If you recognise it, it's not mine.

Of course, Hawkmoth chose that afternoon to come off hiatus. Marinette had barely got off her street, box of macaroons clasped under one arm, when she heard the screams.

"Are you kidding me?" she groaned, ducking into the nearest alley. "Tikki, spots on. Let's make this quick."

The sounds were coming from the direction of the Agreste mansion, and a sinking feeling appeared in Marinette's stomach. Had Adrien been akumatised? It would hardly be surprising after everything that had happened, but it was exactly the opposite of what Adrien needed. Being akumatised was disorientating and tiring, judging by the previous victims, and Adrien was in no state to start flying around Paris attacking people. Marinette didn't want to fight him, but she knew she didn't have a choice.

She made it to the mansion in a couple of minutes, and paused on the neighbouring rooftop. The akuma was standing outside the building, watching various staff flee through the gates into the street, and Marinette's first thought was that, if this was Adrien, Hawkmoth had really done a number on him this time. The akuma was dressed in a black suit similar to Marinette's own, and long red cape. Most of their face was covered by what looked like a large pair of dark glasses in the familiar butterfly shape, but what skin she could see looked normal enough. The whole bizarre appearance was rounded off by the black clipboard the akuma was brandishing.

"Gabriel Agreste!" a surprisingly familiar voice shouted- a familiar voice that certainly wasn't Adrien. It was a woman's voice, but Marinette couldn't quite place it. "I request a meeting!"

"Mr Agreste isn't available at the moment." Marinette dropped in front of the akuma. "Will I do instead?"

"I'm afraid not," the akuma said. "This is a rather pressing matter." She started walking towards the steps, and Marinette pulled her back with her yoyo.

"We're all busy," she said, jerking the furious akuma to the ground and reaching for the clipboard.

"You don't understand," the akuma said, a desperate note in her voice. "His son-"

"Adrien?"

"I'm not heartless," the akuma insisted. "I know what he's been doing to him. It has to stop." A purple outline appeared around her mask, and Marinette shook her head.

"Whatever he's telling you, it's wrong," she said urgently. "Getting my miraculous won't help you help Adrien. I want to help him too."

Something was rattling at the back of her brain; she knew who this person was. She was sure of it.

"Do you really?"

"Yes!" Marinette could have cried; this was at least better than fighting the akuma, but trying to reason with a brainwashed person was never easy.

"I'm not heartless," the akuma said again, and the pieces fell into place. The familiar voice, the inside knowledge of Gabriel's treatment of Adrien, even the red and black outfit...

"No, you're not," Marinette said. "You're really not, Nathalie Sancoeur." The akumatised woman flinched, and Marinette continued, pouring conviction into her tone. "But this isn't right. You know that, really."

Purple flared again, and the akuma's face twisted. "With your miraculous, I could have the power to solve everything myself," she snapped.

"Sometimes we all need help," Marinette said quietly, and grabbed the clipboard from her hand, breaking it over her knee in one fluid movement. The akuma fluttered out; Marinette purified it and threw the broken clipboard in the air in place of the lucky charm. As the aftereffects faded away, she turned to Nathalie, helping her up.

"Ladybug-"

"We will help him," she said quietly. "It'll work out in the end. These things always do." She released Nathalie's hand, directing her towards the house. "Now, I believe you have a meeting with Mr Agreste?"

On her way back to where she'd left the macaroons, Marinette caught a glimpse of a familiar trio standing in the street. She winced as she realised just how late she was to meet Rose, Nino and Alya, and only hesitated a moment before landing in front of them.

Alya's face brightened immediately, while Nino and Rose's jaws dropped. "Ladybug!"

"Is there an akuma?" Nino asked, looking around as if Hawkmoth would suddenly jump out from behind a corner.

"Um, not anymore," Marinette said. "I'm kind of in a hurry, though, so..."

"Wait!" Rose blurted suddenly, and Marinette turned to face her shy classmate. Rose held out a familiar card. "Could you- could you sign this? It's, um, for a friend of ours."

"Dude's having a pretty rough time," Nino added. "It would mean a lot."

