Chapter 10

The man approaching Marinette was tall and thin, with a leather satchel laced across his chest and while he had the look of a scholar, there was something wrong with the gleam in his eyes. Reaching her, the man's hand snaked out and grabbed Marinette's wrist and she eeped in shock. Adrien bounced forward, a growl bursting from his throat.

Alya reacted before Adrien could get there. "Hey!" she said and shoved at the man. "Get your hand off her."

Instead of reacting to Alya, the man's attention focussed on the butterfly on Marinette's palm. "Oh! The Polyommatus bellargus! Look at the colour on that one. That is a lovely specimen," he continued, rapidly unscrewing the lid of his jar. "Put it in the jar."

Marinette flexed her palm and the butterfly lifted into the air.

The man made a grab for it, dropping his jar in the process. It clattered to the wooden planks beneath their feet and rolled toward the edge of the walk way. The man dove for it, snatching it before it fell over the edge. "What did you do that for?" he demanded, then, with a sketchy glance at the staff, he lowered his tone. "All you had to do was put it in the jar."

Marinette turned on her sweetness. "Monsieur, there's a sign outside saying we can't catch the butterflies."

"Yeah, dude," Alya said and waved her phone at him. "They're not ours to catch."

Adrien reached Marinette and stood close. "You didn't have to grab her."

The man turned skittish. "I wasn't going to keep it."

"You said 'specimen', dude," Nino pointed out. "That implied that you were."

"No, I'm a Lepidopterologist," the man said. "I'm studying butterflies and —"

"You're trying very hard not to be noticed by the staff," Alya said, then waved her hand to one of the staff wandering along the pathways. "Excuse me!"

The man bolted. Shoving Nino out of the way, he ran down the path toward the exit and the staff member that Alya signalled hurried toward them. "Was he catching butterflies again?" she asked as she reached them.

Alya nodded. "Yeah, tried to snatch one out of my friend's hand."

The staff member sighed. "Thank you. We'll deal with it. Enjoy your stay."

"Nino, babe, you okay?" Alya asked.

"Yeah, sure," Nino nodded and rolled his eyes.

Alya fussed. "That was a pretty hard shove."

Adrien looked at Marinette. "What about you?"

"I'm fine," she said and wove her fingers through his. Standing on her toes, she whispered in his ear, "I don't see any purified ones. I see white ones with spots or stripes or splashes of yellow, but no pure white ones."

He leant down so she didn't have to reach. "I noticed that too, though there's probably a reason for that though. Maybe they don't bring in butterflies from outside."

"You know, I never see the purified ones in the gardens either," Marinette said thoughtfully. "Do you think maybe they return to him?"

Adrien felt his eyes widen. "If we follow one…"

She nodded. "Jar the next one then prepare..."

He kissed her temple in an absent gesture, his mind already full of things to plan and prepare. "Good idea. Can't hurt to try. But let's ask a gardener."

With that goal in mind, they wandered through the garden looking for a purified butterfly or one of the other staff. They found a man in uniform filling the nectar feeders. "Excuse me," Adrien said.

The man turned and smiled. "Can I help you?"

"We wanted to ask about the purified butterflies."

The man laughed. "Everyone does."

"I suppose it would be a popular question," Marinette said and glanced at them man's nametag. "Wyatt, could you tell us about them?"

"Sure," he said with a smile. "What do—"

"Babe," Nino said and looked at Alya. "Is that why we're here? Ladyblog stuff?"

Alya shrugged and turned eagerly to the man. "Are there any here?"

"Oh, gosh," Wyatt said, his eyes going wide. "You're her. You're Alya."

Taken aback, it didn't take Alya long to smile. "That's me. Ladyblogger extraordinaire."

"Wow. Your blog is so amazing! And you're personal friends with Ladybug."

"And Chat Noir," Alya said and Adrien smiled. "They're very cool."

Wyatt gushed. "That must be incredible. Do you get to hang out with them? Or do they just come to you when they need something."

With a glance at Marinette and a wink, Alya said, "Bit of both. Now, about the butterflies?"

"Honestly," Wyatt said with a charming smile. "Since it's you, I'll tell you the truth instead of the spiel we're supposed to give. We really don't know a lot about them. No one's every caught one other than Ladybug. They're not on any registers, we can't even get a clear photo of them."

Aware of Nino's darkening expression, Adrien asked, "So, they're not a natural butterfly?"

