Chapter 33: Chat Noir
Author's note: Guess who gets back on the scene.
Belle Aube landed in Chloe's room, dragging her feet over to her bad and collapsing face first onto it as Chloe.
"That's it, I'm done!" Chloe screamed into her pillow.
"Come on, Chloe, it's alright." Tikki tried to comfort.
"No, it's not alright!" Chloe exclaimed. "My back hurts, I'm tired, I only win sometimes now, and I just want to stop!"
Chloe sobbed into her pillow.
Tikki sighed and patted Chloe's head.
She could understand why Chloe was so upset.
It had been nearly a month now, since the trio of villainesses had begun attacking.
They were much more vicious and persistent than when it was just Catastrophe and Volpina, which meant that Chloe was spending a lot more time as Belle Aube. And it didn't help that Belle Aube had been forced to retreat multiple times by now, only winning sometimes.
And when Belle Aube was forced to run, she was unable to use her Miraculous Cure to fix the damage.
The only saving grace there was that the villains could only achieve minimal damage, so the Miraculous Cure wasn't as missed as it was when Catastrophe was around.
Floating over to Chloe's phone, Tikki messed around with it until she was able to contact Zoe, bringing the phone over to Chloe.
Chloe did nothing as the phone rang before connecting.
"Hello?" Zoe answered. "Buggie?"
"Don't call me that." Came Chloe's muffled protests, her face still in her pillow.
"What's wrong." Zoe immediately picked up that Chloe had an issue.
"I'm just so tired." Chloe sobbed to her girlfriend. "I try to save people and just get my butt kicked. And I don't get any appreciation for it. I'm done."
"Aw, Buggie." Zoe said. "I know what you do, and I love you even more for it. I've had to hold back screaming 'that's my girlfriend' every time I've seen you swing by."
That got a small smile out of Chloe.
"Yeah, you and the others know. But not anyone else. I disappear for hours to save the day, and the only ones who notice are my teachers, and that's just to give me the homework that they don't care if I get done. I left in the middle of dinner and mum didn't notice that my 'bathroom break' took half an hour." Chloe complained.
Chloe thumped her head back into her pillow.
"And now I don't even have the fact that I win anymore." Her muffled voice said.
"Do you want me to come over?" Zoe asked.
"Yeah." Chloe whined.
"Alright, I'll see you soon. Love you." Zoe said before hanging up.
Chloe muffled something in response.
Lifting her head from her pillow, Chloe pouted, not having the effort to get up out of bed and look presentable for her girlfriend arriving.
There was a knock on Chloe's door.
Tikki quickly went 'doll-mode'.
"Madame Chloe." Jean came in. "I hope you don't mind, but I filled you a nice hot bath with bath salts and scented oils. And I have had the chief prepare you a molten fudge cake with a side of ice cream and a large hot chocolate for when you are ready."
Chloe looked at her butler, finding the energy to sit up.
She offered him a weak smile.
"You're getting really good at know when I need something, Jean." Chloe said. "I don't remember this being in your job description."
"I only want to be able to help you miss Chloe. After all you do, you only deserve it." Jean said. "Would you require anything else?"
"Zoe's coming over, so make the food and drink double." Chloe said.
"Certainly, Madame." Jean bowed as he left.
"I get the feeling that he knows." Tikki came back to life.
Chloe only shrugged.
If Jean did know that she was Belle Aube, he obviously wasn't going to blab about it, so she didn't care, especially not in her tired state.
Checking her phone, Chloe concluded that she had enough time for a bath before Zoe showed up, and so went to let the hot water wash her cares away.
After her bath, Zoe arrived and the two of them cuddled up on Chloe's bed.
"Ugh, this is hopeless." Marinette head slammed into the desk.
Nathaniel sat beside her, dully flipping another page of the book he was reading.
"We've been at this for nearly a month, and still nothing." He agreed.
"I warned you that finding the correct ritual would be hard." Fu told the teens.
Both teens elected to moan in response.
No matter what they tried, they were no closer to repairing the damage to the Peacock Miraculous.
Which meant they were no closer to evening the playing field between heroes and villains.
"How did the Peacock Miraculous even get damaged in the first place?" Marinette questioned.
Fu stiffened and Marinette noticed.
"Do you know?" She asked.
Under the gaze of Marinette and Nathaniel, Fu rubbed his head.
"I did not see for myself, or even how it happened, but I have suspicions." Fu said.
The two teens looked at Fu expectantly.
Fu sighed.
"Many years ago, I was part of an order of Guardians that were charged with protecting the Miraculous. But I was young and naive." Fu reluctantly revealed. "I placed my trust in the wrong person and it cost me dearly. The temple of the Guardians was destroyed, the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculous lost in the fallout as I fled."
"So, this person you trusted, they're why the Peacock is damaged?" Nathaniel asked.
"I believe so." Fu nodded.
"Who were they?" Nathaniel asked.
"It does not matter." Fu denied. "They are long gone, along with the rest of the Guardians."
Marinette and Nathaniel decided not to pry any further.
Giving heavy sighs, the three went back to their research, waiting for the other members of their exclusive group to show.
"…and Nathaniel and Marc are almost done with their latest comic. I can bring you a copy, if you want." Marinette conversed with her boyfriend.
