Oh boy, the NY special! Whatever could happen here? This chapter took me a really long time to get to for a lot of reasons. Mainly because I came to realize after our little sky dance I was going to have to really wrap my brain around an idea for how to include Lucy without totally skipping over most of what happens. Also I've just been busy in life in general. It's the 15th of Feb now. I wrote the first half of this chapter back in the middle of January. My birthday is coming up this month and I was planning on making a Lucy birthday chapter just for fun after I was done with this one but now it's looking like that probably won't happen lol. Anyway, sorry for the delay.

Once again, I can't help but sigh. I know that the show focuses on this class specifically, and it's a kid's show so why explain it but why just this class? When I was in high school, I was in a french class, as well as a foreign language club run by the same teacher. We were offered a school trip to Paris for a week. Doing so of course required each student to come up with the very expensive funds to go, funds that unfortunately I could not acquire. However, I'm pretty sure it was the after-school club that was offered the trip, not the class because obviously, she had a hand full of other french classes. I don't know how many kids went on that trip but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a very large group. With that being said, Ms. Bustier obviously has other students than the main characters but only the main characters go. It's probably dumb of me to overthink these things, as I said it's a fucking kid's show, who cares, but I can't help but take note of these details!

This chapter took me waaaaaay longer than I planned to get around to.

Anyway! Onward!

OoOoOoOO

"And that's how the friendship between American George Washington and Frenchman Marquis de Lafayette was born, between two men who believe that freedom should have no boundaries."

The class watched as their sock puppet presentation played on the screen for Ms. Bustier and Mr. Damocles from the library floor. When it finished the two adults clapped their hands, pleased with the work done. "Congratulations! That truly was a sensational student film!" Ms. Bustier praised.

"And completed just in time for our departure to French American Friendship Week... in New York!" Mr. Damocles added with excitement. The majority of the class cheered with the exception of Adrien whose head hung low, knowing his father more than likely wouldn't allow him to come.

"Ah! Good thing my parents aren't letting me go with you! Not seeing you all for a week will feel like a vacation!" Chloe announced, only for the principal to correct her.

"But, Miss Bourgeois, your parents already gave the authorization. You are coming along with everyone!"

"WHAT?!" Chloe shouts, pulling out her phone. "You're gonna hear from Daddikins!"

"I, on the other hand, regret to inform you that I can't come with you after all." Ms. Bustier told the class who all moaned in disappointment. "I just have a few medical exams I couldn't postpone, because... I will soon be having a baby!" She explains, bringing her hands to her tummy.
All students cheer in excitement again, happy for their teacher. It didn't last long, however, as Mr. Damocles announced that Ms. Mendeleiev would be substituting for their regular teacher. The science teacher was a known rule stickler and if she was in charge the students knew they would end up having a very restricted trip.

"She's not cool!" Kim complained. "New York with her will be so lame! She won't let us do anything!"

"Something wrong, buddy?" Nino asks, noticing Adrien's bummed expression.

"My father isn't going to let me go - as usual."

"I'm stuck in Paris too!" Lila interjects from in front of Adrien, leaning back to speak to him. "I have obligations because of my charity work, but we could see each other if you'd like." Adrien had no desire to be around Lila really, but being some sort of friend to her had been the deal they made when she confessed to lying about Marinette punching her down the steps several weeks prior. So far, it hadn't been much of an issue, Lila was rarely at school as it was, and besides her usual stories, she had stopped with her lies about Marinette or anyone else.

"Thanks, Lila..." He chuckled nervously, only for Marinette to jump up in disagreement.

"NO!" Of course, she had not meant to make a scene. Poor Marinette just really hated Lila. Even more than Chloe, who as of the moment was pretty high on her shit list.

" Uh-? I mean... no! We made that film together, all of us!" She stuttered out. "Which means Adrien must come with me! Uhh... I mean, us! He's our friend and you don't let a friend down! Just like in the film, when sock-Lafayette comes and helps his friend sock-Washington find freedom. (points at Adrien) Adrien, you're our sock-Washington! You're our friend! And as your friend, it is my duty to go and see your father and convince him to let you come with us!"
Lila glares at Marinette while the rest of the class cheers.

"And we're coming with you!" Rose adds. Adrien smiles at Marinette and then shifts his eyes to Lucy who seems to be looking at the pigtailed girl proudly. Feeling his gaze, her eyes shift to his. She bites her lip and makes a fist in her hand, pumping it downwards while mouthing "Fuck yeah."
Adrien shakes his head. "Thank you, Marinette. But my father's a difficult man to convince."
Marinette looked at Adrien with determination oozing from her. "I will never let a friend down!"

OoOoo

In the courtyard, Lucy found herself and the other girls surrounding Marinette with questioning gazes. Alaya crossed her arms and raised a brow.

"Adrien? Your friend?"

"Absolutely! It was time I moved on! It was so painful, not being able to tell him how I felt. It made me act completely crazy!" Marinette explained, earning a "No kidding." From Alix.

Marinette ignores the comment, clasping her hand together and twirling around them. "Oh! It's so liberating to finally just be Adrien's friend instead of "The girl who's in love with Adrien"! I no longer get lost in his beautiful green eyes, and no longer spray his Adrien number four cologne on my pillow, and I even stopped binge-watching my montage of his best ads!"

"What about your poster collection?" Alix questioned, making the dark-haired girl pause.

"Th-Th-That's strictly for research purposes!"

"Well, I'm proud of you, Marinette," Lucy said, smiling warmly. "I think it's safe to say we all know that you couldn't have possibly changed your feelings in a snap, but maybe it's time to stop putting the boy on a pedestal. You have Luka now right? He doesn't deserve to be strung along," She said, her eyes shifting to Juleka briefly, who nodded in agreement. "Besides, with Adrien dating Kagami now-"

"Wait!" Alya interrupted. "Adrien is dating Kagami!? Like officially?!" Lucy knitted her brows together.

"Well, I guess. I don't know how serious it is, it's still new but they seem to be having a go at it." She answered with a shrug.

"See!" Marinette chimed in. "It's pointless to dwell on it any longer!"

Alya shifted, seemingly unconvinced. "But are you sure you'll be fine spending a week with him in New York? Isn't that too... romantic?"

"No! Of course not!" Marinette assured. "We'll have a great time as friends! But first..." Her cheerful tone changed to that of a worried one. "I've gotta convince his dad!"

"Don't worry Marinette," Lucy said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We all want Adrien to be able to come, so you've got backup."

OoOoOoOo

In his home, Gabriel watches a news broadcast. In New York, due to the French American friendship week, the museum is putting Lafayette's saber on display, as well as the eagle-talon necklace he gave George Washington. Nathalie, who was screen sharing with Gabriel from her room smiled.

"This is no mere jewel." She informed Gabriel. "The Eagle talon is without a doubt a lost Miraculous."

Since his last major defeat with Ladybug and Chat Noir, Gabriel and Nathalie had taken some time to do more research concerning the miraculous. As he had suspected, the miracle box currently in Ladybug's possession was not the only set of miraculous in the world. As it turns out, at one point there were many miracle boxes to be accounted for, but due to circumstances he wasn't fully aware of, the majority of them were lost. Although he would continue to defeat Ladybug with his usual methods, Gabriel knew if he could get his hands on other miraculous his odds of victory would skyrocket. Acquiring them was the hard part, but Gabriel was a patient man, and he was willing to play the long game.
The doorbell then rings. Gabriel opens the camera and sees Marinette and her friends outside. He smirked, He already knew what this was about and fortunately for Adrien's little friends, it would work in his favor.

"Have my plane ready for take-off" He told Nathalie before hitting the button that opened the gate and heading to the front door.

OoOoOoOOOo

"And that's what makes our friendship so precious! And since your son is my friend- I mean our friend, that means he has to come to New York with us!" Marinette finished, looking at Gabriel with what Lucy could only describe as her crazy eyes. Lucy learned her throat and placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder.