Wyatt shrugged, only having eyes for Alya. "Maybe you could ask them next time you see them. I'd love the answer to that."

"What's the spiel you give to tourists?" Nino asked and slung his arm around Alya's shoulders.

Wyatt seemed to notice Nino for the first time, his gaze registering the placement of Nino's arm. "Just that they're a magical butterfly and normal things don't apply to magical butterflies."

Marinette took her bottom lip between her teeth as she nodded. "That makes sense," she murmured.

Adrien squeezed her fingers as the possibility of some hope settled in his chest. If the butterflies returned to Hawk Moth, they could track them. They could find where he was. They could end this.

Glass shattered. Adrien and Marinette spun around, instantly on alert at the noise. Adrien was unsurprised to see the Gorilla hurrying along the walkway toward them.

"Akuma!" the Gorilla called, waving his arms at them. "Adrien, we need to leave."

"Shit," he muttered under his breath and gripped Marinette's hand, pulling her into a run in the direction the Gorilla suggested. "How do I—"

"You don't," Marinette hissed at him. "You let me deal with it."

Glancing over his shoulder, he was relieved to see Alya, Nino and Wyatt following close behind. "Not on your own."

"I need you ungrounded," she said. "Stay that way."

More glass shattered, the glass dome above their heads raining shrapnel down and people yelled in fear. They dropped to their knees, covering their heads to protect them from the falling cubed shards. In the confusion, Marinette's hand slipped out of his. He twisted to make a grab for her, but she was already ducking away, hurrying toward the old man who hobbled toward an exit. Before Adrien could go back for her, the Gorilla scooped him up and threw him over his shoulder, his large arm outstretched to herd an equally panicked Nino and Alya toward the closest exit.

"Put me down!" Adrien demanded. "Marinette!"

The Gorilla didn't obey. "Miss Marinette!"

She had her arms around the old man, shielding him with her body. "I'm coming! I'll meet you outside."

He lost sight of her as the Gorilla carted her away.

They made it outside, escaping through one of the exits and rushed down the stairs into the gardens, but they didn't make it further than that.

The akuma floated in the air above them. Large, blue butterfly wings flapped lazily to keep him aloft, he sprouted bug-like antennae from his head and was dressed in a blue suit and tie, with a leather satchel across his chest. In his hands, he held a large butterfly net. "I am the Collector!" he cried and swooped on them.

The net fell on Alya and Wyatt first, conjuring a large jar around the pair. Sweeping the net back up again, it descended on the Gorilla and Adrien. Adrien found himself airborne as the Gorilla tossed him away. "Run!"

Adrien landed on a hedge. Flipping his feet over the edge of it, he ducked down to hide. All around him, other people in glass jars cowered in fear.

The Collector dipped away and lost interest in Adrien as Ladybug appeared, perched on the metal support beams of the shattered glass dome above their heads. Spinning her yo-yo, she launched herself at the Collector.

Crouching down, he made a quick glance around as he opened his jacket. "Plagg, we need to help her. Claws—"

"Adrien!" Nino blurted, sliding in beside him. "We gotta get to Alya!"

Face burning, Adrien let his jacket flap closed over Plagg. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, man, but she's trapped in that jar with…" Nino's face twisted and he mimed the quotation marks. "That 'fanboy'."

Adrien blinked, then suppressed a smirk. "You're jealous."

Nino peeked out from behind the hedge. "Dude, he has his arm around her."

Adrien peeked out too, but his eyes were on other things. The jar itself was pretty tall, it would have to be to contain the Gorilla, with a metallic lid on top. Beyond the jars, Ladybug engaged the Collector, but it didn't look like she needed help. Yet. Since Adrien doubted Nino would leave him alone while Alya was in trouble, he had to help. "Do you think that lid pops off or unscrews?"

"Why can't we just break the jar?"

"Glass," Adrien said. "You don't want to hurt her." He sat back so he could look around and see if there was anything close he could use. A rake or broom or anything with a long stick would've been handy, but there was nothing. "Okay, we need to tip the jar they're in," he said, coming up with a plan. "Then we can get the lid off. You take one side, I'll take the other and we'll push it over."

"Right," Nino said and darted out from behind the hedge.

Adrien made a grab for him and missed. Shaking his head, he checked on the location of the Collector, then followed. "Nino!" he blurted as they reached Alya's jar. "You gotta be careful! We're in full view here!"

