Chapter 4: Damage is Done

Azure was losing. To be more accurate, he had been losing for the last hour and a half. It didn't help that when Viridian had turned on his TV he'd discovered that it wasn't what he'd thought it was. No in fact it was the entire wall. And it blinded him. Eventually though he got past that, and started to improve. He's favorite character had quickly become Toon Link. It's fast movement and ranged attacks suited Azure in a way he couldn't describe. Currently he was trying (and failing) to beat Viridian in a mirror match.

Viridian's blue Toon Link jumped over Azure's and unleashed several quick attacks. Try as he might, he couldn't counter attack, no matter how hard he pressed the A button, and he was pressing. Finally, he managed to separate from the attacker and let loose his boomeranged ng, followed immediately by an arrow. Viridian avoided both, but put himself right in the way of a upward slash, that bounced the blue Toon Link. Azure grinned, making his green boy jump up and hit Viridian's with the spinning attack (Azure liked to call it the Beyblader)

"Let it Rip!" Azure shouted gleefully. Viridian was less amused.

"Do you really have to say that every single time?"

"Yes!" Azure shouted, as his character landed. Before he could react he'd been hit by a bomb and Viridina's character and slammed down on him, sending Link bouncing away. Azure shot off an arrow, but Viridian's Link rolled by, then caught the bomb Azure had tried to throw. "Crap!"

"I do it every time." Viridian said, and Azure picked up on the tiredness in his voice. Well then he'd have to wake him up with-

Viridian just killed him. He didn't even see what he'd done. "What the heck? What did you do?"

"Kicked your butt that's what." Is the snide remark that comes back. But after a beat, Viridian seems to remember what he was supposed to be doing. "You just weren't paying attention. You could've used your shield on the bomb when I threw it back to set up and counter attack, but you didn't. Then I slipped in and hit you."

Azure groaned, tossing the remote to the side. "I'm not going to win ,am I?"

"Dearie, this is your first time. You're a lot better than most at this time…" Viridian faded off, seemingly in deep thought. "Then again, I suppose most aren't trying to save themselves from blackmail."

"No, no I suppose not." Azure said dryly. He stood up, stretching. He wasn't used to that much sitting, and he was hungry, which Viridian found out the moment Azure's stomach let out a monstrous noise.

"Hungry I take it?" Viridian asked, leaning back in the couches cushion, dangling the remote loosely in his hand.

Azure rubbed his neck. "Yeah, sorry."

"Dude I think my family owns half the restaurants in Paris. You don't have to worry."

"Wait, are you serious?"

Viridian chuckled lightly, getting up and tossing his remote towards the doc. "Kind of. They mostly just dabble in the restaurant business. Most of their focus is computers."

"So you know a lot about that, I suppose?" Azure asked, his naturally curious nature showing. Viridian, however, didn't seem impressed by the question.

"No, not really, mostly just do whatever I want. Unlike Silvia and Simon, my parents don't care what I do." Viridian said. Something like bitterness sat in his voice. Azure let the moment continue, not sure what he should say. Instead, he turned to one of the large windows that overlooked the city. This view was ten times better than the view he had from his small window at the orphanage. It looked like a postcard. The snow drifted down, covering the window edges, hiding the city slightly, but framing the Eiffel tower. It lay in the center of the view, huge and magnificent. Viridian came up next to him and sighed deeply. "You want myrrh?"

"Oh yeah, sure. Wait, what?" Azure asked, turning to the other boy. Viridian has a mischievous smile in place.

"Murder!" Viridian said loudly. Azure however blinked. Utterly confused. Viridian seemed to pick up on Azure's confusion and pouted. "Don't you know any vines?"

"Vines?" Azure asked, and then remembered something from his last school. "You mean like, yeet?"

Viridian blinked and turned away. "So I'm just gonna get you some chicken."

"Uh sure, sounds good." Azure said and nodded, turning his attention back to the view when Plagg pinched him, hard. "Ow!"

"Are you alright?" Viridian asked. Azure turned around to see Viridian looking over, his forehead creased in concern.

Azure rubbed his side near where Plagg had pinched him. "Y-Yeah, but can I have some cheese as well?"

"Oh sure what kind?"

"Uhh… any."

"Any?"

"Please."

"Okay then." Viridian said, turning away, and muttering to himself.

Azure peaked inside his jacket and a snickering Plagg. "What the heck?"

"I wanted cheese!" Plagg whispers.

"Yeah, but ouch, don't pinch so hard!"

"Then think of me first!" Plagg ordered.

Azure groaned. "Shut up Plagg."

"Nah."

Azure felt "his" phone buzz and he pulled it out. A notification from the news lit up the screen. It read a simple message. The city was being attacked again. Azure turned around and looked at Viridian. He was on the phone ordering their food. He needed to find a way out.

"Hey Viridian, where's your bathroom?" Azure called. Viridian looked over and gestured up the stairs.

