Aggression

"Don't be bemused, it's just the news… and what news?!" Nadja Chamack stood across the street from Tom & Sabines bakery, her face practically glowing with joy as she spoke into a microphone. "Only ten minutes ago, this was the sight of a massive fight between three former heroes, and Paris' own Ladybug and Chat Noir. Little did we know that this fight would have a form of significance as witnesses described a young woman transform, in plain view, into our local hero." She then shook her head, "Only to have the same young woman, now known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, transform back after the fight along with her partner, now revealed to be, model Adrien Agreste!"

Somewhere off camera, the sound of a girl squealing in delight caused her to look. "We are here with one of their friends, and owner of the Ladyblog, Alya Cesaire. Miss Cesaire, you have already told us that you were privy to this information long before these events, but how did you discover their dual identities?"

Alya's smiling face and relaxed body joined Nadja in the view of the camera. "It actually happened during the "Stunner" incident in which Hawkmoth and Mayura were finally captured, but due to my friendship with the aforementioned heroes, and a request that I keep their secret until such time as they were ready to reveal themselves, the information remained off the Ladyblog."

Nadja brought the microphone to her mouth. "Why is that Miss Cesaire?"

Looking right at the reporter, she shook her head. "I was not willing to ruin a friendship for an exclusive." She then smiled at the camera. "Now that their secret is out, I can reveal that they have been officially a couple since they took down Hawkmoth, and are planning on giving an exclusive interview with our own Nadja Chamack, but no others."

That caused the reporter's eyes to widen, and her hand to go to her chest. "What? Just me?" She shook her head. "Why not you?"

"Because I already know the information, and I will be posting it on the Ladyblog after your interview, so anyone who doesn't watch TVi will still get the scoop." With that, Alya winked at the camera, before the reporter brought the microphone to her mouth.

"We will keep everyone updated as we get more information."

Lila was fuming beyond words, while clutching her throbbing stomach. Lying on her bed, the Italian scowled at the ceiling. Picturing the faces of those that she loathed normally helped overcome any pain, but this was much worse than anything she had ever felt. Usually she loved envisioning her foes beaten to the ground, at her feet, beginning for mercy. Their lives in her hands, gave her a rush of power, control, and satisfaction that would create a pool of warmth deep in her belly, and a thrill that ran up her spine until she squirmed.

Originally, her plan was to take Adrien back, but with how he acted, she now realized he was tainted. Marinette Dupain-Cheng had seduced him with her siren song of "nobility" to the point where he was too far gone for her purposes. 'He's weak! What the hell did I ever see in him?' Lila let out an angry puff of air that caused her entire abdomen to sting, before she flung a pillow across the room. It impacted the wall impotently, only to land with a weak 'thump' on the floor next to the window.

The pillow's lack of impact only added to her frustrations, so she lay back, trying to ease the pain with breathing exercises. Pain throbbed, making her wince with tears sprang up at the edge of her eyes in a sensation that made her feel like a Tae-Kwon-Do dojo training dummy. The Italian had managed to resist checking the area of impact so far, brushing it off initially as a minor inconvenience, but now she wasn't so sure that was wise. The fact that the pain was only continuing to worsen forced her to acknowledge that she was potentially feeling the full brunt of that particular ability. Worse yet, knowing that Adrien felt no hesitation in harming her caused feelings of vulnerability to amplify the pain.

Trixx had been affected by the attack too. When the Kwami appeared after the five minute cool-down elapsed, Lila saw the little creature collapse onto her bed, and not move. A small part of her worried when she saw the normally playful fox with no energy and unable to float. 'How will this compromise my mission to gain ultimate power?' Now an hour later, she looked over to where the little creature was nibbling on some food. 'She's fine, but appearing weak around this group is detrimental.' A thought suddenly occurred, 'If that mangy tomcat can deliver another of those Cataclysms, how much more effective would that be with me already weakened?'

A shiver ran down her body, and she felt herself grow cold. 'I'll have to have someone else there as well, maybe I can use them to shield me.' She surmised, 'If I'm lucky, I could make Kagami crumble under his touch, just not the way she wanted.' For the first time ever since they returned, Lila felt a smile grace her lips as twisted thoughts coalesced into an image of the dragon Miraculous wielder turning to ash. Yes, Lila was definitely feeling better with the thought of Kagami falling to Adrien's power, leaving poor Luka for her to comfort.

