Chapter Three

Adrien covertly looked around his home as he and Marinette entered.

Strange. Normally Natalie's here with my afternoon schedule.

"But…I-I don't understand, ma'am," a shaking voice came from the living room.

Adrien, forgetting that Marinette was following him, crept to the door and peered in. There was Natalie, shaking, standing before his serene mother. Just seeing her made him do a 180 still.

"It's come to my attention that your feelings toward my husband aren't entirely…professional," Emilie simpered, plopping a grape from the plates next to her seat on the couch into her mouth. "As a result, I've decided to let you go. We can find another secretary."

"But what about Adrien?" Natalie protested. "I…I have to give him his schedule, prep his meals, take care-"

Emilie jumped to her feet, fire in her green eyes. "Take care of him? My son? No. Not anymore. Adrien no longer has to rely on a substitute. His real mother is here again. Now get your things and get out. Of my. House."

Natalie's glasses fogged up and she dashed through the other door of the living room. Adrien watched all this, his jaw hanging open.

"What. The heck?" he demanded, marching into the room. Emilie gasped when she saw him, hand to her chest.

"Adrien! I…I didn't know you were home."

"Why did you fire Natalie? She's the best secretary Father's ever had!"

"She…she likes him, Adrien," Emilie insisted. "It isn't right, not now that I'm back. Who knows what'd she do to me?"

"To you? She wouldn't do anything, she's a nice person!"

Emilie placed her hand on her son's shoulder. "I know she took care of you, sweetheart, but you have me now. I'll take care of you."

Adrien fumed as he stood there, not meeting his mother's eyes.

Marinette suddenly stumbled forward, tripping on the edge of a rug. Emilie and Adrien both jumped and turned to find her blushing and awkwardly waving.

"Uh…hi. I'm-"

"Ladybug." Emilie stood tall, straightening her blouse. "Or would you prefer me to call you Marinette? You did well sneaking into my family during my absence. Befriending Adrien, winning Gabriel's contest."

"I didn't know who your husband was when I won his contest," Marinette shot back. "I want to be a fashion designer. And I befriended Adrien because he's kind and honest and a good friend."

Good friend. Memories of Marinette kissing Luka surged back to Adrien and he clenched his fists in his pockets.

"What do you want?" Though Emilie was smiling, her words were laced with menace that only Marinette noticed.

"To talk. Your husband attacked many people to bring you back and I wanted to see what kind of person he would do that for. Adrien also speaks very highly of you."

Emilie raised an eyebrow but gestured to the couches behind her. "Would you care for a beverage? I'm afraid all I have up here now is wine."

"I'm fine." Marinette sat opposite her while Adrien sank into an armchair in between them.

"Well? What do you want to know?"

"Were you aware of what Mr. Agreste was going to do? Before you…were injured."

"Injured," Emilie laughed. "I was put in a coma due to the broken peacock miraculous. Gabriel and I used the ones we found to try to help a village in China that was being enslaved by a corrupt businessman."

Adrien's eyes widened while Marinette noticed Emilie avoiding eye contact.

Liar. Just like Lila.

"Were you aware that what he would do to save you?"

"I was in a coma, Ms. Bug. So no."

"Would you have done what he did? Try to obtain the ladybug and cat miraculouses by creating super villains?"

"Wouldn't you for the one you love?"

Adrien flinched. Marinette blushed.

"Do you feel any guilt or remorse for what your husband did? Any fear that he could be hiding darker abilities?"

"I can't feel guilt for something he did. He made his own choices; I didn't ask him to save me by using the butterfly miraculous. And I wouldn't be with Gabriel if I was afraid of him."

"Are you aware of the abuse Nooroo, his kwami, has been under during this time?" Marinette's anger was building. "The fear the citizens of Paris had to endure daily? The constant fight to stay positive or else they'd be turned into supervillains?"

"I. Did not. Ask Gabriel. To do that," Emilie hissed. "What are you trying to ask, Marinette?"