"The down stairs one is clogged, go up stairs. It's behind the bowling alley."

Azure sighed. Of course this guy had two bathrooms in his room. At least he could use them to become Chat Noir.

Out of all the times for there to be a bad guy, it had to be the time when Silvia actually had a lot of school work to finish. She had just finished up talking with Nara about Simon when they heard a large blast outside of the school, causing the ground to rumble.

"What was that?" Nara exclaimed.

An unsettling feeling rustled in Silvia's stomach. "I don't know."

"Where is Simon Zlo?!" A loud voice echoed across the air.

Silvia heard Nara gasp beside her, and it made her heart skip a beat. This didn't seem like the power of a Miraculous at play. She quickly grabbed Nara's hand.

"You have to find somewhere to hide," she told Nara.

She looked at her in confusion. "Why? Simon could be in danger! We have to find him before-"

"And what? We'll find him and we'll be in danger, too! Do you think Simon would want you to get hurt protecting him?"

Nara opened her mouth to protest but hesitated. Deep down, Nara knew that she was right.

"My point," Silvia said. "We should split up. That way we both won't be hit if he comes for us. Message me when you're safe."

With a quick nod, Nara ran off somewhere within the confines of the school. She didn't have to say anything for Tikki to come flying out of her pocket.

"What's going on, Tikki?" Silvia asked.

"I'll have to see it up close, but I think I have an idea on what it is."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Silvia and Tikki rushed out of the school and on to the streets of Paris. People were brushing past them, not paying mind to the red floating deity that was with her. Ahead of them stood a beast about 20 feet tall. He was in a black outfit with brown trims that made his muscles really stand out. His hair was spiked up in an absurd manner and a black mask covered his face. The two main things that stood out to Silvia were the light blue screen at the center of his chest and a purple wire frame that hovered over his face.

"This is just as I thought." Tikki said.

"What is it?" Silvia asked quickly.

"He's been akumatized."

Silvia blinked. "Are you sure you aren't making up words?"

"No, this happened a while ago. This villain me and the old Ladybug faced had the ability to send out this butterfly called an akuma. It had the ability to turn the victim's desire into their most powerful weapon and gave them the powers to do so."

"How did you defeat them in the past?"

"We had to find the object that the akuma is latched onto. It's usually the source for the villain's power. If you break it, the akuma will be free, and you can use your powers as Ladybug to purify it."

"What happens to the object and the person after I do that?"

"Usually everything will return to normal. The object is restored as well as the person and anything else damaged."

She nodded. "That's actually really convenient."

"I know!" Tikki grinned. "It's the perfect tool for Ladybug."

Silvia grinned and went back into the school, where she got the text that Nara was safe and secure. She shot her a quick text saying that she was as well before tucking her phone away.

"Alright, Tikki. Spots on!"

After a tedious transformation process, Silvia swung to the top of the school in her superhero persona. At this height, she was practically level with the villain, who had his back towards her.

"Stop right there!" She shouted out, her yo-yo spinning in her hand.

The villain froze and turned to face her. That was when Silvia gasped.

The face she had recognized as Nara's brother, Neal. What made it worse was that he was holding her friend Simon in his monstrous hands.

"If it isn't Ladybug," Neal said in a deep voice.

"Let Simon go, Neal!" She pointed a finger at her friend.

"I'm not Neal! I am the Destroyer!"

Ladybug raised her eyebrow. "Out of all the villain names you could have picked, that's the one you decided to go with?"

HIs eyes glistened with anger. "Don't tempt me. Actually… I'll let your friend go." The Destroyer smirked and suddenly released his grasp on Simon, who was plummeting to the ground.

"No!" Ladybug launched forward with her yo-yo.

Just before Ladybug could get to Simon, the Destroyer fired a blue beam from the rectangle in his chest. She frantically looked between Simon and the beam and grunted as she had just pulled up from the path of the beam. However, when she glanced down, Simon was caught straight in the blast's path and he was vaporized right in front of her eyes. One second he was there, and the next he was nothing but dust in the air.

Ladybug landed on the roof of the nearest building and forced herself to push back tears. She didn't just see her best friend be practically killed in front of her. And the worst part was that she couldn't save him. She was too worried about herself to save him, and now he was gone.

The Destroyer laughed in front of her. "The look on your face, Ladybug! It's priceless!"

Suddenly, her pain boiled away to an outright fury. He had stolen Simon away from not only her, but Viridian and Nara. And for that, she was going to find a way to release that akuma and teach Neal a damn lesson. No one messed with her friends or her city. But most importantly, no one messed with Silvia as Ladybug.

Azure bounded over rooftops, feeling like he was practically flying. Was this how Ladybug had felt? The power, the strength, the freedom? This was what he'd been missing, what he longed for. Now he could help Ladybug.

