Luka found the group at the park that night. It was the start of spring, but the nights were still chilly enough to warrant the need of a light jacket. The older boy could see the others breaths in the air while they argued and he could already guess about what before he was able to hear the conversation.
''What took you so long?'' Asked Ayla, looking and sounding very frustrated. Luka did not get mad at her reaction to his late arrival, however.
''My mom moved the house, and the subway is closed'' He simply said, joining the little circle they formed at the park.
They were in front of the hospital they suspected Master Fu was admitted in, already decided on their group call that they needed to visit and see how the man really was.
''Alright let's go then'' Said Nino, but Marinette stopped him, grabbing his hand before he could leave their circle.
''Wait, we need to think first. Of an excuse for why we are visiting him when we are not his relatives'' She said, and Luka couldn't help but agree. Then Adrien said ''We need to be careful, we don't know anything of what happened, though I have my suspicions'' His tone was dark and low, which surprised Luka immensely. He never thought the model could sound so scary, but there he was, looking like he wanted to punch someone in the face.
''Who do you think did this? Maybe he got a stroke or something, he's an old man'' Said Nino, trying to calm the mood. It did not succeed, Adrien and Marinette both shaking their heads as the DJ spoke.
''He's not just any old man, he's the guardian'' Said Adrien, then Marinette continued ''He's over 188 years old too, protected by the magic of the miraculous box. He's way past getting a stroke''
Wait, so being the guardian made you live longer? Why did no one mention that to Luka before? He could not ask that immediately, however, as they were already discussing how they could get into the Master's room.
''We can just say we are his regular clients, to the massage parlor, I mean'' Says Marinette
''But we still don't know who did this, maybe it's some kind of bait'' Said Alya, the girl seemed to be on Adriens side on the ´´lets be as cautious as possible with this´´ strategy, while Nino and Marinette really wanted to just visit the man as soon as possible.
''Guys, shouldn't we check his house first?'' Suggested Luka ''You said he had the miraculous box in there, if it's gone, then we know that someone did this to him and knew about him being the guardian…and if that's the case, then visiting him publicly is not a good idea, like Alya says''
There was silence once the guitarist finished speaking. Then one by one they agreed to what Luka said and started walking towards the little massage parlor. It was pretty late, Luka knew for sure they wouldn't even get in the hospital if they tried.
''Adrien, you think Lila did this, don't you?'' Says Nino while they walked, making everyone look at the blond boy, waiting an answer.
''Just think about it guys, she has done some pretty messed up stuff already. And she has it against all of us now, she could have just followed us to Master Fu yesterday'' Adrien was talking as if he knew no one would listen to him, but after some hesitation, the rest seemed to be on board with the theory.
''Hitting an old man is a tad extreme…even for Lila'' Commented Nino, still doubtful.
''She almost got Marinette expelled'' Said Adrien, frowning with the mere memory of that.
Luka had some clues about this Lila person from what Marinette vented to him some time ago, and judging by Juleka's stories about the girl, this person was a major manipulator at the very least. But plotting to get someone as sweet as Marinette expelled? He looked at the girl questioningly.
''She planted some exams answers on my backpack and made it look like I cheated. Then she pretended I pushed her down the stairs'' This earned some gasps from the other teens. Apparently Luka wasn't the only one lacking information about this Lila person.
''That bitch'' Murmured Alya, hands turned into fists.
''I don't want to defend her, but I have gotten to the wrong conclusions before… Don't get me wrong, I think Adrien is onto something here, but we need proof before we do anything'' Said Marinette, and after a couple comments about how sure they were it was Lila who did this, the group went quiet again until they reached the massage parlor.
To their surprise, the place was occupied by the police. This confirmed it was an attack and not just an accident, at least. It was weird that at almost 3 AM they were still in the scene, Luka thought.
