A/N: Wow it has been a while since I posted. I've been working on other projects (and finally published the sequel to my original book). That, along with some crazy personal life stuff (as usual) made me kind of forget this story. At least until I started watching the new episodes of Season 5 and wow I got inspired to post again. Let me know what you guys think. And please leave reviews. It really helps me out and lets me know what you guys like and don't like. And it'll help other people find this story.

"That went well, I think," Lila said, lounging on a couch. She flicked through the channels on the TV, but every channel was the same thing. Her speech, discussions about Ladybug and Chat Noir, and updates on the ongoing unrest. Twelve hours later and things still hadn't cooled. Maybe they would have if Shadow Moth didn't take the opportunity to akumatize at least three people.

"Yes, things are going according to plan," a male voice agreed. He was transformed as the Peacock: Paon. "It was quite a good opener to our new team."

While the two patted themselves on the back, the third member of their group stayed on the edge of the room, eyes lazily locked on the news. Chloe's arms were crossed, and her face never let up a scowl. "You never mentioned starting a riot," she said tersely. "We were just supposed to turn support away from Ladybug, not start a fight."

"An unexpected complication," Paon agreed, "however it turned in our favor. After today, I think everyone will think twice before putting their blind trust in Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"Let me make one thing clear to you, Felix," Chloe snapped. Paon frowned when she used his real name. "I have no interest in hurting the people of Paris. My only goals are taking down Ladybug and Shadow Moth."

"Take it easy, Chloe," Lila shot back.

"No, I'm working with both of you voluntarily." She adjusted the brush pinned in her hair as Pollen flew around her head. "And I wield the Bee Miraculous, with or without you. If I think that either of you are a threat to Paris, I will stop you. I'm no villain."

"Queen Bee, please calm yourself," Paon said placatingly. He gently put his hand on her shoulder. "You're absolutely right. We won't do anything that will compromise the safety of the people of Paris. Today was an unexpected exception. People's trust has been shaken, and they responded violently. We're in a time of unprecedented transition. These things happen, as unfortunate as it is."

"Then we should be helping," Chloe argued. "Why are we sitting around?"

"Calming a riot isn't a job for either of you," Paon answered. "Leave that to the police."

"And the akumas?"

"Circumstances prevent us from helping quite yet," Paon said diplomatically. "It's not ideal, but Ladybug and Chat Noir would overpower both of you. In the chaos, I'm not sure that you two can safely act without the two of them attacking you. Besides, damages will be reduced if Ladybug continues to use her Miraculous Ladybugs. At least until we get a hold of that power ourselves."

"And how do you propose we fight akumas in the meantime?" Chloe demanded. "Only Ladybug can purify an akuma."

"According to whom?"

"According to… Ladybug…"

"There are other ways for us to handle akumas," Paon said. "I'm still working out the details, but I'll have it ready by the time you two face your first akuma."

"I don't like it," Chloe said bluntly. "This whole thing is ridiculous."

"This is the job you signed up for," Lila said. "You want to be a hero, and this is what heroes do. We'll make the hard choices, especially when no one else can."

Chloe frowned. "I don't like you," she told Lila. "You're a liar, and I don't trust you further than I can throw you. I'm only working with you because Felix said you could use the fox."

"Please, call me Paon," he said, a hint of frustration breaking through his otherwise calm exterior. "Don't use my real name. I revealed myself to you two, but once we get more members, I would prefer to stay anonymous."

"Which raises a good question, Felix," Chloe said pointedly. "Why aren't you revealing yourself to all of Paris?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Lila admitted. "We're trying to take down Ladybug and Chat Noir for doing the same thing you're doing. Seems a little hypocritical of you."

"Ladybug and Chat Noir are beholden to no one," Paon replied. "If I step out of line, the two of you, as well as the rest of the team we still have to assemble can stop me." He turned to Chloe. "As for why I need to stay anonymous, it's because I have a target on my back. After I stole the Miraculous from Shadow Moth, he's been looking for me, as have Ladybug and Chat Noir. For right now, it's too risky for me to come out in public."

"As if we don't have targets on our backs now," Chloe replied.

"Which is why I have this base for you to stay safe," he replied, gesturing the well-furnished house they were staying in. Chloe's eyes narrowed, but Paon didn't press the issue. "You two continue getting settled," he said, moving towards the elevator at the back of the room. He stepped inside and pressed the button for the roof. "If you need me, please feel free to reach out."

