Saying that Marinette was nervous would be an understatement. The girl and her partner had to leave the mansion with their new outfits in a bag, dress themselves in Marinette's room, transform into Chat Noir and Ladybug then head to the gala as the hour of its opening approached.
They were on that second part, the girl was waiting for her boyfriend to come out of her bathroom wearing his new Chat Noir themed suit. In the meantime, she looked at herself in the mirror, checking that every corner of her gown was perfect.
Gabriel and her ended up changing her original design a lot, but she liked the results. Her first idea was a happy mix between Ladybug and Marinette's styles. It had a lot of black dots on red fabric, frills and sequences. This gown that she was now wearing was a lot more mature. It was a mutual agreement, since she would not be transformed while wearing this, that they had to make her look as different from Marinette as possible, but also keep herself recognizable as Ladybug. The result was her looking like an intimidating queen, a mature woman that was mysterious and collected. She supposed that is how most people that didn't know her saw Ladybug.
She put on the mask to complete the look, and felt a chill through her whole body watching the figure in the mirror. A permanent smile was plastered on her otherwise inexpressive face, blue eyes made of a special material that let her see through with no problems, but that hid her real ones behind. The mask had both black and polka-dotted red, and the same went for the dress. The fabric with the black spots was underneath a piece that covered her from her chest to her feet. She had long black sleeves that went up to her shoulders and covered most of her arms, and on top of those were the simulated bug wings, a transparent gold and shiny fabric. Gold was the extra accent decorating both her and Chat Noirs outfits, the most notorious part being the miracle box symbol that, in her case, laid on one of her hips.
''Wow'' She heard Adrien's voice from behind her as he came out of the bathroom. She turned around and saw that he, too, was wearing his mask, which surprised her because his voice didn't sound muffled at all. Money sure did help with these things, she briefly thought before she got hypnotized by her partners look.
He was wearing what would be a simple black suit if it wasn't for the green and gold decorations, and the cat mask. the miraculous symbol was on his back, gold like hers and like the metal piece he had on one of his shoulders, a golden paw. His hair looked mostly the same as Chat Noir's did in his suit, while she had to wear extensions for the tomato to look as good as it did, with all its intricate shapes.
He slowly approached her and then stood by her side, staring at them both in the mirror.
''We look… kind of scary'' He said, concern in his voice. She nodded, thinking that the costumes made them look a bit unapproachable, like a king and a queen, instead of heroes about to pledge their service to a city. Then again, that could work too. She had faith in her speech and the fact that a mask would be covering her emotions from everyone as she spoke made her a little less nervous about the whole thing. It had it's pros and cons.
She looked up to Adrien- no, Chat Noir, and tried to find anything on his covered face. the green eyes on his mask were made of the same lens that her blue ones were, and she confirmed that it was impossible to see through them from the outside. She did a little nod, confidence returning to her and though she was still anxious, at least she was positive no one would recognize them as Marinette and Adrien, glamour or not.
''Shall we, princess?'' He said as he offered her his arm. She could tell he was smiling by the tone of his voice, and she couldn't help but join after hearing that nickname. For the first time ever, the title kind of fit her, she thought looking at herself one last time on the mirror before calling for her transformation.
Chat Noir did the same, and they both paid their goodbye to her parents before leaving for the party. They would be a fashionable couple minutes late, as was planned. Marinette and Adrien would already be there, illusions that Rena Rouge would be manipulating from the backstage. Alya was so proud when she announced a couple days ago that she could maintain her power for more than five minutes now, and Marinette was proud of her friend too. She had only been a permanent user for a month now, yet she had made incredible progress. Then again, she could say the same for all her team.
Ladybug and Chat Noir landed on the paparazzi filled street in front of the venue, and everyone turned around to watch and record them, microphones ready for questions. Gabriel Agreste, one of the organizers of the event, announced just two days ago that the heroes of Paris would attend, and the news had been the talk of almost the whole city, invited or not, since then. The heroine was happy to see that not everyone believed Lila's lies yet, and faith in the heroes was not so rare as she thought it would be.
