Let's Take It From The Top, Chapter 17: Finding Words That Reach the Soul

It was a marvelous Saturday afternoon, the kind that people with wineglasses in hand might choose to toast. The young woman was determined to make the most of it. Stretched out on her couch, her hair down from its usual high bun, comfortable loungewear adorning her slim frame, she relaxed and ran through her plans for the rest of her day.

Review this week's lesson plans; check, she thought. They're going to HATE the pop quiz on Wednesday, but I'll at least drop a small hint about it beforehand. Laundry's done. I have yoga at two, I'm meeting up with Sarah and Emily for dinner, and that nice young man from the library said he'd be calling me later! He seemed very sweet. I hope he does call; I wouldn't mind spending time with him tomorrow and getting to know him better.

A faint sound by her window made her turn, and she saw a couple of birds fluttering away. A butterfly had startled them, it looked like... And, actually, I can see why, she thought. It's HUGE! Beautiful, though. Silvery wings, and they really catch the sunlight well! I don't know that I've ever seen one quite like it.

A very pleasant surprise... WHOA!

She definitely knew that she'd never seen a butterfly of any color phase right through a glass window before.

Wide-eyed, she stared at it as it flapped over to her and hovered in front of her. It seemed harmless enough, but clearly it was something far out of her knowledge and experience.

"What... ARE you, little butterfly?" she managed, reaching out a finger to touch it gently. With one wingflap, it edged forward and brushed against the gold necklace she was wearing, disappearing in a small cloud of sparkles... and a voice filled her mind.

"Hello, Caline Bustier," a pleasant voice said to her, seemingly from inside her head. "Please do not be afraid. You are definitely not going crazy, before you ask. Can you hear me?"

Slowly, Adrien Agreste opened his eyes. He heard a pleasant voice calling his name, but at first he couldn't place it, and he struggled to make sense of his surroundings.

Something smells... really nice! Kind of... lavender-ish, but also like cinnamon. Like there are cookies nearby. Am I back at Marinette's?

I could really go for some cookies right now.

I don't think that's why I'm here, though.

Slowly, shapes before his eyes began to resolve into meaningful things.

This is... definitely not Marinette's room. Very much devoid of pink.

I'm laying on something comfortable. A sofa or a bed, maybe. Or a padded table. It smells nice, too; kind of herbal.

That's a person, leaning over me. Of course it is. I see dark hair. Blue eyes. Pretty eyes! It is a girl! It's...

...

Thank goodness.

"Hello again," breathed Marinette, very softly. She looked a bit anxious, but she smiled brightly as soon as Adrien did.

"I think," Adrien said, sitting up slowly, "that I could never, ever get tired of waking up just like this."

Marinette blushed a little, and was about to reply when Master Fu piped up, "If that's so, I'm sure we could come to a rental agreement for that table."

Both kids laughed at that, breaking the romantic spell momentarily. "How are you feeling?" asked Marinette.

"I'm... it's hard to describe. Kind of blissed out," replied Adrien, with an unfocused grin on his face. "There's still a tingle in my hand, but it's less than it had been, and the rest of me is, like, super-relaxed."

"Good," Master Fu intoned. "That was the desired effect. Mostly, anyway. Whatever had misaligned your energies should be closer to normal now."

Adrien shook his head slightly, then made his eyes focus properly again. "I can't say that I'm sure what you did... but it's hard to argue with success. Thank you, Mr. Fu!"

"My pleasure. Any friend of Marinette's is a friend of mine," he replied, bowing very slightly.

"So... now what?" asked Marinette. "Once I get him home, what can we do to help keep him... balanced, I guess you could call it?"

"Fairly normal behavior?" the old man shrugged. "Try to avoid unnecessary stresses. Whatever it was that helped trigger this, avoid it if you can. Watch out for snakes. Get rest, get sleep, eat well. And if things start getting out of hand again, you will contact me."

"Snakes?" Adrien wondered, looking puzzled.

"A tiny joke," grinned Master Fu, "to make sure that you were listening."

