Chapter 2: Taking the Fall

Adrien had a plenty of left-over nervous energy that night, so he transformed and was about to go out on a solo patrol when he saw there was a message from Ladybug on his baton.

"Chat Noir, I need to talk to you. I don't understand how Chloé's bracelet ended up where it did in the Mayor's office. Chloé and her father were both handcuffed and they didn't move from the desk. Rogercop wouldn't have done it; he just set the purse down in the back. If he looked in there and found the bracelet he would have shoved it in their faces to prove he was in the right. If you can shed any light on this, please let me know. Marinette – you know, the girl who helped you with Evillustrator – is going to have a really hard time clearing her name if you can't."

Chat Noir dropped the baton. "Plagg, claws in."

"Plagg, what am I going to do?" asked Adrien. "I can't tell the truth, that you were fooling around and got the bracelet stuck on your head."

Plagg said, "I thought the bracelet box was a tin of Camembert. Then when I found out it wasn't, it was too shiny to resist. Not my fault."

"It was completely your fault. Now that I think about it, why didn't you just phase out of it?"

"Having a metal ring around me nullifies my phasing. It's too much like the ring I'm magically bound to. "

"That's another reason not to tell the truth – it reveals a weakness that Hawk Moth could use against you. I see only one way out. I'm going to have to take the fall for you as a civilian."

"Really, you'd do that for me?"

"For Marinette."

"You'll be in a lot of trouble. You could go to jail."

"I'll tell Chloé it was a prank. She's more likely to let me get away with it than Marinette."

"What about when your father finds out?"

"Oh no! He'll punish me by pulling me out of school. But what choice do I have?"

"You could just let Marinette take the blame."

"I can't do that to a friend."

"You're such a good kitten. I hope it works out for you."

Adrien transformed back to Chat Noir and tried to call Ladybug. It went to her voicemail.

"M'Lady, I do know something. It was Adrien Agreste who took it. I was in the area and I saw a teacher out on the sidewalk, forced to do the motions of picking up trash when the trash was already gone. I went into the school to investigate and Adrien was there. He said the akuma was his fault. The bracelet rolled under his feet and he took it as a prank because he was annoyed with Chloé for flaunting it. He asked me to try to get it back to her in a way that would keep him out of trouble. I'm sorry."

Adrien went to his father next and told him the same story.

"I don't know if Chat Noir has gotten the bracelet back in a way that will keep me out of it, but I wanted to tell you just in case."

"This is disgraceful," said Gabriel. "What were you thinking? It will hurt the reputation of your brand. Associating with hooligan classmates has corrupted you."

"I'm really sorry, Father. I promise it wont happen again."

"I should pull you out of that school. Before this, Chloé was the person causing akumas there. Now it's you, too..."

Gabriel paused for a moment, then smiled.

"On second thought, I believe I can use this. Your image could use a streak of mischief. A touch of the bad boy... youthful high spirits. You can stay in school."

"Thank you, Father!"

"On one condition," said Gabriel. "From time to time, for the sake of publicity, I'll be asking you to pull a few more pranks. You'll have to pretend they're all your idea, of course."

"I would rather not hurt anyone else."

"That's my condition for you to return to school. If your image is going to include a wild side, you'll have to keep it up."

"All right, I suppose. Yes, Sir."

"Now, I need to see to getting you a lawyer. You could be prosecuted for filching that bracelet, even though you returned it indirectly."

"I don't think Chloé will press charges against me."

"We can't be sure of that. The whole business caused a great deal of trouble, and her father the mayor may have his own ideas for once."

"Does Gabriel Fashions have a good lawyer we can use?"

"We have business lawyers, and they wouldn't be any use for this. I've seen advertisements for a Mr. Saul Bonhomme. He seems to be competent in criminal matters. I had better call Saul."