Author's Notes:

And now, the epilogue. For everyone who has followed this story to the end, I thank you, and I hope you've enjoyed it. To everyone who's left a review, thanks a bunch!

Please don't ask about a sequel. I'm...a little too overloaded right now to think about a sequel. I mean, I'm not against the idea, I've even laid some sequel traps just in case, but just not at this time, y'know?

MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: "BLACK WIDOW"

by Mythril Moth

EPILOGUE

Halfway to Marinette's house, the tired teen heroes realized they'd forgotten something rather important.

"Adrien," Marinette said, face pale, "I...I didn't use Miraculous Ladybug...!"

Adrien frowned. "Yeah, and our fight did a lot of damage," he said.

"Marinette?" Tikki piped up weakly, peeking her head out of Marinette's jacket. "I have enough energy...I can do the job, but I'm gonna need to take a really long nap afterwards."

Marinette frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh," Tikki said. "Besides, we don't have a choice."

"You're right," Marinette said. She frowned. "But no, I don't have anything to feed you..."

"Will this do?" Adrien asked, holding out half of a chocolate bar wrapped in foil. "It's a little old and melted..."

"Thanks, I think that'll be just enough," Tikki said.

While she ate, Marinette played with her pigtails. "So..." she said awkwardly.

"Yeah," Adrien replied, blushing. "Umm..."

Foxy Roux suddenly dropped down between them. "Hey, got your purse," she said. "Umm...well, what's left of it." Sheepishly, she held up the ripped halves of the purse Marinette had spent most of Wednesday making.

Marinette groaned. "Great, I'll have to start all over..."

"Oh, don't worry, I can fix that too," Tikki said. "I can probably even try to fix your ear while I'm at it, since my power heals your body after a battle."

Marinette laughed. "You know, with the day I've had, I forgot all about that."

Once Tikki was ready, Marinette transformed, then summoned a Lucky Charm.

The three teens stared at the object which fell into her hands.

"A toy spider," Marinette said, her left eye twitching. Shaking her head, she threw it into the sky with a halfhearted shout of "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Waves of glowing magical ladybugs swept across Paris, repairing the shattered windows at the school, the collapsed Métro entrance, the trashed hotel suite at Le Grand Paris, and everything else the day's long, exhausting battle had destroyed. Including Marinette's handmade purse. Once the light show faded, Ladybug transformed back into Marinette, and Foxy Roux transformed back into Alya. A little fox Kwami hovered around her, looking at everybody with interest.

"Hi Trixx," Tikki said tiredly. "Long time no see."

"Hi Tikki," Trixx said. "Wow, you look like you got run over by a tank!"

"I feel like I've been run over by a tank," Tikki said. "I need to sleep for a week after what I've been through today."

Marinette's eyes welled up with tears. "Tikki, I am so sorry," she said. "I...I hope you can forgive me—"

Tikki smiled. "It's okay, Marinette. I...I know it wasn't your fault..." She yawned, then closed her eyes. "Just...don't beat yourself up over it...we'll talk about it when I wake up..."

Marinette gently placed Tikki in the little pet pocket she'd added to her new purse. Tikki made a contented noise as she snuggled in. "Do you like it?" Marinette asked.

"Love it," Tikki said sleepily. "Thanks." She closed her eyes. Marinette zipped up the purse and sighed.

"I am such a butt," she moaned.

"Yep," Alya said cheerfully, patting her on the shoulder. "But we love you anyway." She stretched, rubbing her shoulder. "Listen, I gotta get home or I'm dead, but we'll catch up later, alright? Besides, I...I think you two need to be alone right now."

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other, blushed, and looked away. As Alya turned to leave, Marinette called out, "Wait!"

"Hmm?" Alya turned back curiously.

"How did you get a Miraculous?"

Alya laughed. "Ancient Chinese secret," she said with a wink before jamming her hands in her pockets and turning to head home.

Adrien's brow furrowed. "The heck's that supposed to mean?"

"It means the Great Guardian gave it to her," Marinette said, shaking her head. "Of course, I should've known."

"The great who now?"

Marinette looped her arm through his. "I'll explain over a big pile of sandwiches at home," she said. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Chloé Bourgeois tapped a manicured nail against her forearm as she scanned every image on Ladyblog, her lips pressed in a thin frown, her brow furrowed in thought.