"Sure." Adrien said quietly
Adrien continued to lie on his bed, staring across the room at where the box still containing the Black Cat Miraculous now sat on a table, rather than paying full attention to Marinette.
It was making the conversation very one-sided.
Marinette furrowed her brow.
"You know, my garden is quite enclosed. So, we could go for a walk around it without being seen. Get you some fresh air." She offered.
Adrien shook his head.
"I'd rather not." He then said a minute later.
Marinette pressed her lips together in a line.
Adrien noticed.
"Sorry." He apologised.
He still didn't move.
"It's fine. You're still recovering." Marinette forced a comforting smile. "I'll leave you to rest."
Pushing herself away from the bed, Marinette went to the door, surprised to see Chloe and Alya on the other side.
"Alya, Chloe, what are you doing spying in on Adrien?" Marinette pushed herself through the door to her friends.
"Should he have that?" Alya asked Marinette in concern.
She pointed at the box, having been told by Chloe what it contained.
"He could become Catastrophe again." Chloe stressed.
She was ready to run in there and grab the Cat Miraculous.
"It's alright. He's had the ring for a while and not done anything." Marinette said, closing the door behind her.
She indicated with her head, prompting her friends to move with her to Fu's room, where Nathaniel was still working with his head supported in his hand.
"But isn't he still affected by the corruption?" Chloe argued once they were in the room. "He could snap."
"Actually, the last effects of corruption have receded from Adrien. His aura reads clear." Fu informed from his own work.
"What!" All of the teens exclaimed.
"Then how come he still acts like a zombie half the time?" Alya questioned.
Fu sighed. "While he is clear, he still carries the weight of his actions with him." He explained.
"But you've been talking to him, right?" Chloe said.
"I have." Fu agreed. "But I am not a proper therapist, and we have no access to one, so I can't properly care for him. I can't even say for sure what is issue is."
"Do you…do you think he's depressed?" Marinette worried.
"Perhaps." Fu shrugged. "But without a proper professional's opinion, I don't want to make assumptions."
"Well, can't he try and do stuff?" Alya questioned. "The worst thing to do when you're like this is to do nothing, right? I'm always hearing from my sister about how exercise is the best thing."
"Adrien doesn't exactly want to do anything." Marinette said. "I keep trying to engage him, but he rarely leaves his room now and refuses offers to at least go into the garden. It sometimes feels like he doesn't want to get better."
It was a horrible thing to say, especially about her boyfriend, but she couldn't keep her feelings bottled up inside.
"Who would choose to stay miserable?" Chloe wrinkled her nose.
"Unfortunately, when it's familiar, even misery can be comforting, in a way." Fu said.
Marinette frowned.
Wasn't that just an upsetting statement?
'Maybe I can empower a therapist, then get them to talk to Adrien.' Marinette thought to herself as she stirred a spoon. 'But it'd be hard to find a therapist with the right emotions to connect to. And I need that connection to make sure they listen to me and do go tell the police where he is.'
"Marinette, please focus." Tom gently said to his daughter.
"Oh." Marinette said, remembering where she was. "Sorry."
She placed the bowl on the table next to her.
"Now, you need to make sure that your dough is floured, so it doesn't stick to your surface or rolling pin." Tom continued to instruct the class in front of him.
The young children were paying close attention, their own pieces of dough in front of them, making sure that they followed Tom's instructions.
Of course, since they were only young children, most dumped far too much flour onto their dough.
Marinette laughed slightly internally, remembering making such mistakes when she was young.
Being in the classroom felt like being hit by a wave of nostalgia to Marinette.
It was the very classroom Marinette had been in when she was younger. So, when her old Primary School had contacted her parents about teaching the children some baking, Marinette was happy to come along as her dad's assistant while her mum stayed behind to look after the bakery, with the permission from her school to spend morning lessons helping out.
Eventually, the children were done making the jam tarts that Tom was teaching them to make, the tarts being taken away by the teaching assistant and Tom to be baked in the school's kitchen.
"Miss baker lady." One of the children came up to Marinette. "How did you end up in that wheelchair?"
Marinette found herself taken by surprise. She had forgotten how straight forward children could be.
"Daniel, it's rude to ask someone that." The teacher gently scolded the child.
"It's alright Ms Clark." Marinette assured. "I just got into a bad accident that means I can't use my legs anymore." She told Daniel.
"Oh." Daniel said. "Does it hurt?"
"Not anymore." Marinette smiled as she assured.
Truthfully, Marinette would get aches and pains, the human body was not meant to be in a constant sitting position after all, and she would still get the occasional phantom pains. Though, the children didn't need to know that.
"Okay. Can I ride in your chair?" Daniel asked next.
Marinette could help but laugh at the young boy's path of logic and tactlessness.
"Miss Dupain-Cheng needs her wheelchair to get around, Daniel." Ms Clark explained for Marinette.
"But I can sit on her lap." Daniel pointed out.
He wasn't being bratty, just using child logic.
"I don't mind giving the children some rides." Marinette assured the teacher.
Ms Clark sighed.
"Well, it's playtime anyway." She said. "Everyone, grab your coats."
"Yay!" The children cheered.
They raced off to grab their outside wear, lining up at the classroom door that led to the playground.
