Hello beautiful people! I'm sorry, I didn't realize until this morning that it has been a whole month! This last week has been so stressful on me, with college and work, but I think I finally made a breakthrough. I hope to keep updating semi-regularly, and maybe even post a couple other stories! I have a one-shot in mind, and it's cute, so I might do that. But I have several others with multiple chapters thus far, so I might post one of them. And, as promised, this chapter is much longer than the previous two. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

When the crew came back to school, they noticed that Marinette was already there, with the mysterious person who picked her up. He wasn't wearing a helmet this time, which allowed them to see his dark brown, almost black, hair and rich green eyes. He wore dark, straight cut jeans with a leather jacket, and a purple pollo underneath. Him and Marinette were talking with each other in hushed tones, even sometimes pushing the other. As the three approached them, Marinette blushed a furious pink and shoved him further down the sidewalk, surprising the three with her sudden strength, but not the newcomer. He was able to catch himself before he fell, laughing the whole time. He came back over and poked Marinette's pouting face before laughing harder. The first bell rang in the school before the three were able to reach her, and they both seemed to remember where they were. The group was still several meters away when they openly gasped at what the young man did next. He leaned over and kissed Marinette on her forehead. They were still trying to pick up their jaws from the floor when she brushed him off casually and ran up the stairs with a wave, while he placed his helmet on his head and rode off.

The three stood there speechless as they tried to decipher what just happened. Once again, Alya was the one who broke the silence. "That girl has a lot of explaining to do, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind," she stated as she stormed up the stairs.

Nino's response was slightly delayed, but he quickly shouted, "don't kill her Alya! She's just a baby!"

"No promises!" she jokingly retorted.

Adrien still stood there speechless. Was sweet, shy Marinette really dating someone? Someone who's old enough to either be in or graduated from university? Was he the one who took her first kiss? He asked himself as he looked in the direction the guy rode his bike to. He didn't look like he didn't have any interest in her, in fact, he looked quite fond of her. He felt a quick pinch from inside his jacket, knowing that it was Plagg who pinched him, probably to get him to focus. On what? He had no idea.

"Dude, are you alright?" Nino effectively broke him from his thoughts. "You're looking a little pale."

Adrien wanted to reassure his friend, but he could feel his own cold sweat on his forehead and on his neck. He lightly shook his head in an attempt to recompose himself, with little effectiveness. "Y-yeah, I'm fine, just surprised is all."

"Me too, who knew that she had a boyfriend?" His offhanded statement made Adrien jolt subconsciously. "I thought she would've told Alya… oh well, it's her life, we have no right to question her."

"But we're her friends, if there's anything-"

"If there's anything troubling her, we will be there to support her, nothing more, nothing less. Anyways, bud, we should get to class before Mendeleev gets mad at us for being late."

"You're right," Adrien responded glumly. He wanted so badly to confront her himself, but knew that he had no right to, even if he was her friend. He was the least qualified of her friends to do so. He sighed as he followed his wiser-than-he-looks friend to their next lesson. When they got there, they saw a fuming Alya alone in her seat, hunched over her desk like a fox protecting her food.

"Uhm, babe? Whatcha doing?"

"Waiting," was her curt reply. Due to the venom in her voice, Adrien assumed she wasn't able to find Marinette. He silently prayed that Alya wouldn't eat her alive when she showed up, but with the ravenous look in her eyes, he wasn't so sure. Looking at the clock, Adrien could see that Marinette had another few minutes until class began. Where could she be? She came in before us… He was cut off from his thoughts when the girl in question strolled into the doorway, holding a sheet of paper. She wasn't paying attention to any of them as she took her seat, unaware of the stares she was receiving, especially the daggers being thrown her way from Alya.

"Hey guys," she said casually. Adrien looked to Alya as he replied with a 'hi' of his own, before he gulped. Alya's furious glare turned into a pleased look of indifference. He knew for certain that when she goes through such a mood swing, it wasn't good for her target. Unfortunately, it was Marinette this time. He cleared his throat to get Marinette's attention, which strangely worked, and he silently wished her luck. She gave him a curious tilt of her brow but was interrupted by Alya before she could ask what Adrien meant.

"Guys, huh? Anything you'd like to tell us about guys?" Alya asked, not-so-subtly.

Marinette's confused face only twisted more in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, is that we saw you leaving and coming back with a strange man. Who was it?" Alya chastised lightly, with a slight disapproving frown.

"In fact, we all saw you making googly-eyes with that hottie, Dupain-Cheng. Who is he, and why would he be spending time with a kid like you when he could be spending time with a woman like me?" a snobbish voice asked to their side. Turning, the group scowled as the one-and-only Lila Rossi interrupted their conversation, giving her honest opinion about the pair. "He's obviously out of your league, why even try to get with him?" she scoffed.

"What, about Anthony?" Marinette asked genuinely confused, before her face hardened. "First of all, you have no idea what he's like, and he would never be with someone like you. Second, how dare you assume who and what he would like to do? He's not your slave, and I would prefer you to leave him alone," she ended with a snarl which surprised her three friends, along with their other classmates.

"Or what? What could you possibly do?" Lila challenged as she got in Marinette's face with a smirk.

"Ladies! I do not appreciate you going at each other during class, wait for after school. Go back to your desks and retrieve your supplies for class."

