To Butterfly: Thanks! I try to keep a balance in my stories. This one's going to get pretty "action-heavy" after the "Peru Arc."

As they walked hand-in-hand from the Mansion back to Sabrina's apartment building, Max found himself feeling nervous in spite of himself. Even with all of Sabrina's reassurances to the contrary, could her parents be upset or disappointed regarding their status?

"You really don't have anything to worry about," Sabrina assured him, squeezing his hand. "Dad promised that he wouldn't meet us at the door with his shotgun!"

Max grinned sheepishly. "I admit, the thought had crossed my mind that crossing a police officer's daughter could be bad for my health," he noted. "Although, were that to be the case I would have expected it to occur before now!" He looked over at her curiously. "Why are they suddenly so insistent?" he asked. "I am sorry I never had the opportunity before now, but it is a bit of a surprise."

Sabrina shrugged. "Dad has seemed troubled for the last week," she answered, furrowing her brows. She put her key in the apartment building door to let them up. "His emotions have been all off since that incident with the Reindeer. But then this morning suddenly… poof. He felt really content. Resolved, maybe."

Max nodded as Sabrina opened the door to her apartment and led the way inside. The moment he was inside he recognized the smell of pot roast and his mouth started watering. Captain Raincomprix was sitting in an armchair in the living room with a beer as they entered, and waved for Max to take a seat on the couch across from him. When Sabrina started walking over to join him on the couch, however, her father told her, "I think your mother might need some help in the kitchen."

Sabrina raised an eyebrow slightly, but gave Max a reassuring smile as she went to the kitchen. Max tried not to let his nerves show as he sat down on the edge of the couch and looked across at Sabrina's father. They had been working together in a professional capacity for months now – at no time more so than recently with the Heroes' increased anti-Lynchpin activity. And yet, that rarely involved meeting in-person, and Captain Raincomprix exclusively knew him as Pegasus in that context. Before he and Sabrina had started dating, he had only met her father a handful of times, and never in this intimate of a setting.

"So tell me about yourself, son," he ordered Max. "Sabrina has told us a few things, but I always prefer to do my own investigation. She has spoken very highly of you of course. What do you do for fun?"

I have not had any time for "fun" in a month! Max almost replied. "I enjoy working with computers," he answered instead. "Two years ago I began developing a video game based on Hawk Moth's Akumas, and I was able to publish the first edition of it back in the spring, with an update released on Heroes' Day. At the moment I am working on the coding for a second edition to include the Heroes as playable characters."

Sabrina's father nodded appreciatively. "Sabrina brought one of your demo disks home last fall for us to play," he noted, raising his beer in a toast. "I admit, playing as my own Akumatized self was an interesting experience."

"I hope it was enjoyable, sir?" Max asked nervously.

"Here you can just call me 'Roger,'" he replied, giving a small smile. "And it was certainly enjoyable. We haven't tried any of the newer Akuma characters yet, but I am looking forward to it, especially if someday we'll be able to actually beat Hawk Moth in the game! Have you considered making a career of game design?"

Max shrugged. "I have considered it," he admitted. "I have also considered working to further develop artificial intelligence – that is very much a growing field and one in which I have a strong interest. However, I am unsure if either of those is truly the ideal use of my skills."

Roger nodded. "That seems to be a common answer lately," he observed wryly. "I asked Sabrina if she was still considering applying to the police next year, and she said she didn't know anymore. Of course," he added, "I am starting to wonder if she isn't better suited to a career that allows her to make us of a different method of helping people."

Max frowned and was about to ask what career he had in mind, when Sabrina stepped into the living room. "Dinner's ready," she called.

Max and Roger followed her into the kitchen, where Sabrina's mother, Irene, was just finishing serving the food. "Here you are, dear," she told Max, handing him a plate. "I am so sorry it's taken so long for you to be able to come over for dinner! Especially with your mother away. We will have to have you over more often for home-cooked meals! But what have you been eating lately?"

Max laughed as they sat down around the kitchen table, Sabrina taking the seat next to him. "Mme Lê has been keeping me well fed," he assured her. "I have dinner at Kim's house at least a few times every week. And I have appreciated the leftovers Sabrina brings me. Beyond that, all of our school friends have been very helpful, so I have not been wanting for meals."

"I am very glad to hear it," Irene said, sounding relieved. "And how is your mother?"

"She is doing extremely well on her mission!" Max replied, grinning. "We are able to speak every week, and apart from the incident on the first day of her mission she has enjoyed it immensely."

"It was so scary what happened to her ship," observed Irene. "I can't imagine what it was like for you to watch that."

Max nodded. That had been an especially scary moment, watching his mother's Soyuz capsule spin out of control following a collision with a previously-unknown cloud of space debris. Sensing Max's discomfort, Sabrina put her hand over his.

"It's a good thing Pegasus was able to save them," Roger commented. Max did not think he imagined the calculating look in Roger's eyes as he watched their reactions.