She stood up. Emilie's smirk reminded her of Chloe's. "Are you like him? And will you continue to harm my city?"

"Your city? You may be a 'superhero' but this was my home before it was yours. And I will only cause harm to those who try to harm me or my family. Like some pesky insect."

"Are you threatening me?"

Emilie just smiled. "Get out of my house."

"What?"

"I don't want you anywhere near my house or my son, ever again. Understand?"

Marinette stuttered for a few moments, steam nearly coming out of her ears, before she stomped out of the house.

"Marinette!" Adrien ran after her, into the courtyard.

"How can you stand by her, Adrien? She's a liar who has no sense of morals!" Marinette exclaimed. "She's…she's…"

"My mother," Adrien reminded her, hugging himself. "She…she's nice. I swear. She used to make me blueberry pancakes and take me to the park. We'd go to soup kitchens on Sundays and she never passed a jar without dropping in money. Every charity my Father does was her idea. I don't…."

"With every wish there's a price to pay," Marinette said softly. "Hawkmoth brought her back, physically, but he didn't bring back her soul. Or her heart."

"We…we don't know that," Adrien weakly protested, face in hands. "She…she could still…maybe if we give her more…"

"Time? We can't. We don't know what they'll do."

Adrien didn't move. His mind was reeling.

"We need to reverse the wish."

He looked up, eyes tearstained. Marinette sucked in a breath, hands reaching out to hold him.

"You have your happiness," he cried. "Why can't I have mine?"

"I…I…"

"Please go."

"But…"

"Please."

Marinette stared at his red eyes and nodded slowly. "I'll…I'll meet you tonight. Our usual patrol stop. We can…yeah, I'll meet you tonight."

She left the courtyard slowly, pausing to wave goodbye one last time, before she ran home.

"Are you going to do it?"

Adrien spun around and saw Emilie standing in the doorway. "Mom."

"Are you going to get rid of me, Adrien?"

"I…"

"I know your father didn't make the best choices, but we can make them now." She walked forward and stood an arm's length from him. "You said it yourself, I've done good things. And we'll do even more now that I'm back. Please, Adrien."

But he just shook his head and stepped back. "I…I can't…Plagg, claws out."

A flash of green and Emilie was staring at her son. Or rather, Chat Noir. He extended his spear and sprang away, leaving his mother staring into the sky after him.

"Adrien, oh Adrien!" Emilie called as she searched the park. Giggles came behind a bench and she skipped over. "Got ya!"

Four-year-old Adrien shrieked with delight and fell back, laughing. "No fair, you always find me!"

"And I always will." Emilie picked him up and swung him around. "Let's go get some ice cream, okay?"

"Yay!"

Two sticky cones later and Adrien was covered in chocolate. The pair giggled at his face when a shadow fell over them.

"I trust you're having fun," Gabriel drawled, looking bored at his wife and his son.

"Daddy, look, I'm a chocolate monster!" Adrien squealed and bared his teeth. "Grr!"

"Emilie, he's filthy," Gabriel sighed. Emilie fidgeted with her wedding band. Then he smiled. "Did you save me any at least?"

"Sorry, our little monster ate all yours," Emilie giggled.

"How very rude!" Gabriel exclaimed and chased Adrien around the park. "I'm coming to catch you!"

"No! No," Adrien laughed while his mother smiled on.

"But I don't wanna go!" Adrien wailed, throwing his kindergarten letter book on the ground. "I don't like her!"

"Adrien, you know that's not true. You and Chloe always have the best adventures," Emilie sighed, packing his things into his overnight bag. "And now you can have even more of them."

"But I wanna sleep here! Why do I have to stay the night, Momma?" His bottom lip was stuck out in a pout.

Emilie sighed and crouched down in front of her son. "Do you remember how you felt when I went to England to film that movie?"

"I missed you."

"Right. And Chloe's mom is in America now, starting a fashion business. She misses her Momma and she needs you to cheer her up."

