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Might As Well Enjoy the Perks

Making it to school was… a challenge that day. All Adrien wanted was to stay in bed and mope, but he'd feel better if he went to school. Right? Yeah, he had to.

He'd barely made it onto the school's property when Chloé ran up to him and wrapped him in a hug. He'd grown used to Chloé's tackle hugs as a child, but she must have started working out since becoming Queen B for the first time, because those hugs now came close to taking him down. Adrien groaned and took a step back to steady himself, but he wrapped her up in return all the same.

The second Chloé pulled back, she gave him a light swat on the shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded. "I would have been there for you in a heartbeat."

His brain couldn't connect the dots. "Tell you what?" he asked.

"That your mom's back," Chloé replied, the silent 'duh' hanging in the air.

Adrien sighed, shoulders falling into a slouch. "I slept all day after I got home from the airport yesterday," he explained. "She said her name's Helena Oxley, and she didn't even recognize me! I know it's not really her, but- wait. How did you know?"

"Your dad called my dad and had a room set up for her," Chloé explained. "And there is no way in hell that isn't your mom. She looks just like her. I don't know why she's pretending not to know, but it's totally her. She's in room 387; you should visit her during lunch."

"What?" Adrien asked. "Are you insane? She'll take one look at me and kick me out!"

Chloé shrugged. "It takes security time to get up to a room," she reasoned. "Maybe you can talk some sense into her in that time. Or at least get some closure. Ask her why she left."

Adrien stared at her for a moment, then sighed. "You're insane. And I'm insane for listening to you."

"You're gonna do it?"

"Yep. I'm gonna do it." A dry laugh escaped him. "Get ready for the waterworks after I get thrown out. I'm telling you, Chloé, there was no recognition on her face when she saw me yesterday. Absolutely none."

Chloé gave him a soft smile and squeezed his arm. "I'll get the tissues, but I don't think you're gonna need them. She's gonna see her son and give up whatever façade she's got going on because she loves you."

Adrien sighed. "If you're sure…"

That brought him to room 387 of Le Grand Paris during his lunch break, heart pounding in his chest. He took a deep breath, then knocked on the door of the hotel room three times. A faint "just a minute!" came through it, and after a moment's wait, the door opened to reveal Helena. Her wet hair hung down around her face and onto the plush hotel robe she wore. "Oh," she said, clearly dismayed. "It's you."

"Were you expecting someone?"

"Room service," Helena explained, turning away from Adrien but holding the door open long enough to let him know he could come in. Despite her claim to not be related to Adrien, she sure was ready to make allowances for him. "If the mayor's gonna put me up here for free, I might as well enjoy the perks."

Adrien let out a breathy laugh. "It's… so weird hearing that from you." He stepped inside and let the door shut behind him, keeping his eyes on Helena and watching for any indication of a memory surfacing. "Mom hated handouts. Said the only thing she did to deserve them was know the right people."

Helena raised her eyebrows for a brief moment then let them fall again. "Well, when you blow your life savings on a ticket to Paris…"

"A ticket here cost you your life savings?" Adrien asked incredulously. "How is that possible?"

A scoff was the immediate answer. "I work as a maid in a place like this," she declared. "I had to have someone take over my lease to afford the trip. I'm going to a homeless shelter when I get back."

"Then why take it?" Adrien asked. "Why did you come if you couldn't even afford a place to sleep when you got here?"

Helena shrugged nonchalantly. "Just a desire to be here," she claimed, then shook her head. "I don't know. It sounded like a good idea at the time."

Adrien gave her a small smile. "Maybe it's because you knew you had a husband and son here who missed you," he supplied.

Helena just rolled her eyes. "Look, kitten, you need to get it through your head that I'm not your mom. I'm not Emilie Agreste. I get that you miss her, but you can't keep pushing your emotional turmoil off on me. Now get out before I call security and have your father come pick you up- how did you even know I was here?"

"Bold of you to assume my father would care," Adrien grumbled. "And Chloé told me. She's kind of a bitch, but she'll do anything for the people she cares about." He turned to leave, but stopped mid-stride and turned back as a thought occurred to him. "You called me kitten."

