Marinette woke up Saturday morning to the sound of her phone buzzing. Half-awake, she swiped at the screen and saw this message:
[Adrien] Hey Marinette, does the offer to have me come over and model for you still stand? I've got a ton of clothes I want to show you.
Marinette considered the message. I'm not going to complain if my morning fills up. He probably needs some company, too. Of course I'll help him out.
[Marinette] Sure! What time were you thinking?
[Adrien] Actually… I'm outside now, if that's okay.
Marinette jumped, startled. WAAAAGH! He's outside *right now*? This is a disas- actually, no, it's not. You can do this, Marinette! The boy needs a friend. Be that friend. Besides, now that you're not crushing on him anymore like a lovesick fool, you should be able to talk with him like a normal person!
[Marinette] Give me five minutes and I'll be down to let you in. Hang on
She tossed the phone on her bed and quickly changed out of her pajamas. She fixed her hair and touched up her makeup in the mirror, then went downstairs.
Adrien was waiting outside with three large shopping bags. He was wearing faded blue jeans, sandals, and a white t-shirt with a picture of the Eiffel Tower on it. Gorgeous as always, Marinette thought. He's not wearing his usual ensemble, though… in fact, none of those clothes look like anything Gabriel's put out in the past few years. I wonder if his dad knows that the face of his brand is wearing… stuff that looks like it's from a vintage shop. Hmm. Marinette greeted him with la bise, grabbed one of the bags, and carried it all the way upstairs to her bedroom. Adrien put his two shopping bags down and smiled. "I can't wait for you to see some of this stuff," he grinned.
"You weren't kidding when you said you were going for a new look," Marinette commented.
"Is… is that okay?" He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Adrien, why do you ask? If the clothes you wear make you feel good, then go for it! You'll look great in anything, to be honest," she trailed off, blushing.
Adrien pinked in response. "Um… that's very kind of you to say! I only asked because I know you're a fan of my modeling, and I wouldn't want to disappoint you by wearing, well," he gestured to himself, "this."
"Well, Mr. Model, I certainly appreciate the opportunity for a private show. Let's see what you've got!" She placed her privacy screen between her desk and her chaise, sat down in her desk chair, and laughed. "I give you a solid seven out of ten on the first outfit."
Adrien grinned in response. "Seven out of ten, huh? It's because we don't have the right environment. Hang on." He pulled his phone out and started playing the latest Mr. XY single. "No true modeling show is complete without crappy dance music!" He picked up his bags and disappeared behind the privacy screen.
Marinette waited, heartbeat racing as she watched the silhouette of Adrien's jeans and shirt fall to the ground behind the screen. You dork! You have a boyfriend - what on earth are you doing?! This boy has been through the wringer I don't know how many times over, you should be his friend, not drooling at… oh! Adrien emerged and struck a dramatic pose. He was wearing beach shorts in a familiar shade of green and a white tank top.
Marinette clapped and said, "Mayyyybe an eight out of ten. Those shorts match your eyes."
Adrien gave a thumbs-up and disappeared behind the screen again. The pile of clothes on the floor grew larger, and she heard him rummaging around in the bags.
"Go to him," a voice at her shoulder said.
Marinette paused. Great, this is just like the cartoons with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other shoulder! My brain is trying to sabotage me… there's a gorgeous, mostly-naked boy just over there, and I'm hearing voices - she turned to the source of the voice. "Sass!" she whisper-shouted. "What on earth are you doing?"
"You never put the Miraculous back in the Miracle Box. I've been watching you for the last little bit. This is the boy whose pictures you have on the walls, yes?"
Marinette nodded, dumbfounded.
"You should definitely go see what he looks like under all of those clothes. Should I observe and describe it for you?"
Marinette's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. Sass floated in the air, a sly smile on his face. Before Marinette could get any response out, Adrien called "Here I come!" from behind the screen. A red blur tackled Sass and the two kwamis disappeared into a corner.
This time, Adrien was wearing an orange baseball cap, a yellow t-shirt with faded lettering on the front, and dark blue jeans. He strutted up to Marinette, smirked, and said, "Well?"
"Four out of ten. You shouldn't cover up your hair like that. And those colors do not work very well with your complexion."
A vaguely familiar pout crossed Adrien's face, which he quickly replaced with a wide smile. "I think I've got just the thing then, Marinette… oh! Speaking of trying things on, how is my outfit for the battle of the bands coming?"
"Shoot! Thanks for reminding me! It's ready… let me get that for you and you can try it on, then we can continue the fashion show." She gathered the shirt and pants, then passed them over to Adrien. "Careful, I haven't done the final sewing on it yet."
"I will be!" He smiled and disappeared behind the screen again.
