Marinette didn't think it was a good idea to follow after the akuma, even if that meant the villain might escape them for a time. But Chat Noir had caught Foresight's arm at the last second, only following their plan to grab the wrist watch that appeared to house the corrupted butterfly. The akuma wound up dragging him along as she fled into the mysterious hole that the device summoned.
It wasn't normal for her to leap into action without a plan, but Marinette couldn't just let her partner get pulled into an unknown void! So she did the only thing she could think of in that split second and tossed her yo-yo around Chat's ankle before he could disappear.
Either the akuma was stronger than she had expected, or the ominous worm hole was a force that she could not fight. Whatever the case, it wound up yanking her in as well.
One short trip through the blinding tunnel, and Marinette found herself blinking into the gentle light of a beautiful Paris day, much like the one she had just left behind. The scenery had changed slightly, as they only wound up half-way across the city, yet something still felt... peculiar.
"Seriously? Nothing looks different. How am I supposed to find Ladybug and Chat Noir's weakness here?"
Marinette turned her gaze around right as Foresight shouted, bringing her attention to the adjacent rooftop where she fiddled with her watch, her geared outfit making her look like a grand prix driver. "And you two tagging along drained nearly all of my energy!?" She dropped her arm and waved it in front of her in frustration. "I wasted so much time collecting it!"
"Looks like you didn't have the foresight to plan ahead," Chat Noir said with a teasing smirk.
"Chat Noir..." Marinette groaned with a roll of her eyes. "Focus, please? We still have to get that watch away from her."
"After you, milady." Chat Noir pulled his baton forward and crouched into a fighting stance.
"Always the gentleman." She smiled and buckled the red and black spotted belt that had come out of her lucky charm around her waist. While she hadn't been able to figure out a plan yet, that didn't mean one wouldn't come to her during the fight.
Quickly tossing out her yo-yo, Marinette gave it a tug as Foresight jumped back along the roof. "Cut her off before she can collect enough energy to try and escape again!"
As they gave chase along the rooftops, Marinette could hear the low thrum of a helicopter in the background, but she didn't let that distract her from the task at hand. She was used to the news crews trying to get close enough for a scoop, and while it was slightly annoying, at least they had the decency to keep out of the heroes' way.
What she didn't expect was the familiar sound of a yo-yo zipping up from an alley and catching Foresight by the foot. As the akuma face-planted onto the slanted roof ahead of them, Marinette lurched to a halt, following the weapon with her eyes as it retracted before zipping out again and pulling with it a tall, red and black clad figure to land nearby.
"Well, well, looks like I got here... just in..." The man's voice went from playful to astonished as his gaze moved from the akuma to the two heroes standing in front of him. "M—Lady... bug?"
"Wait..." Chat Noir stumbled up beside her with a confused look that mirrored her own. "Are there two akuma?"
Marinette quickly took in the unruly mop of blond hair, bright green eyes and suit design. She recognized it as the style that Chat Noir's had taken that time when they'd accidentally switched their miraculous. "Mister Bug?" she breathed out in astonishment.
"Not possible!" Chat Noir yelped, flexing his claws as if unsure whether or not to prepare for an attack. "I'm right here, and you still have your earrings! How do we know this guy isn't just some trick?"
The other Ladybug's eyes—or rather, Mister Bug's—seemed to widen in understanding as he pointed in Foresight's direction. "Is this another time akuma?"
"Two Ladybugs?" Foresight's voice startled them, and they all turned to see her crouched on the roof, her fierce gaze jumping between each of them. "What's going on!? Hawk Moth! The power you gave me was supposed to prepare me for this!"
"Excuse me? The name's Mister Bug!" He pulled out his yo-yo and tossed it into the air, shouting, "Lucky Charm!" and quickly caught the object that appeared, holding it up with a puzzled look. "A screwdriver? What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Okay." Chat Noir tapped his chin as he narrowed his eyes. "I guess he's a little believable as a future me."
"Wait! That's it!" Marinette shouted and jumped forward to grab the screwdriver in the same moment she took the belt from around her waist. But before she could act on the plan that sprung into her mind, Foresight's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"That sounds reasonable." The purple outline of a butterfly mask hovered over her helmet as she lifted an arm. "I'm not prepared for this fight anyway."