''We can't just go in…'' Murmured Alya. They were looking into the area hiding from the one officer posted on the door. Luka couldn't help but notice that this officer seemed to be a very tough one. He had a nasty scar on his face and was way more armed than he had ever seen an officer being in public. Weird.
''What if they take the miraculous as evidence or something? This could be bad'' Said Marinette. She was starting to panic a little bit, which happened from time to time with the girl.
''I can get in'' Said Adrien, calming the designer down as soon as he said it. ''Chat Noir is very sneaky, after all. I can see in the dark too, so I can just check if the box is still there and leave''
''I could put an illusion up to make myself invisible or something'' Countered Alya. Certainly her powers were good for this too, thought Luka.
''But you would still make sounds, let me do this'' Said the blond, and he didn't let anyone else argue with him because he just silently transformed into Chat Noir and leaped up.
It was the first time Luka saw that with his own eyes. One thing was knowing who these people were, another was witnessing them transform in front of him. Apparently he wasn't the only one impressed, Alya and Nino looking a bit surprised too. Marinette was all business, as she always was when the situation was dire. Her little panic moment a thing of the past as soon as Adrien took charge. Luka smiled, thinking that those two were a duo for so long, they probably were used to each others weaknesses by now. Marinette getting stressed before any ideas came to her was one of them.
They waited a tense couple of minutes, not daring to even whisper anymore and just listening in towards the house to pick up if anything happened. The officer didn't move from his post, not altered by anything strange. Luka wondered if Chat was already inside or if he was taking his time.
''It's not there'' They heard from behind them, and all of them jumped at the same time. Chat Noir really was sneaky when he wanted to. He smirked and then de-transformed, keeping the very Chat-like expression up as Adrien replaced the hero.
''Maybe they took it? The police, I mean'' Suggested Nino.
The grim thought of anyone taking the box was not made better by theorizing the police did it. Specially if they were more like that one scary officer at the front of the parlor than like, say, officer Raincomprix.
Getting away from the place, they ended up deciding that they would sneak as heroes to check on the guardian. They just needed one of them to get the room number from someone inside the hospital. No need to risk all of their identities. After some arguing, Adrien convinced everyone that since the guardian already posed as his Chinese teacher, it would not be as suspicious for him to try to visit him as himself. Marinette had the hardest time agreeing to that, saying that he was taking too many risks, but in the end they decided it was the most logical solution.
Once they said their goodbyes for the night, Alya and Nino transformed into Rena Rouge and Carapace and got on their way to their respective houses. Luka wanted to facepalm himself, of course they could do that… That was why he was the only one being late, with the subway closed and all.
Before Marinette and Adrien did the same, however, Luka stopped them.
''Wait, Marinette… Is there anything I can do in the meantime to learn more about the guardian and the miraculous? I don't like just waiting for you guys to solve this issue if I can help it'' He said. Marinette and Adrien looked at each other, then they both blurted at the same time: ''The book!''
''What book?'' Asked the guitarist.
''There is a book about the miraculous, it explains many of their secrets… Master Fu had it on his cellphone, but your father still has the original, right?'' Marinette said that last part looking at Adrien, who nodded, serious.
''I'll get it from him'' Said the model. ''It's not gonna be easy to translate or understand, though…. I looked at it before, but I can ask my father if he knows something too''
''That's great, thank you'' Said Luka, and then they said their goodbyes. Both heroes transformed together and disappeared into the night. Luka stood there for a bit.
''Massster?'' Sass came out of his hiding spot after a while. ''Sorry, Sass. I was just thinking''
Luka transformed and Viperion found quickly his way to his home. He was worried, but exhaustion won for that night as he imagined it did for the other heroes too. As soon as the guitarist landed on his bed, he fell asleep.
Marinette found it to be impossible to sleep that night. Her mind was not quieting down anytime soon, not until she had some answers at least. She spent an hour on her bed, really putting in the effort to sleep: She was exhausted and had school the next day after all, but she couldn't stop thinking about this new problem, moving back and forth on her bed. By 4AM she gave up.