Marinette sat back down in her desk chair and spun around. Out of the corner of her eye, it looked like Tikki was angrily scolding Sass. She cocked her head in that direction and tried to listen. "...boyfriend and she is happy and you have no reason to be up to your usual tricks like that…" she heard. Geez, I'm glad I've never gotten on Tikki's bad side! I can't *believe* I forgot to put the Miraculous back! I've gotta get better about that... Her train of thought was interrupted by a figure in black and green. Adrien was trying to put his hair back into place after taking off the previous outfit's hat. Hair rumpled, he looked at Marinette, a rakish grin on his face.
"I like this, Marinette!" He was wearing form-fitting black pants with a thin neon green stripe up each leg. His black button-down shirt had three neon green stripes diagonally slashed across the front. "Black and green are definitely my colors."
Marinette whistled appreciatively. "I'm glad you like it. Now hold still so I can see where I need to alter this." She grabbed some chalk from her desk.
Adrien watched her move around him. This is Marinette with her game face on, he observed. Determination… precison… His thoughts drifted to the day before, when he had seen a similar look on… stop it! He shook his head gently to clear his mind, then smiled at Marinette when she looked questioningly at him.
"Lift your arms up a sec," Marinette gently commanded, and Adrien obliged. "Okay, right here... this is too tight." She put her hand on his chest to keep the fabric from moving underneath the chalk. Unwittingly, she became transfixed by his heartbeat and the gentle rise and fall of his breath...
"Marinette? Are you ok? It looks like you hit the paws button."
She grabbed her hand back as if it had been shocked. "Sorry," she mumbled. Was that… a *cat pun*? I must be reading too much into things… She chalked the seam where the sleeve met the shirt, then moved to the other side to make a similar mark. "I'm done. Go ahead and get changed, and I'll make these alterations later."
"You got it, Marinette!" He smiled and moved behind the screen, leaving Marinette to slump in her desk chair, head spinning.
Adrien excused himself at one o'clock to go eat lunch and get ready for a "thing" that he had later that afternoon. At three o'clock, Marinette changed into an all-black dress, black shoes, and put her hair up in a bun. She joined her mother at the front of the bakery and walked with her to the community center. Inside, there was a large room decorated with large floral arrangements and pictures of Master Fu. Where did they get all of these pictures? I never saw his apartment decorated with them... or any photo albums, for that matter. She saw Marianne wearing a white dress with a red stripe on it. She caught Marinette's eye and shook her head imperceptibly. Marinette nodded back and continued to help Sabine set the table for the post-wake meal.
People started to arrive for the wake at about 3:45. One by one, they walked up to Marianne and paid their respects, then placed a white envelope in the casket. Marinette recognized a couple of regular customers from the bakery, including Mr. Chou. She jumped when she saw a familiar blond boy dressed from head to toe in black. What is Adrien doing here? Keep it together, Marinette… he probably has a good reason. She overheard him talking with one of the other attendees in Mandarin. Oh yeah, I almost forgot he speaks Chinese… this is what happens when I stop keeping track of his daily schedule, I guess.
Marinette had a chance to approach Adrien after the meal. "Hey… what brings you by here?"
"Marinette! I see your family is helping out with the food… did you know Mr. Chan at all?"
"Oh, um... my mom's a member of the community center here. She helps out at things like this sometimes. I'm here to support her."
"That's cool. Mr. Chan helped tutor me in Chinese sometimes. I figured I should show up and pay my respects. I don't really know anybody here, though. Father wanted me to learn Chinese a few years ago, and I just stuck with it. I kind of fell in love with the culture."
"Wow, I had no idea. Small world," Marinette grinned.
"It certainly is," Adrien agreed. He nodded to the woman who had moved behind Marinette. "My condolences," he said in Mandarin.
"Thank you, young man," Marianne responded in French. "Miss, can I talk to you for a second? I want to see if your bakery can help me out with something."
"Of course! I'm happy to help out. Talk to you later, Adrien. It was good seeing you."
"It was good seeing you too, Marinette. Take care." Adrien went over to another small group of people and began talking to them.
Marianne pulled Marinette discreetly into a corner of the room. "I have something for you. Fu asked me to give this to you personally."
Marinette swallowed and nodded.
"First… this bracelet is your responsibility now." Marianne pulled the Turtle Miraculous from a side pocket on her dress and placed it in Marinette's hand.
Marinette looked at it, choked back a sob, and quickly pocketed it.
"There, there, child… you will always associate the Turtle with Fu. He was a good Guardian and an exceptional mentor to you."
"Thank you, Miss Lenoir." Marinette turned to leave.
"Wait," Marianne commanded. "I have one more thing for you. It is very important that you have this." She passed a small yellow envelope to Marinette. "As Guardian, you must know the identity of each of the Miraculous holders, in case you need to retrieve their Miraculous or come to their aid at any time."