"I don't know how I can hear you... but I can," Caline said, in an awed voice. "Who is this? Can you hear me?"

"I can. I am known as Papillon, Miss Bustier, and I mean you no harm. My butterflies seek out those who want to make a positive difference in the world. As inspirational as you are to your students, I can see why it was drawn so strongly to you! I am requesting your help in a very special mission, if you would be so inclined."

"Wh-what can I do? I'm just a schoolteacher! I'm not... I've seen some of the super-beings on the news lately, but I'd have no idea what to do about them. I'm certainly no fighter," she insisted.

"Fighting is the very last thing I would ask of you, Caline. In fact, I need the exact opposite! I have two loved ones in the grips of a dark, corruptive energy. I seek a person compatible with healing powers, who can soothe their souls and free them from their pain and plight."

"That... doesn't sound so bad. How would it work?" asked Caline, more calmly.

"If you honor me by accepting my offer, a chrysalis will form around you, and transform you temporarily into an angel of mercy of sorts. You should be able to sense those in need, and I will direct you to the ones who need your help most through this link that we share. The powers are temporary, and once they've run out of energy they aren't rechargeable, so use them wisely. You can turn the transformation on and off by saying 'Transform me,' should you need to conserve energy or to resume your normal identity."

Papillon's voice was even and reassuring. "I do not want to disrupt your entire life, after all. I am hoping that this will be straightforward, but these things are rarely as simple as planned."

Caline thought for a moment. "I'm imagining this. I could really... heal people? Repair injuries? Cure diseases? Just how far can it go?"

"THAT, I cannot tell you for sure. I have never tried anything like this before." said Papillon, apologetically. "Some of it will depend on how the powers manifest with you. Some, on the limits of my own power, and those I have not yet tested adequately. We will have to test it on the fly. Will the power be enough to accomplish what I ask of you? I am not sure. But my need is so overwhelming that I humbly beseech you to try."

The young woman was silent.

"This is completely voluntary, you do understand? I would not ask you to do this without your consent. I do not expect any danger, but still..."

"I understand. If I can be of help and heal people, Papillon, I'll do it," she replied, before she could let herself change her mind.

"Bless you! All right, then. Chrysalis... FORM!"

Marinette and Adrien left Master Fu's studio in better spirits than when they'd arrived. "On the plus side, now you know where this is, in case you need another session," Marinette said, hoping that that wouldn't be necessary. I'm not sure how I got him through this without blowing his identity or mine, she thought, but I think it worked!

She looked closely at Adrien; his pupils looked far less dilated, but he still had a silly grin on his face. "I'm going to guess that we should walk home," she grinned. "Somehow you don't look like you're up for leaping tall buildings right now."

"If you're sure," Adrien replied. "I can think again now, at least. Whatever he uses really packs a punch!"

"Yeah, well, so does what's wrong with you and Nathalie," grimaced Marinette, "and if that's toned down for now, that's the big thing. How is your hand doing?"

"I'm pretty confident that it's okay at the moment," said Adrien.

"Like... touch-me-with-it confident, or it's-not-going-to-blow-up-France-today confident?" she wondered, raising an eyebrow.

Adrien's face fell, somewhat. "It's not going to blow up France today; that much I know for sure. But I will not take chances with it if I have any doubts. Nearly killing people I care about is not going to be my trademark."

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," exclaimed Marinette, as she snuggled up next to him. "I know that you're being careful, Adrien. I just need to know where I can touch safely."

Her words hung in the air momentarily, and both of them turned red. "I did not mean it like THAT, either!" Marinette blushed.

"I know you didn't! I... um... can we get moving?" stumbled Adrien.

"Y-yeah!" gasped Marinette, and the two hurried down the sidewalk, doing their best to ignore the sound of Plagg in Adrien's pocket laughing his tiny head off.

The silver energy chrysalis burst after a moment... and even Papillon was taken by surprise by the metamorphosis.

A white-clad figure stood there, with patches of blue around her shoulders and upper chest. A hooded cloak swept around her in a faded brown, with only a white domino mask and bright eyes visible within the hood when it was pulled forward. The hood came to a point above her face, almost resembling the beak of a bird.

