Chat Noir (in the past)

There had been a time when Ladybug hadn't been ready to trust me with the secret of Master Fu. I knew who he was, of course; he'd come to me on multiple occasions, first to explain what I'd become and how I fit into the wider scheme, and then later to teach me how to use the special transformations that came with the gig. Most recently, he'd worked with Ladybug to drag me back from the brink of oblivion. I'd only been to his Parisian digs on a handful of occasions, generally when retrieving or returning the Bee Miraculous for Ladybug.

In this timeline, however, none of that had happened yet. Master Fu would clearly know who I was, of course, since he'd been the one to grant me the Cat Miraculous. But it was likely he would not be expecting me to drop in unannounced, either.

Ladybug followed me to a rooftop a few blocks away from his apartment, where I landed and then proceeded to clamber down to an adjacent alley. It rankled me slightly that she could simply lower herself down on the yo-yo, and in fact, was waiting for me when I finally reached the pavement. I decided not to give voice to my dismay.

"We need to transform here and go in as our normal selves," I said. "Chat Noir would be a little obvious, as would Ladybug."

"Got it," she said. "Tikki – spots off!"

"Plagg – claws in!"

Two flashes later and we were already headed down the street and into his building. As we came out of the elevator on his floor, Master Fu was already waiting at his open doorway.

"Chat Noir, Ladybug," he nodded sagely. "Welcome."

"How do you do that?" I asked as he let us into his tiny room, supporting his cover story that he was a simple traditional healer, belying his century-and-three-quarter status as the Keeper of the Miraculouses.

He waved us down to the pillows surrounding his simple tea set. "I've been expecting you, Adrien. The Cat Miraculous is no longer in Paris, and Wayzz and the other kwamis had lost contact with Plagg; yet we were still seeing Chat Noir in action on the news." He inclined his head toward me. "And you are clearly here."

"Well, Master-" I started.

Plagg flew out from his customary position inside my button down and interrupted. "Master," he nodded. "This Cat Miraculous holder is from about a year in the future. Your Cat Miraculous holder is currently there. We've been able to establish contact with the Tikki from my timeline and confirm the swap."

Fu nodded sagely. "Someone has used the time spell from the Grimoire."

"Yes," I said. "We're not sure who at this point, but both Ladybugs feel that the trigger event is here in the past, although it gets called from the future." I paused. "It feels like Hawkmoth's fingerprints are all over this. My Ladybug says he was surprised to see Chat Noir in the future."

"Why?" Fu asked pointedly.

"Uh, do you mind if I transform?" I asked. "It might be faster to show you the text messages from Ladybug."

"Of course."

"Plagg – claws out!"

I ran through my transformation as quickly as I could and then produced my baton for Master Fu, opened to the text message function. I pointed to the thread with a claw tip. "Ladybug says Adrien does not exist in the future currently."

"Indeed," he murmured as he scanned the thread.

Marinette spoke up. "Both versions of me have concluded that the time spell seems to have removed Adrien from the timeline; but the Miraculous magic protected him by sending him to the past instead."

"That seems to have led to the swap," I continued. "I think I am here, now, to help correct the timeline."

"And future Ladybug – future me, that is, thinks you have something that can help us," Marinette added.

Fu looked up and handed me back the baton. "I think Ladybug is right. Hawkmoth suspects he knows who Chat Noir really is."

He looked at me, pointedly. "This complicates matters greatly," he said. "Future me has likely told Ladybug that Miraculous holders are immune to changes in the timeline. That works in both directions – if we manage to restore the timeline, we will remember both histories as if they had actually happened."

"Wait," Marinette said. "We thought if we corrected the timeline –"

"No one would remember the deviation?" Master Fu smiled. "That is true – except for us." He turned back to me. "Future Hawkmoth won't easily forget how he connected you to your alter ego." He turned back to Marinette. "Those of us back here in the past, though, are less likely to remember with clarity exact details of the deviation. But it is important that we close out this time eddy before it gets worse."

"Wait," Marinette said. "So there is a chance I will remember all of what Chat has said to me? What we've done in this timeline?" She looked aghast. "Won't that change the future?"

Master Fu smiled his enigmatic smile. "No, my child. This is, in fact, exactly how the future should play out." He paused for a moment. "We just don't know that, yet."

