Ladybug and Chat Noir were at the Luxembourg Gardens near the statue where they had first encountered Serket together as a team. "This is where it all started… for me at least," Chat begun. "You had encountered Serket earlier, at the Trocadero."

"Not directly, Kitty… I only got on the scene after she left. After she Stung Alya, the Ladyblogger girl." Ladybug shuddered at the memory. "I saw the video though and I talked with the other girl that was there: Marinette. You remember her from Evillustrator, right?"

"Among other things," Chat said evasively. "Did she have any insight?"

"She mentioned that Serket attacked Alya because Alya was running toward her and everybody else was running away. You know her… always trying to get the scoop for an akuma fight. Serket Stung her and grabbed her phone before giving people a little message. Here, I've got it on my yo-yo."

She flipped open her yo-yo and played back the encounter. They saw a jittery video as Alya bounded down the stairs of the Trocadero, then an abrupt jolt as she was Stung. The camera moved as it was picked up, then aimed at Alya. A gloved finger passed over the lens before the camera was turned and showed the top half of Serket's head as she broadcast her declaration.

Chat frowned. 'Hmm… if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Serket has never used a phone camera before. She pointed it in the wrong direction at first, and then aimed it too high."

"That's interesting, Kitty… you're right. I wonder if that's helpful? Anyway… next time we saw her, she was here. We were fighting Remote Control and Serket appeared, again, out of nowhere."

"If it weren't for her, I don't think we ever would have defeated that akuma - he got distracted by Serket and I was able to break his object so you could purify the butterfly. But Serket didn't *do* anything that time, did she?"

"She announced herself to me - told me to tell the Guardian that 'vengeance was coming to bring justice.' So she knew who I was, and knew that the Guardian was nearby… but that was a peculiar choice of words." Ladybug's eyes lit up. "I think I know what that means now - the Lucky Charm object I conjured to try to free Alya from the Sting was a small turtle… I had already gone to Master Fu and spoke with him, and we had figured out that it was likely that Serket was a Miraculous holder. This gave us the clue that her kwami was the kwami of vengeance."

"Was that before or after we visited Jalil Kubdel?"

"It was… well, I visited Master Fu before that, then we visited Jalil, then Serket showed up here. I know it wasn't that long ago, but so much has happened since then it might as well have been a month or so for how good my memory is."

"And it was at Jalil's office that we learned that scorpions and snakes are natural enemies. Which probably explains the endless parade of snake-themed heroes," Chat said playfully.

"It wasn't an endless parade, Chat! There were two! And the second one actually beat Serket for a few seconds… but we're getting ahead of ourselves."

"That's right… before that, Serket showed up at Notre Dame and not only defeated the akuma for us, she Stung the butterfly. That got Hawk Moth out of our hair… but I think we paid a price for that. Plus one hundred points for effectiveness, but minus several million for method."

"We next fought her at City Hall, with Viperion -"

"Snake hero number one."

"Hush, Kitty. We were huddling on the roof of City Hall, and Serket spotted us… no, wait, she heard us. Specifically, Viperion - she said we brought someone she didn't recognize… but we were still out of sight. I have no idea how she could have heard him when she was on the ground and we were on the roof."

"She went after Viperion after we landed… she was pretty good with that sceptre of hers, both at City Hall and at h- the Agreste mansion. It was all I could do to keep up with her and I'm a trained fighter."

"You're getting ahead of yourself again, Chat. If I remember correctly, you activated Cataclysm against her."

"I wasn't going to Cataclysm her, my Lady. I was just planning on getting that sceptre out of her hands. Or maybe wherever her Miraculous is, by some stroke of luck. Remember with Queen Wasp, I had to destroy the Miraculous in order to free the butterfly. She had already tagged you and Viperion with it, and I had no interest in becoming victim number three. She managed to escape without any of us getting Stung or her getting Cataclysmed."

"And after that, the Agreste mansion, where she Stung you." Ladybug shuddered.

"I did my best there! I was just overmatched. She was very fast and didn't react to my normal distracting techniques… not that I was able to try a lot of them," he reasoned. "She used some sort of fencing move I hadn't seen before to leap behind me, and that's when I got Stung. I've got… let's say, a reputation as being pretty good in combat. I'm pretty cat-thletic, if you will, and with how quickly she got the best of me my pride was more hurt than my side."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "So you were out of commission when she showed up at the Trocadero."

"Snake hero number two," grinned Chat.

"Yes, Chat… snake hero number two. Which was funny… Serket for some reason thought Aspik was you at first -" Chat flinched slightly "- and it was really easy to sneak up on her when Aspik was drawing her away from me. He even managed to do it twice, which I would not have expected. It's almost as if she was distracted, or her hood was affecting her peripheral vision or something..."

