Chapter Sixteen
Adrien, Alya, Chloe, Nino, Marinette's parents, the mayor, Master Fu, and the Kwamii—a large group of nervous, fidgety individuals—crowded into the living room of the suite at Le Grand Paris they had been hiding in before the attack on the hotel. Marinette had stepped away to look over the balcony edge.
Hundreds of people with cameras and cell phones and microphones were being held at bay by hotel security with the aid of Roger Raincomprix and the police force.
"Are we absolutely sure about his?" Marinette asked, anxiously twirling a lock of hair in her fingers as she pulled the blackout curtains shut again and turned to the others.
"I sure hope so." Alya answered. She was sitting on the couch, leaning over her laptop. There was a pause, two forced, loud clicks of keys, and she sat back with an exhausted sigh. "Because it's already done."
"Do you think they'll believe it?" Chloe asked quietly. She was chewing on her perfectly manicured fingernails.
"Please, let them buy this." Nino muttered to himself, gripping Alya's thigh, as her hands were busy.
"We'll get through this." Adrien slipped his right hand into Marinette's left, feeling a rush of joy as he felt the cool metal of her engagement ring. His voice was strong and sure. He, at least, had no regrets.
The room's other occupants' eyes went from the computer screen to the television screen as they waited. The woman on the news looked just as anxious. It was so quiet.
"Yes!" The woman said on the screen, probably a bit more enthusiastically than she'd hoped as she straightened. "The video we have all been waiting to see has finally been uploaded onto the Ladyblog, a site that has been Paris' go-to source for anything Ladybug-related, run by Alya Cesaire, close, personal friend to Marinette Dupain-Cheng who has been recently revealed to be Ladybug." She looked away from the camera. "Joh, could we cut to the video, please?"
There was a pause, then the screen went black, before filling again, this time with Alya's face. Marinette gripped Adrien's hand even harder.
"Hey, Ladybloggers! Alya here, ready to report the real, hard-hitting news about anything and everything to do with our favorite heroes in spandex and leather—Ladybug and Chat Noir. This is a very special video, as I will be meeting with not only the pair themselves, but also with the three mysterious new heroes that arrived to help defeat Queen Bee. Now," Alya's face grew serious for a moment, and the camera shifted a little. "I have to start out by apologizing, viewers. I know that this site is dedicated to the hard truths about the superhero life, but I have been dishonest in my last few posts, something any good reporter would say is the ultimate betrayal. I had knowledge of Ladybug's true identity since the night of the Fall of Hawkmoth at the Eiffel Tower. I am sorry for not being forthright about this; however, revealing that information would have put my friend, her family, and even myself and my own family at risk, so I made the decision to keep her secret, at least until the threat had been dealt with.
"That being said," her infectious smile returned, "Until that day, I had no idea that not one, but two of my best friends had been masquerading as my idols for years. How did they keep their secret for so long? Did anyone know? How did this affect their family lives? Their love lives? These questions and many more will be answered in this interview, so stay tuned!"
The camera flickered, and suddenly the screen showed the very room they were in. Two couches sat parallel to a coffee table. At one end of the table sat Alya in an armchair, laptop open before her; at the other end, shield sat cross-legged on his shell-like shield on the floor. On one couch were Ladybug, Chat Noir, Vixen, and Honey. On the other couch were Nino, Chloe, and Sabine Dupain-Cheng.
"Welcome, everyone! Thanks so much for being here. Let's get started, shall we?" There were nods all around. "Excellent. Now, how is this going to work?" She said in her best game-show host voice. "I have my own questions. Then, we'll open it up to the viewers' questions, ones that have been emailed to me, left in the comments on the Ladyblog, Tweeted my way, hand-written note slipped into my hand, vaguely creepy magazine-cut-out-ransom not slipped into my locker at the gym—on and on. Any questions that are relevant that haven't already been discussed are open season until we run out of time. Got it?" Nods again. "Then let's go. Question one, an easy one to start with: When did you first get your powers, how, and why?"
Ladybug let out a nervous laugh and rang her hands in her lap. "I thought you said this one would be easy."
Chat grinned and leaned back into the couch, his arm resting behind her shoulders, not touching, but inviting her to lean in. She refrained for the moment. "Come on, Bugaboo; it's not that bad." He winked at Alya. "Especially since this one is all for the audience. This is just set up. You know she has harder questions coming."
