Adrien awoke the next morning earlier than usual. His dreams were plagued by the argument of the prior evening. Hissing as his hand touched his face, he remembered the slap that was given to him. His Lady had great strength.

Swiftly, he was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of an explosion outside. A large child roamed the streets, crying as it searched for something. "Well isn't that just great?" He said aloud, "Seems like Augustus has lost something, and Hawkmoth has taken advantage of his emotions. Though I do get to see my lady again. Perhaps she will apologise. Plagg! Claws Out!"

Adrien stood, ready to transform for a good few seconds before realising something was wrong. Usually when he said those words, Plagg was sucked into the ring whether he wanted to be or not. Wait… The ring…

He looked down to his hand only to see his finger without the miraculous. "Crap!" He thought. Running straight to his bed, Adrien tore off the covers and frantically searched for the ring. After whet felt like an eternity looking, he unlocked his phone and went onto the Ladyblog to see how Ladybug was faring without him. His phone hit the floor with a thud. His hands flew to his agape mouth and he began to shake. There, on the Ladyblog, was an image of Ladybug and a new superhero.

Ladybug's outfit had changed drastically from her previous skin-tight spotted one. She now wore a plain black suit with a spotted chest plate, spotted gloves and thigh high boots and an over-the-shoulder cape which resembled a ladybug's wings. Her mask had stayed the same, but her hairstyle had changed as well. A bun now sat central on the top of her head, held by a red ribbon which looked like antennae. The outfit change wasn't what shocked Adrien the most, however. The new cat-themed superhero was.

A girl this time, the suit was much different from his own. She had a block bodice that resembled a fencing uniform, grey shoulder guards and short grey gloves and boots. She also wore loose-fitting black trousers and a black long-sleeved shirt under her bodice. Similarly to his Chat Noir costume, she had a black mask and black cat ears atop her head. Instead of being made from a belt, her cat tail was made from light grey bandages wrapped around her waist. Her hair was short and black, and her eyes were green. Together, her and Ladybug looked like a real team.

A flood of ladybugs emanated from the streets of Paris, signalling that the pair had defeated Gigantitan. The Ladyblog had updated with a livestream called "An interview with the new team" which Adrien tapped hesitantly. He had missed the introduction by Alya, but he didn't mind. He just wanted answers.

"So, Ladybug, who is this new hero here with you today? What happened to Chat Noir?" The blogger knew exactly the questions her viewers wanted the answers to. Though, she obviously wanted the answers for herself as well.

Ladybug sighed, looked to her partner and then to the camera. "This is my new partner – Kuro Neko. She is Chat Noir's replacement. After the events of yesterday evening, I decided that Chat and I weren't that good of a team. Sure, we defeated the akumas, but I couldn't work with someone who thought that harassing me was okay. He favoured flirting with me rather than helping me saving the akumatised person. I trust Kuro Neko in and out of the costume and I am certain that all of you will see the difference in how fast things are fixed." Ladybug now stared directly into the camera's lens; her brows furrowed. "And if you are out there, watching me Chat, know that I am doing this out of necessity. I didn't want to replace you, but you left me no choice. Your kwami agreed with me as well." A squeeze of her hand brought her back to reality. Kuro Neko looked at her with a soft smile which she returned.

"I'm afraid that that will have to be then end of our interview. We need to go find a place to detransform. Bug out!"

"Cat out" Kuro Neko said with a wink. This caught Ladybug off guard and caused her to laugh. They both took off in the same direction.

Adrien threw his phone to the floor and screamed. He had been replaced by some "wanna-be Chat Noir" and Ladybug didn't love him. Not only that, she seemed to know Kuro's identity. After all that time fighting alongside Chat Noir, she trusted the new hero more than him. His blood boiled.

"Disparition, I am Hawk Moth. Ladybug doesn't trust you so I will give you the power to make her see how hard her life would have been without you. All I ask for in return is her and Kuro Neko's miraculouses."

"Go away Hawk Moth." He spat. "What kind of Chat Noir would I be if I just submit to you?"

The voice inside his head had stopped taking and the small, black butterfly had flown out of his window. Adrien stood there panting for a second before falling back onto his bed. How had Marinette done this multiple times? He looked over to his open window, towards where the school was. Everyone would be talking about Kuro Neko and what happened to Chat Noir. Of course, he didn't want to go, but it would make people suspicious if he didn't. Besides, he wanted to see his everyday Ladybug. He may not have a chance anymore with the real thing and Marinette would be good replacement.

Ladybug and Kuro Neko dropped into an alleyway close to Collége François Dupont before letting their transformations fall. Both of their kwamis floated tiredly in the air after having used up their energy.

"Here," Marinette said as she pulled out two macarons from her bag. "You may want to start bringing some snacks around for Plagg, Kagami. They need to eat so they can reenergise." Plagg and Tikki took the macarons with pleasure. Sure, Plagg would've preferred some tasty cheese, but who was he to complain when he had an original "Dupain-Cheng Bakery Macaron" to munch on.

Kagami giggled at the small creatures' big appetites. "I'll be sure to remember next time. And… Uhh… Are you doing anything later today? I was supposed to have fencing practice, but it has been cancelled. So maybe we could hang out?" A small blush crept onto her pale cheeks as she averted her eyes.

Marinette put her hand over her mouth as she giggled at the usually confident fencer's sudden nerves, a pink hue spreading to her own cheeks. "I'd like that very much Kagami. I'll text you later okay?" She turned around and ran towards the school, trying her hardest to not be late. Kagami looked on at her fondly before getting her phone out and texting Adrien.

"Won't be coming to fencing practice today, I've got a date instead."