Adrien's transformation dropped while Marinette was carrying him down to her room.

''He lost consciousness'' Said a very tired Plagg, who Tikki helped maintain afloat. The red kwami woke up seconds ago after hearing her chosen's call.

Marinette was quiet as she put the blond boy on her bed, not caring that he would stain it red as soon as his body touched the mattresses. Tikki left Plagg on the pillow she used as bed, then floated above the two heroes to get a better view. The little red bug gasped as she saw the damage the boy had suffered. Even fully clothed, both wielder and kwami could see he had been brutally beaten, cuts and purple bruises covering all visible skin. But the worst was his arm, twisted in a weird angle and completely purple close to his wrist. That boy needed a hospital.

Or a miracle.

Tikki knew what Marinette had to do, but wasn't sure the girl, who was just staring at her boyfriend, was ready yet. But then relief washed over the kwami as she saw the heroine finally move and carefully touch Adrien's hand. A pink light erupted from the contact.

''Please wake up'' His favorite voice in the world whispered. It sounded like she was close, but at the same time he had a hard time hearing it. Was it because he suffered too much damage in the head, or because she was uttering the words very quietly? Adrien opened his eyes, and confirmed that the love of his life was close indeed. Her head was resting near to his shoulder, eyes shut as she pleaded for him to wake up.

''Bug…'' He said, noticing the pain was not as bad as he thought it should be when he de-transformed. He de-transformed, right?. The boy made the effort of lifting his head to see what he was wearing, and his heart rate spiked at the sight. Well, he was not on his suit, he thought, but his shirt was no longer white. And neither were Marinette's sheets. How the heck was he still alive? And not dying anymore?

''Mari?'' He tried again as the girl didn't seem to notice he was conscious now. He breathed in and felt a pang on his ribs, but nothing too terrible, then tried to get up. He was halfway there when Tikki appeared in front of his face.

''Adrien stop! You are still hurt, Marinette healed the most dangerous of your wounds but please don't move or you will undo all her work'' Said the kwami, two tiny hands in front of her gesturing for him to stop lifting himself up. He obeyed and flinched as his back touched the bed again. He probably had a dozen bruises in there.

''How- What did she do?'' He asked weakly, worry and guilt building up in his heart. Marinette stopped whispering but he could tell she was not asleep yet because she held his hand, but she was not moving either, her head resting on the corner of the bed, as if all energy was drained from her tiny frame.

''She used her powers to save you, but it takes a toll. I had to make her stop or she would be passed out until next monday if she kept trying to heal you'' Adrien couldn't help but feel like he was being scolded by the red kwami, not just because of the implications of what she said but because her tone betrayed whatever patience she was trying to summon.

''I messed up, didn't I'' He said, more as a statement than a question. Tikki sighed.

''You got something out of it, at least?'' Asked the red kwami. Plagg took that moment to make his wakefulness known to the boy.

''Stop bullying my kitten, sugarcube'' He said. The tiny cat was not on Adrien's immediate sight, but Plagg sounded healthy enough. Relief washed over the model, then he nodded looking at Tikki.

''I know where Lila lives'' He whispered, then let out a soft moan. Some stuff was still broken inside of him, and he was not eager to find out exactly what.

''Try to sleep kid!'' Said Plagg from the other side of the room, trying to sound nonchalant but it was obvious the kwami was worried too.

Adrien looked at Marinette one more time and confirmed that she wasn't awake anymore, her hand relaxed and her breathing calm beside him. He joined her soon enough, not able to keep his eyelids open any longer, even if he tried to.

Luka parked his bicycle at the hotel's entrance, took his helmet off and, after filling his lungs to max capacity one more time, he went in.

The receptionist looked at him from head to toe, and the boy knew the judgement the man came to was not good because he adopted an attitude that said ´´You are not even there to me´´

''I came to visit my friend, Chloe Bourgeois'' He announced after clearing his throat. The man acted as if he didn't see him before lazily checking something in his computer.

''Name?'' The man asked, and Luka frowned. Did he really ask that AFTER checking the list? Jesus these people were truly awful. He stopped that train of thought quickly, though. ´´These people´´ Included Chloe, who was a snob yes, but also his friend now.

''I'm probably not in there, but you can call her and tell her that Luka Couffaine came to visit?'' He tried, invoking his patience. He would go up there one way or another. He preferred to go as Luka this time though, it would be weird for him to go with Chloe to that gala out of nowhere. He wanted at least to have her receptionist know that he existed.

Said man lifted an eyebrow but then shrugged and slowly started dialing a call to Chloe's room.

