Finally, they were alone. Just the two of them. Enjoying ice cream together on a gorgeous sunny day. Drowning in his wonderful deep green eyes, Marinette could barely hear a single word of what he was saying. She knew she had probably been keeping eye contact for a bit longer than what was considered acceptable, but it was like she just couldn't look away. His smile radiated such love, such sincerity, such perfection – her heart was melting… Just like the ice cream starting to trickle down the back of her hand.
"Marinette?"
"H-Huh?!" She immediately snapped back into reality, pulling her awestruck gaze from him at last, frantically shaking her head.
"You, um… just looked a bit distracted," Adrien softly chuckled, rubbing at the back of his head. "Ah, and your ice cream is…"
"Hmm?" The blue-haired girl blinked a few times, trying to come up with a good enough excuse for zoning out. But when he pointed out something about the ice cream cone in her hand, she immediately felt something slowly dripping down her arm. "Wah! H-How did that…?" In a panic, and not wanting to be seen as a clumsy fool in front of him, she lifted her arm up to eye level, not quite realising she was still holding onto the cone. She began to wipe away swiftly at the melted ice cream.
"Uh… H-Here, I might have some… tissues…" Adrien's eyes widened slightly at the sight. He wasn't sure why she had become all flustered, and for a moment, he wasn't sure how to help… But he dug around in his pockets anyway, on the off chance he'd taken a few spare tissues.
"Ahhh… N-No, it's okay, I think I got it…!" She acted like she was all cool and composed, that it was no big deal, only because she didn't want to dig herself any deeper into a hole of humiliation. But internally, she was cursing herself for putting on such a show. She rubbed some more at her arm, hoping the stickiness would unstick itself sooner or later.
He turned his attention away from his pockets, unable to find anything to help wipe her off with; he flicked his glance back to her, and that's when he noticed the ice cream was dangerously close to spilling out all over her head. The more she wiggled and wobbled her arm, the further the contents ever so slightly inched out. "Uh, M-Marinette…" He held his hands out, hoping to catch her attention and warn her before it was too late. However…
A few feet away, Alya caught wind of some commotion and stared over with raised brows. "She cannot be serious!" Her jaw dropped at the current state of her best friend.
"Huh? What's up?" Sat beside her, Nino curiously turned his head, wondering what could possibly be wrong. He intended to look at Alya, but of course, Marinette and Adrien were also in his line of sight, so he knew straight away. "Dude…"
"Mmmhh…" A drawn out, defeated groan escaped the poor baker girl. She had narrowly avoided being dunked on by a generous helping of ice cold sweetness, yet it still all went to waste. All that remained was an empty cone in one spot, and a sad pile of ice cream in another, both on the ground.
"Sorry, that was probably my fault," Adrien pulled a weak smile, genuinely disheartened by the whole thing. He had grabbed her wrist without thinking and attempted to move it out of the way – but the second his hand made contact with her, she freaked out even more and dropped it straight away.
"Ah? No, don't worry about it…" Seeing that glint of disappointment and guilt in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. She didn't waste any time in jumping to comfort him. "It's my own clumsy fault. I should've asked you to hold it for me while I cleaned up…" She softly giggled. It was easy to think about what she should've done now that it was over.
"Hmm…" He narrowed his eyes, thinking about what he could do next. He didn't want her to feel too bad. "Yeah… And I should've told you rather than trying to move it out of the way. It was an instant reflex, you know?"
Now that the embarrassment had settled down a bit, she could start to see the funny side of it. A slight smile pulled at her lips. "Well, better than having ice cream splattered all over me, huh? Hehe…"
He brightened up a bit, knowing that she wasn't too upset or anything. He nodded along with her in agreement, before letting out a sigh in relief. In that moment, he looked down at his own ice cream cone. "Hey… Here." Without any hint of hesitation, he held it out to her, with a grin.
"Oh…?" Marinette could feel her cheeks heating up at the offer. Her first thought was in regards to how much of a wonderfully romantic gesture it was, but she immediately pushed that to the back of her mind, reminding herself they were friends and friends only. Still, her heart pounded a little in her chest. She reluctantly reached her hand out, nerves bubbling up within her. She knew she'd have to briefly brush her fingers against Adrien's in order to grab it. She wanted to prepare herself for that moment as much as possible.
Bzz… Bzz…
"Ah!" She gasped, their sweet moment being cut short by her phone. She had no choice but to drop her hand mere inches away from accepting the ice cream; instead, she resigned herself to fetching her phone.
"Oh, sorry…" It seemed as though his phone had went off, too. He lowered the cone, reaching into his pocket.
They unlocked their phones almost in sync, and a few feet away, Alya, Nino, and their other friends had to do the same.
"Akuma Alert. Please return to your homes until Ladybug and Chat Noir have dealt with the victim."
A troubled frown pulled at Marinette's features. Seemed as though their day out together was ruined. "Looks like we… gotta go home now…"
Adrien let out a quiet sigh. "Looks like it, huh? Well…" He pulled himself to his feet, and a moment later, she stood up with him. "Thank you for inviting me along with everyone today."
