Chloe looked around her room, arms crossed, as her butler carted in her luggage. It was her first time back in it since she had snuck off to her grandmothers six years ago, but it had hardly changed at all. All the furniture was the same, only the clothes in her closet had been thrown out. Even the yellow teddy bear she had relied on all those years ago was perfectly placed on his pillow of honor. But she hadn't relied on Mr. Cuddles in a long time. She hadn't been able to bring him along at the time after all.

"Miss Bourgeois," her butler said tentatively getting her attention, "all your things have been put away."

"You may leave." She said shooing him off shortly, wincing inwardly at her own words. She bit her lip. She had just barely gotten used to saying thanks to her grandmothers servants, now that she was back in her fathers hotel it was harder to do than ever. At first it felt like she was rejecting herself every time she said thanks, now she hated her weakness in being unable to voice the bare minimum.

She had worked hard the past six years, following her grandmothers advice. Everything she did was to become exactly who she wanted to be. She still hadn't reached that point, and it was even harder now that she was back in Paris. Here her past self and past mistakes felt frozen in time. Even the butler, Jean – whatever his name was, was the same as when she had left six years ago.

Chloe took a deep breath and strutted out onto her balcony, looking out at the city below her. A light breeze blew back her loose blond hair and she grabbed the railing, taking another breath.

"Guess I'm back." She murmured.

A large boom shocked her out of her reflections and she saw a large flash from between the buildings. She leaned forward and spotted an akuma victim dancing around below her, taunting and jeering at some unseen force. Chloe narrowed her eyes and leaned even further forward, unconsciously searching the tiny scene.

There! A long silver poll burst out of the shadows, knocking the villain off of its feet. A red blur leaped over it all, throwing something at it opponent before landing. Faintly Chloe heard the slightly deepened voice of Ladybug yell "Chat Noir! Now!" A black blur ran out of an ally, grabbing the villains back. It was over.

A black dot rose, closer and closer, till it was right in front of Chloe's mesmerized face. She heard a faint whirring and suddenly the butterfly shaped akuma was replaced by the unmistakable red yoyo Ladybug used. As quickly as it had come up it went back down, akuma safely captured within. Below she could just barely hear Ladybug say, "by by Little Butterfly."

Chloe turned away, ready to walk back inside. She hadn't even been back half an hour! She had known that running into Ladybug was inevitable especially since she was the mayors beloved daughter, Jealous wannabes and dangerous stalkers were sure to follow her kind of connections, but she hadn't thought it would be so soon.

Before she could get back inside Chloe heard a soft thud behind her. She turned just in time to see a shocked Ladybug let her yoyo go lax.

"Is that-" Ladybug started, obviously biting back her words. It was clear the superhero hadn't been expecting to see her standing there.

Chloe sighed and spun on her heels to face her old hero. She looked the heroic vigilantly up and down taking just how much Ladybug had changed over the years. She was taller, black pigtails now much longer and flowing down her back. Even her body was noticeably changed, more shapely and muscular. Only her face, obscured by the mask, was unable to reveal just how much time had changed the hero.

After a moment of stunned silence Chloe shifted her weight and crossed her arms. "Hello Ladybug," she said, voice with a little more bite than she cared to admit, "Long time no see."

"Chloe?" Ladybug asked, unconsciously taking a half step forward.

"How sweet," Chloe said, bitterly twirling a strand of her hair, "you remember me."

"I didn't think," Ladybug said, "I mean I heard you were coming back, but I didn't think you were here yet. I'm sorry for startling you."

"You're the one who looks startled to me."

Ladybug stepped back, twirling her yoyo again. "I'm not going to argue right now Chloe, I'm running out of time before I transform back."

Chloe stayed silent, biting her tongue. She wasn't planning on arguing either, but just remembering her last interaction with Ladybug made it take everything she had to hold back.

Ladybug turned around, throwing her yoyo so it latched onto some unseen building in the distance. Before she took off she sighed, defeated, and turned back one last time. "Welcome back to Paris Chloe." She swung off.

Chloe went back into her room, fists balled. Ladybug had done nothing to hide the fact that she thought she was a nuisance. She may have said "welcome back", but everything about the heroes body language had said otherwise. It was final then. If Ladybug didn't want her back then no one did.

She kicked an unfortunate ottoman, making it roll unhinged across the room, before plopping into the nearest chair.

"It's fine," She told herself, "I'm already here. They're going to get me whether they want me or not."

She took out her phone and scrolled through her contacts. If Ladybug knew about her return how many others knew as well? Looks like it was time to announce her presence in the city. Almost all her contacts were old, her social circle almost nonexistent in the years she stayed with her grandmother. She selected all her old classmates starting with good old Sabrina. When she reached Adrien's number she paused for a moment, chewing the inside of her cheek.

If anyone was going to be genuinely happy to see her it would be him. But she already knew he wouldn't be happy to see her. Not after she had betrayed Paris, joined Hawkmoth. Even if it hadn't led anywhere. He was the only person she genuinely cared that she had disappointed.

She added him to the list as well. She wasn't going to run away this time.

She sent out the text.

I'M BACK.