''Miss Bourgeois, sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but there is a boy here that- Yes- Ok'' The man, still unimpressed, ended the call then said ''The elevator to your left''.

Luka smiled kindly to the man, thanked him for his helpfulness, then walked towards the hallway he assumed was the one with the elevators.

He didn't have any time to wonder which door was Chloe's because as soon as he arrived at the correct floor, he saw her waiting on the hallway. She gestured for him to join her, looking very serious.

''Why did you come as yourself?'' She asked once she closed the door. Any other person would probably get offended by that question, but Luka didn't detect any malice in her tone, just blunt curiosity. He shrugged.

''It would be weird for me to go to the gala with you if we have no prior contact'' He said, and the girl just nodded.

''Hey, so-'' He started saying, but then got interrupted by the blonde.

''Lila came to me yesterday'' She blurted, shushing him up.

''Okaay… What for?'' He asked her, but Chloe was already halfway across the giant room (Rooms?) sitting on her couch. He followed her.

''She offered to give me Pollen if I joined her'' Luka worried for a second after hearing that, but knew that if she was telling him this it's because she didn't even think of betraying them. He decided to stay silent, which she understood was his way of saying ´´And?´´.

''And I said no, but it was so hard! She was right here and then I had to see her go back to that box. That girl is stupid if she thinks I'd join her at this point, no way!'' She ranted, and Luka started laughing.

''What?!''

''You are such a moron'' He said and Chloe stopped talking, looking furiously red.

''Fuck you! What's so funny?!'' She exclaimed after a bit, and Luka had to stop himself from laughing anymore or she would get mad for real with him. Chloe cursed, he noted to himself.

''Why didn't you just take Pollen? you could have pretended to work for her and take the box from under her nose'' He clarified for her and she lifted both hands to cover her mouth. She really was a moron. An endearingly cute moron.

Chloe got over her embarrassment quickly and shook her head. ''Would you and the rest have trusted me to do that?'' She asked and Luka seriously considered her question. Just now he had a moment where he doubted her for a second, thinking she might have joined forces with Lila against all logic. And he liked Chloe, what would have Nino or the others thought about it?. Maybe she had a point. Still, she could have taken her beloved kwami at least.

''But you wanted to be Queen Bee so bad'' He commented sincerely, then he almost regretted his words and his previous mocking because her blue eyes started tearing up a little.

''Hey, no, It's ok, you'll get her back'' He tried to comfort her, but her moment of weakness lasted no more than the time it took him to try to approach her, her frown back on her face.

''I want to earn her back the right way, I WON'T be manipulated, I'M the one that does that, not that bitch. I will decide when, how and why Queen Bee returns!'' She said with so much energy, Luka found himself nodding in agreement even though he still thought her logic was kind of off. But then he remembered that the bee miraculous was the essence of subjugation. Control. He realized that, in Chloe's weird mind, accepting Pollen then and there meant giving control over to Lila.

Luka smiled.

''Still a moron'' He said, knowing that she was not really mad anymore. She just crossed her arms, acting as if his comment bothered her when in reality they both knew she did not regret her choices.

''What did you come here for, anyways, snake boy?'' She changed the topic. Funny how he seemed to forget more and more what he came for whenever he visited Chloe. Now she was reminding him of his duty.

''There will be a team meeting today at Adrien's house later. We will discuss our final plan to finally take Lila down'' He said.

''What does that have to do with me?'' She asked cautiously, not wanting to be disappointed by the answer but at the same time obviously hopeful. He smirked at her.

''I want you to come, too'' He answered nonchalantly, and Chloe looked like she wanted to celebrate but controlled herself.

''When?'' She acted like she didn't care, even stared at her nails to avoid looking at him, but the glint on her eye didn't lie. She wanted to play? He could play. Luka started walking towards the door, enjoying the little bit of disappointment on her demeanor as she pretended to not notice him leaving.

''In a couple hours. I'll come fetch you'' He winked at her before closing the door, borrowing one of Chat Noir's techniques. He chuckled a bit as he called the elevator, feeling a bit self conscious and wondering if he had been too over the top.

Then he heard the most sincere laugh coming from her room. Even muffled as it was, it was a good sound. Like a melody.

Lila laid on her bed, having already decided she would not get up that morning. After transforming into Pavona twice yesterday, she was exhausted. Not just because of the curse, but because that golem she made turned out to be really hard to keep in control, specially after the cat cataclysmed it.

She was proud of her creation, however. The sentimonster resisted perfectly, as it was its purpose, not going berserk after being hit with destructions power. Not to mention that beating it gave the cat was cathartic for her. She never considered her own fears to be something useful, but even the voice congratulated her on her creation, saying it was probably the strongest ever made by a Peacock miraculous wielder. Lila knew lies and fake compliments like the back of her hand, so she wasn't buying it completely, not from that sarcastic ghost. Yet, she was proud.