She knew she had to hurry to transform, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to say a proper goodbye to him. She wore a sort of strained grin. "O-Of course. I couldn't just leave you behind- I mean, we couldn't just leave you behind…! You're my friend. Our friend… Um… I-I'm glad your father allowed you to come along." Her heart ached; she wondered when Adrien would be given the opportunity to go out again.
"Me too." Even though he appeared to be beaming and grateful for the time spent at the park, his eyes surely reflected a tiny hint of sorrow, since he knew the chance to go out with friends was a rarity. He also noticed her fading smile. Averting his eyes, so that it wouldn't hurt as much, he said his goodbyes.
Marinette could only watch as he turned away, downtrodden; there were a lot of things she wanted to say, to let him know that everything would be okay and she'd always be there for him if he needed. But none of it came out. Part of her knew it wasn't quite the right time to say any of that. She gave him a little wave, despite his back being turned, left to wallow in her gloom.
"Marinette, c'mon, we have to go!" Alya called out to her from behind, the urgency in her tone apparent.
"O-Oh, right…!" She spun around on her heels, turning to face her best friend. "Sorry, coming…!" She hurried on over to the two; she knew the drill by now. Whenever they were together and there happened to be an akuma alert, Alya insisted on walking Marinette home every single time, since the latter always mysteriously disappeared until the battle was over.
She slid an arm around Marinette, keeping a close eye on her. "Don't worry, girl. There'll be plenty of other times to see him."
"Yeah… I guess so…"
…
Cornered. Ladybug couldn't even take a single second to breathe. The newest victim was on a relentless rampage, causing chaos and destruction wherever they went. Even with a carefully constructed plan, the two superheroes were knocked onto their backsides, unable to land a single hit.
They were forced to hide somewhere. The lucky charm received seemed to have no value so far; she couldn't even recognise what it was supposed to be used for. While they took time to strategise, the akuma victim was out converting more and more innocent civilians into buffed up versions of themselves and giving them a desire to break and destroy anything in their way.
"I don't get it. This has got to be one of the craziest plans Hawkmoth has come up with!" Chat Noir whimpered, unable to wrap his head around what the old man was trying to achieve. The two were in their favourite spot… The sewers. They had nowhere else to go.
Ladybug stared at the object in her hand, blocking out the kitty's complains, racking her brains for a solution. A simple roll of thread. How on earth could that help towards winning the battle?
"Any luck, M'Lady?" Chat had been watching her for a short while, curious cat eyes fixated on the thread. He'd usually offer up a suggestion or two, but even he seemed to be stumped.
"Mmmh…" She clutched at her chin with a finger and thumb, forehead creasing. And then, something clicked. "Oh! I know where to go, kitty." As usual, she was about to head off and leave the poor cat in the dark. She made a grab for her yo-yo, eager to set off.
"W-Wait…!" He stopped Ladybug in her tracks, wanting at least some form of explanation.
She glanced over her shoulder. "I… I'm going to get help."
"Are you sure I shouldn't come with you? It's getting pretty dangerous out there." He spoke with a stern tone. He wasn't opposed to the idea of an extra hand, but concern began to gnaw away at him.
With a soft sigh, she turned on her heels to face him again. "It's okay. I have a plan. I… I'm going enlist the help of Aspik."
Chat held back a horrified yelp. He was stunned that Ladybug would want him to help out again after the last time – stunned in both a good and bad way. The lovestruck part of him was currently overtaking the alarm bells, naturally. He quickly regained his composure, only a mildly shocked glint in his eye for a moment. "Is that… a good idea?"
Ladybug narrowed her glance at him. Chat was nowhere to be seen during their encounter with Desperada. She scanned him, wondering why he was suddenly being so judge-y. "Why wouldn't it be?" It had been a long time since all that happened. She felt confident enough to give Adrien a second chance, and she was sure he'd be willing to try again, too. Maybe even… permanently.
"I just mean, uhh…" Chat visibly struggled to come up with some sort of reasoning. He scratched at the back of his messy blonde hair, plastering on a nervous grin.
"Look, we don't have time. It'll be alright. Trust me!" She didn't want to wait around any longer. "Adrien should be tucked away in his house, so… Okay. Wait for us here, please. We'll need you."
He could only give a single nod, watching deadpan as Ladybug hopped on out of the sewers. "Uh… Hmm…" he mumbled to himself. "Detransformation."
The second the mask dropped, Plagg stared at Adrien, digging daggers of disapproval right into him. "Nuh-uh, don't even think about it!" He didn't even give the boy a chance to argue his case. "Are you forgetting what happened the last time you put on that Miraculous?"
Adrien raised a brow, a playful smirk pulling at his lips. "You mean against Miracle Queen?" He pulled the technicality card.
"Don't get smart with me, kid. You know exactly what I mean," Plagg fired back, folding his little arms. "Ladybug doesn't know you're both Adrien andChat Noir. The last time she gave the Snake's bracelet to Adrien, it wasn't very pretty, was it?"