Once Marinette pulled on her own coat, they all went outside, some of the children running off to do their own activities while the rest gather expectantly around Marinette.
"Now, remember your manners." Ms Clark said. "Line up and take your turn."
The children quickly assembled themselves into a cue along the wall to take their turns getting to ride with Marinette.
Ms Clark helped hoist the first child onto Marinette's lap, surprisingly not the boy named Daniel, and she began to push her wheels.
It was harder to push her wheelchair with a child on her lap, but Marinette had had plenty of experience when babysitting Manon, as the young girl always wanted wheelchair rides.
Marinette completed one lap of the playground and the first child climbed off no issue.
"Thank you." The child said before running off.
The, it was the next child's turn, getting securely seated before Marinette was off again.
It was when Daniel finally got his turn when it happened.
Marinette was on the other side of the playground when she heard screaming, terrified screaming.
Turning around, she was met with the sight of Volpina, Drone and Serpentina landing in the playground.
"Everyone, inside! Now!" Ms Clark quickly gathered herself and took charge.
Most of the children listened to her, running back into their classroom, the villains letting them.
However, a handful of other children were on the other side of the playground to the classroom, with the villains in the way, so were frozen where they were.
And Marinette was one of the ones in the wide-open space.
Hugging Daniel securely to her, Marinette prayed that Belle Aube would arrive soon.
Chloe lay on bed, still in her pyjamas.
With all the pressure on her, she had taken a self-care day.
Zoe was contently dozing next to her, having decided to join Chloe in her self-care day instead of her usual dance practice.
Chloe been taking a lot of self-care days, but the staff weren't exactly going to complain about the mayor's daughter's multiple absences.
Of course, the villains didn't care about whether Chloe was having a self-care day or not.
As such, Chloe's phone went off as the villain alert went out.
"Noooo!" Chloe cried.
She didn't move from her bed.
Zoe's eye's blinked open sleepily at her girlfriend's complaining.
"Come on, Chloe. Belle Aube is needed." Tikki pushed against Chloe's side.
"I don't wanna." Chloe mumbled pathetically.
"People are in danger." Tikki insisted, shoving harder.
"Buggie, the sooner you go, the sooner you can come back and snuggle without disruption." Zoe said, sitting up and stretching.
"Alright, fine." Chloe hmphed.
But only because Tikki's constant shoving was annoying.
Dragging herself out of bed, Chloe checked the villain alert.
If Chloe had been told that heroes didn't get days off back when she'd first been offered her Miraculous, she probably would have said no.
Chloe froze as she read the location of the villain attack.
"What is it?" Zoe asked as she hoped out of Chloe's bed.
A primary school.
The same primary school that Marinette was currently helping out at.
"We need to go, Tikki. No time to lose." Chloe turned serious.
"That's what I was say-"
"Tikki, Spots On!"
Chloe cut off Tikki's remark.
"Chloe, where-"
Grabbing her yoyo, Belle Aube swung out her window.
"Okay." Zoe said to herself, brows furrowed in concern.
She's never seen Chloe so quick to leave for a villain attack before. It was obviously happening somewhere important, given her reaction.
Before Zoe could really think about what she was doing, she pulled on her boots and was checking the villain alert on her phone to find out where to go.
Like usual, the villains didn't do much than stand there, their presence enough to bring the heroes running. But Marinette also knew that if Belle Aube or her Champion didn't arrive quick enough, the villains would start causing a mess to "speed up" the process, and Marinette couldn't exactly transform out in the open like this.
Thankfully, Belle Aube arrived before things could escalate.
"Picking on little children." Belle Aube scoffed. "Just when I thought you villains couldn't sink any lower. Pathetic, utterly pathetic."
Marinette pursed her lips at Belle Aube's Chloe-ness showing though, hoping that it didn't tip the villains off to her identity.
"What's pathetic is that you're still trying to fight." Volpina said. "We beat you each time. Just give up."
"Over your rotting corpse." Belle Aube shot back. "You-"
"Language." Serpentina said with mirth. "There are young ears present."
Belle Aube attacked and the villains came to meet her.
Unfortunately, Belle Aube either couldn't or didn't have the thought to move the fight away from the playground, so all the children and Marinette were still in the line of fire.
"Marinette!"
Marinette looked over to the school building as Tom ran outside.
"Dad!" Marinette gasped.
Tom was heading for Marinette, but then detoured and went over to two children who were frozen in place.
"Don't worry, I'll come get you." Tom told Marinette as he turned around with a child in each arm.
Tom sprinted back to the school building, carefully avoiding the fight going on between hero and villains, placing the children gently down inside, where they were embraced by Ms Clark.
Tom then turned right back around and ran into danger again to rescue the other children still left stranded in the playground.
Marinette and Daniel were seemingly the last children left on the playground by the time Tom reached them, being the furthest away from the school building.
"Ah!" Marinette exclaimed as Tom hoisted her entire wheelchair, with her and Daniel in it, off the ground.
Tom made to take them back to the school building, only for the fight to appear directly in the way, one of the playground's trees falling over and nearly hitting them.
Looking around for another safe place, Tom spotted the outdoor storeroom for the children's toys and the gardening supplies, the door ajar. It was much closer than the school building and would hopefully provide enough cover.