"As you can see, we really hope you'll reconsider letting Adrien come with us. We know how protective you are of Adrien, but I mean hey," Lucy said jacking her thumb behind her. "You got a whole parade of friends looking out for him. That has to count for something, right?"
Gabriel looks down at the two indifferently as he begins to speak, Young ladies, I-"

"I WON'T leave this place UNTIL you've-"

"Mari!" Lucy jabbed her friend in the ribs with her elbow. "Reel it in."

"I've decided to let Adrien go along with his classmates." Gabriel finished, surprising them both.

"Um- You have? But usually..."

"You've convinced me," He explained. "The both of you. You're really are good friends to my son."

Marinette squeaked excitedly, thanking Gabriel over and over as she ran out of the house. Lucy chuckled and followed after her.

"Miss Shepherd," Gabriel called out as she made it to the door. Lucy stopped and turned slightly to face him. "I do expect you to follow through with what you said about looking out for Adrien." Lucy offered a light smile.

"Of course."

They just unknowingly offered you an unexpected opportunity." Nathalie said after the teens left. Gabriel nodded in agreement.

"Yes. Letting Adrien go to New York will be simpler than hiding my absence here from him. Besides, this will allow me to continue keeping an eye on him."

OoOoOoOoO

Adrien hunched over in the locker room bench area after having his ass handed to him by Kagami. His head simply wasn't in the game today as he thought about the trip to New York and his inability to go. Kagami after having gotten changed ut of her fencing uniform found Adrien in his slump.

"What's wrong, Adrien?" She asks, Adrien doesn't look up at her as he answers.

"My whole class is going to New York tomorrow. I wish I could be going with them." Kagami felt sympathy for Adrien. She after all knew exactly what it is like to have an overbearing parent.

"I'm sad for you, but happy for us." She told him. "That'll give us more time to practice. When you're as weak as you were today, the pleasure of beating you is lessened." Kagami jokes lightly, bending down and bringing her hand under Adrien's chin, lifting it to place a light kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Kagami," Adrien says, a small smile forming on his lips. His sadness was still evident, but on the bright side, he wouldn't be completely alone all week. He'd have Kagami and of course Ladybug.

OoOoO

Or not.

"You're going away?!" Chat repeated from the rooftop he and Ladybug met on after their nightly patrol. Ladybug had just announced that she had a small personal matter to attend to that required her to go out of town.

"Only for a few days." She assured. "It's nothing important, kitty-cat! But I can't tell you anymore, in-"

"In order to protect our secret identities. I know the drill, M'Lady." Chat said, rolling his eyes.

"But in case, anything happens in Paris, an akumatized villain, a Sentimonster, anything..." She pulls out a paper bag and takes out a remote control, handing it to her partner. She then pulls out a small cat toy. "All you have to do is click here and I'll come back as fast as I can. For emergencies only, of course!" Chat Noir presses the remote button several times in excitement, making the toy in Ladybug's hand squeak. Although a little bummed another friend was off while he was stuck in Paris, Chat knew Ladybug was trusting him to handle things while she was away.

"Of course! Just go and rest easy. I'll be Paris' substitute guardian! Am I not the perfect partner after all?"

"I'm counting on you. No funny business, okay?" She stresses and Chat grins.

"Have I ever struck you as the funny kind? I'm as serious as they get!" He presses button again, making the toy squeak and Ladybug groans in annoyance.

OoOoOoOo

But then of course...

"I... I can go to New York? Really?" Adrien was thrown off when his father appeared in the dining room at breakfast announcing that he now had permission to join his class on the trip to New York.

"You can thank your friends Marinette and Lucy for convincing me." The boy was almost too stunned to speak. He wanted to be excited but...

"But... Actually, I hadn't planned on... What about my fencing lessons? And Chinese?"

"Nathalie has already packed your bags. Your bodyguard will go with you. You take off this afternoon." Gabriel dismissed, and from behind the BodyGuard retches at the thought of flying. Adrien, knowing his father has made up his mind, doesn't bother to argue further.

"Uh... Yes, very well, Father."

OoOoOo

" I've been dreaming about this ever since the special New York Addition of the Gentlemen's Cheese came out!" Plagg swoons once in Adrien's room. "Blue Marble Jack, Cougar Gold, the legendary Monterrey... All those wonderful American cheeses are just waiting for us to taste them!"

"We can't go, Plagg. I promised Ladybug I'd watch over Paris, and I don't wanna let her down." As much as Adrien wanted to join everyone, he couldn't just leave Paris totally defenseless.

"But your father will never let you stay!" Plagg argued. "You want more freedom, and, for once, your father is letting you have fun! Enjoy! You'll be in New York with your friends!" Adrien pulled out the clicker from his pocket and frowned. Plagg was right about one thing, his father wasn't going to change his mind. This meant he would have to tell Ladybug something had come up and that he didn't have a choice in the matter.

"She's gonna be so disappointed." Guilt ate away at Adrien. Ladybug was counting on him to hold down the fort while she was away, and although he knew she couldn't totally blame him for not being able to follow through, he knew it would put a damper on whatever it was that she needed to take care of out of Paris.

"Of course not!" Plagg says, grabbing the remote from Adrien's hands. "She can't be if she doesn't know! Besides, she told you not to call unless a supervillain shows up. See any supervillains in the house?"

"What if something happens while we're gone?" Adrien tried to reason with his Kwmai, but Plagg was a clever one.

"Don't you have an Akuma alert on your phone?" He asked slyly and it was as if a lightbulb went off in Adrien's head.

"Of course! And in case of emergency, I can transform into Astrocat to fly back quickly!"

"Perfect! And then you can tell Ladybug!"

"That way, she'll never be disappointed!"

The two fist bump. "POUND IT!"

OooOooOoO

That afternoon, as usual, Marinette found herself way behind schedule and missed the bus that was taking her class to the airport. Fortunately for her, Luka was more than willing to help and picked her up on his bike. It didn't take long for them to find the bus, pedaling a pace behind it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Luka. We'll never catch up to the bus!" Marinette apologized, not wanting Luka to over-exert himself.

"Of course, we will! I know how important this trip is to you." Luka replied, making Marinette's grip on him tighten slightly. Juleka and Rose had informed Luka of Marinette's determination to get Adrien permission to join them on the trip.

"You're saying it's important because of Adrien, right? But what's important is not at Adrien will be there, you know? I mean, it's important to me, it's important to Adrien, because it's an important trip, but it's not important to me, 'cause he's just a friend!"

Alaya, having seen Marinette from the window, calls out to have the bus stop to let her on. Luka pulls over beside the bus and lets Marinette grab her bags and get off the bike.

"You know what's important, Marinette? That this trip helps you get some clarity."

Marinette felt gratitude swell inside her as she looked at Luka. Lucy had been right when she said he was the most emotionally available person she ever met. He left himself open to her in a way no other person ever really had. In a way she never had herself. It was scary, but also exciting. Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our lives, vulnerability is the path.

"Thank you, Luka." She says, planting a kiss on his cheek before getting onto the bus.

Once the door close, Marinette looks for a seat while gazing over all of her friends, her eyes naturally landing on Adrien who smiles at her. She internally curses herself as she walks past him and takes her seat next to Alya.

OoOooo

"What seat are you, Lucy? Adrien asks as they begin boarding the plane, striding beside her with his bodyguard in tow.

"16A" Lucy answers, looking at her boarding pass. Adrien looks at his own and cant help but frown.

"31B." Lucy smiled and pats Adrien's shoulder.

"A whole eight rows away. However, will you survive?" Adrien rolled his eyes and nudged Lucy with his shoulder.

"Ah, looks like your sitting with us Miss Shepherd." Mr. Damocles spoke from his seat beside their science teacher. Lucy gave a tight-lipped smile.