"So?"

A grin spread across Adrien's face, and he fought off the urge to hug Helena. "My mom always called me kitten. Always. Ever since I was little. You're her. You're my mom; you just don't remember!"

Helena put up a hand to stop him. "That doesn't mean anything, kit- kid." Neither of them missed her slip-up. "I am and always have been Helena Oxley, and that's not magically gonna change because I called you the same thing your mom used to. Now seriously, go, or I'm gonna call security. I mean it this time."

Adrien sighed in frustration, but he started backing up towards the door anyway. "I'm gonna prove it to you," he told her. "I don't how, but I'm gonna make you realize you are Emilie Agreste."

Helena had already turned away, fixing herself a glass of ice water. She waved behind her absentmindedly. "Good luck to ya, kitten- kid." She just couldn't stop herself.

Despite her sarcasm, Adrien left with a smile on his face and a skip in his step. Helena Oxley was Emilie Agreste, and he was gonna make her believe it.

Once they made it to the elevator, Plagg flew out of his pocket. "This is a dangerous path, kid."

Adrien scoffed. "How could it be dangerous?" he asked. "Helena is my mom, and I'm gonna make her remember."

"Maybe there's a reason she doesn't remember being Emilie," Plagg suggested. "Ever think of that? Or maybe that she doesn't want to remember?"

"Why wouldn't she want to remember?" Adrien countered. "She and father weren't involved in anything suspect before she vanished; the most exciting thing we did was visit Tibet from time to time!"

Plagg frowned, but as the elevator dinged, he flew back into Adrien's shirt to hide. Adrien felt a hit to his chest, but he ignored it as he made his way to the hotel's cafe for lunch.

Chloé saw him approaching and raised an eyebrow, getting up from her table on the patio and walking over to him.

"You seem happy."

"She called me kitten," Adrien declared matter-of-factly. "She doesn't remember, I can tell, but she's my mom. She called me kitten."

Chloé smiled back and hugged him, something much gentler than her usual tackle-hugs. "The others are going to be happy to hear that," she declared. "Have you told them?"

Adrien shook his head. "I was waiting until I talked to Helena," he explained as he and Chloé walked over to their table. Nino, Alya, and Marinette greeted him with smiles and a hint of confusion, none of them really understanding why Chloé and Adrien had insisted on lunch at Le Grand Paris.

"Okay, dude, Chloé's kept her mouth shut for once in her life-"

"Hey!"

"-about this, so you'd better start talking." Nino, Alya, and Marinette's friendship with Chloé was still a fledgling little thing and primarily conditional upon Adrien's presence, so they knew if Chloé was dragging them to lunch with the knowledge that Adrien would be absent for any sort of time, it had to be important.

Adrien took a deep breath, trying to figure out how best to explain it. "Okay, so you know how I was pulled out of class yesterday morning?" When they all nodded, he told them his story, leaving out the part about his bizarre dream and any other magical aspects. Once he was finished, his friends were all left sitting there, mouths open in shock.

"Oh… my god," Alya said, the first to speak after he finished his tale. "That's… that's insane."

"You're telling me," Adrien replied with a nervous laugh. "I have no idea how I'm gonna get her to remember, though!"

Marinette seemed hesitant in her view on the whole thing. "Maybe she doesn't remember for a reason."

Nino scoffed and shook his head. "I don't think so," he replied. "You're just stuck in magic mode cause Hawkmoth's been sending out akumas for so long. Not everything has to have a supernatural reason, and that's the only reason Mme. Agreste wouldn't remember who she is 'for a reason.'"

Chloé let out a skeptical hum. "Yeah, I'm with Nino," she finally said. "I mean, the timing is weird, sure, but that doesn't mean it's related."

The other four furrowed their brows in confusion. "What do you mean 'the timing is weird?'" Adrien asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Chloé countered. "She vanished, and a month later, Hawkmoth appeared. She comes back with no memory of who she really is, and an akuma is sent out on the freeway, further from the city than they've ever gone? Weird correlation, but not causation."

Still, the other four stared in awe.