"Yes, madame," came their mumbled replies. Marinette begrudgingly did as she was told and seemed to place her books and pencils on her desk a little more forceful than necessary.

"Are you okay, Mari?" Alya asked.

"Fine."

"Who is Anthony?"

"Later," was her curt reply. Alya couldn't ask any more questions for the time being due to Mendeleev's hawk eyes on the class. She could only grumble herself as she had to wait another hour before she could ask. She already waited two hours, why did she have to wait any longer? Oh well, she thought. I can always track her down and ask her after school, that way we would have more time anyways.

Unfortunately, life wasn't fair. There was another akuma attack right as school was finishing for the day. Alya growled half-heartedly as the sirens went off. She loved hearing that siren, signaling her to begin her chase after the hero duo, but today was not her day when she had something important planned. Grabbing a startled Marinette, she dragged her out of the classroom, choosing to leave her normal partner, Nino, to find her in a bit. "A-Alya? What are you doing?!"

"Taking you with me. We have a lot to talk about, mademoiselle," she retorted. Perhaps her statement was a little harsher than she intended, because when she turned back, she saw a slightly scared and bewildered Marinette trailing behind her. She offered little resistance to Alya, which she found strange, but maybe her tone finalized her resolve enough to inform Marinette that she was serious.

They made their way outside into the chaos that the akuma was creating. People were running around, screaming, as that was expected. However, Marinette thought it was pretty quiet for how chaotic the outside was. Glancing around, she noticed random glass statues scattered around the school yard. She recognized a few of the faces of her schoolmates and teachers, while others were strangers. Their faces, she figured, were too serene to be captured in the akumas spell. What else was different – everyone seemed to be turned to glass. "What's going on here?" Alya's voice spoke her own question.

But before she could say anything, movement caught the corner of her eye. "Look out!" Marinette cried as she pushed herself and Alya forward, narrowly avoiding the akuma's blast. Glancing skyward, she noticed the akuma was standing atop a building across from their school. He looked like a normal sculptor, with working pants and messy shirt, an apron with pockets, and a beret placed lopsided on his head. The only difference was the color of his beret. Instead of being a brown or black, it was a bright green color. It clashed horribly with his orange hair, but she wasn't one to judge an akuma. That must be where his akuma is, she thought as she continued to stare him down. She couldn't see anything else out of place, but she would need a better look to be able to tell. She subconsciously stood in a fighting stance as she inched closer to Alya to move her out of harm's way.

His shouts broke her out of her train of thought. "I am Sculpteur de Verre, creator of the finest glass sculptures in all of France! I will destroy anyone who destroys my masterpieces, including Ladybug and Chat Noir! Come and face me, my dear foes!" he proclaimed in a cackle. He glanced down and noticed more people running from him, which made his grin spread wider. He turned when he saw movement to his right, and noticed two girls running his way, the second girl shouting, 'Alya' to the first girl. "Foolish children, would you like a demonstration of my art?!" he questioned before jumping to the ground, mere meters from them, sending a blast towards them.

Marinette had no time to react, and could only cry out Alya's name once more as the blast came closer and closer to her startled friend… only to have her be pushed aside by someone and taking the blast for themselves. With startled horror, Marinette realized too late that it was Nino, who sacrificed himself to save his girlfriend. Both girls screamed his name as he gave them a content smile where he stood and transformed into a glass statue.

"HAHAHAHA! What beauty! A young soul sacrificing himself for the person he loves, how tragically beautiful, and worthy of being a statue, wouldn't you agree ladies?" he teased.

Alya was too busy mourning over her boyfriend's sacrifice to say anything, only to release a few whimpers as she touched his now smooth, glass face, which was rapidly losing its warmth. Perhaps Alya wasn't able to speak her mind, but Marinette sure as hell was. "How dare you," she spoke in a low and dangerous tone. "How DARE you mock a sacrifice for someone! He nobly gave himself to protect someone he cared for, and what of you? Who the hell do you think you are to decide someone's fate?!" she all but yelled.

"Who am I?" he repeated in a dangerous tone nearly as venomous as hers. "I told you, woman, I am Sculpteur de Verre-"

"That is the akuma, who are you?" she dared to interrupt. Alya could only gasp and stare at her best friend, still glued to her boyfriend.

He growled at her audacity, mentally giving her points for her bravery, or foolishness. "I am no longer that weak sculptor, if that is what you mean. He was far too emotional for his wellbeing. He poured himself over his work, constantly skipping over meals when creation struck, crying over the smallest inconveniences. I finally broke through when someone shattered his greatest creation. They claimed it was an accident, but no matter. They paid for what they did."

"What did you do?" she asked in a low tone, voice growing deeper than she intended.

"Isn't it obvious?" he chuckled. "This here, is my new greatest creation. I transformed them and their friends who laughed into glass statues. I didn't simply transform anyone and everyone, I'm not that uncivilized. I transformed only those beautiful enough to be worthy of my creation." Marinette didn't get a second to react before he was right in her face. She controlled herself and steeled her expression, just so she wouldn't allow him the satisfaction of him thinking he had the upper hand, despite her being absolutely terrified. "In fact," he murmured as he reached his hand upwards to lift her face and slightly turning it to get a better look at her. She feared for a moment that he might have pieced together her and her miraculous, only to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw no recognition in his eyes. Instead she gulped at his next statement. "You are far worthier to be one of my creations than any of these fools. So, what do you say? Would you care to be my new muse?" She could tell he tried to be flirtatious, but his 'seductive' voice only sent chills of horror and disgust along her spine.