Ladybug smiled. "I know." She faced the camera. "We got our Miraculous about five years ago, almost six, on any regular day."
Alya interrupted her. "Chat Noir is right, this is all for the audience, since you told us already, but could you please explain to them what the Miraculous are? And maybe the Kwami?"
Ladybug nodded. "Of course." She hesitated, then turned to Chat. "Any chance you'd like to de-transform, minou? Tiki still isn't fully on board with all of this yet."
Without a word, Chat blinked, there was a soft green glow that overtook his body, and then Adrien sat in the same relaxed position, Plagg floating to rest on his shoulder. Since becoming bonded with the Miraculous, after that first time he pushed Plagg out, he found he could control his transformations just by thinking about it, like the ring was fine-tuning itself more and more to his brain.
He looked at the camera, lifting his hand to let Plagg sit in his palm so he could show him off like a new kitten. "This is Plagg. He is the Kwami bonded to the Black Cat Miraculous. He is my mentor and friend."
"Your hungry mentor and friend." Plagg complained studiously. "If you're gonna show me off like a new toy, can I at least get something to eat?"
Adrien pulled out a wedge of camembert and placed it on a plate ready on the coffee table. "You act like I never feed you. Or like you actually have to eat." He grumbled, not loud enough for the cameras to pick up. Marinette giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.
"You have a Kwami, too, right, Ladybug?" Alya asked, moving the interview along steadily.
"Yes, all the Miraculous have a Kwami bonded to them, or, at least, that's what we were told." Plagg nodded as he munched on his cheese. "The relationship between Holders—like Adrien and I—the Kwami, and the Miraculous themselves is an ancient, tenuous, powerful one which together allows the Holders to wield great powers."
"You talk as though the Miraculous are sentient themselves." Alya commented, crossing her legs and leaning forward.
"In a way, I suppose they are. Not as we might view sentience. They do have a mind and will of their own, but it isn't like we talk to them or anything. They were once just charms and trinkets, everyday items. It was the Kwami who made them special." Ladybug frowned. "Although I'm still fuzzy on how. Sorry I can't give you more information on that." They had also decided to leave out a few points : That the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculous' holders were unstable and cosmically destined for each other, the concept of Bonding with the Miraculous, that the others were passed down through family lines for the most part (they did not want to start a witch hunt for power-granting charms; if the families wanted their secrets out, they would be out). Marinette had wanted to leave out the part about the wish, but Adrien argued that the people would want a reason for Hawkmoth's akumas. So, they compromised; they wouldn't offer the information, but if the question came up enough, they wouldn't lie. "Anyway. We were chosen as the Holders for the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous almost six years ago, on the day of Hawkmoth's first appearance, just before Stoneheart was reported. The Keeper—another Holder who keeps the information and histories of the Miraculous safe—knew that something…evil…" Ladybug cast a glance at Adrien, but he didn't flinch, "Was about to happen, so he set about bringing us into the fold. He thought we would have more time to prepare and train, but we were thrown right into the thick of it."
"I think I even ran into that first fight before I knew all the basics," Adrien said, laughing and shaking his head. "I was so eager. You were always the level-headed one."
"As if," Ladybug countered, nudging his shoulder with hers. "I was scared silly. The only reason I knew what was going on was because I demanded a full explanation before I ever dreamed of suiting up. I still tried to give up the Miraculous after the first battle." She looked at Alya. "You were almost Ladybug; can you believe that?"
Alya smiled softly, almost wistfully. "It was always meant to be you, girl." There was a pause. "So how did you get them?"
Adrien pulled a small, ornate jewelry box from his pocket. "This just showed up." He answered. "I thought it was an apology gift from my father, but when I opened it, this guy popped out instead." He booped Plagg on the head. The Kwami's ears twitched, and he paused in his eating to glare half-heartedly at the blond.
Ladybug giggled. "I thought Tikki was a talking bug. I trapped her in a glass."
The others laughed along for a moment before Alya moved to the next question. "Did you tell anyone your new secret? Did anyone else know?"
