Baking bread
Chat Noir and Ladybug were not sure if they should follow Felix, fight and retrieve the jewels or go somewhere else so Ladybug called her lucky charm.
"Bread?" Ladybug observed the loaf of bread in her hands, it was red with black spots.
"Hungry?" Chat raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe a little. I know my kwami will be." Ladybug sighed. "I guess this means we missed something in the bakery then." They walked to the bottom of the elevator and hid there on the side where they could see if someone was coming back.
Ladybug had to detransform and feed Tikki again. Chat detransformed and asked Plagg to check if the coast was clear for the two of them to go up into the office while Adrien, Marinette and Tikki talked.
"They are terrorizing Paris too, just like Hawk Moth, but they make it look as if they are saving them" Marinette whispered. "I just don't understand what does she want, she has the earrings and if she has so much power over him she can have the ring too."
"She wants to be you." Adrien smirked. "That's what she always wanted, that is why she wanted your friends and … me." He blushed. "And to be Ladybug, of course, that's just a bonus."
"I guess we agree on who she is." Marinette sighed. "It is not like her to act like Hawk Moth and Mayura, to stay hidden and assume control over your puppets, no, she likes to be in the spotlight, to be adored and admired, she really wants to be Ladybug."
"The coast is not yet clear." Plagg reported just as Tikki finished her cookie. "And they might be going through the surveillance videos on that computer, although they were going through the video of today's performance.
Adrien and Marinette transformed back into Ladybug and Chat Noir.
"Okay, let's find another way out then." Ladybug led the way because the light left above the plants allowed to see where she was going. She looked around at the dark walls, but she was not able to see anything that could be used as an exit.
"There is a curtain, on that side." Chat Noir pulled Ladybug in the opposite end of the huge room. Ladybug thought at first that he just did not want to be near the sarcophagus as the device and its content reminded him too much of his mother's fate.
"There" he pointed his claw into the darkness. Ladybug opened her yoyo and produced some light again. Indeed, there was a curtain, and when she carefully moved to the side, there was a circular window.
They climbed up easily, but they were unable to open it. Chat got back down and found a piece of machinery that probably operated the window. He pressed a button and a small circular opening appeared.
Ladybug quickly got out through the narrow opening. But then it started to close. She launched her yoyo to fetch Chat and pull him through, but the circular window closed around the thread of her yoyo with Chat on the other side, all wrapped up in the said chord.
Ladybug sighed, she yanked the chord. Chat frowned. But then he heard the noise of the elevator again. He launched a cataclysm and destroyed only the small portion of the window, sufficient for him to just barely pull through.
"They might notice the destroyed window." Ladybug hissed and retracted her yoyo. "I cant launch the miraculous cure, everyone would notice the swirl of ladybugs."
"It is behind a curtain. Besides, someone is coming again." Chat replied quickly. "I heard the elevator."
"We cant move now without producing some noise." Ladybug whispered.
"Then we just might as well stay and listen." Chat shrugged.
They heard determined steps over that metal construction, but could not hear who it was because of the dark curtain. They were lucky it was already dark outside so the person inside was not able to see their silhouettes through the curtain.
"I thought I'd find him here." They heard a feminine voice that sounded rather surprised. "He's always here when I can't find him." She sounded frustrated. "Whining to his mum about how life isn't fair." She chuckled.
Ladybug launched her yoyo to a chimney across the street. She dared to make so much noise while the person inside was talking. Chat carefully detached from the window and was hanging on Ladybug so that his belt and his shoes did not make any noise against the window.
They heard the steps over the metal construction again. Chat't ring was about to beep its first warning at any moment. That sound could be heard through the window and a miraculous holder would recognize it instantly.
"He has everything a boy could want in the world and he still isn't happy." The voice spoke. "Did he leave a window open again?" She protested. They heard steps and other noise from inside ans the vice kept trashing the boy she talked about.
Ladybug let go of the window quietly while Chat held onto her. Both heroes did not produce more noise than a pigeon who flew away from a window would.
"And those darn pigeons." The voice continued. Chat could hear her with his enhanced hearing.