She tried pushing him away from her and back away, ready to grab Alya and make a run for it. Only, she didn't succeed in doing that. She was able to push him away, but he quickly recovered and grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him once more, right into his chest. She glanced up and paled when she saw the satisfied smirk placed on his face. "Tut, tut, tut, how naughty of you, my muse. You mustn't be so reckless; someone could get hurt."

He tightened his hold on her with his left arm as he reached into a front pocket with his right and pulled out an old metal carving knife. Marinette noticed belatedly that she was in no position to do much besides watch as he pointed his knife to Alya and cast his spell. She cried out her name again as she was blasted on her leg. She couldn't help but notice that the spell took hold much slower on a body part further from the heart, which she stocked away for later, because right now she was helpless and couldn't do anything for her best friend.

She watched in horror as Alya was slowly consumed by the glass spell. Alya was slowly stiffening, but with her last moments of mobility, she reached upward and placed a gentle kiss upon Nino's lips and clung onto him tighter than before, smiling as the spell took over her form. "Alya!" Marinette cried once more as she saw the gleam of the sun reflecting off her finalized glass form.

Marinette slackened in the akuma's arm, now releasing tears of fear and frustration over her situation. Akumas were always stronger than normal humans, and despite being Ladybug, she was in her civilian identity. She had no extra strength in her, so she couldn't break free and get away without some form of distraction. "Gave up already? I thought you had a little more fight in you. No matter, it will make this creation easier for me," he stated with a sick sneer as he forcefully turned her around to face him, chests flushed. "Now, my muse, should we get started?" At that rhetorical question, he raised his scalpel right to her left jaw, while she was thanking whatever luck was left in her that he still hasn't noticed her miraculous.

She continued to stare him down, giving him her most venomous glare, until luck finally graced her. In an instant, she felt the akuma's arm being forcefully ripped from around her and replaced by a new pair of strong arms, instantly jumping to higher ground. "Well well, seems like you're my first damsel in distress, purrrincess."

Marinette quickly glanced up into startling green eyes, who held mirth inside of them at their situation. "Chat," she breathed, grateful that he came when he did. Their moment didn't last long as she glanced back down at her trapped friends.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, princess."

"It's- it's okay Chat. You and Ladybug will save them. I know it."

"It's a promise, princess, you can count on us." He gently forced her to look at him and gave her his best comforting smile. She smiled back in thanks, before their moment was once again disturbed by the akuma.

He was laughing loudly, and hard. "Look at this! A cat has stolen my muse! I'm afraid you're going to have to find another young lady, Chat Noir. Perhaps Ladybug? Then I can take both of your Miraculous'!"

Chat growled at the akuma, tightening his hold on Marinette, who subconsciously tightened her arms as well. "First of all, she is not an object, she is a human being! She doesn't belong to anyone! Second," he awkwardly shuffled his arms, only so much that Marinette could tell and not the akuma. "I've known her longer," he mumbled. Marinette gaped at him and could only whack his shoulder at his antics. She could also tell that he tried very hard to not smile at her reaction. Huffing, Marinette crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him.

"Enough talk! Return my muse or perish, Chat Noir!" the akuma exclaimed before he casted his spell towards them. Marinette tried, and failed, to hold back a squeal as Chat pulled her closer to his chest and jumped once more. This time, he travelled a few blocks away from the school, ensuring that he lost the akuma before setting her down in a deserted alley.

"Are you okay, princess?" he asked gently as he set her down, hesitantly backing away to give her space. Marinette would've appreciated that in any other circumstance, but right now she needed comfort. Sure, she's seen her friends and family turned by an akuma, but for some reason todays akuma really got to her. "Chat –" she began before she felt her lip quiver. Chat was back to her in an instant, quickly embracing her in a comforting hug, which she reciprocated without hesitation. He must've known that they were her friends, and that seeing such a sight was frightening. She appreciated his efforts to try to cheer her up. However, a dull blast from the distance brought her back to the present. She gently pushed him away from her with a shaky smile. "Thank you, Chat, but right now isn't the time for tears. You have a city and people to save."

"Princess, I have to –"

"Ensure that the akuma is taken care of, above all else, kitty," she stated with a stern look, almost Ladybug-like. "His name is Sculpteur de Verre, and from what you observed, he turned people into… glass," she had to pause as she remembered what happened with Nino and Alya. "Apparently someone destroyed a glass statue of his, and his over-emotional-self turned into the akuma."

"Did he say all of this to you?"

"Yes, monologuing just like every other akuma," she giggled lightly despite the circumstances. Chat soon followed along with her giggling.

"Sounds just about right, purrrincess."

"But you should really go, Chat Noir. You must find Ladybug and defeat the akuma, for everyone's sakes."

"As you command, princess," he stated with a deep bow, gently kissing her knuckles, never breaking eye contact until his baton was ready to extend. With a brief salute and wink, and an eyeroll on Marinette's part, he catapulted his way towards the akuma once more.