Alya's eyes widened as she saw them and she pressed her hand against the glass. Nino splayed his hands against the glass where hers was. "We'll get you out, babe," he promised.

Alya's gaze flashed to Adrien and she tilted her head. Guessing her message, Adrien indicated Nino with his eyes and shrugged. Darting around the other side of the jar, he said, "Ready?"

"Which way?" Nino called.

He glanced over his shoulder, catching Ladybug's eye and saw her frown. Swivelling back toward Nino, he braced himself against the glass. "I'll push toward you!"

"Gotcha!"

Adrien heaved. Nino pulled. Alya and Wyatt set their shoulders into the jar toward Nino and the four of them worked together to topple the jar. A direct shove wasn't working but maybe something else would. "Rock it!" Adrien called. "Push toward me!"

Alternating between pushing and pulling, they managed to get the jar rocking. If Adrien could've transformed, he would've had them out by now. Every time he glanced over, Ladybug was keeping the Collector busy, bouncing around and attacking him. Once the jar started tipping, Adrien shifted around so he could help Nino brace the jar and stop it falling completely. The jar itself was heavy and Nino and Adrien grunted beneath its weight as they struggled to lay it gently on the ground. Inside, Wyatt and Alya balanced precariously, trying to distribute their weights evenly.

In the jar beside them, the Gorilla had seen what Adrien and Nino attempted and was setting his shoulder into his own jar without caring that it may fall and break. It didn't look like his attempts to topple his jar would work, but that didn't stop him from trying.

Once Nino and Adrien had the jar was safely on the ground, they wrestled with the lid. Alya and Wyatt kicked it from inside while Nino and Adrien worked to dig their fingers inside the rim of the lid and pry it open. The pop it made when it came off was noticeable and the Collector turned from his battle with Ladybug. "What's this? Four little bugs trying to escape?"

Ladybug's yo-yo wound around the Collector's ankle to stop him from descending on them and Adrien saw her throw her full weight and strength behind keeping him contained. "Go!"

Grabbing Alya, Adrien and Nino pulled her from the jar. Nino dragged her out while Adrien offered Wyatt his hand. "C'mon!"

Something impaled the glass behind Wyatt and Adrien saw a long, thin pin sticking through the glass, the type of pin normally reserved for pining deceased butterflies, but of massive size. It was almost like some sort of rapier. Adrien felt fear catch in his throat along with his breath. Fixing his eyes on Ladybug, he saw the same sort of dread dart across her face.

Wyatt screamed in terror and bolted, fleeing with no care for himself or anyone else.

Nino gripped Alya tight and backed away. "Adrien! C'mon!"

Alya, sensing Adrien would rather get to Ladybug, tried to urge Nino into a run.

One last, destressed look at Ladybug and Adrien turned to run with his friends. "Go! Move! Get inside!"

Instead of hurrying back up the stairs to the walkway, Nino jerked the staff door into the butterfly dome open and hurried Alya through, holding it for Adrien.

As Adrien rushed through the door, there was a cry of pain behind him. A proper cry, not a grunt of impact as the suit absorbed the damage. Spinning, he was just in time to see Ladybug on the ground, with one of the pins impaled in the ground beside her. Beside her? In her? He couldn't tell because Nino slammed the door. "No!"

"We need to hide!" Nino blurted, grabbing Adrien's arm to pull him.

Close to panicking, he struggled against his friend's grip. "She's hurt! I have to—"

"She's a superhero," Nino blurted, grappling with him to prevent him from going straight back out. "She can't get hurt!"

The pain in Ladybug's voice ripped at him. Tore him up inside and all he could think about was getting to her. Right now. "Yes, we can! The suits have a weakness!" One weakness, just one. Invulnerable to everything, except perhaps their exposed faces, Plaggs's weakness was dogs and if those giant inspect pins were Tikki's... it didn't matter. Adrien had to help. He had to help now.

Nino's voice cracked as he yelped. "What? We?"

"Nino, let him go!" Alya cried, tugging at Nino and get him to loosen his grip on Adrien.

"Claws out!"

Nino fell away from Adrien in shock as Plagg zoomed into his ring. The second Chat Noir was transformed, he leapt for the broken ceiling, grabbing onto the support beams to swing himself into the air. He arched, pointing his feet toward the fight as he propelled through the air.

Ladybug on the ground, crawling away. A trail of pins embedded in the dirt. Blood on her face. She held her side. The Collector laughed. Chat Noir roared.

