Summary: What if Marinette had given Manon the Chat Noir doll instead of the Lady Wifi doll...? Remix of the "Puppeteer" Episode.

Author's Notes: Oh man. I had to cut a lot of details from this story to make it a one-shot but I might consider coming back to it once there isn't a lot on my plate. So Zombiemann2344 of Amino, here's your one-shot request! I hope everyone enjoys it!

Ladybug's arms were crossed as she stood at the top of Notre Dame. Evening had fallen but she was still troubled by the events of the day. Worse, she couldn't talk to Tikki about it. She wanted to cry. She was confused. Her mind spun in all sorts of directions and she wasn't sure what to think except that everything was going to change between Chat Noir and her and she hated the feeling.

She closed her eyes thinking back on the day.

MLMLMLMLML

Alya and Marinette climbed on the metro, heading off to see a movie. The darker skinned girl noticed something pleasant and called her attention to it; the half-Asian looked and nearly exploded when she saw Adrien Agreste, of all people in the world, riding the same train. She eyed him out of her peripheral, a light blush gathering on her face. Alya literally scooped her up before the train doors could close to get them closer to him without actually being on the same car. The doors shut with a hiss. The train took off a second later and she was forced to apologize to someone after she picked herself up off their luggage.

As they rode, she watched him. Her heart beat like crazy and her mind raced with the possibilities. Enough so to even get a giggle out of Alya who was standing off to the side and holding on as the train rocked its way down the track.

Marinette looked back through the window. Adrien put his phone away and looked up towards her. She immediately ducked down out of sight and moved behind Alya. A smile came across his face. He waved to her and she responded. Through her teeth, the newswoman told her, "He's waaaaaving."

"Oh no," she cowered in the small of her back, "now what are we going to do?"

"Wave back." Alya moved out of the way, pulling her up. Adrien looked appropriately concerned for a second but continued to wave.

Then, everything started to fall apart.

An odd blue glow suddenly started at Adrien's feet, going up from there, covering him in black leather that was completely unmistakable. Everyone in the nearby area gasped.

Adrien had become Chat Noir.

The other pair of the duo was stunned. Why? Why had he transformed? Her mind raced with the possibilities but then… She looked at the paw pad ring on his hand. It wasn't black like it usually was. She gasped for a whole different reason; Adrien hadn't transformed willingly, he'd been forced! By an akuma no less. Still, the thought didn't stop her heart from pounding and her brain from trying to solve the conundrum that was Chat Noir being revealed in public like this. Alya pulled out her cellphone, "No way! Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir. Wait 'til everyone gets a shot of this!" Marinette, stunned at first, reached up and grabbed the phone, effectively stopping the recording before it could happen. "Hey!"

"Alya, stop. Something's wrong. Chat Noir wouldn't transform in public like this." The train jerked to a stop and the cat hero flung himself off. Marinette ran off as well. On the platform, their eyes met but it wasn't Chat or Adrien she saw; these eyes were foreign. He pointed at her demanding, "Marinette! Where are the dolls? I want those dolls!"

She blinked. "Dolls? What in the world are you talking about Chat Noir?"

"I'm not Chat Noir," he stomped. He sounded… oddly enough like a little kid. "I'm Puppeteer and I want those dolls NOW!"

"I don't have them. They're at home. Why do you want them anyway," she challenged.

Chat straightened and used his hands to talk, "Because you said I could have them and then mommy said no. So give me those dolls or you're going to be super-duper sorry." She gasped.
"Manon?" Chat Noir didn't give her a chance to respond. Instead, he took off out of the subway. Marinette started to follow but was stopped by a hand on her wrist. Alya pulled her off quickly to the side.

"Alya!"

"Mari, what's going on? What's Chat Noir after? Why'd he talk to you?" She already had her phone out. Marinette sighed. She once more put it down.

"Alya. I'm going to need your help," she confirmed. The Ladyblogger blinked then nodded. She'd seen Marinette determined before but this was a far more aggressive look than she's ever seen before. "Chat Noir isn't Adrien."

"No way! Then why…?"