"Marinette," a soft voice peeped from her purse, causing the girl in question to glance down. "Will you be okay? I know seeing something like this happen is difficult for you-"

"I'll be fine Tikki, just a little shaken up. It'll be okay once the akuma is cleansed. Now, no time for nonsense and tears! Tikki, spots on!"

Ladybug was back on the scene in an instant, quickly surveying the area. Chat Noir was in one-on-one combat with the akuma, allowing her to observe his fighting style and get a closer look at his akumatized object. She thought it was the cap, but her gut kept screaming that it was something else. His beret was just too vulnerable to be the object. A disturbance in the fight caused her to tune into the present once more, when Chat's baton was tossed to the side.

Quickly taking action, she threw her yoyo, which wrapped around his torso before she pulled him up to her. She released her yoyo while he was in mid-air, which allowed him to flip around to land, resulting in him performing a flip in the air. "Always nice to see you, my lady," he stated with a wink. She rolled her eyes at his antics and placed her yoyo back on her hip.

"So, tell me why he was able to toss your baton away so easily, chaton?" she teased as she placed her hands on her hips.

He had the audacity to scrap a steeled-toe along the roof and scratch the back of his head sheepishly. Typical troublesome Chat behavior, she scoffed, still admiring the dork that was her partner. "If you haven't noticed, Bugaboo, he is quite the fighter. But he was actually trying to distract me by talking about my friend, who was trapped by him just moments ago."

"So he tried, and succeeded, in distracting you?" she raised a poised brow.

"I guess you could say that," he mumbled, hoping that she couldn't hear him. Which she did.

"What am I going to do with you, chaton?" she sighed good naturedly.

"Love me, scratch me, pun with me."

"No way am I punning with you, Chat. Now, back to business. What's the situation?"

"It seems like he had a glass sculpture exhibit in a historical building, and someone broke it in-transit. He apparently was emotionally unstable before, so this just tipped him off to an akuma."

Ladybug could only hum in acknowledgment. So he did listen to Marinette about the akuma? I didn't think he would listen to what a civilian would say, seeing how normally they don't know what they're talking about. She shouldn't have been surprised that he listened to her alternate personality, though. Over the last few years, Chat has been coming to her balcony much more often. It started slowly after L'illustrateur, and became more frequent after the night where he told Marinette about his crush on Ladybug. Sometimes they would watch movies or play video games, while other times they just talked. He would sometimes just watch her design or sew clothes. More than half of those times he would scare her soul out of her body by just appearing out of thin air on her chaise. Each time she would fall out of her chair with a screech and he would laugh at her antics.

"Sounds like the usual, then," she continued before she continued to think about all the times she's spent with Chat Noir in her other persona. She zoned into the present time just as the akuma shot a blast her way, which she easily dodged. "Have any idea where his akuma might be?"

"I believe it might be in his hat."

"I think so too, but I have a sinking feeling that that's too easy…"

"You think? I tried grabbing at his beret multiple times, and he's very protective of it."

"No harm in seeing if the hunch is correct, come on, kitty!" she exclaimed as they both jumped off the building and towards the unsuspecting victim.

He seemed to be taken by surprise for a moment, before he snarled and jumped out of the way, rolling towards one of his statues. "You wouldn't try to hit me with these civilians around, would you?" he tried asking innocently, failing to fool both superheroes.

"That's a cowardly way to fight, Sculpteur de Verre!" Chat Noir accused. "Fight like the warrior Hawkmoth claims you to be!"

"That's enough chatter!" Ladybug tried not to show emotion when she heard Chat Noir stifle a chuckle. "I am an artist, not a warrior! Just give me your miraculous' so Hawkmoth can achieve his own masterpiece!"

"Not on your life, Sculpteur de Verre!" With this proclamation, the three began fighting once more. The fighting continued for several minutes, one-on-one and two-on-one combat with little to no breaks. Only when the akuma shot a blast towards Chat, which he easily deflected with his baton, did he throw a punch at Ladybug's face. She was barely able to dodge and flip backwards with a growl that matched the akuma's.

"Wow, that's Verre-y ungentlemanly of you," Chat purred with a hint of warning. "Now come at me!" The akuma took this chance to lunge at Chat Noir, who seemed to step up his fencing game with the akuma, poking light jabs at him. Ladybug figured this was the best opportunity to conjure her lucky charm. While it was still in midair, Ladybug noticed that it was a window pane. Confused, she was about catch it when she saw the akuma aiming his scalpel her direction. She quickly flipped backwards to avoid his blast, dropping the glass panel. As the panel fell to the ground, it deflected his ray back towards him and knocked off his beret. Turning to glass, Chat Noir grabbed the beret and was about to toss it to Ladybug, when the akuma swung a kick to his side, knocking Chat a few meters to the left.

"Chat Noir!"

"You shouldn't let your cat distract you, Ladybug," the akuma snarled before shooting another ray at her. She quickly jumped away from the main blast, but unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough to dodge the last of it. Her foot was caught by the blast, and she barely felt the tickle of it as she flipped over to her partner.

"Chat Noir, are you okay?" she asked him with concern, already feeling her foot stiffening slowly. She helped him on his own feet while trying not to put too much weight on her foot.