Landing on the Collector's back, Chat Noir clawed at the wings. It felt like they were made with paper as they shredded and the Collector and Chat Noir fell. Pushing off the Collector's back, Chat Noir flipped until he was between the akuma and Ladybug.

The Collector landed on his knees. Lowering to a crouch, Chat Noir extended his arms out ahead of him and dug his claws into the soil. Tail lashing, teeth bared, thunder rolled in his throat.

The Collector, still laughing, got to his feet and extended his hand toward Chat Noir.

Hissing, Chat Noir's claws gouged the ground as he prepared to attack.

A spiked turtle shell impaled the ground between Chat Noir and the Collector. The long chain connecting to the shell led to an aged man in a green suit that resembled Chat Noir's, holding large, shell shield in his other hand. "Tend to your lady, Chat Noir," the wizened man said and pulled the turtle shell spike back and the chain retracted. "I shall deal with this nuisance."

Plagg's rippling recognition slid along his skin. Gui. It had to be. Gui meant 'turtle' and everything about this man was themed turtle. But he wasn't about to let an old turtle steal his prey. "No. This one is mine."

"Your lady needs you."

"Chat."

Chat Noir glanced over his shoulder at his lady and the rage dimmed to panic. Pain streaked in her voice and embedded in his heart.

Swinging his shell flail above his head and shield protecting his body, Gui advanced on the Collector and Chat Noir turned to scamper to Ladybug. He scooped her up and bounded away. She didn't hide the grimace of pain from his every bounce very well. Ducking down, he hid them behind a low wall a distance away. "Let me see."

"He took me by surprise," she murmured. Her fingers trembled. "I was stupid and was watching you."

"Not the only one who was stupid," he said, and nudged her hands so he could see. There was a gash along her rips. Deep and there was a lot of blood, however it looked like her suit had taken most of the damage. Tikki would be hurt, possibly badly. Chat Noir worried, but he tried to keep that from her. "I just transformed in front of Nino."

Ladybug closed her eyes and snorted. "You really do leap before you look."

"You were hurt. I needed to get to you. Besides, I trust him," Chat Noir said as he cupped her cheek, tenderly touching below the gash on her face. "Ow."

"Yeah," she said, wincing. "I trust him too and it's about time. Alya's been after me for ages to let him in, but I said it had to be your choice." Her hand fluttered over her ribs again and she sat up.

Aiding her, Chat Noir lifted his head so he could peek over the top of the wall. Gui was advancing on the Collector, but there was a stiffness in his movements. A slowness which came with age and Chat Noir worried. "I need to go help him."

"That's Gui."

"Yeah," he said, and put his hand on her shoulder. "I think the akuma is in the satchel. I'll get it."

She grabbed his wrist. "Wait." Raising her hand, "Lucky Charm!" Catching the small, framed, brilliant blue butterfly in her hands, she held it out to him. "He's a collector. He'd probably go for this."

He kissed her, lingering too long against her lips. "I'll be right back."

Leaping over the small wall, he ran toward the Collector. "Hey!" he said, distracting the Collector from Gui. "Here! A gift for you!" Throwing the framed butterfly ahead of him, he continued to run.

Catching the frame, the Collector gasped. "Oh! Morpho Rhetenor! Remarkable!"

"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir called and dropped into a slide. As he slid past the Collector, he grabbed the strap of the satchel and it crumbled away under the power of his destruction. Grabbing the bag itself, he danced away and ripped it in half. The akuma fluttered free and Ladybug's yo-yo scooped it up. Snatching the butterfly frame, Chat Noir carried it back to Ladybug as she released her purified akuma.

"I thought we were keeping it," he reminded her.

"Tikki's in no shape to hold it," Ladybug said, clutching her side. She bent over and rested her hand on the wall ahead of her.

"Next one then." He handed her the butterfly. "Go. Heal."

She adjusted her stance, trying not to pull on her ribs and threw the butterfly frame into the air without her usual enthusiasm. "Miraculous Ladybug."

The butterfly dome mended and all those trapped inside the jars were released. Her powers regenerated the cuts on her face until they were a thin line, but her ribs remained injured. Although the damage was diminished and the blood wiped away, the rapidity at which it reappeared troubled him. He worried what that meant for her and Tikki and he wished he had something he could press against it to stem the flow.

Ladybug winced. "How bad?"

