AN: If you find yourself asking the questions 'But wait, why is Tobey trying to be good in the first place?" and "Is the author just being lazy and skipping the tough part of the redemption arc to get to ship fluff?" any time while reading this chapter, the answers are 'wait and see' and 'no'.

Tobey felt a twinge of guilt as he watched Becky copy down his data. It wasn't like he had never snapped at her before, but ever since a magical cat deity had begun to hitchhike in his bag and stink up his notes with cheese, he'd been even more painfully aware of the conscience he'd already been having more and more difficulty ignoring in the last several months.

He almost wished that he hadn't been so curt; any conversation with Becky would be better than the chilly silence between them now. Finding out that the entire city knew of his late-night excursion, combined with Tommy's reminder that he - Tobey - was still a supervillain in everyone's eyes, had made all excitement over the previous night vanish completely.

Becky shoved his paper back at him as the bell rang, and he nearly crumpled the paper in his haste to pack up and escape the classroom.

He'd spent two weeks trying to get used to the idea of being a hero; yet now that it was so close to becoming reality it felt more like a dream than ever, as if at any moment the ring on his finger would vanish and any chance of wooing Ladybug along with it, as if at any moment Plagg would say there had been a mistake and laugh in his face at how Tobey ever thought he could be a hero. As if the previous night had been the end of something rather than the beginning, though he hadn't the faintest idea what that something was.

•••

Two weeks earlier:

It wasn't the most spectacular project ever, but it worked well enough as a peace offering.

Tobey leaned back with a satisfied sigh as he took in the product of the last few weeks of brainstorming and designing: a gardening robot. It had been a simple thing at first, just a system to water plants when his mother was too busy or found the work difficult, but it quickly got out of hand. By the time he was satisfied with it, the sprinkler system had evolved into a drone which could do anything garden-related, from monitoring each plant and suiting its specific needs to suggesting optimal landscaping designs. It even made lemonade for when the summer heat became overwhelming. (Ice cream was superior, obviously, but his mother disagreed.)

Maybe this would finally convince his mother that he'd changed.

He jumped at the sound of three sharp knocks, hastily flipping over to an older page of blueprints as his bedroom door opened and Claire McCallister poked her head into his room.

"Tobey, dinner's ready."

"Yes, Mother," he said, giving her a stiff smile. She frowned at his expression. Her eyes lingered on his pad of blueprints for a long moment before she leaned back and walked away, leaving the door open behind her.

•••

Tobey pushed the door of his laboratory open, fumbling blindly with the light switch in the dark room; the moonlight was barely bright enough to cast shadows across the floor. He blinked as yellow light flooded the room and then headed for his desk, unfolding his blueprints as he walked so he could spread them out and begin to build. He glanced up as he approached, stopping short as his eyes landed on a solitary object on his desk.

It was a box, and it was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

Tobey frowned and set the blueprints down to his left, eyes trained on the unfamiliar object before him. It was small and hexagonal, mundane save for the ornate design on the lid which glowed red. He glanced over his shoulder, as if whoever had placed it there was still lurking in the corner of the lab. He was alone.

Yes, it was sitting on his desk, but it most definitely belonged to someone else - this wasn't the sort of thing his mother would have, let alone give to him. Nevertheless, he found himself reaching for it, holding it up to eye level to better examine the peculiar markings. Up close it seemed almost alive, the red light pulsing slightly against his hand.

In a brief moment of daring which felt wrong yet somehow right, he opened it.

A sphere of bright green energy burst from the box, rising in the air before him as it expanded. Tobey flinched at the sudden light and dropped the box back onto his desk. He blinked a few times, trying to clear away the spots in his vision, but the largest one right in front of him refused to go away.

No, it was a - a -

It was a floating creature, small and catlike in appearance. The box below the creature had fallen sideways, out of which the silver ring now laying on his desk must've fallen. Catlike - and a ring -

Tobey's eyes widened. "Impossible," he breathed, reaching for the ring. "This must be…"

He hadn't seen it in years, and it was a different color than he remembered, but it had to be the Cat Noir miraculous. Hawkmoth had shown it to him countless times and he'd gotten so, so close to taking it before, and yet… here it was, sitting on his desk, plain and unassuming. If it wasn't for the creature in front of him he would never suspect it of being magical.

"Yep, you're the next Cat Noir," the creature said in a nasally voice. Tobey jumped and looked up from the ring, mouth falling open comically as he watched it chatter on. "Long time, no see, Tobes, though I guess you wouldn't remember me. I'm Plagg, and I grant you the powers of destruction. But you're already familiar with those, so moving on to more important things… what've you got for food around here?"

Tobey blinked and shook his head, still trying to figure out what was going on. "I, uh, there's a fridge in the corner with some snacks," he said distantly. Powers? Grant him?

"Great," Plagg said. Tobey watched him zip away, starting as he phased through the fridge door. A few seconds later he returned, grumbling as he wiped a few crumbs off his face.

"The grilled cheese was pretty good, but so small," Plagg complained. "You're gonna need to stock up on camembert - ooh, shiny," he said, taking notice of the tools hanging on the wall. He brushed a few screwdrivers, making them clink together, then flew away when they all fell off their hooks and clattered to the desk.