"I'm feline fine, my lady. Just might be a little sore until your cure comes around," he winked, before he noticed her standing on one foot awkwardly, hiding the other foot. "What happened to your foot, Ladybug?"

"Nothing that the cure can't handle," she waved off, just as she saw his eyes start to turn frantic. "Now, I believe you have a beret for me?" she asked light-heartedly, seeing him relax a bit at her joviality. He quickly gave her the beret and she threw it to the ground, watching it shatter while awaiting the akuma. Except, it never came. "What?"

"You fools believed the akuma was in my beret?" the akuma rhetorically asked as he sauntered over with a twisted smirk. "Oh, you poor children. So naïve, you really think I would put such a valuable possession in plain sight like that? That was only a trinket the fool's mother gave him as a child. Sure, he wore it every day, but that is not my most valuable possession!"

"Why do you think he talks in third purrrson?" Chat tried to joke, only slightly being ruined by the moment and his solemnity. Ladybug would've laughed if it wasn't for the same reasons.

"I'm not sure. Do you think his unstableness was also due to a split personality or something?"

"Purrrhaps, we should find him a counselor when we save him."

"Agreed. Now I'm positive which one is his akumatized object," she stated confidently as she pointed to the scalpel he held in his hands.

"Confirmed, my lady, I agree," he stated as he got in a fighting pose once more, this time slightly getting in her way for her protection.

"When do you not agree with me, chaton?" she teased.

"Never, my lady," he said with a charming smirk. She probably would've swooned if she wasn't used to him and his looks. Rolling her eyes with a scoff, she too got into a fighting stance, careful of her foot. Just as tension was getting tight, like a coil waiting to be released, Ladybug heard something she never wanted to hear.

"Marinette? Marinette, where are you?!" She frantically turned around, hoping against hope that she heard wrong. Unfortunately, her luck wasn't present at the moment, because there in all his concerned glory was Anthony. Camera in hand, he was running through alleys and around statues looking for someone she knew he wouldn't find. She wanted to facepalm as he would randomly stop and take pictures of the statues. She didn't notice Chat's ears perk up as he heard his friend's name being called. Chat half turned towards the new voice just as Ladybug turned back to the akuma, noticing that he was planning to shoot Anthony with his power.

"No!" she shouted with conviction. She was in front of Anthony in a split second, deflecting the blast and half turning to Anthony. "What do you think you're doing here?! Don't you know this is dangerous?!" she scolded him. She probably would've taken his shrunken form funny after being scolded, especially because she was the one doing the scolding, but then she remembered why she was scolding him. Her face hardened once more, yoyo twirling with more ferocity as she waited for his response.

"I'm sorry, miss Ladybug. I'm new around here and was curious about what an akuma was," he began. She mentally did facepalm this time as she remembered that he just came back into town and she forgot to tell him about them. "But just as I was going past the school, I noticed some of her classmates frozen as glass. I couldn't find my little sister anywhere. Please Ladybug, please help me find her!" he cried in desperation.

She smiled as she felt her face heat up in admiration for her older brother. "She's okay, you have nothing to worry about. I saw Chat Noir take her somewhere safe earlier." Ladybug visually saw her brother relax at her words, seemingly shrinking a few inches from released stress.

"Thank you, Ladybug. You don't know how much she means to me," he breathed.

"I think I have an idea," she winked as he looked her way questioningly. Ladybug turned back towards her partner as he was still fighting the akuma. "Chat, I need to get this civilian out of harm's way, can you handle this by yourself for a moment?"

"Sure thing, my lady, just hurry!"

"Gotcha! Come, let's leave," she gently ordered Anthony. He could only nod at her as he allowed her to put her arm around his waist. She wanted to laugh at the irony of the situation: he is normally the one to protect her, but now she is protecting him, and all of Paris for that matter. "Hold on tight!" With that, she swung her yoyo and flung off with Anthony hanging tight onto her for safety.

"Not so fast!" the akuma shouted as he aimed towards them again.

"No!" Chat tried redirecting or deflecting the blast away from Ladybug, but just missed it as it went over his head and hit his lady on her yoyo flinging arm. He heard her cry out as she tried grabbing onto it tighter to no avail. Chat panicked a little as he tried to decide what to do, to save his lady and the civilian or keep the akuma at bay. He didn't get much time to ponder the options as he saw the two work together as a cohesive team as she moved him onto her back piggy-back style and switched her yoyo from her right to her left hand. She might've been a little shaky swinging with her left hand, especially without the help of her right hand, but at least she practiced over the years and was able to dodge any more blasts and make it behind buildings.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw her disappear, then turned back to the akuma with an icy glare. "Now, I hope you have an explanation for why you hit my lady while her back was turned, coward," he glowered as he slowly approached the now slightly scared akuma.

Across several blocks and behind buildings, Ladybug was able to land in an alley out of view and gently place Anthony off her back. "There, safe and sound."

"Yeah, safe. Are you sure Marinette is safe?" he asked looking her directly into her eyes. She knew that the mask and the magic created a sort of barrier to help hide her identity, but she knew her brother wasn't stupid. He can't suspect me already, he's only seen Ladybug once! Not even our parents could tell I was Ladybug! she internally panicked.

