"What the fuck?"
"I…did not see that coming," Adrien said as he stared at the new hero in shock.
"Argus, at your service." Rico bowed with a flourish of his hand and a confident smirk.
The others slipped between the bungee ropes and into the ring, standing alongside Marinette facing the newly dubbed Argus. Tikki and Plagg zipped around him, inspecting the suit. "Holy crap!" Plagg exclaimed as he settled on Adrien's shoulder, tail twitching. "He's the real deal, kid."
"You have the missing Peacock Miraculous?" Nino asked, brow furrowing.
"The one Esther had when she took Emma and fled?" Marinette was still frozen as Adrien asked the question.
"The very same one. Eyes down." Another flash of light left him standing right where he had been, with a small teal-colored Kwami floating next to his face. Five blurs of color descended on the Kwami with ecstatic laughter filling the room. A dog-pile of gods fell to the sparring mat, and everyone else in the room smiled, despite the shock, at the pure joy of the reunion.
"How did you come into possession of the Miraculous?" Marinette asked as she looked back up at her cousin. The others were still subtly surrounding her, creating a barrier between her and the unknown entity. She wanted to say they were being silly, that it wasn't necessary and that she didn't need protection from Rico—I mean, it was Rico—they had grown up together, played in the sprinklers together, chased chickens on her aunt's farm together. She had seen him snorting milk out of his nose and tripping over his own feet. He couldn't hurt her…except…he didn't use to be superpowered, or hiding a secret identity, and she could not deny the tiny blip of fear hiding at the back of her mind.
Rico waved his hand, dismissing her question like she had asked what was for dinner. "The Peacock Miraculous and Duusuu have been passed through our family for generations. Truly, it was meant to go to you, as it was your mother's when she was younger." Marinette's jaw dropped. "But, you were already Ladybug by the time she was ready to pass it down, and there was trouble brewing in Barcelona."
"So…it went to you," Marinette finished. Her mind was spinning, and there was a ringing in her ears she couldn't quite shake. "Wait…passed through our family…does that mean we are descended from Esther? I'm related to a past Ladybug?"
"And a past Chat Noir," Rico said with a grin.
Marinette's head was spinning. No, wait, the room was spinning. And someone was turning off the lights. Marinette felt a cold sweat break out over her forehead and frowned as her legs gave out. She was unconscious before she hit the mat.
"She's fine," a voice came to her slowly from out of the darkness. "It's just the pregnancy. Her blood sugar got a bit low is all, and then that shock."
Other voices joined it. "She was fine…just a friendly sparring session. Nothing intense, I swear."
"Not my fault – Duusuu please do be quiet." Marinette recognized that voice, familiar, a childhood comfort.
"Are you sure it's just blood sugar? The baby's okay?" And that voice. Her best comfort. Finally she pulled herself out of the tar pit in her mind, forcing her eyes open. It took more effort than usual, and she groaned as the light of the chandelier in the front den assaulted her.
Adrien was at her side in an instant. "Hey, bugaboo. You scared us half to death, there." He gripped her hand, kneeling by the couch.
Marinette sat up, Adrien's warm free hand on the small of her back, helping her. "I had the weirdest dream," she groaned.
As she looked up, she saw Rico smiling sheepishly in the loveseat across from her, with her mother sitting beside him. In her mother's palm was a teal-colored blur, and Sabine looked so happy, like a little girl again. "Not," Rico stated, raising a finger, "Strictly speaking, a dream, hermanita."
"Marinette?" Tikki asked quietly, hovering next to the girl's face. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she squeaked, a little too quickly, her eyes darting between her cousin and her mother and the newly acquainted Kwami. "Totally fine."
"Here," Master Fu appeared beside her, holding out a chocolate chip cookie and a cup of tea. "Eat this; you will feel better." She complied, and in truth, it did make her feel a bit better. She was still shocked beyond measure, and she did feel a tiny bit of betrayal, but the ringing in her ears had dissipated, and her headache was fading.
"Thank you," she murmured, dipping her head to her old Keeper. And he did look the part. He seemed to have aged at least ten years since she last saw him only a few weeks ago. Relinquishing his Miraculous had taken a lot out of him. "So how long have you, uh, well…" she trailed off.
"How long have I been Argus?" Rico asked. His never-failing grin was still plastered on his face, and Duusuu now moved to sit on his shoulder, reclining. "About four years ago, strange things began happening in Barcelona, like I said. There was this man, called himself El Pequeno Congrejo." Marinette raised her eyebrow. "I know, I know – 'the little crab' – It doesn't sound like a big villain name. But, come on. Hawkmoth?" Marinette conceded the point. "Congrejo held a Miraculous, not one of the original set, according to Duusuu, but from one of the minor sets, this one based off the twelve signs of western astrology."
