It took me a bit, but I ended up with a chapter I was happy with. I accidentally kept using gendered pronouns for our cunning 'friend' Ghost Moth. I hope you like the end of the chapter. laughing maniacally.

Disclaimer- I would settle for a job offer... hear that Thomas? I don't even need to own MLB, just let m work on it... please? Well, even after Mr. Astruc contacts me (he will... I hope), I still won't own MLB. I also don't own the rights to the other works mentioned in this chapter, nor do I own Ellen or David Schwimmer... that would be called slavery, and is frowned upon in most societies.

Chapter 3- David Schwimmer

As Ghost Moth ordered Clueless Lonewolf to destroy Ladybug, Adrien stared at the wall in a mix of worry and boredom.

He knew Marinette could defeat this villain, but he was still worried. This fed into the second feeling, boredom. Adrien had no ring, and therefore no Plagg to talk to. He also had no TV, his phone lay in pieces on the ground, and Ghost Moth was more interested in Ladybug's defeat than spending time with "their Love".

"Pfft," Adrien thought,"This person doesn't understand love. If Marinette has taught me anything, it is that love is spelled T-I-M-E ".

Adrien vowed to shower his princess in attention, affection and adoration as soon as he was reunited with her.

"Hey, do you have anything to do?" he mumbled to his captor.

"Could you be a dear and start a kettle of tea?" that nauseatingly sweet voice called, still half attending to the battle, they halfheartedly pointed to a kettle and hot pad, a half dozen packets of tea beside them.

Adrien, in an attempt to banish the lingering sense of ennui, set off to the task, pouring over the possible ingredients.

Adrien decided on a mix of raspberry-hibiscus and chamomile, one of his favourites. Then he returned to his warden, hoping for another task.

They absentmindedly handed him a stack of magazines. "Here, make a collage, or read them, or something. Then once I've made sure to squash this bug, we can spend some quality time together".

Adrien shuddered, then began to read through them. Some old literature was in the stack. It consisted of celebrity weddings, Disney catalogs, and even a firearms magazine.

Adrien gulped. He hoped Ghost Moth wasn't in the market for a gun.

He shook off the sense of dread, and decided to act productively. "A collage could be a good clue," he ruminated.

If his plan worked, the collage would be unnecessary, but if it not, hopefully he would be able to get Purrrincess this clue. At the very least it would address mundane period of time.

Delicately he cut each magazine with the scissors provided to him, gluing objects and celebrities into a clue, while maintaining a sense of aesthetic in his piece.

By the time he had finished, the heroes had beat Ghost Moth's second Akuma. Carefully he slipped the scissors into his pocket.

The villain screamed in rage, then turned at Adrien. "Lone... Wolf... Bar," they spoke, realisation of Adrien's clue appearing witin their mind. Ghost Moth scowled and stormed out of the room.

Adrien placed the last touch on the collage, a single heart, with three little words inscribed in it. He suddenly heard the door reopen.

Ghost Moth walked behind him. Adrien only had a moment to wonder what was going on before he suddenly detected a sickly-sweet chemical smell.

"I hope Marinette makes it here soon," he thought, as the chloroform worked its magic.

Marinette and crew were hurrying, as they launched out of the apartment door, barely pausing to transform, before again racing to their destination.

The heroine savoured the gentle crunch of gravel beneath her foot. Each crackle was a symphony dedicated to Adrien's return. A reminder that she was almost home. That her little family would be whole again.

The group screeched to a halt as they reached The Lone Wolf Bar. It was then that a thought dawned on them as they beheld the sight. They didn't know where to go from here.

The bar lay ahead, its neon sign beckoning the newcomers. To the right stood a 3-story apartment complex, and to the left a warehouse. Directly opposite of the bar were some storage units.

"So... did Adrien happen to say where he was in any level of exactness? You know any psychic visions or anything?" Nino offered rather facetiously.

Alya snapped at him before Marinette could even process what was happening.

"If she could, she wouldn't need to drag someone like you around, would she?"

Marinette didn't even notice the fight. She scanned the windows, hoping to see her blond kitty banging on a window, or waving in urgency.

Nino cast his eyes downward in silence.

Mari continued her search. "Maybe he left footprints on the ground somewhere," she thought, looking for clues.

"Sorry, Babe. I didn't mean to snap at you," Alya apologized,"I know you joke around when you get worried".

"It's ok," he admitted,"I still shouldn't have said it".

Marinette interrupted the dialogue.

"We should split up. Ni--Carapace, check the bar, Rena, you have the storage units. I've got the warehouse. If someone finishes they can check the flats over there".

Ladybug took off in the direction of the warehouse. It looked rather old, and when she checked the door, she found the iron lock had corroded long ago. Sliding the door open slightly, she slipped through.

Pallet after pallet lined the massive room. A deep breath of musty air told her that this building had likely been out of use for some time, so she continued, checking behind each empty container and overturned crate.

"I wonder how Alya is doing," she wondered.

Rena was walking along the rows of storage units. Each concrete building had 5 garage doors mounted to them, and it looked like there were maybe 8 buildings.

"40 units, I can do that," she muttered unconfidently.

If she had been an officer of the law, she would have to obtain a warrant for each unit. As a vigilante-hero, though, she merely had to find a way it.

Crossing the cobblestone path, she spotted what appeared to be an office.

Time to work her illusionary magic.