"I'm positive, I trust my partner, just as you should trust your sister." Way to go, Marinette! He shouldn't suspect you now! Tikki should be proud, she mentally patted herself on the back, only to gulp as Anthony gave her his inquisitive glare, one that he normally uses when he feels like he has a scoop. A lot like Alya does when she feels like Marinette is hiding something. Quickly laughing that feeling off, waved her hand dismissively. "You're not going to get anything else out of me. I swear, you're just like Alya."

"Alya? How do you know Alya?" he asked without missing a beat.

Crap, she thought. He knows that Alya is my best friend, how would I as Ladybug know her?! She could always hear Tikki smacking her tiny forehead and sighing in exasperation at her obliviousness. Oh yeah! "Alya Cesaire? She runs the Ladyblog, the number one source of everything Ladybug and Chat Noir related, along with akumas and live akuma attacks, at least most of the time," she stated as she tried not to show her emotions over the turn of events for her friends. She had to be professional; she was a hero, not Marinette.

"Ahuh, I never heard of the Ladyblog," he accused skeptically.

"I'm not saying you're wrong, nor that I'm making it up," she shrugged. "But if you don't believe me, I would suggest looking it up. She has been following Chat Noir and I on almost every akuma attack since the beginning all those years ago. And speaking of Chat Noir, I better leave and help the poor stray," she giggled. "So long, Anthony, stay safe!" she lightly ordered as she swung away shakily with her good arm. She didn't notice the suspicious and thoughtful look on his face before he began following her once more.

Ladybug arrived at the scene just minutes after she left, quickly assessing the situation her partner was in. A beep in her ear alerted her that she only had two spots left, so she had to finish this akuma quickly unless she wanted to leave her partner once again for a longer amount of time, which was out of the question. She could see the small beads of sweat on the sides of his face from how much energy he was putting in fending off the akuma. Her Ladybug vision suddenly kicked in and showed her the lamppost to her right, a piece of the shattered glass, the akuma, and his akumatized object. With a slight smirk, she set her plan in action.

As she swung on the lamppost, she stole a glance to her partner, who thankfully was the only one who noticed her presence. With a quick nod from both partners, he kept the akuma distracted as she snuck behind him and grabbed the shattered glass. "Hey, Sculpteur de Verre!" she called his attention. Whipping around, the akuma glared at her before it was turned to a shout of anguish as she used the glass to reflect the light into his eyes. Now currently blinded, Chat Noir was able to take his scalpel away from him and throw it to Ladybug. She quickly and effortlessly broke the scalpel on the ground with her good foot, careful not to lose her balance while on her glass foot that was quickly moving up her leg. With the akuma freed from the object, she was able to catch it, cleanse it, and release it back into the air. When she threw her lucky charm in the air with the cry of, "Miraculous Ladybug!" she relished in the lighter feeling of her arm and leg returning to normal.

Noticing a shift in the shade, Ladybug turned with a smile to her partner, who was holding out his fist with a triumphant grin on his face. She returned his fist bump with a combined, "Pound it!" before turning back to the akuma, who was now glancing around his person in bewilderment. Chat Noir picked up his beret while Ladybug picked up his scalpel. "I believe these are yours?" she asked the artist.

He seemed to be in his late twenties or early thirties, so he was probably still a new artist, yet relatively well-known as he confirmed that he had his own exhibit in a museum. His disorientated eyes instantly focused on the two heroes, and quickly turned solemn as he looked down, understanding what happened. "I'm sorry," was all he said as he slumped down, not accepting his two objects from the heroes. They glanced to each other in worry before Chat Noir leaned to his level.

"Hey, you don't need to be sorry, none of this is your fault. Hawkmoth took advantage of your emotions and manipulated you, we were just doing our job. We are just happy that you are alright."

"Chat Noir is right. What is your name, by the way?"

"It's Claude, Claude le Farre."

"Well, Monsieur le Farre, I bet you would be happy to know that your statue is now fixed and in perfect condition in your museum," Ladybug happily chirped. When Alix's watch broke a few years ago, Ladybug was able to fix it. Now she was confident that she would be able to fix this man's sculpture as well. He had a look of surprise and disbelief on his face, but his eyes sparkled with hope. "If you don't believe me, I would suggest going to your museum and seeing yourself."

"Th-thank you, Ladybug and Chat Noir!" he cried in happiness and dashed away to his museum. Both heroes chuckled at his antics, but were interrupted as her miraculous beeped again, signaling only a minute left on her timer. She panicked a little and took out her yoyo before Chat stopped her. "Don't worry, I'll follow him and suggest the counseling!" he chirped and vaulted off. With a small smile, Ladybug was just able to swing off into an alley close to the school and detransform in midair, only drooping a meter to the ground. Although the distance wasn't that far, Marinette had the misfortune of landing on her foot that was turned to glass. With a slightly suppressed cry, she quickly moved the weight to her good foot and held her sore foot higher in the air. With tears forming in her eyes, she attempted to slow her breathing and calm herself down, freaking out over a little injury that will disappear after a couple hours would be pointless.

"-ette? Marinette?" she tuned in to Tikki's concerned voice. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'll be just f-f-fine, Tikki. I just need some ice and some rest. I'll be fine."

"If you say so, Marinette. Just please be careful," she warned with concern just before going back into Marinette's purse.