Master Fu and Nino shared a look. "About that…" Nino began sheepishly. "You wouldn't happen to have, maybe, retrieved that Miraculous, have you?"
A small shimmer flashed through the air, and Nino caught it in his hand. When he opened his fist, he revealed a pink-colored worry stone, with the symbol for cancer, the crab, carved into the surface. "I was waiting for you to ask, Keeper," Rico answered with a wink.
"Another lost charm returned home," Master Fu bowed his head. He turned to Rico and bowed. "This one was lost when my people were destroyed. We are indebted to you for its return." Rico shrugged.
"Anyway," he continued. "When we came up for your graduation party, Aunt Sabine explained our big family secret and passed Duusuu down to me."
"So the missing Peacock charm…was in my house?" Marinette's jaw dropped yet again. "For three years? And I never knew? You never knew?" She turned a flabbergasted look to Tikki, who looked as shocked as she did.
"I said I could sense Plagg. That's not because he is bonded to a Miraculous, it's because he's my mate," Tikki said. "I can't sense the others."
"The real kicker?" Rico said conspiratorially, leaning forward. "You wore the Miraculous in your wedding." He reached into his shirt and pulled free the jewel-encrusted pendant she had worn down the aisle. Marinette squeaked in shock, covering her mouth, and Rico, Sabine, and Duusuu broke into fits of laughter. "Something old, something blue. And, well, it's sort of borrowed." Tikki smacked her hand against her forehead in exasperation. It had been right there. She had seen it, and not noticed a thing. "That whole speech about love blinding you, that was pure gold." Adrien covered his face in his hands.
"So we know you're a Holder, too, now." Alya said, pushing through their oblivious moment. "Where do we go from here?"
Marinette shook herself, pausing for only a moment to get her bearings. "We continue as planned. We find a way to track D'Rake. We stay on patrol. We find the enemy and destroy it, before any harm comes to anyone else. Oh, and Rico?" He raised his eyebrows. "You're staying at the mansion. Period. And don't expect to be able to keep your identity secret for long."
"No problem, hermanita. It wasn't so secret back in Barcelona, anyway." Duusuu shrugged. "We aren't as shy as the others," the two said in unison.
Marinette ignored the comment and moved to the war room. She began moving the patrol schedule around. "Two on, four off. Cycle through shifts."
Adrien stepped up behind her. "No, bugaboo," he said quietly. "Two on, three off." She spun to glare at him. Before she could argue, he placed a hand on either side of her stomach, which was protruding a bit, visible in her tight yoga pants and tank top. "You need to remain here. We have to have someone at home base to coordinate with. And besides, we can't have anyone discovering our secret. They will if they see a baby bump in those pics on the Ladyblog." She opened her mouth to butt in, but he shook his head. "Besides, you said it yourself. You are on a time limit. You can't be doing the heavy lifting, the hard workouts. You can't risk a fall or a misplaced kick in a fight. You're right. This is a fight where we will absolutely need Ladybug, and Ladybug is more vulnerable than ever."
Marinette bowed her head a moment, pulling back tears, and nodded, erasing her name from the schedule. "If you need me, you better call," she said. "None of that saving me from danger crap if Ladybug needs to be there. Understood?" They all nodded. "And don't forget you have the Paris Police force behind you as well. Use them as best you can. And communicate with each other, and with me. Don't spare me the details because you think I'm frail."
"You haven't been frail a day in your life, Milady," Adrien said, kissing her on the forehead. "And besides, this isn't just about protecting you. It's about protecting our little catbug."
There was a heartbeat of silence. "What did you just call our baby?" Marinette asked through a growing grin.
Adrien blushed. "I said that out loud didn't I?" she nodded, laughing. "It was just…Nino said it first!" He pointed to his friend, who was holding back laughter, his arm around Alya. "He's the one that showed me those videos and I just…couldn't get it out of my head."
"It's adorable," Marinette said, pecking him on the cheek. "Our little catbug will be just fine. They are already surrounded by a huge family that is going through so much to protect them. And you're right. This isn't about me." She sighed and turned back to the whiteboard in front of her. The light tone that had burgeoned fell away, and the room became grim once more. "'Once more unto the breech,'" Marinette quoted solemnly, as they gathered to begin planning for what would become the most trying time of their lives.
Author's Note: I am so sorry guys. There really just isn't an excuse for why I've been gone. I just kind of...disappeared off the face of the Earth. My fault, mostly. But I'm back, hopefully for a long while. Thank you so much for your continued love and support. I hope you enjoy this chapter, with the promise of more on the way!