"Welcome... Nightingale!" declared Papillon, impressed with his handiwork. "How do you feel?"

"This is... remarkable!" Nightingale beamed, examining herself in a nearby mirror. Her voice was deep and resonant, almost seeming to take physical shape in the air, quite different from the slim teacher's normal tone. "I've never felt anything quite like this! It's like I'm... bursting with life, inside, supercharged with energy!"

"Good! Concentrate on the energy. Let it flow through and around you..."

She did so, and didn't notice that she was floating in mid-air for several seconds, gasping with delight when she did! The cloak served as a gathering mechanism for the energy aura around her, and by manipulating it, she could glide through the air smoothly as if using it as wings.

"When you said that I'd become a sort of angel... I thought you were speaking metaphorically," Nightingale marveled. "This is unreal! I'm really FLYING!"

"Let us see if the second part of 'angel of mercy' is just as potent, shall we?" smiled Papillon. "I am anxious to learn how your healing abilities may work, and of just what they are capable. Why don't you go test them out a bit, and get in a little practice?"

Once no one was looking, she slipped out onto her patio, then took to the skies...

When the teens returned to Marinette's house, they went in through the front door, going through the bakery.

"How are you doing, Adrien?" asked Tom, with a concerned expression. "Are you all right with how that went just now?"

"I am, thank you," Adrien replied. "It was a bit... startling, of course, and I'm sorry that I didn't give you more guidance... When Nathalie got close to me, the powers thing started affecting both of us, I think. I know I was really shaky, and I was ready to run out the back door if I had to! Whatever would've happened if we confronted each other again, I didn't want it happening in your house!"

"Oh, we were fine, and your thinking of that is appreciated," Sabine answered, probably more tactfully than honestly at first. "He seemed like a nice man. We were just anxious about making a good first impression, especially with... the situation we have."

"I know, and you all did just fine, from what I heard. You've all been so kind to me while I've been here, beyond anything I'd have dreamed of, but this has been hard on all of you," said Adrien, looking serious.

"It hasn't been without benefits. We've gotten to know a wonderful young man, for instance. And watched our daughter be as happy as we've ever seen her," Tom noted.

"I'm glad. But I think I need to go make a certain long-overdue phone call right now," Adrien said.

"Good," said Tom, simply. "After that, I think we have the bakery pretty much set for the day. Everything got out of the oven in good condition, even with the distraction, so you two can have the day to do whatever you like."

"Cool! Thank you," grinned Marinette, as the two made their way up the stairs.

Once they were out of the room, Tom chuckled in Sabine's direction. "'A nice man,' you say?"

"Well, he was," shrugged Sabine. "Though I'm sure he can be quite the intimidator when he wants to be. But it seemed like he didn't come here to challenge anybody... more like checking up on his son once he figured out where he was."

"And I can't fault him for that," agreed Tom. "A good development. We're from such different worlds, though..."

"He helped raise someone as down-to-earth as Adrien is. How different can he be?" asked Sabine.

"Heh! Fair enough," Tom replied.

Upstairs, Marinette looked worried. "When you said 'phone call,' you meant..."

"Yeah, that," Adrien confirmed. "I've done enough running AND hiding for this week."

"Do you want me to be there?" she asked him. "I mean, not on speakerphone, but I can be moral support..."

"It'll be fine," assured Adrien. "We're just going to make sure we're on the same page again. If I need you, I'll call for you, but this needs to happen."

"I know." Marinette gave him a squeeze, then headed for the door. "I'll be in my room, whenever you need me."

"Always," he said, making her blush and grin, and then he was alone.

Adrien pulled out his phone and stared at it momentarily, gathering up his willpower. This needs to happen, he thought, and opened his contact list and dialed.

After a brief interval of ringing sounds...

"Hello, Adrien."

"Hello, Father."

Above a local park, a young woman struggled to convince herself that what she was experiencing was indeed real.