He landed hard on a rooftop, rolling forward and grinning like a boy. He liked his costume as well. The mask made his blue eyes glow brightly, and there were lines that matched his eyes across his collar. He also had guards and boots that matched as well. His favorite features though were his tail and ears. He liked flicking his tail.

Jumping over several more rooftops he lands on a low rise, which is about eye line with a giant twenty foot tall monster. "Oh damn." Then he saw her. Ladybug was swinging around avoiding blue blasts of energy. The eagerly was coming from a cell phone like thing on the center of the creatures chest. Except if a cell phone was double the size he was. He should do something. He patted his belt and pulled out a small cylinder. Plagg had mentioned he had a weapon. Wonder what it did.

Azure noticed a button and pressed it. It extended out to form a six foot bo staff. Now that's what he was talking about. He could definitely work with this. He backed up, and sprinted forward, flinging himself into the sky. He pressed the button again, and it extended downward thrusting him higher into the sky. This drew the attention of both of them, which isn't what he was hoping for.

"AH!" The creature bellowed. "The Cat Miraculous has finally shown up!"

"The cat?" Whispered Ladybug, looking up at him. Wait how'd he hear her say that? He didn't have time to think on that, because next thing he knew he was plummeting to the ground. A blue laser zipped past him. He needed to get to cover now. He glanced in both directions and saw a wall and then the roof Ladybug was on. This was a bad plan. He took aim at the wall and extended his staff. It forced him to the side and he rolled safely onto the roof.

Ladybug cake running forward, already spinning her yo-yo. "Who are you?"

Azure jumped up, grinning. "Don't you remember me?"

"Are you… the Dragon?" She asked, seemingly startled. Azure poked up his thumb.

"Yup!" But then Azure remembered his new name. "But I go by Chat Noir now."

"Chat Noir?"

"Yeah! Do you…. Do you not like it?" Azure asked uncertainly.

"No!" Ladybug said quickly, waving her hands. "I really-"

"HEY!" A huge voice bellowed, shaking the air around them. Azure looked over, and saw that the monster was closer and looked familiar. It was Neal from school, that Nara girl's brother. "Give me your miraculous!"

Azure took a step forward, he focused on being extra dramatic. "Nah!"

Ladybug shook her head. "I thought you were serious?"

"I was, but now I'm a cat." Azure said with a smile. Then he threw out his staff and it hit the center of Neal's chest, pushing him back. He shot off several blue beams, forcing Ladybug and him to scatter. She looked across at him, her worry clear on her face. But she also looked angry.

She waved at him, then at the monster. The message was clear. Distract Neal. Azure glanced around, not that it was necessary, Neal had just punched a hole in the wall he'd been hiding behind. Guess distraction was his job right now.

He dodged around the next blast, and deflected the next several as he sprinted across to the next rooftop. He was trying to get Neal to turn his back on Ladybug, so she had time to think of something.

"You're big and fat!" Azure shouted. Neal screamed and sent out a trash can sized fist at him. Focusing Azure jumped and landed on his arm instead.

"You ANT!" He bellowed, swinging his other fist down at him.

"Bail!" Azure shouted jumping off, and plummeting to the ground. The sound of Neal hitting himself reached his ears and he smiled. He extended the staff, throwing him back into the air. "Don't hit yourself!" Azure shouted, swinging his staff, and hitting Neal in the face. It barely seemed to register with Neal, but it tossed Azure back onto the roof. Neal let loose more lasers. He quickly spun his staff, defectling the lasers away. Hopefully she's hurrying up over there.

While Chat Noir was busy distracting the Destroyer, Ladybug was running through ideas in her head. The only obvious object that the akuma could be lying in had to be the screen that emitted beams of destruction in the center of his chest. However, it didn't look like the Destroyer would be willing to let her snatch it from his chest. And her and Chat Noir couldn't use their weapons to pry it out. Unless…

Ladybug suddenly remembered what Tikki had told her about her secret weapon. But she would have to use it quick or else she would de-transform.

She took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing. Lucky Charm!"

Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the air and it spun. Suddenly, an item flew down at her from the air. Her yo-yo returned to her as she caught the mysterious item. The first thing she noticed was that she was able to see her reflection staring back at her. It was a mirror. How the heck was she going to use a mirror? Have the Destroyer get distracted by his looks?

She observed her surroundings. It was as if the world had gone black and white except for a few key things. Her "partner" was the first person to come up in a red with black polka dot pattern. Similarly, the screen in the Destroyer's chest and her mirror were quick to light up in the same pattern. Ladybug smirked. She knew what she had to do.

"Chat Noir!" She yelled out, pocketing the mirror. "Divert his attention over to me!"

"Over to you?" Chair Noir shouted. He rolled over and jumped over a beam.

"Yes! Trust me on this!"

"Well okay then!" He called. He started weaving around the rooftops and avoiding beams of energy until he landed next to her. A smile on his face. "Hey."

"Glad you could join." She waved her arms in the air. "Hey Destroyer! You said you wanted our Miraculous?"