Alya seemed to have temporarily lost the ability to speak, but she pulled a pen out of her pocket and handed it to Marinette. Marinette found a spot as far away from her own signature as she could, and doodled a little ladybug in the corner of the card. She added a smiley face, and a kiss because she could. "Tell him get well soon," she said as her friends thanked her. "Bug out!"

Marinette touched down in the alley, detransformed, and full-out sprinted back to the florists. "I'm sorry I'm late," she gasped. "My parents wouldn't let me leave the house when they realised there was an akuma attack going on."

"MARINETTE," Alya screeched in her ear, "ROSE IS A GENIUS."

"Ow," Nino commented, while Rose turned as pink as her dress. "Can we walk and talk at the same time, people?"

Alya's excitement at meeting Ladybug and getting her autograph, "-and sure, it isn't for me, but it's an autograph, girl, how cool is that-" was infectious, and Marinette had almost forgotten the akuma by the time they reached the mansion. She remembered once she saw the open gates; either some of Gabriel's terrified staff hadn't returned yet, or they'd all forgotten to close the gates behind them.

"Nice," Nino whistled, and walked right in before any of them could stop him. Marinette shrugged and followed suit.

The front door was open as well, and they got all the way to the corridor Adrien's room was on before seeing anyone. Or rather, hearing anyone. As they reached the top of the stairs, Marinette caught the sound of raised voices just around the corner. Hushing her friends, she pressed herself against the wall, listening intently.

"-then I strongly suggest you reconsider."

"Or what?" Gabriel Agreste said softly. Marinette could see silhouettes moving against the wall at the far end of the corridor.

"Or I'll resign," Nathalie said. "Don't give me that look, Gabriel. I will. In a heartbeat."

"And you think that's going to force me to do anything? I ran my business without you before, Ms. Sancouer. I can do so again." There was a hint of humour in the man's voice. Behind Marinette, Nino's mouth had fallen open and Rose's eyes were wide with confusion. Alya had her phone out and appeared to be recording the entire thing.

"You hired me before Adrien was born," Nathalie said. "Your business has grown exponentially since then, plus there's all Adrien's engagements to be managed. You need me, Gabriel. That's why you're not threatening to fire me right now."

"I don't need anyone. Especially not a secretary who thinks she's got the right to start telling me how to care for my son."

There was a tense pause. "Care for your son?" Nathalie bit out. The four teenagers crouched in the stairwell flinched at the ice in her tone.

"I raised Adrien well," Gabriel said. "He's healthy, he's polite, he's good at what he does. He's happy."

"Happy?" The word was spat in a whisper that may as well have been a shout for the venom it carried. "You think that boy is happy? You raised your son alright, Gabriel- you raised him to be a machine, to do what you needed him to do. Open your eyes! Do you think normal children beg to just be allowed to go to school? Do you think normal children collapse in the street, exhausted? Everyone's noticed. His classmates have practically organised a revolution against this, against you. If you'd bothered to speak to him properly recently, you'd see it too. You're killing him, Gabriel. A child shouldn't have that sort of look in his eyes."

"Adrien is not a-"

"Because you won't give him a damned chance to be one!" This was closer to a shout, a piercing burst of fury, and Marinette winced. "Either you get your act together, or I leave, and don't think I won't be calling social services the second I step outside of this house."

There was a horrible silence, and then the sound of footsteps walking away down the corridor, a door closing sharply. Someone sighed, so heavily Marinette couldn't tell who, and a second set of footsteps started coming around the corner towards them. Rose squeaked in fear; Alya swore under her breath as she fumbled to shove her phone back in her pocket. Nino started edging backwards down the stairs, but Marinette shoved her box of pastries into his arms and stepped out into the hall.

Nathalie came around the corner, posture stiff and head held high, and surveyed Marinette in silence for several seconds. Her gaze darted round the group, taking in the fury in Alya's eyes, the way Nino was clutching a box of treats like a bomb about to explode, the bouquet in Rose's trembling arms, and then she nodded, giving them an uncharacteristically warm smile as she passed.