"Don't let her escape!" Mister Bug yelled, swinging his yo-yo out, but it missed its mark as Foresight opened a portal and jumped out of the way, the hole closing quickly behind her. He cursed when his weapon's string coiled around the empty air.
"Great," Chat Noir grumbled. "She could be anywhere, or when, I guess. And what place or time does that leave us?"
"I think she's still in this time," Marinette said as Mister Bug stepped over. Without the akuma to distract them, she couldn't help but notice that he was at least a head taller than her own partner. His mask obviously obscured all of the details, but if she had to guess from height alone, Foresight had somehow pulled them at least a few years into the future. "She said it took almost all of her energy to bring us here, so I don't think she had enough left to jump through time again so soon."
After sizing him up, her eyes lingered on the earrings, but she quickly pushed aside her curiosity. Now wasn't the time to wonder why her future partner had her miraculous.
Marinette's own earrings chose that moment to beep, right as a very Rena Rouge-like figure leapt up onto the edge of the rooftop. "Did I already miss—" Her eyes widened as they landed on Marinette and Chat Noir. "Or not? Why is there a Mini-Bug and Kitten?"
"Kitten?" Chat Noir wrinkled his nose at the nickname and eyed his future-self standing beside him, looking like he might have been comparing their heights. "Excuse me, I'm not that short."
"It looks like this akuma has the ability to travel through time." Mister Bug pointed a thumb back at the two of them. "And my past-self and his Lady got pulled along with her."
"Okay, but they're still here." Rena Rouge spread her hands out. "And where's the akuma?"
"I think Hawk Moth convinced her to pull back for some reason," Marinette explained as she stepped forward, setting aside her surprise at meeting a future hero that was most likely Alya beneath the fox mask. Obviously, the future had changed quite a bit. "She said she wasn't prepared, and then disappeared into one of her portals."
"Hawk Moth?" Rena Rouge appeared confused for a moment before her expression suddenly shifted into understanding and she nodded, sharing a quick look with Mister Bug. "Right, 'Hawk Moth.' Yes."
Marinette wondered a bit at her odd reaction, but very quickly her attention snapped to a portal as it opened up on their roof. She only relaxed when Bunnyx stepped out and approached the group, resting her parasol against her shoulder. "Looks like we meet again, Mini-Bug. Kitty Noir." She nodded to each of them, respectively. "Which is weird, because the time-line doesn't seem to be broken at all."
"How does that make sense?" Mister Bug asked, waving a hand in her and Chat Noir's direction. "They're clearly a past-me and Ladybug."
"Well, you don't remember doing anything like this as a kid, right?" Bunnyx pointed out. "I feel like that's something you would have told me before, if so."
"I guess." Mister Bug placed a hand on his chin. "But you're right. I don't recall anything like this happening in the past."
A black-suited figure seemed to fall out of nowhere and landed right next to Mister Bug. Considering who had the Ladybug Miraculous, she wasn't surprised to see Lady Noire straighten up beside him, confirming that their future selves had indeed switched miraculous for some reason. "I don't remember visiting my own future like this either."
"Lady—!?" Mister Bug's face contorted into panic before a fierce expression quickly took over his features. "What are you doing out here!?"
Marinette felt Chat Noir stiffen uncomfortably beside her, and she exchanged a concerned look with him, the two seeming to share the same thought. It was hard to miss the angry tone in Mister Bug's voice. Could their future selves be having a disagreement? It wouldn't have been the first time, but this felt different, because she had never seen that intense look on Chat's face before.
Lady Noire raised her hands up in front of her. "I didn't get involved in the fight! I only watched from a distance."
Marinette's earrings let out a small beep again, and the noise seemed to stir the adults out of whatever was going on between them.
"Now that's a sound I haven't heard in a while," Rena Rouge mused with a smile.
Marinette glanced down at her lucky charm. "If I use my power, will it return us and the akuma back to our own time?"