He simply pulled a pouty face. He knew the wise kwami was right, as always. Yet, the words Ladybug said echoed in his mind. "If Ladybug feels good enough giving me a second chance, then I should just go for it! I promise, I'll focus on the mission ahead this time. I won't get distracted by her… beautiful bluebell eyes, and flowing red ribbons…" Too late.
"Adrien!" Plagg scolded the boy, pulling him out of his mumbling daydreams. He then let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, do what you want, but I still don't think it's smart to play Chat Noir and Aspik at the same time."
He gave a shrug. It wasn't like he was going to listen to the little black cat anyway. Truthfully, he'd made his mind up the second his precious lady announced she was off to get Aspik.
…
"Hahh… haah…!" Firmly pressing his palms against his knees, slightly hunched over, Adrien tried to catch his breath the best he could. He rushed back home at the speed of light, hoping to make it there before Ladybug. And much to his delight, he beat her. He sucked in a deep breath, knowing she'd show up at any moment. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he closed the window behind him, but left a small gap for easier access. He plopped himself onto the couch in his bedroom. He tried to seem as casual as possible, as if he'd been there the whole time, keeping an eye on the news.
When Ladybug abruptly burst through the window, Adrien grew anxious. He was eager and pumped to go, but thoughts of failing crept into the dark corners of his mind. Reprimanding himself internally, he rose from the couch, slapping on a fake mix of concern and shock. "Ladybug? Is everything okay?" There she stood, just in front of the open bedroom window, a warm breeze flowing through. Even though he'd seen her only a short while ago, she still looked as radiant and alluring as ever.
"Ah, Adrien…" Her cheeks matched the shade of her suit. Even though she'd seen him less than an hour ago, she still found herself momentarily getting lost in his eyes. She frantically shook her head, focusing on the mission ahead. "I need you to come with me." She spoke firm. Confident.
"You… need my help…?" It was mostly an act, but some actual hesitation lingered within him. He headed over to the window, stopping a few paces in front of her.
She gave a nod, with a gentle smile. "I was thinking… we could find a way to use the civilian victims against Punching Bag, but we'll need more than one chance to do so, just in case something goes wrong." When she finished briefly explaining, she opened up her yo-yo and extracted the bracelet of the Snake. She inhaled deeply, calming her pounding heart. Extending her palm, there was a serious glint in her eye, and she presented the Miraculous to him. "Adrien Agreste. Here is the Miraculous of the Snake. You will use its power for the greater good; when the mission is over, you will return it to me. Are you ready?"
Though, in her mind, she seriously considered the possibility of letting him keep it for good. If he proved to be a trustworthy, capable ally this time around, that small success would be all she'd need to sway her decision.
"I…" Doubt still gnawed away at him. He flicked his worried glance between the box and a disapproving Plagg hidden in his shirt. In the end, he decided to just trust himself for once. "Yes. I won't let you down." Gulping down any remaining reluctance, he carefully took the box and opened it up.
A magnificent, shining ball of light zipped around Adrien, before taking form. The little blue snake kwami hovered on the spot. His expression gave nothing of his internal thoughts away, but there was undoubtedly a small moment of shock for him when he laid his eyes on the Agreste boy. Still, he would never refuse to serve his owner, and he certainly wouldn't dream of questioning the new Guardian's choice. "Greetings. I believe you know what to sssay, when you are ready." Sass hissed as usual, bowing his head in respect.
Adrien looked to Ladybug for approval one final time. She had nothing but trust and love reflecting in her eyes. "Sass, transform me!" With a teal flash, Aspik's suit took form, and the two zipped out of the open window.
Tucked away behind a rooftop wall, stood a tall figure hiding her face with a deep blue, peacock feathered fan. No one would even think about looking in that general area for potential threats, especially not the love-struck, distracted Ladybug. Her eyes narrowed, she silently watched as Adrien flew across the sky with Ladybug by his side. From her vantage point, she could easily see into the Agreste boy's bedroom, and thus saw the whole shocking encounter play out right before her.
"She… She just handed a Miraculous over to your son." Wasting no time, she made a report of what she witnessed.
On the other end of the city, another fully-masked figure stood, eyes fixed onto the bakery owned by the Dupain-Cheng family. He glared sharply, a few buildings over and out of sight, at the once-opened hatch which presumably led down into a bedroom. And here he had suspicions that his son may be Chat Noir. Clearly, he was wrong. At the very least, their snooping hadn't been completely in vain.
"Do you… think he knows who Ladybug is?" Mayura's voice came through the communicator a few moments later, after a lack of response on his part.
He gritted his teeth together, desperately trying to process such a revelation. He had to think fast and come up with a plan. "It matters not. We now know that the new Guardian has someone she trusts so very much to store the Miracle Box. We must use this to our advantage, my dear Mayura."
…
Upon returning to the sewers, at the designated meeting point, Ladybug found that the location was now completely empty. No signs of life whatsoever. She scanned the area, to no avail. "Oh, no…" Her voice shook, coming out as a barely audible whisper.