"Fun."

"However will you survive?" Adrien whispered jokingly, earning a shove from the blonde girl.

"Yes, turns out you're in luck, I'm coming," Chloe announces as she gets on the plane. But only because I decided to." She says as if anyone would really have any idea that her parents had practically thrown her out the door, pleased to have a little "Time away." Rude. "But there is no way I'm traveling in these conditions. I'm going to sit down in first class!" At least they accommodated her.

Adrien chuckled and made his way to his own seat with his bodyguard. The two got adjusted and Adrien quickly looked for something to entertain himself with. He sees a magazine and sighs as he finds the cover to be Ladybug and Chat Noir, putting it back in its place.. He browses all movies, "Les Aventures de Ladybug & Chat Noir", "Natura", and "Devastation". He then flips to the music selection and is automatically greeted with the "Miraculous Music Video" making him groan. It felt like everything was trying to remind him of the responsibilities he felt like he was putting on the side for this trip. He notices Marinette looking for her seat and jumps up to help her. After his father had told him he would be joining his class and he had come up with his plan with Plagg, Adrien called Lucy to thank her for the good word she put it. Lucy had laughed and told him it was no sweat and that Marinette had been the one to really put her foot down on the matter.

"Hey, Marinette! What's your seat number?" He asked, picking up her bag. Marinette stuttered at his sudden appearance.

"Baby... uh- BBB! 32B."

"Oh, great! You're sitting next to me!" Maybe this wouldn't be a completely boring plane ride after all. Marinette gaped at him. Of all the possible seats...

"Awesome, Marinette!" Alya cooed. "Go and sit next to your "friend!"," She went on with air quotes. "So you two can enjoy a nice flight together!" A super smug smile spreads across her features. Her voice set into a teasing voice tone. "A very loooong flight."

"Uh-? Sure!" Marinette smiled trying to play ti cool. "Next to my husband... I mean friend... no problem!" An awkward chuckle escaped her. Adrien picks up her bag and places it in the overhead storage before taking his seat. Marinette stiffly takes the seat beside him, breathing heavily. "He's a friend. Just a friend. He's just a friend."

Adrien, noticing Marinette looking uncomfortable raises an eyebrow. "Um, everything OK?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, great! WOO-HOO! It's a little hot in here, isn't it! " She giggles nervously, reaching up for the air vents. "I just-..."

"Here. Let me help you." Adrien offers. His hands touch hers and Marinette gasps in shock and drops into her seat. Her seat falls and completely reclines, causing Adrien to trip and fall on top of her as well. Marinette's face turns red and Adrien quickly gets off of her.

"Oh, sorry!"

"No, I'm fine!"

"Are you feeling cooler now?" He asks hopefully, but Marinette jumps out of her seat.

"Gee! No! Not at all! It must be the seat! It's a warming seat, right? Ooh! It's burning hot!" She says poking it with her finger.

Um... No... It's a regular seat." Adrien says, placing his palm on it with uncertainty. "But you can have mine if you like. Come on, let's switch!"

In her panic, Marinette runs back up the aisle to Alya. She didn't want this. She wanted to be over Adrien and embarrassing her newfound relationship with Luka. She thought it would be so easy now!

"Help, Alya! I can't sit next to him! I might need more training to be just his friend after all!" Marinette pleads, but Alya doesn't have any real solutions for her.

"There's still time to get off the plane, because New York is THE most romantic city in the world, after Paris, obviously." She states. "New York is, like, carriage rides with pretty white horses, little dogs, and kittens on your lap, the sun setting over Central Park, the ferry to Liberty Island!" (As someone who has been to NY, this is kinda funny. It definitely has romantic possibilities to offer but in general...smh.)

Marinette could feel herself start to go into full panic mode. "AAAH! I HAVE TO GET OUTTA HERE!"

"What's going on?!" Ms. Mendeleiev asks, hearing the commotion.

"Marinette gets airsick." Alya explained to their teacher. "It would be better if she could sit at the center of the plane."

"Out of the question! Each student is to keep the seat they have been assigned!" Ms. Mendeleiev said, only to have backlash from the other student. Alix pops her head out into the aisle.

"Oh, Ms. Bustier would've totally had said yes!"

"Please, Ms. Mendeleiev? This is a plane, not a classroom!" Argued Rose.
Ms. Mendeleiev blinked at the other students who murmured in agreement. "Wha-...?" A hand on her arm, stole her attention as Lucy smiled at her.

"I can switch with her." The science teacher sighed,

"All right, fine! You may have Lucy's seat Marinette."

"Guess I'll see you later, then?" Adrien said from between the seats.

"Right! Later! Much later! I mean, see you later!" Marinette said waving before taking her seat in the middle of her teachers.

"Miss me?" Lucy said, plopping down beside Adrien who grinned at her.

OoOoOoOo

The feeling of the plane going through a bit of turbulence awoke Lucy. She yawned and then groaned as she lifted her head from Adrien's shoulder, awakening him in the process. She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, trying to relieve it of its stiffness.

"What time is it?" Adrien yawned, teaching slightly. Lucy hit the screen in front of her reading the time as 5:45 pm.

"Quarter to six. We should be landing soon."

Lucy say up and tried to stretch her limbs and sighed knowing she wouldn't be able to get comfortable again.

"You alright?" Adrien asks, noticing her fidget.

"I don't know, I get this almost restless leg syndrome type thing. Usually only happens in long car rides but occasionally I wake up to it at night. It's a weird feeling and I usually have to get up and walk around a bit to get it to go away." Adrien glanced upward and pointed to the sign above them.

"Looks like the seatbelt light is off. You can probably get up and move around if you need to."

Lucy nodded and got up from her seat, raising her arms and stretching before bending over and touching her toes. Adrien could feel his eye twitch as his brain signaled that for reasons he couldn't quite understand, he had found the whole thing attractive. Lucy stood back up and let out a breath, making her way toward the back of the plane. Adrien looked over at his bodyguard who slept on the other side of him and then stuck his head into the aisle and looked around, noticing everyone else very much asleep as well. After a short debate, Adrien decided he probably wouldn't be going back to sleep and could use a leg stretch himself, hopping up from his chair and trailing after Lucy.

"Need to stretch too?" Lucy asked, finding Marinette looking out the window at the sunset.

(Let me clarify that the time aspect of this flight makes no sense. And, I think it makes no sense because once again, it's a kid show and they don't feel like explaining how time zones work. Paris is around 6 hours ahead of New York. They left in the afternoon according to Gabriel and it takes almost 8 hours to fly from Paris to New York. Let's say they left at Noon for the sake of argument. Because of that time zone change, the class should technically be arriving in New York in the early morning, not at night. Yet, they ignore the time change and when they arrive, the teacher has everyone go to bed because it's evening. BUT ALSO. considering it takes almost 8 hours to get from Paris to New York, even if we say fuck the time zones, they would arrive when it was dark out if they didn't leave until the afternoon. Yet, it's fucking sunset. Ugh. These are such little issues but they make me so annoyed.)

"Our wonderful Principle is taking a hard nap halfway in my seat," Marinette explains with a sigh.

"What a view." Adrien admires, startling the girls slightly. Lucy shot him a glared which Adrien only smiled at. "Thought you could shake me huh?"

Lucy rolled her eyes and laughed. "I couldn't if I tried."

"By the way, Marinette. I wanted to thank you. My father told me everything. The only reason I can enjoy this beautiful sunset is you and Lucy. I thought it would be impossible, but you believed in it. You're both always willing to take a chance on something or someone, even when no one else is." He pauses noticing something white sticking out of Marinette's hair. "You've got something, Marinette."

"Some- something?"

"Yeah, there. In your hair." He plucks what looks to be toilet paper out of Marinette's hair making the girl flush with embarrassment.

"I can't decide whether they're the cutest people I know, or the most embarrassing!" Alya says to her boyfriend as they watch them from their seats.