''Ladybug, why come to such a public event after weeks of silence?''
''Ladybug! will you explain the recents events?''
''Chat Noir did you really attack an innocent girls house?''
The questions from the reporters flowed, and the heroine had to make an effort to not open her mouth and respond immediately, no matter how much she wanted to. It had to be everything at the same time, so Lila would have less of a window to respond. So, she just lifted a hand signaling that she would not speak, then called her transformation off. Chat Noir did the same at her side, and the gasps replaced every other form of speech from the crowd. They made space for them, all cameras pointing at the hero couple that were now standing in their designer outfits.
Ladybug giggled softly at the disappointment she saw in some of their faces, mixed with the awe and admiration that most of them expressed. No more questions were thrown at them as she took her partners arm and they walked towards the entrance, but all of the cameras were watching.
She heard Nadia Chamak happily announce their arrival for her news station, and she felt more and more relief and confidence as she noticed that they were, indeed, well received by both guests and bystanders. She breathed in, filling her lungs as they went inside.
The place, as expected, was gorgeously decorated. The theme of that year was gold, fitting nicely with the accents on her and Chat Noirs outfits. There were pieces in the form of giant golden diamonds hanging from the ceiling, and they got bigger and hung lower at the center of the place, were dancing would be happening. The giant room was filled with glamorous people, all of them following the gala's theme of gold, some of them being bold enough to look basically like statues made from the material. Also, everyone wore masks.
She supposed it was a fun thing for famous people, to be able to move around without being bothered too much, since almost no one was immediately recognizable for the girl. She heard a groan coming from her partner as they walked, and she giggled as she saw the source of his discomfort.
A long buffet was prepared with various snacks, and her boyfriend stopped walking as he looked at them for a moment. They could not remove their masks to eat, she noticed for the first time and a loud laugh escaped her. This was such a silly problem compared to everything else. Chat Noir at her side made the effort of looking depressed as they passed the food, but she knew by now that he did it to make her laugh.
''We can eat later, Kitty'' She teased, making sure her voice sounded as provoking as she intended that statement to be. The boy at her side stopped for a moment, paralyzed, then snorted.
''My lady!'' He said, and she really wished she could see the blush that probably was on his face right now. She would end up hating these masks by the end of the day, she was sure.
Several people were making them room to walk around, staring at them. She supposed it was only fair, even if most of these folk were extremely famous themselves, no one was as recognizable as the heroes of Paris. No one else was as controversial either.
''Welcome to my humble event, heroes'' Said Gabriel Agreste's voice coming from a man in a white suit with gold accents. They would not have known it was him if it wasn't for the fact that she already knew what he would wear. That only made her feel safer, however.
''Thank you, sir, for inviting us'' They exchanged formalities as they practiced before, knowing full well they had millions of eyes on them. Every single word mattered.
After some chatting with random people, which, to her surprise, didn't include any hard topics for the heroes, she realized it was nearly the time they would have to make their speech. She spotted Adrien and Marinette dancing together around ten minutes ago, she was sure the illusions were over now and Alya must have had enough time to recharge. She looked at her partner's mask, and when she was sure his gaze was on hers, she nodded. He responded with a nod of his own and gulped nervously, then they both went to the main stage.
''You know, this is not as bad as I thought it would be'' Said Luka as he danced with Chloe. It was such a surreal thing for him, to be there with this particular girl in his arms. He would have felt like he didn't fit in at all if it wasn't for the fact that he was wearing the appropriate attire.
''What do you mean? This is the best event of the year!'' She exclaimed, pretending to be offended by his comment. Her smile betrayed her, as did her arms around his neck. He smiled looking at the beautiful girl he was dancing with, still half believing this was real.
It was like this event was made for Chloe, as the gold theme went perfectly with her love for yellow. She shamelessly took the Bee theme for the dress too, a two piece with gold and white lines on the top, and a garden of golden flowers decorating the bottom of her long white skirt. Her mask was a simple eye-cover with the same patterns as her dress.