"Wh-What's wrong, Ladybug?" Stuttering ever so slightly, guilt overwhelmed Aspik, but he had to keep up the charade of being clueless. He waited a few paces behind her.
She let out a heavy sigh, eyes slipping shut for a moment. She had no idea what to do; the only thing she did know was that she'd be having incredibly stern words with that cat later. Blocking out the bubbling of frustration in the pit of her stomach, she had to make the choice of going ahead without him. "Chat Noir isn't here. I told him to wait for us…!"
Aspik couldn't even fully gulp. His mouth had gone all dry. "Maybe he… uh…" Nope, there was no use in trying to come up with a potential excuse.
She grunted, overcome with exasperation as she tried to figure out what on earth was going through the cat's mind. It didn't matter right now, though. An akumatized victim needed their assistance; that was her top priority. She'd just have to do it alongside Aspik, rather than Chat Noir. "Alright…" she muttered under her breath.
"What are we going to do?" Aspik questioned. Admittedly, he hadn't even begun to think of a new plan, now that Chat Noir was out of the picture.
It'd be a whole lot more difficult to guarantee victory without the power of destruction, especially when faced with a super-sized, rampaging villain. Sure, Ladybug's vague plan to direct the other affected victims toward the villain was decent enough, but it was as though it had been haphazardly sewn together, without any sort of second thought, reliant only on chance. Perhaps this wasn't the greatest idea after all.
"We fight!"
Adrien had never seen Ladybug so… distracted. So messy. He wondered how long they could keep up the fight. But, of course, he trusted her. And so, the two headed up from the sewers, ready to go.
"Second Chance…!" Taking the plunge, he activated his power now that they were back up on the surface. They ducked behind cover – a smashed up car that had been rolled onto its side, surrounded by a bunch more littered sporadically down the street.
"Well… Here goes nothing." Despite Aspik's apparent reluctance, Ladybug was just beaming and overflowing with pure confidence. She was sure she'd made the right decision, and knew she could come up with a solid plan. "Lucky Charm!"
Being careful not to attract any unwanted attention, she called upon her power a little quieter than usual, and down fell a red, black-spotted rolling pin. "Wuh…?" It almost bonked her on the head, as she hadn't exactly expected something so strange to spawn. Luckily, she caught it just in time with her hands, releasing a light sigh of relief.
"So… Are we planning to smack this overgrown Punching Bag down to size, M'La- Uhhh- L-Ladybug?" Aspik almost considered resetting that dangerous slip-up of his with his Second Chance, but decided against using it for his own personal gain of avoiding embarrassment.
Thankfully, the lady in red didn't really even notice it. She giggled at his remark, a big dopey grin pulling at her lips. "If only this rolling pin were a liiittle bigger… But no, this must have some other use."
As adorable as her laughter was, a pure note, music to his ears… Aspik knew for a fact if he said that as Chat Noir, it most likely would not elicit the same reaction. In fact, she'd probably lightly tap him over the head with it, scolding him for goofing off. "Well, I'm ready when you're ready."
She gave a nod, sliding the rolling pin under the yo-yo band around her waist for now and rising to her feet. The loud, thunderous footsteps of Punching Bag caused the streets below to shake once more, and they came into sight not too far away from Ladybug's current location. She glanced around, but couldn't find a way to utilise her Lucky Charm. "There has to be something…"
However, the unexpected happened, and it froze her on the spot.
A cloud of dark purple, nefarious magic suddenly enveloped the massive akuma victim, indicating the power fuelling them had been snatched away. As it ripped away from their body and formed back into a pesky bug, a harsh scream resounded.
"Oh my goodness…!" Ladybug gasped, and though an ominous chill ran down her spine and she felt as though she was glued to the ground in shock, she reacted impressively fast. She grabbed the yo-yo at her waist, the rolling pin dropping at Aspik's feet the instant she did so, and made a beeline for the terrified, now civilian woman hurtling towards the streets below at incredible speed from the sky.
Aspik could only watch in horror, knowing there was no way he could get to her any quicker than Ladybug. A crowd of confused, once controlled civilians began to gather around, hoping and praying Ladybug would just get there in time, stopping the poor woman from colliding with the ground and…!
"Gotcha!"
A unified cheer rang out for the superhero. Despite being quite the distance away at the time of the woman's fall, Ladybug made it. She swung by fearlessly, not daring to let worry or doubt of her ability overtake her for a single second, catching the woman with a free arm.
"Whew…" Aspik breathed out heavily. He swiped up the now useless Lucky Charm, and made his way over to Ladybug and the woman.
Tears were streaming down the victim's cheeks, face flushed red, breathing all shallow and sharp.
"It's okay… Everything is alright now…" Ladybug spoke in a gentle, hushed tone, arm wrapped around the other with a smile.
"Oh no, I… I didn't… I didn't mean…!"