Ladybug shook her head, smile falling away. "No, we didn't tell anyone else. We were both alone in what we were going through for a long time. Of course, now I know that a few people found out years ago." She glared across the table.
Chloe put her hands up in surrender, and Sabine shook her head. "You never were a good liar, darling." Her mother said gracefully.
"Probably a good thing I grew up to be a super hero, then, and not a super villain, or a poker player for that matter." Ladybug muttered.
"That must have been so lonely," Alya continued. "How did you cope with that kind of secret, on a personal level."
"I didn't." Ladybug answered simply. "I couldn't. I acted like it didn't bother me. But…all those times I had to lie to the people I cared about—to you—I think the reason I never put as much effort into them was because I didn't want to have to lie. Maybe I was always subconsciously trying to tell you my secret." She shrugged. "The charade lasted a few years. Even though we were partners all that time, Chat Noir and I were never really close friends. We couldn't stay up late talking or just sit together in silence and let each other think, or even know each other's secret self, because it wasn't safe. So we kept separate when we weren't on mission. Until I messed up."
"You didn't mess up, Bug." Adrien said, leaning forward and taking her hand in his. "We both messed up. I should have seen what was going on."
"You couldn't, because you were doing the same thing," Marinette's voice was gentle. "I messed up, and almost got myself killed. It forced the two of us to talk, and we realized, finally, that we had each other—we weren't as alone as we feared. From then on, it was easier because I knew that no matter what, I had Chat Noir beside me."
"And you always will." Adrien said firmly, shoulder-bumping her.
Marinette looked down at his bare hand on her gloved hand, and decided she wanted to feel his skin on hers more than she wanted to avoid disapproving looks from Tiki. "Spots off," She whispered, letting her transformation fall. Tiki was silent. She didn't say a word, didn't pause to glare, just flew off to a dark corner of the room and disappeared. That was almost worse. Marinette found herself smiling, though, as she felt Adrien rubbing her hands.
"Huh," Alya mused. "I think this is the first time you've appeared in public since…since the fall of Hawkmoth. As yourself, anyway."
Marinette stared at the ceiling in thought for a moment. "Know what, you're right. Marinette went into hiding with her family, and then I was injured, and I was healing and going through therapy ever since. I mean, I've gone to my parents' bakery since then, and Adrien and I went to dinner the other night." Marinette smiled, glancing down at the perfect engagement ring on her hand. "But, we weren't noticed. At least I don't think we were. We weren't mobbed by people anyway. I've been keeping a pretty low profile." She glanced at the camera nervously. "It feels a little different without my mask on." She said honestly.
"Understandably." Alya nodded, then switched gears. "Now, for the harder questions. Why were you two chosen in the first place? Obviously to stop Hawkmoth. But to stop him from doing what? What was his ultimate goal?"
Marinette flinched. She shared a look with Adrien. Of course she would ask a question they had been hoping wouldn't show up. "That's a long story," Marinette answered slowly, "And one that isn't mine to tell."
"Whose story is it?" Alya asked. Even she didn't know the whole story. Marinette and Adrien had kept it hushed.
"It's mine." Adrien answered. "Or, it's my family's story. But, it isn't a happy one." He warned. Alya motioned for him to go on. Adrien didn't look at the camera. He stared off into the distance, looking at nothing, remembering. "I grew up without a mother, for the most part. I was only a few years old when she disappeared. That's all my dad ever said. She disappeared. It wasn't until after his death that I learned anything else." He took a deep breath. "My mother was the previous Holder of the Butterfly Miraculous. She used it to create happy moments and small, beautiful miracles. I can almost remember a few times when something wonderful and impossible happened, when I was a child." He paused, locked in his past. Marinette squeezed his hand gently. "They loved to travel—my parents. They would leave me with an au pair and go off on adventures. They were on a trip to China, and they were mugged. My mother tried to be the hero, but she was not a fighter. She didn't make it.
"She had told my father a few of the secrets of the Miraculous. Including one that we are loath to reveal. But…you have a right to know. He knew that if he possessed the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculous together, he could ask for a wish. Anything in the world. He could get her back. But it would mean giving up something of equal value. And it would mean the destruction of the Miraculous—all of them, as well as possibly some of their Holders," He shared a glance with Marinette—that was true for anyone Bonded with the Miraculous, as well as anyone transformed when the wish was granted. "It was a fail-safe built in by the Kwami who first created them, that if they should fall, as a last resort, they could combine all their power into one destruction, all-encompassing wish. It is a weapon, not a gift, and is something that should never be—can never be—used." He went on firmly. "But my father only knew the pain of losing the love of his life.
