Night fell and once the other inhabitants of the house were asleep, two shadowy figures slipped out to the balcony, hopping across the rooftops. They easily vaulted over the fence surrounding the mansion's courtyard, swinging themselves up onto the ledge outside the window of Adrien's old room. The window was locked, but for a couple of superheroes, that was a minor inconvenience.
"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir whispered, pressing a magic-clad hand to a pane of glass. It dissolved to ash instantly, making space for the duo to slip inside. Once they were safely within the room, Chat hid himself in the closet as he de-transformed, leaving Adrien standing in the closet. He watched for a moment as Ladybug looked around in awe at the size of his previous living space.
"This room is bigger than my whole house," she gasped in amazement. Adrien blushed a little, uncomfortable with his sudden affluence, before handing Plagg a piece of cheese. The kwami swallowed it whole, then phased into Ladybug's hair. They'd decided that Adrien would remain in his room, alert for signs of trouble, while Plagg went with Ladybug to retrieve the grimoire. He'd get them in by phasing through the lock so Ladybug wouldn't have to de-transform to let Tikki could unlock it. Ladybug closed the distance between them, pecking Adrien on the lips.
"Love you," he whispered, gripping her hipbones and pulling her closer to him. "Be careful. I want to be able to take you on a real date when this is over." His tone was teasing, but the dullness in his eyes said he was deadly serious.
She nodded determinedly, kissing him softly again as she blushed at his words. "I will. See you soon." Turning on her heel, she eased the door open, alert for any signs of life, before slipping out into the hallway.
She made sure to keep her footsteps as light and as quiet as possible, Plagg guiding her to the appropriate room. She quickly found what she was looking for- a larger-than-life-size portrait of a woman with long, golden hair. Her yellow dress shimmered in the dim light from the moon outside. They carefully stepped close to the painting, Plagg phasing the lock open.
Even with the little light in the room, Ladybug could clearly see the book as the safe swung ajar. Otherwise, the shelves in the compartment were completely vacant. She quickly snatched the spell book, closing the door behind her and stowing the book in the nondescript backpack they'd brought with them for that express purpose. She'd just finished zipping up the bag when she noticed Plagg zipping away just as a cold voice sounded behind her.
"You," he said, his voice betraying his bitterness. Ladybug turned to face the man- Adrien's father and famous designer, Monsieur Gabriel Agreste. She gasped. Gabriel looked terrible, if she was being really honest. His hair was disheveled, he looked like he hadn't slept in months, and he had a slightly mad glint in his eye. "It's not here," he growled in triumph. "You're too late."
Her eyes narrowed. "What's not here?" she asked, settling into a defensive position. He smirked at her, though the expression only served to make him look more insane.
"The Butterfly, of course," he revealed. Ladybug's mouth dropped open in shock. Maybe Gabriel had been Hawkmoth, after all.
"Why should I believe you?" Ladybug parried. "You could be hiding it somewhere else, waiting for me to turn my back before you strike."
Gabriel chuckled coldly. "If I still had it, do you think we'd be standing here making small talk right now? I would have leveled you where you stand the moment you entered this house." He sniffed unconcernedly. "No matter now. The Butterfly was lost to me many months ago. I also could care less about the book you have in your bag. It's of no further use to me now."
Ladybug stared at the man. "What happened to it?" she asked, hoping he would tell her the truth. "What happened to the Butterfly Miraculous?" But Gabriel merely smirked at her before resuming his normal stoic expression.
"I suggest you remove yourself from the premises, Madame Ladybug. You are trespassing, after all. The police should be arriving any moment now. And with the new laws, you likely won't be able to talk your way out of this one." Gabriel spun around, heading for the front door. As soon as he was out of sight, Ladybug tore up out of the room and up the stairs, nearly colliding with Chat Noir as she entered the room.
"Ladybug, what-?"
"No time, Kitty," she interrupted. "We've got to get out of here. I'll explain when we get home."
The two deftly hopped out the window onto the roof, laying pressed against the steel of the rooftop as several police cars, lights flashing and sirens blaring, pulled up outside the gate.