"And Aspik actually succeeded in defeating Serket," Chat added, grinning.

"Aspik's weapon was effective - until her friend swooped down and… wait! Chat! He shouted 'Justice fire!' before he picked up Serket… and I bet if we watch the video of what happened at the TV station, he'll have said it again. Vengeance is coming to bring justice… Serket's savior must be another Miraculous holder! That's the only explanation!"

"I don't like our chances against two Miraculous holders… especially one who seems willing to burn everything down…"

"I don't like that either, Kitty… there's got to be some sort of advantage we can figure out."

"What was the lucky charm object you got this morning? A small book?"

"Oh, Kitty… it was a dictionary. I couldn't figure out what kind of dictionary it was, though. The one side had words, the other side had dots. Maybe my Lucky Charm magic went into overdrive and everything wound up spotted."

"No, that's it! Bug, those weren't spots… think about it! Serket couldn't aim the camera. She heard us well before she could see us at City Hall… but we were really far away. She didn't know that Aspik wasn't me… and one thing I noticed when we had her surrounded at City Hall: she wasn't watching us with her eyes, she was 'watching' us with her ears. Oh no, those weren't spots in that dictionary, Bug. It was Braille. I will bet you all the cookies in Paris that our friend Serket is blind."

"Blind? But she's so good at hand-to-hand combat… even if her abilities were enhanced by the Miraculous, she has to have some skills outside of the suit to be that good. Blind and good at combat… I guess that narrows down the list of possible suspects."

Chat Noir closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and murmured "I think I have a very good idea where to start. But… I'll need to do it as a civilian. Give me some time this afternoon, and I can report back tonight?"

"I'll be busy tonight, Chat… but will be able to text you if you get any updates. Will that work?"

"It will have to, my Lady. I just hope I'm wrong." He gave a half-hearted salute and leaped away.

Chat entered his bedroom via the window and de-transformed. He immediately pulled his phone out of his pocket, opened up the messaging app, and paused. I know what I need to know, but I'm not sure how to ask it. Let's see where this conversation goes…

[Adrien] Hey, have some news for you! Got a sec?

[Kagami] News? Already? This is unlike you. Either you gave up or hit the jackpot. Which one is it?

[Adrien] ha ha very funny. Jackpot, if you must know

[Kagami] O.o WHAT? tell me more

[Adrien] found out a certain superhero likes me back

[Kagami] and HOW did you manage that one?

[Adrien] I can't exactly say. Let's put it this way… friend of a friend

[Kagami] well, I'll be. And how are you going to follow up on this?

[Adrien] dunno tbh. Something else going on that I can't tell you about but will probably help me out

[Kagami] Mr. Secretive. OK, fine, be that way. And when does this something else happen?

[Adrien] tonight

[Kagami] who are you and what have you done with Adrien Agreste

[Adrien] :-P

Adrien paused. Might as well dive right in.

[Adrien] I'll keep you posted. Your mom got you doing fencing stuff again tonight?

[Kagami] Already done. She's entertaining her houseguest right now.

[Adrien] that's cool that you get to work together. Umm… don't mean to sound rude, but…

[Kagami] Yes, she's blind. It's OK. She's got great instincts. Her fundamentals are all there still, and when she was champion, she was able to anticipate her opponents' moves. That's how she was so successful

[Adrien] Was she blind when she was champion, then? Sorry, don't mean to be rude

[Kagami] I told you, it's OK. I'm proud of her. She still had her sight when she was a champion.

[Adrien] oh, cool. Umm… if it's not rude, how did she go blind? Sickness?

[Kagami] no… she doesn't really like to talk about it. She was attacked and blinded for some reason that I don't know… something to do with her family. My family, too, of course

[Adrien] Oh no! I can't imagine that. How did she handle it?

[Kagami] she was bitter for a while, as you can imagine. but she made do. got some jobs instructing younger students, did speaking engagements, the usual motivational crap

[Adrien] enough to live off of it seems, no offense

[Kagami] yeah, it's her first love and she was happy to do it. Still… there's always been something about her I just couldn't place. She always drove me to be a good fencer and a good combatant… well, not just good, but the best. That's why I went to Mr. Dargencourt's class. She always told me to keep the family's honor above all other things. From what I can tell, whatever she was blinded for had to do with someone dishonoring her family.

[Adrien] I'm sorry. I had no idea

[Kagami] stop apologizing

[Kagami] she's in a much better place. That houseguest has really boosted her spirits. She was on the boards of some companies, mostly ceremonial stuff, but ever since this guy came over, it's like she's had a new energy. I can't describe it.