"He decided that for his plan to work, he needed to draw out the two Miraculous, to let them find new Holders. So he created a super villain worthy of them. The Keeper was wary; he knew it was a trap. But the threat was too real to ignore. So we walked into it. And that is why Hawkmoth came into being, and that is why we were chosen." He finished.
"I'm sorry for your loss." Alya apologized, looking stricken. Adrien nodded, and she cleared her throat. "So, now that the reason you were chosen has been neutralized, will you be retiring?"
Marinette shook her head sharply. "No. We won't be retiring."
"You make it sound like there should be an 'ever' at the end of that sentence. Are you both planning on continuing to fly around forever?"
She hesitated. "Maybe not forever. And, like you said, the main threat is gone. But, we can't just quit being Ladybug and Chat Noir. The Miraculous are a part of us now."
Alya uncrossed her legs and crossed them the other way. "You've got these three new heroes, too; are they going to be sticking around, helping you two out?"
Vixen spoke finally, bringing up her legs to sit cross-legged on the couch, her knees resting on Adrien's and Honey's legs. "We're definitely here to stick around a while. Hopefully we can pick up some of the slack. But these two are the masterminds behind the operation. We're here so that they can have some semblance of a normal life outside of their superhero identities—so they can settle down, get married, and have lots of little children running around." Vixen smirked as Adrien blushed and Marinette hid her face in her hands. Of course, her action only brought attention to her ring finger.
"Speaking of, girl," Alya continued with a matching smirk. "I, of course, know the news, but would you like to tell our lovely viewers what is new in the lives of Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"
Marinette pulled her hands away. While she was blushing like crazy, she also couldn't help the huge smile that split her face. She grasped Adrien's hand and leaned into his side. "Alright, alright. I am excited to announce that Adrien and I are happily engaged."
Alya squealed and clapped. "Yes! Finally, I've been telling you two you were perfect for each other since high school—both in and out of the mask. Now for the juicy bits. We never really got to talk much, despite being in hiding together for a month and a half. How did you two officially get together? How did that all happen?" If it were possible for Marinette's face to flush a deeper shade of red, it did, as she inhaled sharply and choked on her breath. She waved away the proffered bottle of water as she regained herself. Alya grinned directly at the camera. "Apparently we're in for some really juicy bits."
Adrien laughed and patted Marinette on the back. "Not really. This is PG—PG13 at its most…gruesome. We've been close for years, friends since the day we met—as Chat Noir and Ladybug, and as Adrien and m9Marinette. We've been in love with each other just as long, but our secret identities kept getting in the way, one way or another. Once those were out of the picture, it was really just a matter of time." He said all of this in an even tone, staring lovingly down at his fiancée. "And, no, before you ask, we don't have a date set, or anything else along those lines, but you will be the first to know."
"Of course," Alya continued. "You said your identities kept getting in your way. Was this just between the two of you, or between other lovers, or between you and your families?"
Marinette sighed. "We roomed together a few years; you know what my dating life was like, Alya. A handful of failed romances, nothing that stuck, and I was slowly pulling away from friends and family. That was mostly because of the mask. It's…difficult to be in a relationship if you can't be honest with the other person." Adrien nodded in confirmation.
"Did you ever date anyone in the mask? As Ladybug? Or as Chat Noir, Adrien?" Alya motioned to him with a hand.
Adrien barked a quick laugh. "I'm sure you would have been one of the first to know if we had, Ladyblogger. No, we didn't. Besides, my heart always belonged to Milady," he smiled warmly at Marinette, who blushed and grinned even wider.
Alya smiled. She turned to the other couch. "Now, I now you have claimed to know about their secrets since the beginning, right Chloe? And Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, you knew about your daughter?"
They both shrugged and smiled. "They weren't very good at hiding it. There's only so many times a girl can get away with 'wrong-place, wrong-time' before people start catching on. And there were clues. The textbook. The fact that they confirmed that they were both completely smitten with each other. They knew more than someone who missed every akuma fight should know."
