Marinette looks after where Adrien went, confusion and worry clouding her mind.
"Tikki?"
"Yes, Marinette?"
"What do you think of Adrien?"
The kwami crosses her arms, thinking. "He's a nice guy, and he's better that you lusting after Papillon-"
"I do NOT lust after Papillon!"
"That's good to know."
She spins around, and… well. There he is.
He really is handsome, with his wings fluttering gently, and the soft messy curls, and those mirth-filled green and violet eyes. Even his costume had the look of a prince…. Snap out of it Marinette!
"So, you don't lust after me, and you feel the need to randomly declare that?" he laughs, and it's a beautiful laugh, the kind of laugh you'd expect to hear from an angel, not a sociopathic jackass who was clearly insane. "You know, with the way you're looking at me, I'd be inclined to think otherwise."
She shakes her head. "Okay, no, no, you're crazy. You messed with my friends! Alya nearly died a few days ago because you thought it would be a good idea to make an all-powerful Egyptian-God akuma!"
He looks down, and she is so screwed, because the way he bites his lip is just… he looks perfectly innocent. The fact that he really, really isn't is the only thing that keeps her from apologizing for yelling and hugging him.
"Well, in my defense, she kinda jumped into the middle of the attack as fast as she could. And I heard you got mummified, but I promise, I didn't mean for you to get hurt, I mean, I think you heard…" he twists his brooch awkwardly, and suddenly his eyes go huge, and why, why are they so big and pretty? "Oh no, I totally forgot, I just made a really powerful akuma and should probably be controlling that!"
There's the non-innocence. "You messed with Alix, didn't you?"
"Kind of, yes."
She groans, exhausted. "Did you have to?"
"Kind of, yes. Look, stay here, please? I'd really rather you didn't get hurt."
She isn't sure how to respond to that. 'Um, no, actually you really want me to get hurt?' Finally, she settles on, "Just order it not to hurt me again. That worked oh so well before."
"My orders aren't entirely absolute, Pr- Marinette."
"Then how about this? Call off the akuma."
He frowns, and for a moment, he actually looks like he's considering it. "Well… I am kind of exhausted… Maybe this one wasn't the best idea."
Wait, is he actually going to call it off?
"Timebreaker," he calls, and the symbol flickers over his eyes. "Timebreaker…?" It fades away. "Oh no. Nuru warned me about this…"
She looks at him, and sees absolute panic. "What is it? What's going on, Papillon?"
"I… I've lost control… She's gone on a rampage…"
"What?!"
"I spent so much time without giving her proper orders, talking with you, that she just… severed the connection. And I didn't notice," he says, turning to her, eyes huge and terrified. "I can't call her off."
…
Gabriel Agreste wakes to Plagg screaming in his ear. "Gabe! Gabe, wake up, Papillon lost control, and oh my cheese this is really, really bad!"
Gabriel leaps out of bed, not even bothering to throw on clothes. "Plagg! Transforme moi!"
There's a flash, and a transformation sequence later Mr. Chat Noir is jumping out the window, heading to the park, and…
Is that le Papillon hitting on his son's girlfriend?
How dare he?
He drops down to the two teenagers. "You'd better run, butterfly boy, or I promise you'll be serving 25 to life in a high security prison by sundown."
The criminal nods, and as he raises his hand, a swarm of butterflies in all colors overtakes him, and when they clear, he's gone.
And the girl seems to be in awe.
Well, before she shakes it off and looks up at him. "Thanks Mr. Noir. See you!" she calls, running off in the opposite direction of the park… which leads him to go into the park, where dying children litter the air, fading away slowly, and a madwoman cackles on rollerblades.
"The energy! It's almost enough to…" she stops, noticing him. "Well, well, well! You'd probably appreciate a time-warp yourself, wouldn't you, old man?"
"Old man?!"
"Mr… Noir…"
He looks down to see a young girl, reaching for him.
"Help… us…"
With those words, she collapses, fading into nothing.
"I will," he vows. "No more shall die tonight, and the one responsible for this monster will pay."
…
The one responsible for creating the monster stood over the building roof, fighting complete horror. "How do I fix this…? There's got to be a way to fix this! I can't be responsible for someone's death!"
"Tikki!"
His head jerks to the wall outside. What's she yelling now?
"Transforme moi!"
… Wait.
No.
That can't be possible!
"No…"
Ladybug –Ladybug who is also Marinette, the girl he loves is the girl he's been trying to kill- looks up, and freezes in shock.
"Well. This can't be good," she murmurs.
"… Marinette?"
She shakes her head, and races into the park, yo-yos at the ready…
It's not an equal fight in any way. Adrien can see it. Anyone could see it. She can't touch Timebreaker, or her energy will be destroyed…
She falls to her knees, and it's a split-second decision.
He flies down, and spreads his wings over her, just as a hand slams into his chest.
…
She opens her eyes to see two huge, diamond-like, dragonfly wings hovering over her.
They begin to flicker very quickly.
He turns, and the wings fold down over his back. "I love you. Forgive me," he whispers, kneeling down and pressing his lips to hers.
The kiss is incredible, both soft and cool, and her hand cups his face gently. A tear hits her hand, and she's not sure if he's crying or she is, but won't break the kiss to check.
All too soon, he fades into nothing.