The Destroyer turned to face them. "Yes! Now hand them over!"

"You can have them!"

"Yeah! Wait what?" Chat Noir asked, popping up straight and moving in close so he could whisper. "No, Ladybug we need these."

She nudged him in the side hard. "Shut up," she whispered. Chat Noir made a face, but turned silently to face The Destroyer.

"I can?" The Destroyer questioned, almost uncertain.

"You can! We're admitting defeat. All you have to do is hit us with your laser and we'll be vaporized, but not our Miraculous."

He paused for a moment then smirked. "Once you're gone, no one will be able to stop me from destroying all of Paris!" With that, his laser fired up for one last blast.

"Get behind me!" She commanded Chat, who immediately scampered behind her.

Just as the laser had fired, Ladybug had pulled out her Lucky Charm and extended it in front of them, with the mirror facing the Destroyer. His beam of light rebounded directly off of the mirror and hit him square in the chest, practically shattering the screen that had created the laser. Once she heard the shatter, she threw the mirror aside and jumped over to where the now crumbling Destroyer now laid. She landed on top of him, just in time to see a black butterfly with purple veins float from the screen. This must have been the akuma that Tikki was telling her about. Who knew such a little thing could cause this much damage?

"Alright, akuma. You're not causing any more trouble." She extended the yo-yo on her string and swung it at the akuma, which was caught inside the ladybug themed ball. She retracted it back to her and tapped on the top of it. The ball opened and the butterfly emerged. Instead of it being the infected black color it was before, it was a pure, bright blue, as if all the evil from inside it had disappeared. Seeing it like that made Ladybug smile.

"Bye bye, little butterfly," she said as it flew off into the skies of Paris."

"Uh. Neat."

"Well, thanks for helping me take him down." Ladybug smiled as she fixed her yo-yo on her waist.

"Of course, it was a lot easier this time." Chat Noir said.

"I'm assuming you didn't have the Cat Miraculous the first time we met?"

Chat awkwardly scratched his neck. "I did, I just didn't know."

She nodded. "I get it. It took me a while to know that I even had it. It just appeared suddenly."

"In your bag?" He asked.

"Yeah…" She responded, processing all of this. "Did that happen to you, too?"

"Yeah. Not long after we fought Stallion!"

She paused in thought. "Do you think the same person gave us the Miraculous?"

"It has to be, doesn't it?"

"Possibly. But this just leaves a lot more mysteries that we have to solve." She hopped down from the defeated villain and onto the street below.

People should be re-appearing around the city. "But we did it today."

She watched him for a moment and smiled. "Yeah. We did do it, as a team."

"I was mostly a distraction you know."

"Yes, but it was extremely essential. I wouldn't have been able to defeat him on my own. Especially after…" She stopped herself and cleared her throat.

"What?" Chat Noir asked, leaning forward.

"After I saw a friend get caught up in his beam. It was hard seeing that."

"A friend? Who?"

"Uh…" She paused. Who could she say that alluded that she wasn't a local school student? "It was… my cousin. Yeah, he was just leaving when the beam hit him. He should be back now, though."

Chat Noir's eyes shot open. "You should go find him, make sure."

Ladybug internally sighed in relief. Thank heavens he didn't catch on. "I will then. Once I set everything right." She grabbed the mirror and tossed it in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

A burst of pink butterflies swarmed around the city, returning people from their vaporized state and fixing any damage that had been done to Paris. The bugs finally ended around the Destroyer, who had returned to Neal with his phone in his hand.

Neal looked around, his eyes wild. "W-what was that?"

"It's okay," Ladybug assured and offered her hand to help Neal off the ground.

He looked around, sliding his phone away. "Where is Simon Zlo?"

Chat Noir learned in close. "Africa." Then after a moment. "Who?"

"Is he the person that you were searching after?" Ladybug asked.

"Yes." Neal said. Silvia noticed that something odd sat in voice. She glanced at Chat, who also seemed put off.

She glanced back at the boy. "Why did you need to find him that badly?"

"I just want to, uh, teach him something." He looked at the two of them before backing away.

Silvia's eyes widened when she realized exactly what it was. She reached out and took his arm before he could go any further. "Listen, kid. Whatever grudge you have against this Simon, you need to let it go. If you don't, the same thing that turned you will be back and you'll turn into a force of destruction again. Do you want that to happen?"

"Hey look, I appreciate this, but I don't know you and you don't know me." Neal growled. "So stay out of my life."

Chat Noir shook his head. "Dude, did you watch Lion King? Hakuna Matata, it means-"

"Shut up." Neal snapped.

"Ouch, rude." Chat pouted.

"I don't care if I don't know you, but we're just trying to help! Try to talk it out with Simon. Who knows? Maybe you'll learn something about him that isn't just rumors and slander."

"I know exactly what I need to." Neal growled. "His family is up to here," he helped his hand up to his neck. "In shit."

