Adrien regarded the two heroes in front of him curiously, and they stared back. The glowing green eyes on the past Chat's helmet seemed to bore into him. He raised one arm.

"Er... hello?"

The past Chat's eyes went wide. "Who are you?"

"Wait, how come I can understand you?" Adrien asked, baffled. He didn't think an Aztec should know modern French.

"I asked first!" His counterpart retorted. The past Ladybug leaned over and said something to him- but what she said Adrien did not understand. He decided to tell the truth. He did not notice Marinette do a double take.

"My name is Chat Noir, and I am from the future. So is my friend, Marinette."

Marinette just looked confused, but managed a small wave when she was introduced. The past Chat raised a hand back.

"From the future?" He asked. Chat noted that he didn't sound like he was scoffing at the idea.

"Do you believe me?" He asked. The other man just shrugged.

"Perhaps I wouldn't, but since I took up the mantle of this city's defender I have seen wondrous things. I am Ocelotl, by the way. You don't look like you're from around here."

"What's he saying?" Marinette asked.

"He's asking where we're from," Adrien told her.

"Paris! France!" Marinette said.

"Pardon? What did your friend say?" Past chat- Ocelotl asked, a confused expression on his face.

"She says we're from Paris, in France."

"Never heard of it." Ocelotl waved his hands dismissively.

Chat hadn't expected him to.

"But this "Paris" is far away, is it not?"

Adrien nodded.

"In that case, how did you learn to speak Nahuatl?"

"I didn't," Chat said honestly.

"What? But you are speaking it right now!" Ocelotl looked baffled at this point.

"To me, you are speaking French," Adrien pointed out.

"What is French?"

"Oh never mind," Adrien groaned. Just then a thought occurred to him. "Wait, we both have the same kwami don't we? Plagg, do you know Plagg?"

"A small flying creature who looks like a tiny black jaguar and loves tortillas?"

"That's the one! Although he's more of a cheese cat now."

That prompted another strange look from the other hero, and Adrien had to remind himself that the Aztecs didn't have cheese. He didn't know how Plagg had coped here.

"If he's bonded to both of us in different times, then maybe he's providing some kind of link so we can understand each other!" He finished.

The other man nodded.

"That makes sense, but this is the first time anything like this has happened. I don't know anything more than you."

Meanwhile, he noticed that Aztec ladybug had not said anything for a while, and was staring intently at Marinette. He didn't say anything, and instead changed the subject.

"So what was that thing you fought just now?"

"Sentimonster," came the one word reply. "Someone's been setting them loose on the city for a few years now. We're still no closer to finding out who though."

That meant the peacock miraculous was somewhere in this city too, and was being used for evil.

"We've had run ins with those before," Adrien nodded.

"How did you get here?" Ocelotl asked.

"I was fighting an Akuma," Adrien replied. He saw the familiar look of confusion on the other man's face, and so elaborated.

"You know the miraculous? The thing which gives us our abilities?"

"Yes," Ocelotl nodded.

"There's another one which gives the wearer the ability to give other people superpowers and corrupt them. Someone has it in our time and is using it to try to take our miraculouses. They used it on a relative of a friend and gave him time travelling abilities."

"That's... unfortunate. Is there anything we can do to help?"

Adrien merely shrugged. "I don't suppose you have a way of getting us home?"

"Maybe with work, we could find one, but I only found out time travel was possible just now."

"It was worth a try," Adrien muttered.

"In the meantime, how about you come with us?" Ocelotl suggested. "I suppose your Plagg is going to want feeding eventually."

Adrien nodded. He didn't know how long he could stay transformed, and he needed to find somewhere private to do it before he accidentally outed himself to Marinette.

"Please, lead the way."


With Chat carrying Marinette, his Aztec predecessors led them to a rooftop overlooking a wide square in the centre of the city. Around them, several great pyramidal structures rose into the air, towering above them, and below them the citizens of Tenochtitlan went about their daily business.

"Right," Ocelotl clapped his hands. "My house is just over there, so now might be a good time to transform."

"What, as in take off the costume?" Adrien replied, horrorstruck.

"Yes, is there a problem with that? Nobody will know who you are," Ocelotl tried to reassure him.

"She might!" Adrien gestured at Marinette. "If she finds out, then she could become a target."

"A target for your butterfly man?" Ocelotl raised one eyebrow under his helmet. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine."

"What does that mean?"

Ocelotl studied him for a few seconds, apparently weighing what to say.

"Forget it." And he was off, jumping away across the rooftops again. Adrien decided that it was not a good sign that his hosts were keeping secrets, but followed them nonetheless.

Ocelotl apparently lived in a large luxurious whitewashed stone building, with ornate carvings on the walls. The roof was flat, and it was adorned with a small but nice looking garden. Adrien guessed he must be a nobleman then.

He landed on the roof of Ocelotl's house and found an open hatch in it; he dropped through to find his predecessor's costume melting away, the helmet evaporating and the black vanishing to be replaced by a white cloak, decorated with various stripes and patterns, a loincloth, and nothing else. He looked like he was in his early to mid 20s. His long black hair was tied into a topknot with a length of red material. He smiled at him. Plagg- a past Plagg- shot out from his body and dived straight into an open chest that had been set up especially. The sounds of munching ensued. Aztec Ladybug- Adrien had not caught her superhero name- likewise transformed, the red fabric dissolving to reveal a skirt decorated with blocks of red, green and yellow and a white and red striped top.

"Can you still understand me?" Ocelotl asked. Adrien nodded.

"Then I suppose proper introductions are in order. My name- my actual name- is Chimalli. This is Miahuaxiuitl," he gestured to Aztec Ladybug.

Adrien was confused.

"Hold on, how come you two can just reveal your identities in front of each other?"

Miahuaxiuitl said something to Chimalli, who laughed. "Well, that tends to come with marriage," he replied.

"But what about secret identities?"

"Both of us can look after ourselves," Chimalli stated. "Besides, we work better as a team when we can trust each other with everything."

"Right," Adrien nodded. He wasn't at that stage yet with his Ladybug, but hopefully one day. He didn't notice Marinette glance at him.

"Are you going to tell us your name?" Chimalli asked.

"Don't worry, I'll go," Marinette immediately said. She opened the door and walked out into the courtyard. Miahuaxiuitl exchanged looks with her husband and hurried to follow her, Tikki following in her wake.

Adrien watched her go, and sighed. "Fine. My name is Adrien Agreste." He let the transformation drop. Plagg appeared in front of him.

"The food's in there," Adrien gestured to the chest, which had now been vacated by Chimalli's Plagg.

As he dove in, the nobleman laughed. "I hope you don't stay here long."

"Why?"

"Because feeding two Plaggs is going to beggar us!"

Still laughing, Chimalli gestured to a small bench that had been set out in a corner of the room.

Come, sit down, and tell me of the future. What is this "Paris" like?"