"Great," Ladybug muttered. "I'd hoped he was only bluffing, but apparently not." Chat shot her a questioning look, but stayed silent. Several of the police made their way inside to search the house while a couple searched the courtyard and a couple stood guard at the gate.
"Come on, now's our chance! There's only a couple of them," Chat reasoned, but Ladybug shook her head, grabbing him by his belt-tail as he began to move away.
"Let's just wait here until they've gone. We're less likely to-" A whirring sound from somewhere far away cut off her train of thought as it approached, rapidly becoming louder and louder.
The two of them looked up to see a helicopter, search light activated, flying toward them. Ladybug's eyes widened.
"On second thought, yeah, let's go," she amended quickly, grabbing Chat by the arm as they scooted down from the tip-top of the roof, checking around on the ground that there were no police looking their way, before they hopped from the roof to the fence, then Ladybug quickly swung them to the next closest rooftop. They found a place to hide just as the helicopter light swiveled in their direction. The two superheroes held their breath until the light moved on.
"Come on," she hissed, pulling Chat with her again as they took off running, ducking behind chimneys and ridges in order the stay out of sight. They didn't stop until they reached the deserted courtyard of a high school halfway across Paris. Upon glancing around and finding themselves alone, the two exhausted heroes retreated into the shadows and collapsed into each other in relief.
"Milady, what happened?" Chat asked, looking worried. Ladybug looked up into his eyes.
"Gabriel caught me," she said, abashed, unzipping the backpack and handing him the grimoire. "I don't know how, because we made sure not to make any noise. I'd bet we triggered some kind of alarm or something that we weren't aware of. Anyway…" she sighed. "He said the Butterfly Miraculous wasn't there, but he wouldn't say what happened to it." Chat Noir's mouth dropped open.
"My- Gabriel is Hawkmoth?" he corrected himself.
"Was Hawkmoth," Ladybug reminded him. "Apparently it was lost to him some months ago. He said he didn't care if I took the book; he didn't even try to take it back from me. He said it wasn't any use to him anymore, anyhow. Then he told me he'd called the police. I don't think he knew you were there, except…"
"Except someone is likely to recognize the traces of my Cataclysm. The cat will be out of the bag then, so to speak," Chat said gloomily, flipping through the pages of the ancient book absentmindedly. He looked heartily ashamed of himself. "How on earth did I not realize that Gabriel was Hawkmoth? All this time…?"
"We had our suspicions many years ago, though you wouldn't remember that," Ladybug told him, rubbing her hand over his upper arm comfortingly. "He must have akumatized himself that one time," she said more to herself than to him, thinking. She startled her partner when she suddenly called out, "Lucky Charm!" A card covered in some kind of strange writing appeared in her hand. She glanced at it, about to launch it into the air, when a hand grabbed her wrist urgently.
"Wait!" Chat cried, pulling out his Chat-phone and snapping a photo. "Ok, now you can throw it."
"Miraculous Ladybug!" she cried, tossing the card. A swirl of red ladybugs zoomed away across Paris before she turned back to Chat Noir. "What happened?" she asked, peering at the photo he'd taken. He opened the book.
"The writing on your lucky charm matches the characters in the book," he explained. "It might be the key to sorting out the code." Ladybug nodded.
"Makes sense," she said.
"Now," he said, cat eyes narrowed, "you want to explain why you needed the Miraculous Ladybug spell when there's no akumas about? You just basically declared yourself guilty of breaking and entering, as well as theft, Bug!"
She studied him. "I didn't want them to find the remnants of your Cataclysm," she said finally, hoping he wasn't going to be angry. "If they don't know to look for you, it'll give us the advantage and have less chance of you getting hurt again." She sighed. "I don't know if it worked, though. They might have been able to connect the dots as to why the spell was needed, and it only works about half the time, anyway. Other times, the Ladybugs disappear and things are still partly broken- or they look fixed, but then a stiff breeze will knock them over."