"And who said that Simon is anything like his family? Just because you have standards set by your family doesn't mean that you have to follow them. Simon can make his own path and be completely different from his family."

Neal just snarls and turns away. "I'll do what I need to do to help my family." Then he started to stomp away through the snowy sidewalk.

Ladybug sighed. "I guess you can't help people who don't want to be helped."

"It means no worries." Chat mumbled.

She glanced at him and chuckled. "Are you still caught up on that whole Lion King thing?"

"It's important!" He said shooting her a smile.

For a second, everything seemed to freeze. Now that they were done fighting, she was actually able to study the superhero in front of her. The entirety of his eyes beneath the black cat mask were dipped in a radiant aqua blue, as if they had come from the sea themselves. Just underneath his mask, hints of freckles spotted his cheeks. Oddly enough, it was a sight that sent her heart beating in a pattern she wasn't used to and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. It exhilarated her, but also scared her.

She smiled back, almost shy. "Yeah, I guess it is."

He let out a breath and looked at his clawed hands. "This is really cool," he paused for a moment. "Should we like patrol?"

"That's probably a good idea. Make sure there are no more villains around."

Suddenly, a beeping noise sounded from around Ladybug.

"What's that?"

She sighed. "That's the cue that I'm about to de-transform."

"Oh…. why am I not beeping?"

"Apparently it's because I used my special power. It depletes a lot of our kwami's power."

Chat nodded. "I suppose I should go."

"We could go patrolling tonight, if you're up for it?"

"Definitely!"

"Great!" She smiled as heat rose to her face. "How about we meet at the Eiffel Tower at 8?"

Chat tilts his head, and looks over to the tower. "I'll see you then!" Then with a smile he ran off, using his staff to launch himself into a roof and away.

Ladybug rushed to the school and slid inside of an empty classroom. Once she had locked the door behind her, she rested against the wall. "Tikki, spots off."

Her costume melted away and Tikki had reappeared from her earrings. However, the blush that was on Silvia's face didn't go away as quickly.

"Silvia, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah I'm definitely okay. Everything is fine!" She took a deep breath and let herself calm down. Breathing exercises always helped her, even during stressful tests. "I should probably go find Nara. Oh, and here." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a macaroon for Tikki, who chose to eat in Silvia's pocket.

Silvia ran to the bathroom where Nara had hid during the battle. When she entered the bathroom, she paused at the door.

"Nara?" She called out.

It didn't take long for Nara to come charging out from a stall and to Silvia for a hug.

"Thank God you're okay." She said before pulling away. "Any word from Simon?"

Silvia shook her head. "None. But from what I heard, everyone that was affected by the bad guy is safe now. So Simon should be okay."

She let out a breath in relief. "Good, but can you still try to find out if he is? Simon probably won't answer me if I message him."

"I will, and you'll be the first person I tell when I do find him."

Nara smiled brightly. "Thank you, Silvia."

A minute later, Silvia was out on the streets of Paris, searching high and low for any trace of Simon.

Azure wasn't going home. No way, not after that. This was true freedom. A portion of him wanted to never go home again. He actually hadn't gone that for after leaving Ladybug. He had a decent amount of time before their meetup, so he was trying to decide what to do.

It was admittedly rather cold, maybe he could find a robber at a bakery. Though he somehow doubted that. He was about to jump off away when he saw Silvia run out of the school. What was she still doing here?

Azure hesitated and then made up his mind, jumping down towards the street, landing not far from her. He focused slightly, trying to imagine Viridian, then attempted to smirk. Just like how he did in that charming sort of way.

"Hey!" He called to her, he walked over, spinning his staff.

Silvia stopped in her tracks and turned around to find the source of the voice to be Chat Noir. What was he still doing out? "Oh, uh, hello."

"Whatcha up to?" He asked, noticing the weird look on her face.

"I'm trying to find my friend," She explained. "I'm worried he was vaporized during that villain attack."

"Well never fear, for I have saved the day. He's perfectly fine I'm sure!"

"Thank you. Are you one of the new superheroes?"

"Yeah, I'm the funny one." Azure said, fully accepting his lighter attitude. He liked it. It was better than being edgy.

"Well does this funny one have a name so I can thank you?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest with a smirk.

Azure blinked, and his own smirk turned into more of a smile. "I call myself Chat Noir!"

"In that case, thank you for helping out the citizens of Paris." Her smirk softened into a kind smile.

"Anything for you." He said, enjoying the mask. It allowed him to say things he normally wouldn't.

A faint pink tint suddenly appeared on her face, dusting parts of her cheeks. "Well, uh, I should probably go check up on my friend. Just to make sure and all, you know."

"Oh. Oh yeah, of course!" He said quickly.

"Thank you again, Chat Noir." She offered him a small wave before disappearing down the street.

He watched her go, and smiled to himself. Maybe his Viridian smirk worked. Wait a moment, Viridian! He left him ages ago!

