Chapter 2

Ever since his aunt had come to live with him Adrien had been having trouble getting used to the new atmosphere in the mansion. It actually felt welcoming and warm unlike when his father had been running the household. The first thing he saw when he walked in was no longer the dreary portrait of him and his father, but of a warm oil landscape of the tulip fields of the Netherlands. It still made him smile every time he saw it.

"Is that you, Adrien?" his aunt called from the family room.

"Oui, Aunt Kathi," he said. Adrien followed her voice and indeed found her in the large family room. She had a tape measure in her hand and a small legal pad tucked into the back pocket of her jeans. He watched as she measured the distance between the windows then scribbled the number down on the pad.

"How's Marinette?" she asked. Aunt Kathi turned around and pushed her glasses further up on her nose. Her hair had been pulled up into a messy ponytail that day. Some blonde strands that were not quite long enough were falling out and framing her face.

"She's still sick."

"Oh, poor thing. How'd she like Fiona's stew? I'm sure it was a wonderful surprise for her."

Adrien smiled. "She loved it, and she loved the surprise. I really think it helped."

"So will she be coming over tomorrow instead?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. I want her to feel welcome to come over at any time. I really like her, Adrien. She's certainly an amazing girl."

"I know she is," Adrien said with a smile.

"Did you happen to catch the news at all today?" she asked, changing the subject.

"No," he answered honestly. "I didn't. What happened?"

"There was a robbery at the Louvre. These burglars broke in but they were stopped by Cat Noir," she said excitedly. She had never seen Cat Noir nor Ladybug in action. The city had been relatively quiet those past few weeks and the superheroes hadn't been needed. "They did manage to steal one item, that guy must've gotten away before Cat Noir showed up, but he took down all five of the rest by himself."

"Wow!" he exclaimed, feigning surprise. "That's pretty impressive." It really wasn't all that impressive to Adrien. He had fought against more opponents than that. Taking down those burglars were a cake walk for him. It was Lillian who gave him trouble.

"Yeah, it really is," she said. "I'm glad to know that Cat Noir and Ladybug are here keeping us safe from people like them." Aunt Kathi looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn't. They were quickly broaching a subject that neither wanted to discuss further.

Adrien excused himself to his room. It hadn't been changed at all. Despite his father's glaring flaws, he did get Adrien whatever he wanted, including one of the most comfortable mattresses in the country. Adrien immediately collapsed on it as soon as he walked in. His body ached and it hurt to breathe. He knew that probably wasn't a good sign, but while he still wore the Miraculous he would have some of his superhero powers. One of them thankfully included enhanced healing abilities. Despite his mind going round and round on the subject of Lillian and the jewel he managed to fall asleep just from pure exhaustion.


Before Marinette went back to sleep she took another dose of the flu medicine. At the very least it would help her with the cough so she could fall asleep easier. It did, though Marinette couldn't stay asleep. She kept waking up but not from the flu. Her mind kept straying to Lillian and Cat Noir. He looked so beat up when he came to her earlier that evening. He had never looked that worn down after a fight. It deeply troubled her. Cat Noir could take care of himself very well, and when the jokes and puns were taken away he was a very capable fighter. To have someone knock him down so easily, and leave him looking like that was rare.

Getting up, and hoping she wouldn't wake Tikki, Marinette tip-toed to her computer. She pulled up the search engine then did a quick search for the Menes Set. Marinette hoped she would find a mention of it somewhere on the World Wide Web.

She scrolled through dozens of possibilities and went back several pages into the search. None of the links she had clicked on were what she was looking for. Finally just before she was about to give up a link on the eighth page caught her eye. It was a thesis paper done by a graduate student from a university in Romania. Thankfully, her browser translated it into French so she could read it.

Marinette printed off the paper so she could read it in bed. She grabbed a highlighter and a pencil to make marks and take notes as she read. The paper had mentioned the Menes Set when the grad student and the professor went on an archeological dig in Kazakhstan. They had found tablets and scrolls that when translated spoke of the Menes Set. Unfortunately they weren't the focus of the paper. It just got a brief mention before it continued on.

