Author's Note: This chapter was written by the wonderful HiddenEye. Please enjoy :)
Second Chances
Chapter 4
After a certain extend of her father's transformation, Emma wanted to scream.
Okay, sure, that wasn't even going to be remotely appropriate for her to do it in the middle of the night and would attract more attention than she would welcome. But come on, who would have thought they'd find out that their parents were secretly the most respected superheroes in their city and fought bad guys while jumping on roofs in spandex?
And that they got married.
And had a child who happened to be herself.
And now, she was going to be Ladybug.
She had the very right to scream again as she did in her room last week.
Staring, Emma watched the last of his transformation with pure awe, where Chat Noir stood in her father's place as he blinked to get used to the mask again. She realised that, like all the videos she watched with Madeleine on the Ladyblog about the powerful duo, he had feline-like eyes instead of his normal green ones, his tail curled lazily behind him as he stretched his arms above his head, a grunt escaping his lips.
"It's been a while," Her father -Chat Noir- hummed as he flexed his fingers, a grin stretching slowly across his face that she was hit by the sudden realization yet again that she had never seen that level of playfulness that seemed to be radiating off him. "This feels paw-sitively wonderful."
As if on instinct, she made a face. "Dad, no."
He grinned wider, his eyes shone with mischievousness that made him look absolutely younger, as if the suit reversed back time to when he was still a teenager. "It wasn't that much of a catastrophe."
She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I can see why Mom called you a dork."
Like a switch, his grin fell slightly, the light in his eyes dimmed as he looked down, where he busied himself by reaching for the baton behind his back, and she felt a pang of guilt when she saw he somewhat aggressively pressed a button onto it.
"Dad, I-"
"You look just like her, you know," He shot her a tight smile. "The same eye roll, the same snarky comeback that sometimes caught me off guard, and now that you're wearing that suit," He shook his head slightly to get rid some of the long time melancholy that managed to settle in his bones, the small sad smile lingering on his lips. "Like I said, it caught me off guard. Now," He straightened up and showed her the baton, where there was a small screen with a map on it glaring up to her, a small ladybug blinking in the middle of it. "This is where you are, so that if anything happens, I could come to you as quickly as I could. You could even call me if you needed help."
She nodded, deciding to drop the subject of her mother. "Okay. So, uh, I guess my yo-yo has that too?"
He nodded to the compact at her hand, a smirk graced his face. "Why don't you find out?"
Following as he said, she slid the compact open, and true enough, there was a screen on it with a paw print that indicated where he was.
"Good, now that's settled," He kept the baton in its place, flashing her a charming smile. "Ready for a spin?"
The corner of her lips twitched until it grew into a full blown grin, where she slid the compact closed.
"Race you."
His eyes widen for a moment. "Wait, Emma-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence when she sprinted across the yard, the sound of her yo-yo zipped through the night as she swung onto a building, the wind caressing her skin. For once, her hair didn't get in the way as it would when she didn't transform, where instead of the usual untamed waves that cascaded down her back, it was tied neatly into a bun with a red ribbon. Which was good, so then she didn't have to blow her hair away everytime it got into her nose. She really hoped that when the tabloids speak of her later, it wasn't because 'Death By Lock of Hair In the Nose'.
She landed on the flat roof with an oomph, crouching to get her balance right.
She skipped up to stand, the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she turned around to meet her father with the grin still stretched across her face. He landed on the edge of the building without so much of a sound, and she figured he mastered invisibility throughout the years that he was already good at it. But there was a look of disapproval etched on his face that she realised her mistake yet again.
Doesn't luck usually come automatically with the whole shebang? She winced sheepishly.
"You can't just run off like that," He huffed, making his way towards her. "At least, not until I know you could swing from one building to another on your own without plummeting to your death."
She rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Sorry about that, got a little excited there, flying and all."
She was startled when he chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her to him. "I know how it feels, but we need to go through things a little slowly, for safety reasons and all."
She nodded. "Alright," To be cheeky, she raised her hand. "Ladybug's honour."
He laughed. "Come on, Ladybug," He smirked, and she felt the excitement bursted inside her with full power, the name making such an impact on her heart that for a brief moment she thought she was dreaming things.
But no, everything was very much real, and Chat Noir was her father as she watched him transformed in front of her a few minutes ago, and here she was wearing a pair of earrings that were called the miraculous, with Tikki lending her power so that she could fight akumas in the future.
This is so cool.
"We have a city to protect."
There was something ringing somewhere beside her head.
Groaning, she blindly reached out and searched for the source, hand slamming tiredly around the dresser as she looked for her alarm clock, and when she did find it, she pressed a button for it to shut off.
It didn't.