With a few necessary changes in her tactics, and some well placed snippets of conversation, Lila had her endgame planned out in her head, causing the Italian to smirk. 'Perfect! When the opportunity comes, I know exactly what to do.'

At the same time Lila was plotting the permanent removal of her rival, Gabriel was sitting beside Nathalie's bed. "You really don't need to fuss over me…" she started to say, as she turned her head away from the man.

"I only want to ensure that you're not feeling the after-effects of the damaged peacock Miraculous." At the same time, Duusu was flying around the room, giggling happily. "You haven't had a coughing fit in months, and to hear that you had one now is… upsetting."

Nathalie gulped her dry throat. "It was just… a momentary…" she turned to look at him and instantly saw the scowl on Gabriel's face. "I…"

He didn't say anything for several seconds before he lowered his voice to only a couple of steps above a whisper. "The truth, Nathalie."

Knowing she was caught, she nodded. "I faked my illness, sir."

"Why?" his tone of voice wasn't angry, or cold, just questioning.

"I… didn't like Miss Rossi's plan." Looking down at her hands, she placed them on top of each other in her lap. "Your plans are… elegant, inventive, and have flair, hers was amateurish, direct, and needlessly cruel. I… I couldn't let her succeed."

Gabriel nodded as he watched her. Reaching out, he lightly placed his hand on hers, leaning forward. "Was that the only reason, Nathalie?"

Looking up at him, she could see the question in his eyes, before looking at her lap. "I… care for your son. Adrien is… he's a kind, compassionate, loving young man, the type of child I always wanted to raise… and you don't pay any attention to him." Dropping her head, she felt a tear fall down her cheek. "I love him as if he were my own, and being away from him for months has given me clarity on that." Returning her gaze to Gabriel she spoke softly. "I will not help you to hurt him anymore, but I will offer myself as the sacrifice to bring Emilie back."

Standing up, he turned his back to her. "Disappointing, but expected. I had a feeling your affection for my son had grown, but at least now… you've saved me the trouble of overthrowing that little upstart." Glancing over his shoulder, he narrowed his eyes. "Stay here. You are unwell, and can no longer be on missions." He watched as she opened her mouth to argue, but Gabriel shook his head. "That is what we will tell the rest of the group, only you and I need to know the truth."

"Please… don't hurt Adrien anymore." she pleaded softly.

Turning to regard her, his voice became cold. "That is no longer your concern, Miss Sanceour." At the use of her last name, Nathalie's mouth dropped open, her eyes widening. "I will, however, take your offer under advisement." She watched as he opened the door, exiting the room, before shutting it again. He never saw how she curled up, her heart shattering at the prospects of what just happened. Instead, he simply walked down the stairs with his hands behind his back.

"How is she?" Luka asked. Kagami stepped forward, having brewed a pot of tea for them.

"Unfortunately, she used a Miraculous that was damaged, so she gets coughing fits, dizzy spells, and at times has a lack of energy." Gabriel admitted. "We had hoped that when I repaired the peacock brooch that it would start to heal her…" he shook his head, "apparently the damage is permanent. She's very sick right now, but we are still on mission."

"You need to know something," Kagami said, looking at the younger man, she saw him nod, "about the fight." She then narrowed her eyes, "Luka used his 'second chance' ability and saw what happened when Lila succeeded in getting the ladybug Miraculous…"

'She succeeded?! Does that mean Luka used his Second Chance to reverse time until they failed?! Why?!' Gabriel's voice went deep, his mouth twisting into a scowl. "Tell me."

"Thank you for this interview, Miss Dupain-Cheng," Nadja started as she looked at the couple on the couch, her seat across from them in the living room above the bakery, "and Mr. Agreste."

"Please feel free to call me Adrien." The blond remarked as Marinette took a deep breath beside him, and let it out slowly through her nostrils, her lips in a tight line.

"I'm sorry for not coming into the studio, but instead asking for the interview here above the bakery, Mrs. Chamack. After what happened earlier today… I'm worried about the safety of my family." Marinette then clasped her hand with Adrien. "All of my family."