Tom wasted no time in taking Marinette and Daniel to the storeroom, there being just enough room for them all to squeeze inside.
"We'll be safe here." Tom tried to assure between gasps of breath.
Marinette bit her lip.
True, they were safer and out of sight inside the storeroom, but she still couldn't transform with Tom and Daniel there.
And Belle Aube wasn't going to last much longer without her Champion.
Nathaniel and Marc were hunched over Nathaniel's laptop, watching the news coverage of the latest villain attack while biting their lips.
The footage of the person currently live recording the fight was extremely shaky and blurred, but it was more than apparent that Belle Aube was losing, badly.
Nathaniel knew that Marinette was at the school where the fight was taking place, and from the lack of Champion aiding the fight, was likely stuck in a place where she couldn't transform.
"Why isn't Lady Nymph's Champion there yet?" Marc worried, not privy to the same knowledge as Nathaniel. "Belle Aube's not going to be able to hold all three villains back by herself much longer."
"I'm sure she'll send someone soon." Nathaniel said.
He hoped that Marinette would be able to get past whatever obstacle was stopping her from transforming soon.
The two boys, as Marc currently identified, were surprised when Nino burst into the art room where they were stationed.
"Did you so happen to see where Alya ran to?" The DJ asked.
"No."
"Haven't seen her."
Nathaniel and Marc replied.
Nino groaned.
"Please tell me that she didn't run off to film the fight, again." He complained to no one in particular before leaving.
Nathaniel turned back to the news for a few seconds before his mind started connecting the dots.
The news was broadcasting the fight, a fight that Alya had no doubt seen with how much she watched the heroes.
The fight was going very badly
Alya had argued several times over Oiselle Bleu being reinstated despite the risk to her health.
Alya had also just ran off somewhere.
And Marinette was not currently at Sanctuaire de la Dame like during most fights.
"I've got to go!" Nathaniel shot up from his seat. "I, uh, left the bath running!"
Nathaniel sprinted out the door fasted than Marc had ever seen him run.
"You left your laptop!" Marc tried to call after him.
But Nathaniel was already too far away to hear.
Marinette was contemplating transforming and letting her dad learn her secret when there was a cry from outside.
A child's cry.
Tom cracked open the door and looked out across the playground, horrified to see that he had missed a child, who had been hiding in a playset until the fight had gotten too close to them.
"Stay here." Tom instructed Marinette and Daniel.
"Dad!" Marinette called after him as he ran out the door.
"Your dad is so brave." Daniel said. "Is he a hero?"
"He could be." Marinette responded, absentmindedly.
Then she realised what she said.
"He could be." Marinette reiterated her tone.
She reached her hand up to her Miraculous and then looked down at Daniel, making her decision.
"Daniel, could you keep a secret for me?" She asked the child.
"Yeah." Daniel responded simply.
Marinette wrinkled her nose, the young boy didn't get the seriousness of this secret.
"I mean it, Daniel." Marinette said kindly. "This is a very big secret. And people could get hurt if you tell anyone else."
"Oh." Daniel said, perking up as he started to understand. "I can keep the secret. I won't tell anyone."
"Do you promise?"
"I promise." Daniel held out his pinkie finger as he looked as serious as he could manage.
Smiling, Marinette locked her own pinkie finger with his.
"Nooroo!" She said.
The kwami flew out of Marinette's purse, surprising Daniel.
"Wings Rise!" Marinette said.
Daniel watched in awe as light washed over Marinette, transforming both her and her wheelchair under him.
"You're a hero, like Belle Aube." Daniel gasped at Lady Nymph.
Lady Nymph's eyebrows furrowed in confusion before she realised that she couldn't expect people to recognise her hero form straight away, considering how much of a reclusive hero she was.
"I am Lady Nymph." The heroine informed the young boy.
She held out her hand as one of her butterflies crawled through the gap in the storeroom door and flew into her hand.
"Lady Nymph." Daniel said, finally realising who she was. "Are you going to make me a Champion.
He bounced on her lap in excitement.
Lady Nymph settled him with a hand on his head.
"Maybe when you're a little older." She said.
Of course, by the time Daniel was old enough for Lady Nymph to be comfortable making him a Champion, she planned for the fight to long be over.
Despite not getting to be a Champion, Daniel still felt so special to be the one out of everyone in his class to see the process of making a Champion up close, watching as Lady Nymph transferred her power into the butterfly on her finger with a kiss, before sending it back outside.
Tom grunted as he threw himself to the ground to avoid getting hit by Drone's wayward spinning top, shielding the child under him as best as he could.
He had gotten to the child, who now clung to his shirt tightly, but getting the child to relative safety was another matter entirely.
Both the school building and the storage room were being blocked by the fight, with the school building being the closer of the two, so Tom was still waiting for the right moment to make a break for the classroom door.
Tom saw the Tiānshǐ a few seconds before it landed on his wedding ring, smiling it relief and determination as it sunk inside.
"Papa Bear, I give you the power to protect all the children from harm. Please help Belle Aube to fight the villains." Lady Nymph spoke to him.
"No child shall come to harm under my watch." Tom vowed as he accepted the power.
The child in his arms gasped as the body under them was wrapped in a glowing light which grew in size.
But the light didn't stop there, it enveloped the entire playground and school as well, the area morphing under the light.
