And so there she knelt.

In the center of the empty bakery, in the dark, alone. She wrapped her arms around herself and shook. There was a mixture of sadness, fear, and frustration in her eyes and in her heart.

Sadness. She trusted someone, and she was betrayed. Something unthinkable had happened, and it was her fault, and there was no denying this. Now people were in danger.

Fear. Now people were in danger. What she had done was give a mad man the power to destroy anything he wanted with a simple touch. She had, with one simple act, imperiled the entire city, perhaps the world if things went truly wrong, and she just didn't know if she had what it took to solve that. She couldn't trust herself to do it.

Frustration. She couldn't trust herself. One simple moment of weakness was all it took to undo everything she had worked for. Before she let him in, everything was fine. Now? Everything was ruined. It was her fault. She had to redouble her efforts. Push harder. Build the wall taller. Get back the ring, seal it away, and seal herself away as well. How could she let herself be so easily tricked?

She slammed her fist against the tiled floor so hard it ached. Then she did it again. And then again, until the pain became unbearable and she had to scream. Marinette was not an angry person, but there was nothing else in her at this time. She couldn't control it anymore.

"Marinette, stop!" Tikki urged, appearing from seemingly nowhere, the way she often did. She tried in vain to quiet Marinette's shrill shrieking. Desperately, she floated to the woman's fist, which was red and throbbing, split open a little on the knuckles. The kwami clenched her teeth in panic. She flew up to her friend and leaned her head against hers. "Please."

Marinette opened her eyes, saw Tikki's sullen face.

"This is why." Marinette whispered, her voice hoarse. "This is why we don't let people in. This stuff is too dangerous to risk. I told you."

"Marinette, I…"

"I told you time and time again."

"Marinette."

"But you kept pushing this fucking… Ideology on me like I had to have friends and let people mess with me, and now look!"

"Marinette, this is not my fault!" Tikki yelled, although with her high pitched voice it was more like a screech. The woman's eyes settled on her companion. She had returned to float in front of her face. "I know what I told you. And I stand firm by it. I never said you wouldn't get hurt."

Marinette swallowed. She couldn't deny that fact. But now what was she supposed to do? Marinette's existence as Ladybug was so different than it had been in the past. She wasn't a fighter anymore. She shook hands. She stopped petty larcenies. She intimidated purse snatchers. She hadn't fought anyone with other powers in a long time, and there was a very good chance she could lose to Felix, and then what?

"I am sorry you got hurt, Marinette, I really am. And I feel terrible, because I was tricked too." The kwami continued. This was another of her talks she always gave. Whenever Marinette spiraled out of control, Tikki would appear to say exactly the right thing in the right way. She always knew just what had to be said. After all, she'd been doing this for a long time. "We will talk more about the things that I told you, I promise. But right now, in this moment, Paris needs you. We have to get that ring back."

"I don't know if…"

"You can. You can do anything, Marinette." Tikki assured her. "You're you. Felix has never beaten you. We won't let him win."

Marinette clenched her fist and stared at the floor. Felix Graham de Vanily. The name sat on her tongue like bitter medicine. He was a conniving little brat that had schemed in secret for years. Since Marinette had known him he'd been a sniveling little goblin who built his whole personality around bringing other people down so he could climb over them in his quest to rise ever higher. This whole plot was just his style, the kind of manipulative scheme he would pull. It made her blood boil that this was the person she had lost to.

But she hadn't lost yet. Marinette still had one ace in the hole. Felix was sure he had the leg up on Ladybug. Little did he know, Ladybug knew all about him and his scheme. He wasn't as smart as he thought he was, he wasn't as good as he thought he was. He never had been. She wouldn't lose. Not to someone like Felix.

"Okay." Marinette replied, rising to her feet unsteadily. She was still shaken, but there was an urgency now that overruled all her other emotions. There was a part of her that was already hatching a plan for how to get the ring back, and she let this part take hold of her.

It was exhilarating, almost. It felt like a part of her she hadn't let loose in a while. This was it. This was the old Ladybug. This was the rise to action after a challenge. This was who she was when she tore the butterfly brooch off of Gabriel Agreste's neck. This was who that man saw when his eyes filled with fear that day.

"Okay. We're getting that ring back." Marinette, almost a little excited, declared as she rose to her feet completely. Tikki smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it and flew off out of sight.

