Hi, me again! I'd just like to thank all of you who have reviewed this, it's always great to read such supportive things and I really hope you guys have forgiven me for that cliffhanger. *Awkward laugh* Hehe… Because I'm not sure you will after this one… *Runs away* I regret nothing!

On a serious note, please enjoy and, I dunno, review please?

"Wha-what?" Chat Noir spluttered as he stared at her. He had heard some things in his career, the excuses people would come up with never failed to astound him, but never had he been this taken aback. Had she really just said that? He thought, his mind struggling to process the words that had just fallen from that pair of perfect pink lips like dead weights. Surely that had to be impossible.

"You heard her," Evillustrator smirked at him, clearly enjoying every second of his discomfort. Chat Noir gritted his teeth and snarled in response. He wasn't usually one for starting fights but the leering purple face with its absurdly white teeth was looking very punchable right now. "So, go on, do it. Unless you really are a pussy…"

"Please." Ladybug gave him a side glare and he instantly shut up though part of his sneer remained on his face. "I asked you, Chat Noir, to shoot me." She then repeated with her eyes back on him, her voice clear like it was nothing. She could have been asking him to lend her a cup of sugar and he was flabbergasted by the unwavering smile that was still in place.

When he made no move to answer her or do anything, she wordlessly held out her hand to one side, keeping her eyes steadily on him. From behind her, Lady Wifi backed away and walked over to where the group had previously been sitting. Her body blocked his view of what she was doing but his ears picked up the sound of a door slotting open. They must have hiding places like that hidden all over the city, he thought and that realisation made him shudder. It meant they nearly always had a weapon nearby to back them up.

He heard the door carefully being closed and Lady Wifi walked back, her eyes keenly focused on Chat Noir like she was expecting him to run away and was pleading with him not to. In her hands, she was cradling a silver revolver that shone brightly at him, standard size and obviously illegal. A lone bullet stood to attention beside it and Chat gulped when he saw it. He had hoped it would be a blank, something that would cause no harm, but this bullet was as painfully real as he baton he was clasping in his quivering hand like it was his own life.

"Thank you." Ladybug smiled at her fellow akuma as she took the gun from her grasp. Lady Wifi was still looking nervously at Chat Noir like she was scared for him. Why would she be scared for me? He thought. Shouldn't her leader be of more concern? She's the one who asked me to shoot her!

Ladybug, ignorant of the turmoil going on inside his brain, skilfully loaded the gun, popping out the chamber and sliding in the bullet like she was slipping a ring on somebody's finger. She then pushed it into his hesitant hand, watching him as his fingers curled over it but the rest of him remained stock still.

"Go on. I'll make it easier for you." She said softly as she took his hand, ignoring how his breath hitched at her touch and how her own face seemed to feel warm the moment her glove met his. She lifted the gun up until the point was eying her straight in the centre of her forehead, a place where nobody could fail to hit her. She leaned forwards and pressed her skin to the cold metal, closing her eyes as she did so. She looked the image of peace and tranquillity and it was unsettling how out of place she suddenly looked in the midst of the situation. "Go on."

"Ladybug…I…" He was only just able to hold the gun still though he suspected she could feel him trembling. He was a hairs-breadth away from tossing the gun to the floor and making a run for it even though he knew he wouldn't get far. How could he do this? His job was to protect people, how could he just shoot someone callously in cold blood? "…I…"

Her eyes flicked open and stared at him with a new glare that sent a spear of terror straight through him. "If you can't do this, then you are clearly not one of us." She said coldly, her voice so icy he could feel his blood freezing. "And if you aren't… then you know too much. Do you really think we'd let you leave this rooftop? There are many ways to skin a cat after all." Her eyes held threats of all the various things that she could do to him and that was when it really sunk in. This was a game he couldn't afford to lose. "So, I'll only say one more time. Go. On."

She slowly closed her eyes again, back to looking calm and serene whilst he felt like a million nails were stabbing into him from all around. The gun felt heavy in his hand, like the weight of her life was sitting in his palm, but he had no choice as his finger closed around the trigger. This is all too easy, he thought, steadying his hand as his eyes flickered around to the other akumas who were all waiting with bated breath. There had to be something else… but it wouldn't find out unless he did what she asked. Steeling himself, he let out one long breath that he thought might be his last as the tension in the air snapped and he pulled the trigger.