"On second thought, I'm with Marinette, that's sketchy as fuck," Nino amended.

Adrien shook his head dismissively. "No, you were right the first time, and so is Chloé," he insisted. "It's weird, yeah, but it's not… it can't be…"

Alya reached out and grabbed his hand to ground him. "Chill, sunshine, no one's saying your mom is Hawkmoth is anything; it's just weird."

Adrien sighed, taking a moment to collect himself. "Yeah, I know," he breathed. "I'm just… a little stressed. She's leaving tomorrow, so anything I'm gonna do to bring back her memory needs to happen fast."

Before anyone else could respond, an explosion rocked the patio and threw the five to the ground, even going as far as throwing Adrien over the table. He moaned in pain and turned over onto his stomach, taking stock of the situation.

He looked around, but instead of the patio, he saw bare ground and barbed wire. Soldiers ran around, one barking orders to all the others that Adrien couldn't quite make out.

"Adrien? Adrien!"

Adrien blinked, and the warzone vanished in favor of the patio and Nino.

"Dude, what the actual fuck, I thought the akuma did something to you!"

"Huh?"

Nino just shook his head, concern in his eyes. "Dude… your eyes were blue for a second there."

Again… "Huh?"

"C'mon, we've gotta go!" Alya cut in, grabbing Nino and Adrien and pulling them both up.

Adrien looked over to see Chloé turning all the tables onto their sides to make a barricade, but Marinette was nowhere to be found. "I… uh… I'm gonna go find Marinette!" he claimed, taking off before anyone could stop him. He rounded the corner and checked around to make sure no one was watching before he opened his shirt for Plagg to fly out.

"Plagg, claws out!"

Plagg zipped into the ring, leaving Chat Noir in Adrien's place, he took off running towards the fray and where he hoped the akuma would be. He got to the street just as Ladybug dropped down.

"Hey," he greeted her. "Any clue on where the akuma is?"

Ladybug shook her head. "I don't even know what it looks like," she replied. "I was eating lunch when the explosion hit."

"Me, too," Chat said with a nod. "Think a bug's eye view could give up a hint?"

"Worth a shot!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped up onto the roof, surveying the area for any sign of the akuma. "There!"

Chat followed Ladybug's pointer finger to see a garish, red-and-yellow akuma that looked like a Goodyear blimp and Deadpool had a baby. "Well that's… something." He looked back to Ladybug. "Ready when you are."

"Let's go!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped down, and Chat extended his baton to slam it down on the akuma's head. The akuma jerked, startled by the hit, but before Chat Noir could retract his baton, the akuma grabbed it and threw it- and Chat Noir- across the street.

As he crashed into a building, two images overlapped in his mind. The first was of a man in a blue costume, the second of himself in his civilian form, both getting thrown into a wall and collapsing to the ground. Another flash. The two of them picking up a knife- the man in blue from his belt, Adrien from one lying on a table- and threw it across the room with startling accuracy.

"Chat Noir! Chat! Chat!"

Chat Noir gasped and blinked, the vision disappearing so he could see Ladybug leaning over him. She let out a sigh of relief and hugged him, the same way she did whenever something happened that made her think he was a goner.

"M'lady?" he asked. "Wh-what happened?" He looked around at the pristine street. "Where's the akuma?"

"Are you kidding me?" she asked. "Chat, the fight's over; you were totally spaced out after you hit the wall…" She hesitated, clearly not wanting to tell him something.

"What?" Chat asked. "What is it? What happened?"

Ladybug looked him over before meeting his stare. "Your eyes were almost completely blue, Chat. I thought the akuma had done something to you. You're lucky Carapace was here."

Instantly, Chat's mind flashed back to Nino's panic and how he'd said almost the exact same thing. "It's probably nothing," he said dismissively. He glanced over, realizing Carapace was standing a few feet away from him with a frown on his face, watching Chat Noir carefully. "How did you defeat the akuma so fast? And how did you have enough time to get him involved? I was only out of it for a couple of seconds."

Ladybug's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Seconds?" she parroted. "Chat, you were out for half an hour."