Tikki was sleeping soundly on her makeshift bed. They had already discussed the situation together and agreed that they would need all the energy the next day to find a solution. Marinette felt like a failure for not even being able to do that. She was going to hate herself for this the next day, but she picked her phone.
Marinette started at her and Adrien's chat room on her cellphone. She smiled remembering how Adrien wanted to call it ´´Ladynoir´´ and their whole conversation about how risky that was. Marinette marveled at the sudden realization that she finally had the love of her life, he loved her too this whole time and all of this happened in less than a week. She supposed that if there was one thing she could thank Lila for, was for finally saying one lie too many and starting this whole ordeal, which culminated in her finally being reunited with her partner.
Just the mere thought of Adrien and Chat Noir being the same person still gave Marinette a weird, happy and warm feeling inside her but also made her want to giggle like an idiot. Her crush was such a dork, and her silly kitty was such a kind, amazing person. She felt like she had the best of both worlds, her fear of having to choose one or the other vanished forever.
Her thoughts got interrupted when she noticed the three little dots on the ´´Cookies&Cheese´´ chatroom on her phone. She smiled, seeing him delete and then keep writing a couple times before his message finally made it through.
''Mari?'' Was all she read, and she snorted as quietly as she could. So much trouble just to say her name.
''You can't sleep either?'' She asked him, receiving the fastest ''No'' ever typed.
Then, as Marinette smiled at her phone in that early wednesday morning, she heard a sound coming from her balcony.
Seriously? She thought, getting up. She tiptoed to avoid waking Tikki up, and opened her ceiling door.
''...The stars are amazing… Want some?'' Said Chat Noir while sitting on her balcony, handing her what looked like a piece of candy. He had his phone on the other hand.
Marinette smirked, then closed the door while looking at him in the eyes as she did. She tried to put on a disapproving face, but her cheeks wanted to smile. The girl quickly grabbed one of her bed mattresses and then opened the ceiling door again to climb and sit beside her partner under the stars.
''How long have you been here?'' She asked after accepting one of his candies. She was pretty sure she never saw Adrien Agreste eating candy before, but hey, this was Chat Noir. A bit more of a wild card.
''Just a couple minutes… I couldn't sleep, so I came here and was not sure if you were awake, so I just texted…'' He was a bit hesitant, probably because he thought she would judge him for being here uninvited.
''It's kind of hard to relax when we had such a chaotic night…'' She commented as she rested her head on his shoulders, hoping he would take that as her being happy for his presence rather than the opposite. The soft purring that started soon after was all she needed.
''I was thinking'' He said after a couple minutes of enjoyable silence ''Where is Bunnyx?'' Marinette frowned. ''What about her?'' She asked, lifting her head to look at his profile.
''Well, she knows the future and all that, right? If she's not here helping us with the miraculous box… then we haven't failed yet, right? Do you think she knows?'' Wow, thought Marinette. She had been busy thinking more on the lines of ´´Fuck Lila´´ and now she felt guilty for completely forgetting this angle. It was an excellent question, but it raised a topic she was not so happy to go back to.
''Maybe this is part of the future she knows… Or maybe something else happened to her, I don't really know, only seen her twice'' Marinette knew her mistake as soon as she said it. Chat Noir was not aware of the second time Bunnyx had helped them. He let her know of this by just looking at her with a single eyebrow raised. She sighed.
''There was one time I screwed up bad enough, Bunnyx had to come back in time to make me fix it, because I made her… our future disappear… '' She started explaining. Chat was patient and didn't interrupt her, but she could tell he wanted to. ''She tossed me into a Paris desolated by an Akuma… Everything was destroyed… even the moon'' She was starting to have a hard time talking about this. She did NOT want her partner to hear this next part, ever. She didn't want anyone to know about this at all, in fact. Chat Noir being the enemy was something Marinette hated thinking about.