"It could..." Bunnyx mused softly. "Although time stuff tends to be messy. It might only work if there's a way open from the place that you came from, like one of my Burrow holes."
"Then just open The Burrow?" Rena offered, but Bunnyx was already shaking her head.
"This doesn't feel right. Fluff didn't sense anything wrong with the time-line, which means I can't pin-point when they came from before Mini-bug changes back—" Marinette's earrings beeped frantically, displaying the last spot "—which will be in about five-seconds if we don't hurry."
"Shoot!" Lady Noire darted forward and grabbed Marinette around her waist, pulling her over to another roof and dashing behind a chimney right as her earrings gave their final signal. She de-transformed in her older-self's arms, holding out her cupped hands to catch an exhausted Tikki.
"That was close," Lady Noire sighed, setting Marinette down so she could dig a cookie out of her purse. While Lady Noire eyed her kwami with a soft smile, she pulled out her baton and opened the communicator up. "So, what's the working theory here? Any way to get our younger selves home?"
Bunnyx's voice answered back. "The akuma's power brought them here, so it's safe to assume that's the only way for them to return to their own time."
"She called herself, 'Foresight,'" Marinette offered up, and Lady Noire nodded while repeating that for the rest of her team.
"That makes more sense... Maybe she can look ahead by visiting her future?" Bunnyx asked. "But what exactly were they trying to find out here?"
Marinette stepped closer to Lady Noire so the others could hear her. "What was it that the akuma said? Wasn't she trying to find our weakness?"
"That's right!" Chat's voice exclaimed through the baton. "She might have been looking for something to get the upper hand?"
"Weakness?" Rena Rouge asked before she suddenly yelped. "Oh! Oh, wait! Today! This morning! It has to be that!"
Marinette noticed Lady Noire stiffen, and when her older-self glanced back at her, her expression looked... concerned? "I don't think we should reveal anything in front of our past-selves, but yes. Let's go with that."
"Alright, then Rena's definitely onto something," Bunnyx added. "Because I don't think it's a coincidence that they wound up in this time either. Especially after someone couldn't keep their big mouth shut yesterday."
"I can't help but feel that you're directing that at someone specific," Mister Bug's voice flatly stated through the communicator.
Marinette tried to ignore the obscure details of the conversation, but it was difficult to tune out when their voices were coming out loud and clear with her future-self standing right next to her. It took all of her willpower to just concentrate on Tikki as her kwami finished up her cookie.
"And I don't think this is a topic we should continue talking about in front of the mini-heroes," Rena Rouge added.
Lady Noire placed a clawed hand on her forehead and sighed, closing the baton before turning to Marinette. "Is Tikki recharged?"
"Ready!" Tikki answered with an energetic nod.
"Good, get suited up again." Marinette must have looked upset, because Lady Noire placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and assured her, "Don't worry, we'll figure this out and get you two home."
"Right." Marinette nodded before calling out, "Spots on!"
When she landed back on the rooftop next to Chat Noir, Rena Rouge and Bunnyx were in a heated discussion about time-paradoxes and portals.
"If the mini-heroes left the past, then this future shouldn't exist at all, but we're still here, even though you all don't have the protection of The Burrow."
"And you can't take them back through one of your tunnels?" Rena asked.
"If I do, we could wind up with multiple Ladybug and Chat Noir, because the akuma's still here, and the Miraculous Ladybug—or Mister Bug—isn't going to fix that until the job's done," Bunnyx explained. "We should concentrate on purifying the akuma first. That should set them back in their own time from the point where the akuma dragged them through."
"Okay, that all makes sense. I think..." Chat Noir tailed off with a confused look, pointing between Mister Bug and Lady Noire. "So, uh... Call me a curious cat, but why have you two swapped miraculous?"
Lady Noire scratched at her ear and exchanged a glance with Mister Bug before responding. "Chat—I mean—Mister Bug is... helping. I got into a bit of a situation and couldn't perform my usual duties."
"Situation?" Mister Bug spluttered beside her. "You're recovering! We switched so you could rest instead of showing up here and getting involved!"