Nadja nodded with a worried look on her face. "I fully understand your fears. After the fight we managed to take a few statements from people who were there from before…" she tentatively added, "the sight of your parent's home being destroyed must've been…"

"Very." Marinette answered, her eyes hardening. "After discovering that it was all a trick, I was relieved to know that my family was alive and well, but to see that two of my "friends" being at least partially responsible for the attack made me realize something."

"Oh? What is that?" Nadja asked with trepidation.

Marinette lowered her head, her lips twisting in a scowl. "The kid gloves are off!" she growled. "If that traitor, Kagami Tsurugi, that lying little bitch, Lila Rossi, and that betrayer, Luka Couffaine want to bring family into this… then I'll do that! I call upon all of their families to meet me here so that I can tell them exactly what their children have been involved in for the past few weeks." She then sat back. "What those three have done is despicable, dishonorable, and disgusting, but I will not stoop to their level! My only reason for calling on the parents is to locate their children before they wind up hurting someone."

"Then… this wasn't meant to be an interview, but a call-out for those people…" Nadja scowled at the prospects of being used.

"Not at all," Adrien placated, "we have every intention of talking about what is going on, and how this has come about, but we also needed you to help send out an alert for the parents." Lightly gripping Marinette's hand, he felt her fingers interlace with his own, "As such, we will answer any questions you have, starting now."

After telling Gabriel everything, Luka and Kagami sat down in his room, snuggling as they turned on the television to watch a movie. When the movie turned off to show a "Special Report" he started to change the channel, but Kagami placed her hand on his wrist. "Luka…" she breathed as the video of Marinette calling out their names reached their ears.

"I don't believe it…" he breathed, stunned at how Marinette described the trio of teens.

Kagami left the bed, looking at him. "I'm going to let everyone else know." Running through the house, she turned on every television. It didn't matter what channel each one was on, the report was on all of them. Lila sat up on her bed with a wince and a grunt, her eyes and mouth popping open as it replayed the report, now with images of the three teens on one side, and a number to call for anyone who might have seen any of them.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "Very good, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Use the tools you have been given." His lips quirked up into a smirk as he looked over at Nathalie. "It appears we will be leaving quite soon. Do you wish to pack, or stay here?"

Looking down, she closed her eyes. "I'm with you to the end, Gabriel, regardless of what that end might be." Turning to look at him again, he saw the sorrow in her eyes. "I'll be packed in less than an hour."

Nodding, he turned toward the door. "The portal will be open in one hour. Miss it, and you take your chances with the local police."

While everyone packed, Kagami went to the garage. "Azaka, return to the hangar, and shut down."

"At once, Lady Kagami." the vehicle remarked before driving away from the house. She waited for the vehicle to pass the open gate before she returned to her room. It would take some time to pack up her suitcase. 'Hopefully, Mr. Agreste has a place where we can hide out after we leave here.'

Some of the questions Adrien and Marinette either refused to answer, or deflected away on the grounds of being either "too personal" or "potentially dangerous" for former Miraculous wielders. Aside from that, they sat with Nadja for over an hour answering as many questions about themselves, and even introduced their Kwami's (although the cameras and microphones could neither see nor hear them) to the woman.

"... so… wait, you both look remarkably similar to the pictures…"

"Ms. Mendeleiev drew for Alternative Truth? Yes." Marinette remarked. "We asked her to keep the secret of the existence of Kwami's, because she, in a sense, wasn't wrong about them being inter-dimensional beings."

"Unfortunately, my Kwami, Plagg, is a little irresponsible when it comes to cheese." Adrien added wryly, shooting an accusatory look at his companion. "It's his favorite food, especially Camembert, and can't get enough."

"Is it my fault that gooey beauty just melts on my tongue so perfectly?" Plagg whined wistfully.

Nadja smiled, giving a little giggle. "If that's what he eats, then what does Tikki eat?"

"Cookies, mostly." Tikki answered. "Although I will eat almost anything sweet, cookies are my favorite food."

"Then I guess it's a good thing your wielder lives in a bakery." Nadja remarked. "I could do another hour just interviewing you both, but I have every belief that my viewers would become frustrated by neither being able to hear, or see you."

"Very true." Marinette admitted. "Thank you for allowing us to get the word out."