"Why do I have to do it?" Adrien cried, folding his arms.

"Because she's your friend. And you always need to be nice to your friends and be there for them when they're sad. Okay?"

"Okay," Adrien grumbled.

"I'll pick you two up in the morning and we'll go get pastries at that bakery you like."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Adrien squealed with delight and hugged Emilie.

"But Chloe goes to school!" Adrien exclaimed. "Why can't I?"

Emile sighed, closing her magazine at the breakfast table, turning her attention to her ten-year-old son. "Your father wants to make sure you have the best education and we can control that by having you homeschooled. And you'll see Chloe on the weekends."

"But I want more friends! Everyone already thinks I'm weird. Those boys at the playground saw Father's ad and said I was a sissy."

Emilie pursed her lips, thinking back to Gabriel using his son to market his new children's line. Adrien had modeled before, but this was the first time he was the staring face.

"Chloe liked the ads. And since when do you care what other people think?"

"I just want to be normal," Adrien sighed, pushing around his pancakes.

Emilie picked up her plate and kissed his head. "No one is normal, sweetheart. Not even me."

"Nu-uh."

"Yeah-huh," Emilie teased back.

"What's different about you?"

"I used to collect feathers from different birds," Emilie listed. "I love horror movies, have a really weird method of acting where I need ot know everything about my character, including their favorite food. I love peanut butter so much I once ate a whole jar for dinner. And I have a tattoo of your father's initials on my shoulder."

"Really?"

"Really. No one is normal."

Emilie left the dinning room, smiling as she watched Adrien absorb the fact that it was okay to be different.

"Gabriel, I believe you prepared something," the pastor said, looking into the pews at his father. Adrien looked at his icy face and knew what was coming.

"No, I didn't," the man replied, not making eye contact with the pastor. "Continue, please."

"Well…then, I guess that concludes the service. Thank you all so much for coming to pay your respects. Emilie, you will be missed."

People rose out the pews, shuffling to the lobby where the Agreste's chef had prepared all of Emilie's favorites.

Adrien and Gabriel, though, were still staring at the ebony casket overflowing with white roses.

"Father," Adrien began, his voice cracking. "Father, I don't…I don't understand."

"These things happen, Adrien." His father's voice was like a flat lake, not revealing anything that laid beneath the surface. "It's best to simply…move on."

"But how did she…?"

"An accident."

"Do you…do you miss her?"

Gabriel turned to his son, his eyes finally betraying an emotion: anger. "How dare you accuse me of not mourning the loss of my wife. Yes, I miss her, Adrien. How could I not?"

Adrien's hands were shaking. "You…you just don't seem…"

"Upset, sad, distraught. No, I don't, because I am a man whose image means everything. I'm not going to let these people see me sniveling over something I can't change!" Gabriel stood suddenly, straightening his black striped tie. "Your bodyguard will take you home, I'm leaving. I expect you back no later then three. The photographer is coming to take our new family portrait."

"But…but…"

Gabriel walked out of the church, leaving Adrien with the casket and his bodyguard in the back of the room.

Slowly, he stood and laid his hand on the dark wood. Then he finally let himself cry.

"I miss you, Momma. So much."

Adrien stared at the park from the rooftops of Paris. His mother was different, that was for sure. But she was still his mother. And he couldn't wish her away…. could he?

"I'm not going to sugarcoat this, things have taken a turn for the worst," Ladybug told her crew as she paced in front of them on the roof where her Chat Noir met for their nightly patrols. She'd only brought her most trusted allies: Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee. "Hawkmoth made his wish."

"What?" the team exclaimed.

"Was that the purple blast a few days ago?" Rena asked.

"Yes," Ladybug answered. "And now we need to go and undo the wish."

"How, Lady-dude?" Carapace wondered.

"Chat Noir and I will combine our miraculous and wish for his wish to be undone. Unfortunately, I recently learned that Hawkmoth needs to present during this."