Marinette pursed her lips when she finished reading the last page. She had hoped that it would be more helpful but she couldn't expect to get all the answers in one night. Despite that Marinette started reading it again to catch anything she missed before.

Soon her eyes began to droop. She had to force them to stay open. Within minutes Marinette was sleeping soundly with the paper still in her lap and the highlighter and pencil on the floor. That was how Tikki found her the next morning. Tikki was not happy about the fact that Marinette didn't take it easy, but she couldn't be too mad at her. She knew how stubborn Marinette was and should have expected her to do something like that.

Tikki gently lifted the papers off of Marinette's lap and set them on her desk. She read over the notes Marinette had written the night before. Some of them didn't make sense to Tikki and seemed to be written in some form of shorthand, but others were perfectly legible. There were question marks and exclamation points with phrases and words scribbled in the margins. Tikki's eyes went wide as she came across the mention of the Menes Set. She recognized the name of the ancient city where those artifacts were found. She remembered it very well. That was where the sextant and decoder had been broken apart. The paper didn't have any mention of a map, but it was the most information she had seen on the Menes Set in centuries. Tikki caught the name of the professor who led the exhibition and did a quick Internet search for him. He was still at the university in Romania, which wasn't so easy to get to. Then Tikki searched for the graduate student. There was an article on the university's website congratulating her on her job offer at the British Museum in London. Tikki smiled. That was the step ahead they needed to stop Lillian!


When Adrien woke up he could barely move since his body was so sore. He moved his arm ever so slowly to keep the pain at a minimum. He gently pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"You look like something the cat dragged in," Plagg said from Adrien's desk.

Adrien glared at the Kwami, but he didn't have the strength to make a comeback. Adrien slowly moved his legs and thankfully found them to be in full working order. They weren't in as bad of shape as his torso. He stumbled into his bathroom then took off his shirt to examine the damage. His chest and backside had been painted black and blue by bruises. He had never looked in worse shape, and from past experience he knew they were only going to look worse the next day. Adrien took a couple of pain killers so he could function then got ready. He ran into his aunt on his way out of the door.

"Oh! Adrien, good thing I caught you," she said after bumping into him. "I want to ask you something."

"Uh, sure. What is it?"

"Do you want to get out of the country for a little while?" Aunt Kathi asked. "Next weekend perhaps. I know you don't have school on Monday. I believe that getting out of Paris for a little while will do you some good. I know that you're trying to hide it, but I know this ordeal with your father has caused you a lot of pain."

He was taken aback by her sudden offer, but he was excited by the prospect. Getting out of the country sounded like an amazing idea, but she could not have had worse timing.

"I'll think about it," Adrien told her. "It's sort of sudden."

She nodded. "I know, but I've been thinking about it for a little while and I think it'll be a good idea. Just let me know soon, okay?"

"Alright. I'll see you later, Aunt Kathi."

"Tell Marinette I said hi."

"Will do," Adrien said on his way out. He was glad to not have a bodyguard everywhere he went, though he did miss the Gorilla. He also found himself missing Nathalie at times. She sought other employment once his father's company went broke, and a bodyguard was no longer needed since Gabriel Agreste no longer had any enemies. It wasn't like Adrien needed him in the first place.

Adrien walked the familiar route to the bakery. He smiled as he passed by the park. He and Marinette have had numerous picnics out there. Their most recent one they had both discovered he could purr. He knew he had acquired some cat-like qualities but he didn't know they went that far. He was so embarrassed when he realized he was purring, but Marinette couldn't stop laughing. She now made him purr every chance she got, but he wasn't embarrassed by it any longer.

Adrien came in through the door into the bakery. He knew he was allowed through the house entrance, but he wanted to stop by to get his cinnamon swirl rolls he got every Saturday. Marinette's father already had them packed up and ready for him like he always did.

"Bonjour, Adrien," Mrs. Dupaine-Cheng greeted.