"Yup." Nino agreed. "I love Adrien, but he's like a baby chick that's just started cracking out of his egg. He has a hard time understanding the signals people send him."

"What signals? Marinette isn't exactly sending them clearly. I mean, look! What is she doing with her arms? Telling him what to do in case of an emergency landing or something?" She says, gesturing to the way Marinette spoke with her hands. Nino pauses. Marinette wasn't exactly who he was referring to. His eyes landed on Lucy, who stood beside Marinette as she told her story. Earlier, Nino had gotten up to use the bathroom and passed Lucy and Adrien in the process. She was explaining the book she was reading to Adrien.

It had thrown him off guard, to say the least. He was used to seeing the look Adrien carried when talking to Lucy, but this time Lucy was giving it back. Adrien had made a comment, leaning closer to see the text, his cheek brushing against her hair. Lucy had turned her head towards him smiling before biting her lip slightly and tilting her head. Adrien pulled back slightly and continued his comment, bringing his eyes away from the text and to Lucy's face as she raised her eyebrows and nodded at his words. Even though it was playing out in almost slow motion in his head, the interaction was actually very fast. So quick that Adrien didn't even seem to notice. If Nino was honest, he didn't think Lucy noticed either.

Nino lets out a sigh. "If only this trip could help Adrien finally come out of his shell."

"And if only it could help Marinette be more honest with herself and clearer about her feelings!" An idea strikes both of them as they look at one another. This trip could be just what both of their friends need.

"Operation New York?" Nino asks, Alaya smiles.

"Operation New York!"

"Let's help them loosen up!"

"After all, isn't the United States the land of the free?" Alya says before giving Nino a fistbump.

Back with Marinette, Adrien, and Lucy, Marinette had finished her little story and now began to feel awkward with the pair looking at her.

"OK, then... so, uh..." She turns back to face the window, enjoying the view of the sunset that only being on a plane could really offer.

"Well, what I meant to say was..." Adrien continued. "thanks for managing to convince my father." Unexpectedly, Adrien wrapped his arms around Marinette, hugging her. The dark-haired girl flushed at the sudden contact but tried to laugh it off.

"Well, sure thing! Don't mention it! That's what friends are for!" He lids drooping as she mutters to herself. "For holding each other really tightly in the delicious aroma of cologne."

A large thud against the plane made everyone jump. Marinette fell into Lucy who was then steadied by Adrien.

"What the hell was that?" Lucy asked as everyone looked out the windows. There, on the wing of the plane stood a man in an orange prison jumper. His skin is light blue with darker blue circuit board patterns and accents running across him. He also has a mohawk of light cerulean hair and matching eyebrows. He rips off what looks like a small plane propeller from his backhand grabs onto the wing below him. In doing so, he shuts down the power going to the engine located on that wing causing the plane to shift.

"Oh no!" Alya shouts out loud. "That's techno Pirate! The supervillain that steals technology!"

With the plane tilt to the side, Lucy, Marinette, and Adrien thud against the wall. Lucy can feel her heart rate pick up. Even with her fear of heights, planes had never been much of a problem for her. Maybe because she was rational enough to know planes rarely crash or in this case get taken over by a supervillain. Now that she had become part of an unlikely statistic, Lucy was pretty sure getting on a plane from then on was going to be slightly more difficult. Fortunately, a kind voice came through the speaker system.

"Don't worry, sweethearts! We have the situation under control! Dear passengers, the United Heroes are here to protect you!" Lucy managed to roll her body over to look out the window, finding a robot-like girl staring back at her with a smile. She has a beige technological body with golden lines at the edges of her exterior plating. She has three bright magenta eyes with light cerulean outlines, her third eye is on her forehead, and three golden stars on her upper chest. Her dreadlocks have gold accessories on them to resemble optic cables. Lucy knitted her brows together and waved back.

"Why didn't you tell us there were American super Heroes, Lucy?" Adrien asked from on the wall. Lucy continued to watch out the window as she answered.

"Because there isn't...or wasn't...Nikolas told me how heroes had been popping up in the time I had been gone but I had no idea he was talking about...this..." Lucy said, her tone shifting from confusion to amazement. When she had left America, she was unaware of any superheroes actually existing outside of Paris. Perhaps they had always been there but lived discreetly. Perhaps having heard of Heroes like Ladybug and Chat Noir, as well as those that helped them brought the ones in America to publicly surface. The most astounding part was that after who knows how long, Lucy had never even heard about it. She shook her head in annoyance with herself. She really needed to start watching the news more.

It wasn't long before another hero, a blonde woman, appeared. She wears a red sleeveless vest with a swan-necked collar, three gold stars and two jagged gold lines on the front, and a zipper-like line down the center of the front, along with a long coattail. Underneath the vest, she has a blue suit with exposed shoulders and long sleeves, and she wears red knee-high boots with two jagged gold lines around the upper edge. Her outfit reminded Lucy of a cross between Wonder Woman and Super Girl.

"Majestia!" Alya shouted. "So cool!"

The woman, now known as Majestia, flew under the plane and leveled it, causing the teens to fall to the floor. Quickly they get up and head for their seats. Lucy lets out a deep breath and closes her eyes trying not to let anxiety get the best of her. There are heroes here, she had nothing to worry about, and yet... Adrien, noticing Lucy's tense posture, places his hand over her own, giving it a firm squeeze. Lucy opens her eyes and looks over to Adrien who offers her a warm smile. Lucy relaxes and smiled back gratefully. Techno Pirate was handled quickly, and in a snap, the plane was back to operating on its own.

"I'd like to welcome you to the United States, and enjoy your stay!" Majestica spoke from outside the plane before flying off with the robot girl, and two others that Lucy couldn't get a good look at.

OoOoOoOoOOoOoOoOoO

Adrien watched the Paris news on his phone, so far no Akuma's had been sighted which was a relief but also odd. Hawkmoth didn't take many days off after all. Nino who had been signaled by his annoyed girlfriend nudged Adrien.

"Forget about Paris, dude! You're in New York now! Your old man's not here, and when the cat's away, the mice will play! Open your eyes, know what I mean? Take it all in!" He said, grabbing Adrien by the face and forcing him to look out the windows across from them. The evening sun cascaded through the tall buildings as they passed, giving everything a sort of golden glow. His eyes shifted to Lucy who sat with Nathaniel, pointing to different things out the window for him to photograph. Adrien assumed by the way Lucy was moving her hands about that she was discussing an art-related topic with the redhead boy. A smile crept on Adrien's face as the sunlight shining in through the window, gave Lucy a glow of her own.

"It is beautiful." He said softly. Nino looked from the window to Adrien with agreement when he saw the look on his friend's face. With a raised eyebrow Nino looked back only then noticing Lucy within eyesight. Nino sighed and patted Adrien's cheek before releasing him.

OoOooOoOOo

The place they were staying was something like a hostel or dorm room. All the students were assigned bunkmates and handed an itinerary. Their lovely science teacher had declared they would be in groups of four. (Which also doesn't make any fucking sense because there are 5 guys and 7 girls, but they clearly just wanted to point out that Chloe and Sabrina would be with Alya and Marinette for fun. Also, when they sneak out, they have Adrien and Nino come out of a room, and none of the other boys. One could argue they used the fire escape, but then why didn't Nino and Adrien also? I know...I know... overthinking.)

Adrien, Lucy, Marinette, Nino, and Alya looked over the itinerary together when two boys approached them. One, African American boy with bright brown eyes in a green sweater, and the other Spanish-looking in a dark blue button-up with his mousey brown hair pulled back into a small man bun. His darker brown eyes scanned over them as he dug his hands in his jean pockets.