Even the villains and Belle Aube paused their fight as the ground under them transformed.
Many trees sprouted throughout the playground, and when the light faded, the tarmac was replaced by grass and forest litter. The school had been transformed into a castle like structure, the teachers and students inside amazed to suddenly find themselves much higher in the air. And the storeroom where Lady Nymph and Daniel were hiding had become a cottage-like structure, well hidden by vines covering it and the trees around.
Papa Bear himself landed on top of the castle wall and handed the child he had been protecting to Ms Clark.
"I was wondering when the Champion would show up." Serpentina commented.
"Wait, this is all the doing of Nymph?" Volpina questioned
Serpentina nodded.
"Her control over the Butterfly Miraculous is growing." She said.
The elder villain wasted no time in attacking the new Champion, leaving the other two to deal with Belle Aube.
Papa Bear jumped down to meet her.
Serpentina brought up her shield to block Papa Bear's punch, arms shaking with the vibration.
"You will leave these children be." Papa Bear ordered.
Shaking her arms, Serpentina assessed the situation.
"So kind of you to announce your weakness." She said.
The jumped over Papa Bears head and began climbing the castle wall, towards where the children were being kept safe.
Eye widening, Papa Bear jumped after her and got blind-sighted by Serpentina's shield, sending him painfully to the ground.
Serpentina jumped after him, with left her open to Belle Aube's open attack, sending her away from the Champion.
Papa Bear returned the favour by defending Belle Aube from Drone trying to wrap her spinning top around her, it wrapping around his arm instead. The Champion then used his superior strength to send Drone flying.
But then this left him open again from a double attack by Volpina and Serpentina.
The fight was getting brutal, with no time for anyone to breath.
Just as Volpina was about to attack again, sneaking up on Belle Aube, a rock hit the back of her head.
"Ah, what hit me!" Volpina exclaimed, rubbing the back of her head.
She wasn't allowed to look, however, Belle Aube quickly taking advantage of the distraction.
From behind a tree at the edge of the former playground, Zoe crouched as she tried her best to steady her heart, eyes wide.
"What am I doing." She muttered quietly to herself, picking another rock off the ground.
Alya quietly crept her way through the halls of Sanctuaire de la Dame.
Pushing the door to Fu's room open as gently as she could, she found the old man with his back to her, gaze focused on the news report on the current villain attack.
Seeing the report again hardened Alya's resolve.
As quietly as she could, Alya slowly went over to the desk where she knew the Peacock Miraculous was being kept.
Edging ever forward, constantly checking to make sure that Fu hadn't noticed her presence, Alya's fingers brushed the box where the Peacock Miraculous lay.
"Alya!"
There was a slam from the front door as Alya's same was called, muffled by the walls.
But Fu heard it just as Alya did, turning to his door and then noticing that Alya was now in his room.
"Alya, I didn't notice that you were here. My hearing must be going in my old age." Fu said kindly.
Then he noticed that Alya's hand was on the box housing the Peacock Miraculous.
"Were you trying to take the Peacock Miraculous?" He gasped, switching to a disappointed anger.
"Fu, have you-" Nathaniel ran into the room, panting, noticing that Alya was there. "I knew it." He said between breaths.
Alya was tempted to lie about her intentions like a guilty child, but righteous indignation soon took over that feeling.
"Of course I'm taking the Peacock Miraculous." Alya said. "Have you seen how Chloe is fairing right now? If someone doesn't step in, she's going to lose."
"And if you use this, you'll get sick again." With speed unexpected of an old man, Fu snatched the Peacock Miraculous from Alya. "You've only just recovered from the first time."
"Didn't you hear me, there's no time to worry about my health?" Alya made an unsuccessful grab for the Peacock Miraculous. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."
"I will not let a child risk their health in such a way." Fu stressed.
"Chloe risks herself every day, a risk that would be lessened if I were there to help her." Alya challenged.
"As much as I don't like that Belle Aube is so young herself, Miss Chloe has the chance of being unharmed with enough experience and strength. The Peacock Miraculous, however, is guaranteed harm."
"Chloe's going to get harmed, badly, if we don't do something." Alya continued to argue.
"Unfortunately, until the Peacock Miraculous is healed, we can only rely on Belle Aube and Lady Nymph's Champion, and hope they succeed." Fu responded.
Alya groaned in frustration.
"Damaged or not, the Peacock Miraculous is the only thing we have to help. What are you going to do if Chloe loses and we're down to just Lady Nymph? We have no other options."
Silent until now, Alya's words made Nathaniel realise something.
With Alya and Fu preoccupied with going around in circles with their arguing, Nathaniel slipped out of the room, going down the hall to another room.
The Peacock Miraculous was not their only option.
Opening the door to Adrien's room, Nathaniel found the boy sitting on his bed, staring at what Nathaniel was after.
If Adrien was recovered from the corruption like Fu said he was, it stood to reason that the Black Cat Miraculous would also be recovered, and it had just never occurred to any of them to check.
Nathaniel crossed the room and went to take the box from where Adrien had placed it, only for Adrien's hand to suddenly grab onto his arm before he could.
"What are you doing?" Adrien questioned.
Startled, Nathaniel tried his best to answer.