"It's… not good," he said and moved his hand to the small of her back. "We should get you home."

"Ladybug. Chat Noir," Gui said, commanding their attention as he dropped to a knee. "I am Gui."

Ladybug conjured a smile and Chat Noir turned. "Hi."

"It is unfortunate that we do not meet under better circumstances," Gui continued.

"Please, you don't need to bow," Ladybug said, waving her hand in embarrassment. "I'm happy to meet you; our kwami's have mentioned you."

"They are the reason I have come," Gui said and laboured to his feet. Chat Noir darted forward to aid the man. His ring gave a warning beep and Ladybug's tone followed and Gui nodded. "As we do not have time, permit me to leave a message with your kwami." Gui gripped Chat Noir's arm tightly and Chat Noir felt something quiver through him.

Hair on the back of his neck rose. "What was that?"

Gui nodded and released him. "Kwami communication. I hope to see you soon." Another nod at them both and then Gui turned away.

"What'd he do?" Ladybug questioned.

"No idea," Chat Noir responded and spotted the Gorilla hurrying for the butterfly enclosure. "But we need to go." Gripping Ladybug's waist, he vaulted them away from the crowd of people outside the butterfly dome. Hurrying to the other side, they found a tree to detransform behind.

Cupping her hands beneath the falling kwami, Marinette fussed over Tikki and Plagg dove straight from the ring to Marinette's hands. He wove around Tikki and licked the duplicate wound on Tikki's chest, his purr so loud it quivered through his little body. With an exhausted smile, Tikki patted Plagg on the head and chirped at him.

Satisfied Plagg would care for Tikki, Adrien fussed over Marinette. Quickly removing his white overshirt, he messily folded it, stuffed it up Marinette's shirt, then pressed his hands over the top of it in the hope he could stop the bleeding. "We need to keep people from seeing blood."

Marinette nodded, distracted. "Tikki?"

"I'm okay," she said. "Tired, but okay."

"I'm so sorry!" Marinette rushed. "I wasn't fast enough and—"

"You were wonderful," Tikki said.

"Marinette!" Adrien insisted, vying for her attention.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she dismissed and pressed her elbow against her ribs to hold the shirt in place. "The brown should hide it."

"For a little while, but—"

"Do you have a handkerchief? Something we can bind Tikki with?"

Frustrated she wasn't taking her own wound seriously, he dug his hand into his pocket and dragged one out. "Here, I'll do it."

"I got this," Plagg said, raising his face from Tikki's chest.

Marinette chided, "Kitty drool is not a good antiseptic."

"Kitty drool isn't, but I'm magic." He waved his paws at Marinette. "Be more concerned for yourself."

"I am concerned for—"

Nino burst out from the butterfly enclosure, dragging Alya behind. With a wild glance around, he spotted them. A frown marring his face he marched stiffly toward them.

"Put them way." Adrien straightened his spine and prepared for whatever onslaught Nino brought with him. Anger. Pain. A breach of trust. He remembered what it had been like for Alya, how long she had taken to come to terms with it and Nino had been left out for so long. He was angry, Adrien could tell.

He didn't want to lose his friend. He had so few of them. Whatever he did, he had to make it right between them.

Stepping forward, Adrien fumbled his way into an apology. "Nino, look, I'm really sorry I didn't tell you—"

Nino didn't stop walking until his chest crashed against Adrien's and he wrapped his arms around him.

Adrien tensed. "What?"

"You're a real douchebag," Nino said, hugging him tight. "A grade A dickhead."

He couldn't get his head around it. "What?"

Retreating, Nino gripped Adrien's shoulders and grinned. "Man, this is so cool. You have to tell me everything."

Author's Note:

Warning. Please note next chapter has a very minor Origin story spoiler. If you have not seen the Origin episodes and don't want spoilers, don't read.

If you want vague information of which spoiler it is, keep reading.

I will use one of the kwami's canon names. When the next chapter goes up, I will retroactively edit the other kwami name in chapter 3. A certain someone who is absolutely not an old Chinese man will also make an appearance, as will his occupation that we discovered in the Origins. It's not a big thing, but if you're after no spoilers completely, I suggest you don't read.

Gui is not his canon name, nor is anything else I've done up there. We don't know what it is yet.

Yes, the suits are invulnerable, but I like the idea of them having one weakness. And it was either this or spiders or pray-mantis, and I didn't like the idea of writing either of those.