"The akuma controlling him turned him. She calls herself Puppeteer and she has the ability to… uh… turn anyone she likes into anyone she wants," she floundered, "I think it's Manon who got turned. You remember? The girl I babysit? Anyway, I made some dolls and she wants them but she also likes Adrien so she probably thought Adrien would make the best Chat and immediately turned him." The lie rolled so easily. Honestly, she had no idea what Manon's power was as the Puppeteer but her heart was still racing at a thousand miles a minute at the thought of her changing everyone back into their other personas. What would happen if she got her hands on the Ladybug doll? Time was wasting! "Alya, do me a favor. Post a video to the Ladyblog about it. Tell everyone what her power is. Adrien doesn't need to be attacked or blamed for turning into Chat Noir. Try to get people to understand." She nodded, coming out of her shock.

Marinette turned on her heels. "Hey wait! Where are you going?"

"To try and stop Chat Noir! He's going straight to my room to get the dolls I made," she called back.

As soon as she was out of sight, Marinette released Tikki from the purse. "We've got a lot to talk about but first, I need to stop this akuma."

Tikki nodded, "Just say the words." Marinette brushed her hair out of the way, "Tikki, spots on! Yeah!"

MLMLMLMLML

Chat was already in her room, stealing the dolls right off her desk. He grabbed the Ladybug, Evillistrator, Roger Cop, and Lady Wifi dolls, stuffing them into a side bag he had picked up somewhere. She came in through her round window. Standing on her lounge, she spun her yo-yo, "Come on Manon. Stealing from your babysitter is a big no-no."

"I'm not Manon," he stomped his foot. "My name is Puppeteer and I want Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses so I can keep winning forever and ever!"

"You're just going to have to get used to losing." Ladybug flung her yo-yo. It knocked the bag and she managed to snatch up her own doll, safely removing it out of the hand of the villain. Chat Noir lunged for her. Ladybug jumped, knocking him down. He quickly recovered, shooting out of the window, Puppeteer choosing to cut her losses there instead of leaving her puppet with the chances of being beaten.

She already lost one doll. She wasn't going to lose another.

Ladybug ran to the window, watching as Chat Noir moved over the rooftops. "Great. Just great." She attached the doll to her hip and pulled out her communicator, dialing Mrs. Chummak's number, hoping to find where Puppeteer was hiding.

MLMLMLMLML

Soft footsteps interrupted her memory. She didn't open her eyes. She didn't turn. There was no need to especially since she knew Chat Noir by heart and she trusted him just as much. However, there was an air of hesitancy about him as he stopped a few feet away; they fell silent as they waited for one or the other to say something.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

The reveal wasn't supposed to happen this way.

He rubbed his arm. His ears were flat against his head and he looked anywhere than at her. Finally, he worked up the nerve to go, "Ladybug…."

"It's not your fault," she breathed. Chat shot his head up. Ladybug was still looking in another direction, still looking out over the horizon but she eventually turned and smiled at him. "It's not your fault. If anyone's to blame, it's me Chat."

"My Lady…."

"Tikki, spots off." He blinked as the red light dropped her uniform and in Ladybug's place stood….

"Marinette," he breathed. She smiled at him sadly, waving a hand.

"I'm sorry Adrien. If I hadn't made the dolls, Manon wouldn't have tried to take them and then your identity wouldn't have been revealed and then Alya wouldn't have had to post that video and… and…." Fat, hot tears were rolling out of her eyes. She covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was irresponsible and it caused a lot of danger for the both of us."

There was silence again. Marinette continued to cry; the guilt was still there and she didn't expect forgiveness this time. It was her fault. She knew this and she was ready to accept his anger. Maybe even… the end of the cat and bug team…?

She was surprised when, instead, a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in for a tight hug. He squeezed her tight. "I don't blame you," he whispered into her hair. "I don't blame you Mari." She pushed back.

"Really?"

"Really." He turned her so that she was facing out over the skyline again. "You make mistakes. We make mistakes. As long as we can work on those problems together and we come out of it in one piece, then I know we can do anything successfully." He raised a fist. She smiled and met it. "Always the cat and bug team."

"You mean the bug," she giggled, reaching over to ring his bell, "and cat team."

"That too," he smirked, elation rising in his heart at the new dynamic in their team. It was everything he could have hoped for.