I am FLYING! Nightingale thought, bubbling over with giddiness. All I have to do is think and this... magic around me does the rest! This is all completely unbelievable... but it's difficult to argue with empirical evidence!

I am SO not going to make it to yoga class today.

Focus, Caline, she reminded herself. This isn't just for recreation. Papillon has a job for me to do like this, and he told me to go out and get some practice and figure out how the powers work. Now, how am I going to do that?

She pondered her options. I mean, I'm not going to hurt someone just so that I can heal it. I could go down to a local hospital, perhaps, and if they don't throw me straight into the psychiatric ward I could try and work with some of the patients there...

The sound of a child's crying caught her newly sensitive ears, and she glided silently in that direction. That sounds like a problem in progress, Nightingale reasoned. When she got closer, she found two girls, probably sisters, perhaps ten and eight, the younger of whom had fallen off of her bicycle and skinned her knee.

Here goes nothing. "Er... hello there!" she said, and watched the girls whirl around and recoil from her. "Hi! Please don't be afraid! I know I look unusual, but I'm here to try and help. You can call me Nightingale."

"Um... hi, Nightingale?" the younger girl whimpered, eyes huge and still full of tears, trying to figure out how and from where a five-foot bird lady had just appeared.

"What's all that racket?" an adult voice called from a nearby window.

"...Mary slipped off her bike and skinned her knee and now there's a giant bird lady here watching us," the older one called back, hesitantly.

There was a pause, then the voice called back, "Whatever," making Nightingale smirk. Responsible parenting at its best! she thought. "Mary, is it? Listen. I'm... I'm supposed to have some kind of healing powers, so can I see if I can help your knee any?" she asked the child, very gently.

Mary looked Nightingale in the eye, figured I GUESS she's serious..., and managed "Okay. Just don't hurt me."

"I wouldn't think of it. Let me see..."

Nightingale thought, Papillon? Are you listening? but got no response. When that weird energy isn't in front of my face, I guess he's not 'tuned in' all the way. Okay. What should I try? Do I need to touch it? Can I do it from a distance?

She extended her hands towards the wounded knee, like a magician casting a spell... with no visible results.

That's not it, she thought. Hmmm. Papillon said that the powers tend to reflect the person who has them. What does a nightingale do? Sing? Evidently Papillon's never heard me at karaoke night!

But... my voice DID sound very unusual once I transformed. And I am someone deeply familiar with language, and with poetry, and with the power of words to shape the world around them. Could it be... Let me think. What would a child find to be inspiring and healing?

Nightingale closed her eyes and said, in a rich and melodic voice:

"You are braver than you know... and stronger than you seem... and smarter than you think."

She felt a strange energy in her throat as she spoke, manifesting itself in the air in front of her... and she heard a gasp from the girls. Opening her eyes, she saw that the bleeding had stopped and the skin on Mary's knee had started to knit itself together!

"WOW! How did you do that?" Mary's sister bubbled. "Can you do it again?"

"I can try," Nightingale smiled. With a bit more confidence, she intoned:

"You're off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting... so get on your way!"

Mary's tears stopped, and were replaced with pure wonder. "It stopped hurting!" she marveled. "Look!"

The three examined her wounded knee, and found no signs that it had ever been scraped in the first place.

"Well, you heard me!" grinned Nightingale. "If you're feeling better, go have some fun, have an adventure together!"

"We... will! Thank you so much!" called Mary, as the mysterious figure glided away with a wave. She turned to her sister and said, "Mom is NEVER going to believe this."

"What else is new?" her sister replied.

Gabriel composed himself, stilling the variety of emotions battling for control of him at that moment. "It is very good to hear from you again, son. Are you well?" he began.

"I am. As well as I can be, given all this. I am so, so sorry that all of this has happened..." Adrien responded, sounding a bit choked up.

"Do not worry about that right now, Adrien," Gabriel made himself say. Keep him calm, keep him talking, he thought. I do not want to scare him off again. "The important thing is that I know that you are safe and cared for. Was I... correct in my educated guess as to where you are staying?"

"You were," admitted Adrien.