"I guess the commands got broken. Why doesn't that surprise me. Whom does one call to fix a contraption in a villain's lair." The voice mocked and Chat could hear that the person walked away.
"Was it her voice?" Ladybug whispered.
"Could be, I'm not sure." Chat Noir replied. His ring was beeping frantically. Chat detransformed into Adrien while him and Ladybug were sitting against a chimney.
"Sorry, kid, I held the noise for as long as I could, but I was not able to hold the transformation any longer." Plagg whispered.
"Thank you Plagg." The boy replied quietly and tossed a piece of cheese to his kwami.
"Plagg, are Nooroo and Duusu in trouble?" Ladybug asked.
"I really can't say. Did you find the miracle box?" The tiny black cat replied nonchalantly as he bit on the stinky cheese.
"No, we did not find it, and no, I did not mean this timeline, I meant the time we left." Ladybug narrowed her eyes.
"Let's just say that their condition is deteriorating." Plagg muttered.
"How do you know?" Adrien raised an eyebrow.
Ladybug pretended that was exactly the question she wanted to ask.
"Tikki and me feel drawn to the miracle box when a kwami inside the box is distressed." The god of destruction said it in a tone that meant 'as you should have known already' but did not say it.
"We are the guardians, we were supposed to know that." Ladybug muttered.
"Did you feel unpleasant at some moment during the dinner?" Plagg inquired.
"You mean when Felix and Chloe had an argument?" Adrien replied.
"No, it wasn't that. A different kind of unpleasant." Plagg rolled his eyes and continued to munch on his cheese.
"I felt like I wanted to leave at the moment Chloe scolded that waitress. But not because of the argument, it was as if I was needed somewhere else." Ladybug spoke slowly as if she was remembering something that happened a long time ago.
"I felt like I wanted to run away and go back to your room." Adrien admitted. "But I thought it was just panic because I was going to be separated form you and was going to spend the night at Nino's"
"Good, that means you felt it too, but did not have a clue what you were feeling. Just great." Plagg muttered and stuffed the last piece of cheese in his mouth.
Ladybug and Adrien looked at each other, it was true just weeks ago that they were both unaware of many of their feelings, this only added to the pile. But if they got through that, they were going to go through this as well, whatever this was.
Adrien transformed into Chat Noir.
"So, the bakery?" Chat smirked.
"The bakery." Ladybug replied.
Chat was feeling slightly hungry ever since Ladybug got that loaf of bread for her lucky charm. He was looking forward to going into the bakery. He expected it full of pastries and cookies, he was already able to feel the smell and imagine the taste in his mouth.
They both landed on her balcony. There were no fairy lights, no chair and no spool table, the rooftop terrace was empty.
Chat had to break the lock with his claws and both of them entered again. They searched through the room.
"I never owned this." Ladybug frowned at the contents of one box."And my parents never owned that either." She added just to stress the fact. The room was a mess just like they left it, Marinette could clearly identify few pieces of furniture that used to belong to her, but it was obvious that it was used as a storage room now.
Ladybug tried to open the hatch door, but it was locked from below. Chat had to use his claw again to unlatch it without destroying the hatch door.
They descended into the main living area. It was dark, nobody was home, which was just as well. The rooms were lit from the street lights outside, so the two heroes did not switch on any light.
The kitchen was there, the dirty dishes left on the table and in the sink.
Ladybug frowned. The more she looked around the more she was able to see the evidence of untidiness. Were her parents so sad about her disappearance or whatever happened to her that they stopped to care about their living space?
But she did not go there for that, she did not do the time travel only to feel sorry for herself and her poor fate in this timeline, she was there to fix whatever went wrong.
She looked around at each object, but none of them was telling her anything. She noticed many new pots, dishes, cutlery, glasses. There were many wine bottles stored in one of the cupboards and even some fine spirits.
Chat Noir observed the flat with amused smile. Everything was slightly different than he remembered, but it still felt like home, like a space that someone lived in.
He could even feel the smell of the bakery. It was a different bakery smell that he was used to with Tom and Sabine, but he was not sure how much time had passed or maybe the smell was able to vary from one day to another.