"How are we going to find him?" Queen Bee demanded. "Not like we can just call him and ask."

"Chat Noir and I tracked Volpina that day through the sewers, back to his lair. But I now know where his house is."

"You know his identity?" Rena gasped.

"Yes, and we're likely going to have to storm his house. So you'll need to know who he is in order to be prepared."

The team leaned forward in anticipation.

"Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste."

Carapace nearly fell over, Queen Bee's jaw dropped, and Rena put her hand to her chest.

Poor Adrien, they all thought.

"Yes, it was quite a shock to me as well. But we'll have to push past this and-"

"You're meeting behind my back?"

The team turned and saw Chat Noir perched above them, fury clouding his eyes. He leaped down, mouth agape.

"I…I can't believe you would do this, Ladybug."

"Chat, I just wanted to prep them before the mission, and you were taking so long-"

He held up his hand, cutting her off. "What she isn't telling you is that Hawkmoth wished to have his wife back. To save her from the edge of death."

"Mrs. Agreste…is alive?" Queen Bee gaped. Emilie has always been nice to her. "Then why are we undoing the wish?"

"Because she only brought back physically. She's different now, her soul's gone," Ladybug protested. "There was a price to pay and it was Mrs. Agreste's morals. We can't let Hawkmoth play God. We need to undo the wish."

"Ladybug's right," Rena agreed, and Carapace nodded. "If she's no longer kind or good then she could team up with Hawkmoth and do real damage to the city."

"He only wanted to save her, they're done now!" Chat Noir insisted. "Queen Bee, you know them. You know how happy their family was. Why can't it be like that again?"

"She's not really Mrs. Agreste," Ladybug reminded him. "She's not her."

"But she is!" Chat's vision was blurry, and the team was staring at him. "Please, Ladybug. Please."

But she was shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Chat."

"So you're going to kill her?" he hissed. "You're going to kill my mom?"

"I'm just undoing a wish."

"Your…mom?" Rena gaped.

"Adrien…?" Carapace muttered.

"Adrien?" Queen Bee repeated, staring at his leather suit. "There's no way. Adrien's refined, cool, literal perfection. And Chat's…. he's a prankster in leather!"

"She's still my mom, Ladybug," Chat murmured.

Carapace walked forward and hugged him. "Shell off."

"Nino?" Chat stepped back at seeing his best friend.

"Dude. I'm so sorry."

But Chat was too busy glaring at Ladybug. "This another thing you couldn't tell me? That my best friend was endangering his life?"

Ladybug glared right back. "I didn't know he was your best friend. And our identities…"

"Must remain a secret," Chat snapped. "Look how great that turned out, Marinette!"

"Marinette!"

"Dupain-Chang!"

Ladybug's cheeks were as read as her mask. "That was low."

"Is it really you, girl?" Rena whispered. Ladybug sighed and nodded once. "Wow, this is so cool! My best friend's a superhero! And not just a superhero but the superhero! And…and I didn't notice! How did I not notice that you were Ladybug?"

"Not now, Rena Rogue," Ladybug grumbled.

"So you gave all our friends' miraculouses, endangered their lives, and are now turning them against me?"

"I'm just doing my job."

Chat stared at his friends, the family he'd chosen for himself, and stepped back. "I'm sorry. But I…I can't help you."

"But we need your ring!" Ladybug exclaimed.

"You should've thought of that before you went behind my back and schemed to erase my mother."

"Adrien!" Ladybug screamed as he vaulted away.

Emilie and Gabriel sat in their living room, flipping through magazines, soft piano music floating through the speakers. Suddenly the door banged open and both of them vaulted to their feet.

"They're…they're coming," Adrien panted. Emilie rushed forward and he fell into their arms. "Ladybug and her team…they want to take you away."

Emilie looked back at Gabriel who was staring at his son, clearly still dealing with his secret identity. Emilie met Adrien's eyes, hers filled with emerald fire.

"We won't let them. I promise, son. We'll be ready for them.