Chapter 2

"Marinette, please wake up!"

Marinette opened her eyes. Alya was right above her, shaking her shoulder. Nino, Rose, Juleka, Max, Kim, and Ivan were standing around her.

"What? What happened?" Marinette asked groggily.

She gasped when looked down at her bare arms, no longer covered in a red costume with black spots.

"I'm sorry," said Alya. "We all saw you transform from Ladybug. A shape-shifter villain took your form and put you to sleep with a kiss."

Marinette felt her ears. No earrings.

"No! The villain got my Miraculous!"

"Don't worry. Chat Noir was here just now. He's gone after the villain and he'll get your Miraculous back," said Rose soothingly.

"What about Adrien? The villain must have put him to sleep and hidden him somewhere. Maybe where he can't get out!" said Marinette.

"Take it easy. We'll look for him," said Kim. "Come on, Ivan and Max. Let's check the lockers and the boy's bathroom."

The three headed off.

"We should check the girl's bathroom too, just in case," said Juleka to Rose.

They went off, leaving Alya and Nino with Marinette.

"I can't wait," said Marinette. "I have to go help Chat Noir. He doesn't stand a chance against a copy of me by himself. If we get the earrings back a Miraculous Ladybug cure will save Adrien, even if the villain... k-killed him."

She ran out of the schoolyard, looking at the skyline in every direction for a glimpse of Chat Noir or the impostor Ladybug. Nino and Alya followed her.

"What can you do, with no powers?" asked Alya.

"I'll find a way," said Marinette. "It would help to know the akumatized object. You two were closest to the fake Adrien. Did you see anything he wouldn't normally wear? I bet it's the red cap! Was the fake Ladybug wearing it, too?"

"No," said Nino. "He stole that cap from me. It bums me out to lose my trademark look."

"I didn't see anything different about the fake Adrien or Ladybug," said Alya. "The cap disappeared when the Shifter morphed into Ladybug."

"Then the akumatized object morphs too," said Marinette. "This is going to be extra difficult."

Nino asked, "I don't suppose you have the Fox and Turtle Miraculous hidden nearby? Rena Rouge and Carapace would be a big help."

"I don't have them, and I don't have permission to let you know where they are," said Marinette coldly.

"Don't you trust us?" asked Alya.

"Should I? You didn't trust me," said Marinette.

"What do you mean?" asked Nino.

"Do you realize I was nearly akumatized today? My emotions attracted the akuma to the school, but I resisted it. Then it found someone else – I suspect Lila. Impersonation is a form of lying, like her Volpina illusion power."

"I... I guess I owe you an apology, Marinette," said Alya. "I doubted you when you told me that Ladybug wasn't friends with Lila. You couldn't explain because it would expose your secret identity. But now..."

"You're supposed to be my BFF. You should have trusted me more than her, even before you knew I was Ladybug," said Marinette.

"Lila's very persuasive, and you sometimes do irrational things when Adrien is involved..." said Alya.

"You said a good reporter always verifies her sources. Who did you verify Lila's story with before publishing it in your blog?"

"You're right," said Alya. "I'm sorry."

"Nino, you blamed me for following Lila," said Marinette. "It wasn't just suspicion or jealousy. She'd stolen a book from Adrien with pictures of Miraculous holders and their objects. My kwami recognized it and told me I had to investigate. Lila bought a Fox necklace that matched a picture in the book. She tried to convince Adrien that she was the descendant of a superhero. I changed to Ladybug and exposed her lies. That's why she was akumatized into Volpina."

"I'm sorry," Nino mumbled.

"What happened to the book?" asked Alya.

"Lila dumped it in a trash can in the park when Adrien came to talk with her," said Marinette. "I got it back to the owner."

"I didn't do enough digging about why Lila became Volpina," said Alya. "I'm really sorry."

"It's going to take me some time to fully forgive you," said Marinette. "But I'm starting to feel better."

"I want to help," said Alya. "It's the least I can do after letting myself get turned against you."

"Me too," said Nino.

"We can split up and look for the fake Ladybug swinging around," said Marinette. "We can keep in contact by cell phone. Maybe we can spot where she's taking the Miraculous... and find Hawk Moth's lair."

"If that's still who we need to look for," said Alya. "You woke up, so that probably means the Shifter has changed out of your form."

"The Shifter may have changed to someone else to avoid being tailed by Chat Noir to the lair ," said Nino.

It could be anyone," said Marinette. "It's hopeless."

"Not necessarily," said Alya. "Not if we figure out where the Shifter's going from the clues we have. You told us about a book Lila stole with pictures of Miraculous heroes and objects. I've seen the real Fox necklace up close. If Lila got a copy from a jewelry store... I've seen one in a store myself. They're sold by Gabriel Fashions."

"Yes, the book was Mr. Agreste's book of inspiration that he found in Tibet. He was upset when he lost it and that's why he was akumatized into the Collector," said Marinette. "Adrien took the book out of the house without permission – which is why he got banned from school until I got it back."

"Dudes, don't you think it's really suspicious that Gabriel Agreste had a book like that, with stuff about Miraculouses?" asked Nino. "Hawk Moth knows a lot about them. Maybe Gabriel is Hawk Moth!"

"But how could he be Hawk Moth and the Collector?" asked Marinette. "He couldn't akumatize himself."

"He could if he had an accomplice," said Alya. "And now we know he does... whoever sent the giant moth to help him escape from us on Heroes' Day."

"You could be right," said Marinette. "Let's head to the Agreste Mansion. It's a short walk from here. If we see anything suspicious going on we can at least call the police."