What the-? Again, she pressed the button, but it didn't even so much ceased the sound that it pounded against her eardrums. Her finger started to press on the button with more frequency and force as she willed for it to stop.
"Just shut up already," She moaned, sitting in bed she made a grab for it, but paused when she saw that it was her cell phone ringing.
Snorting, she picked it up and answered, not bothering to check out the contact. "Hello?"
"EM!"
Emma had to back away from the phone in order to prevent her ears from bleeding at the loud screech of her best friend, her muscles protesting at the movement that she swallowed a groan of pain.
She had to get used to that fast.
"Maddy?" She croaked, rubbing her eye with the heel of her hand. "Why are you calling me on this ungodly hour?"
For a moment, the excitement faltered at the other end of the line as Madeleine let out a snort of her own. "Em, it's nine in the morning, the sun is out, the birds are singing, and God is blessing you with this clean morning air you deserve."
"A perfect time to sleep in." Emma yawned.
"No!" Madeleine shouted, causing Emma to flinch as she made a hasty grab on her phone to prevent it from falling on the bed. "There's something you need to know and it's currently driving my mom crazy at the moment."
There weren't a lot of things that could drive Aunt Alya crazy, so Emma didn't deny the curiosity that managed to grow across her sleepy haze. "What is it?"
Emma could tell that Madeleine was trying to prevent herself from screeching again, and it sounded as if she moved to a quiet place so that she could keep her voice down. "Ladybug and Chat Noir are running around Paris again," Came the excited whisper, and as if a mug of hot coffee was poured down her shirt, Emma was alert at once. "I saw them jumping on the roofs and swinging around, and managed to take a video of it. It's not that clear and I kept moving around to catch up on them, but it's no mistake that it's them."
She scrambled out of bed, causing Tikki to jolt awake from where she laid on the pillow as Emma jumped onto her desk chair, sliding towards her computer as she started switching it on. "Is it on the Ladyblog?"
"Yeah, I posted it the moment I got back and when I checked it out this morning, it's already up to more than a million views! It's crazy!"
Sure enough, when Emma went through the blog, there was the video at the top of the feed, and she eagerly clicked it to watch what was captured with a pounding heart.
It took a moment for the video to be in focus as Madeleine kept hissing curses under her breath from where she kept ran after them, but sure enough, Ladybug and Chat Noir was in perfect view as they stopped on top of the Notre Dame. She remembered that they were catching their breath after bounding across Paris, she remembered how Chat Noir offered her his fist, and when she looked at it curiously, he let out a small smile.
"Pound it."
The memory of that night was livid as she tapped his fist with hers, and then, he was sprouting more jokes than she could keep up.
Huh, who knew her hair could be so neat?
"This Ladybug is a bit different though."
Snapped out of her thoughts, Emma forgot that she was still on the line. "How different?"
"Her hair," Came the reply as she heard the insistent clicking at the background. "She's a blonde with a bun instead of having two pigtails with black hair, and she looks younger than Chat Noir? I don't know, it's too dark to see it."
Tikki has made herself comfortable on the desk, helping herself to a plate of cookies that Emma kept extra for now on. She saw the way Tikki was staring at a picture of the former Ladybug with longing, and feeling as if she was intruding on the moment, Emma looked away.
"Do you think they're related?"
On the second time that morning, she almost dropped her phone.
"What?" She laughed nervously, catching Tikki's eye that the kwami knew what was being asked. "What gave you that crazy idea?"
"Well, they're both blond, and she could be his daughter, or niece, or someone to that affect."
Too close to home, too close to home.
Emma forced herself a scoff, going through the comments of the video. "There's a lot of blond girls running around in Paris, Maddy, the chances of this new Ladybug being related to Chat Noir is very slim."
"But it could be, you never know," There was an appreciative hum. "And who would have thought that the cat would still look like that after all these years?"
Emma cringed at the way how Madeleine was obviously checking out Chat Noir, her dad thank you very much, and she felt a shiver ran through her spine.
Tikki let out a tinkle of quiet laughter.
Shooting her a withering glare, Emma cleared her throat. "Uh, yeah, he's looking," Fit? No. It'll inflate his ego. "Healthy after his sudden disappearance."
"Hmm, absolutely."
Oh god, if Dad hears this he won't let me off the hook.
"So! Seeing that the heroes are back in Paris again," Emma leaned back on her chair, tapping her fingers on the desk. "What do you think of it?"
"They're going to be attracting more people that's for sure, and the mayor would most likely hold up a welcome back party for them. At least for Chat Noir, since he's still the same person," There was a pause. "I think."
That was true, the mayor would make an extravagant party for all of Paris to celebrate the welcoming of the superhero duo, she wouldn't be surprised if he decided to make another statue of them like he did back then, where it was still standing tall at the Place des Vosges.