Marinette was confused by this until she heard a knock on the glass door behind her, a sound that made her jump just slightly out of a mix of surprise and fear. Was it Felix coming back? Had he decided she knew too much? Maybe he had come to silence her once and for all. Well, if he thought it would be that easy, he was wrong. She wouldn't go down with out a fight.

She whipped around toward the door, furiously grasped the handle, and wrenched it open. It swung agape effortlessly and she stared daggers up at a very confused, very nervous man in front of her.

Now what? He had messed up his hair and put on shabbier clothes and thought he could trick her again? With a profane shout, she grabbed his hand and tugged at it, furiously trying to wrestle the ring off his finger. The man screamed anxiously and backed away a few steps. He was not wearing a ring.

"Jesus, M-Marinette, what the hell?" The man yelped, clutching his hand. Marinette stared up at the person before him. He was, in many ways, identical to Felix, but in all ways less put together. Messier hair, unkempt clothes that had gone out of fashion, unsightly lines and stubble across his face. His eyes did not express the confidence that Felix had, but a sort of nervous worry that had buried itself deep in his heart and not let go.

"Adrien?" Marinette asked. Behind the man, the tinted window of a car rolled down, and the person in the driver's seat, an excessively large man with gray hair and angry, tired eyes, made an annoyed sound. Adrien turned and waved.

"All good. Thank you!" He called to the man, who scowled at Marinette once more and rolled the window back up. Adrien turned back to her.

He almost looked small. He was taller than her, and wider than her, but something about the way he carried himself made him seem slight. His eyes darted around anxiously, and he seemed to fidget uncomfortably at all times.

The Adrien she expected turned out to be Felix. So who now was this? Could this truly be Adrien? Had that much changed?

"H-Hey, Marinette." He greeted nervously. "Is Felix still here?"

"No, he left." She answered.

"Oh. Uh. Okay." The man replied, slightly disappointed. He shrugged. There were a few awkward moments where neither of them said anything. Marinette looked at his face and tried to summon some semblance of familiarity, but almost nothing about him as he was now was familiar to her. If she had seen the two of them standing side by side, he would have guessed that this man was the real imposter.

"Well, bye."

Adrien started to turn, and Marinette reached out and grabbed his arm. He stopped, stiffening up nervously. She stared down at where she was grasping him. There was a time when even this small amount of contact would send her into a tizzy. Now, she felt nothing.

How was this man Adrien? How was he ever Chat Noir? The playful, impish man that fought tooth and nail to save paris. That taunted his enemies with a boisterous swagger that he embodied so naturally. Her partner, who she shared countless hours with, confiding secrets in, discussing plans with, becoming close to.

This person was like a stranger.

"You should come in." Marinette told him. More like instructed him. "You should come in and ask me more about Felix."

How else would he find out what Felix was planning?

"Oh, yeah, I uh," The man began, "I was going to ask but I didn't want to, uh, i-impose."

She stared up at him, unbelieving. Where was the urgency? The determination? There was someone in this city pretending to be him! Did that not bother him?

"Good, we have a lot to talk about." She said, turning into the bakery. She stopped suddenly and turned back, looking past Adrien to the car behind him. "Uh. Is he going to stay out here?"

"I'll ask." Adrien replied. He jogged gently over to the car, and the window rolled down. The man and his bodyguard exchanged a few brief words, then Adrien turned back and called out: "He says he'll stay out here."

"You sure? I can put coffee on." Marinette called again. Adrien turned back to his bodyguard. A moment passed.

"He says Okay."

The three of them shuffled into the woman's living room, and Marinette squeezed past them into the kitchen. The kitchen was small enough on its own, being only a small space that came off the living room, but navigating it was particularly difficult with the presence of Adrien's enormous bodyguard, who stood near the door and didn't seem to mind being in the way. She put the promised coffee on to brew. It was much needed after the day she had had. It was starting to catch up with her, and she was exhausted. But she would have to put up with it, for now, and for a few days more.

"Cream? Sugar?" Marinette, tired, called from the kitchen. She turned to look at Adrien, who had picked up a picture frame containing a photo from an old family vacation. Feeling her gaze land on him, he put the photograph down hastily, as if touching it were forbidden. It fell flat on its face, and he tried in vain to stand it up several times before awkwardly shoving his hands in his pocket. Marinette sighed deeply.

