Chapter 4

Adrien shuffled his tired feet to his door. The weekend had gone by too fast. He had stopped being sore from fighting the vine monster, but had neglected sleep in favor of completing his homework and doing the extra photo shoots his father had planned. He was dead tired, and had no interest in sitting through the mundane routine that was a Monday morning.

Much to his surprise, his father was out of his study. He stood at the top of the steps with his arms behind his back and a stern expression that he often wore. Adrien furrowed his brows and peeked to the bottom of the stairs.

Ardyn turned her blonde head toward him, "Mornin', Sunshine!"

"Ardyn!" Adrien smiled, rushing to embrace her. "What are you doing here so early?"

Ardyn looked from Adrien to Mr. Agreste with a mischievous smile, "I'm trying to talk your old man into letting me take you to school again this morning."

Adrien lit up all over again. He turned to Mr. Agreste with a hopeful smile, "Can I, Father? Please?"

They both wore pleading grins. Mr. Agreste's expression didn't change.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Ardyn pulled a helmet from behind her back and plopped it onto Adrien's head. It fit better than hers, and was painted white. Satisfied with it's fit, she turned back to Mr. Agreste with a wide grin.

"What do you say, Uncle Gabe?" she put her arm across Adrien's shoulder and bent her elbow to noisily knock on the helmet with her bare knuckles. "The best money could buy, I had Natalie check."

Mr. Agreste gave a slow blink, somewhat irritated by Ardyn's casual manner. But he know Adrien would be just as safe with her as with the Gorilla, whether it looked like it or not.

"Very well, you may ride with Ardyn to school," he finally answered. "But your bodyguard will be following to make sure you get there on time."

Adrien beamed, "Thank you, Father!"

"I'll have him there on time, don't you worry, Uncle Gabe," Ardyn gave a salute.

Adrien tugged her arm, pulling her out the door before Mr. Agreste could comment. He ran all the way out to the bike, grinning from ear to ear.

"Easy, Sunshine. You're gonna pull my arm out of socket!" Ardyn called from behind him.

"Come on!" Adrien hopped on the back of the bike, working the chinstrap on the helmet as Ardyn grabbed hers.

"Alright, there, kiddo," Ardyn pulled in the clutch and kicked the bike to life. "Hang on tight."

Adrien wrapped his arms around her waist and she gunned the throttle. They sped through the streets of Paris, not taking care to make sure the Gorilla could follow. Adrien's wide eyes took in the sights of the streets as if he was seeing them for the first time. The cool morning wind made his skin prickle in gooseflesh, and the warmth of the bike on his legs had him craving it. He understood completely why Ardyn cherished the bike, and found himself disappointed as the school came into view.

The bike pulled up to the curb and grumbled into silence. Ardyn put down the kickstand as Adrien's best friend rushed him.

...

Marinette watched from the steps as Adrien got off the bike and pulled the helmet off. His hair didn't suffer from the ride, she noticed with a dreamy expression. Alya's hand pushed up on her jaw, Marinette's teeth making a small clapping noise when her mouth closed.

"How much longer are you going to spend your time gawking at him before you actually speak to him?" Alya asked teasingly.

"Forever," Marinette sighed.

Alya laughed, "Come on, girl. Let's go say hi."

Marinette snapped back to life, "What?"

Alya grabbed her arm and dragged her forward. They stopped behind Nino, Alya throwing her arm over his shoulder in greeting.

"Hi, Alya," Adrien greeted. "Hey, Marinette."

Marinette made a small noise and smiled nervously.

"This is my cousin, Ardyn," he gestured behind him.

Ardyn removed her helmet and stuck her hand out to Alya.

"Nice bike," Alya complimented.

"Wait, don't tell me," Ardyn touched her finger to the tip of her nose. "Alya, right?"

Alya nodded, "How did you know?"

"Adrien told me all about his friends," Ardyn answered. "He's an avid follower of the Ladyblog, and recruited me. Great work."

"Thank you!" Alya beamed proudly.

Ardyn leaned to the side to look Marinette in the eye. "You must be Marinette."

Marinette stepped out from behind Alya and offered up her hand, still slightly red at the thought of Adrien talking about her to his family. "That's me."

"Adrien told me about your family's bakery. I'm heading there to see about some croissants. He also said you're a talented designer," Ardyn had a mischievous smile, as if she had an inside secret with Adrien.

Marinette flushed, smiling a little too wide, "Oh! I, uh- Well..."

The bell cut her short, all five of them looking back to the school.