Tobey grabbed the ring before walking over to the mess, placing the tools back on their hooks as he shot the creature a glare - or rather, tried, because he'd already disappeared into the room's clutter. "Are you always such a nuisance?"

Plagg's voice echoed from inside one of the robots on the other side of the room. "I'm a kwami."

"No, a nuisance is a - hey, get out of my robuts," Tobey snapped. "Do you even realize the chaos you could start if you made one malfunction?"

"Yeah, but I won't," the kwami's muffled voice replied. "Hey, it's pretty cozy in here."

Tobey pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, stay in there, just don't touch any of the switches. Or wires. Or -"

"Relax, kid."

"How?" Tobey replied, starting to pace in front of the robot Plagg had settled in. "How am I supposed to relax when the Cat Noir miraculous is here, in my hand, and you're saying it's mine?"

"Yep, you're the chosen one."

Tobey snorted. "Me?"

"Mhmm," Plagg replied, obviously getting bored with the conversation.

Tobey took a deep breath. "So I'm the next Cat Noir," he said slowly, "Which means I'm getting the chance to fight alongside Ladybug…." An excited smile grew on his face as he rambled on, pacing faster. "This means I'll get to spend time around her, and I'll finally have the chance to woo her without our past getting in the way. Then someday, after I've won her over, I'll reveal myself and she'll forgive me, and she'll be mine!"

Plagg snorted. "Sounds foolproof."

"It is." Tobey slipped on the ring and held up his hand, inspecting how it looked with the addition. "How does this work, then?"

"You say 'claws out', and then -"

"Claws out!" Tobey repeated loudly, interrupting the kwami. Plagg let out a noise of surprise as he was sucked out of the robot and into the ring, turning the miraculous black. Green light crackled around Tobey in a flash. His skin tingled underneath the black suit which had materialized, as if the magical energy still lingered around - or within - him.

He turned to a rather large and flat scrap piece of metal leaning up against the wall, taking in the sight of himself. It was similar to what he remembered: black, with boots and gloves made for combat, and of course, the ears and tail which moved as if they were his own. His eyes had turned catlike behind a mask, though his looked like a tinted mask-goggles hybrid rather than a traditional mask. Something about the entire suit made him look… stronger, more confident. Heroic, almost.

Tobey blinked, and suddenly he looked like a child, dressing up in a ridiculous costume to play pretend savior.

He ripped off the ring, the transformation disappearing instantly as the kwami was forced out of the miraculous. Tobey took a deep, shuddering breath as he stared at the ring, no trace of his previous excitement left on his face.

"This… this is ridiculous," he muttered. "What am I thinking?" Plagg, who had opened his mouth to protest Tobey's rough way of detransforming, instead watched with silent curiosity as he started pacing again. "I can't just become a hero. I used to be the city's fifth most terrifying akuma! Officially! People like me aren't heroes, we - I can't just -"

Plagg rolled his eyes as he began to ramble again. "So… you're saying no to spending nearly every night with the love of your life, then?"

"She's not the love of my life," Tobey retorted, though the blush rising to his cheeks said otherwise. "It's just…." He sighed and glanced around the workroom. "I need to think about it."

The kwami shrugged. "Take all the time you need, kid. The city can last a few more days without a second superhero."

Tobey couldn't tell whether Plagg was actually trying to encourage him to think things through or just guilt him into saying yes, and the kwami ending the conversation by flying over to make a mess in a drawer of bolts didn't help.

•••

Two weeks later:

Tobey was nearly finished with wiring the CPU to the main part of the robot when he pulled the last bit of wire off its spool. The segment was much too short to use for anything at this point, and he frowned as he dropped both items back onto his desk. He'd emptied the larger spools of wire earlier that day; a run to the hardware store was long overdue.

Tobey glanced at his watch. The store was still open for another half-hour, but he knew his mother wouldn't be willing to drive him into the city so late - especially since this project was supposed to be a secret. He supposed it could wait until tomorrow, but….

He found himself staring at the ring on his finger, like he'd taken to doing rather often in the past several days. "Plagg?" he said finally.

The kwami's response was muffled through the mini-fridge door. "Mhmm?"

"What do I say when I want to detransform, again?"

"Claws in."

Tobey nodded, then took a deep breath. "Claws out."

Plagg let out a yelp as the magic pulled him through the fridge door, forcing him to leave his beloved, half-eaten slice of cheese behind.

•••

With super-hearing, the late evening song of crickets was almost deafening.

Tobey clung to his backyard's fence like a magnet, staying out of the pools of light spilling from the window of his mother's office. He felt slightly less ridiculous in the suit when shrouded in darkness. As long as he stayed out of sight, he could run his errand and get home before his mother realized he was gone.

The streets were quiet as he made his way through his neighborhood, but he barely made it two streets into the busier part of town before realizing traveling on foot any farther was foolish. There was no way around the numerous street-lamps and windows, not to mention the traffic and people still out and about. But if he remembered correctly, he could use his baton to get him up on the rooftops….