Taking a few more deep breaths, she straightened up and limped over to the front of the school. There, she saw Nino and Alya hugging each other close and sitting on the steps. "Alya, Nino!" she exclaimed in relief, glad to see her friends back to normal. In her excitement, she temporarily forgot about her own injury and fell in front of them.

"Girl! Are you alright?" Alya asked worriedly as she stiffly walked her way to help her up, Nino doing the same.

"I'll be fine, just got hit a couple times by the akuma, but nothing too damaging."

"Were you turned?" both asked in unison, Marinette couldn't help but giggle at their combined awkwardness. Just as she was about to answer, however, there was a shadow casted over her being.

"I don't see what's so funny about you being turned, or even targeted by an akuma, Marinette," the new voice scolded her. She quickly turned around and noticed Adrien towering over her, with a mixture of concern and anger on his face. "You're lucky that all this akuma did was turn others to glass, but you could have gotten seriously hurt."

"It's nothing I couldn't handle, Adrien," she informed him, perhaps with a little more force than necessary. "I can defend myself, you know."

"I know you can, in any other situation perhaps. But against an akuma? Marinette, you can't do anything against them. You need to stay as far away from them as possible. Do you understand?"

Marinette really wanted to rebuke his statement, but anything she said in retaliation to his request would have been suspicious, and she couldn't tell them she's Ladybug and could handle herself. Instead, she stomped her foot, crossed her arms, and mumbled, "understood" with a pout.

Adrien relaxed a bit after her unwilling promise, also releasing a soft chuckle at the way she promised it. She's kind of cute when she pouts. Reminds me of something Ladybug would do – no, bad Adrien. You can't compare two wonderful ladies with each other, that's not right. Both of them deserve better than that. My lady, my first love and now best friend, deserves someone who wouldn't compare her to someone else, despite the other being a wonderful, creative, and beautiful princess. And Marinette… she deserves better. I'm not sure what she would like in someone, perhaps whatever she sees in that stranger – he quickly broke himself out of that receding thought, beginning to feel something bubble inside his stomach. What was it? Worry? Anger? Jealousy? Why would he be jealous? He could see being angry and worried, due to the akuma targeting her. Speaking of targeting, "hey, Marinette?"

"Hmm?"

"I heard he targeted you. Did you know him?"

"No, I didn't know him," she stated. At this point, Alya and Nino tuned back into what was being said. Nino was all around confused, having been turned before any of this happened. The last thing he remembered was pushing Alya out of the way and being hit by the blast. Alya, she felt extremely guilty over the whole thing. She was so wrapped up in Nino being turned she hardly grasped anything. She knew the akuma was talking to Marinette, saying something about 'art' and 'muse,' but nothing clicked until now. She turned with guilty eyes towards Marinette, who seemed to read her mind. "It's fine, Alya. You were worried about Nino, I was too."

"But why did he target you?" Adrien persisted.

"That's what I want to know. There was no way he could've known us, unless you have gone to the museum recently," Alya cut in.

"He just said something about me being his perfect muse, I have no idea what he was rambling about. But I do know that he got angry and possessive when I tried to run and hit Alya with his beam as punishment." Marinette could have sworn she heard a growl, but when she turned towards the source, it was only Adrien coughing.

"The point I'm making is…" he stated seriously but stopped with a sigh and continued in a softer, more earnest tone. "Where did he hurt you?"

Marinette was slightly surprised at how much he seemed to be concerned with her, but she couldn't expect any less from Adrien, he was so sweet and caring towards his friends. She smiled before answering, "he only hit me with his blast on my leg. I'll be fine, just a little sore. I'll be fine after some ice therapy," she giggled nervously at her lie. This seemed to satisfy Adrien as he visibly sagged in relief at her statement. He flashed her a soft, genuine smile in gratitude, which made her melt ever so slightly.

"Or maybe a hot shower, 'cause damn I hurt all over," Nino commented as he tried cracking his neck.

"Need some help with that, babe?" Alya flirted shamelessly. Both Marinette and Adrien spluttered and turned crimson at the insinuation. They weren't surprised, both of their friends did that constantly as of late, more so on Alya's part like now, but normally not after an akuma attack that put their lives in danger.

"A-Alya! You can't just say stuff like that in public!" Marinette cried.

"Why not? It's not like that's anything new between us. Besides, if you had someone to share a shower with, you would do it any time there's an opportunity," Alya accused. Marinette puffed her still crimson cheeks in indignation. She couldn't believe the gall Alya had! Those two had those girl talks occasionally, and showers came up often, and the fact that Alya hinted at that fact while in the presence of the boys was mortifying! And her winking at her right now was doing nothing to help her case! ESPECIALLY IN FRONT OF ADRIEN! Oh god, she wouldn't dare look back at him, she didn't want to add fuel to the fire. She is so dead next time we are alone. She sent her best glare at her supposed best friend, knowing that her friend understood the threat she threw her way.

On Adrien's end, he was just as mortified, perhaps even more so. It didn't help that when he imagined that scenario, the first person who popped into his head was his princess. He would never admit to that. Nino's laughter broke his vulgar train of thought before it rode off too far. "Alya, babe, you can't talk about this sort of thing in front of the children. We discussed their innocence earlier!" he chuckled while Alya agreed and giggled while trying to get out an apology. A fake apology, but an apology nonetheless. Adrien had to forcefully clamp his lips shut as Marinette walked right to Nino and Alya and dished their own separate punishments: Nino received a swift kick to the shin while Alya got a hard pinch on her arm.