''It was me'' He continued for her in a whisper, then hugged her. ''How-'' She wanted to ask, but he started stroking her hair and her tears didn't let her keep talking. ''Destruction is my thing, remember?'' He said smiling at her. She nodded softly. ''The me of that future was gone too… as was Hawkmoth. And you knew my name so I assumed…'' She said, not wanting to finish that sentence either. They sat there for a while, as he caressed her and she calmed down.
Adrien tightened their hug then broke the silence. ''You thought… no, you knew that us knowing each others identities was part of a terrible future… yet you helped me when Plagg called you anyways'' He sounded amazed, not sad at all. She looked up at his face and saw that he was smiling at her with one of those warm and kind smiles only Adrien Agreste and her Kitty knew how to produce. The same one he had when he gave her his umbrella.
''I had to… I'd let you destroy the world again if it meant you don't get hurt, Kitty'' That got dark fast, Marinette thought as soon as she finished speaking. But It was all true, she would own those words even if they meant she could no longer be a proper Ladybug, a proper hero.
Chat Noir chuckled lightly ''And I won't let my lady let me destroy the world, balance and all, right?'' He said and the mood got bright again.
They were so sleepy, going into periods of silence like this new one was too easy. But instead of dozing off, Marinette kept thinking about Chat's question. If Bunnyx wasn't here scolding her for saying she would let the world be destroyed for her love, then it didn't mean it would ever come to that, right? She felt like it was cheating, to somehow get confirmation just by knowing a time hero existed that she would never screw up THAT badly. But she was grateful for the reassurance it gave her, and the boy beside her probably felt that way too, because soon enough, they were both finally sleeping the little hours left they had until the morning rays woke them up again.
The next day went by in a flash for the heroes. Lila still wasn't showing her face at school, and none of them was sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Marinette and Adrien barely passed as human beings, the lack of sleep getting particularly hard to deal with by the time the bells rang announcing the lunch hour. The four heroes went to their usual spot, tiredly sat down and started eating in silence.
''I'll go this evening to the hospital'' Announced Adrien after he finished his meal. The rest nodded, then Alya said ''I will try to dig information on those officers we saw last night. Something is up with them… I might be reaching but they didn't look like regular police to me'' She said.
''What about Lila?'' Asked Nino, and this time Marinette answered. ''Nothing yet, but whoever has the box, they will use it sooner than later….probably. Lets just hope it's not too big a disaster and we can stop them on time'' She said biting her lip. They all agreed on the sentiment, but Marinette was not sure what was worse: An adult organization like those officers getting the box and just… keeping it concealed and studying it or something, or Lila wreaking havoc with it.
''It's so frustrating, not being able to do anything, we are supposed to be heroes!'' Exclaimed the DJ, both of his hands hiding his eyes as his head tilted upwards. No one else said anything, kind of like a silent agreement on the sentiment.
After lunch, they were too tired to think of much more than what they had already planned to do: Wait for Adrien to get Master Fu's room, then visit him.
The blond boy came out of the hospital with his head down, hands on the pockets of his white jacket. Marinette, Nino, Alya and Luka were waiting for him on the park, and as soon as they saw him they knew whatever news he had, they weren't good news.
''He's in a coma, and the doctors said they don't even know if he will wake up at all… They looked very nervous too'' Said Adrien as soon as he was closer to the group. Marinette put a hand on his shoulders in support. ''Did you get to ask if they know what happened to him?'' She softly inquired, and Adrien shook his head.
''I tried, but the doctors changed the topic, like it was classified information or something. This is so weird guys, the officers of yesterday and now the doctors too. It's like they know Master Fu is not just a normal old man'' Said the model, and everyone looked at each other with worried expressions.
''We need to be extra careful, then'' Suggested Luka, and after that there was not much more to say. They all had their tasks, and sleeping to do. So they split after quiet goodbyes and went their ways.
Each of them thinking while walking home: What did they get into?