"Normal teenage daughters are expected to sneak out occasionally," Sabine said, shooting her daughter a Look ™, "But most don't disappear from a third-floor balcony or rooftop in the middle of the night during an akuma attack. Once I figured out from the Ladyblog that it coincided with Ladybug's patrols, it wasn't a difficult leap."
Alya smacked the palm of her hand against her forehead, and Marinette's mouth gaped a bit. Even Adrien looked a bit stunned. "You knew our patrol schedules?!" Adrien asked.
"Even he didn't always remember when they were," Marinette poked him in the side.
"Of course! I should have known. You always said you were busy those nights, and you made up the same lame old excuses. I was so blind!" Alya complained. Nino reached over and pat her knee comfortingly. Alya turned on him. "You didn't figure it out about Adrien, right?"
Nino blanched. "Weeeeeell," he said, drawing the word out. Alya, Adrien, and Marinette just stared at him. "I never pushed it, you know? I…kind of figured, I guess. I mean, it made sense. But, I knew that if my man Adrien were Chat Noir, and he kept it from me, there was a good reason."
"See, told you so." Chloe said smugly, as Adrien nodded in appreciation of his friend's understanding.
"Was I the only one in the dark?" Alya groaned, pouting at her fiancée. No one answered; she had been.
"Next question?" Honey piped up from her end of the couch.
"Right. Yes. Okay." Alya regrouped and focused her attention on the three new comers. "I guess since you three still have the masks on, you will be refraining from revealing your secret identities?"
All three nodded vigorously. "We are staying behind these masks as long as we possibly can. Ladybug and Chat Noir hid their civilian selves to keep their friends and families safe. We have our own people to worry about." Vixen's voice was…almost cocky, eternally playful.
"There's no hiding the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculous now," Shield added. There was something off about his voice…rich and deep, with the hint of feedback. He was definitely using a voice modifier. "But as the new Keeper, I would like to keep as much of the history and the secrets of the Miraculous as possible safe. There may eventually come a time when this knowledge is ready to be revealed, but it is not now."
"The new Keeper?" Alya asked, feigning ignorance.
Shield nodded. "The Keeper if the Miraculous is…special. Different from other Holders. The Keeper is chosen by the Miraculous itself, not by the Kwami, or by any person. The Holder cannot pass on until the new Keeper is chosen, and there is only ever one Keeper at a time. We are tasked with the protection of not just the Miraculous themselves, but all the secrets, knowledge, history, and powers of the charms. For this reason, if for no other, I will not be revealing my identity for the foreseeable future." There was a moment of serious silence.
"So, what are your powers? We know Ladybug has the ability to restore, and Chat Noir has the ability to destroy. What about you, Vixen?"
Vixen grinned. "I can do this." Where the coffee table had sat now crouched a huge white Siberian tiger, tail twitching. A low, rumbling growl rolled through the room. The five heroes didn't even flinch, but everyone else did, jerking back and letting out several censored-out curses. Vixen laughed, her whole body shaking with mirth, "Don't worry," She gasped between giggles. "It's just an illusion. That's my power." She waved her hand through the head of the tiger, passing right through it. The others calmed down as the image vanished again. "I have stronger illusions that are solid and feel real, but I unfortunately can't demonstrate for you; after I create them, I only have a few minutes before the transformation wears off." Alya nodded and turned to Honey, sitting next to her.
"Oh, my turn?" Honey's smile was bright and sweet and innocent, her voice lilting and lovely. "As some of you saw during that final battle with Queen Bee," She frowned for a second, "I just want to point out that, although my Miraculous is also bee-themed, I am nothing like the poor akumatized girl's supervillain self. My Miraculous is all about spreading joy and life. Not about hurting innocent people." She nodded, satisfied that she had gotten out her qualifier. "Anyway, as some saw, I can fly. I'm still getting the hang of it. Landing still causes some trouble. And, although I didn't get the chance to show it off yet, my main power is to produce a dust—sort of like pollen—and use it to grow plants around me. It can be super useful. And pretty." She smiled so brightly you could almost see the anime twinkle on her teeth.
"I am a shield." Shield said simply, just as soon as Honey was finished talking. "My power is to produce an impenetrable bubble of protection for…an undisclosed period of time, in order to protect myself and others."