As Aspik approached the crowd, a frown pulled at his lips. It was just an average woman of Paris, perhaps in her mid-twenties or so, one he'd probably never cross paths with if it hadn't been for Hawkmoth. She was dressed up in simple gym clothes, clutching at her face and covering it as she helplessly sobbed.
Ladybug also wore a troubled frown that probably reflected his own.
She had no idea how to even begin to relate to or comfort the woman. But thankfully, she knew someone who could. "Here…" She quickly replaced her worried pout with a warm grin, taking hold of her yo-yo and tapping the screen a few times. She flipped it and showed it to the woman. "The kind young woman who runs the Ladyblog, Alya Césaire, also helps run a support group for akumatized victims of all ages. You could… reach out to them, if you wanted."
"O-Oh…?" She sniffled, uncovering her face and wiping at her eyes. She peered down at the yo-yo screen, making a mental note of ways to contact the support group. Her brown orbs reflected a hint of happiness, as if she'd regained a bit of hope in that moment. "Thank you, Ladybug."
Aspik patiently waited for Ladybug to wrap up the conversation, his smile softening as he watched her handle the situation flawlessly. She was always so thoughtful and supportive.
"Do you need some help getting home?" She offered.
The woman shook her head, but showed appreciation anyway. "I think I'll be okay. Again, thank you, for everything you do."
Ladybug seemed a little bashful at the praise, but she smiled and waved as the woman headed off on her own. The crowd started to disperse after that, and she turned to Aspik with a sigh. "That was…"
"Very strange." He finished for her, as she trailed off. "Did… Hawkmoth recall the akuma…?" Right. He had to pretend he didn't have much knowledge of all this superhero stuff.
Now that her head was clearer and free from the fog of stress, she looked down to the rolling pin in Aspik's hand. She'd have to consult with Tikki later – but not before finding Chat Noir and ripping his head off about vanishing into thin air. "I'm really not sure why he'd do that," she admitted. Although, part of her hated coming off as what could be perceived as unsure and even incompetent in front of Adrien. She wanted to have all the answers, to be like a wise, reliable Guardian, who could find a solution against all odds.
Even though Ladybug wore a smile, Aspik could see it didn't really reach her eyes. Instead, he picked up on how she radiated a somewhat glum, almost self-conscious aura, and oh how he wished he could say something to reassure her. Instead, he held the rolling pin out to her.
"I guess I'll just… fix the damage for now." Her earrings beeped in that moment. At least she had a full five minutes to spare, so she'd be in no hurry. The only good thing about being slightly older and more mature, apart from the pile of responsibilities, was that she'd been granted a fraction more time before transforming back. After she summoned her power, her earrings didn't start to beep until a little later than what she was used to.
As she reached out to take the rolling pin… No, in fact, as soon as her fingertips even slightly brushed against it… A wave of realisation rushed through her, the sensation akin to an electric shock, running up her arm and causing her to jolt backward. A breathy gasp forced its way out of her.
"Ladybug…?" Aspik's eyes widened, overcome with concern. "Wh-What is it…?!"
She made a hasty grab for the rolling pin, rudely snatching it right out of his hand. "Sorry, I don't have time to explain!" She spun on her heels and dashed toward her destination. How could she have been so oblivious? How could she have not known what the Lucky Charm was for sooner?
Wide-eyed and jaw-dropped, Aspik was torn on what to do. Support her as Adrien, or as Chat Noir. "I… I…" Screwing his eyes shut, he thought hard. He wasn't sure why, but alarm bells started going off in his head. His subconscious practically screamed at him, and that terrible cacophony of 'do the right thing, or you'll regret it!' as well as about a million other warnings all meshed together, bringing on a terrible headache. Panic began to well in his chest. He knew. Showing up as the wrong superhero would have severe consequences. He wasn't even sure why he had such a strong reaction in the first place, but if that was what his gut was telling him…
He took off in the other direction, sliding into an alleyway, unnoticed by people passing by. "Detransformation!" He hissed, lifting his snake suit. This time, rather than having only one kwami to judge him and his earlier irrational actions, he had two staring him down. "Ugh, please, don't look at me like that…"
The black cat and snake kwami simply folded their arms in unison, hovering in front of his face. Their displeased expressions cut deep, much more than words could.
Adrien grimaced, retrieving a slice of cheese and holding it out to Sass as a peace offering. The snake's eyes were narrow, but his hunger was of course greater than being a judgemental so-and-so. "You can yell at me as much as you'd like later, I promise. But right now, Ladybug needs my help. She needs Chat Noir."
Plagg just smirked up at Adrien, keeping that promise in mind.
"Plagg, transform me!" A green flash lit up the alleyway, and about a second later, Chat's communicator beeped. A voicemail. "Huh…" He took his stick and opened it up.
"Chat Noir, I have no idea where you've disappeared to this time, but I really need your help…! I'm sorry, but I… I made a mistake… Please, come to the bakery that's owned by the Dupain-Cheng family; they've been caught up in this. I'll explain more when you're here…!"
