So, back in the present.

A couple days after Marinette's big day, and in proper fashion, Hawkmoth decided to strike right in the middle of a civics test.

Caline blew an errant hair out of her face as everyone's phones went off at once. "Alright everyone, you know the drill. Get with your partner and get to the gym."

She noticed that as soon as the alert went off, Adrien practically leapt over the desks to get to Marinette and help her up. Marinette meanwhile was blushing furiously and batting his hands away.

"I'm not crippled! Geez! I…" She cupped his cheek. "You're too sweet. I am fine, okay? And, um, I need to talk to Ms. Bourgeois for a moment, so I'll walk with her. Get some girl advice."

"I'll walk with you," Adrien offered.

Marinette kissed him. "I need some girl advice. Go shelter with Nino. I'll be right there. I promise."

"But…"

Marinette leveled a glare at him. "I'm not helpless and I'm not dumb. I'll be fine with Ms. Bourgeois."

Adrien broke out the puppy dog eyes. "I'm just…" He glanced at her abdomen. "I'm concerned."

Marinette bit her lip. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course," Adrien said without missing a beat.

Marinette kissed him. "Then trust me."

Adrien shot her a concerned look, but then nodded. He squeezed her hand. "Okay. Please be careful."

She smiled at him as Nino looped his arm around Adrien's neck and practically dragged him away.

The moment they were alone, Marinette let out a long sigh. "God, that took forever."

"I'll say," Caline said as she scooped her papers into her bag. "Might as well grab your stuff, kiddo. I'm calling class after this."

"But, we're doing a test?"

Caline glanced at the room and shrugged. "Meh. I'll just post an online question. I'm done."

Marinette giggled. "You've gotten a lot more laid back since you had Camille, you know that?"

Caline smirked. "So I've been told."

Marinette shuffled her feet. "Um… Is that normal? When you have a kid?"

Caline shrugged. "I don't know? I'm winging this whole thing, sweetie. I mean, she's alive and happy and she can count to 10, so I think I'm doing okay? I dunno. Why? And also, what girl advice did the savior of Paris need from me?"

Marinette blushed and looked around again.

Caline stopped what she was doing when she noticed how out of character Marinette was acting. "Marinette? Are you okay?"

Marinette nodded as she took off her earrings and held them out to Caline. "So, um, I have a small favor to ask?"

Caline's eyes went wide as she started shaking her head. "Nuh-uh. Nope, I told you before this isn't my scene. No thanks, kiddo. I'm good."

Marinette blushed and fidgeted in place. "Um, what if, um, I'm not?"

Caline blinked. "What do you mean?"

"What if I, um, what if I physically can't?"

"Can't?"

Marinette cringed. "Um, shouldn't?"

Caline stared at her for a moment. "Why shouldn't you… Be…"

Caline looked at Marinette for a moment. She noticed the sweater Marinette was wearing in lieu of her normal, tight undershirt.

She thought about how Adrien had just acted.

"Um… Is that normal? When you have a kid?"

Caline looked Marinette over and froze when she glanced at the younger woman's hand. Cautiously, she reached out and took it, examining the white gold ring on her finger.

"Oh," Caine said. She glanced up at Marinette, who was blushing furiously and cringing.

Caline's eyes went wide.

She knew that look.

"Marinette?" Caline asked. "Are… Are you okay?"

Marinette nodded. "I'm okay, I'm just, um…"

Her hand drifted to her stomach.

Caline gently pulled Marinette into a hug. "Are you serious?" Caline blurted out. "Oh God, sweetheart! Oh, um, do, um, wow. Congratulations? Congratulations! Do your parents know?"

Marinette smiled and nodded against Caline's shoulder. "Yeah. Yeah, they know."

"This is why you passed out the other day?" Caline asked, her face pale. "Oh dammit, sweetie, you should have told me! You should have said something! Oh, oh dear heart," she kissed the side of Marinette's head and sniffed. "And, and you're sure?"

Marinette pulled back and nodded, grinning. "Um, yeah."

Caline erupted into a squeal and hugged her again. "Con… Congratulations!"