"Good. I find it hard to believe that they would treat you anything other than quite well. They seemed like highly decent parents and people, and I greatly appreciate their taking care of you temporarily."

"Oh, they have been," Adrien confirmed. "Considering how I kind of fell into their laps and turned their worlds upside down, they've been nothing but good to me. Very understanding, very generous, very fair."

"How did you decide on that household, by the way?" wondered Gabriel. "I am aware that you were already quite fond of their daughter, but I did not think that you were particularly close with her on the night that you disappeared..."

Adrien gulped. "Well, I wasn't completely in a stable frame of mind..." Haltingly, he described his perspective on the night of the accident: how he'd overheard Gabriel and Nooroo talking, investigating the safe and the computer, meeting Plagg, the temptation of the combined Miraculous power, the explosion...

"I never meant to hurt Nathalie, or anyone else. Not even for a second. I just... I didn't realize... that it was all REAL..."

Gabriel heard Adrien start to break down, and responded instantly. "No one believes that you did mean to hurt anyone, Adrien," he soothed. "No one has ever thought that. Certainly not me, certainly not Nathalie. She has forgiven you for your part in what happened, and she was out of her head during that... confrontation last night."

"Is she doing okay? How is she?" Adrien asked, nervously.

"She is... stable, for now. Much like yourself, I suspect, she has good times and bad times. At present, she is somewhere in between."

Gabriel paused, then added, wryly, "You know, you could have come out this morning and said hello. I was not there to snatch you by the ears and drag you out of the building..."

"I... wasn't sure about that," Adrien confided. "If things would've become uncomfortable, or worse, I wasn't going to do it in the Dupain-Chengs' house. They've been far too good to me for that."

"That was never my intent! I hope that you know me better than that, Adrien! I have always favored subtlety and persuasion over force. Besides, what would I have shouted in anger? 'How dare you take my son in, feed him, and keep him warm and safe?'" retorted Gabriel.

He let out a loud sigh. "In point of fact, given how you and Nathalie reacted to each other today, for the moment I think it's prudent that you do continue staying with them. Which sounds insane for me to say - of course I want you home with me! - but I also need both you and Nathalie to remain healthy. I am working on something that might help that."

"I am, too, kind of... Marinette knew of a Chinese herbalist who'd helped her once, and I saw him today. He gave me some kind of treatment that seemed to help quite a bit," added Adrien.

Gabriel paused, surprised, and then suppressed an audible laugh. Of course she did, and of course she would take him there! he thought. And good for them! It can only help.

"I know exactly of whom you speak, and I believe you were in very good hands. He's probably the same Chinese gentleman who has been helping Nathalie," he smiled.

"Really? Huh! Small world, I guess," Adrien mused.

Gabriel brought himself back to the present. "I do wish that you had contacted me before now, of course! Especially with the gravity of the situation we have all found ourselves in... but, for now, let us concentrate on moving forwards."

"I..." Adrien stammered. "When I learned more about the Miraculous, and what they are capable of, and what horrible things might have happened if my 'wish' HAD been granted... I didn't know what to think about you, or them, or what you wanted to do with them."

"Adrien... I can say that I have been there, what you were thinking about that night. You don't think that I have nightmares every night over my role in all of this? Over the temptation that the Miraculous present? Especially now that the Ladybug Miraculous is out in the open?" Gabriel closed his eyes as he spoke. "I did not share any of this with you because I had hoped that I could simply keep it all locked away, hidden from the world. Unfortunately, my son is far too clever to allow that to happen."

He took a deep breath and continued. "You should have trusted me, son. It's important for you and I to be able to trust each other. If you were to begin hiding the truth from me, then I would naturally start imagining all kinds of things... and that is exactly how you responded to your discoveries. Which is a lesson for both of us. We will have to have a long talk about certain things when you return... but I understand. I promise that I do."

"Thank you, Father," Adrien replied, quietly.

Marinette huddled up in a ball on her bed, nervously. I WILL NOT eavesdrop, I WILL NOT eavesdrop, she told herself. He and his father really, really need to reconnect, no matter what. I WILL NOT...