About that time, the door to the living room opened to reveal Sabine. "Honey, you and Adrien have a few visitors."

Nadja shook both of their hands, thanking them for the interview, while her camera crew packed everything up. The pair mentally prepared themselves for the trio of women that would no doubt be incensed by Marinette's assassination of their children's character, but what they did not expect was to have the door open, and their classmates walk into the living room. "Dude! Good to see you again!" Nino called out as he walked in and they clasped hands.

Kim walked over, picking Marinette up in a big hug, before the rest of the group walked over to thank the teens in their own way. Nadja and her crew watched as the classmates surrounded the pair with hugs, kisses on the cheek, and a few tears being shed. The only ones conspicuously absent were Chloé, Lila, and Alix. Both could account for the latter two, but the former caused Adrien to glance at his girlfriend with suspicion.

Once the camera crew, and Nadja, left Tom and Sabine's bakery, the door opened to reveal a young blonde looking at Sabine with shame in her eyes. "Mrs. Cheng… would it be…"

"Go on up, dear. I'm sure they would love to see you." Sabine answered her half-asked question.

It wasn't more than a minute later, while everyone was talking, that they heard "So… this is what the inside of your home looks like?"

Everyone turned to see, standing in the doorway, her blue eyes on both Marinette and Adrien "Chloé?" he asked. Walking over, he smiled and took her hands in his, "I'm so glad to see you."

"Y-You are?" tears pricked at her eyes.

Adrien nodded. "Of course. I've missed you." Wrapping her up in a hug, he held her close, and she wrapped him up as well. Tears slid down her cheeks at the gentleness and affection she received rather than thrust upon the male model.

Chloé leaned back, smiling at him. "I've missed you too." She then looked at Marinette, her eyes growing cold and hard. "You…" she felt Adrien clench her hard as she stepped away, going around him, his whisper of her name falling on deaf ears as she approached the woman that had been her victim, her rival, and her hero all at once. Stepping up in front of the baker's daughter, Chloé placed her hands on her hips. "I'm going to tell you this just once, Dupain-Cheng, so listen very carefully. If you do anything to break my Adrikins heart, you will answer to me!"

That caused everyone to blink, and more than one mouth to drop open. "Chloé," her voice was soft, but there was resolve in Marinette's words, "the only one that has broken his heart recently has been his father. I love Adrien, and care more for him than I do myself." She then held out her hand. "Truce?"

Looking down at the offered hand for the span of a breath, Chloé turned around, only to see Adrien standing there. "It's… going to take time for me to come to terms with this Adrikins, but if this is your choice…"

"It is…"

Nodding, she walked to the exit without saying another word. When she left, the young woman closed the door cordially behind her, making both teens look at each other. "That went… better than I expected." Marinette said, a little shell-shocked by Chloe's arrival, words, and the way she left. Returning to their friends, they never watched to see the heiress leave the bakery, thanking Tom and Sabine, before pulling out her golden cell phone.

Pulling it up to her ear, Chloé spoke softly. "Mission accomplished. I don't think they suspect anything."

"Good." Gabriel remarked on the other end of the line. "We've just arrived at our new base of operations, and are getting ready. For now, just lay low. You are the key to my entire plan, Chloé. The jewel at the top of the crown…"

"You don't need to stroke my ego, Uncle Gabriel." Chloe hissed, "Just getting the chance to wipe that smug smile off of Marinette Dupain-Cheng's face when I take her Miraculous will be all I need out of this plan." Smiling, she narrowed her eyes as she walked back to the hotel with a little skip in her step.

To everyone that has been following this story, we beg your forgiveness.

Lady Rhi has been dealing with a medical condition that kept her from writing and uploading. From the way she talks, it's nothing too serious, but I have offered to have "Too Late" go on a week long hiatus until she's better. We already have most of the next chapter (and part of the chapter afterward) typed out, but I don't feel it would be right to continue without my writing partner.

In other news, "Monarch" should have dropped last Sunday, but did not because of extenuating circumstances beyond my control (I forgot that the hiatus was only three weeks, and initially thought I had typed out "six") I did not have a chapter to upload. Yes, I derped, but I will work furiously on the first chapter and attempt to get it out by this next Sunday.