Set one month after 'Akumatized'

The Wicked

Chapter One: Angel of Turmoil

His ribs tightly bound, left eye completely red, and every muscle aching and throbbing, Chat Noir leaned forward and spat a clot of blood onto the cold, metal floor. Her breath heavy, eyes blackened and moistened, and her leg still sharply stinging, Ladybug felt the chains binding her wrists and breasts as her bloodied lips parted just to allow more gasps of air to escape. Deprived of the light of day for so long, the Miraculous forced themselves to remain strong, even in the growing presence of despair. Their bruises, cuts, sores, and aches ran deep as the two struggled to remain conscious. All that had been left to them was their Miraculous, and soon, those would be taken away as well.

Though the day had been sweltering, the night had never felt so cold. Looking up through a broken window, Ladybug saw no stars shining down on her or her partner. It seemed so long ago now. Days felt like months, and the wounds never seemed to heal. How did it all end up this way?

Sitting at the family's piano, Adrien repeated the same notes over and over until they became like clockwork. The final memory the young man had of his mother was the last time he played for her in the same room. It seemed colder now than ever before. Standing up, the blond-haired young man gazed out the window that served as the parlor's western wall to see the sun shining down over Paris.

"Adrien?" a gentle and familiar voice snapped the young man out of his daydream.

Finding himself at his homeroom desk, Adrien jolted slightly and turned around to face his friend. "What's up, Marinette?" he replied.

"I need to talk to you after class, okay?" the dark-haired young woman answered sweetly. Everyone had taken notice of Marinette's new comfort in Adrien's presence, though they didn't know the cause. Adrien smiled and nodded his head.

Having resigned herself to the second-to-last row of desks in the opposite side of the room, Lila tightened her eyes in disgust at the two before returning to her book. Though he claimed it was out of a desire to think things over, she knew Adrien's true motivation for leaving her was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Alya glanced over at her friend for a moment, unsure of the meeting that would soon take place. So much has changed since that day, the redheaded young woman mulled over in her head as she jotted down another note. Not that long ago, Marinette could barely speak around Adrien. Now, it's like they've been in a relationship for years. He looks at her in a totally different way, and she's stopped swooning over him. Looking at them now, I still can't really bring myself to accept that they're Ladybug and Chat Noir. "Mari," she finally spoke up, though her voice remained hushed. "Meet me at our usual spot at lunch, okay?"

"Sure," Marinette happily agreed. "Ooh, and I made those little cookies you like. We can have a tea party like when we were kids."

"Thanks, but I'm trying to cut back," Alya tried to resist. "I wouldn't say no to some green tea, though."

"Yo, guys," Nino interrupted with a sense of unease in his voice. "Have you seen Kim, like, at all this week?"

Marinette and Alya looked at one another, thought for a second, and each replied, "No." With that, the group began to form their own explanations. If for no reason other than sports programs, Kim rarely missed school. No one seemed to be talking about him, but his absence was becoming a concern.

After the bell rang, Marinette and Adrien made their way into the hallway, waited for the crowds to die down, and finally faced one another. Adrien's heart began to beat faster as he awaited the young woman's reason. Knowing that Marinette was Ladybug had transformed her from a beloved friend to something entirely transcendent. Ladybug and Marinette were one, the one he adored, the one he had pined after for years, and the one who filled all of his dreams. "Um, what's up, Marinette?" the young man finally spoke up.

"…Adrien, after you found out about me…" Marinette nervously began, seeming to revert back to her insecure ways. "…After all that…were you disappointed?"

Adrien froze for a moment, not sure how to respond or how to grasp the idea. "W-what do you mean?" he stuttered. "No, I just…I guess I never really thought there was anybody under the mask, you know? And I never thought it was someone I knew. No, Marinette, I'm not disappointed. It's actually kind of a relief. I don't feel as distant from you now." Silence filled the air once again, pushing Adrien to clear his own mind of worries. "What about you? Were you disappointed when you found out it was me?"

"No, definitely not," the dark-haired young woman answered bluntly. "It just came as a shock because you're always so quiet and calm, you know? I never thought you could be so…out there with everything. It's a whole other side of you I never really knew. I just don't get why you never opened up like that when you weren't wearing the mask."

"I think that's why I opened up," Adrien tried to explain. "I had nothing to lose, no one to keep up appearances with. I was free to be anybody I wanted to be. Nobody took me seriously, so I could say and do the things I really wanted to. As long as I had my mask on, I could be as open as I needed to be. When it's just me…that's all people see. Does that make sense?"

"I think so," Marinette warmly accepted. Suddenly, her palms grew clammy as her heart began to flutter. "…I know I shouldn't ask this, but, do you still…I mean, do you think about her the same way, now that you know it's me?" The ultimate risk: The question she had dreaded and debated for so long, had finally come out, though she couldn't decide if she had made the right choice or not.

His heart pounding violently, the young man felt a burning wave of sweat begin to run down the back of his neck. The fear, the risk, the joy, the need, the passion: They were all there, just waiting to be let out. However, that was more terrifying than anything he'd ever faced before. So many things could go wrong, especially now that she knew exactly who he was. What if she couldn't love him back? What if they weren't meant to be?

"Adrien," Lila called out, her voice harsh and sharp. Marinette and Adrien both turned towards the brunette young woman. No matter what she would say, her presence was a way out.

"I'll talk to you later, Adrien," Marinette all but whispered as she picked up her bag and departed from the scene.

"Lila, what's going on?" Adrien asked in his usual, somewhat shy tone. Now more than ever, he knew he had no right to assume his friendship with Lila existed any longer.

"I can understand why you broke up with me," the Italian young woman nearly snarled as her face began to grow red and tears welled up in her eyes. "But why the hell did you lie to me about it?"

"I wasn't lying about it, Lila," the blond young man tried to defend himself while sparing Lila's feelings. "I don't know what I feel. I couldn't string you along and still feel…"

"Oh, bullshit!" Lila hollered through her crackling, hoarse throat. "You were seeing her the whole time, weren't you? You said you wanted to 'spare me', but the truth is, you didn't have the guts or the decency to tell me what was really going on! Congratulations, Adrien. You'll never have to worry about me ever again." The young woman sharply snapped her head in the opposite direction and began to walk away.

"Lila, I'm sorry," Adrien called out. "I swear, I wasn't seeing anyone else. I wouldn't do that to you."

"I don't ever want to talk to you ever again!" Lila screamed, attracting the attention of most of the other students in the hallway. The tears now streaming freely from her eyes, the brunette stormed away, keeping her head down and her vision on the floor. "I don't want to see you, I don't wanna hear you, I don't wanna talk with you, and I don't ever want to think about you ever again. You…bastard."

As the person he once thought his first love walked away, Adrien could do nothing but remain still and watch her depart. Like so many times before, he knew he was powerless. I shouldn't have started a relationship with her in the first place, he berated himself. I should have been strong enough to tell Ladybug how I felt.

Come lunch hour, Marinette and Alya watched the clouds drift in front of the sun as the two sat at their usual bench outside. So much had changed, but the truly precious things remained ever the same. Whether they were telling stories, going over homework, or just sitting in silence, Marinette and Alya felt true peace of mind with one another.

"Hey, guys," Adrien's voice broke the silence. "Can I sit with you two?"

"Sure, kitten," Alya quickly answered with a smile.

Dropping his bag in the grass, Adrien sat across from the two. "No cat jokes when I'm out of costume, please," he whispered as he checked over his shoulder.

"So, what happened with Lila?" Marinette asked with genuine concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Not really," the blond-haired young man answered with a heavy sigh. "I didn't tell you guys, but Lila and I broke up a few weeks ago. We were okay at first, but today, she…Well…"

"She saw us together and thought that we were…" Marinette continued for her friend. "Adrien, I'm sorry. Why didn't you tell us you two broke up?"

"It's…complicated," Adrien answered with shame in his voice. "I wanted some time to think things over. Besides, I was the one who ended it. I wasn't right to let a relationship start in the first place. I thought, maybe, we could have something, but I couldn't stop thinking about…you-know-who. I never got over it, and I was just kidding myself and stringing her along."

"Oh, Adrien," Marinette exclaimed as she stood up, walked around the table, and hugged her friend from behind. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to make you suffer like that…like this."

"So, what happened?" Alya asked after taking a bite of her sandwich.

"She screamed at me and stormed off," Adrien answered as he rested his hand on Marinette's. "She was really upset. I feel terrible, but, more than that, I'm afraid she might be Akumatized again. If that happens, she might go after you, princess."

"If she does, we'll handle it," the dark-haired young woman answered with confidence. "I'm more worried about you, though. You're beating yourself up over this, aren't you?" Adrien nodded his head, believing his suffering was justified. "Adrien, you made a mistake. You tried to make the relationship work. There was nothing you could have done. Maybe she'll be okay after she's had some time alone. You'll see: Things are never as bad as they seem."

Not long after their conversation, Marinette and Adrien were forced to sneak away from their campus as news broke of an Akumatized attacking the mayor's office. Alya covered for the two, and upon spotting Lila listening to her headphones under a tree, confirmed she was not involved. Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived above the scene within minutes, where they encountered a black-and-white figure wearing an opera mask lacking eyes, a nose, a mouth, or any identifying features. Most of the area had been evacuated, but the mayor was trapped in his office. The Akumatized, dubbed 'Faceless' by Chat Noir, brandished a large, armored briefcase while pounding on the locked doors keeping him from his prey.

"The Akuma is in his briefcase," Chat declared after sensing the dark spirit. "If you can knock it out of his hand, I can destroy it."

"Sounds like a plan," Ladybug replied as she charged at the corrupted figure before her.

Turning its head to the side, Faceless spotted the Miraculous and clenched its case. "Ladybug!" the Akumatized cried out in a rough yet androgynous voice. However, its cries were not those of challenge or anger, but of need and desperation. "Save me! The mayor has stolen my face! The mayor has stolen my name, my identity, and my life! Save me! Please, save me! Stop the mayor!"

"This has to be a trap," Chat Noir whispered as he remained low and out of sight.

"You don't have anything to be afraid of!" Ladybug called back with sympathy in her voice. "Mayor Bourgeois is not your enemy. Hawk Moth told you lies and turned you rabid. Please, try to calm down. Tell us what happened. Is the mayor safe?"

"The mayor hides in his palace while I lie on the streets and starve!" Faceless sorrowfully screamed. "Lonely and forgotten without so much as a face or a name to call my own!" As the Akumatized lamented its torments, Chat made his way down the side of a building and began a trek around the block.

"Listen to me," Ladybug called out, lifting her open hands into the air. "I'm going to try to get closer to you. Please don't move."

"Remember not to trust anyone, friend," Hawk Moth's wicked voice whispered in the Akumatized's unseen ear. "Chat Noir will be coming soon. He wants to take your precious briefcase. You remember why you can't let him, don't you?"

"Yes, Hawk Moth," Faceless whispered as it tightened its grip on the armored case.

"Let Ladybug get closer, then catch her in your case," the wielder of the butterfly Miraculous instructed his pawn. "Once she's ensnared, take her Miraculous. But keep an eye out for Chat Noir. He could be lurking anywhere."

"Everything's going to be okay," Ladybug gently declared as she stepped closer to the Akumatized. "When I was a little girl, I used to have nightmares about people wearing masks. Someone would try to steal mine, and then I'd wake up and cry. I told my mother, and she'd always remind me that, no matter who anyone else is, or what happens, nothing can change who I am unless I let it." Faceless began to loosen its grip on the precious case, its fear slowly fading. "Look, I don't know you. I've probably never met you, but I think you're feeling the same way I used to. You're afraid, upset, and angry. Then Hawk Moth found you…didn't he? He probably told you he could make all your pain and fear go away, for a price."

"Ladybug is a liar," Hawk Moth assured his puppet. "Don't let her inside your head, I beg of you. Chat Noir, her guard dog, will be coming any second! He won't spare you."

"I'm not here to hurt you," the ladybug Miraculous continued to soothe the suffering Akumatized. "I promise you, everything's going to be alright."

As Faceless approached the Miraculous, its thoughts racing, the Akumatized suddenly felt its grip fail as the briefcase it held so dear was quickly snatched by an unseen force. As Faceless turned its head, Chat Noir roughly tore open the case and harnessed his destructive power. "Cataclysm!" the Miraculous cried out as black energy began to flow through his claw.

"No!" Faceless hollered as it rammed the full weight of its body against the hero, thrusting him back and into a flock of birds flying close to the ground, and releasing the infected item into the air. Before the Akumatized could grab its briefcase, Ladybug's yo-yo tightly wrapped around its arms and pulled it back. "Please, no!"

Jumping into the air, Ladybug reached into the akumatized container, pulled out a ragged photograph, and tore it in half, releasing the Akuma into the air. Calling her yo-yo, the Miraculous watched as the hateful spirit attempted to retreat. "No more evildoing for you, little Akuma," she declared as she slit open her enchanted tool and swung it outward. "Time to purify!" The light of the Miraculous' yo-yo swallowed the darkness before it and released a wholly white butterfly into the skies. "Bye-bye, little butterfly."

Hitting the ground back-first, Chat Noir watched as the bird he had accidentally struck with his Cataclysm instantly turned black and fell to the ground as little more than a sculpture of ash. Faceless shed its corrupted shell to reveal a nearly middle-aged, balding man in a suit jacket and clutching his briefcase. Ladybug gently placed her hand on the man's shoulder and smiled. "It's okay now, sir," she warmly declared. "Why don't I take you to the mayor and we can sort this all out?"

"Um, M'Lady," Chat Noir fearfully interrupted, attracting his partner's attention to the bird before it crumbled into dust. The first time the Cataclysm had taken a life… "I-I didn't mean to."

"An albatross," Ladybug gravely realized, her voice barely a whisper. Forcing her gaze away from the unhappy sight, the young woman stood tall and put on a confident façade. "Come on, sir. Let's settle everything with the mayor. Chat Noir, you did a great job. You should go to our usual spot before you transform back, okay?"

Despite the comfort of Ladybug's strong leadership, the three soon found they could only watch as the seabird's likeness dissipated into the cold wind.