"Ah-ah!" Rena Rouge stepped between them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Cool it. I know you're worried, but it's probably not the best time for a spat." She tilted her head in Marinette and Chat Noir's direction. "We don't know how any information about our present could affect your younger selves' time when they return."
"Convenient." Mister Bug's expression narrowed at Lady Noire as he folded his arms. She simply shot him a glare.
"Rena's right," Bunnyx pointed out. "The akuma's gone into hiding. Fa—Hawk Moth is probably cooking up some nefarious scheme. In the meantime, Lady Noire goes home, as we are not having a repeat of this morning."
"Right. Fine." Lady Noire sighed, but she nodded in agreement.
"What happ—" Chat Noir started, but Marinette grabbed his upper arm and shook her head slightly when he turned to her. Now wasn't the place or time to ask questions. She knew he didn't like secrets, but she also knew how important it was to keep things like this under wraps.
She also wouldn't dig into anything that revealed more than they had already seen, even if she was super curious to know as well. Knowing even such a vague reason as to why they had swapped miraculous might have been dangerous enough, and she couldn't help the small cloud of worry that formed in her mind. The older heroes didn't appear overly concerned, but something bad appeared to have happened to take Ladybug out of duty for a while.
"And," Bunnyx continued, pointing at Marinette. "We need to figure out what to do with the mini-heroes."
"Can't they help?" Mister Bug asked. "It's technically their akuma."
"Right!" Chat Noir raised his fists. "We need to track her down so we can get back to our own time!"
"That might be risky," Lady Noire mused quietly. "Running around your future? You might learn something you don't need to know yet and change everything as a result." She then smiled, turning to Mister Bug as her voice came out almost sounding like a purr. "And you don't want to risk changing this time-line, do you, bugga-boy?"
Mister Bug stiffened as if he'd been struck, a panicked look crossing his face. "No past-selves loose in Paris, got it."
"So what do we do?" Bunnyx folded her arms over her chest. "We can't just take them home, right?" She quickly shrugged. "Well, I can't. With my house-keeping skills, there's way too much sensitive information lying around that they don't need to know."
"Oh! My place is perfectly fine and non-revealing of future stuff!" Rena Rouge jumped up with an excited look. "I call dibs on Mini-bug!"
"Wait, why?" Mister Bug asked with a confused look.
"Because my future hasn't changed as much as yours," Rena pointed out with a grin. "And we're already good with our identities, so staying with me won't change anything."
"Wait," Marinette straightened up at that, staring at Rena with a slight mix of wonder and fear. "You... You know who I am?"
"Good one, Rena," Bunnyx grumbled as she clapped slowly. "That hasn't happened in their time yet."
"Hey! Still doesn't change anything!" Rena Rouge shouted back. "They have to stay somewhere, and knowing that I eventually find out shouldn't alter anything... I think." She then jerked her thumb in Chat's direction. "Now we just have to figure out who the kitten stays with."
"Do you have to keep calling me 'kitten?'" Chat Noir pouted.
Lady Noire giggled softly, then quieted when she cleared her throat. "I can't keep him for obvious identity reasons."
"Uh, unfortunately," Mister Bug started. "He can't come with me, either." His eyes shot to Lady Noire, a strange look on his face. "My living situation would be a little too revealing of future information."
Marinette blinked, wondering what that meant. She obviously didn't know much about Chat Noir outside of his addiction to puns and love of video games, but she still found his future-self's reaction... suspicious?
Lady Noire hummed softly and eyed Mister Bug. "I think... you should take him home."
"What?" Mister Bug blinked back at her. "Are you sure?"
"Paw-sitive," Lady Noire answered with a smile, and Marinette jolted in shock at the pun coming from her future-self. Was it the cat-suit that turned all of its holders into jokesters? "Just take him back to your place and tidy up before he goes in. And be sure to lock a few doors."
They know each other. Marinette realized, her eyes growing wide. We know each other! We learn each other's identities!?
"What about—err..." His eyes darted in Chat Noir's direction. "You'll get home alright?"
"Don't worry about me, I can get to my place just fine." Lady Noire waved a hand his way before winking at him. "This cat isn't a stray."