Emma took a breath. "You're right."
"Of course I am, have I ever been wrong?"
She rolled her eyes. "Well, there was one time that you said-"
"I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you from all the noises you're making that doesn't make any sense at all!" They laughed. "Okay, I gotta go, got some things to do, errands to run. I'll see you later?"
Nodding, Emma clicked through other photos of last night. "Yep."
"Cool, and don't forget to switch on the news!"
And when the line went dead, Emma stopped clicking, staring at the phone before to Tikki incredulously. "It's already on news?"
The kwami gulped down the last of the cookie. "Ladybug and Chat Noir are basically celebrities, after saving the people from an akuma everytime it made an appearance," She gave a smile. "You should know that."
"Yeah, but, that was fast."
Giggling, Tikki flew up and sat on Emma's shoulder, giving her an affectionate pat on the cheek. "Don't worry, you'll be good at slipping from crowds in no time."
Nodding, Emma stroked Tikki's head with a finger, a smile on her face. "I hope so."
Adrien stared at the TV, where the news was blaring about the reappearance of their favorite heroes being spotted flying around Paris yet again, and he felt a sinking dread in his stomach.
Slowly, he sat down on the couch, his mug of coffee forgotten in his hand as he let his eyes wonder around the picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir, a pang of pain surging in his chest when he saw the familiar poses they donned in the picture.
He didn't realised it that night, but looking at it now, where Ladybug was standing on the edge of Notre Dame as she looked down to the city, while Chat Noir crouched beside her with his tail hanging behind him, he was hit with a wave of nostalgia at how similar their poses were when Marinette was alive. And from the city lights that glowed below them, he could see how she was still there with him as their daughter took her place, her determination visible in her stance.
He took a sip of his drink, and Plagg popped in the living room with some Camembert in his hands. "I don't think I can do this, Plagg."
The kwami almost choked on his cheese, hacking out a piece. "What?"
Adrien sat the mug on the coffee table in front of him, his fingers shaking the slightest bit as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I can't do this," He repeated softly. "I just see Mari everywhere Emma goes in that suit, if I get distracted when we'll fight, it won't help the both of us."
Sighing, Plagg sat on the arm rest. "It's too early for this," He muttered. "Look, kid, I know this is hard for you, but Emma needs you more than anything now, she needs your strength, she needs your guidance, she needs her father," He took a large piece of the cheese. "Plus, I'm not going to let you run away just yet."
Adrien twisted the white ring. "But what if I fail?"
"Now, there's a thought," Plagg scoffed. "Have some faith in yourself, you've been doing great ever since I found that kelp you called a head years ago."
"Thanks." Adrien said dryly.
"No problem."
Pursing his lips, Adrien sighed. "What am I going to do, Plagg?"
"Mentor her, teach her hand to hand combat, save the city," Plagg took another gulp of Camembert. "The usual stuff."
"And if it's not enough?" Adrien whispered. "What if I couldn't protect her properly? What will I do with myself if I lose her too?"
For once, Plagg didn't have a remark to his questions, and that made Adrien even more restless than usual as the drone of the news filled in the space between them, the cheery voice of the reporter was a great contrast to what he was feeling.
"Like I told Tikki," Came a sigh, and when Adrien glanced at him, he saw the time of the world flashing in the eyes of the kwami, making him look older and tired that he was once again reminded at how Plagg was much older than he would ever appear, where he had gone through times where Adrien would never thought of dreaming. "The consequences are high, and there's some things we just have to accept."
Adrien didn't like that it had to be that way, where he was useless to stop something he knew that would come later on.
But like Plagg said.
There's just some things we just have to accept.
Emma was starting to love being a Ladybug.
Her flexibility had increased drastically whenever she wore the suit, where moves she couldn't do beforehand would be as easy as walking, running wasn't so much of a problem as her stamina increased.
But as for her aiming, however...
"Ow!"
She had to practice a little more.
Rubbing her head, she glared at the yo-yo on the ground, where the string was pooled after being stretched to a very long length, where she had been throwing it into the sky for it to latch onto the roof of her house to test how long it could get.
As far as she could tell when she missed her desired object, it was very long and could be considered as limitless.
And she was glad that it was dark for anyone that lived near their house to see a very long yo-yo being thrown into the air and hitting her on the head.
She was coiling back the string when she heard a thud on the roof, and quickly look up to find Chat Noir looking down at her in amusement. "What are you doing?"
She caught the compact in her hand. "Practising my aim."
There was a smirk on his lips. "The young Ladybug, trying to practice her aiming?" He shook his head as he clicked his tongue. "Pur-posterous."
She rested her hands on her hips. "I don't have years of experience like you do, D- Chat Noir," The corner of his lips turned up more and she scowled. "You're making fun of me."