"Bonjour," he said with a wide smile. He handed her a few euros for the pastries and she quickly gave him back his change. It had become a routine for them. Every Saturday morning he would come in and order the cinnamon swirl rolls then he and Marinette would hang out for the day. Sometimes it was up in her room and sometimes it was out in the city.

"Is Marinette still upstairs?" he asked after he had taken the bag from Mr. Dupaine. It was still warm and he knew this was a fresh batch. He opened up the white pastry bag and the sweet scent wafted up to his nose.

Tom nodded. "She might still be asleep though. The medicine the doctor prescribed has a bit of a kick to it."

"Is it alright if I check on her?" Adrien asked.

"Of course!" Sabine said with a wide smile. "Go right on up."

Adrien thanked them then headed up the stairs. Her parents were right about her being still asleep. She didn't even wake up at his entrance. Plagg flew out of his shirt to greet Tikki warmly. She was the only one that Plagg was genuinely nice to.

After the Kwamis exchanged hugs, Adrien went up to her private balcony so he wouldn't wake his girlfriend. Tikki and Plagg came with him so they wouldn't disturb her either. Tikki filled him in on what Marinette had done the previous night. He knew he shouldn't be surprised by what Marinette had done. She was very stubborn and when it came to helping other people she was virtually unstoppable. Tikki explained to him the paper by the graduate student and where that student was working at that time. She also told him what she wanted them to do.

Adrien couldn't believe the stroke of good luck. He told Tikki about his aunt's offer. She wasn't surprised by his words, but he didn't ask her why. Though Adrien going to London was only half of the equation, the other half was getting Marinette there. It wouldn't be easy to convince her parents to let her go with them. Despite their fondness of him no parent would be very cavalier about their sixteen year old daughter going out of the country with her boyfriend. He only hoped they liked him enough to let her go.

Adrien ate his pastries thoughtfully as he stared out over Paris. He was always jealous of her spectacular view. She got the perfect view of the Eiffel Tower. Adrien didn't have the luxury of seeing it since his mansion was right by it.

"I'm sensing some déjà vu here," Marinette said from behind him.

He turned around and smiled. He went over and helped her up the rest of the way. She looked much better than she did the day before. Her cheeks had some real color in them and her eyes were much brighter.

"We're still missing a few details though," he said with a flirty grin, "like the fact I'm not wearing my devilishly handsome black skintight suit." He bent down a placed a quick kiss on her lips. "Bonjour, my lady."

"Bonjour, kitty," she said with a smile.

"Are you feeling better today?"

"Surprisingly yes. Of course it could just be the meds though."

He chuckled. "Well, you certainly look better."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're saying I didn't look good before?" She asked him with an accusing glare.

"What? No! Of course not!" he said, quickly panicking. "I just meant that—"

Marinette started laughing as he quickly back peddled. "I'm kidding, Adrien. Relax."

"Don't ever do that again," he said with a sigh and a smile.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it," she said while still laughing softly.

"By the way, Tikki filled me in on what you found last night," he said thankfully changing the subject.

"Oh, right. I know you all told me to take it easy but I couldn't let it go. Anyway, I was thinking that if we could get in contact with either this graduate student or the professor one of them could tell us more about the set."

"I already found the graduate student," Tikki told them. "She works in London."

"And I already have a way to get us there," Adrien said with a sly grin.

"Really? How?"

"My aunt. She's offered to take me away for the weekend, and I'm sure it won't take much to convince her to take you with us," he explained excitedly.

Marinette gasped excitedly. "Seriously? That's amazing! Do you really think your aunt wouldn't mind me coming though?"

He shrugged. "I don't see why she would," Adrien said. "She absolutely loves you."

Marinette hugged Adrien quickly, but then let go when a mood killing thought popped into her head. "Wait, Adrien, what about my parents? There's no way they'd let me go, and what about the fact that neither of us speak English?" Marinette caught his expression as she asked her latest question. She pursed her lips as she stared at him. "You speak English perfectly, don't you?"