Her phone distracted her, with an incoming call from Alya. Well, this is as good a time as any to get that ball rolling, she smiled, and picked up. "Hi, Alya!" she said, brightly.

"Hi! Is this a better time to talk than last night?" Alya asked.

"Yeah, it is! I'm alone now. What's up?"

"Oh, just about EVERYTHING, that's all! Oh, my gosh, this week has been so crazy that I've been dying to catch up with you about it! We have a whole set of superheroes in Paris now: Firefly, Chat Noir, Ladybug, Dreadnaught, whose hair was just like Mylene's but don't tell her I said that, I'll have to ask her, anyway, plus this mystery villain from last night..."

"Well, 'hero' and 'villain' might not be the right words to use, exactly. I mean, if they-" began Marinette.

"...so now I don't know WHAT to call the blog I started about them, it could be the Firesignal, the Chat Cafe, the Ladyblog..."

Marinette grinned and went quiet. Even from just a short time knowing Alya, she was aware that when Alya got excited about a topic like this, there wasn't much that could hold her back.

"...do you think they'll get a team name? Anyway! Plus YOU'VE got a brand new mystery man in your life, and I will drag every last bit of dirt about that out of you, even though I think that I know who he is, and I'm dying to hear THAT story..." continued Alya. "And then there's this new thing from just a little while ago!"

"Oh? What's that?" asked Marinette.

"Well, I stopped by your house to see if you were home today..."

Oh, no, Marinette thought, I see where this is going. It depends on what time she was there...

"I can explain, Alya..."

"...and I saw YOU up on your balcony, in the arms of a certain blonde catboy, being carried off across the rooftops!" finished Alya, triumphantly. "Any comment on that?"

"I..."

Marinette stopped to think about it for a moment. What the heck CAN I tell her? She thought, and thought, and thought... and then burst into uncontrollable giggles.

"Marinette?" asked Alya, feeling confused.

"I could try to explain, Alya... but I wouldn't succeed," managed Marinette, once she caught her breath. "This week has been about three miles past crazy and I have nothing I can add to it."

"Nothing?" Alya laughed, a bit stunned. "I mean, let's start with the basics. I wasn't hallucinating, right? That was Chat Noir today?"

"It was. I've met him, obviously. He's a sweetie. I had somewhere that I needed to get to and he was my taxi," Marinette offered.

Alya paused for a moment. "You're holding out on me, girl," she accused. "What are you not telling me? Is HE your mystery man?"

"Well, there's a lot about him that's a mystery... but he's not the one I was curled up with last night. Adrien was."

"YES! I was so sure you two were perfect for each other!" crowed Alya. "I was afraid he was going to spend all year pining over you, making you gifts, trying to get up the nerve to talk to you..."

"Oh, come on, Alya," scoffed Marinette. "Who would do THAT?"

The girls giggled their way through a continuing conversation that, while Marinette had to be wary of what she did and didn't say, did take her mind off of what was going on in the next room.

"Now, as for your new lady friend..." Gabriel intoned, leaving that hanging in the air.

"...Yes?" asked Adrien, nervously.

"Might I just say that you have impeccable taste?" grinned Gabriel. "I've met her a handful of times now, and she's impressed me very much each time. You have my complete blessing."

"Well... uh, wow! I'm sure glad to hear that," Adrien said, breathing a sigh of relief. "You came to that decision pretty quickly..."

"Her concern and compassion for you could not be more obvious. And from what you've told me, that was true even before she got to know you better," explained Gabriel. "She was nervous around me each time - and why wouldn't she be? I'm a millionaire fashion mogul and her new boyfriend's father. Yet she overcame it with grace and will. She could easily have caved in and told me all that I wanted to know, or lied to my face to protect you. She did neither; she balanced both our wishes, and soothed my nerves while still giving you the shelter you desired."

"That's my girl," replied Adrien, simply.

"I had hoped that when you came of age, you would find a strong and soulful woman like your mother, and not settle for just a pretty face or a model. I'm pleased to see that we raised you well in that respect," his father smiled. "Not that Miss Marinette is at all hard on the eyes, of course! And rumor has it that she has budding fashion design skills, as well?"