Tobey reached for the baton attached on the back of his suit as he approached the side of the art building. Right on the edge of the taller buildings in the city, it was a perfect stepping-stone to the rooftops of Fair City. (Something he only knew thanks to his villain days - if only he'd known back then that he'd someday use his knowledge for this….)

"All right," he muttered, staring at the sleek cylinder in his hand. Save for a glowing green paw-print, there was nothing which stood out, no buttons or controls or anything he was used to. How was he supposed to use this?

As if it could hear his thoughts it began to lengthen, impossibly fast. Tobey barely suppressed a startled cry as one end of it slammed into the ground and the other shot to the sky, pulling him up with it. He held on tightly with both hands as the ground disappeared from under him and he found himself eye-level with the second floor, third floor, then the roof of the art center. He was close enough to the edge to reach a foot out and tilt himself far enough to jump safely away from the edge. The baton shrank back as he let out a shaky breath.

From this height he could finally see the clock tower in the distance, glowing just bright enough for him to make out the time. He had fifteen minutes left before the store closed. Tobey looked down at the baton, adjusted his grip, and readied himself for a running leap.

•••

From the top of an apartment building, Tobey looked down at the hardware store across the street. He could make out silhouettes still moving inside, which was a good sign. All he had to do was detransform, and he'd have five entire minutes to run his errand.

A frightened gasp sounded from somewhere below him, and Tobey froze.

"Get moving," a gruff voice said.

A thinner voice chimed in. "Empty your pockets onto the ground and we won't hurt you."

Tobey peeked over the edge of the roof, taking in the scene with slitted eyes. Two men dressed in dark turtlenecks and makeshift masks were escorting a trembling middle-aged man deeper into the alley. He shoved his hands in his pockets and pulled them out, letting miscellaneous items scatter onto the ground. One of the men - the taller one - bent down to grab the wallet and gold pocket-watch.

Four minutes.

If he leapt in to help he'd be seen, and there was no going back from that.

If he didn't he could just get his supplies and leave, and nobody in the city would be the wiser about his existence.

Instinct won out over logic as Tobey found himself automatically reaching for his baton. He held it out over the edge of the roof and inded instantly, striking the man still standing in the head before shrinking back to its usual size. The man let out a cry of surprise and whirled around, fists raised. "Who was that? C'mon out and fight."

His partner stood. "Whatcha yelling at, Sam?"

"Somebody hit me on the head!"

"Nobody's there."

"I know what I felt, Jack."

"Stop it, you know I don't like the dark," the taller man muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. Tobey smirked. Perfect.

Three minutes.

Tobey shrank back from the edge as he realized the man being robbed was looking towards the sky - he must've seen the baton strike. He let a few seconds pass before looking down again, and frowned as he saw that the men hadn't left yet.

A second jab aimed at the other man's head seemed to do the trick. The two thieves stopped to look around, obviously more nervous than before. One final jab and both of them began to back away from the man they'd been trying to rob. "'S not worth it," he heard one of them mutter, and the taller man nodded quickly. They turned and disappeared into the well-lit street.

The man they'd left behind let out an audible sigh of relief. He knelt down and gathered up all of the possessions he'd nearly been relieved of, then stood and wiped his brow. He looked up at where Tobey was lurking with an awed and thankful expression on his face, then straightened his jacket and walked away.

Two minutes.

The alley was finally empty. Tobey swung his feet over the edge and then jumped, hoping that the miraculous would grant him as much invulnerability as his akuma had. The moment his feet connected with the ground the lights in the store across the street went out. Either the clock tower was slightly off, or the employees must have decide to close up early.

He let out a growl of frustration. "If I hadn't meddled I'd have my supplies," he muttered, folding his arms as he leaned onto the wall to sulk. "Instead, I've wasted an entire half-hour, and all I did was… was…."

He suddenly remembered the surprised and relieved face of the man he'd just helped. That had been there because of him.

A slow smile spread across his face as he took his baton back out, holding on tight as it automatically launched him back up to the rooftops. He'd already come this far; enjoying the free superpowers for a bit longer wouldn't hurt.

•••

The view from the top of the clock tower wasn't quite as good as from his robots, but he had never been able to fully appreciate it in the midst of battle anyway.

Fair City rose up before him, skyscrapers simply columns of lights hanging in the night sky above the glow of street lamps and car lights. Clouds drifted lazily across the crescent moon suspended above it all, a pale cheshire-cat grin which mirrored his own. A gust of wind whipped through the tower and he found himself laughing as a fresh surge of adrenaline coursed through him. He hadn't felt like this since the last time he'd fought Ladybug, but this time was different. He felt free in a way he had never felt while akumatized.

He felt alive.

Tobey flinched as a loud bong echoed from above, shaking the floor and walls around him, then a second. Two in the morning - he should've been back hours ago.

He sighed and pulled away from the wall. Hopefully his mother hadn't realized he was missing; he didn't fancy the idea of explaining any of this to her. At worst, she'd think he'd managed to steal the ring. At best… well, there was no better alternative.

Before he turned to leave he let his gaze linger over the city for a moment longer. The lights seemed to shine just a bit brighter as he imagined Ladybug by his side.