"You already said that," Marinette pointed out.

"Oh, shut up and let me have this. Oh sweetie! But, you're so young! And, and Adrien is okay with it?"

Marinette held up her hand and laughed. "He asked me before I even told him."

Caline snickered. "That sounds like him. Have you told anyone else?"

Marinette shook her head. "Just Adrien and, um, my family."

"Oh wow. Oh… Oh." Caline's smile faded as she looked at the earrings in Marinette's other hand. "So yeah. I guess you can't do hero things, can you?"

Marinette shook her head. "I have a sub for the evenings, but, um, there's no one I would trust more with Tikki. I'm sorry to ask. I know you're not a fan, but…"

Caline took the earrings from Marinette's hand and put them in. A moment later, Tikki was floating beside her. "Nonsense. I just… Between you and me? I'm intimidated as Hell every time I put these on."

"Really?"

Caline nodded. "You're the best at this. I feel like I'm just scrapping by, and I'm constantly scared I'm going to mess up. It's a lot of stress, kiddo."

Marinette cringed. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Caline said, smiling. "You just set a high bar. Honestly, I'm beyond honored that you keep turning to me. Now, I'd say go shelter with your fiancé, but I'm guessing he's not there," Caline said as she stretched.

Marinette paused and looked quizzically at Caline. "Why wouldn't he be there?"

Caline froze.

"Wait… SERIOUSLY? I…" She closed her eyes and took a breath. "Not my place. Okay. Okay. Go shelter. We can talk more about, um, things when we meet up afterwards. I'll come find you in the gym. Sound fair?"

Marinette grinned and nodded. "Thanks, Ms. we don't run into each other, you can just drop those off with me later. Like, maybe tonight? I'll have pastries waiting."

"Sold. Hey," Caline said as Marinette was heading for the door.

Marinette stopped and turned. "Yes?"

Caline smiled. "My friends call me Caline."

Marinette gave her a huge smile back. "Thanks, Caline."

Caline watched her leave. As soon as they were alone, she turned to Tikki. "And what do you have to say about this, Ms. Goddess of Creation?"

Tikki rolled her eyes. "Look, this was all her."

Caline stared.

"Okay, fine. All them."

"I'm just giving you grief, bug."

Tikki eyed Caline. "Are you going to transform, or what?"

Caline grinned. "Spots on!"

Queen Bee stood in front of the Louvre and stared, dumbfounded, at what appeared to be a gigantic purple baby.

"Is… Is this a joke?" She asked. "It's a baby. It's a freaking baby!"

"Huh," Rena Rouge said as she landed beside her. "Youuuu are correct. That is a giant baby."

"Dude," Carapace said as he dropped in beside Alya. "That's… Dude. Why does he have a mask?"

"To protect his baby identity?" Alya offered.

"Okay," Chloé said. She cracked her knuckles as Gigantitan started sucking on a lamp pole and screaming about a lollypop. "Not a problem. It's a baby. I mean, seriously. How hard can this be?"

"Plenty hard," Chat Noir said as he landed beside them. "August is super strong, and his temper makes him especially dangerous. He's easily the strongest akuma I've ever fought."

"Well then, I guess that means we all hit him hard and fast," Chloé said. "If we all attack at once, he should go down quick."

A voice cut in from behind them. "You are not punching a baby!"

The group turned in shock to see Mamabug drop down behind them. She was clad in her usual Ladybug tights, complete with her red jacket. She reeled in her yoyo and dusted off her hands. "So, this one liGAAH!"

Caline was cut off by being nearly tackled by Chloé. The blonde was grinning ear to ear and crushing her waist.

"OHMYGOD!" Chloé cried out. She was actually bouncing up and down while hugging her. "YES! OH HELL YES! You and me, together! FINALLY!" She turned around and whipped out her top. "You hear that? Queen Bee and Mamabug are gonna kick your baby ass!"

"CHLOÉ!" Caline snapped. "We are NOT punching a baby! Full stop."

Chloé visibly pouted. "But… Oh, come on!"

"No punching babies," Caline scolded.