Chat's face softened. "I don't want you to protect me at risk to yourself, Bugaboo," he reminded her. "That's what I'm here for- to protect you. And I'm fine being painted as a criminal, so long as I have you."
Ladybug said nothing, but searched his face worriedly. "You shouldn't have to be, though," she muttered. "You don't deserve that. Not when it isn't your fault." The not when it's MY fault, stayed unspoken, but Chat heard it, loud and clear.
Chat Noir pulled Ladybug into his side, holding her there, but not answering. He knew at this point it wasn't worth it to argue.
"Whoever has the Butterfly now will likely know we're- I mean, you're- on their tail," Chat Noir remarked a while later. "A police investigation that big will probably mean the entire city will know about it. We're going to have to tread very carefully." Ladybug said nothing.
They waited there for a while longer before Chat jumped up on the rooftop to see if the coast was clear.
"They're gone," he whispered as he dropped down into the courtyard again. "Come on Bug, let's go home."
Sure enough, the next morning dawned with the news broadcasting the outcome of their heist to the entire city.
"A break-in last night at Agreste Manor was reported late last night," the newscaster was saying as Adrien and Marinette sat down to breakfast, still clad in their pajamas. "Owner of the home, Gabriel Agreste, called Paris police to report a disturbance around midnight. When police arrived on the scene, Agreste alleged that super heroine Ladybug had been intruder, stealing a valuable artifact before fleeing the scene. Monsieur Agreste was unavailable for interview. Police are still investigating the robbery, and more details will be released as they come available. Mayor Nathalie Sancoer made an announcement to the public regarding this incident."
The news flipped to a shot of Nathalie at a podium outside city hall, making her speech. "It has come to my attention that Ladybug has publicly declared herself an enemy of Paris," the mayor said triumphantly. "If Ladybug uses her superpowers to evade the laws, we cannot allow her to roam free. Effective immediately, anyone who has information regarding Ladybug's whereabouts must come forward or risk the consequences. Thank you." Adrien growled deep in his throat as the news story changed to the weather.
"That…that…"
"Hush, Kitty," Marinette chided him gently, putting a comforting hand on his arm, though she looked troubled as well. "We knew this might happen." His face softened, and he put an arm around her.
"I know," he sighed heavily. "I just hate it when they say things like that about you. You've been protecting these people for years. They just don't get it."
She brushed it off. "The important thing now is that you and my parents believe me," Marinette reminded him. "It can all go to hell as long as the people I love know I'm not a criminal." She pulled him in and kissed him gently.
Tom and Sabine appeared moments later, looking stricken. Marinette and Adrien exchanged a confused look. "Marinette," Sabine began, sitting down at the breakfast bar across from the two young heroes, while Tom took the seat next to her. "I know you need to keep your other life a secret, but…I just want to make sure things are ok with you. We just saw the news," she explained. "It may not have been the truth, but you have to admit, it doesn't look good."
Marinette studied her parents. Her mother looked worried, while Tom was angry. She couldn't tell if her father was angry with her, or that someone had dared suggest his little girl had broken the law. She sighed.
"Maman, Papa," she began, "What the news said was partially true. Adrien and I broke into the Agreste Manor last night."
Tom stared at his protege. Marinette, realizing what she'd just done, clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Damn," Adrien muttered. "That wasn't how I wanted to tell them, Mari."
"Sorry, Kitty," Marinette whispered, looking terrified and thoroughly chastised.
"A-adrien? Like, Adrien Agreste?" Tom asked, shocked. Adrien nodded, removing his spectacles.
"Yeah, that's me," he said, resigned.
Tom looked as though he'd been bashed over the head with a baseball bat as another thought hit him. "Y-you're Chat Noir. Aren't you?" It wasn't really a question.
Adrien nodded again. Then he retold his story from the beginning- losing his memories, why he'd hidden his true self, how he'd been given a second chance to be a hero, how he'd figured out Marinette's identity as Ladybug, and how Marinette had helped him figure out his own true identity as Adrien Agreste. He explained what he'd learned about his father and how he'd been afraid Tom and Sabine would kick him out if they knew who he was.