As soon as the elevator doors shut, Paon's pleasant façade dropped, and he scowled. He snarled by himself before dropping the transformation. Duusu floated around him. "Master," he said, with a somber expression, "do you really think this is a good idea?"

"Silence," he commanded, and Duusu fell silent. "We still have one more tricky meeting today." He finished speaking just as the elevator reached its peak. As it opened, he looked out at the observatory, an imitation of the one Gabriel Agreste built for himself.

Speaking of Gabriel, he stood at the far side of the room, peering sullenly out of the bay window. "Felix."

"Uncle."

"Have you thoroughly convinced Chloe and Lila to work with us?"

"They're convinced," he said, standing beside his uncle. "Lila is willing to do what we say as long as she keeps her Miraculous. Chloe is… stronger willed than I expected."

"Yes, she has always been stubborn," Gabriel agreed. "But that stubbornness is as much a weakness as it is her strength. She's set herself up against Ladybug, and she won't waver. Just don't give her a reason to doubt, and she'll stay the course."

"She's been asking difficult questions," he said. "Her experience fighting akumas in the past is showing through. She wants to know how they can purify them."

"I've already told you, I can release the akuma remotely with the Butterfly. There's no issue."

"We know that, but the two of them are just as eager to stop Shadow Moth as they are Ladybug and Chat Noir. I need something to tell them."

"Then we'll give them something to appease them. A net to catch the akuma in before I release them. Give me a day to decorate something. Make it seem more… Miraculous."

"You sure have thought of everything, uncle," Felix said softly. His eyes flicked to the side, the ghost of a smile on his lips. "But you lose sight of the akuma once their object is broken. How do you expect to know when they catch the akuma?"

"Hmm…" Gabriel pondered for a moment.

Felix took advantage of his momentary indecision. "I think you need to keep your hands clean, uncle."

"I hope you aren't implying what I think you are," Gabriel said. His voice was calm, but there was a promise of anger just underneath.

"It would work to our advantage," Felix assured him quickly. "Gabriel Agreste would be able to support the new heroes without fear of being found out. Meanwhile, I will stay in constant communication with our heroes, so I'll know the moment they capture an akuma, whether I can see it or not."

"You have a lot of guts asking me for the Butterfly Miraculous," Gabriel hissed.

"As if that means anything to you anymore," Felix said with a sigh. "Even if I control two Miraculous, you will have every other one."

"You ask too much."

"That's for you to decide, Shadow Moth," Felix said with uncharacteristic humility. "But do let me know if you think of a way to know when they've captured an akuma."

"You'll have to radio it to me," Gabriel decided. "Since you're so knowledgeable, you tell me the moment to drop the akumatization."

Felix smirked. Despite losing the argument, there was a glint in his eyes. Gabriel caught it, and that only widened the look on Felix's face. "As you wish."

*F*B*

"I can't believe them!" Adrien shouted. He pulled back and hit the punching bag in the corner of his room with everything he had. It flew back, but Adrien wasn't done with it. He kept punching until his fists were red and bruised. Even then, he only stopped when Plagg flew in front of him.

"Adrien, you've got to take it easy."

"Take it easy?" he demanded. "How am I supposed to take it easy? We've been out all night fighting akumas after they… they…" He growled and punched the bag again.

Plagg flew around him and pulled Adrien aside, showing surprising strength for his tiny body. Once he was away, Adrien clenched his fists, like he was looking for something else to hit. "Adrien, you've got to take it easy. We can't risk you getting akumatized."

At that, Adrien felt at least a small part of him come back to his senses. He opened and closed his fists while he breathed slowly in and out through his nose. It took several minutes, but at the end, he was starting to calm down. "Alright, I'm feeling a little better," he said, although there was still anger in his eyes. "Thanks, Plagg."

"Everything's going to be fine," Plagg said, but there was a tension even in his usual carefree manner. "I mean, it's not great, but it could be worse."

"I'm not sure I see how, Plagg," Adrien said, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Shadow Moth has all the other Miraculous, and now is assembling a team of Miraculous wielders to fight us. That sounds pretty desperate to me." He didn't want to say it out loud, but he mentally added the fact that Ladybug still wasn't ready to fight akumas without a lot of help.