His Lady's voice was filled with growing urgency, strained and frantic as if on the verge of tears. Chat sucked in a breath, knowing that he'd have to be the one to stay calm. It sounded bad, but it couldn't be really bad, could it? There was only one way to find out – he desperately hoped the voice within nagging at him was overreacting, even though it most likely wasn't.
He reached for the bracelet around his wrist, sliding it off and snugly tucking it into one of his pockets.
…
The sight of the bakery was heart wrenching. Windows smashed, glass from the display counters scattered across the floor in tiny pieces, desserts crushed and thrown around… Ladybug tried to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes, but she simply couldn't. Her parents were carelessly tossed to the floor, bound and gagged, struggling with all their might to break free.
'Mama… Papa…' She thought, but quickly shook her head. Right. She was a superhero. She had to act fast and untie the two. She swiftly headed over to them, and although the rope restraints were rather tight, it was nothing she couldn't handle.
"Ah…!" They exhaled heavily in relief once their mouths were free.
"Ladybug, oh, thank you so much!" Her father, Tom, profusely thanked her. "I… I tried to protect my wife, but the man who came in here was just… just far too strong!"
Too late. She had arrived too late. If only she hadn't took an extra minute to recharge her kwami...
"Could you… Could you please explain what happened here? If you're not too shaken up." Ladybug held a hand out to her mother Sabine, who gratefully accepted the help back up to her feet. Tom was able to stand on his own, eyebrows furrowed. He seemed to be rather furious, both at Hawkmoth and himself, that he couldn't protect his family.
"He claimed to be Hawkmoth, and demanded to know where a thing called the… the, um…" Sabine had a bit of trouble recollecting; it must have been an undoubtedly hectic situation, which went down in the blink of an eye.
"Miracle Box," Tom said, reminding her.
"Right…! He thought we were in possession of it, for some reason! Do you know what that is, Ladybug?" Sabine asked, looking up at her, eyes reflecting confusion.
Ladybug's jaw dropped open, and though she knew she couldn't show such weakness and vulnerability in front of others who depended on her… She couldn't help it. The error she made earlier was crystal clear now. Tears prickled the corners of her eyes once more, but she blinked them back for now, ignoring the lump in her throat.
Tom and Sabine could see the panic behind that mask of hers. Even though it flashed only momentarily across her features, they knew.
"I'm sorry… Please, may I have a moment? I need to inform my partner."
The two nodded, allowing her to go ahead.
She spun on her heels, and with her back turned, that previous flash of panic turned into full on, unrestrained horror. It slapped her across the face, a tight knot forming in her stomach. She tried to call Chat Noir, but it went to voicemail. She was so going to kick his sorry butt later. Regardless, she still needed him by her side. She kept the message vague in front of her parents, not wanting to reveal any further compromising information.
Ladybug then turned back around, temporarily regaining her cool, calm composure. It cracked, eyebrow twitching ever so slightly. She had to plaster on her 'everything is totally fine' professional smile. Whether they bought it or not… Well, that was irrelevant, probably.
"I apologise for the inconvenience. Hawkmoth has been going around and terrorising many families, demanding to know the location of the Miracle Box, which stores our magical Miraculous. Chat Noir and I are doing our best to put a stop to him, but he's been tearing through homes faster than we can get to him. I promise, my powers will reverse all the damage caused."
She came up with a pretty good speech on the spot, although she had no idea how to fix the damage. She already used her last Lucky Charm to fix up Punching Bag's trail of destruction, and she wouldn't be able to conjure up another one to help her family…! There goes her eye twitching and smile cracking again.
"Oh…! There was something else, too…" Sabine apparently just remembered an extra detail.
Ladybug raised her brows, silently pushing the woman to continue.
"Hawkmoth knew you were coming after him, dear – he was rambling away to us, even though I barely understood half of what that despicable man was saying! But there was something of importance… He said, 'once Ladybug comes to try and save the day, tell her to just give up and instead surrender her Miraculous to me at the Agreste mansion!'."
If Ladybug wasn't freaking out before, she certainly was now.
"The… the Agreste mansion…?" She reluctantly repeated, hoping to goodness that didn't entail what she thought it entailed. She also had to remind herself to stay calm – or at the very least, show mild panic on a somewhat professional, acceptable level, instead of a full-blown meltdown.
Tom frowned, wrapping an arm around his wife and pulling her close, noticing how shaken up the whole ordeal had made her. "Yes… He didn't indulge much else, unfortunately… I wish we could be of more help."
The spotted superhero shook her head, pigtails lightly bouncing. Hawkmoth seemed to be planning something dark, something on a greater scale than ever before, but she couldn't even begin to predict what it may be. "Wait… Aspik didn't…" She slapped a palm over her mouth in that moment, wondering just how many more slip-ups she'd make in one day, and cursing herself in her mind. She only just took notice of Aspik's absence, bewildered at how she could've forgotten about Adrien Agreste! Hawkmoth must have-
"Hello there! Sorry for the disappearance, M'Lady, I'm afraid I got caught up in some trouble myself!"
"Wahh!" Ladybug shrieked, thrown off guard by the sudden voice behind her, limbs flailing on their own accord.
Tom and Sabine could only blink in confusion. They'd seen him approaching the bakery's front door – rather, the hole in the wall where a door should have been – so naturally, the two weren't nearly as startled as poor Ladybug.
She whirled 'round on her heels instantly, not sure whether to explode with rage or burst out in tears. She clenched her fists, teeth gritted and stared him down.
"Woah, woah!" Chat Noir threw his hands in front of him, flashing a nervous toothy grin. The intense rage burning in his Lady's usually beautiful, breath-taking eyes was nothing short of chilling. "Apologies for sneaking up on you, too. I promise, I would have been by your side if not for the trouble I got myself into."
She took in a deep breath. Right. There were civilians behind her. She lowered her fists to her side, turning back to face her parents. "Thank you for the assistance. We'll make sure nothing bad happens."
"W-Wait!" Tom gasped, mortified he'd forgotten another little detail. "Hawkmoth not only went on a rampage down here, but… But he also forced his way upstairs and- Our daughter!"
Ladybug could feel the colour drain from her face. Oh, no. This was not what she wanted to be dealing with right now…!
"Marinette?" Chat gasped, springing forward a step and raring to go check on her in place of her parents.
"No!" Ladybug yelled, and threw an arm out without thinking. Several pairs of eyes dug into her, and she almost visibly cringed. "Uh… I… I mean, uh… N-No, there's no need to worry, Sir! O...On my way here, I saw Marinette on her balcony signalling for help, so I took her to a safe place before coming down here!" Oh, jesus. Lord help this poor superhero. That excuse was just… pathetic. It didn't even add up, but there really wasn't anything better her mind could come up with under pressure.
Thankfully, no one in the room thought twice about it.
"Oh… That's good." Sabine pressed her palms to her chest, sighing a breath of relief.
"I… I'm sorry, but I'll bring your daughter back once the danger has been dealt with!"
"Well, with that out of the way… We should probably go take care of that, right, Ladybug?" Chat tilted his head in the direction of the door – well, not quite, more like a gaping hole, but...
For a final time, she spun around and actually exited the bakery. The two superheroes dashed out, getting a good few paces away and out of earshot of the Dupain-Cheng family. As the cool air washed over Ladybug, it felt far from pleasant and relaxing… Fear began to sink in, now that she didn't have to worry about staying relaxed in front of her parents. Her breathing grew shallow...
"Where are we headed, M'Lady?" Chat questioned, stick extended and at the ready to jump into more action.
Ladybug, however, stood still on the spot, lower lip quivering. If Hawkmoth had torn through the bakery, all the way up to Marinette's bedroom… He would have found it practically instantaneously. Her heart thudded in her chest, threatening to leap out at any moment. Everything around her had been drowned out by a fuzzy white noise screeching in her head, tormenting her and swallowing up all light, along with any semblance of hope that she hadn't completely messed everything up and jeopardised the future of Paris, and endangered Adrien, and...
"Ladybug."
She snapped out of the grim, suffocating darkness enveloping her mind, gentle paws resting on her drooped shoulders. The unbearable white noise stopped, like it had simply been turned off with a flick of a switch, and the usual lively ambience of her beloved city rushed at her all at once, shocking her system.
Even though he spoke her name in a hushed, reassuring manner… She could not bring herself to meet his eyes.
"I'm sure that whatever happened, we can fix it," he continued, hoping that he'd be able to instil some much needed confidence back into her.
"I… I… I did it again…" She whispered, ashamed to even say it out loud. Her voice shook, shoulders trembling lightly along with her words. Fragments of memories from the last time crept up on her.
"What do you mean…?" Chat Noir had to ask. But the state his lovely Lady was in… was oddly reminiscent of something from a couple of months ago. She had her face covered with her fists all balled up, and he stood, holding onto her with the same, parted-lip gawk of despair.
"Wh-When I… when I went to retrieve the Miraculous for Adri-… For Aspik… I forgot to transform back…!" Ladybug trembled harder this time, croaking out that terrible repeated mistake in between sharp, short breaths.
Chat's eyes slowly slipped shut, the revelation forming tight knots in the pit of his stomach. As much as this was a cause for concern, he had a little faith. They had overcome a close call like this before. They were prepared. It wouldn't come to a point where the stakes would be as high as last time. Opening his eyes, he shifted a hand up from where it rested on her shoulder, and wrapped his palm around the back of her fist.
"H-He has the Miracle Box… and he knows Adrien's identity as Aspik… He told me to head to the Agreste mansion – I think he's taken Adrien's family and assistants hostage…" Ladybug hiccuped, lowering her free hand from where it once covered her tear-stained mask. She finally opened her eyes, tilting her head up to meet Chat's soft gaze, allowing him to keep his secure, warm hold on her.