"I'll be happy to introduce you properly... once we get past all of this," Adrien promised. "If we do."

"Speaking of which... where do you plan to be around four o'clock today?" asked Gabriel.

The look on Adrien's face was goggle-eyed surprise. "Why do you..." he began.

He heard a noise at the door, and saw Marinette, peeking in on him. Are you still okay? she mouthed, silently, and he motioned her to come in. "Why do you want to know where I'll be around four o'clock?" finished Adrien.

"I will not be there personally... but I plan on sending an emissary to meet you. Or, rather, Papillon will," explained Gabriel. "I have prepared a very special host whom I hope may be a key to resolving this crisis. She has healing powers, and if your... problem is relatively calm right now, perhaps she can help bring it under control more permanently."

"Where will she be?" asked Adrien.

"Where would you like her to be? I am giving you advance notice so that she will not catch you by surprise. You can choose whether to appear as yourself or as Chat Noir, in a place of your choosing, and I will direct her accordingly. And if you wish for either of your lady friends to be there, that is at your discretion."

Adrien looked even more surprised, if that was possible. "Either?" he asked, flashing a quick I don't know what he's talking about look at Marinette.

"I would guess that Adrien would wish for Marinette to accompany him, while Chat Noir might ask Ladybug. Would that not make sense?" Gabriel replied.

"Hmmm. That's a good point... I'll think on that. I can't contact Ladybug directly, but I can get word to her if I need to," mused Adrien.

Marinette tried not to make a face at that. He still doesn't know, she thought. I hope I don't have to keep these lives of mine separate from him forever...

On his end of the phone, Gabriel also found Adrien's response quite interesting. HE doesn't know? he wondered. Could I be wrong about the connection? Or is Marinette even craftier than I had imagined?

Adrien scratched his head, idly. "Let me make my mind up, quickly... it's about one-thirty now... and I'll text you with the who and when and where, okay?"

"That is fine," agreed Gabriel. "Expect that a flying woman in a bird suit will meet you. Yet another in the list of sentences I never thought I would say aloud."

They both got a short laugh out of that. "This whole thing really is as crazy as it seems, isn't it?" added Adrien.

"It is. It is not something I would have chosen for you..." replied Gabriel, looking a bit wistful, "...but, again, my son is too clever to keep things from him. And in all other circumstances, that is something I remain proud of."

"That means a lot to me," smiled Adrien. "I'll be in touch shortly."

He hung up, then fell back on his bed, exhaling loudly. "Whew! I feel like I just gave birth. To an elephant," Adrien muttered.

Marinette sat down next to him and rubbed her hand on his shoulder, gently. "That went well, I hope?" she asked.

"Pretty well. No fireworks. It did feel good to talk like normal people again," he replied. "Now... I have to figure out if I'll be normal at four or not, and where."

"I heard some of that," Marinette said. "A butterfly host with healing powers? Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Do we even HAVE another option? If it has a chance of curing this, I'll play guinea pig for her," replied Adrien. "It's not getting better on its own."

"That's true," she conceded. "Which way do you want to play this?"

"If I'm Chat Noir, it's less likely to give away Dad's identity," Adrien reasoned, "and I know that Ladybug would have my back. I think I'm leaning that way... though if I'm Adrien, it'd be easier to bring YOU," he grinned.

"I've been known to be in public with handsome catboys, too," Marinette blushed, "though you might want to know that Alya saw you carry me off this morning."

"She DID?" boggled Adrien. "She didn't tell anyone, did she?"

"I talked to her. She thinks that Chat Noir is a friend of mine and Adrien's my new boyfriend. Which is MOSTLY true, of course, but I wanted to keep your secret safe."

"Good thinking," he replied, "even if I'm not very good at keeping it safe..."

Gabriel put his phone away, smiling with some satisfaction. A small step... but a good first step, he thought. My family may be unusual... but it is mine, and I would have no other. In time, it will be restored... all of it.