I raised a masked eyebrow. "That makes zero sense."

"Mistress Time is like that." He smiled again. "Trust me," he said.

He turned to his stack of books on a side table. "I do think there is something that might help, though. Return to me when it's time for you to make contact again with Ladybug. It might be helpful if we can coordinate with my alternate self as well."

I flipped to the GPS function and saw that Ladybug was actually in my current location. "She's visiting you now," I said.

He raised his eyebrows and I clicked over to the text message system.

Chat: U there? At Master Fu and he wants to talk to you.


Chat Noir (present day)

I was still plenty peeved that Ladybug had made a pact with Hawkmoth, but the edge of my anger had been blunted by the appearance of my best friend, Nino, and Marinette's best friend, Ayla. Even in my timeline, the four of us had hung out together quite a bit. But it was odd finding out that they knew my identity and were, themselves, Miraculous Holders; Ladybug had taken me aside while they were transforming, though, to warn me they'd only been active for a few months and were almost as raw as when we'd first been tapped.

Nino's turtle theme was hard to get used to, but who was I to critique costumes? I had a bell on mine, so I cut him a bit of slack on the goggles-and-hoodie look. Ayla's though, was really something. If I hadn't already pledged my heart to Ladybug, that fox number she was wearing would have given me pause. And daydreams.

I snapped out of it as Ladybug slid the window to my borrowed room wider. "Follow me," she said as she threw her yo-yo out the window and went sailing after it. We trooped out behind her, a motley assortment of critter-based superheroes, and made for the Paris skyline. Ladybug was right – Rena seemed to have caught on to the jumping/rolling/leaping aspect of our personas, but Carapace had terribly difficulty crossing any distance easily. I started to hang back and assist him without making it seem like I was helping, though I knew Nino well enough that I'd probably hear about it afterward.

At length the four of us dropped down on a flat roof in a nondescript part of Paris I'd never visited. Ladybug gathered us in close.

"Carapace and Rena, wait here while Chat and I go in."

"Check," Rena said.

"Dude," Carapace added. "We'll be here when you get back."

"Chat?"

I followed Ladybug over the side of the building and jumped down through several balconies before arriving on the ground. She had lowered herself on that blooming yo-yo in one easy motion, and was smiling at me when I dropped into a crouch beside her. "That bugs both of you, it seems," she said sweetly.

"Shall we?" I said tartly. She'd already explained we couldn't arrive transformed. "Plagg – claws in."

"Tikki – spots off."

We crossed the street and I followed her into an older apartment building, and we rode the elevator to Master Fu's floor. When the elevator opened, I spotted an older Asian gentleman patiently waiting at his door. I immediately recognized him as the elderly gentleman I'd helped get to his feet in front of school on that first day I tried to go.

"I know you," I said as we approached him.

"Yes, Chat Noir, you do." He stepped aside. "Come in, please."

"Sorry we're early," Marinette apologized as we entered his tidy front room. "The situation has changed a bit," she added, inclining her head in my direction.

My eyes roamed the room, which for all the world appeared to be a simple space used to treat clients with traditional medicines. A small rug surrounded by comfortable looking cushions was in the middle, with a tea set prepped and waiting off to the side. Master Fu indicated we should sit, and we each took a pillow.

"When did Chat arrive?"

"Maybe an hour after I left you? So about twenty-five hours after Adrien disappeared."

He turned to me. "But you didn't notice a break in time?"

"No," I answered. "I blinked and went from 'then' to 'now' if that makes any sense."

Fu nodded as if I had confirmed something for him. "What else?"

"Hawkmoth was surprised at my appearance," I said. "He also seems to have connected Chat Noir to Adrien."

Something passed across Master Fu's face. "That complicates matters," he said.

"Ladybug agreed to help him locate/return Adrien to this timeline," I said icily. "While I don't entirely support working with him, I trust her judgement and concur it might give us some insights into him."

Fu looked up and into space. "We now have to solve two problems, then. Fixing the timeline and disconnecting Chat Noir from Adrien." He smiled. "I think we should be able to accomplish that."

"How?" I asked.

Master Fu looked to Ladybug. "Entropic Transformation."