"Like…Violet, from The Incredibles?" Alya grinned, trying not to laugh.
Shield glared; then, his gaze softened, and he let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Sort of."
Adrien and Marinette giggled. They'd made the same connections already.
"Any other sidekicks we can expect to be showing up out of the blue?" Alya asked, raising an eyebrow at the leaders of the group.
Marinette shook her head. "Not as far as we know. But some of the other Miraculous have homes and Holders. Whether they want to join us is entirely up to them. Well. It's sort of up to us. But mostly up to them." She smiled shyly.
"And the Butterfly Miraculous?" The room quieted back down, no shuffling of fabric or soft chuckles. "I know the three of us have talked about it," She motioned with one hand between herself and the cuddled pair, "And you said that the balance has been thrown off enough that you may have to find another Holder to even the score—some good to lighten up all the evil Hawk Moth did."
"I remember," Marinette said, sitting up straight again. "And it is true; something needs to be done. But…" She shared a glance with Adrien. "I don't think Paris is ready for another Butterfly just yet. We're going to try waiting it out a bit, to see if having the five of us together will do anything to even the scales." She didn't sound too sure, but Alya didn't persist.
Instead, the red-head turned to Sabine. "Mrs. Dupain-Cheng," She began again, voice sounding fresh and overflowing with excitement. "Tell us, did Marinette's being Ladybug put any strain on your relationship with your daughter, or with your husband?"
Sabine smiled. "At first, perhaps, when we only suspected. But we saw the good she was doing, and what she was risking to do it. We understood that if it meant that much to Marinette, we would throw ourselves behind her."
"Now, being so close to your family, I seem to remember some of her secret identity's exploits getting Marinette into some trouble—a few groundings and lectures. Some angry glares." Alya probed.
"We had to keep up appearances." Sabine shrugged. "It was mostly an act. We knew that Marinette protected her secret intensely, and we didn't want to spoil that for her, so we played along. What kind of parents would we be if we didn't punish our daughter for not attending class or sneaking out in the middle of the night. To be fair, we did let her off on as much as we could."
Marinette looked like she was calculating in her head and nodded in agreement. "You could definitely have done worse. Looking back now, I'm amazed I didn't realize what you were doing."
Alya turned to Adrien. Her face fell a bit. "Adrien," She spoke a little quieter, more seriously, "I know this is a sensitive subject, but I would not be worth my stripes as a reporter if I didn't ask: How did your secret affect your own…family life."
Chat smiled tensely at her, and Marinette took his hand again. "I understand. And…to be honest? My father barely noticed anything was different. He…wasn't the same after Mom died; I think he shut himself down. We were already rarely speaking or seeing each other outside of public appearances or my work as a model. Now, I did have to miss a few shoots. Those absences didn't go over well." He didn't embellish. As Alya opened her mouth to ask a question, Marinette caught her eye and shook her head.
"Okay, well, I think it's time to go to some questions from our viewers. Now, as this isn't live, we won't have any reactions to questions already asked. However, my guests have agreed to allow a follow up interview—off screen—to answer some of them. We won't be able to get to all of them, but we will try, and I will upload a couple of answers a day." Alya said into the camera, picking up a stack of colored index cards she had printed out earlier. She tapped them on the edge of the table, then read, "This one is from LadyChat06732: We all know that Ladybug and Chat Noir are meant for each other. Who fell in love with whom first, and how?"
Marinette and Adrien shared a long loving glance, smiling into each other's eyes. "I think," Marinette said, "Adrien—or, should I say, Chat Noir—fell in love first."
Adrien placed his free hand on his chest. "You wound me, Milady." He mocked, and she swatted his thigh. "But I believe you are correct. As I recall, you didn't fall in love with me until later that same day." She blushed and nodded. "I remember the moment I realized I was head over heels. We were in the stadium, fighting Stone Heart, and you were so brave and confident and poised, and I was hopeless after that."
Marinette blushed deeper. "As I recall, Chat Noir was an uncontrollable flirt who rushed into danger without sparing a thought to caution," She tapped her chin in mock contemplation. "You know what, nothing's changed there, really."
"Hey," He laughed, pulling her into him and ruffling her hair, making her scrunch her nose at him.