"The villains have attacked again and the fight is really not going well." He explained. "Alya is going to take the Peacock and make herself sick again if something isn't done. And I'm hoping that we can use the Cat Miraculous."
Adrien let go of Nathaniel and picked the box up himself, holding it closely.
"Adrien, please." Nathaniel pleaded. "They need help."
"You can't!" Adrien exclaimed. "It-uh…" He fumbled for a reasonable sounding excuse. "What if there's still corruption left? It could hurt you."
Nathaniel regarded Adrien.
"Look, I know that you're dealing with some stuff, but we need to work past that right now. Either you transform and help the girls, or I'm taking it and using it myself." He laid out an ultimatum.
Adrien frowned sadly and looked back down at the box.
"I…I don't know." He said unsurely.
"Well, you need to make a choice, now." Nathaniel told him.
Adrien looked between the box and Nathaniel a few times.
Biting his lip, Adrien opened the box to finally look at the Miraculous inside.
There was an unexpected glow as Plagg appeared in front of him.
Only this Plagg was whole, no inky smoke leaking off of him.
A sign that the corruption was gone.
"Ah." Plagg sighed, stretching. "That was a good nap."
Plagg then looked at Adrien.
"Hey kid." He said. "You look terrible."
Adrien let out a slightly hysterical laugh at Plagg's greeting.
"Belle Aube is in danger. The heroes need help now." Nathaniel told Plagg.
"That so?" Plagg said. "Well, kid." He turned to Adrien. "You know the words."
Adrien was still unsure, now looking between Plagg, the ring and Nathaniel.
"It's your choice." Nathaniel told Adrien.
His tone said that it had to be made quickly.
Taking a deep breath, Adrien tried to calm himself as he made his choice.
Holding one arm to her chest, Belle Aube called on her power.
"Lucky Charm!"
A spotted cat charm keyring fell into her waiting palm.
"Can't you ever be something useful?" She screeched at the object.
Unfortunately, Belle Aube's anger at the charm she was given allowed her to be open to an attack from Drone, sending her to the ground.
"Venom!"
Winded and a bit dizzy, Belle Aube could only brace her arms in front of her as the paralysing attack came down on her.
And with Papa Bear occupied with Serpentina and Volpina, there was no one to help her.
Until there was the sound of quickly approaching footsteps.
Just before the Venom could pierce Belle Aube's arm, Drone was surprised by an elbow to the back, courtesy of Zoe.
In her shock, Drone dropped her weapon, the Venom still active.
"This is mine now!" Zoe's voice was anything but calm as she grabbed the empowered weapon by the top.
"Zoahhh!" Belle Aube turned her accidental calling out of her girlfriend's name into a meaningless exclamation. "What are you doing?"
"Hi." Zoe said.
She then swivelled on her foot and ran away, trompo still in her hand.
Recovering as quickly as she could, Drone gave chase.
Belle Aube pushed herself to her feet, ready to also give chase, only to have to block an attack from Volpina, who had tried to sneak up on her again.
"A civilian joining in on the fight." Volpina tutted as she shook her head. "You heroes really are a bad influence."
Zoe's active lifestyle gave her good speed and manoeuvrability, but she was no match for someone enhanced by a Miraculous.
Drone tackled Zoe to the ground, grabbing her trompo from the other girl's hand as her grip loosened from the fall.
Drone pulled her Venom back, aiming for Zoe.
"I'll teach you to replace me." Drone's lip curled.
"What?" Zoe questioned the villain.
Drone brought her Venom down.
Zoe quickly grabbed Drone's arm, pushing it away with all her strength, the villain continuing to push down, the sting making its way to Zoe despite her efforts.
Thinking quickly, Zoe swung her legs out, using them to switch her centre of balance and use her weight against Drone, causing them to flip. Drone was quick to try and flip them back.
The two girls tumbled for a sew seconds before coming to a stop as the trompo de-powered, Venom used.
Both girls were still, until Zoe dragged herself out from under Drone's frozen body, sighing in relief.
She looked down at the trompo she'd managed to wrestle out of Drone's hands.
"I'm keeping this." She said to herself.
"Look out!"
Zoe looked up at Belle Aube's warning in time to see Volpina coming for her.
"Ah!" Zoe braced herself for the attack.
Only for there to be a dull clang as Volpina's flute met with something other than Zoe.
"Huh?"
Volpina and Zoe looked up.
There, standing between Volpina and Zoe, with a staff in hand, was a figure in black.
The staff pushed against Volpina, sending her away.
"Get to safety." The newcomer told Zoe.
"Okay." Zoe nodded.
Deciding that she'd had enough heroics for the day, Zoe had no issue running away from the battleground.
Noticing the disturbance, Serpentina broke off her fight with Papa Bear to look at the newcomer.
Serpentina's eyes widened.
"Catastrophe?" She gasped.
Green eyes narrowed.
A transformed Adrien stood before them, but not in his familiar costume.
The suit he now wore was form fitting, a single, plain belt that trailed behind him like a tail, and a golden bell attached to a zipper on the front of his suit. Fake cat ears sat on tamed hair, and his eyes were visible under his mask, with a green film covering them.
Both Belle Aube and Volpina regarded him with uncertainty, yoyo and flute ready.
Serpentina switched to a kind and caring smile.