"Y-yeah. Uh. Sugar, please. A few."

"A few sugar." Marinette repeated unenthusiastically. She looked up at the bodyguard, and he looked back at her. "Black?"

He said nothing.

"Black." She muttered to herself.

When the coffee was done, she sat with her old partner at the table, right where she had sat just minutes ago with Felix Graham de Vanily. The energy couldn't have been more different. Where she had reveled with Felix in confidence, now she sat in sullen silence.

She stared at the man across from her. Here he was. He sipped his coffee, decided it was too hot to drink, and put it down, staring deeply into the pool of darkness inside his mug. The Chat Noir. Now but a husk of his former self. It was good he didn't have the ring anymore, he wouldn't know what to do with it.

"So." They both began awkwardly.

"Go ahead." Marinette said.

"No, p-please." He insisted. She shrugged. She didn't have time to catch up. She had work to do. And she had learned her lesson from Felix. She didn't bring him in here to flirt or to rebuild bridges or to reconcile any old feelings. That was over now. Never again. From now on, it was strictly business.

"Felix has your ring." She started. Adrien nodded. He knew that much just by seeing the news.

"He must have tricked uh, L-Ladybug. Into giving it to him. Oh, christ, he must have been so shitty to her." Adrien replied, clasping his head between two hands. Marinette watched this display and sighed.

"What are you going to do?" She asked him. Without removing his head from his hands, he looked up at her, blinking several times.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, how are you going to stop Felix from impersonating you more?" Marinette elaborated, shocked that she even needed to.

"O-oh, I don't know. Uh." He stuttered, making an unpleasant face just at the thought. "M-maybe I'll go to the police? They can handle it, I'm sure."

Marinette couldn't believe what she was hearing. The cops in this city were helpless, especially against anyone using a miraculous. Where was the bravado? Where was the courage? Where was the anger? This man was clearly not going to be of any use. She inhaled deeply.

"Okay, why is Felix going around telling people he's you?" Marinette feigned patience as she folded her hands on the table in front of her. If she couldn't get Adrien to do anything, she'd at least get information out of him.

"Oh, I pay him to." He explained nonchalantly. He sat up straight, almost cracking a smile, until he saw Marinette's horrified expression. He cleared his throat. "I mean, it's his job."

A long silence hung in the air. Adrien continued.

"He, uh, I pay him to run the corporate side of things. Running the brand is hard. I'm not good at it. But Felix, he's really awesome at it, and he said he'd do all the hard work for me so I wouldn't have to worry. So I basically have him pose as me for all the board meetings and corporate calls."

"He runs your company?" Marinette was aghast.

"N-No, I mean, I still call the shots, er, ultimately. But he does all the, you know, administrative work. It was his idea, obviously. I wasn't sure at first, but when he gets his ideas going, sometimes its hard to say no to him, you know?"

"Does he get your input on things before he goes into those board meetings?"

"Well, sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Marinette stood from her seat and put her hands on the table. The bodyguard, who had been standing at the door, took a step forward. Seeing this, she sat back down. "Sometimes?"

"Yeah, well, I mean, I t-trust him." Adrien replied, shrinking back from Marinette's rising volume.

"Why? Why do you trust him? That man is a snake! He always had been, remember how many times he misled you when we were kids?"

"Marinette, after my… After Gabe…"

"What? What about Gabe? What could he possibly have to do with this?"

"I didn't h-have anyone!" Adrien snapped. "Alright? Everyone was moving on, and Ladybug left me, and I just… I was alone, okay? But when Felix learned about who I was and what happened, he reached out to me. Why do you think I moved to London after that? I was staying with him and my aunt! They were there for me. Felix was there."

Marinette felt a pang of guilt. Adrien was avoiding eye contact, but she could still see the pain in his eyes when he spoke about that time in his life. She knew she was among those people who distanced themselves from him, and it felt bad to know that, but she couldn't bear it. Seeing him in pain. Wanting to be there for him. Telling herself she couldn't be.

"He told me he was better now. And he was! H-He was my friend, my best friend, for ten years! He and I, w-we did everything together."

Adrien pounded a fist against the table.