Adrien smiled smugly. "I learned it before I started learning Chinese," he said in English. Marinette might not speak the language, but she had heard it enough to recognize it.

She sighed but smiled warmly at him. "Show off," she said playfully.

"You know me. I can't resist showing off," he said but that time in his native French.

"Oh, I know," she said with wide eyes. "I remember."

"You still love me though," Adrien said proudly.

Marinette giggled as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. "Like I could ever stop."

Adrien bent down and placed a sweet kiss on Marinette's lips.


Adrien headed home later that afternoon. Marinette would stop by in a couple hours for their movie night. As soon as he walked into the mansion he went to find his aunt. He found her in the family room. She had been busy while he was at Marinette's. There were paint chips taped on the walls and some of the furniture had been pushed aside to make room for the painting supplies. He saw that the windows and baseboards had been trimmed with painting tape.

She was finishing up the trim around the window then turned at the sound of someone approaching. She stood up in a swift movement. Her ponytail was still swinging moments after she had gotten to her feet.

"Oh, Adrien, perfect timing! Which color do you like best?" she asked when she saw him. Aunt Kathi grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the paint chips. She practically had the entire rainbow taped up there.

He shrugged as he looked them over. "Um, I don't know. They all look great. I like that one." He pointed to a bright blue that his eyes wouldn't stop focusing on.

"Blue it is," she said enthusiastically. "Do you mind helping me paint tomorrow?"

"Sure. Sounds like fun."

His aunt stopped and gave him a look. "Really? Painting this entire room sounds like fun to you?"

"I don't know. They always make it look like fun in the movies." He had never had the chance to paint a room before. He never had the chance to do much of anything before. No matter how boring it sounded he was going to do everything he had missed during his life.

She smiled down at him. "That's the movies, Adrien."

Adrien shrugged. He wasn't going to let her bring down his dream.

"Aunt Kathi, I thought about your offer," he said, changing the subject.

"Oh! Great, so you want to go?" she asked.

He nodded. "I would love to, but umm.…" He reached up and rubbed the back of his head as he hesitated. "Do you mind if Marinette comes with us? She is my girlfriend, and I know that you say you like her but you haven't really spent much time with her. I'm worried that you're just saying that so you don't upset me because of everything with my father. I love her, and I want you to love her too."

Aunt Kathi was taken aback by his proposal. She stood there unmoving for a moment. Then she blinked and smiled. "Are you kidding? Of course it's alright! I would love to have her come with us. As long as it's alright with her parents of course. So where do you want to go? Tuscany is beautiful this time of year."

Adrien smiled slyly. "Actually, I was thinking about going to London. Marinette's never been and there's an exhibit at the British Museum that both of us have been dying to see." From Internet research a couple hours ago they had found out which exhibit the former graduate student had been hired on. It was a collection of similar artifacts found in Kazakhstan and Russia and the northern part of China. They probably hired her because she worked on a dig site where some of the artifacts had come from.

"That sounds perfect!" she exclaimed. "I'll go ahead and get started on the arrangements. Just let me know soon if her parents are okay with it."

"Will do. She was going to ask before she came over anyway," he mentioned. "Do you need any help?"

Aunt Kathi sighed with relief. "Definitely. If you could move these bookcases…" She started instructing him on what needed to be done to make sure the room was ready to paint the next afternoon. He enjoyed himself as he moved the furniture and put tape up on the walls. He knew that anyone else would find it incredibly boring or tedious, but he was thoroughly enjoying it.


Adrien texted Marinette that his aunt was cool with her coming along. That was one hurdle passed, now for her parents. She was just glad that her flu had all but disappeared. There wasn't any sign that she had it at all.

"Do you really think they'll say yes?" Marinette asked Tikki as she walked to the bakery's front room.

"Your parents love Adrien," Tikki told her. "There's no need to worry."