They both tried complaining to her about her harshness, but she was done with their bullshit. "Nope! I'm done with you two. First you two correct me for being hit by an akuma, which you two got hit as well but was turned to full glass. Then you embarrass Adrien and I by being inappropriate! You deserve what you get! In fact, I think Adrien should get a punishment in. Adrien?" she asked as she turned to him.

Adrien gulped at the fire in her eyes. They were angry, sure, but also final and stern. He recognized those eyes from somewhere familiar, but placed it on the fact that she has been their class president for the last three years. She knew what she was doing. "I don't know, I wouldn't take the physical route," he began with a dramatic grab of his chin in the classic 'thinking' pose. He saw Marinette beginning to smirk at his statement.

"Oh? And what would you suggest, Monsieur Agreste?" she played along.

It took everything in Adrien not to crack his façade. "Hmm, I will get back to you on that at a later date. As of right now, I'm thinking of either doing or saying something extremely embarrassing. Perhaps one of their stories of one of their more… eventful, dates?" he slyly suggested.

"My, Adrien, you couldn't possibly be thinking of blackmail?" Marinette dramatically accused, still following along in his game. They both duly ignored the blank and visibly pale faces of their friends.

"Not necessarily blackmail, just accidentally slipping in one of their stories during break one day."

"Hmm, as long as it's not blackmail, I wouldn't mind. Besides, one can't help something that accidentally slips out, hm?" she suggested with a quirk of her brow as she directed her gaze to her friends again.

"Okay, okay fine. We won't bring up our escapades around you guys again. We get that you two don't like to hear them, especially in public," Nino apologized.

"Yeah, sorry. We'll just tell you in private," Alya winked to Marinette. Marinette couldn't help but giggle anyways, despite the situation.

"Babe, how much do you tell her of us?" Nino asked in disbelief.

"It's girl code: we must tell each other everything that happens with our man. That's law."

"I've never heard of such law," Nino accused with a grumble, Adrien nodding his head in affirmation.

"Of course you wouldn't have, it's girl code for a reason, babe. Boys aren't supposed to know unless they were gay. So for that, I'm glad you don't know it." The other three laughed out loud as Nino gaped and then sulked. It only took a few minutes and Adrien's comforting hand on his shoulder for Nino to join in their humor.

A cell phone chime broke their moment. Marinette dug into her purse, careful of Tikki, and found it was her phone. "Hello, papa?"

"Marinette, where are you?!" Tom asked panicked.

"I'm in front of the school with my friends, what's wrong papa?" the atmosphere quickly dissolved into anxious anticipation.

"Are you okay?" she heard her mother ask. "Anthony called and said that you weren't at the school when he went to get you earlier, and said Chat Noir saved you?"

"Oh, yeah, he did. I didn't know he was looking for me, sorry. I headed back to the school after Chat Noir saved me." She dutifully ignored Alya's questioning glare, knowing that she would be in trouble if she didn't explain later.

"Well that's good, dear. But are you hurt?" her father's voice came in again.

"I won't lie, I was hit a couple times, but I'm fine now."

"Despite her cure, we need you to come home immediately."

"Yes, papa, I'm on my way now. Au revoir," she said as she hung up. "Sorry guys, I need to go home."

"We heard that, but you need to tell me all the deets about Chat's little 'save' earlier," Alya poked her finger towards Marinette, who scratched her neck nervously with a slight blush.

"And I will, just not now. I gotta head home before my parents bust me," she said, already walking backwards towards her home.

"Fine, just go, girl! See you later!"

"A bientôt!" she cried as she ran back home. The three watched in slight concern for their friend, knowing that her overprotective parents would most likely hound her for being anywhere close to an akuma.

"Well, I hope I'll be able to see her tomorrow," Alya mumbled. "Knowing Sabine, she'll probably accidentally kill Marinette by smothering her with her concern."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Even her dad would probably crush her with how big he is," Nino mumbled.

"Yeah. But we will see her soon. The earliest would be Monday, for me. I'm sorry I can't hang out this weekend, I have a photoshoot in Madrid."

"That's okay, dude. We'll let you in on anything you might miss, including akuma attacks."

"I hope I don't miss those," he joked right back at Nino.

"Okay, boys, break up the bromance."

"No way, Alya. We've been together since day one, you can't break us up now," Adrien complained playfully.

"I can and I will, pretty boy. He's my boyfriend now."

"You know what they say," Nino began nonchalantly. "Bros before – OW!" Nino yelped as he was elbowed in his stomach by his girlfriend.

"Oops, that must've been a reflex," she defended too casually for their liking.

"Wow, that was nice of you, babe."

"Maybe next time you should remember I have my ways of you coming back to me," she insinuated with a wink before running off herself.

"Damn, that woman will be the death of me," he stated as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You both will be the death of me before any akuma. You two are so disgusting."

"And you are too innocent and sweet! I'm sure you'd be just as bad if you had a girlfriend, maybe even worse."

"Most likely," Adrien mumbled so Nino couldn't hear. "Anyways, have a nice weekend. I'll see you Monday."

"Totally, bro," Nino confirmed with their traditional fist bump.