"Hey! You guy French kids that made that sock puppet movie! We're from Armstrong High in Queens! I'm Delmar, and this is Tony." The Spanish boy gave a silent nod of acknowledgment as Demlar continued. "We're throwing a little party on the rooftop if you're interested. Hang with us, but be quiet, okay?" Delmar scans the group, his eyes meeting Sabrina. He shoots her a wink before walking away making the ginger girl blush.

"Hope to see you there preciosa," Tony remarked, eyeing Lucy up and down, causing Adrien to shoot the boy an annoyed look.

Soon everyone was making their way to their rooms and Lucy found herself with Juleka, Rose, and Mylene. Lucy let out a sigh of relief as she spotted them.

"Oh good. It's you guys."

"Who did you think it would be?" Rose asked with a giggle.

"Chloe," Lucy answered honestly.

"Still angry with her?" Mylene asked, plopping onto the bed. Lucy walked over and set her bag down by the dresser.

"I'm not angry," Lucy argued. "I'm just tapping out. I'm tired." She said defeated.

"How about that party?" Juleka mumbled, changing the subject which Lucy was thankful for.

The girls turned out their lights and waited for Ms. Mendeleiev to check-in, listening for her to go into her own room. When the coast was clear, the teens met their friends in the hall and quietly began to sneak down the hallway to the stairwell. A creak in the floor set off their teacher and the teen quickly separated and hid in different dorms. Adrien placed his ear against the door, trying to listen for the next opportunity when Lucy's voice spoke beside him.

"Geeze Adrien. At least take me out to dinner first." She spoke teasingly. Adrien turned his head to face her only to then realize the palm of his hand was placed on top of her left boob. Heat rose into Adrien's face as he quickly took his hand away and shot out an apology. Lucy couldn't help but laugh.

"You're fine Adrien."

"Please be aware that when I say 'get a room' I definitely mean a different one." Another voice then spoke out in annoyance causing Adrien and Lucy to jump.

"Oh sorry! We're so sorry!" Adrien apologized again, but to the two girls who sat casually on the bed in front of them. One girl with dark skin, brown eyes, and brown hair done in dreadlocks wears a blue and white Majestia top and a gray pleated skirt. While the other girl, the one who had spoken, was a Native American girl with light brown skin, gray eyes, and black hair. Her hair is parted down the middle, braided at the sides, and wrapped in leather. Eye shadow is applied to her eyes and a birthmark can be seen under her left one, her fingernails are painted with metallic blue nail polish. Her eyebrows are sharply curved at the outer ends. Dangling from her ears are round beadwork earrings, colored red, white, and blue. She wears a white long-sleeved shirt with red sleeves, and the shirt's design shows a circular formation of eight blue triangles. Her pants are black jeans and her shoes are brown high-heeled boots.

"Didn't mean to bust in your guy's room like this. Trying to sneak out, ya know that old song and dance." Lucy said waving her hand around absent-mindedly. "I'm Lucy and the perv beside me is Adrien." She introduced, hitching her thumb at him.

"Seriously!" Adrien hissed, only to have Lucy grin at him, booping the boy in the nose. The darker girl eyed her friend who then rolled her eyes.

"If you want to get to the roof without attracting attention, there are stairs outside." She said, gesturing the fire escape out the window. Lucy snapped her fingers at the girl. "Big brain right here." She said turning to Adrien. "We are morons. Why didn't we think of that?"

The pair climbed out the window and Lucy shuddered slightly at the height. Adrien placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Can you make it?" Lucy nodded and let out a deep breath, gripping the railing and making her way up the metal steps. When they arrived the party seemed to have started a while ago as they spotted most of their class, as well as a number of unfamiliar faces that they assumed, were more students from Armstrong High. The girls from the room came up as well, the native one taking a seat next to some random boy and Ivan who had managed to get his hands on a bongo drum, and started playing. Lucy and Adrien shrugged and started swaying around to the music with a number of other teens when suddenly some kind of aircraft came towards the roof.

"What the hell...?" Lucy muttered

"Is it a plane?" Adrien asked, only for Delmar to show up and pat them on the back.

"No! It's Hot Dog Dan!" The cart lands and everyone is greeted by the man now known as Hot Dog Dan. Hot Dog Dan has a redshirt covered by his superhero bodysuit and wears an orange mask. He also has various cooking tools on his back and a black belt tied to his chest. Hot Dog Dan has hair that is red on the top and orange on the bottom.

"HEY HEY HEY! Hot Dog Dan is here, so GET IN THE MOOD! I'm the hero of picnics and tasty foods!" He shouts, handing out hot dogs as teens rush to him.

"Hmm. Usually, he teams up with Ketchup Boy and Mustard Justice but looks like he's patrolling solo tonight. You should hurry if you wanna try one of his magic hotdogs." The native girl said, popping up beside them.

"Ketchup boy and Mustard Justice?" Lucy repeated, squinting in confusion. They watched as everyone who got a hot dog soon gained temporary powers such as super strength, breathing fire, turning to ice and even super...hair growth it seemed as they eyed a now Rapunzel-like Sabrina.

"Come on!" Adrien said, taking Lucy by the hand and dragging her over to the cart.

"Sorry guys. I only have two hotdogs left for the five of you." Hot Dog Dan apologized to Adrien, Lucy, Marinette, and Nino.

"We can share?" Lucy suggested as Nino placed money down and picked up the two dogs. Nino handed the other hot dog to Adrien and then split his own in two for him and Alya.

"Will it still work between three people?" Lucy asked Hot Dog Dan who shifted side to side.

"Eh, hard to say. It's one thing to split it in half, but the less you eat, the less the magic ya know."

"Here Marinette, rip off a piece," Adrien said, holding out the hot dog for her. Marinette reaches out but hesitates.

"Uh- I mean, it's not a big deal. I don't want it to not work because we split it too many ways." She said, rejecting it. Adrien blinked at her.

"Well, in that case, you and Lucy can share, it's alright!" Adrien argued, trying to be polite.

"Or, you two could share.." Lucy shrugged, looking between the two. Marinette gritted her teeth in uncertainty as her eyes shifted to Alya who signaled for it to go for it. Marinette raised her hand up once more, tempted to take the offer when she stopped once again. Her eyes shifted down from the hotdog and landed on Adrien's other hand. Adrien's other hand that happened to still have a firm hold on Lucy's.

Marinette swallowed hard and once again rejected the hot dog, shaking her head. "No, you guys go ahead, really. We have a whole week here. I'm sure this isn't the last we have seen of Hot Dog Dan." She says, eyeing the food hero who nods with a smile.

"You sure?" Lucy asks again with a raised brow and Marinette wills herself to smile.

"Positive."

Adrien splits the hotdog in half and hands it to Lucy who then eyes the food suspiciously.

"So what is in these?" She asks Dan.

"Magic." He responds. Lucy rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, but really. Are you like...a scientist or something?"

"Nope." He answers with a lazy smile. Lucy inhales deeply and gives him a frustrated look.

"Do you know what power each hot dog will give?"

"Completely random."

Lucy blinked and shook her head in bewilderment. "My guy, work with me here. Did you just stumble upon this ability to make super hot dogs? Was there a trial period? Does someone else make them? How did you even get people to start eating these without telling them anything about how they are made? Did you just start selling them like Hot dogs! Get your magic hot dogs! Only a dollar for temporary power! Do villains try and kill you for your hot dogs?"

Hot Dog Dan leans over his car and reaches out, grabbing Lucy's hotdog-filled hand and moving it towards her mouth.

"Just eat the dog." Lucy leaned back slightly.

"What if this causes cancer?"

"It doesn't cause cancer," Dan replied still pushing her hand.

"But how do you know!? What about-?"

"Shhhhh," Dan said, putting bringing his free hand up and placing his index finger to his lips. "No more talky, only chewy."

Lucy glances at the others and then at Adrien who then shoved his half of hot dog into his mouth. Lucy hums but reluctantly opens her mouth only for Dan to shove the hotdog in, not giving her a chance to change her mind. With a mouth full of hotdog, Lucy grunts and swats Dan's hand away, glaring at him as she chews. Within seconds, the two felt their feet lift off the ground and began to float into the air.

"Anti-gravity! Seriously!? Of all the possible-" Lucy shouts as panic sets in as she looks down at the ground getting farther and farther away. Her breathing gets irregular as she starts to move her arms around in an attempt to find some sort of balance.

"Lucy! Hey, it's alright!" Adrien said trying to calm her, but Lucy shook her head.

"I can't! I'm gonna-" Her head started to get foggy.

"Lucy, look at me!" Adrien shouted, reaching out for her. "Take my hand, I got you!" Lucy let out a shaky breath as she reached out for Adrien. He re-gripped her hand and pulled her towards him. "See, it's okay. I got you."

"Don't let go," Lucy muttered, trying to regulate her breathing as she gripped his arm with her other hand.

"I won't let go." He soothed. "I promise. I'm right here. Just look at me." And so she did.

It was unexpected. The feeling that came over Lucy when she finally stopped looking around and instead let her eyes line up with Adrien's green ones. She swore her heart stopped. It just stopped beating. And for the first time in what felt like so long, she had that feeling. You know, like the world is moving all around you, all beneath you, all inside you, and you're floating. Floating in midair. And the only thing keeping her from drifting away is his eyes. They're connected to hers by some invisible physical force, and they hold her fast while the rest of the world swirls and twirls and falls completely away. Then again...maybe she felt that way because they were in fact floating.

From the roof, Jess and Aeon watched the two with curious eyes.

"Those two are made for each other." Aeon swooned.

"You think so?"

It was a quiet question. One Aeon wasn't sure if she was supposed to actually answer. She eyed the girl who asked. The clumsy pigtailed girl from earlier. She had her eyes glued to the floating pair above them.

"Marinette..." Her friend called out slowly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You could have-"

"I know Alya." Marinette cut her off. "But how could I?"

Aeon looked to Jess who remained impassive for the most part but began to strum her guitar with a slow-paced melody. Some of the couples around them began to dance, and sure enough, the one above them did too.

Adrien pulled Lucy flush against him, resting his chin on her shoulder as she moved her arms around his neck. She held him tightly, but not in a way that would indicate she was still afraid. This was a different kind of hold. Like she was savoring it. Like if she wasn't careful, he would float away and disappear. Dread grew in the pit of Lucy's stomach as she thought about everything she was feeling in that moment. She was at a crossroads with her feelings and she didn't know what to do.

Choosing a path meant having to miss out on others. Lucy had a whole life to live, and she was always thinking that, in the future, she might regret the choices she made now. She wanted to follow all possible paths and so ended up following none. Even in that most important area of her life, love, she had failed to commit herself. Perhaps if she had, things would have been different for her and... After her first romantic disappointment, she feared she would never again give herself entirely. She feared pain, loss, and separation. These things were inevitable on the path to love, and the only way of avoiding them was by deciding not to take that path at all. In order not to suffer, you had to renounce love. It was like putting out your own eyes not to see the bad things in life.

"Lucy."

"Hm?"

"It's over." He said quietly. Her grip on his tightened ever so slightly.

"What?"

"It's over. We are floating down. We'll be back on solid ground soon." Lucy let out a short breath.

"Good...good. Solid is good." She whispered

As their feet touched the ground, it took a moment before they separated, both doing so rather reluctantly.

"Well, that was fun while it lasted," Adrien spoke, taking a small step back from Lucy who gave a tight smile and nodded.

"It was...something while it lasted. Can't say I ever want to do it again but you made it...bearable." Adrien grinned shyly.

"Thanks for flying Agreste Airlines." Lucy chuckled and shook her head.

"So dumb."

"But you like it." Adrien teased, not prepared for the way Lucy looked back up at him and smiled, her bottom lip sinking under her teeth.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

Before Adrien could comment, Nino rushed over, slapping the blonde boy on the back.

"That looked so awesome dude!" Lucy smiled and took another step back from the boys, wandering into the crowd.

"Uh," Adrien muttered, his eyes shifting to Lucy as she walked away from them. The urge to follow after her lingered in his legs. "Yeah-yeah it was cool." He then spoke, tearing his eyes away from the girl that was just a few minutes ago pressed firmly against him and bringing his attention to Nino.

"Might I say even a little...romantic?" Nino spoke, wiggling his brows while lowering his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Adrien chuckled slightly, looking to the ground briefly.

"Shut up." Nino readjusted his glasses and crossed his arms.

"What? Not interested in anymore? Is it because of Kagami?" Adrien's head shot up at the name.

"Kagami?" Nino smirked knowingly.

"Just thought that maybe since you and Kagami seem to be in a relationship that extends past friendly fencing partners, you changed your mind about Lucy."

"No! I mean yes! I mean-" Adrien fumbled as Nino watched him amused. A sigh left the blonde boy as he ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know. Lucy just feels so...out of reach sometimes, you know? I usually can't gage her feelings"

"But?" Nino asked, sensing a but coming on. Adrien let out another breath from his nose while squinting into the crowd, trying to spot the blonde girl he was looking for.

"Something felt different while we were up there," Adrien admitted, making Nino's expression soften. "Maybe I was imagining it, but for just a moment, she had this look in her eye. I don't know how to describe it" He brought his eyes back to Nino who listened carefully to his friend's words. "It was like everything I had been feeling was being reflected back at me. It was like it was mutual."

"Well...are you gonna talk to her about it? Maybe use this trip to lay all your cards out?" Nino asked suggestively. Adrien swallowed and frowned.

"What if I'm wrong?"

"What if you're right?"

OoOoOoOoOoO

Museums were one of Lucy's favorite places. They contained so many stories. Stories that flowed through history were retold in the present. As she fiddled with the watch dangling from her neck, Lucy thought for a moment that her love for history was ironic being that she technically carried around the ability to time travel around her neck. Yet, as she thought about it, maybe irony would be is she hated history while her job was to protect it. From a few feet away Alya eyed Lucy before shifting her gaze to Marinette.

"What's going on with you?" Alya whispered aggressively, startling her friend. Marinette leaned away from Alya slightly.

"What are you talking about?!"

"All you do is think about being with Adrien, now all of a sudden you give up your opportunity to dance with him romantically in the moonlight?! I don't get it, girl. I thought you were in love with him?"

Marinette sighs. "I am...or I was...I don't know." Alya frowns and lets out a sigh of her own.

"What do you want Marinette?" The pigtailed girl gave a small shrug.

"To be happy. For everyone to be happy." Alya rolled her eyes playfully.

"I think Rose is rubbing off on you too much." Marinette lets out a small laugh.

"I can't help it. Maybe I do still love Adrien, but Adrien loves Lucy and-"

"If Adrien loves Lucy then why is he dating Kagami?" Alya argued. Marinette gave another shrug. She didn't have an answer. Then again, maybe she did. After all, if she loved Adrien, why was she trying to date Luka? Adrien had never come out and told everyone about his relationship with Kagami. Sure, he told Lucy, but otherwise seemed to keep it to himself. Maybe, he was a little scared like she was. After all, unrequited love may be painful, but it is safely painful because it does not involve inflicting damage on anyone but oneself, a private pain that is as bitter-sweet as it is self-induced. But as soon as love is reciprocated, one must be prepared to give up the passivity of simply being hurt to take on the responsibility of perpetrating hurt oneself. Perhaps the reason was the same for Adrien and Kagami, though Marinette hated the idea of either of them being so cruel.

Trying to love them just seemed...easier. Luka and Kagami had plenty of wonderful things about them that made them ideal partners. Luka was kind, understanding, and open with his feelings with Marinette, while Kagami pushed Adrien while also sympathizing with him in a way not many others could. It was easy to see all the reasons to love them. Especially when they seemed to find it so easy to love Marinette and Adrien back. People fall in love all the time. And it's not always with the right people. And it's not always reciprocated.