"Don't 'hey' me, kitty, you know I'm right. Anyway," She turned back to Alya. "Remember that first day we met, all those years ago in the classroom. I thought this one stuck gum on my seat." She poked Adrien in the ribs. "Even though he was just trying to get it off. I thought he would be just like Chloe," She turned an apologetic eye to Chloe across from her, "No offense, just…we didn't really get along back then, and we were always going after each other." Chloe nodded and didn't argue. "But then, after school, it was raining. He offered me his umbrella, so sweetly, and ran off into the rain. That was the moment I was a goner."
"So you fell for his civilian self, and you," She turned her pointing finger on Adrien, "fell in love with her super hero identity. You were in love with each other for five years and made Nino and me sit through all that angst because you couldn't talk to each other?" She gaped at them. Nino choked on a laugh, covering it with a cough. The heroes shrugged, and she shook her head as she shuffled to the next card. "This one is from MariChat27: Now the sightings of Marinette and Chat Noir together, and the rumor of their relationship, make more sense. They were totally drawn together even without the masks. I have to know though, were the rumors true? Did you ever get together as Marinette and Chat Noir?"
Marinette shook her head firmly. "Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Not once."
"Well," Adrien drawled out, "Chat did ask Marinette out several times, but she kept telling him no."
"What was I supposed to do? Jump into a relationship knowing you were in love with Ladybug, and deal later with the backlash of you finding out I was lying to you, and you accusing me of playing with your feelings and being needlessly cruel?" Marinette narrowed her eyes at him.
"Okay, okay, I admit, the logistics of it make sense. I was just answering the question honestly." He assuaged. "Next question?" He pleaded Alya with his eyes.
Laughing, she shuffled. "From batling6: This might be a difficult question, but do you think Hawkmoth ever knew that Adrien was Chat Noir? Or about Ladybug's identity?"
Chat frowned, eyes unfocusing as he mulled it over. "I don't think he did." He answered slowly. "Or, at least, if he did, it wasn't until the very end. He left me a letter, after he died. His lawyer said it was given to him only a couple weeks before. This kind of letter…he would have said, if he'd known. Besides. Hawkmoth would have definitely taken advantage of information that valuable."
Satisfied with the answer, and knowing they were closing in on their time limit, Alya moved on. "This was an anonymous question: Why was Ladybug's magic not able to save Hawk Moth? I'm not throwing blame, just a curious bystander who asks the awkward questions everyone else is too polite to."
Marinette frowned. "The Miraculous aren't all-powerful. We can't bring back the dead. Our suits protect us from a lot of the harm, by letting the Kwami absorb most of the impact. This means they will be weaker for a while, but they are old and strong, hundreds of times stronger than we are. And my power will heal most injuries and sicknesses, and all the physical damage, caused by an akuma—well, any negative use of a Miraculous, really—but nothing not caused by the akuma. For instance, if there were to be a gunfight, and people were injured, my charm doesn't heal that. That was simply an act of human chaos and cruelty. My power works to balance out the good and evil of the world. The Miraculous are agents of changing this balance, so it affects them. Hawkmoth…died before I could get to him. His Kwami absorbed as much of the impact as he could, but it was too much."
"Asking from my perspective," Alya broke in, "Why is it that you have to wait until the akuma is purified before using your power?"
Marinette opened her mouth to speak, and realized she didn't have the answer. Instead, she turned to Shield, who spoke on cue. "The power of the Ladybug Miraculous is released by purifying the energy of the akuma. Without that corruption of good magic, she cannot harness and release that magic."
Alya still didn't quite understand, but she nodded anyway. "From darkdance00: Who do you think you're fooling? Everyone can see that the three new heroes are the three friends that went into hiding with them: Alya, Nino, and Chloe." She looked up into the camera. "I chose this question specifically to tell you the truth: I am not, nor have I ever been, a masked vigilante superhero. This is also why I invited Nino and Chloe. The three of us are sitting here, with the three heroes we are accused of being sitting across from us. This is a rumor that is picking up steam and is 100% not. True. Please, stop. These kinds of rumors could endanger those you are talking about, and their friends and families." Her tone was admonishing and stern, but tinged with a hint of fear. "To continue," She raised the next card, "Again from darkdance00, after I had a similar conversation with them: If you three aren't the new heroes, what were you doing all those weeks cooped up with Chat Noir and Ladybug? A much more interesting question."