Chloé kicked at the ground. "But, but... I just wanted to punch something with you."

Caline gave her a small hug. "I know, sweetheart." She kissed the top of her head. "Maybe afterwards?"

Chloé glanced up at her. "Afterwards? You promise?"

Caline nodded. "Sure. We can find some muggers. Would that work?"

Chloé shrugged. "I mean, I guess?"

Caline rubbed her back. "And, hey. We can get ice cream. Does that sound good?" She nudged Chloé. "Muggers? Ice cream? You and me?"

Chloé kept staring at the ground, but there was a small smile on her face. "…Fine."

Caline smiled, and then noticed the others watching her.

Rena Rouge leaned towards Carapace and said, "Told you so."

Carapace sighed and took 10 euros out of a pocket in his shield. He handed it to a smug-looking fox girl.

"Right," Mamabug said, shaking her head. "So. Giant baby." She looked around. "Maybe if I made a playpen out of the Eifel Tower? And we somehow got him to sleep?"

Chat shook his head. "Tried that. He's strong enough to take down the tower."

"Huh," Caline said, thinking. "Okay. Well, how did you defeat him before?"

Chat scratched the back of his head. "Ladybug pretended to be a lollypop and surprised him?"

"How would…? You know what? No." Caline watched as the gigantic baby ripped a statue out of the ground and started sucking on it. "Not going there."

"I have an idea," Chloé volunteered.

"No punching," Caline said.

"…I have another idea," Chloé volunteered.

Caline sighed. "I'm all ears."

Gigantitan wandered the grounds of the Louvre and cried for his lollypop. He'd already destroyed several signs, three statues, and nearly eaten a rather gaunt man in a suit before he broke down in a full-on tantrum. He was kicking and screaming, his feet and hands cracking the concrete under him.

"I WANT MY LOLLYPOP!" The baby roared.

And suddenly… It was nighttime.

Gigantitan looked around, confused. The stars were out, and there was a playroom around him. A warm light was softly glowing from a slowly spinning mobile above him.

"Hey sweetie," a gentle voice said.

Gigantitan looked down to see Mamabug sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of him. In her hands was her lucky charm, a story book.

"Would you like a story?" Caline asked, smiling.

Gigantitan sniffled. "I want lollypop."

Caline nodded. "After story and nap."

Gigantitan frowned. "NOW!"

Caline cleared her throat. "No."

"NOW!"

Caline glared. "No."

Gigantitan teared up and opened his mouth to scream, but Caline held up the book.

"If you throw a tantrum, there'll be no story. Now, would you like a story?"

Gigantitan thought about it.

"I wanna story."

A purple butterfly appeared in front of the baby.

"No!" Gigantitan yelled. "I wanna story now!"

The butterfly glowed brighter. Caline could practically hear Hawkmoth yelling.

"Hey," Caline said. "I'll give you a lollypop and my miraculous after story. Sound good?"

Gigantitan blinked and smiled. "Okay."

The butterfly was practically vibrating.

"NO! I WANNA STORY!" Gigantitan roared.

The butterfly flickered out.

"Now sit down," Caline said.

Gigantitan stared before sitting down in front of her. He started sucking his thumb as Caline opened her book.

"Once upon a time, there was a mama bear, a poppa bear, and now, Queen Bee."

Gigantitan blinked. "Wha?"

"Venom!" Chloé screamed. She charged at the surprised baby and rammed her stinger into his side.

"Gotcha!" Chloé said triumphantly. "Now, give us your bracelet!"

Gigantitan looked at Queen Bee, reached down…

And grabbed her.

Queen Bee froze.

"Oh no," she muttered.

Caline blinked. "Wait. Why wouldn't… Oh." She closed her eyes and put her hand to her face. She noticed where Chloé had stung him.

"He's wearing a diaper," Caline grumbled as Gigantitan threw Chloé with all his might.

The heroes watched as the blonde disappeared into the distance, her scream trailing on the wind.

Caline yelped and dodged as Gigantitan brought his fist down where she had been seated a moment before. She charged towards the other heroes, who were booking it out of there as the giant baby resumed his tantrum.

