Chapter Nine: Friday at 6:34 p.m.

Marinette clutched her phone nervously to her chest. She was waiting for Adrien to get home before leaving. She had already come up with her excuse for having to leave, but Marinette was nervous about how well she'd execute it. She'd never had to lie to Adrien before even though she'd had other missions. He always happened to be busy or out of town when she had her other missions.

Just as she was considering backing out, her phone buzzed. Marinette checked it and saw that she had received a text from Adrien. It read:

Hey babe, I have to stay later at work. I don't think I'll be back by the time you go to bed. Don't worry, I'll pick up something to eat around dinner time. I love you and am sorry I have to do this to you tonight.

She let out a slight sigh of relief before texting him back:

It's okay, Adrien. I understand. Just take care of yourself. Love you and I'll see you in the morning.

She was already grabbing her gear by the time she sent the text. ~

Ladybug stood at her and Chat's meeting spot. She was worrying about their meeting with Natalie and what they would find out. It had been years since Hawkmoth's arrest. Their agency had known that he had allies, but they had no idea who they were. It had taken them five years to locate one of his possible allies. Now she hoped that they would have more information about the rest of what they did know about Hawkmoth.

Without turning around, Ladybug could sense Chat Noir seeking up on her. "I can feel you behind me," she replied, amusement lacing her words.

An arm wrapped around her shoulders. "How do you always know, m'lady?"

She giggled. "Because you happen to chuckle to yourself as you're seeking up on me." She gently shoved his arm off her and turned to face him. He had a goofy smile on his face and was rubbing the back of his neck. The motion reminded her of Adrien. "Ready to head out," she asked.

His facial expression turned serious as if the weight of their mission suddenly hit him. "Yeah, let's go," he said before leaping off into the night. Ladybug followed him. ~

They arrived at the rooftop they had been on the night before. Ladybug checked her watch. 6:32. Two minutes before their meeting. She suddenly felt all of her anxiety that had been building up all day hit her all at once. She had no idea what Natalie wanted to tell them. They watched her from across the street as she walked into her apartment building.

Ladybug checked her watch again. 6:33. She and Chat Noir jumped across the gap between buildings and landed on the other side. She started to lose her balance and almost fell off the roof, but Chat Noir caught her in time. She gave him a quick smile before they entered the building's emergency staircase.

They quickly ran down the stairs to the level Natalie was on and entered the hallway. They quickly headed to apartment 505 and knocked on the door. The door peeped open a crack revealing a woman with black hair and Caribbean blue eyes on the other side. The door closed quickly before opening again after a few seconds.

Chat Noir walked in first, and Ladybug followed him. She hadn't said anything to him before, but she could sense his uneasiness. She felt like their partnership was still too fragile for her to be prying into his personal life. Ladybug hoped that he would bring it up to her so that she could help him.

As Natalie's door closed again, all of her previous feelings of nervousness came back. Natalie kept looking out the windows like she was trying to find something. Ladybug cleared her throat before she was going to talk, but Natalie cut her off with, "Are you sure no one followed?"

"We always kept an eye on our surroundings. No one followed us here," Chat Noir said.

"Why did you want to talk to us, Natalie?" The question was meant to find out their purpose and why exactly Natalie had trusted that they wouldn't turn her in.

"Neither of you can stay for long. I just needed to tell you about Hawkmoth's protégé." Ladybug's mind started to race. Hawkmoth had a protégé?! How had no one ever known about them?!

"She's a dangerous woman. He trained her well. I'm pretty sure the girl saw him as a father figure. Everything turned south, however, when he kicked her out after her demands started getting too high."

"What demands?" Chat Noir asked. Ladybug couldn't read his expression, but she knew that whatever was going on wasn't good.

"They were always along the lines of money or some way to boost her social status. He didn't care as long as she did what he wanted her to do. When she demanded an arrangement between herself and his son, he kicked her out of his schemes and company."

"What was her interest in his son?" Ladybug asked, feeling a little jealous and protective of Adrien.

Natalie shrugged. "Fame? Attention? Future security that he wouldn't replace her? It was never clear. She grew bitter after that and tried to make his life miserable, but she failed. When Hawkmoth was captured, she immediately gathered up whatever scraps of his plans that she could. She formed her villain empire from what was left of his and has thus since tortured me and whoever else helped Hawkmoth."

"Who is she?" Chat Noir asked, a worried expression coming over his face.

"It's Lila-" a gunshot rang in the air.