The last three fights were a trial by fire for her, but there was a lot she still wasn't getting. Throughout the fights, he was forced to take the lead, come up with the plans, and even sometimes figure out what the Lucky Charm was for. He could do it, at least for now, but it went against the nature of his Miraculous. He was Destruction. Ladybug needed to step up as Creation.

"At least Shadow Moth doesn't have my Miraculous," Plagg said. "I doubt that guy would give me much cheese. Or Sugar Cube's. If he got her, then we'd have some real problems."

Adrien let out a tired chuckle, although it easily could have been a sigh. Even he wasn't sure which it was. "I guess that's true. There's two ways it could be worse." He paused. "I still don't like it."

"No," Plagg agreed, floating to the other side of the bed. He pulled out a secret stash of cheese, one of many hidden around Adrien's room, but he didn't eat it like he normally did. He nibbled slowly on the corner, and that was how Adrien knew they were in trouble.

"Something like this has happened before, hasn't it?"

Plagg hummed to himself, like he was unsure whether or not to answer. Eventually, he made his decision. "Not since the Order of Guardians took over. They've done a pretty good job holding onto the Miraculous, even if a couple slipped through the cracks over the years."

"And before the Guardians?"

"Things were bad." Plagg stopped, and his eyes became vacant, all joking gone. It was at that moment that Adrien remembered just how old Plagg really was. "Say what you want about the Guardians, but they were always careful to never use the Miraculous for their own purposes and only gave them out to people who could be trusted. Before them, anyone who got a Miraculous used it, and most shouldn't have ever had that much power."

"What happened?"

"Wars. A lot of wars. At least, my wielders always started wars. Unbridled destruction's hard to use for much else. And when one side got a Miraculous, it wasn't long before the other started looking for one."

Adrien nodded solemnly. "But that was just one or two Miraculous on each side. Have all the Miraculous ever fought each other?"

"There're some things you don't want to know about, kid," Plagg said, turning away.

"Please, Plagg," Adrien begged. "I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but if we're heading towards something like that happening again, we need to know what we're up against."

Plagg sighed. "You owe me a lot of Camembert for this," he told him sharply. "It happened once. It was actually what caused the Guardians to form in the first place. Both sides weren't interested in land or resources or anything like that. One person wanted to gather all the Miraculous together, especially the Cat and Ladybug, and the other side wanted to stop him." He shook his head. "It was… bad."

"Just like Shadow Moth."

"You better hope not," Plagg snapped. "I mean it when I say it was bad. So far, you've seen what Shadow Moth could do with one or two Miraculous. Imagine what would happen if there were a dozen people all that powerful. It was the kind of destruction that could level cities."

"Isn't destruction kind of your thing? Didn't you wipe out the dinosaurs?"

"Hey, I still think those scaly lizards had it coming."

"It couldn't be worse than that, could it?"

As soon as he said it, he saw the look on Plagg's face change, and Adrien regretted asking it. "Sit down, kid. There's something I need to explain to you. Miraculous cannot be used for selfish or evil purposes under any circumstances. If you or anyone else does, it corrupts the Miraculous. Fighting akumas and protecting the city, that's good. Giving you a chance at some freedom, fine. Even helping you with your friends or your crush on Ladybug is allowed. But using your powers to cheat or steal or worse… That's going to lead down a bad path."

"Is that what Shadow Moth did."

Plagg nodded. "You've seen his corrupted butterflies, but he's been the only corrupted Miraculous you've seen. In the wrong hands, every Miraculous can be corrupted like that. And when the Miraculous fight each other, it naturally corrupts all of them, whether they're used for good or not."

"But we've fought Shadow Moth all this time without anything bad happening."

"One or two Miraculous is tolerable, but still not good. The more get involved, the more dark energy will build. First, it'll corrupt the Miraculous on their side, but eventually, it'll corrupt even Miraculous on our side. That kind of corruption is even worse than pure destruction. Worse than anything an akuma can do."

Adrien watched as the ears on Plagg's head fell flat. "You were corrupted last time, weren't you?"

Plagg scoffed. "Kid, the bad guys had my Miraculous. I was one of the first to get corrupted." His daze dipped, and Adrien wasn't sure what he could say to cheer the kwami up. He didn't have to. A moment later, Plagg floated up and lounged midair. "Well, that was a long time ago. Better not to dwell on things, right?"