"There you are." She said. "I thought I'd lost you. I'm so happy to have you back, Catastrophe."
"I am not Catastrophe!" Adrien snarled. "And I'm not here to help you."
Volpina scoffed.
"What? You're here to help her?" She pointed her flute at Belle Aube. "You really think that you can be a hero after all you've done?"
Adrien's face fell from a scowl to an expression of regret.
"I…have done horrible things." He said. "No matter the cause, it was still my hands. And I cannot change what I have done."
"Which is why you should come back to us. We are the only ones who-"
"But!" Adrien interrupted. "That does not mean that I'll sit by and do nothing any longer. And I will make up for my mistakes."
The staff in his hands extended and he attacked, giving Volpina hardly any time to brace as their weapons clashed.
"Well, I guess he's on my side after all." Belle Aube shrugged.
The heroine turned her attention to Serpentina, and alongside Papa Bear, attacked the older villainess.
It was amazing how quickly the tide turned.
With Drone out of commission and the additional member, the heroes now outnumbered the villains once again.
"Agh!" Volpina clutched her shoulder, backing away.
"It's so satisfying to finally be able to fight against you." Adrien commented to his former partner.
"Wish I could say the same." Volpina sneered.
She would have said the same, if she was the one winning.
Serpentina used her shield to block Papa Bear's fists, then had to spin out of the way of Belle Aube's yoyo, kicking the heroine away when she got to close.
"You're looking a bit worried there. Realising that you're the one losing?" Belle Aube was in good spirits despite the kick.
"No matter the odds, I will win in the end." Serpentina promised.
"Your attack cat is on my side now, and your Drone froze herself. Odds still matter." Belle Aube grinned.
She then stiffened as she realised something.
Her head turned to Drone, who still lay defenceless on the grass a short distance away.
The Bee Miraculous open for the taking.
"Speaking of which." Belle Aube fully turned towards Drone.
But Serpentina realised the young villain's vulnerability before the hero, jumping over their heads and landing in front of Drone.
"Shelter!"
The magical shield summoned as Belle Aube and Papa Bear raced forward, blocking them.
"Higher numbers or not, you are still foolish children. Not worthy to wield that which is not rightfully yours." Serpentina said from behind her shield.
Papa Bear banged against the shield, but it held under his strength.
"Fool. Nothing can break my shield." Serpentina boasted.
"Cataclysm!"
Serpentina's eyes widened as her shield disintegrated away under Adrien's destructive touch.
"You were saying?" Belle Aube asked smugly.
Serpentina narrowed her eyes.
"This is not over, hero." She spat.
Belle Aube cast her yoyo at her.
"Mirage!"
Orange clouds obscured everything.
They were easily dispersed by Belle Aube's yoyo, but by the time they cleared, the villains were gone.
"They're back to running away again." Papa Bear said.
"Yes!"
Papa Bear and Adrien stepped away from Belle Aube at her loud exclamation.
Belle Aube was practically jumping up and down in happiness.
"That's right, they ran away." Belle Aube grinned. "They ran. They ran! Haha!"
"Right." Papa Bear said unsurely.
The Champion then turned to Adrien as Lady Nymph's symbol appeared in front of his face.
"Thank you for coming to our aid." Papa Bear said, holding out his hand.
Adrien stared at the hand in awe before shaking it, a smile creeping onto his face.
"Lady Nymph says you can be trusted, so I will trust you." Papa Bear said. "So, what do I call you now, as I suppose Catastrophe isn't right anymore?"
Adrien thought for a bit before turning to Papa Bear.
"Chat Noir." He said. "Call me Chat Noir."
Lady Nymph was grinning widely as she looked at her boyfriend through her dad's eyes.
"I think it's time to return to normal." She said. "Goodbye. Mr Dupain-Cheng."
With that, she recalled her Tiānshǐ.
The Tiānshǐ flew up into the air and looped back to the storeroom, joining Lady Nymph and Daniel, shedding itself of its power.
"Wings Rest."
"This is so cool." Daniel said as Lady Nymph detransformed. "I got to see Lady Nymph in action.
"Remember your promise, Daniel." Marinette reminded.
"Right." Daniel nodded. "I gotta tell no one about you."
"That's right." Marinette smiled. "Now, let's get back to the others.
Daniel opted to walk and push open the door for Marinette as they emerged into the open.
"Marinette!" Tom raced over to his daughter, hugging her tightly.
"You were so cool, dad." Marinette said.
Still in the school/castle, students and teachers cheered for the heroes.
Noticing Belle Aube watching, Marinette indicated her finger in the direction of Sactuaire de la Dame.
The hero nodded.
"Well, as much as I'd love to bask in everyone's adoration. We need to go." Belle Aube said, flipping her hair.
Belle Aube looked at her cat charm and laughed at it slightly, realising what it had meant, before throwing it into the air.
"Miraculous Cure!"
Ladybug magic washed over the playground, undoing the transformation brought by Papa Bear and fixing the damage caused by the fight.
As Belle Aube and Chat Noir left, the latter pulled along by the former, the children and teachers emerged to flock around Tom and thank him for protecting them.
Belle Aube and Chat Noir only went around the corner to hide before detransforming.
Plagg stretched as he emerged from his ring.
"Not a bad first outing, kid." The Kwami said. "Better than some of my other kittens."