BANG

What happened next took only seconds, happening so fast Adrien doubted it could have ever been caught even on a slow motion camera. He himself wouldn't have believed it had he not seen it with his own two eyes. The second the gun went off, Ladybug opened her eyes and, moving like she was possessed with an unholy magic, she thrust her arm up with a speed that could have put lightning to shame and knocked the gun skywards, sending the bullet travelling harmlessly away from her. Her other arm then shot out, aiming for his throat. She had almost reached it when Chat Noir threw himself backwards and held up the end of his baton, blocking her access and springing away from her. He barely had a second to catch his breath when she lunged at him again, her yoyo freed from the catch at her waist and now lethally spinning through the air with all the speed of a bullet. He parried the attacks again and again, waiting for a gap in the constant assault for him to make his own move. The opportunity came quickly as she pulled the yoyo back into her hand and held it there for a second too long. He ran towards her and leapt into the air, his baton held high ready to slam it down on her but before he could even register her moving, she was gone and he hit the floor with a loud clang that made his arms shake. He spun around and saw her advancing on him, her yoyo moving through the air like a whip as he caught him square in the chest and made him fly back into the wall. He lay there spluttering but he forced himself upright when he saw her approaching, her yoyo lazily swinging around her body as she flawlessly controlled it like an animal on a leash. He held up his baton, ready for another attack but all she did was flick her wrist and snap her yoyo back into her palm.

"Well," She chuckled, attaching it back to her belt as he stared at her confused. "That really exceeded my expectations. You were right Wifi," She directed a call over her shoulder as Lady Wifi beamed in relief and shot a winning grin at Evillustrator, who was standing there with his mouth open. "He clearly has potential. I haven't had a tussle like that in a while." Her eyes flashed when she looked back at him and he felt his mouth go dry.

"Wha-what just happened?" He choked out as the other akumas suddenly flocked around him happily.

"You passed the test." Lady Wifi said as she walked up to him and boldly slapped him on the shoulder. "We all knew your Lady here was in no danger, those reflexes of hers are killer." She gave him a wink at the use of his nickname and Evillustrator gave a low growl. "However, if you hadn't blocked her off, she would have got you in the throat and then you'd have never come out of that fight alive. You put up an impressive fight; some of us only just got out alive. And you don't even want to know how many people have failed."

No I really don't, he thought as he looked back at Ladybug. She was walking towards him again but this time with a welcoming smile like moments before she hadn't been trying to kill him. The change in her was disturbing, like seeing two very different sides of a coin. It was just another thing he would have to get used to around this enigma of a woman. Seeing her gaze hadn't left him, he shot her a grin and bowed down in front of her. "I guess you do have a knight now, my Lady, however unworthy he is," He said, only able to see her boots from his position facing the floor. "If of course, it is your wish."

For a moment, he heard nothing as the air around him went still, before there was a gentle laugh from her and a hand tapped at his chin, lifting his head up to face those mystical blue eyes again. "I think you could definitely be of some use," She purred happily, her fingers lingering on his skin and making him shiver. "Welcome Chat Noir. You are one of us now."

OOO

The next morning, Adrien was in his office bright and early as usual but instead of running around eager like he normally did, he sat at his desk and put all his energy into trying not to move. His body felt as stiff as a wooden board from the fight last night and he knew his skin on his torso was covered in large bruises that stood as a testament to the fact that he had faced Ladybug and survived. He was trying to focus on some paperwork in front of him, a report he had needed to finish over a week ago but he couldn't concentrate. He had read over the same line nearly five times and none of it had gone in; all his thoughts were pointed towards the woman who was now strangely, his akuma leader. He winced as he reached across the desk for a pencil before sighing when the image of her smiling appeared before his eyes. She inspired such a strange set of feelings inside him; half of him was terrified of her and what he knew she could do and the rest of his emotions were a confused jumble of excitement and an almost grudging respect. His fingers found the smooth plastic of the pen and he withdrew his aching arm, trying to ignore the butterflies that appeared to twitch in his stomach at the thought of her. That's all it is, respect. He told himself firmly. He couldn't feel anything more for a woman as evil as she is.