''Hey dudes!'' Greeted who they had to take a second to recognize as Nino. The Dj and his girlfriend got closer to them at one point and they didn't even notice, well, he didn't, as he was too busy admiring the girl in front of him.
''There is no point on wearing masks if anyone can tell it's you when you open your mouth'' Said Chloe as she rolled her eyes. Alya giggled as she danced with her partner.
''We could say the same for you Chloe, but you didn't even bother with your dress'' Remarked the reporter. Luka couldn't help but laugh too.
''Well duh, my identity is not a secret to anyone'' Said Chloe. Nino and Alya chose innocently innocuous outfits. Their presence there as Carapace and Rena Rouge needed to be a secret until -If- battle started. Same for him, though the only mask he had was the teal one Chloe gave him, so he had to trust the glamour and the fact that Viperion was one of the least public heroes to conceal his persona. Still, that conversation was kind of risky considering they were surrounded by cameras, so he made sure to signal them to change topics.
They bantered for a little longer until they noticed Ladybug and Chat Noir approaching the main stage. The four of them started at each other's eyes, all joy replaced with anxiousness.
They watched as Ladybug took the microphone first and hesitated a bit before speaking, the contrast between her shyness and the kind of intimidating outfit and mask she was wearing making Luka smile a bit.
''People of Paris'' Ladybugs clear voice resonated through the whole room, which was no small task considering the place was huge. He heard a faint ´´You can do this, girl´´ coming from Alya at his side.
The heroine waited a moment to make sure she had everyone's attention. She probably didn't even had to bother, all cameras in the room immediately turned to the stage as soon as she spoke.
''Firstly I'd like to thank the organization of this event for the invitation, and I apologize in advance for interrupting your evening, but I think it was time now that we clarified some things to the inhabitants of this beautiful city, and the world'' A little pause, probably to make sure she was being listened to. The bustling in the room quieted after her first few words, and now that she stopped for a second the silence was almost oppressive. Someone on the staff even turned the music off.
''We, Chat Noir and Ladybug, are at your service'' She said ominously, then her and her partner bowed slightly. Luka glanced around to see people's reaction. It was going well, he decided after seeing the smiles on some, and the pure admiration on others. There were a couple who just looked at each other in confusion, but no one interrupted her yet so it was fine.
''As you might know already, there are some things we needed to clarify with everyone since a while ago, and for that delay, I apologize'' She continued ''But let me start by saying that there is a lot of misinformation going around, ´´fake news´´ as some might call it '' She said that last part making air quotations, and Luka could hear some giggling in the room.
The heroine proceeded to explain everything that they planned on explaining, with Chat Noir taking over in some parts. When it came to the topic of the attack on Lila's house, the cat himself told the story as they planned to: A misinterpretation on Lila's part of the situation, mixed with an unfixable accident. Luka in the meantime watched the public reactions, and he was very satisfied with what he saw. It was like they were expecting this, and a lot of the guests seemed relaxed and happy at finally hearing explanations on the latest controversies.
When they started talking about Lila, Alya interrupted raising her hand. It looked kind of silly, they were not in school, but Luka supposed it was the most respectful way of interrupting the speech.
''Yes?'' Asked Ladybug, acting as if she didn't already know what Alya was going to ask.
''Hello Ladybug, I'm Alya Cesaire, the creator of the Ladyblog and I also happen to be Lila Rossi's classmate'' Started saying the reporter, innocence filling her tone ''I just wanted to say that, I have a really hard time believing that such a cool and good girl like her would be lying about any of this. She has done so much to help I just don't see it. She is close friends with important and beloved people like Jagged Stone or Prince Ali, and she has worked in charities around the globe to-''
''What? Who?'' Exclaimed Jagged, revealing his presence in the middle of the crowd.