"Not bad for a beginner." Chloe agreed flippantly. "But you took way too long." She pointed at him.
"Sorry." Adrien shrugged.
"Well, I suppose that we can work on your punctuality." Chloe said.
"Plagg"
The Cat Kwami found himself hugged by Tikki.
"You're back to normal." Tikki cheered.
"That's right, Sugar Cube." Plagg said, hugging back.
Walking around the corner, they found Zoe staring at her empty hand and pouting.
"Zoe!"
Chloe ran over to her girlfriend and clamped onto her arm.
"Hey, my little buggie." Zoe smiled.
"Oh no." Chloe suddenly scowled. "I'm not forgetting. What were you thinking? Running in like that?"
"I was thinking that my girlfriend was about to get hurt. My body did the rest." Zoe informed Chloe.
"Are you hurt?" Chloe raised an eyebrow.
"Eh, I'm fine." Zoe said. "I know how to take a tumble."
"Right." Chloe said.
She then smacked Zoe upside the head.
"Don't ever do that again." Chloe said.
"Ow." Zoe complained, rubbing her head. "Okay, fair." She said.
"By the way, give me your jacket." Chloe demanded.
Zoe took off her jacket and handed it to Chloe, slightly confused.
Chloe then took the jacket and dumped it on Adrien's head, taking off her own sunglasses and putting them over Adrien's eyes.
"There. Now we can make it back without you being recognised." Chloe said.
"Oh." Adrien said, remembering that the city at large still viewed him as a villain.
The three teens made their way through the city, sticking to the less popular streets, much to Chloe's displeasure, to keep the amount of people along the way to a minimum.
"By the way, why were you pouting?" Chloe questioned along the way.
"The spinning top I took from Drone disappeared." Zoe pouted.
She had really wanted to keep that trompo.
Eventually, they reached Sanctuaire de la Dame and went inside.
They were all met by Nathaniel, Alya and Fu waiting in Fu's room in an awkward silence.
Alya immediately shot to her feet.
"Well?" She asked.
Both Alya and Fu had been informed about Adrien reusing the Cat Miraculous by Nathaniel.
Chloe smirked.
"They ran way." She informed.
Everyone smiled in relief.
"Told you that they needed help." Alya commented to Fu without any malice behind it.
She was a little disappointed that it wasn't her being the one to help, but overjoyed that the playing field had been evened out.
"Adrien." Fu brought attention to himself. "You have overcome adversity and become a hero. I have never been as proud as I am now."
Adrien smiled, putting a hand to his chest at the warmth that bloomed there.
"Yeah, I can't wait to see whatever footage there it." Alya said. "I'll finally have something good to update the Kaleidoscoop with."
"I'm happy that you managed to do it." Nathaniel joined in on the praise.
"You were amazing." Tikki added.
It only made Adrien's smile grow wider.
"You're going to make his head explode if you're not careful." Zoe joked.
It took a while for Marinette to return to Sanctuaire de la Dame, held up at the school.
When she eventually did make it back, everyone was settled in Fu's room.
"Adrien!" Marinette exclaimed as she entered.
"Marinette." Adrien went over to her.
Marinette immediately hugged his middle.
"I'm so proud of you." Marinette cried. "You're a hero now. My hero."
Adrien smiled and hugged back.
"Yeah." He agreed. "It feels good."
Wiping her eyes, Marinette looked up at Adrien.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
"I…" Adrien went to assure her but decided to be truthful. "I feel good, better than ever in a while. But I'm still a bit tired, honestly. I feel like I've used up all my energy."
"Right." Marinette said.
Even if Adrien had proved himself a hero, it didn't mean that his issues would just magically disappear.
Adrien yawned.
"You should get some rest." Marinette decided.
"But I-" Adrien yawned again. "I need to tell you stuff. About the villains."
Marinette looked Adrien in the eyes.
"After you nap for a bit." She repeated.
Too tired to argue, Adrien just nodded.
He lay down on Fu's futon, not even bothering to go to his own room, showing how tired he was.
"So, what now?" Nathaniel asked.
"We go home, tell our parents that we're having a sleepover here, get things in order. Then, we end this." Marinette said matter-of-factly.
"What?" Everyone blinked at her.
Even the Kwamis looked shocked.
"You really mean it?" Chloe asked.
"Adrien's mind is clear, he'll be able to tell us who is behind all this, after he's rested." Marinette said. "So now, we attack."
"That's what I'm talking about." Alya said, pumping her fist.
"Take them down at the source." Chloe nodded.
"If this is truly to be it. Marinette is correct, you need to get things in order." Fu agreed.
"Right."
Everyone gathered their coats and belongings and left, with the intention to return.
"That means you as well, Marinette." Fu turned to the one who remained.
"Yeah." Marinette said, looking down at her sleeping boyfriend. "Look after him." She said.
"I will." Fu assured.
Marinette pushed herself out of the room, ready to put everything into action.
Author's note: Please comment
And here, we reach the final stretch. Adrien is one with the hero team, with his mind clear he can finally reveal Xue Ying and the heroes can finally put an end to things.
I've been busy again, with some Champion art of Yue-Lien, Guardian Amour and Black Lynx. Which, as usual, can be found on my Tumblr or DeviantArt.