He gave a groan as his elbow accidently bumped the arm of his chair and Nino's head shot up to stare at him from behind his own mountain of paperwork that looked ready to become a landslide. His eyes narrowed from behind his glasses as Adrien tried his best not to look guilty but failed when his body twitched again and sent another spasm of pain shooting through him, making him have to bite his lip hard not to wince again.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Nino asked concerned as he stood up from his desk, still giving his friend an odd look. Adrien could read the suspicion in his eyes and it made him want to grimace. He had sensed Nino looking at him a lot like that over the last week, particularly when they were working on the ever-present menace of Chat Noir. Adrien had managed to brush it off so far but he didn't know how long he could go on for. He was used to sharing everything he did with his fellow cop so lying to him like this just felt unnatural.

"Nothing's wrong." Adrien said, somehow managing to sound cheery even though every muscle in him felt like it was on fire. "I'm totally fine. I just need to get back to this paperwork…"

"Adrien. There's something up, I can tell." Nino cut across him as he stood in front of Adrien's desk with his arms crossed and eyes fixed firmly on him from underneath his cap. "I know you dude and you're acting funny. You're normally running around the place like a demented puppy and complaining I haven't made your coffee sweet enough but today I haven't heard a peep from you and you haven't moved from that desk for nearly an hour now. So, I'll ask you again. What's up with you?"

He tapped his foot impatiently on the ground and Adrien could feel his neck get hotter as he realised his friend meant business. When Nino picked up that something was wrong with somebody, he wouldn't stop until he figured out what it was, even if he wasn't supposed to know it. It was one of the things that made him such a good cop and was one reason why the pair worked so well together but right now, Adrien was almost praying his friend would just let it go.

"There's nothing wrong Nino," He insisted, giving his own glare aimed directly at his friend's large brown eyes. "I'm telling you, I'm fine."

"And I'm telling you I know you're lying." Nino snapped back, taking Adrien by surprise. "I know you Adrien, you've been a little off this past week and now you're acting funny. Is this to do with the case? Is there something you're not telling me?" He looked hurt and it only made Adrien feel worse about keeping his secret. He hated doing this to him but he had no choice in the matter. This had to stay closed between him and the chief or else he could put him in grave danger.

"Nino, believe me, I don't want to do this but-argh!" He suddenly stopped his sentence early with a loud grunt as he clutched at his chest. He had momentarily forgot he couldn't move and had made to stand and try to reassure Nino and now he felt like he had been hit in the chest all over again.

"Adrien!" Nino grabbed him and gently manoeuvred him back into his chair, alarm written all over him at the way his friend had seemed to just collapse. "What it is?! Are you having a heart attack or something?! I told you all that sugar was a bad idea!"

"What?! No, I'm not having a heart attack!" Adrien snapped, his hand still over his chest as he groaned a little. Nino looked down at how his fingers were gripping at the fabric, almost prising the buttons off in the process, and a thought hit him.

"Bro were you injured or something? You sound like you cracked a rib… let me have a look." Before Adrien could react, Nino was attacking his shirt, pinning him down as he undid the buttons and pulled it open.

"Nino! What are you doing?!" Adrien struggled desperately underneath him but Nino's hold was too strong and he was in too much pain to put up a fair fight. "Do you realise what this looks like? What if somebody walks in and sees us? Stop and get off me, I'm fine!"

"People are going to walk in if you keep yelling like a-holy shit!" Nino froze as he finally yanked Adrien's hands away and exposed his bare chest. Right in the centre of his muscular chest was a large bruise the size of his whole hand that burned a mottled purple colour next to his light tan skin. It was a long thin shape like a rod and Nino couldn't even think of what could have done that. He looked up at Adrien's face and saw how panicked he looked. He slowly crept off him, being careful not to hurt him anymore, before pointing down at the offending injury and giving him a hard look.

"Adrien Agreste you have one minute to explain what the hell happened with that or so help me, I'm out of this investigation."

"What?!" Adrien cried out, pausing in his scramble to right his clothing and leaving the bruise open for them both to see. "You can't do that!"

"I can and I will Adrien." Nino's steely expression told Adrien he was telling the truth and his stomach dropped to the floor. "I know you're hiding something from me and I've guessed it's to do with this case. Seriously, don't you trust me anymore? I thought we were friends!"

"We are!" Adrien almost shouted. "That's why I can't tell you! I refuse to put you in danger like this, like what I'm doing!"

"Wait, like you're doing?" Nino looked confused. "What do you mean? We're both working the case, surely I'm in the same amount of danger as you."