Marinette released a long breath. "Okay," she said, trying not to show how shaken she was. "Let's go."

A mixture of emotions surged in her as they approached the door; her old shyness merging with newer protectiveness. You're killing him, Nathalie had said, the words so serious, so sharp. Nino gave her box back and knocked on the door for them, and was answered with a meek "hello?"

She let the others go first, let Adrien greet them in a soft voice, before Alya sighed and dragged her in by the elbow.

Nino was perched by Adrien's side on the couch, saying something quiet none of them could catch. Adrien's head was bowed to listen, hair falling across his face, but he raised his gaze as Alya shut the door firmly behind them, and Marinette's heart shattered with worry. He looked ill- pale, with dark smudges under his eyes, face drawn and anxious.

"Oh, Adrien," she whispered, and Adrien's face cracked in a weak smile.

"Hey, Marinette," he said. "You guys have got to stop sneaking into my house."

"We didn't really sneak," Alya said. "The gate was open."

"Oh, yeah. There was an akuma outside earlier," Adrien said, flinching slightly. "My father's... uh, Nathalie." By the look on his face, Nino had already explained what they'd overheard to him.

Alya blinked in surprise, and for a second Marinette was afraid she'd start interrogating Adrien, but then she grinned and said, "Hey, speaking of all that stuff, guess who we met on our way here?" She waved at Rose, who was staring around Adrien's immense room, openmouthed. The girl squeaked in surprise, almost dropping her bouquet, and fumbled to get the card out of her bag.

"These are for you," she said, plunking the flowers into Adrien's lap and holding out the card. "Um, they're from everyone-"

"Rose sorted everything," Marinette said. "Including..."

Probably enjoying it more than she should, she watched Adrien read through the card, eyes widening with every name until- "Is that... no way. You didn't actually- oh my god."

"Yup," Nino said with satisfaction. "A bona fide Ladybug autograph, just for you."

"Oh my god," Adrien said again. "I- I don't know how to thank you for this."

"A smile would be good," Marinette suggested, and Adrien obliged, excitement obvious despite his pallor. Someone's a fan, then.

"Also, we're sticking these up around town," Alya added, showing him her phone, "if that's okay?"

Adrien's face fell a little as he looked at the poster designs. "I-"

"We won't do it if you're uncomfortable with it, dude," Nino said, concern lacing his tone. "Seriously. Just say the word."

Adrien blinked down at the flowers in his lap, then shook his head. "No."

"No as in..."

"As in do it." He glanced up at them, looking so fragile and yet so determined in one fleeting moment. "I- I'm done. With everything."

He looked like he was either about to give a speech or start crying; Marinette couldn't tell. They never found out, because at that moment, Adrien's bedroom door opened, and Gabriel Agreste walked in.

"Adrien," he said, barely looking at the other teenagers in the room. There was a tense pause, almost worse than those minutes out in the hall, as Adrien met his father's eyes, refusing him any other response. The man took a deep breath. "You're taking at least a fortnight off school for rest and recovery."

And he walked out, leaving silence behind him.

"What?" Adrien whispered after a few seconds, his face drained of colour. "What- what did he say?" He was shaking slightly, Marinette noticed. "Guys? Nino? What did he- what's- please-"

"I- your dad's scary, dude," Nino managed, eyes huge behind his glasses. "What the-"

"I- I think we won," Marinette said, so quietly she hardly recognised her own voice, the words spilling from her lips before she could understand them.

"We won," Alya echoed, and then again, louder. "We won!"

Rose actually clapped, eyes shining, and Nino whooped loudly, and even as Alya shouted something about a victory selfie, Marinette found herself sinking down onto the couch beside Adrien. He was still trembling as he met her eyes, so green and so familiar, and so scared, she realised. Scared that this was just another twisted game, that they'd misunderstood it after all.

"We won," she murmured once more, just for him, and Adrien pitched forward, burying his face in her shoulder, jumbled words shuddering out of him. Everyone else piled in, a mess of hugs and excitement, and the words shone brightly in Marinette's head like neon lights.

We won.