He shrugged, and started to climb down from the roof. "I'm not."
Snorting, she dropped her arms to her sides as he came nearer to the ground. "Okay, sure, whatever you say," Then, an idea came to mind. "You can teach me, right?"
He nodded, landing on the ground with grace as his namesake. "A few things, and the most important thing at the moment is hand to hand combat. Now," He stood around seven feet away from her, the smile still there. "Attack me."
Startled, she took a step back. "What?"
"Attack me."
When he realized she stayed where she was, he soften his smile. "I won't hurt you."
"I'm more worried of the fact that I could accidentally punch you too hard and you'd be wheezing for breath," She confessed, wincing slightly. "Because, as far as I could tell, I could lift a car that's ten times heavier than me."
He blinked, before nodding slightly. "I forgot that Ladybug had super strength," He grimaced as he pressed a hand to his stomach lightly, as if recalling a memory. "We'll just go easy at each other first, and if you think you need me to go harder, then I will."
She nodded as she went into a fighting stance, where her body moved on their own record as her mind was set on fighting. "Ready when you are, Chat."
He seemed surprised at the sudden change of attitude, before the grin was back, and he too slipped into a stance. "After you, Ladybug."
With that, she charged, hand raised up into a fist.
He easily manoeuvred from her punch, sticking out a foot in her way that she toppled on the spot with a fatal cry, but managed to catch herself as she somersaulted forward, crouching on the ground as she looked at him.
He was impressed. "Not bad. Now," He crooked his fingers towards her, as if taunting her to attack him again. "Round two."
As time passed, so did the way they fought. She realized that he was holding back until at a certain moment of time, where she managed to get herself onto his shoulders and put him in a headlock after tricking a move. After that, he was more cautious on where she was going to strike next, her chest heaving as she could hear the way he was starting to breathe heavily as well, their eyes focused on the other as they circled around the clearing.
This time, he was the one who came forward first.
He never used his baton on her, and she was glad to say the least, when his weapon wasn't as harmless as it looked like, since she had seen the Ladyblog videos of him using it for various complicated occasions that looked a bit scary than usual.
She jumped over him, before quickly twisting her body so that she could slam her foot onto his back, and he rolled on the ground before turning towards her, one hand gripping the earth as his tail lashed once behind him.
"Come on, old man," She smirked, crossing her arms. "Is that the best you could do?"
So, maybe, it was not the best move to taunt a hero who had years of experience in fighting and could probably take her down if he really wanted to.
But hey, he was her dad, she could taunt him all she wanted.
He snorted. "I was afraid I would hurt the young padawan."
"As if."
Without a word, he shot forward again, this time his arms were open to make a grab of her around the waist, and she had a split second to widen her eyes before she ducked down, where she saw Chat sailed over her from her position on her back. Taking the advantage when she saw it, she tucked her legs towards herself before kicking into his chest, where she threw him off to the other side of the clearing that he hit the ground yet again with a loud thud.
She sprang to her feet, horrified at what she had done and was about to run to him when he raised his head, chuckling under his breath as he met her eyes with a glint in those green orbs. "Job well done, My Lady."
Then, he stiffen, and she took that as a queue to quickly make her way towards him to help him up, but he was already standing to his feet with his head bowed, suddenly refusing to meet her eyes that she was confused to the sudden disappearance of his playful demeanor.
"Chat?" She called out softly while he dusted away his suit. "Are you okay?"
He shot her a smile, but it didn't reached his eyes and she was convinced that he triggered a memory he rather not face again. "I'm fine, Ladybug, don't worry about me," He took a deep breath, and she noticed that it was shaking with emotion. "We'll continue this some other day, but right now, it's time to rest," He nodded towards her. "Good night."
She watched him climbed up on the roof using his baton, where it extended to his required length before he hopped onto the bricked tiles, and then disappearing to the other side of the house.
The moment Chat Noir went inside his room, he let go of his transformation, and crumpled on the floor in emotional exhaustion where he faintly noticed Plagg floating beside him.
Names, Adrien noted bitterly, had more power than he thought as the scene kept repeating in his head over and over again, that he would have forgotten about Plagg if not for the fact that he sat on his shoulder.
"I can't do this," Adrien repeated what he said to the kwami earlier that day. "I can't do this, Plagg, you have to find someone else to take my place, I can't be Chat Noir anymore," He let out a bark of laughter as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm a coward."
Plagg offered his empathy by patting his charge's cheek, where a tear was making its way down to his chin. "Are you sure?"
Adrien wiped his eye.
"I'm sure."
Sighing, Plagg flew in front of his face, his ears and tail drooping.
"Hand me the ring, then."
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Let us know what you think :)