"No, this is different." Adrien sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair and gave a little whimper at the pain. He had to tell him now. "I'm working the case but from another angle… I wanted to get closer to the akumas and find out how to bring them down and when we were interviewing Reflekta and she mentioned that they don't know each other's identities…" His voice trailed off when he saw Nino's face as everything clicked for him and he gave a gasp.

"You're going undercover and trying to infiltrate their group?!" He said, his eyes wide in shock. "Wait so that means…"

"I'm Chat Noir, yes." Adrien confirmed as his friend sat on the edge of his desk, his legs too wobbly to hold him up any longer. "And as of last night, I officially became an akuma and was accepted into their group."

"No way!" Nino gaped at him before looking back down at the bruise marking him. "I guessing that's how you got that. Was that Ladybug? Dude, what the heck is she like? Is what everyone says about her true?"

"Oh you have no idea." Adrien laughed, despite the pain it gave him, as he told Nino the whole story, going from his meeting in the alleyway all the way to last night when Ladybug's yoyo had given him the bruise. When he had finished, Nino looked ready to fall off the desk in shock, his face amazing yet also horrified by what his friend had told him.

"Dude." He breathed out. "You really are deep in this, aren't you?"

"Yeah, just a bit." Adrien laughed again and this time Nino joined him, both of them chuckling as Adrien finally did up his shirt. "You know you can't tell anyone right? You can't even tell the chief that you know, he'll have my guts for garters if he thought I was putting other valuable officers in danger."

"Did he say that?" Nino grinned, pretending to slick back his hair at the mention of him being valuable.

"Only in your dreams." Adrien shot back, causing Nino to pretend to punch him.

"Watch out or I'll have to arrest you Chat Noir." They both laughed as Nino gently jabbed him in the arm, making sure he didn't actually hurt his friend and Adrien looked up at him relieved. Now that he had shared his dangerous secret, it was like a weight had been lifted from his bruised chest-with his best bud by his side, nothing in the world could stop them. "Seriously dude, I can't believe you're an akuma now. This has got to get us some answers."

"I hope so," Adrien said before he frowned. "Something just seems a little off with it though. I mean, Reflekta didn't take much persuading to give up what she knew… I can't help thinking there's something bigger going on here."

"What do you mean?" Nino went to ask but it was in that moment when the door to their office suddenly burst open, causing them both to jump and Adrien to loudly wince as he triggered more pain deep in his torso. Nino flushed bright red as the chief walked in, springing back to his desk as he tried to look as innocent as he could. Did he hear me just call Adrien Chat Noir? He thought with a stab of fear. If he did… Great. I'll be dead. He looked over at Adrien and mouthed 'When he kills us, we should be buried in a joint grave.' That made Adrien nearly laugh out loud and he had to bite hard on the inside of his cheek to stop himself from tearing up. He could taste blood on his tongue but he forgot that when he saw the serious expression on the chief's face and paled a little. Whenever he had that face, it meant an announcement was coming and those usually weren't good.

"Gentleman." The chief barked out at the two of them, causing them to mumble "Chief" in response.

"Working hard I see?" He grinned when he saw the scattered piles of paperwork and the stray sheets lounging on the floor, tossed aside in the small tussle the pair had had. They warily looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes and saw how scruffy they both looked, especially Adrien as his shirt was ruffled and untucked. They both groaned. This would get round the station quicker than a heartbeat and they would have a hard job explaining that away.

"Anyway, I came to congratulate you both," The chief went on, causing them both to look up in surprise. "You've both done an exceptional job and got us further than any other officers have been able to in this case. It's only been a week and already one akuma is in custody and I'm certain with your talents, it won't be long before another is also arrested." He smiled proudly like it was his own achievement before he coughed and continued to speak. "However, I have been concerned about how stretched you two might be and with a case as important as this, resources cannot be spread thin." Adrien had to suppress a snort at that; the chief hadn't been keen for him to make a team at all when he had asked for the case but now he was singing a very different tune.

"So I decided to assign another detective to your team." The chief finally said, making both of them stand up straight. "She's not the most experienced of detectives but she is a superb officer and I believe she will aid you greatly. Agreste, Lahiffe," The chief swept aside from the door, waving his arms like he was drawing a curtain away from a stage. "I'd like you both to meet Marinette Dupain-Cheng."