Marinette's eyes widened and her mouth opened. "That's…" she whispered, and stopped herself.
"Your instincts are correct. This envelope contains the identity of Chat Noir. Now, I must caution you: you are in a delicate situation here. As Ladybug, knowing his identity without his knowing yours will throw your partnership out of balance. You may find yourself acting differently around him, or preventing him from acting in a way that would save you. Ladybug and Chat Noir should always be in balance. However… as Guardian, if you need to heal his kwami, he will have to come to you, without either of you knowing who each other is. That will be very tricky, but you will have to manage it."
"I'm not sure I should have this," Marinette said, attempting to give the envelope back.
"You must. It is part of your responsibility as the Guardian of the Miraculous. The water is on the stovetop. You will know when it is boiling." Marinette jolted at the familiar metaphor. "Now, go. Keep this in a very safe place. Soon, there will be only one person who knows the identity of your beloved cat." She smiled tenderly. "Look after him and take care of him. You will need him more than you think." She walked off and left Marinette alone with her thoughts.
Mr. Chou left the wake after taking a picture of the guest book. That was Fu Wang! I would recognize that face anywhere. He must have chosen a new Guardian before he passed. It stands to reason that one of the people at the wake is that person. I talked to everybody there and now that I have a list of who they are, my journey to the Miracle Box is that much shorter! After so long… vengeance will be mine!
Marinette was laying in her bed, holding the yellow envelope at her side. The events of that day were racing through her mind. The trapdoor banged open and Tikki dove behind Marinette's pillow to hide. Sabine yelled, "Marinette! Sorry for waking you up… I hope you didn't forget anything this afternoon! I just got a phone call — the community center burned to the ground!"
Marinette bolted upright. "Did they get Mast… I mean, Mister Chan's body out of there?"
Sabine nodded. "Yes, the funeral home came and took care of it immediately after the wake was done. The decorations were still up, though. We weren't going to take those down until tomorrow."
Marinette sighed. "That's good. That stinks about the community center, though."
"I know. I wonder what caused that? It's strange…" Sabine tailed off, lost in thought. "Anyway, honey, good night. I just wanted to make sure you didn't have anything important there for some reason."
"Thanks, Mom." You're right… that *is* strange. Marinette shivered as a chill raced down her spine.
A loud BANG came from the front of the Agreste mansion, followed by a series of smaller bangs as the security screens on Adrien's windows slammed shut.
Adrien leaped from his bed. "What's going on? Plagg! CLAWS OU-!"
The bedroom door burst open and prevented him from completing the call for his transformation. Nathalie ran in, breathless. "Serket is here, Adrien. You need to take shelter. Your bodyguard has already gone down to intercept her."
"What?! He can't stop her!" Adrien's mind flashed back to his encounters with Serket: Alya screaming on a video. An annihilated akuma. There is no way I am letting *anyone* in this house suffer like that. I need to ditch Nathalie and transform, but protocol means that Nathalie is going to stay with me while Father is protected by our bodyguard. I know we pay that man well, but this might be asking too much. Three Miraculous holders couldn't get the edge on Serket the last time we met!
In the foyer of the mansion, Serket faced off with the Agreste family bodyguard. "I know there is a Miraculous in this mansion. You will bring it to me. Now."
The bodyguard tensed and shook his head.
"Scorpion's Sting!" yelled Serket, and the tip of her was-sceptre glowed yellow.
"Stop." Gabriel Agreste's voice commanded from his office door. He was standing in the entryway, hands lightly clasped behind him. "I know what you are here for, and I assure you, it is not here anymore."
"Lies," hissed Serket. "I can sense the presence of a Miraculous here even now! You will give it to me, or feel what the Scorpion can do."
"What you seek is not here," insisted Gabriel. The bodyguard moved to get between Gabriel and Serket.
"You… are… lying…" breathed Serket. "Do not cause yourself any more trouble than you already have, Agreste. The Miraculous. Now." She moved toward the bodyguard, sceptre raised menacingly.
Gabriel looked between the rogue Miraculous holder and his bodyguard. Time stopped as the only noise was the breathing of the three people in the foyer.
The silence was broken by a chirp from one of Serket's bracelets. "Now," she commanded again.
"...Very well," conceded Gabriel. He held out his hands, and in it was a small blue brooch. "Here, take it. But I warn you… it will be of no use to you. It is damaged. I attempted to repair it, and failed."
"It is no matter. Once I have retrieved it, we will work to rebuild it. Nothing will stand in our way!" She extended her hand. The bodyguard took the brooch from Gabriel and placed it in Serket's hand, gaze never leaving her sceptre.
The tense silence was broken by a strangled series of coughs coming from a door at the top of the stairs. Serket's head whipped toward the noise. "Well, well… what do we have here? Let's go see what other secrets your mansion holds."