"Now I know even that was fucking fake. There must be a r-reason. He wouldn't. He wouldn't do this to me again, not again. Fuck." He hissed, biting back tears. He lifted his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Barely disguising a sob. "Fucking… Shit. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

His cheeks were flushed red with embarrassment. Marinette swallowed, pity welling up deep inside.

"Can I use your bathroom?" The man asked. She nodded and pointed down the hall. Silently, and still avoiding eye contact, he rose from his chair and went down the hall into the washroom. The door closed and moments later, the sound of the running faucet could be heard. Marinette was left alone at the table, silently watching steam rise from her coffee.

"Hey." The voice was low, and quiet, but deep and heavy like the moving of the earth itself. She looked up. His bodyguard took a step toward her. He was a goliath of a man, and with each step, a hollow thud resounded through the room. He got to the table and looked down at the woman in front of him.

"He's a good kid." The man stated flatly, his expression unshifting. "Life ain't been fair to him. Go easy."

With that, the man took a few steps back to his spot. Marinette stared at him for several seconds. She had known this man to be Adrien's personal security detail for years. She had never heard him speak.

But his words were true. Perhaps she was being unduly harsh. She couldn't claim to know what it was like to be Adrien, but she knew it wasn't easy, and it never had been. Tragedy was woven through his life in abundance. If she were in his position, maybe she would trust Felix too. She was alone now, just as he was, but at least that was a choice she had made. Adrien didn't get that choice. Most of the things in his life had been decided for him.

And yes, he had changed. And the person he was now wasn't the same person she had fallen in love with years ago. But that wasn't all his fault. Marinette was now operating in full Ladybug mentality, but she had to accept that Adrien hadn't thought like Chat Noir in years. She couldn't expect him to.

Adrien emerged from the wash room, having washed his face and wiped it dry. His eyes were still red, but he had regained his composure enough to sit down again. He passed by his bodyguard and they gave each other a simple nod, all the communication the two needed to ensure the other that things were okay. He took a seat and sipped his coffee slowly.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine, really. Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I raised my voice, it's just, he was in my house, and… Ugh." Marinette wretched, fidgeting uncomfortably. She was mad, but she couldn't project that on him. He wasn't capable of hurting her or anyone, especially not Felix. It was time to learn what she could and send him packing. But she had to go about it delicately. He was, apparently, a rather delicate guy these days. But for as much pity as she felt for the man, she could not see past the urgency of her situation. The ring took precedent, always. "Adrien,"

"Yeah?"

"Felix knew everything about you. Why?"

"He's a smart guy, I guess. H-He probably did a lot of his own research. But…" Adrien began, scratching at the scruff around his chin like it was uncomfortable, "I also told him a lot of things. You know? While we were living together, I confided in him a lot."

Marinette swallowed the anger that was rising. He really told Felix all about what it was like to be Chat Noir, to work with Ladybug. Even told him what Ladybug was like. Those things were personal. It felt a little bit like a violation. But she did her best to maintain control over herself.

"He's going to try and use that information to trick Ladybug." Marinette stated flatly. She just wanted to get a sense of how he felt about it. Not that there was really much he could do, but shouldn't he try to do something? They were partners after all.

Adrien made a sound akin to a hum that served as acknowledgement, but nothing more. Marinette furrowed her brow slightly, and spoke. "Should we try to warn her or something?"

"I don't know how to get in contact with her without the ring." Adrien professed. He drew an invisible ring on the table with his finger. "And even if I did, she doesn't need me anymore. I think she'd rather not see me."

"What?" Her voice caused the man to look up and swallow.

"She took the ring and after that, we didn't really talk. I don't know, I think she was disappointed. When I told everyone who I was, I think she felt betrayed. Anyway, she probably doesn't want to see me."

Marinette considered this. This was a shockingly unselfish outlook that juxtaposed what she had heard from Felix But of course he felt like he had done something wrong, he was an inherently unselfish person.

If there was a way for her to tell him Ladybug was not angry at him, she would. But what could she do? If she transformed now, she would be revealing her identity. And if she caught up with him later, there was just as much of a chance that she would run into Felix. So he just had to go on thinking he had made mistakes. It was unfortunate, but Marinette was too focused on the ring to worry about it.

"Ladybug is smart, and perfect, and wonderful." Adrien continued. "She'll figure it out. She always does."