Nino waved at the camera. "I would also like to assure everyone that I am not, in fact, a superhero, and that my DJ-ing night-job is still completely in tact now that I'm back out in the world. Also, the weeks we were in hiding are seriously not that interesting. We played a lot of cards."
Chloe snickered. "You two suck at poker." She looked at the camera. "I took them for everything they had. Every time."
"We also made a lot of sweets. Marinette taught us how to make some of her family recipes. Well, she sat on the couch and watched us like a hawk, and occasionally threw a wooden spatula at us when we didn't follow her specific instructions." Alya cupped a hand on one side of her mouth and leaned towards the camera, stage whispering dramatically, "She's a tyrant."
"Hey, I heard that!" Marinette reached for one of the couch pillows behind her and threw it at Alya who caught it effortlessly.
"We also took some self-defense lessons from Adrien. By which I mean he beat us mercilessly and we were expected to learn something from it." Nino continued.
"It wasn't that bad," Adrien groaned, grinning broadly. "I even let you win a few times, which is more that Tyrant Ladybug ever let me when we were sparring in the beginning."
"I still say you were too soft on them," Marinette narrowed her eyes in contemplation. "I never let you win because I wanted your first victory to be a true win. And you became all the stronger for it." She nodded, like she had just passed on a piece of Confucius-esque wisdom to the viewers and those in the room.
"I can vouch for Chat and Alya, she is a Tyrant." Vixen piped up. Shield and Honey both nodded vigorously, all six in the room that had been under her tutelage rubbing at phantom sore-spots where the woman had landed particularly hard blows. "Even injured as she was, she was able to work us at least twice as hard as Chat would."
"Oh, and, yes, viewers, the six of us were together for much of that time, and we did sometimes train in the same rooms. We did not, however receive the same training, or the same vigor behind it. They were learning offensive strategy. We were learning defensive." Alya said. "So, yes, we know each other, but, no, we don't know their identities. Or, at least, I don't. Which isn't saying much." She frowned, then glanced at Nino and Chloe, who grinned and shook their heads, declinging to answer.
Alya looked past the camera at something off stage. "And that's our queue. Looks like it's time to be wrapping up. I didn't get to quite as much as I wanted to. But, again, remember to send me your questions. I will try to avoid repeats, but will get to as many as I can. You can go to my website for all forms of ways of contacting me with these questions. And, now, until next time, remember, heroes are all around us." The screen snapped black again, and the news anchor appeared on the screen, looking down at her cellphone.
"Well, Paris, you heard it here. And everywhere, I guess." She looked like she was processing some of the information. Before she could go on, the TV was clicked off.
Marinette set the remote on the table. Alya was already scanning through messages, her computer tolling off comment after comment. "So? How are they taking it?"
"Patience, grasshopper." The red-head muttered, sifting through it all. Another minute went by. Then another.
"Please tell me it worked," Squeaked the small voice of Trixx, Alya's kwami, who was sitting and munching of a pile of shredded beef jerky. "Three transformations and an hour of editing to avoid showing it. That was an intense workout, girly."
"I know," Alya said. "I'm sorry. I just had to get rid of those rumors. I want to keep my life like it is." She paused and glanced up at Marinette and Adrien. "Sorry." She returned to the screen. "Okay, it looks like no one has noticed any lapses. And there haven't been many negative comments. They are noticing we didn't touch much on the monument the city is still building, or the plan of faking Mari's death."
"I wish we could have gotten that in there somehow," Marinette mused.
"I know, but we only had so much time. This was supposed to be light. Besides, we planned for the two of you to release letters through the blog explaining in detail—and that is so much easier that trying to get two faces on a tv screen or computer monitor to sound sincere." Alya kept scrolling, eyes never leaving the laptop. She fell silent as she drifted into her cyber world.
"She'll be like this a while. Are you two ready to escape—I mean head home?" Nino said.
"Home sounds amazing." Marinette sighed, leaning her head into Adrien's chest, a weight lifted off her. They were taking it well. They ate the illusions. Finally, she felt like all of this really was going to blow over. Eventually.