At that point in his narrative, Tom and Sabine had rushed to him, enveloping him in a tight group hug.
"You're still family to us, cheri. No matter what your name is," Sabine reminded him, and he had to blink back tears again.
When everyone had retaken their seats, Sabine refocused on Marinette. "So? You two really broke into the Agreste's mansion last night? Why?"
Marinette sighed. "My…my powers are broken, Maman, remember? Adrien found a spell book in his dad's things several years ago and only just remembered," she said, leaving the kwamis out of her explanation. "We thought maybe the spell book might have instructions on how to fix my powers. Unfortunately, we also found out that Adrien's dad had been Hawkmoth this whole time, but as of a few months ago, he lost his Miraculous." Sabine's eyes widened, and she wrapped Adrien in another hug.
"Mada-Sabine," he protested, "I'm fine. Really." She studied him as though trying to make sure he was being truthful. "I still don't have a lot of memories of my father, so I'm not really torn up about it. Evidently, we didn't have a great relationship anyway. The thing that bothers me the most is that I didn't know he was Hawkmoth and it's been, like, ten years! You'd think I'd have been a little more observant than that…" he added this last, mostly to himself.
Tom cut in, laying a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, son. It's not worth it."
Sabine looked back to Marinette. "So. Hawkmoth's miraculous has been lost, or stolen, or something. He doesn't have it anymore." Marinette nodded. "So…Paris is safe then?" Marinette exchanged an uneasy look with Adrien. Her parents weren't going to like this part.
"You remember that night when Adrien had to come get me from the Trocadero?" Marinette said. Tom looked confused.
"Adrien? But I thought you said an old friend…" he trailed off, looking thoughtful. "You went out as…as your other self and saved our Lucky Bug, didn't you, son?" he said as the pieces came together, shooting the boy a grateful look. Adrien nodded.
"I just felt like something was wrong," he explained. "I suited up and something just sort of…led me to her. I turned back into myself and we pretended we were meeting up for a date. We lost whoever was on our tail, then I brought her back here, where she'd be safe."
"But what does that have to do with Hawkmoth, or the new Hawkmoth, or whatever?" Sabine asked, looking confused.
"Adrien and I went out the next day. He tailed me while I went shopping to see if we could get anymore information on the stalker," she admitted, quailing slightly under her parents' unhappy glares, but she continued. "We found that someone was controlling the partial akuma victims, one at a time, to tail me across the city. So evidently, Gabriel not having the Butterfly anymore hasn't fixed everything. And whoever has it now probably suspects me of being Ladybug. That's the only explanation that seems to fit."
"And on top of that, the mayor seems to have it in for Ladybug," Adrien added, trying to keep the snarl in his voice a minimum. From the look the others were giving him, he was sure he hadn't succeeded. Then, it was as though a lightbulb went on. His green eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, before an excited look came over him. "Mari!" he all but shouted. "Gabriel had the Butterfly! And Nathalie worked for my father! And now the mayor has it out for Ladybug!" Marinette's eyes widened too.
"You…you don't think…"
"I'd bet Plagg's Camembert on it," he said seriously. Marinette heard Plagg's indignant growl that Adrien would dare bet on his Camembert for anything. "Nathalie's the only one who could have done it." Tom and Sabine were looking at the two of them in confusion.
"Uh…what just happened?" Tom asked.
Marinette turned back to them. "We think we know what happened to the Butterfly Miraculous," she replied. "Or, at least, partially. Not really sure how Nathalie would know anything about me though. I only met her a couple times as myself, and only once as Ladybug." She returned her attention to her parents. "Sorry Papa, Maman, but the less you know about all this, the better."
Tom nodded, but Sabine rolled her eyes. "Cherie, we know basically everything you know now. I don't think you need to keep secrets from us anymore."