Azure spun on his heel, bouncing back onto the rooftops, and using his staff to spring him even farther which each jump. He was back inside Viridian's bathroom in no time.

He quickly caught his breath and released his transformation. Then he exited to see Viridian eating chicken and watching something on his massive TV. Viridian looked up in shock. "Hey, I was rather close to calling the doctor."

"Oh sorry, I just think I ate some bad…broccoli. Yeah, it was old and uh. Green."

"Broccoli is always green."

"I thought it was white." Azure said coming down the stairs to see that he was watching Marvels The Avengers. "Why are you watching that?"

"Well you were taking too long and I decided to watch this. You want to watch it?" Viridian asked, offering a seat to Azure. He glanced out the window at the Eiffel Tower than at the clock. He had a few hours to kill.

"Sure, why not." Azure said, jumping on the couch. Viridian gave him a long look.

"What happened in the bathroom?"

"Uh?"

Viridian rolled his eyes. "Well dearie, you're much happier than you were before you went in there."

Azure tilted his head. Was he? He didn't feel different. Not really. Then he remembered his conversation with Silvia. How he could truly be, him. And he realized he really was happier. She'd made him happier. Though he couldn't tell Viridian all of that.

"Oh you know, sometimes it's the simple things."

Viridian looked around his huge room. "I don't really know."

Simon knew several things. For starters, he knew he'd just died. Second, he knew that Neal had killed him. And third, he knew that science was not the answer he needed. He needed to look into magic, and understand that. Learn how to use it. Before he even started to do that though, he needed to make sure Nara was okay. She would be at school.

He made a mad dash for the school, avoiding people still scared by the monster, and finding Silvia standing in front of it. Simon dipped behind the wall, staying out of view. He didn't want to talk to her, at least right now. A moment later a boy in black landed next to her. Based off of stance the boy knew her, and she knew him. Which is odd, because neither were acting like they knew each other. Very peculiar.

They exchanged some words and both ran off in different directions. He was about to make his way back towards the school when Nara came out the exit. She was holding her bag, her face flushed. Simon let out a slow breath. She was alright.

He desperately wanted to go to her, and explain everything. But he wasn't going to, he couldn't. Knowing she was okay would have to suffice. He turned on his heel, and made his way towards his house. It was time to see what he could find on magic.

Silvia was pacing in her room. "Okay. First patrol. Everything is going to be fine."

Tikki floated in place as she watched Silvia. "Why are you freaking out?"

"Oh, I don't know." She hugged herself as she paced. "It's my first big patrol as a hero, and I don't want to mess it up."

"Are you sure it isn't about something else?" Tikki asked with a teasing smile.

Silvia stopped and faced her kwami. "What are you inferring to, Tikki?"

"You seemed really flustered when Chat Noir was talking to you."

She scoffed. "What? Me? Being flustered with a guy like him? Yeah, okay Tikki."

Her face deadpanned, causing Silvia to sigh. "Fine. I may have a small thing for him. He really cares. He even came up to me after I transformed back, which was really weird." She waved her hand. "But it's most likely a silly crush that will just go away. Most studies show that a crush is only a crush, unless it lasts over six months. Then it's real. But it won't get to that because it's just a crush." She smiled.

Tikki sighed and floated in front of Silvia. "It's okay to accept your feelings, Silvia. What's not okay is denying them."

"I'll think about it tomorrow. You can help me make a pros and cons list for having a crush after school." She finished the rest of the dinner that was set aside on her desk and sighed. "Alright Tikki. Spots on!"

Azure had left Viridian's place after finishing the movie. It was good, though Hawkeye should've done more. Though I suppose it was a good six years too late to change that.

He'd considered going back to the orphanage before he went out, but he'd decided against it. He knew the longer he was out the more trouble he'd be in, but at this point he didn't care.

No instead he'd re-transformed, exploring the city. People had noticed him, pointing and taking pictures. It was cool to see actually, it made him feel warm inside.

Right now though it was eight, and he was late. So he was jumping through the city, using his staff to give himself maximum lift off. Until finally he landed in front of the Eiffel Tower.

"Wow." He murmured. It was huge, standing at the base like this was breathtaking. He couldn't see it, but somewhere up there sat Ladybug, probably wondering where he was.

"Beautiful, huh?" Ladybug asked as she swung down to the metal bars above where he was perched. Azure looked up and waved.

"Extremity." Then after a moment. "I've never been this close."

She carefully jumped down and walked next to him. "It's the best view in the city."

"I bet. I mean it's huge." Azure conceded.

"Biggest landmark in Paris. And it was the tallest landmark in the world for forty years."

"You know a lot." Azure said, looking over.

"Uh, yeah. It's just some dumb facts." She looked down at the city below them.

He shrugged, and followed her gaze. "I think it's cool."

"You do?" She looked up slightly, as if surprised.