A moment later, he transformed back to Papillon and reached out mentally to his current protégé. "Nightingale, it is Papillon. How are you progressing?" he called out.

A happy voice echoed in his mind. "Quite well, I think!" she replied. "The power is in my voice. I can use poetry, literature, lyrics, whatever I choose that's sufficiently inspirational and positive, and the healing is real! I've helped a girl with a skinned knee, a man with a splitting headache, and a cat that'd injured its leg so far... I'm starting small, because I don't want to use up the energy before I do what you need me to do, but so far it's been working like a dream!"

"Excellent!" beamed Papillon. "That is precisely what I wanted to hear. I have contacted the first of my two primary targets, and am awaiting his word as to where you can meet him."

"Who is it, may I ask?" asked Nightingale.

"It's... slightly difficult to explain, without giving away my own identity. Let me give it a try..."

Papillon spent some time relating the story so far to Nightingale, redacting what he felt that he needed to. She learned of a magical accident gone wrong, a young man with a dual identity, a woman with part of his power trapped within her, and how the power's fractured state was eating away at both of them.

"Will they need to be together for this to work?" asked Nightingale. "Am I connecting the two of them, somehow, and letting the power flow back into the boy where it belongs?"

"I'm... not sure that that would be safe," cautioned Papillon. "I have someone whom I must consult as to whether that would be a good idea or not. It is the desired end result, yes... but this is all trial-and-error at this stage. For now, I am content to start slowly, dressing their spiritual wounds rather than performing major surgery. If it works, and the boy and woman remain stable afterwards, perhaps..."

He trailed off. Perhaps... you may even be an answer to my deepest prayers.

"I think that I agree. Every doctor knows the Hippocratic Oath; 'first, do no harm.' If I can help these two get some relief, we can build from there," replied Nightingale.

"...Yes," he answered, softly. "The boy is in a more stable state right now, so I will have you help him first, and I am - ah!" A buzz on his phone told him that the answer he required had arrived. "You will be meeting... Chat Noir, the feline superhero of Paris... he's suggesting halfway up the Eiffel Tower, for some privacy... at four o'clock?"

"I will be there," said Nightingale. "I've seen him on television, so I'll recognize him for sure. Plus, who else would be up that high?"

"Precisely," grinned Papillon. "Chat Noir will climb like his namesake, I suspect that the Ladybug will join him, but spectators will not be invited. Other than myself, riding along and seeing through your eyes. That way, if he should need to transform back to normal for some reason, the damage to his dignity and identity will be minimal."

"It's a date, Papillon. I will decide on some suitably potent literature this afternoon and meet them there," she smiled.

Adrien paced nervously, back and forth, back and forth, on Marinette's balcony. "What time is it now?" he asked.

"Ten before four," Marinette told him. "Five minutes past the last time you asked."

"I know, I'm sorry," he smiled, apologetically. "Sure you don't want to come along?"

"I'm not crazy about heights, like where you're going..." she demurred, gesturing to her back. "At least when I'm without wings, anyway. And Ladybug will be there to watch over you for me."

She stopped his pacing by walking over to him and wrapping her arms around him. "You be careful there, okay? Come back to me," she whispered.

"I don't think I'm actually DOING anything there. Just letting this healer do her thing, right? That should be easy enough," he replied.

"You know what I mean," Marinette replied. "You know your body and your powers better than anyone. If it feels right, go with it, but if it doesn't, you can stop her. I just want you out of danger."

"I have lots of reasons to want this to work. And one in particular."

They shared a kiss, then Adrien transformed to Chat Noir and headed for the Eiffel Tower.

Marinette watched him go, waited for a moment to be sure that he was out of sight, then called "Tikki, spots on!" and transformed to Ladybug. Oh, yes, Ladybug will be there to watch over you. You can always count on that, she smiled, as she swung out to follow him.

Next time:

* "I could SWEAR that I've met you somewhere before..."

* A moment of overwhelming excitement.

* "Is it supposed to... crackle like that?"

* "You're about to learn a whole new aspect of your powers."

* "You CAN'T! Not NOW!"