Marinette hoped she was right. She knew how much her parents loved Adrien, but did they love him enough to let her go away with him for the weekend? She wasn't so sure on that. They did offer to take him in when they thought he had no family, and that was just after a couple meetings. Marinette knew she had nothing to worry about.

Luckily the bakery was empty at the moment. It was in between rushes.

"Mom? Dad? Can I talk to you for a second?" Marinette asked when she walked in.

Her parents turned their attention on her then smiled warmly.

"Um," she started out saying. She had trouble finding the words. That was the biggest thing she had ever asked of them and she was worried they were going to say no. "Adrien and his aunt are going up to London for the weekend later this week, and he offered to bring me along. I know it's a lot to ask but I really want to go. You know I've never been to London and Adrien really wants me to come, so please can I go?"

Her parents were silent when Marinette finished talking. She stood there fiddling with her fingers as she waited for them to say something

"Give us just one minute, sweetheart," Marinette's mother said.

She and her husband went a few steps away to talk privately. Marinette stood where she was waiting anxiously as they whispered to each other. Finally, they turned back around. She tried to see their answer from their expressions but they had their poker faces on.

"You can go," Tom told his daughter with a big smile.

It took Marinette a moment to process their answers, but when it she smiled brightly.

"Thank you!" She squealed. Marinette ran over to her parents and hugged them tightly. "Thank you so much! I love you!"

Her parents chuckled as they hugged their daughter.

"We love you, too," Sabine said when they pulled away. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry. We'll be with his aunt the entire time. There's nothing to worry about," she said with a smile.

"Aren't you supposed to be heading over to Adrien's right now?" Her father asked.

"Oh! Right, of course," Marinette exclaimed. She ran upstairs and packed a quick overnight bag. On her way back down she said a quick good-bye to her parents before heading to Adrien's.


Marinette and Adrien had fallen asleep in the movie room in a tangle of blankets with empty bowls of popcorn lying next to them. Tikki and Plagg were still awake. Tikki smiled sweetly at the young superheroes. Adrien had fallen asleep resting his head on the top of Marinette's. She had curled up next to his side for warmth. Sitting on their laps was a half-eaten bowl of American popcorn.

"Do you think they can do it?" Tikki asked Plagg quietly.

He shrugged from his spot on the couch. "If they can't do it then no else can," he said. "I believe in them."

Tikki sighed. Lillian hadn't made a move in centuries, and her showing up like that and pulling out all the stops was frightening. She was powerful and could do a lot of damage even without the Jewel of Rubati. With the jewel… Tikki shuddered at the thought. She believed in Marinette and Adrien as well, but a small part of her was afraid even they wouldn't be enough to stop her. Tikki had seen Ladybug and Cat Noir fight Lillian once before, centuries ago, and things didn't end well. She lost her charge that day, they both did. That was the last time Lillian made a move and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost because of it. History said it was an earthquake, but she and Plagg knew the truth. Tikki dreaded the thought of what Lillian would do this time around.

"Tikki, you're being melodramatic again," Plagg said.

She glared at him. "You do know how annoying that is, right?" she asked him. His freakishly feline senses were something that she thought she would eventually get used to, but in over seven thousand years she still found it annoying.

"Of course I do," Plagg said with a smirk.

Tikki rolled her eyes at him.

"Seriously, Tikki, you need to relax," Plagg continued. "They are the strongest Ladybug and Cat Noir we've seen in centuries. You need to stop doubting yourself."

Tikki nodded and tried to let her best friend's words comfort her. Plagg could be very comforting when he wanted to be, which wasn't very often. She knew where he was coming from though. They both knew how perfect Ladybug and Cat Noir were for each other. The two superheroes fought perfectly in sync. It was almost freakish how well they fought together. It was like they could read each other's minds. Their connection had only gotten stronger since they found out each other's identities. She didn't want to see that gone forever. Tikki glanced over at Plagg and despite his words she saw his fear as well. As much as they both believed in Adrien and Marinette, there was still a smaller part that felt like something was going to go wrong. It was a feeling neither of the Kwamis could ignore.