"Well yeah, why wouldn't it be right? It's cool to know things, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Some people see it as weird. But I always like new knowledge. It's like opening a book for the first time."

He smiled softly. He wasn't exactly sure what else to say. Azure silently reminded himself to look up how to make better small talk. "So uh, patrol?"

"Oh yes! Patrol!" She straightened, striking a traditional hero pose.

"What're you doing?"

"I don't know. I've never done a patrol before."

"I just think it'd be a good idea. Why limit ourselves to magic enemies? We could do good against regular crime! It doesn't have to be like, a big deal."

She nodded. "Yeah, you're right. So should we just walk across the rooftops of the city?"

"Yeah… you know my kwami said we can use these," he held up his staff. "As communicators. We might not even have to do it together, cover more ground!"

Ladybug shrugged. "That's a good idea. But it would probably be a good idea to do it together. That way we can get a better idea of each other. We are partners now."

Azure glanced over, noticing the way she spoke. "Oh sure, if you think that's best."

"It'll be fun," she said with a smile.

"Ha okay, sure, let's do it." Then after he cast a slow look around. "Yeah, I guess we just walk around till we find trouble."

"Great! Then let's go!" She pulled out her yo-yo and started spinning it.

"We should try and get a police scanner." Azure said, extending his staff, holding it in a relaxed grip. "Then we can wait here."

"How are we going to find a police scanner?"

"Buy it? Though they might be expensive." Azure mused. He couldn't really buy anything, with his zero dollars to his name. He wasn't poor. He had no money.

She thought about it for a moment. "I might be able to get us one."

Azure blinked. "Really?"

"Maybe. However, I don't think I could get it by tonight."

"We could… steal it?"

Ladybug gave him a look like he was crazy. "You do realize we're supposed to be superheroes, right?"

"Well…. okay yeah good point." Azure muttered, casting his eyes to the side. "Well we can wait."

"But if we want to do this tonight, it might be a risk we have to take."

"True true." Then buffing his chest out slightly. "Though I think we'll be fine."

"Alright."

Azure let Ladybug take lead, watching as she swung onto a building across the way. He cast one last look up the tower, taking in its magnificence. Then he dropped his gaze to where Ladybug was waiting. He should hurry, shouldn't he?

For the next two hours the two of them patrolled the city, finding no more than a bike jacking, which struck Azure as odd, because who would steal a bike? The poor thief though was incredibly startled when the two masked heroes from the news landed next to them. Azure had chuckled loudly until and an old man with white hair and a matching mustache poked his head out. The man had shouted at them, calling them darn kids before shutting his window loudly. This had sent them both over the edge, laughing loudly.

But that had been a while ago. The two of them were now sitting on a slanted apartment buildings roof.

"Man, I don't know anything else will come up at this rate!" Azure said from his position on the roof.

"Do you want to call it a night, then?" She asked.

Did he want to call it a night? Definitely not. Ladybug was pretty cool. But most importantly he could be himself, like with Silvia. There was a freedom in being Chat Noir that he didn't want to give up. Though all things have to end he finally concluded. "Yeah." He said with a glum nod. He could feel his tone drop back to where it normally sat.

Ladybug seemed to pick up on it, because she tried for a light laugh. "We don't have to!"

"No, no I should get back."

"Home?" She asked curiously. Azure shifted, and looked over to her. It's not that he didn't trust her, but he didn't want to share his life story with anyone. The mask made it easier though.

"I think maybe, we should try and keep our not super hero lives private. Protection, you get it right?"

Ladybug looked taken aback for a moment but then nodded in appreciation. Or at least what Azure hoped was appreciation. "Of course. See you tomorrow, same time?"

Azure nodded. "Yep, I'll call if anything changes."

"Sounds good." Ladybug said. Azure shot her a smile before jumping down and towards the orphanage. A sinking feeling hit as he got closer and closer. Several of the lights were still on, which meant the house mother was waiting for him.

He landed around the corner and released his transformation. Plagg flew up beside him. "I'm tired."

Azure rolled his eyes. "Brat."

Plagg ignored Azure's jab, holding out his paws and clapping them together. "Feed me!"

"Jeez fine!" Azure sighed and patted his pockets, pulling out some of the cheese he'd stolen from Viridian. "I don't have a ton, so if you want the good stuff, save."

"Okay!" Plagg responded brightly. Azure wasn't convinced, but didn't have the time and energy to bother with the small cat. Right now he had to worry about his house mother.

Groaning and rolling his neck he made his way to the front door and made sure Plagg was tucked away safely. Azure took a moment to gather his wits and went in. The first thing he saw was her waiting there, in a chair.

"About damn time ya got here." His house mother growled, standing up. Azure gulped slowly, he could feel her anger radiating off of her.

"Sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry?" She barked. "Don't be sorry you rat, get here on time!"

"I'll do better." Azure muttered.

"I don't care if you'll 'do better' I just don't want to lose ya." Azure looked up, she didn't want to lose him? Maybe she cared after all.