"Okay," Caline gasped. They were hiding behind a staircase as the akuma continued his search for candy. "Good effort, everyone. Rena, nice illusion. We just need something a little different, I guess."

"He's silly, but he's also one of the hardest akumas we've ever fought," Chat Noir said. "If I can get to his bracelet, I can destroy it. He's just so fast, though."

"Maybe I can help?"

The heroes turned to see Ryuko standing behind them.

"Hello," she said.

"Hey," everyone said back.

The ground shook from a foot stomping.

"Nice of you to join us," Alya said, smiling.

"Our class was on a field trip nearby." Ryuko said. She eyed Caline. "You're the one they call Mamabug?"

Caline nodded. "Yep. Nice to officially meet you."

Ryuko smiled and nodded as she looked Caline up and down. She turned to Chat Noir. "I get what you were saying before. Her jacket is... Quite nice."

Chat put his face in his hand and muttered to himself as Alya and Nino tried not to bust up.

"Thank you, Ryuko," Chat said, his cheeks flushed.

Caline politely ignored Chat's embarrassment as she looked at the newcomer. "You're the one who can turn into things, right? Like water?"

Ryuko nodded. "And other things."

Caline smiled. "Cool. Okay, that gives me a slightly better idea."

Rena frowned as her necklace beeped at her. "Well, whatever it is, I'll need to recharge if we're using another illusion."

"Hmm," Caline thought. "You do, but…" She looked at the book in her hand. "Do I?"

Curious, she threw the book into the air and cried out, "lucky charm!"

A turn table set came down.

Caline stared. "Okay then." She looked at the gigantic baby. "Okay, I've got an idea. Yeah. We got this."

"Oh, dude!" Nino cracked his knuckles and grinned. "This one's for me. It's my time to shine!"

Caline looked at Nino and grinned back. "I suppose it is."

Gigantitan was lumbering towards the city when he abruptly stopped. A sound was catching his ears. It was… Music?

The megababy turned around and drifted back towards the museum courtyard where Carapace was jamming out. He was working the tables and the keyboard that Tikki had so kindly provided, and the speaker set in front was blaring.

"Hey big dude," Nino said to the baby. "You like music?"

Gigantitan grinned and clapped his hands. "MUSIC!" The baby shouted.

"I thought you would. Everyone likes good tunes. Here," Nino said as he turned up the volume. "Let's dance, giant baby!"

Gigantitan started lumbering around, leaping and laughing as he completely destroyed the courtyard.

From the side, Caline watched as Gigantitan closed his eyes and laughed.

"Now," she said to Ryuko. The dragon miraculous user charged the courtyard.

"Water dragon!" Ryuko cried out. She turned into a wave of water and soaked the area underneath the giant baby.

Gigantitan went to lift a foot and slipped, losing his balance. He tumbled backwards and crashed, taking out the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre as he did so.

Mamabug threw her line and caught Gigantitan's wrist. She yanked it down. "Now, Chat Noir!"

"On it!" Chat launched himself at the baby's bracelet and cried, "Cataclysm!"

The bracelet dissolved in a heartbeat, leaving a purple butterfly.

Caline swiftly caught and purified it. She then strolled over to Nino.

"Nice job, Carapace," she said, smiling.

"Aw, thanks, Ms. B. It was nothing."

Caline raised an eyebrow.

Nino cringed and grinned. "Um, B as in, um, Bug?"

"Smooth," Caline said as she threw the turntable in the air. A swarm of ladybugs flowed over the courtyard, repairing it. They finished by depositing Queen Bee next to the group.

She looked at them, and they in turn at her.

"Not one word," she muttered.

Caline meanwhile went over to August, who was on the ground and wailing. She scooped him up and lightly bounced him in her arms. "Hey sweetie," she said in a gentle voice. "It's okay now."

August stopped crying and stared at Caline. He giggled and grabbed for her jacket.

"Is he okay?" Chat asked from beside her.

"He's fine," Caline said as she smiled at the baby. "You like that, don't you? The jacket is distracting, isn't it?"

Chat blushed and grumbled as he slinked away.