She was also proud about the maneuver she did after completely failing at luring Chloe to her side. She had been extremely lucky to find those guys when she needed allies the most.

After leaving the blonde's hotel, Pavona was feeling defeated and miserable as she jumped towards her home. Her energy was getting drained fast, and she knew she would have to walk the last few blocks as Lila, so before her transformation dropped and left her stranded on a rooftop, she jumped down to an alley. It was dark enough no one would notice her, probably.

She was wrong. Two men were following her as she briskly walked the deserted streets. She noticed they were trying to intimidate her before engaging, and the Italian was not up for any more games, so she stopped and faced the men. They were dressed like officers of some sort, though they were for sure not police. Not with that nasty scar.

''What do you want?'' Pavona demanded, arms crossed. The one with the scar got closer to her, leaving his angry looking partner behind him.

''I'm Agent A.'' He presented himself, then the girl had to listen to his whole speech of being part of an organization in charge of regulating and keeping checks on supernatural beings or something like that. When Pavona yawned to show her disinterest, the angry looking one proceeded to threaten her with taking away her miraculous. Oh, so they knew what those were, she thought, suddenly a bit more invested in the conversation.

''Let me get this clear, you two will take away my powers if I prove myself to be dangerous to civilians, right?'' She said, and Agent T. got interrupted by the other man´s hand gesture before he could keep threatening her. Agent A. nodded. ''And my golem was my first strike?'' She asked, skeptical.

''That we know of'' Said Agent A. in a tone that indicated he did not trust Pavona to be as innocent as she wanted to appear.

''I had to make him to defend myself, Chat Noir attacked me out of nowhere'' She lied, proud of remembering not to point out that this was not the first time she got targeted by the cat. Who knew what these men could do if they knew who she was, she shuddered. But then again… She could use them. Brilliance came to her.

''That's why we are warning you, first… Miss…'' He left the question open, and Pavona smiled before dropping her transformation. She enjoyed the surprise on both agents very much.

''Lila Rossi, you might recognize me from the news'' She said, and after a second of thinking Agent A. nodded in understanding. She did her best to put her most worried expression on her face.

''I don't know about you, but he stopped being a hero the moment he decided that killing me was allowed. I only survived that attack because Ladybug stopped him. That cat is really out of control'' She said, and the angry agent muttered something akin to ´´I knew it!´´ before scar face made him shut up again.

''He is tasked with retrieving an item we believe you possess, miss Rossi'' Said Agent A. still calm.

''Oh but the attack happened before I got my hands on the miracle box'' Again, both men gasped a bit after hearing her confess so much. First rule of lying: Tell the truth enough to be believable. Then twist it to your convenience.

''So here is the deal, gentlemen. I have nothing against your organization's objectives, in fact I agree with your cause. I just need a little help with my cat infestation before I can give you this miraculous '' She said, touching the peacock brooch on her chest ''And the whole box. I have no interest in keeping them for myself, I just needed those powers to protect my integrity from that crazy cat'' She waited for a bit to continue, and when both agents nodded after exchanging looks, she did. ''I will need some protection on my home for some time, since as you noticed today, the cat knows where I live once again. I can give you miraculous to do it, of course'' These two really needed to lie better, she thought. Lila could tell how happy they were after hearing that, when in fact they should be wondering what her game was.

''How would you know we won't just take the jewels and leave?'' Asked Agent T. sounding not-angry for the first time in their conversation.

''Because I have more to give you, the box and the rest of the miraculous, for once. And I know the identities of all of Paris´s wielders. Including Hawkmoth'' She procured her most innocent smile.

''And how do we know you aren't lying about any of those things?'' Asked Agent A. , still skeptical but smiling too.

''I already gave you my own identity for free, didn't I? My good will surely must have been noticed and appreciated by now. And I can give you two miraculouses tonight'' She replied.

Agent T. looked ecstatic, but Agent A. hesitated a bit before shrugging and extending his hand to her.

''Deal''

Still in her bed, Lila smiled at last night's memory. It was a risk, giving away two miraculous to two perfect strangers that knew a bit too much about the jewels for her comfort, but she had them under her palm. Even if they robbed her house and took the box, she still knew valuable information. She wouldn't tell them the heroes identities of course, at least not yet.

Lila was going to give them crumbs and making them work for her until she got her dignity, her wish and her revenge.

And she knew exactly when she would make it all happen. Good thing she already had a mask.