"Better get going," Ardyn told them. "I'll see you later for your lunch break, Sunshine. And it was nice meeting all of you!"

They all parted ways as the motorcycle roared to life and took off down the street.

"Dude, where did your cousin get a bike like that?" Nino asked as they ascended the steps.

"Somewhere in California," Adrien answered.

"That's where her accent is from," Nino exclaimed.

"I'm helping her with her French," Adrien said. "She had to teach herself when she was riding across Europe."

"She flew from California to ride a motorcycle through half of Europe? Dude, your cousin is awesome!" Nino exclaimed.

Marinette hummed behind them. Ardyn was Adrien's cousin from the States, who had traveled to Paris to return her brother's Miraculous. She seemed to have an attachment to Cat Noir, if their exchanges during akuma attacks was any sort of hint. Did Adrien know about her affiliation with the cat superhero? Did either of them know Cat's identity? Was Ladybug's in jeopardy of discovery?

...

Ardyn rode back to Fu's, a box of baked goods in her lap. Marinette had interrupted their chat, and Ardyn wanted to make sure Fu know exactly what had been going on in the States that made her so reluctant to use the Miraculous in Paris.

She strode in, bearing a danish and a some mini macaroons in her hand. Fu was studying the grimoire, and greeted her warmly.

Ardyn set the box before him on the table, opening it to reveal the treats.

"Ooh," Wayzz helped himself to a macaroon as Fu reached for the danish. Rocc floated out of Ardyn's jacket to claim the other macaroon.

"I see you have accepted your role, Greystone," Fu bit into his food.

"I wanted to talk to you about that," Ardyn began. "You already know about the creation of the Miraculouses..."

"Of course," he agreed.

"You also know that there are many more than the ones you have in the box," Ardyn eyed him.

Fu looked up from the last bite of his food, "How did you know that?"

"There is another... collector... in the States. He possesses your opposites," Ardyn replied.

"Impossible," he breathed in disbelief.

"I'm not sure how many he has total, but I know for sure he has Rocc's opposite. I suspect he has a few more," Ardyn folded her hands on the table. "He's using them the way Hawkmoth uses akumas. I'm not sure how, but he's keeping them under his control, even as they are being used by other people. That's how Westley died. He fought the Miraculous of Peril. Both wielders paid the price."

Fu set the last bite back in the box. "He's collecting them."

Ardyn nodded. "I grabbed Rocc and left as fast as I could. He's been in the box ever since. Well, until yesterday."

"LadyBug and Cat Noir are already opposites. Their energy together shouldn't have reached that far," Fu surmised.

"But what about Hawkmoth? And the other girl, Rena Rouge?" Ardyn pointed out. "If Generosity and Illusion are active, and he possesses either Greed or Reality, he'll be making a beeline across the Atlantic any day now."

"I fear you are right," Fu met her eyes. "We must prepare for his coming."

"How?" Ardyn asked. "You know opposites can't defeat each other. The only ones who are safe are Ladybug and Cat Noir. If he brings Peril..." Ardyn shook her head.

"We must collect them," Fu stated. "The very same way Ladybug captures akumas. Once we have the kwamis, the collector will be powerless."

"Where would we keep them that the collector couldn't find?" Ardyn reasoned. "He is linked to them. If they can communicate their location, he could find them."

"Then we keep them in the dark until we need to lure him in," Fu answered.

"If we are going to pull off a stunt like this, we are going to need help," Ardyn sighed. "It's a long shot at best."

"Every Miraculous we have access to must be called upon," Fu agreed.

"No more activating them," Ardyn made a slicing motion in the air. "That is off the table. That would be playing right into his hands. He uses wielders like they're expendable. Once the fight is done and the kwamis are weak, he takes them. I can't let that happen to more innocent people."

"Perhaps he does not possess all the opposites," Fu surmised. "Miraculouses fighting non-opposites is only a matter of skill."

"Can we really afford to use the 'wait-and-see' method here?" Ardyn rested her chin in her palm. "I understand your point, but the faster we can defeat him and rescue the Miraculouses, the better."

Fu nodded, looking pensive. He tapped his finger to his lip briefly before dropping both to the table, "Then maybe our common enemy must become our ally."

Ardyn's brow raised in realization. "You can't be serious."

"All that is needed for enemies to become allies is a common goal," Fu recited. "Life is a goal I have no doubt even Hawkmoth could refuse."

Ardyn sighed and dropped her head into her hands, "This is going to take a miracle."