"Hey look! That teacher over there! That's Dean Gate, a.k.a. Doorman! He can turn any door into a teleporting passage! Oh, superheroes don't necessarily need to hide their true identities in America! AMAZING! I'm going to ask him for a quote for the Ladyblog!" Alya spoke, pulling Marinette from her thoughts. Her excitement for superheroes gives Marinette the perfect subject changer.

OoOoOoO

Gray eyes narrowed as she watched Adrien, Lucy, and Marinette attempt to come in through the automatic museum door. The two blondes watched slightly startled as every time Marinette takes a step through, the door seems to close on her. Jess shakes her head in annoyance as Aeon turns to see what has her so aggravated.

"I'm sensing some repetitive behaviors." She notes aloud as she and Jess take a step besides Aly and Nino. Having enough, Lucy steps forward and sticks her hand in between the doors, stopping them before they can close on the trio again. She then rotates her free hand, making a gesture for Marinette to safely pass through while shaking her head.

"I know what to do!" Jess exclaims with determination. "If anything's gonna change between them, they'll need to find themselves in a seriously dangerous situation."

Alya looks at her appalled. "What?! Are you out of your mind!?"

Aeon smiles. "Statistically speaking, two humans confronted with extreme situations often cause their feelings for each other to become stronger."

"We need to make them believe they'll never see each other again! And that is the last chance they'll ever get to tell each other how they truly feel! Here's what we're gonna do: During the visit, you're going to get them to go to the Lafayette room alone! BOOM! That's when supervillain Solitude shows up and threatens to kidnap any person that nobody loves! He threatens Adrien, and in order to save him-"

"No, don't kidnap him, I love him!" Aeon shrikes for imagery

"Okay... It's so stupid, it could actually work." Alya responds.

"WOW! Cool impression!" Nino compliments. "Hey, hold on! A supervillain? How are you...?"

"Trust us! Get them to the room and we'll take care of the rest." Jess assures as the teacher claps his hands to get the student's attention.

"How do you think they are gonna pull that off?" Nino asks Alya who shrugs.

"No idea, but let's just focus on getting Adrien and Marinette in that room." She says, walking over to join the group.

"Mari-?" Nino pauses after his girlfriend, watching her walk up to the pigtailed girl. "Right..."

"We almost got stuck in there all day." Lucy joked to Adrien whole smiled.

"Can't say I ever want to do it again but you made it...bearable." Lucy laughed lightly and rolled her eyes, ignoring the slight heat that moved to her cheeks, rolling her hand again to signal Adrien to go through the door. Instead, Adrien bowed dramatically and lifted his arm with an "After you." Lucy didn't argue and walked through first, jogging to catch up with the other teens.

In the Lafayette room, Dean Gates talks about the friendship between Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington while the students look inside a large case holding a blue and gold saber, a talon necklace, a general's outfit, his pistole, and a portrait.

"This is the famous saber of the Marquis de Lafayette. And here the necklace he presented to George Washington as a symbol of friendship between the French and the American people." Gates explains. The principal takes a step forward to get a better look only to be stopped by Mr. Gates. "Careful! The security system is very sensitive! You don't wanna be accidentally setting off the alarm. Let's carry on to the next room, where we'll see the Statue of Liberty!"

oOoOoOoO

In his car, Gabriel Agreste was looking at photos of Lafayette on his tablet while talking to Nooroo and Nathalie.

"The Marquis de Lafayette was 19 when he participated in the War of Independence. So young, and already gifted with an incredible ability to galvanize people. He helped Washington's troops win the Battle of Yorktown. Everyone thinks it was all due to Lafayette's exceptional potential. I think it was also due to something special - A Miraculous! Nathalie, you take care of Paris. I'll take care of New York."

OoOoOoOoO

"France gave the Statue of Liberty to America in 1886. Gustave Eiffel himself built the armature for the inside of the statue!" Gates continues the tour. Alaya glances over to Marinette and quietly asks a favor.

"Marinette, could you go and take a quick pic of Lafayette's saber? I completely forgot and I gotta film Dean Gate!" Marinette smiles and agrees, walking back to the room they had just come from while Alya signals Nino.

"The real Statue of Liberty has a hollow stone in its base or a copy of the U.S. decoration of the Declaration of Independence."

Nino gives a tight smile and slips his headphones off his neck and hides them behind his back. "Dude, I can't find my headphones! Could you go check the other room and see if I left them there? I'll look here." He asks Adrien who kindly agrees and heads to the last room.

"In this hollow stone, there's also a safe that contains various artifacts left by the people who unveiled the statue." Gates continues. "No one's opened it since. I don't know about you all, but I, for one, would love to know what's inside that safe!"

"Uh, excuse me, sir, but, um, why don't you use your superpower to enter the door that leads to the hollow stone?" Alya asks to which gates smiles.

"Superpowers should never be used for personal gain, only for the greater good! Besides, even if I got inside, I wouldn't be able to open the safe, because its key is in Paris, inside the Eiffel Tower!"

Lucy glances at Adrien, watching him disappear before shifting her eyes back to Dean Gates. She squints at the bald man and raises her hand. "But...like...couldn't you then just use that nifty little door power to get the key from the Eiffel tower and thus open the safe? Not that you should!" She clarified as Gates gives her an unimpressed look. "But you could. Technically. If you really wanted to I mean."

Dean Gates let out a sigh in mild annoyance. "I suppose, yes, technically, if I really wanted to it would be possible. But I don't! Because-"

"With great power comes great responsibility" Lucy mocked. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know. Carry on."

OoOoOoO

In the Lafayette room, Aeon and Jess huddle in the corner at Adrien comes into the room while Marinette photographs the saber. Aeon locks the doors, startling the teens.

"What's happening?!" Marinette asks, running over to Adrien who examines the now locked doors.

"That's strange..." A notification alert comes from Adrien's phone causing him to pull it out. On his screen, the news plays.
Akumatized villain, Robostus, is spreading panic in Paris. And, so far, no sign of Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

"Robostus?" Adrien ponders aloud. "But Markov can't have been akumatized in Paris, he's right here with us in New York."

"Huh," Jess raises a brow as they watch from afar. "Why did they send the Marinette girl? I thought they would send Lucy." Aeon tilted her head as she processed.

"We never specified. Perhaps it was wrong to assume they would know who we were talking about?"

"Well, now what?" Scanning them Aeon shrugs.

"It is possible that these two also have some sort of unresolved feelings. We could continue and see what happens? Their stress levels are definitely high enough to proceed." Jess tilts her head from side to side and shrugs. Eh, why not? She tosses one of her gadgets and hits the lights and Aeon projects the image of a dark-figured villain.

"I am Solitude, and I am here to take captive of those who are loved by no one!"

Marinette and Adrien bang the door in an attempt to escape while unknowingly Techlonizer smashes the security system. The sound of rumbling coming from above them makes Aeon turn off her projection and a moment later Techlonizer crashes down to the floor. As Techlonizer, he still wears the harness and cuffs he was wearing in the prison transport, but they and his body are now a moderate sapphire blue with light cerulean circuit board patterns and accents running across him. He also has a mohawk of light cerulean hair and matching eyebrows, and his sclera are dark cornflower blue with light cyan irises. His prison bodysuit is bright white, and from the center of his lower back extends four long mechanical arms with blue accents. At the end of each arm are two sets of four sharp claws.

"Techno-Pirate?! He escaped?!"

"He seems more powerful," Aeon says while scanning him. "But I can't read fully, as if... magic is interfering with my scanning tools!"

OoOooOoOoO

From the other room, Lucy perks up from the display she was examining at the sound of a distant crash sound. Her eyes shift around the room before landing on the doors that lead back to the Lafayette room. Lucy struts over to Nino and Alya and taps them on the shoulders.