"I excuse me, I'm Officer... Nalya," she claimed, using her powers to don a police uniform and a folder full of documents,"these are warrants to search each of your units.

The elderly man behind the counter nodded, and grabbed the keys.

An hour later she had found nothing (other than a homeless man living in one unit).

She ran to the apartment at the same time as Ladybug and Carapace.

"Did you guys find anything?" Ladybug asked.

"No," Alya responded glumly.

Carapace looked more cheerful.

"I just met one guy at the bar who says he saw a dude get carried into that aparment today. And it was by a fellow in a red ant suit".

That was good enough for them. The trio ran into the building, each separating to check a floor of the dimly lit structure. As they did so, two elderly women heading towards the entrance made way for the heroes.

The first woman held her head low, her straight silver bangs hiding her eyes. She pushed the second sleeping senior in a wheelchair. Her bonnet and curly white hair covered most of her face, and a Chat Noir blanket adorned her lap.

Normally the heroes would have gladly helped, but they were on a mission, and time was of the essence.

Ladybug sprinted to the basement, noting how the building was particularly old. The stairs were wooden, and the walls were made of grey bricks.

She made her way to the building's basement. Ladybug instantly detected one of the two basement rooms had an open door.

The scarlet-clad woman ran to the dimly lit room. Warily, she entered in a combative stance, ready for anything. The "flat" was only a small room with a kitchenette (or rather a hot plate) and a connected bathroom. The only signs the room had been occupied were a single collage and a steeping tea, raspberry-hibiscus and chamomile (Adrien's favourite), steam still ascending from the piping hot beverage.

"They were just here," Marinette surmised, slowly putting the pieces together.

She sprinted up the stairs, urgency fueling her weary body. Adrenaline encouraged her, and within seconds she made it to the building entrance.

Discarded on the ground were two wigs -one grey and one white- and a Chat Noir blanket; Ghost Moth had snuck Marinette's Chaton right past her.

A mere five minutes passed in real time, but Marinette felt as if the world had frozen. Nothing moved, not really. Children rode bicycles past her, but their laughter was painted in deceit. Lovers strolled along the road, hand in hand, but their love was a blatant lie. She experienced a bout of nausea, but even that was false.

"Morning sickness only happens to pregnant women," she whispered,"and I can't be pregnant. Not without Chat". By the time his beautiful name passed her lips, she was in tears.

Rena found her friend moments later.

"No signs of anything suspicious upsta--" she began," Mar... um... Ladybug are you ok?"

"T-they snuck Chat right past us," she said gesturing to the wigs,"and I can't do this. I can't have a baby. Not without him". Another volley of tears tore past her cheeks.

"Marinette, it's oka--" Alya stopped. She had had enough experience is journalism by this point to know "it's okay" is a poor choice of words.

She ammended her consolation. "Ladybug, we are gonna get through this. We WILL find him. If not today, then tomorrow, or the next time. Until then, Nino and I will be there for you. We won't abandon you, even if it means you coming to live with us til we figure this whole thing out. Though I warn you, Nino snores".

Nino, who had just made it down to the building door, stopped. "Hey! I thought we agreed to keep that secret?"

This prompted both girls to laugh, despite the gloom that overshadowed them.

"Dude, you may be my husband, but she's my babe. Any secret I have, she has," Alya said in support of her friend.

Nino grinned wickedly. "Well in that case we should probably tell her you spend 10 minutes every morning washing your feet until the smell is tolerable".

Alya's mouth dropped and Marinette laughed again.

Eventually the group recovered (after a barrage of insignificant secrets were traded. "Nino has hairy feet", "Alya sometimes forgets the colours of the national flag", "Nino had a pet rock and thought it was alive until he was 15", "Alya thought tuna was a vegetable as a child". Eventually Marinette laughed hard enough that Alya mentioned her "backup plan" as a young teen. "That if Adrien ever rejected her, she would make a move on Jagged Stone").

By that point everyone was grinning sheepishly, both relishing the secrets at their friends' expense, and embarrassed by their own flaws.

"Ok, now should we go back, and look for clues?" Alya suggested gently.

"Mhm," Marinette agreed.

They returned to find a collage.

"Ok, so the scene is Ellen DeGeneres's wedding, but David Schwimmer is... robbing them with a gun... and he has Mr. Incredible's mask ans supersuit on?... Um so I guess that makes Adrin Ellen (because fabulous blonde) , and you are Portia... does that mean David Schwimmer or Mr Incredible kidnapped Adrien?" Nino guessed.

The little heart scrawled on the page, with "I love you" scratched inside reached into her heart, filling it with warmth.

"No," Marinette responded,"Adrien wouldn't make some convoluted story full of symbolism. It would be more subtle, around the lines of Schwimmer plays Ross Geller in 'Friends', so something like..." she trailed off, stopping what she was about to say.

"Wedding. Gun. Friends," she thought.

Marinette connected the dots. One of her married friends was holding Adrien hostage.

Maybe Mari interpreted that wrong? or maybe not?

With this new clue, who do we think is the fiend?

And where is Chat's ring?

Could Chat please give better hints?

And the rescue operation was so close! Do any of you realise that if LB had offered to help the old lady push her friend, she could have figured out who Ghost Moth was, and found Adrien? Ugh. That would have cut out so many chapters.

Anyways, I hope y'all don't hate me yet.