Marinette put a hand on her cheek to try and disguise the blush that was forming on her face. She wished she had better control over this kind of thing. She didn't even feel that way about him. Not anymore.

"Adrien, listen." She began, scooting closer to the table. "I can tell a lot has changed with you. And I really, really wish we were speaking under better circumstances. But we aren't. This is really bad, Adrien. I need to know that you'll be able to confront Felix. Because it will come to that."

"I don't know, Marinette, he's," the man began, slowly, "He's better than me."

"Adrien, that guy was in my house. He brought wine over. I thought he was you, I trusted him. And so does all of Paris. He's going to hurt people before he is done, and the only people that know that right now are you and me. I'm not asking you as, you know, some kind of call to action, I'm asking you for help. As your old friend."

Adrien's gaze rose to meet hers. He was intimidated by the look in her eyes. She was so serious, so unlike the gentle nervous girl he had known before. But he just didn't know if he had what it takes any more.

"Felix has the ring, what can I do?"

"You're Chat Noir." Marinette reminded him.

Adrien shook his head. "Not anymore. Not without that ring."

"Ugh, Chat! You're insufferable sometimes."

Adrien looked up at her. That tone was so familiar. So nostalgic.

"Sorry, Adrien. I meant Adrien. Listen." Marinette pleaded, rising from her chair and crossing over to him. She knelt beside his chair, resting one arm on the back of it and taking his hand with the other. "Look me in the eye."

He did so, swallowing nervously.

"It's you. You're Chat Noir. You fought every battle. You won every time. In your life, you've been through more hardship than that brat Felix could even imagine. And you are still here, fighting today. Every day. Against all the things that hurt you. All the people that betrayed you. Felix is a guy with a ring, and he's going around calling himself Chat Noir, but that's your name. Remember. He can took your trust and he took your past. But Chat Noir is your name. Don't let him take that from you too."

Marinette rose, and took two steps back, waiting for him to reply. She stared down at her old partner. She needed to know that when this was all over, and she handed Felix off to Adrien's care, that he wouldn't let it slide. This couldn't happen again. She wasn't able to deal with Felix again, he had to go after this. She had to know Adrien could take back everything Felix stole from him and never let him pull any of these nasty plots again.

Adrien looked into Marinette's eyes. There was a fire in them. There was a spark. A familiar spark. The way she spoke, the way she carried herself, it was just like her. It was this air about her, it was infectious. It made his heart beat, not faster, but harder, like it wanted to be more alive than it was.

He thought about all the times Chat Noir snuck out of the Agreste Manor. His heartbeat the same way then. Because that was his freedom. He was leaving a prison where he was just Adrien, and entering a city where he could be free as Chat Noir. And it made him feel so alive.

Now he was back in that prison. It wasn't the manor any more, sure, but he had taken the prison with him. Carried it in his heart. Built it around himself, because he thought that it was better safe in here than free out there. And he'd been dead all that time.

But now? In Marinette's presence? A tiny spark. It got the flames going again. Not burning yet, but glowing, just enough. He could feel it. The pounding in his chest, the yearning to feel the wind in his hair. To escape the prison once again.

"Don't let him take this from you too." The woman in front of him repeated.

She was right. He had given Felix so much. His past, his present, his future. Felix lived the life that Adrien should have lived. And now he wanted to take this from him too? He had to draw a line somewhere.

God, but this was terrifying. It was Felix Graham de Vanily! That man had so much power now, because Adrien had given it to him. He made the decisions. He was in control. He held the keys to this prison. Confronting him? The thought was mortifying. That would be just like confronting his father.

That's when it hit him. It was just like confronting his father. The fear, the trepidation, it was all the same. Nothing had changed. He had just given another terrible despot control over his life. The prison truly hadn't changed.

He looked up at the woman in front of him, rising slowly out of his chair. His eyes, behind the glasses he wore, searched her face, her eyes. Once again, there was an enemy, a singularly powerful, intelligent man who held Adrien by a leash. And once again, Adrien had but one person he could truly rely on to help him. A single woman. A partner. Everything was the same as it had been in the past. Instead of his old partner, Marinette was standing in front of him, but the words she spoke, the way she spoke them, it was all much too familiar.

"Ladybug?" He asked her.