After everything that had happened today, she couldn't deny the truth that had been laid bare right before her eyes.

Her Adrichou was Chat Noir, and that Marinette was Ladybug.

The hero she idolized was that common trash girl she despised.

Which meant...Adrien was in love with Marinette.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to throw a tantrum. She wanted to tear up all her Ladybug stuff and set fire to it. She wanted to make her Daddy do something horrible to Marinette and her family.

Instead, she got up, threw herself onto her bed, lay flat on her back, and sighed, staring listlessly at the ceiling.

"What's the point?" she asked herself in a tired, resigned voice. "What's the point anymore..."

She lay there a long time.

Tom and Sabine had been frantic when the two teens turned up at the bakery. Between the two of them, they spun an edited version of the day's events: Marinette had been Akumatized, then turned out to be such a strong supervillain that Ladybug and Chat Noir had a really tough time dealing with her, there'd been a battle that raged halfway across Paris, Marinette had actually beaten Ladybug and took her powers, a new superhero had shown up, and somehow they'd been able to change Marinette back to normal and give Ladybug back her powers.

"So now everyone in my class has turned into a supervillain except Adrien," Marinette said as they finished talking. "At least Ladybug fixed my ear when she changed me back to normal."

"Well, I'm just glad you're safe," Sabine said. "When we heard there'd been another attack at the school, we were worried sick...we didn't know what to do!"

"As long as Ladybug's around, you'll never have to worry, Mama," Marinette said. "There's no problem Ladybug can't solve. Right, Adrien?"

"Right," Adrien said with a smile.

"But no, my daughter actually beat Ladybug," Tom said, impressed. "It must be because of all the time we spend playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III!" He struck his favorite pose; Marinette giggled at his antics as Sabine rolled her eyes.

"How'd you even end up getting turned into a supervillain?" Sabine asked, studying Marinette.

"Oh..." Marinette scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I don't...really remember," she said with a nervous giggle. "Nobody ever does, really, you know? It all gets a little foggy after." Her stomach growled. "I do know I'm starving, though. And, umm...me and Adrien have a lot to talk about. Is it okay if we grab some stuff to make sandwiches and...?"

"Of course," Sabine said. "Take as much food as you want upstairs, you can bring the plates and leftovers down later." She bit her lip. "How...how late is Adrien staying? I mean, you can stay as long as you want, of course, we love having you..."

"Actually, can Adrien stay the night?" Marinette asked. "It's already late, and...and I think he'd be all alone at home right now."

"Yeah, I...kinda don't wanna deal with that empty house right now," Adrien said, his eyes hollow and full of pain.

Sabine winced at the look on his face. "Of course you can stay, just be sure to let somebody know you're here," she said.

There was no school the next day, so Marinette and Adrien talked long into the night, about a great many things. About Marinette's crush on Adrien, about his being in love with Ladybug. About what their relationship and their partnership would be like going forward.

And, although the subject was difficult for both of them, they spoke of Hawk Moth.

The battle was far from over. There would be tense, dark days ahead. Knowing Hawk Moth's true identity meant they could never truly be at peace. At any time, the stalemate could break.

If that ever happened, their ordinary lives would collapse around their heads.

The battle would continue. The Akumatized would come. Ladybug and Chat Noir would fight to protect Paris, along with their new ally Foxy Roux.

In the meantime, Adrien and Marinette would explore each other's feelings, work through the emotional exhaustion wrought by the single worst supervillain attack Paris had ever seen.

Together, they were strong.

Together, they could handle anything life threw at them.

The sun had long since set by the time Lila Rossi made it home.

She had no idea how she'd ended up on that riverbank. Most of her day was a dark blur of foggy, confusing images.

The one thing she remembered clearly, however, was what she'd seen after waking up on the riverbank.

One of Hawk Moth's Akumatized had trapped Ladybug. Had taken her Miraculous.

Alya Césaire, that bushy-haired busybody who ran the Ladyblog, was Ladybug.

Thinking about it made Lila clench her jaw, wrapping her hand tightly around the foxtail pendant she still wore.

"Alya...you humiliated me..." Her olive eyes narrowed.

"I'll get even with you if it's the last thing I do. I'm going to make your life hell, you stuck-up so-called hero...!"

FIN.

Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged.