A/N: I know it's been a while. Thank you for your patience. I should have the next chapter posted soon, as that hasn't changed since the original one-shot post.

Chapter 7

Marinette was rushing toward the next panel - she couldn't miss seeing Adrien talking about his time voicing Chat Noir. As she made her way into the panel room, she realized it was packed. Apparently the movie had a ton of fans, herself being one of them. For a brief moment she wondered if it was a little narcissistic, being a fan of a movie about her alter ego.

She tried to get in line to ask a question, but it was so long she ended up listening for a while … before she got an idea. It might be a little bit of a selfish reason, but she did have a question to ask of the director. So Marinette snuck out of the panel room and headed to the nearest bathroom. In the most secluded corner stall she could find, she transformed. Coming out of the bathroom, just about everyone complimented her on her Ladybug costume (though a few people said it didn't look quite right), and she had to chuckle internally.

Walking through the panel room door again, Ladybug listened to the questions.

"This question is to Adrien and Christina V.," said the audience member at the microphone. "What inspired your voice of Chat Noir, Adrien, and your voice of Ladybug, Christina?"

Adrien looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "Well, I just put myself in his shoes. What would I do if I was a pun-loving, cat-themed superhero, and went from there."

"Each character I voice is unique," Christina said. "I usually watch the animation to get a feel for the character. In this case I also had the benefit of having footage of real battles from the news and blogs."

Alya would be proud to hear that, thought Ladybug.

"Thank you," said the emcee. "Let's take our next question."

"I have a question," interrupted Ladybug.

"Young lady, would you please take your turn in line?"

"I apologize for the interruption," Ladybug said as she used her yo-yo to grab onto a ceiling light and land herself on the stage, "but I don't always have time to attend these conventions." The audience gasped at the display. Looking over to the fans at the microphone Ladybug asked, "Are you okay with me asking my question before you?"

"Are you really Ladybug?" The child at the microphone couldn't have been more than about six. "Really, truly?"

"I really, truly am Ladybug."

"Okay, you can go first. But then I want to ask you a question, okay?"

"Deal."

"I'm sorry, young lady, but how do we know you're really Ladybug?" The emcee tried to reassert control, and while he knew the superheroes were attending some panels at the convention (including the big one at the end), this may not be the true hero.

"Hmmm. I don't want to be left with the timer if I use my power, so… ask me a question only I would know."

"How could we do that?"

"I know I've had many one-on-one interactions with various citizens. Just think about those times, then ask me something only you and I would know."

Adrien thought through all of his interactions with Ladybug as his civilian self. He couldn't exactly say things he did as Chat, so… "Ladybug… 25,913."

Ladybug blanched. Aspik. "I … don't want to answer that one publically."

"I understand completely. Hang on…" Ah, yes! "Ladybug, when Riposte was after me, where did you hide me?"

"A sarcophagus at the Louvre, and boy I was grateful that you weren't in it when Riposte destroyed it."

Confidently, Adrien told the assembled panel, "She's the real thing, all right. What are you doing here, Ladybug?"

"I wanted to ask the Director a question." Turning to the man who had once been Animaestro she asked, "It's always bugged me that you made me afraid of cats in your movie. Why did you do that? I love cats!"

"Well, we don't know a lot about who you are as a person because you have to keep your identity secret. What little public knowledge there is makes for a rather shallow character, and would make for a boring movie. So I took some creative license and made up a few things."

Nodding, Ladybug accepted that answer. "Okay, that's fair. And I really did enjoy the movie. It was a lot of fun to watch, though it was weird to see myself portrayed on the screen. I wonder if Chat feels the same way." The audience chuckled at that.

Kind of, thought Adrien, though in my case I actually voiced myself so that's a little different.

"I understand, Ladybug, at least a little," chimed Christina V. "Even after all the characters I've played, I have a hard time watching something I've voiced."

"I guess I'm kind of used to it, seeing my image in advertisements all over Paris for my father's brand," Adrien commented. "Though the voice acting was new. And Christina helped me a lot."

"Thank you. That's all I wanted to ask."

"Now, young lady," said the emcee, "you've been patiently waiting at that microphone. Do you have a question for our panelists?"

"Yes, but I was promised I could ask Ladybug something first."

"That you were." Ladybug said as she walked toward the girl. "What's your question?"

Suddenly shy, the little girl said, "I see that you and Chat Noir go up on the Eiffel Tower all the time. Could you… would you… canIgotothetopoftheEiffelTowerwithyouandChatNoirsometime? I want to see the city from all the way up there!"

"I can't speak for Chat Noir until I talk to him, but as for me that's a yes. IF it's okay with your parents or guardians." The little girl beamed as Ladybug approached the girl's mother, who was standing nearby. "Why don't you give me your contact information and we'll discuss after the final panel. Okay?"

Happy that her mother consented to her request from Ladybug, the little girl addressed the microphone again. "Now my question for the panel. Can you guys do some of your lines in your character voices?"

Adrien's immediate reply was to look over at Christina V and say in a very Chat Noir voice, "What do you think, Milady?"

Being a consummate professional, Christina continued with the ad lib. "I don't know, Chat. We have to be responsible to the citizens of Paris."

"Come on, Bugaboo. It would be a purr-fect opportunity to show our fans a little love."

"Well, we're not on patrol and there are no akumas. And I do love the citizens of Paris. But we can't slack off." Christina V pointed her finger at 'Chat' (Adrien).

"And don't call me Bugaboo!" chimed in Ladybug.

"Come on, LB. You know I love you."

"Down, Kitty." Ladybug and Christina V said at the same time, and the audience laughed.

"Oh, you make my feline heart so proud," Adrien ad libbed, dramatically placing his hand over his heart. "Two lovely Ladybugs in my presence. I don't think I've been this happy in any of my nine lives."

Ladybug rolled her eyes, though secretly she thought Adrien had Cat's response spot on. But, she couldn't stay. "Before this goes much further, I'm going to need to bug out. Thank you once again, Mr. Astruc, for answering my question."

"Wait, Ladybug!" Christina V said as the superheroine was preparing to leap away. "Before you go, could I… um… get your autograph?"

"Only if I can get yours!" Ladybug beamed as she walked over to where the actress was sitting and signed a photo for her. Then she opened her yo-yo to pull out a pen and paper. Once the autographs were signed, Ladybug left. Fortunately, she was able to find a quiet spot to de-transform before heading to her next event. She was so absorbed in texting her mother to meet her at the next location that she literally bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to do that."

"No problem, 'Anti-bug'." The person she'd bumped into was dressed as Rena Rouge - Alya would be thrilled. "Nice costume!"

"Thank you. I like yours too."

"Thanks! I made it myself," said 'Rena Rouge'.

"Really? Are you entering the cosplay contest?"

"Not this year. I sort of just threw this together. Plus there is a ton of other stuff I want to see!"

"I get that. I'm so swamped between panels and other things I want to do. It's amazing I have time to see anything. But I have to go see the costume contest. There are so many amazing costumes! I'm in heaven."

"Are you a costumer?"

"Fashion designer. Well, I want to be one, anyway."

"Cool!"

"So, why Rena Rouge?" Marinette was curious.

"Well, I knew there would be a ton of Ladybugs and a ton of Chat Noirs here. And Rena was the first of the backup heroes. And I love her outfit! I just wish I could have convinced my boyfriend to dress up as Carapace, but noooo. He wanted to be Knight Owl."

"Well, I'm sure there are plenty of Carapaces around. I know I've seen at least one. Or you could always go with a Ninja Turtle."

Both girls laughed at that. 'Rena Rouge' held out her hand. "My name is Nessa."

"Marinette. Nice to meet you!"

"You, too, Marinette. Enjoy the costume contest."

"Same to you, Nessa."

With that the two strangers parted ways, and Marinette made her way to the cosplay contest area where she met her mother.

"Thanks for waiting, Maman."

"No problem, dear. Did you enjoy that last panel you went to?"

"Very much! It was really cool to see the woman who voiced Ladybug for the movie. And Adrien. And Mr. Austruc. But right now I want to see these costumes!"

"Some of them are okay," said a new, deep voice. "But some of them are awful. Poor quality materials. Poor execution of the design. Poor design in general."

"M. Agreste! What brings you to the cosplay area?"

"Costumes are clothing, are they not? I thought I'd see what passes for fashion in this world of pop culture while I waited for Adrien to finish his voiceover panel."

"I just came from there," Marinette said, "...so he's probably not far behind."

"Who's not far behind?" Adrien's clear voice called out. "Were you waiting long, Father?"

"Not long, Adrien. I've been lamenting the lack of execution in many of these costumes."

"True, some of these are very poor quality," agreed Marinette. "Some look like they were simply thrown together from somebody's closet."

"Excellent assessment, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng."

"However, you need to realize that these costumes are mostly created by fans - not professional designers."

"She's right, Father. Some of these people just want to show their enthusiasm for their favorite character."

"Or superhero. I met a Rena Rouge on the way here that was relatively well done."

"It irks me to lower my standards," the two teens stiffened slightly as Gabriel continued, "but you do have a point."

"Hey, 'Anti-bug'!" Marinette looked over toward the shout and saw 'Deku'. "Nice to see you again."

"And you. Did you join the cosplay contest?"

"Yup! We have a whole My Hero Academia group cosplay going on. I'm betting we'll win the group entry."

"Tell me about the rules, young man," Gabriel Agreste found he was actually interested in this pop culture phenomenon, and opened his sketch/notebook (which matched his 'Collector' costume).

"We already entered their cosplay online, and everybody here for judging today are those who have passed that first step. Now we get judged on how well our costumes are constructed, then we go on stage."

"What will you do there?" The famous fashion designer was genuinely curious.

"Perform. Some people will just stand there. Some of us, like my group, will have a skit to perform where we act like the characters we're cosplaying."

"I see." Gabriel thought for a brief moment. "May I take a closer look at your costume?"

"Absolutely!" 'Deku' was proud to show off his work.

"Did you make this yourself?"

"Some of it I had to buy, like the shoes and the face mask, and some I modified, like the gloves. But the rest is all done by me."

Gabriel Agreste ran a critical eye over the costume, ran the material through his hands, inspected the stitching, and in general did everything someone in the fashion industry would do when inspecting a design before putting it on the runway.

"Nice 'Deku' costume," said Adrien. "So, who all do you have in your group cosplay?"

"We have a Bakugo, Todoroki, Uravity, Yaoyorozu, and a fairly good Tokoyami."

"Not bad. No Iida, though?"

"Nah, we couldn't get the engine legs to work."

"What about villains?"

"Tomura Shigaraki, of course. And we have Toga and Twice."

"Nice! I can't wait to see your performance."

By this time, Gabriel had finished with his inspection. "I don't know anything about this show you and my son are talking about, but I can see that you put a lot of effort into this costume. The construction is excellent, but the design…"

"Father, his costume is based on a character. Here, let me show you." Adrien pulled up an image of the characters in My Hero Academia on his phone and handed it over. Gabriel studied the photo for a moment, then studied 'Deku' again.

Finding images of Izuku Midoriya/Deku from several angles, the fashion designer studied the cosplayer again. "I still don't care for the design aesthetic. That said, you did remarkably well bringing this character to life."

Adrien beamed at 'Deku'. Marinette cheered silently.

"Thank you. Um, are you one of the judges?"

"No."

"That's Gabriel Agreste, one of the top designers in Paris," Marinette said, excited for 'Deku'.

'Deku' looked shocked for a moment before timidly asking, "Really?"

Gabriel simply pinched the bridge of his nose, trying not to disturb his own makeup. "Is it really so hard to believe?"

"Well, Father, you do have a reputation as a recluse." Adrien smiled.

"What's your name?" the designer asked.

"Claude. Claude Fortier." 'Deku' held out his hand, and Gabriel reluctantly shook it.

"Well done, Claude."

"Do you mind waiting here for a moment? I… have an idea."

"With so much to look at for inspiration? I don't mind waiting at all."

Smiling, Claude practically sprinted into the judging area. Not more than five minutes later he came back out with someone else in tow.

Claude made introductions between Gabriel Agreste and Leena*… the head judge for the cosplay contest.

"It's such a surprise to see you here, M. Agreste."

"Well, Adrien was tapped to be a panelist for several panels, and I thought we'd spend the weekend together. I must say I find the convention rather… intriguing."

"Thank you for visiting our little corner of the convention."

"How could I not? This is an area where my son's interests and my own intersect."

"It certainly was a surprise to find out you were here. Do you plan to stay in the cosplay area for a while?"

"I have nothing else on my schedule."

"Then on behalf of Convention du Comique, I officially invite you to be a guest judge of our cosplay contest."

"I am more than happy to judge the construction of these costumes, though I could not speak to the design as I have no experience with pop culture of this type."

"I could help you there, Father. And my schedule is free until the last, big panel."

"In that case, if you will accept both of us as guest judges then we accept."

"Fantastic! This way please."

Marinette could only stare as her fashion idol and crush were led into the judging area.

A/N:
* Leena is a professional cosplayer who lives in France (according to her website leenacosplay dot com). I know nothing about her.
Also, my notes for this chapter say Nathaniel was thoroughly lost in the comic artist panels, and Marc enjoyed the writing discussions.