"I can't find anything. I need to switch on the light." Ladybug spoke and switched on the light.
Everything was different. The kitchen cabinets were repainted. The table and the stools were of slightly different shape and colour, the pictures on the walls were different. Perhaps her parents replaced the photos of her with these nondescript pictures?
But still, none of the items was ringing any bells, they walked towards the living room. The colour scheme was different, the TV set was different, the shelves on the wall were filled with different things.
"All the throw pillows I decorated are gone." Ladybug breathed out. "And other things … " She looked at the walls again. "Pictures, photos … " She continued as she wondered just what that beautiful artistic photo of two kids was doing on the walls of her parents living room.
Chat observed that photo and then other photos that lined the wall and the bookshelf. There were plenty of photos of a happy couple, from early teenage years, their high school graduation, photos from university, photos from travels, and a wedding photo …
"This home … this is not my home any more." Ladybug whispered.
"This is a home." Chat sighed. "But your family doesn't live here any more." Chat replied quietly.
"I don't see anything that would be important for us, important for me." Ladybug whispered.
"Ladybug, Chat Noir!" A surprised voice came from the door.
Two slightly panicked superheroes turned around and looked at the same young couple that occupied most of the photos they just saw.
"Please don't hurt us." The woman begged.
"We didn't read those news, those bad news, I mean, those news that spoke badly about you."The man waved his hands defensively.
"You are our heroes, you saved us from Hawk Moth and Mayura and all their monsters and we are grateful for that." The woman motioned her hands as if to emphasize the greatness of the heroes.
"And you are entitled to make mistakes … " The man spoke but the woman elbowed him. "Not that you made any mistakes, no you never make mistakes, you are perfect."
"Please don't hurt us." The woman begged again.
"We are just simple bakers, we got this bakery and started our own business. We know you don't like the bakers that used to live here." The man rambled quickly. "But we are not like them, we have no children … yet and we really really trust you."
Woman nodded so exaggeratedly that it was obvious that the two of them did not trust Ladybug and Chat Noir at all, at least that new superhero duo.
"You can take anything you like … I mean need, it is all for the good of Paris." The man continued.
"Please don't hurt us." The woman repeated in tiny voice.
"It is okay, we won't hurt you." Chat Noir replied gently.
"What?" The woman squealed.
"You talk?" The man raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I talk." Chat leaned onto a wall and took his tail in his hand and started to rotate it a bit. "I'm very talkative you know, My Lady over here used to think I was too talkative, you know."
"Oh, he sounds just like he used to sound before … " The woman spoke and smiled to the man by her side. But the man nudged her with his elbow.
"So you stopped talking when in public to please Ladybug?" The woman ignored the hint from her man.
"Actually, … " Ladybug spoke and the couple before them friezed in fear. They observed the hero and awaited her to release her wrath upon them. "We just want some information." She continued and raised her hands in a placating manner.
"We have no information." The man shook his head.
"Of course, we will give you any information that we've got." The woman spoke simultaneously.
They looked at each other.
"No information." She said in a tiny voice.
"Anything you need." He muttered.
They nudged each other.
Then they looked at the floor sheepishly.
"The people who used to live here?" Chat Noir spoke calmly because he felt that Ladybug was starting to tremble.
"We don't know them." Both of them replied in unison and shook their heads.
"We don't associate with such people. Please believe us." The woman spoke.
"We were just … having a walk after a long day at the bakery and now we are just going to clean up a bit and go to bed. We have to rise early, you know, bakers." The man grinned nervously.
Ladybug and Chat Noir wanted to reassure that couple that they were not to be scared of the heroes, but given the fact that the new Ladybug and Chat Noir were obviously a power couple to be scared of, they decided not to.
"Okay, we'll be going then." Chat Motioned for Ladybug to go. But when she just stood there and stared at the couple, he gently took her hand and pulled her along.
"You can take anything, anything you need." The woman squealed.
"You will just go? Just like that?" The man smiled nervously again, but this time there was genuine relief on his face.
"Yes, we are going and I don't think that anything happened here, anything worth mentioning, to anybody." Chat winked and pulled Ladybug out through the entrance of her former home.