I turned to Marinette and watched as quite literally all of the color drained from her face. "No…" she breathed. "There has to be another way."

"I don't think so, my dear."

"Entropic what?" I asked.

"Entropic Transformation," Marinette said, eyes wide with worry. "We, uh, had a run in with it a few months ago. It's extremely old magic, very dark, and nearly defeated us."

I felt my eyes widen. "That can't be good."

"I can't see another way," Master Fu said. He stood up and retrieved a stack of books from the side table, and a modern iPad that was thoroughly at odds with the antique nature of the bindings. "We are still missing the trigger event, but once we have that, we'll know when we need to trigger the Transformation."

"Trigger it?" Marinette said. "We didn't exactly have a choice last time."

Master Fu held up a vial of colorful liquid that seemed to move with a life of it's own. "I brewed this up from the sample you gave me – you remember those darts, right?" He handed it to Marinette. "When the time is right, give it to Chat. It's not a strong as what was in the dart, but it will be enough to put him into the Transformation state."

"State?" I said blankly. "Why does that sound vaguely dangerous?"

"Because it is," Marinette replied without looking at me. "I thought what Chat experienced had been some out-of-body metaphysical thing. Are you saying that the Transformation creates a place?"

"Not so much as a place, but a holding area," Master Fu answered. "It's a non-entropic bubble that has no connection to time." He turned to me. "If we can get both Chat Noirs into the bubble at just the right moment, they should be able to swap places and return to where they should be, while also repairing the timeline in the process."

"Repair it? How?" I asked, trying to ignore what seemed like mumbo jumbo, even to a science fiction nerd like myself.

"I suspect you'll see it when you are there, and both of you will know what to do when you do."

I sat back. "Still not making any sense, Master Fu."

Marinette smiled at me. "You get used to it."

"Okay," I said. "So, what is the trigger event?"

Master Fu pulled out his tablet and brought up a picture. Marinette nodded when she saw it. "The Miraculous Grimoire," she said to me by way of explanation. "Your father has the original."

"He does?" I replied. "Does he know what it is?"

A look passed between Marinette and Master Fu. "No," Fu answered. "His explanation to Chat Noir at the time was that it's been an inspiration for his designs over the years." He zoomed in on some text.

"This is the Time Reveal spell," he said. "It's forbidden to use by my order, mostly because it can have unintended consequences – such as changes to the timeline."

Master Fu swiped to another image. "Whoever used it appears to have miscast it. The primary danger with this spell is the attraction to use it to peer into events that have yet to occur in an attempt to sway them. Mistress Time tends to frown on such foreknowledge, however, which generally leads to outcomes such as what we are experiencing."

The light bulb came on. "Hawkmoth," I said. "He must have tried to use it to see how we would defeat him – either our next match up, or the ultimate one where we finally wrestle control of his Miraculous away from him."

Marinette nodded. "I think you're right, Adrien." She looked to Master Fu. "In looking ahead, he broke the past. But how?"

"And how did he know about the spell?" I added. "If my Father has the only copy of the Grimoire…" I leaned forward. "You're not suggesting he is Hawkmoth, are you?"

"No," Master Fu said carefully. "There are many ways that he may have come into possession of this spell. But it would be worth trying to find out at some point." He looked to Marinette, pointedly. "I suspect, though, he won't mess with this particular magic again. It has cost him more than he realized."

She nodded. "I see two things we need now," she said. "First, we need to tell me in the past to have you brew up some of this for that Chat," she started, swirling the flask.

"Second," I added, "we need to know what the event is." I looked at Fu. "The two of you know more about what happens between my time and yours. I don't think I can help much."

Marinette pulled a tablet out of the bag she was carrying. "Carapace, Rena and I dredged through our collective memories and pulled together the list of who Chat and I fought in that period," Marinette said. "From the text message I got from Chat earlier, he's up through here—" she pointed to something on the tablet, "but he says this encounter with Mister Pigeon jumped ahead."

"Mister Pigeon?" I asked. "Please tell me I don't have to deal with feathers…"

"You will. Or you did, take your pick," she smiled.

"It has to be a particularly emotion-driven event, specifically for Chat," Master Fu said.

Marinette looked at me suddenly. "That's it," she said. She turned back to the tablet. "This one."