[Adrien] that's good to hear. Old family friend?

[Kagami] I never asked… his name's Mr. Chou. Doesn't sound like a name I'm familiar with but things like that were never my strong suit. Old guy. Chinese. Polite, quiet, keeps to himself.

[Adrien] i see

[Adrien] sorry, bad choice of words

[Kagami] you apologize while talking to me one more time I'm going to walk over there and hit you

Adrien typed "sorry" out of instinct and quickly erased it before typing a new message.

[Adrien] can we talk strategy tomorrow?

[Kagami] given that something is happening tonight if you still have anything to talk strategy about tomorrow, I'm game

[Adrien] cool. thanks, talk to you then

[Kagami] later

Adrien pocketed his phone and mentally reviewed what Kagami had told him. Blind… fencer… practicing… and a mysterious houseguest who arrived around the time Serket showed up. I'll see what Ladybug thinks, but I think we have our Serket… and possibly our mystery person too. Ladybug's going to be busy moving here tonight… so I can't talk to her as Chat until tomorrow. Unless there's some way for me to get around it, we've got the night off. And frankly, I could use the night off.

Adrien relaxed by playing the piano until Ladybug showed up. At around nine o'clock, there was a light thump at his windowsill and a tentative knock. He got up, walked around the bench, and let Ladybug in. "Hey," he greeted her. "Glad you're here. How can I help?"

"Adrien, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"What'd you tell your parents?"

"They think I'm staying with… another friend. They might get suspicious if I suddenly roomed with you… or with any boy, for that matter." Ladybug pinked and grinned slightly.

"No, that's understandable. Let's see… Father is generally in his office, and Nathalie is still sick in bed, so my bodyguard will escort you to your room. Can I help carry anything?"

"Ordinarily I would say yes, but most of what I have to bring screams secret identity, and we can't have that just yet."

"Gotcha. The bodyguard has the key to the room, so you can keep it locked from the inside. I imagine you'll be leaving and entering by the window, in any case."

"I prefer to think of it as the VIP entrance, but yes, you're correct."

"VIP entrance, huh? Well, you came in my window, and you're a VIP, so I'd say that's accurate!" He blushed and giggled a bit deliriously. I can't believe Ladybug is here, and she's moving in, and she's going to be right down the hall and get a grip Agreste you are going to melt into a puddle of joy right here in front of her and then there will be no more Adrien for her to love.

Ladybug smiled. "Thanks, Adrien. If you can have your bodyguard lead me to the room, I'll get my things and get established. It will be nice to relax and feel safe... for a little while, at least." She watched Adrien walk to his door and knock sharply: di-dah-dit-dit, dah-di-dit-dit. His bodyguard opened the door, looked at Ladybug, and gestured for her to follow him.

After securing herself and her things in the room, Ladybug de-transformed and flopped down on the bed. Guest room, ha! This is better than any suite at Le Grand Paris. I could sit here and sink into the mattress all night long… or maybe soak in a hot bubble bath. I wonder if it has jacuzzi jets? She idly pulled out her phone and checked to see if she missed any calls or messages. The most recent call was Luka's failed attempt to reach her the day before. She sighed. I really should see how he's doing.

Just then, her flip phone buzzed in her purse. She pulled it out.

[Adrien] So… when you get settled… do you want to watch a movie or something?

Marinette bounced in place on the bed and started to squeal, but she closed her eyes and rubbed her face as her conscience tempered her excitement. This is going to turn into something I can't handle sooner or later… and probably already has, if I'm being honest. I'm sorry, Luka… this isn't fair to you. "Tikki?" she asked. "I can't do this anymore. With everything that's going on, I need someone I can be 100% myself with. Luka deserves more than I can give him right now… or maybe ever."

"Follow your heart, Marinette. Luka brings out a side of you that is wonderful to see. No relationship is perfect. You know deep down what's important to you and what you need." Tikki floated over and stroked her hair.

She opened the messaging app on her regular phone and started a new message. Her thumbs danced over the screen as she started, stopped, erased, and started a message anew. She hit Send and dropped her phone to her side, anxiety over the response she would get quickly bubbling to the surface.

Below decks in a houseboat, the buzzing of a phone interrupted the melancholy tones of Luka's guitar. Luka's stomach dropped a few inches when he saw the message.

[Pink stuff] Hey, you… hope you're doing ok. We need to talk.

Luka gulped and tapped out a reply.

[Luka] Sure. Call me when you can.

He pressed Send, then stared at the phone screen, waiting for the incoming call alert.

The phone vibrated and a picture of Marinette came on the screen.

He swiped right and answered, "Hello?"