''Lila Rossi, sir. She is your friend, isn't she?'' Asked Alya, just a tiny bit of suspicion on her voice now. The people around started looking at each other and murmuring.
''I don't know any Lila, and I remember all my friends!'' Clarified the man, childishly crossing his arms.
''I don't know who she is either, this is the first time I heard her name, did I miss something?'' Politely voiced prince Ali.
Before everyone started talking and making too much of a commotion, Ladybug called for order.
''Like I said, she is not a reliable source of information. I don't know why she wants to make us look bad, but it's in part why it took us so long to say anything. She's just a highschool girl that wants attention''
Careful, Marinette. Thought Luka, noticing how the resentment on her voice was making a presence for the first time in her speech. Ladybug needed to act as impartial and just as possible, not like someone that had a vendetta. Thankfully she relaxed, then continued with her promises of the heroes doing all in their hands to make Paris the safest city in the world.
''We just ask for one thing in return'' Said Chat Noir, and then gave back the mic to his partner. ''Faith. Faith and trust that we are on your side, and will always be'' She finished saying, earning a deafening applause from the crowd. No one could see behind their masks, but Luka was sure the heroes were probably crying with happiness right now at seeing their plan working. At least Marinette was, he smiled as he saw her leaving the stage and making an attempt at wiping her eyes, which comically failed as she was still wearing her mask. That little thing probably made them even more trustworthy than any of their words, he thought. The fact that they would be so emotional and vulnerable, while also having the courage to finally speak their minds.
''Thank you, Ladybug, Chat Noir'' Said who Luka thought was probably the official presenter of the night, taking over the stage. The man proceeded to announce the next entertainment, but no one was really listening to him, the masked crowd murmuring and talking to each other still.
''Good job, babe'' Nino whispered to Alya, who was wiping her brow.
''I was so nervous!'' She said.
''If I didn't know better, even I would have believed that you still admired that bitch'' Chloe said to the reported, complimenting her in her own weird way.
''Your illusions are great, even without your powers'' Added Luka, and Alya smiled brightly.
''Aaand it's up'' Said Nino, showing the others his phone. He had just anonymously uploaded the document with Lila's lies. Everything at the same time to make her fall, as was planned.
She could show up right now and tell everyone the heroes identities, and no one would believe her. She could attack as Pavona in rage, but the damage was already done anyways. They would just have to win the fight, he thought, remembering that the job was not done yet. He had to stay vigilant at any signs of an Akuma, Sentimonster, or miraculous user that wasn't in their team. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the party a little.
''May I?'' He asked, offering a hand to Chloe.
''Took you long enough'' She teased, but her wide smile betrayed her again.
Alya and Nino were already dancing, and Luka catched a glimpse at Ladybug and Chat Noir together on the floor too. They were in the middle of it, actually, looking like the stars of the show. They probably were, he realized as he noticed everyone was watching them.
Adrien guided his lady on the dance floor, moving at the rhythm of the weird mix between old bals and electronic effects. He would have to ask Nino and Luka later if it was a good sound or not, but for now he couldn't care less. His masked eyes were glued on Ladybug, static smile plastered on her covered face. He couldn't tell what she was thinking as they were both in silence, but he decided to just enjoy the moment instead of asking. Besides, cameras everywhere.
At one point several people started approaching them with praises and some questions, which they now happily answered. They had to stay at the party as long as it lasted, and judging by the the schedule of entertainments and announces, it was not going to be short.
He didn't think he could be happier than right now, though. They were finally winning, his friends and family were with him, he had the girl of his dreams dancing in his arms. He saw his father doing the same with Nathalie, and he decided to guide Ladybug to go talk to them when the doors of the venue suddenly opened.
Several special ops officers raided the room, guns in hands and covered faces. The guests were all confused for a moment, as he was, not sure if this was part of the show or something else. His gut told him it was the later, then he felt his heart drop as the men approached Nathalie and his father.
''Gabriel Agreste, you are under arrest for terrorism and conspiracy against the people of Paris, you have the right to remain silent''