"If not for his intervention, there was only a 3% chance that the capsule would have been recovered," Max agreed.

"So what are your thoughts on the Heroes of Paris then, son?" asked Roger, eyeing him curiously.

Max froze. "I… think the people of Paris owe Ladybug and Cat Noir a great debt for defeating Hawk Moth," he began delicately, staring intently at the badge embroidered on Roger's chest. "I think that since his defeat they have accomplished some important feats, although they cannot be expected to stop every crime that happens in the city. For most crimes, the regular police are more than sufficient. However, there are an increasing number of criminals with abilities that the police are ill-equipped to face, and which the police cannot be expected to confront. Both the police and the Heroes of Paris have different resources and different parts to play in keeping our city safe." He finally glanced up at Roger's face nervously.

"I suppose that's a very diplomatic way of putting that," Roger observed, chuckling. "I guess that was a bit of a loaded question, coming from a cop." He sighed and shook his head. "To be honest, my opinion of the Heroes has changed several times in the last few years. At first I thought Ladybug was a nuisance, getting in the way of real police work. The law is intended to handle criminals – we don't need people carrying out vigilante justice and turning our streets into a war zone! Of course, I had to change my tune pretty quickly when the criminals were the ones turning the city into a war zone or worse. Perhaps the police could deal with an Akuma victim like M. Pigeon on our own, but the moment Hawk Moth created a mermaid capable of sinking the city, or a witch who could alter the climate, suddenly the police were entirely outmatched. Then Hawk Moth was defeated and I thought maybe the Heroes should hang up their masks and enjoy a well-deserved retirement… only to find out that there was even worse out there – and these monsters are acting of their own free will, not because of a voice in their head! Now I get to be the Heroes' go-to police contact, and I find myself coordinating on a regular basis with someone capable of dropping heroes out of the sky at a moment's notice!"

"I… cannot imagine that this is what you expected when you became a police officer," Max observed hesitantly. Sabrina stifled a giggle.

Roger chuckled ruefully. "Not really," he admitted. "But I am still serving and protecting my city, so in that sense I suppose this is exactly what I got into law enforcement to do. But on to cheerier subjects: tell me, do you enjoy traveling?"

The rest of the meal passed in idle conversation before Irene cleared away the dishes to finish preparing their dessert. Roger leaned back in his chair, sighed, and commented, "I was very impressed by your Super Akuma Battle game: you included every Akuma Hawk Moth ever created, which in itself is quite a feat. Some of what you used, I don't think anyone outside the Heroes of Paris could have known."

Max sat very still. He had planned out a reasonable explanation if anyone asked about the accuracy level of his game, but this did not sound like simple curiosity. And he doubted that Roger would accept the Ladyblog as his source of information – a few of the Akumas had not received more than a passing mention on there.

"However," Roger continued, "there is one part of it that your Super Akuma Battle game wasn't able to capture."

"What is that?"

"The confusion and powerlessness associated with being used by Hawk Moth." He frowned, staring down at the table. "You feel that you have all the power in the world, but you can only do with it what the voice in your head says. You know that Sabrina and I were both Akumatized on several occasions."

Max nodded. "I was, as well."

"The only mercy to it was the memory loss," Roger continued quietly. "I don't remember anything of my Akumatization. I heard that voice, felt the power wash over me, and the next thing I knew, Ladybug and Cat Noir were standing over me, having released me from the Akuma's power." He let out a snort of laughter. "In a way I'm glad the new Butterfly hero has taken a different approach and used less Akumas this year." His eyes drifted across the table to Sabrina as he spoke. "Has it happened to you yet?" he asked Max.

"If it had, I am certain it would have been mentioned on the Ladyblog," Max replied evasively. "Alya keeps a very comprehensive list of Impératrice Pourpre's helpers." She had dedicated almost an entire week to analyzing his rescue of the Soyuz capsule and what Pegasus' suddenly-augmented power level might mean.

Roger nodded, smiling wistfully. "It happened to me last week," he explained. "My men and I were ambushed by a new miraculous user, and Impératrice Pourpre sent me an Akuma. She is quite a remarkable young woman. Unlike Hawk Moth, she gave me the choice of whether or not to accept her help – she saved me, and she allowed me to save the rest of the officers with me. It was… a night-and-day difference from Hawk Moth. No coercion, no anger, just a gentle, encouraging voice in my head. And unlike with Hawk Moth, I remember everything about the experience… even the voice." He laughed. "The girl who could be given that level of power – a power which held Paris spellbound over a two-year reign of terror – and would only use that power to help and protect people? That is a special girl." He met Sabrina's gaze as he said it, and Max could see the light pink coloring in her cheeks as her mouth opened slightly in surprise. Then Roger turned to look at Max and added, gravely, "I hope that those who work the closest with her appreciate that and keep her safe."

Max's eyes widened, but only for a moment before he nodded in acknowledgement. He met Sabrina's gaze and smiled. "I am absolutely certain that they do."