It was about as obvious a coverup as he could imagine, but Adrien already pushed Plagg for more information than he wanted to give today. "I guess you're right. The more important thing is getting the missing Miraculous back before anyone gets corrupted."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"Eat your cheese quickly, Plagg. I think we've got a Guardian we need to find."

"Never say that about my cheese again."

"Adrien," a woman called. Plagg scooped up his cheese and dove into hiding just as Natalie opened the door. She hadn't changed much over the years, but she was looking healthier, even if she still broke out in coughing fits occasional and needed her prosthetic to walk. "Your father has a request for the upcoming show."

"Sure, thing. What does he want?"

*F*B*

Adrien practically kicked down the door to his father's office. Unshakable as always, his father didn't even look up from his screen for a few seconds. When he finally did, he only spared a momentary glance. "Adrien, what are you doing coming in here so rudely?"

A few breaths calmed Adrien down, but he was still angry. "Natalie just told me that you want me to dedicate my fashion show to Queen Bee and Volpina."

"It's a good idea," he said impassively. "They might be new heroes, but they're bringing in a new age of transparency. Ladybug and Chat Noir cannot be allowed to do whatever they please. Showing our support can only be beneficial."

"Father, they started a riot at city hall."

"Some people have certainly spun it that way," he answered. "According to others, Ladybug and Chat Noir were the aggressors that sparked the riot. At least Queen Bee and Volpina had the decency to show their real faces." He closed the design he was working on and looked up at Adrien for the first time. "I thought that you would be open to the idea. After all, Chloe Bourgeois is an old friend of yours."

"Ladybug's always kept our city safe without revealing her identity. If Shadow Moth found out, it would put her in danger. I'm sorry, father, but I can't support anyone who's against Ladybug."

That made Gabriel frown. He folded his hands in front of him and leaned forward. "I had no idea you'd have such a strong reaction," he said. "I didn't realize you cared about these superheroes at all."

"I… um…"

"Adrien has always had some interest in the Miraculous heroes," Natalie said, walking slowly in the room. "I believe it started because he took a… romantic interest in Ladybug as a teenager." Adrien felt a blush creep up on his face, although he wasn't sure if he was actually embarrassed that Natalie told his father that or just surprised she knew. "But he's kept up with the heroes, even during their disappearance."

"I see. It's good to have interests, Adrien, but you shouldn't let your personal feelings cloud your judgement. I think you'll find that exposing their identities will be better for everyone."

"Father, I don't think you—"

"My decision is final Adrien." The sentence was short and left no room to continue, just like how Gabriel often spoke. "You might be organizing this fashion show, but it is still my show. Queen Bee and Volpina will be invited as special guests, assuming they accept. We'll add two additional outfits in their honor. See that it gets done."

Adrien tensed up, but he knew when his father dug his heels in, there was no force in the world that could move him. "Yes, father."

*F*B*

"Has Adrien really been interested in the Miraculous?" Gabriel asked Natalie after Adrien returned to his room.

"For some time," she replied. "He used to decorate his room with photos of Ladybug, but it's more than just a crush. He's done research into the Miraculous. I've asked him about it, but he doesn't give me much more than bits of information."

"Hmm…" Gabriel mused. "Perhaps he's finally old enough to be told the truth."

"You want to tell him everything?"

"Not everything," Gabriel said quickly. "Not all at once. However, things have gotten bigger and more complicated. When it was just you and me against Ladybug and Chat Noir, I knew who my friends and enemies were, but now…"

"You don't trust Felix."

"He's made it little secret that he's only working with me for convenience. If it benefited him, he wouldn't hesitate to crush me into the dust. Which is exactly why I'll crush him first. But even Queen Bee and Volpina are loose elements. Necessary, but dangerous."

"Perhaps you should give me another Miraculous," Natalie suggested. "I could support you against all of them."

"Natalie, my dear, I couldn't ask you to do that. Not again. And I won't ask Adrien to risk himself by wielding a Miraculous either. But there are ways to help without putting yourself in the line of fire. If I had you and Adrien by my side, no force on earth could stop us."

"Would you like me to tell him?"

For one of the few times in his life, Gabriel Agreste hesitated. "Not yet. There're too many variables at the moment. Too much is still in the air. I need things to settle before we tell Adrien anything. But it will be soon."

Thanks for reading again! Please remember to review and let me know what you like and don't like. Francis Booker out!