"I'm sorry miss, you won't lose me."

"I better not, I count on the checks I get for the lot of you to survive! Now get to ya room before I tar ya!" Without another world she brushed roughly into the kitchen. Azure was left in the foyer, alone.

Azure gulped, trying to keep his mind focused. Today had been so good he'd almost forgotten one key detail: He was always alone.

Silvia had slid into her bedroom window and transformed back into her civilian clothes.

"I told you it wasn't going to be that bad," Tikki assured as she appeared in front of her.

"Yeah, you were right." She suddenly groaned. "Why did I go off on that rant about the Eiffel Tower?"

"You were just trying to strike up conversation."

"Yeah but I sounded like a nerd. I mean, I know I'm a nerd. But why do I care if I say it around him? If it was around Simon or Viridian, I wouldn't care!"

"Maybe it's because you do care around Chat Noir."

Silvia flopped down on her bead, arms spread around her. "I may need to start that pros and cons list sooner than I thought."

Tikki flew over and floated above her head. "But you had fun tonight, right?"

She nodded. "Of course I did. It was nice not being able to do homework for once and being able to just relax. It's… alleviating."

"With how hard you work, you need a break every once in a while."

"I guess I do." Silvia smiled to herself. "And it's great that I get to spend that time with Chat Noir. He seems trustworthy enough. But there was one part that took me off guard."

"What was that?"

"It was when he said that he was going back. Usually people finish that statement with 'I'm going back home.' But he didn't."

"You know what he said, Silvia. Maybe it is a good idea for you two to keep talk about your regular lives separate from your lives as superheroes."

"I know, Tikki. But there's this part of me that worries about him. Does he not have a place he can call home?" She sat up quickly. "What if he's homeless?"

The kwami rushed next to her. "I'm sure he has at least some kind of shelter. How else would he get the food he needs for his kwami?"

She nodded slowly. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Silvia. You're a kind-hearted person. It makes sense that you care so much about people, and it makes you the perfect Ladybug."

Silvia smiled and cupped Tikki in her hands so she could bring her to her face. "What would I do without you, Tikki? Oh! I should go get you some macaroons. You did a lot of work today. Stay here while I go downstairs?"

"You got it!" Tikki skimmered away while Silvia got up from her bed and went downstairs to the kitchen.

Drey was sitting there when she came down, and he seemed upset.

"Hey bro," she greeted nonchalantly. He looked up, whatever was bothering him made him agitated.

"Oh, hello."

"Is everything okay?" She moved over to the fridge and pulled out the tray of macaroons they had stored in there.

"Yeah, fine." He muttered, though it was clear that everything was very much not fine.

"Are you sure?" She took three off the rack, one for herself and the other two she stored in her pocket. "I'm here to talk, if you need it."

He scoffed slightly. "Yeah because you're the perfect child."

She had just opened her mouth to eat her macaroon and stopped. "Drey, I'm not perfect."

He stood up, glaring at her. "Really? Because you don't even want to follow in our parents footsteps, and I do! Yet they still want you!" He turned away, and ruffled his hair. "No matter what I do."

"You don't think that I have tried telling them that I don't want this position?" She shot back. "I'm just a freshman in high school! They seriously can't expect me to already have a plan for the future!"

"And yet I knew when I was your age!"

"Please, Drey. I can talk to them. You can, too!"

"Like that'll work." He turned back around and took a step forward. "Instead I'll show them what I can do. Next time, it'll work."

She raised her eyebrow. "What will work?"

He clenched his jaw, his eyes became guarded. "None of your business."

Her eyes scanned him with caution. What was her brother doing that he wouldn't even tell her about? "It is my business, since you're my brother. In case you forgot that bit."

"It's called a private life for a reason."

"You know what? If you want to be that way, so be it. I don't care if you don't even want your own flesh and blood to help you!" Her face grew hot with anger.

"How do I prove myself to be better than you, if you help me?" He shook his head, a demeaning smirk growing. "You're supposed to be the smart one."

Her eyes narrowed. "Yeah, and I'll always be the smarter one. If you haven't managed to prove to them anything yet, it really shows how uncommitted you are."

Drey's eyes flared dangerously. "You don't know how committed I am."

"Well clearly I don't if even I can't see it."

"Well maybe you'll be unlucky enough to find out." He threatened. His eyes were still flared, but he drew back. He considered her for a moment before shaking his head. "Or maybe you'll get lucky. You should hope for that."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means watch yourself." He said. He turned away then, and started to head out.

She blinked as he walked away. Silvia had never heard her brother threaten her like he did just now. Something had changed in him, but how it happened she couldn't figure out. Instead of fuming over it like every other sibling debate, she took some deep breaths and went back up to her room with Tikki. She'd think about it tomorrow she decided.

Author's Notes: This one was done with major help from Stitches04. Check out their stuff on AO3!