which gives us the power to fight and activate our Miraculous." "But, if we leave…" "We'll be powerless." He looked back at her to see her shaking her head. "W-We can't…! If we do that, then Lucy won't be able to use her Miraculous when she's older!" "Either we leave this place as soon as possible…or keep our daughter's life at risk." Marinette hesitated with no way to reply. She looked over at the house, trying to picture what it would be like moving out of their lovely home. Adrien turned her cheek with one hand and gazed down at her, waiting for an answer. "Well?" Marinette's eyes scattered all over the place while she still tried to answer. The words came out of no where, and she said "…I'll tell Lucy in the morning…"
"Are you two out of your minds!?" Plagg and Tikki popped up between Adrien and Marinette, glaring at them. "Don't you know if we leave Paris, your powers will be useless?" "It's better than putting Lucy in danger," Adrien said, crossing his arms at Plagg. "But you won't have your powers!" Tikki said; glancing at Adrien, then back at Marinette. "And once you lose your powers…We'll be useless." Marinette shook her head and said "You won't be useless, Tikki. Surely, there's a way to keep the powers…" "Well…" Plagg murmured something, but it was hard for Adrien and Marinette to hear. Tikki spun around with a gasp and faced Plagg. "Don't you dare tell them!" "It's not that bad of an idea, if you think about it." Plagg said, ignoring Tikki. "Then again…You're probably not going to like it." He glanced at Adrien for a second, then whispered in Marinette's right ear something that Adrien didn't hear.
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." She said. "Then, we could keep our powers." "What? What did he say?" Marinette took a step closer to Adrien with a sigh and said "…If we want to keep our powers…Then we'll have to make a deal with Hawk Moth and-" "No." Adrien shook his head. "I'm fine without my Miraculous." "Adrien, we need our powers to protect the city-To protect Lucy!" "We can protect her perfectly fine without them." "Don't you see? We're useless without the Miraculous-" "That's not true, Marinette. If you would stop relying on your powers for once and think about what we could do without them, then you'd see we'd be just as strong." Marinette looked away from Adrien with a sigh. "Alright…I understand." She turned and entered the bedroom without saying another word. Adrien sighed then faced the city and continued to gaze down at the lights around him. Plagg and Tikki looked to each other, then left the area.