Master Fu read the entry. "Copycat?" He looked up. "Why?"

"It was one of the rare times Chat acted on his jealousy," she said simply. "And then I crushed him, badly, without realizing I had."

My eyes widened. "I did what?" I looked at her. "And you did what?" My head was spinning. "Copycat? Is that what is sounds like?"

"Yes," Marinette said. "Hawkmoth produces a villain that is an exact copy of you, right down to your powers. He nearly convinced me he was you at the time."

"He tries to swap with me?" I asked, sensing what the underlying theme might have been with that villain.

Marinette sighed, weighing how much to tell me. "Yes," she said at length. "But we managed to stop it from happening."

"Obviously." I looked to Master Fu. "But it has already happened here, right? How can it be the trigger?"

"It's not the trigger here, Adrien," Fu said. "It's triggered from here."

It finally clicked. "Wait. Hawkmoth using the spell in the first place is what sends me back – future me, right?" I started. "While I am there, this Copycat villain appears, but we don't resolve it like we did originally. That leads to my disappearance from the timeline." I looked at Master Fu. "That's it, right?"

"Yes," Master Fu said with an approving smile. "Very good, Chat Noir."

"And past me arriving here is an artifact of the Miraculous Magic?"

"Yes, I believe so. A way to protect the affected holder."

"So let me get this straight," I said, smiling widely as if I were in costume. "We need to now change the changed past to keep the future from changing, right?"

Marinette leaned over and hugged me. "Once Chat, always Chat."

Tiki fluttered out of Marinette's purse. "Marinette, Chat is trying to reach you…"

She looked to Master Fu. "Do you mind if we transform?" she asked. "I think we both need to be for this," she added, glancing at me.

"Of course," he said.


Ladybug (present day)

The glow from our mutual transformations faded and I pulled out my yo-yo, quickly clicking over to the text function.

Chat: U there? At Master Fu and he wants to talk to you.

LB: Yes, with Master Fu as well. Go.

Chat: I'll type as fast as I can. Hard w claws

LB: Stop whining kitty

Chat: Funny. Fu sez: Entropic Transformation?

LB: Concur here. Have formula to send.

Chat: Not happy to hear that (me, not Fu). Fu sez: trigger event has not happened yet?

LB: Concur. Think it is Copycat incident.

Chat: Figures.

LB: Stop editorializing.

Chat: Whatevs. Fu sez: exact timing critical. Possible to do?

I looked up to Master Fu. "Past you is worried about how we time this," I said.

Fu nodded. "That is the trickiest part." He thought for a moment. "Tell him: Transcendental."

I texted that and looked up. "What do you mean? Like the meditation?"

"In a way. I presume the two Chats have already sensed each other across time?"

Chat nodded. "Yes, in fact," he said. "While we were overwhelmed by that poppy gas. I could see the other Chat as he fell from the Eiffel Tower."

My yo-yo buzzed.

Chat: Fu concurs. Why do I feel like I'm screwed?

LB: You've done this once before, can do it again. Details to follow.

"He's not happy about it," I said, "but he'll go through with it. Give me the formula and I'll send it."

I spent the better part of the next hour sending cryptic instructions to the Fu at the other end, including the formula and how we'd work the plan when the time came. My fingers were pretty tired and I was certain Chat had worn down a claw or two on his side. Chat on my side had bopped out to release Carapace and Rena – but allowed them to keep their jewels. There was an excellent chance we'd need them in a pinch if this went sideways with Hawkmoth.

Chat: Got it. Will reach out when event happens or at bedtime, whichever comes first.

LB: Good. We'll stay close to Master Fu.

Chat: love you and miss you xxuu

LB: Ditto. Now say goodnight, Chat.

Chat: Goodnight, Chat.

I looked up. "Now we wait."

Master Fu caught my eye. "While we wait, my dear, could I have a private word with you…?"


AN: If you are curious about the background behind the Entropic Transformation, it made it's initial appearance in Elegy for a Chat. I won't spoil anything if you skipped that story to get here... but... it might be helpful to re-read that story before you keep going.

The next chapter will post tomorrow evening (March 20, 2019) and then the final two chapters will post this weekend. It is March Madness here in the United States so my screen time will be limited. ;-)