Next to them, Adrien piped in, his brows furrowed in concentration. "Mari," he said slowly, "If Nathalie took the Butterfly from Gabriel…it is actually very possible Lila has it now." He stared at her unhappily. "Think about it- someone who worked closely with Nathalie and my father- she modeled with me for years, apparently- someone who knows you, someone who's been here recently with threats, someone who hates Ladybug…it has to be her. It all fits."
Tom and Sabine looked at him sharply. "What's this about threats, son?" Tom asked. Marinette covered her face with her hands. Adrien sighed. Evidently that had been the wrong thing to let slip. But, too late now. So, Adrien filled the parents in on Lila's visit to the bakery and what she had done previously to Marinette, as herself and as Ladybug, when they were teenagers.
"So, the short story- don't give Lila your apple tartlet recipe if she ever asks for it," Adrien finished in an attempt to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, the joke fell flat; the parents were too worried to pay it much mind.
"If this Lila has made threats, we need to report it to the police," Tom said finally. Marinette shook her head hurriedly.
"No, Papa," she said, "We can't. Lila twists everything around to make it look like it's the other person's fault. No one will believe us, and it will tip her off that we know something is up. Besides, now that she has the Butterfly, the police won't be able to take her down anyway. Ladybug and Chat Noir are the only ones who can do it, and we will also have to find a way to make sure she confesses publicly. Otherwise, she'll just go free once all is said and done."
Tom shot her a conflicted look, but nodded. Sabine sighed.
"Thank you, you two, for telling us all this," she said. "While it is worrying, I'm glad that we know. We'll be more able to protect ourselves if we're in the loop." She stood up from her chair, pulling Tom by one of his huge hands. "We'll be getting back to work now. You kids stay out of trouble," she said, giving them a warning look.
Marinette waved at them awkwardly. "We will, Maman," she assured her, watching as her parents disappeared down the stairs.
Nathalie was in another meeting with the building committee. It was taking three times as long as she would have liked, but the decision had to be made by the end of the day. She stifled a yawn. If she was being honest, she'd stopped listening about half an hour ago.
Her phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw she had a text.
P: Urgent news. Can you meet now?
Nathalie stiffened with excitement. Perhaps Papillon had found something useful.
Nathalie: My office in 5
She stood suddenly. The committee members eyed her in confusion. "My apologies," Nathalie said. "I have some urgent business to attend to. You may finish up without me." Without another word, she swept from the room, the door banging shut behind her.
Papillon was already there when she arrived, sitting unconcernedly on top of her desk like she belonged there. Nathalie narrowed her eyes.
"Please, have a seat," she commanded, indicating the chair for visitors. Papillon shrugged, hopping lightly for the floor and perching in the offered seat. "You said you had news?" Papillon smirked.
"I'll say," she began. "I had one of my akumas spy on the Dupain-Chengs, and it's finally paid off." Papillon leaned forward slightly, like a school girl with the juiciest gossip. "Marinette has been confirmed as Ladybug."
Nathalie rolled her eyes. "Is that all? I'd have expected-"
"Wait, there's more," Papillon smirked at her employer. "Chat Noir is alive…and he's none other than Adrien Agreste, who has been living as a bakery worker for the past several months."
Nathalie's jaw dropped, stoicism be damned.
"A-adrien's alive?" she whispered. She had to admit, she'd had a soft spot for the poor boy. Did Gabriel know? If he did, he hadn't said anything. But then again, she and Gabriel weren't really on speaking terms at the moment… "Adrien's Chat Noir?"
Papillon was full-on grinning now. "Wait, there's more."
"More? How can there possibly be-"
"They were definitely the ones that broke into the Agreste's house, and they stole an old spell book," she said. Nathalie scoffed again.
"I already have all the pages in a digital file. The spell book is old news," she said airily. Papillon fidgeted as she opened her mouth one more time, all trace of a smile gone.
"…And Gabriel told them enough that they suspect us," she finished. She shot a glance at Nathalie, fighting the urge to laugh at the woman's expression. The elder woman quickly shook herself out of her daze.
"Then, we need to move quickly," she said. "Here's what we're going to do…"