Uh oh. The kitty could handle anything. Almost anything. He gulped, suppressing the hint of nerves that caused the corner of his mouth to twitch. "Funny story – I ran into Aspik on my way over. We… We couldn't stop Hawkmoth, but I managed to get our friend to a safe place." He felt positively awful for blatantly lying to his Lady's face, in fact he could probably drown in guilt at this point, but he had to come up with something.
Well, that was one weight lifted off the superhero's chest. Now all that remained was the pressing matter of recovering the Miracle Box. Still, she needed to say… "I'm so sorry for messing up… again."
A twinge of sorrow pulled at Chat's heart strings; to see her beat herself up and to be so afflicted with grief… "To err is human, is it not, M'Lady?" He curled his lips into a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, seriously."
"Right…" She nodded, and sniffling once more, she lowered her other arm at last back to her side. Her kitty retracted his gentle paw. As glad as she was to have him back… "Now, where was this safe place of Adrien's? We should probably go pick him up so we can protect him during the fight."
"Uhhhh…!" Chat, all caught off guard, fumbled to think of yet another excuse.
"Think, Kitty!" Ladybug pressed him, firm in her reminder that they didn't exactly have an abundance of time on their side right now.
"Y-You… you go on ahead to help Adrien's father and assistants, and I'll go grab Adrien to enlist his help with this fight…!" Why, oh why, must he always get himself into such complex situations?
Hesitation flashed over Ladybug's features. "Is now really the best time to split up?" She stuck her lower lip out into a pout.
"It'll take just a few minutes…! Besides, someone needs to help the civilians in the Agreste home before Hawkmoth hurts them." Chat nodded to himself, affirming his own 'genius' plan.
Ladybug gave a breathy sigh. Well, he had a point. "Alright, but promise you won't disappear again! I need you."
The kitty grinned anxiously once more, cheeks lightly flushing. He sent a nod her way, before zipping away goodness knew where.
…
"You cannot be for real right now!" moaned Plagg, his complaints nearly loud enough to echo in the narrow alleyway and compromise his position. He let out a long groan, exasperated at his owner flip-flopping between which hero to play as.
Sass, while definitely disapproving of the… unique… way Adrien handled his duties, he said not a word.
"I swear, last time!" Adrien whined, before calling back the powers of the Snake.
He didn't even want to imagine the disappointment that'd form on Ladybug's precious face as soon as she came to the realisation Chat was gone again, her nose crinkling and eyes narrowing, worry dimly sparkling in her orbs… but he had to prepare nevertheless. So much for making a decision as which hero to show up as and actually staying as that hero. His conscience currently being at war with itself tore him apart inside, but he had to ignore it and try to think of a decent plan.
Miracle Box… Gone. How had Hawkmoth figured out the box was in Marinette's bakery somewhere, anyway? Had… Had Ladybug entrusted the Miraculous to Marinette, knowing she'd be able to keep a secret and safely store them away…?
He shook his head, shoving those thoughts aside as he ran to his own residence. His father would be in danger. "Really wish I thought of the consequences before taking this Miraculous…!" he cursed himself, growing breathless as he sprinted.
Finally, the gates came into sight. He ground to a halt, heels scraping off the pavement and kicking up a small cloud of dust in the process. The tall gates that could once keep out anything and anyone… had been carelessly ripped through, metal bent and leaving an entry point generous in size.
No big deal. Ladybug could fix the damage… Couldn't she?
His breath caught in his throat, mouth growing all dry as he approached the doors. They, too, had been kicked in – the grand entrance hall appearing as though a hurricane had blown through and wrecked everything in sight. Adrien huffed quietly at the state it was now in. Hawkmoth lacked respect, caring for nothing but his own personal goals, as usual, huh?
Trailing a dull glance across the hall, Adrien wondered where Ladybug could've went. There were no apparent signs of a struggle occurring, even if he had arrived a bit too late. He thought maybe his father, or Nathalie, or even his bodyguard would have been tied up just as Marinette's family had been. But Ladybug… Even if she'd taken them to safety, there'd be some sort of remnants… Perhaps, the rope used to restrain them…? No such clues remained.
Adrien's heart thumped a little harder in his chest. A cold chill ran down his spine… Despite the day being a warm, sunny one. As he idly wandered through his house – not meaning to drag his feet amidst the urgency, of course – the thought to try and contact Ladybug to seek her whereabouts popped into his mind. However, he stopped short of doing so once he came into a room that his father sometimes used as a work space.
His eyes were drawn to the portrait of his beautiful, long gone mother. In fact, for some reason, his body moved toward it as if on auto-pilot. He came to a stop a few steps in front of it. Something felt… off. Ladybug should have been here somewhere. Hawkmoth should've been here. As he tilted his head back to get a good look at the portrait… He caught sight of something.
He really didn't know how he hadn't noticed sooner… But upon closer inspection, certain small parts of the painting seemed to be a little more worn down than others. As if someone had dug their fingers up against it, time and time again. Some triangles on the right… and some other unimportant patterns on the left… Curious, he reached out both hands to lightly brush his fingertips against those spots. And when he thought to press a little harder, something shifted beneath his feet.
…