"Hey, where did Marinette and Adrien go?"

"Oh! I uh- sent Adrien to look for my headphones. I misplaced them," Nino explained with a nervous laugh. His eyes widen as he watches Lucy's gaze shift down to the headphones that are now around his neck as always. "But I found them! He just hasn't come back yet. I didn't think he would be looking for them so thoroughly." He added.

"And I sent Marinette to grab a picture of the Saber for me. I missed it while Gates was talking." Alya explained. "Why?"

"I thought I heard a crash from the other room," Lucy replied, crossing her arms across her chest. " I'm gonna go look for them."

"I'm sure they're fine-!" Alya tried to argue only for the wall to crumble and break and lasers began being shot from the other side. As students began to panic and look for an exit Dean gates quickly shifted into hero mode. His casual attire changes as he hits the bracelet on his wrist. His glasses change to pink lenses, while his outfit turns to a white shirt, pink tie, white gloves, and a dark purple coat and pants with pink accents on the collar, arms up to his shoulders, hands and leg holes, and a stripe down the buttons of his coat. Grabbing a door he opens a portal and calls for the children to run through it to safety.

Lucy runs with Alya and Nino but stops as she realizes Marinette and Adrien are still in the other room.

"Lucy come on!" Nino calls out to her.

"Go! Adrien and Marinette are still out here!" She shouts, dashing in the direction of the hole in the wall. She isn't able to make it far as a firm hand grips her arm, stopping her from going any further.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that miss!" Doorman states, pulling her towards the portal.

"Let go of me! My friends are in there!"

"Then let us save them!" Doorman argues back.

"Marinette! Adrien!" Lucy shouts before being shoved through the portal.

OoOooOoO

"Marinette! Adrien!"

Adrien frowns at the sound of Lucy calling out for him and Marinette. He peeks out from behind his pillar and notices the one Marinette is standing by is starting to crumble. He didn't want to have to transform here. After all, he was supposed to be back in Paris, but there was no time to lose. His friend was in danger, he would deal with an explanation later.

"Plagg claws out!"

With unfortunate timing, as Chat Noir turned the corner and came around his pillar, Uncanny Vally and Techlonizer crash into him and the pillar, burying them all in the rubble. Chat Noir growls in frustration and without even noticing them, Uncanny Vally is chased off once again by Techlonizer into the next room. Unknowingly to him, Marinette had already noticed the crumbling from above her, as well as the fallen sparrow on the other side. As risky as it was to appear here, the dark-haired girl felt she had no real choice and transformed. As Chat emerged from the rubble his eyes widen in surprise at the sight of Ladybug with Sparrow.

"Ladybug?"

"Chat Noir?"

"What are you doing here?!" They asked in unison.

"Uuh... It's a long story! Where's Marinette?" Chat asks.

"I got her to safety. But why aren't you back in Paris?" Ladybug asks again, not willing to drop the topic. However, the sight of Uncanny Vally being tossed across the room and into a wall was enough to halt the conversation temporarily.

"I'll explain later!" Chat says and the three run off to help the other hero. From above Hawkmoth drops down into the museum and smirks. So Ladybug and Chat Noir are in New York? How convenient.
"Nathalie, you can get rid of the sentimonster." He says while he takes the Eagle Miraculous from the display case. That had been his real target after all. "We will no longer be needing it."

In the other room, Ladybug quickly wraps her yo-yo around Techlonizers ankles and tosses him to the side, stopping him from attacking Uncanny Vally further.

"You've come all the way from Paris to help us out?" Sparrow asks as they help up Uncanny Vally. Chat Noir scratches the back of chuckles nervously.

"Yeah! We thought it'd be friendly to give you a hand in honor of French American Friendship Week!" Techlonizer gets down and uses his laser beam as Ladybug, Chat Noir, Uncanny Valley, and Sparrow split up..

"See that?!" Sparrow observes. "They don't need anyone's permission to take action!"

"That's right! He never asks for anything! Do you, Chat Noir?!" Ladybug grunts as she flips around and attacks the villain.

"Sparrow, did you warn Knightowl and Majestia? Uncanny Vally asks as she punches Techlonizer.

"I couldn't! But you know what?! - we don't need anyone's permission either!" Sparrow shouts while jumping over Techlonizer and throwing her weapons at him and being caught in the air by Uncanny Vally.

"Are you sure you wanna step out of the procedure?"

"This is our chance to prove to them they were just like these two!" Sparrow adds from Uncanny Vally's arms as they look down at Chat Noir and Ladybug circling the villain. "Autonomous bonded together but trust and super efficient!"

"Just go and rest easy! Yeah, leave Paris with me!" Ladybug mocks in annoyance.

"I-I didn't know I was going to leave!" Chat Noir tries to explain. "It was a last-minute decision, that's all!" Techlonizer hits Chat Noir with one of his cannons, knocking him into Ladybug and causing them to both end up on the ground.

"Do you realize there's no one in Paris to protect the city?!" Ladybug scolds from under Chat who can't help the guilt building up inside him. While distracted, Techlonizer makes his exit and runs off. Making the four heroes chase after him in the street.

"He's running away!" Ladybug shouts only to get a sarcastic remark from Sparrow.

"You sound like Captain Obvious!" Ladybug ignores the comment and gives looks to Chat as they run.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were leaving?!"

"I was afraid you'd get angry!"

"And you were right because as you can see, I am angry!"

OoOoOoOOoooO

Back at the Hotel, Lucy paced the lobby while her friends watched with concern.

"Lucy, I'm sure they are fine." Alya tried to reason. "New York is full of superheroes. Gates probably got them out but took them somewhere else."

Lucy stopped pacing and looked at Alya wild-eyed. "You don't know that! Why would Gates take them somewhere else? Why wouldn't he bring them back to the group? That doesn't make any sense."

"Take a breath, Lucy, we are all worried." Nino input. "But this isn't our first time dealing with a villain remember? Back in Paris, it is a pretty normal thing."

"Except this isn't Paris Nino!" Lucy retaliated. "The villains here aren't akumatized. We have no idea what Technolizer's M.O is!"

"Actually, we do." Alya points out, bringing up her phone. "Lu, knowing about superheroes and villains...it's kinda my thing." Alya walks over to Lucy and shows her phone screen that has something resembling a character profile on it. "Technolizer is no joke. He is a high-end thief, usually aiming for tech for obvious reasons. He's aggressive and has hurt his fair share of people."

"I'm gonna need you to skip to the part that reassures me." Lucy implored.

"The only people that are a threat to Technolizer are the people getting in his way." Alya continued. "So long as Marinette and Adrien don't try and do something stupid they will be fine." Lucy tried to let Alya's words comfort her as she rubbed her face and found a seat in a nearby chair. She leaned forward, putting her weight on her thighs and forearms, picking at her thumb skin impatiently. Alya and Nino shared a look of guilt. They had sent their friends in that room for some stupid plan and now they could be hurt. Of course, they didn't know anything like that was going to happen. What are the odds that an actual supervillain was going to attack the museum that day? Regardless the pair felt responsible for putting Marinette and Adrien in harm's way.

OoOooOoOoOo

It happened faster than any of them could comprehend. All it took was that one simple statement from Ladybug. Well, I can't trust you anymore, can I? It froze Chat Noir in his place to hear those words. At that moment, Techlonizer grabbed Chat by his arm and swung him around, throwing him in Ladybug's direction. Uncanny Vally quickly brought herself between the two heroes, causing Chat to fall into her instead. The problem with this was that Chat had called his Cataclysm only moments before. His claw gripped onto Uncanny Vally and just like that her circuits fried and she fell motionless to the ground.

The three teens stared down at their fallen friend in disbelief as a cry was heard from far in the distance. Majestia came swooping down onto the rooftop, punching Techlonizer square in the chest, sending him flying into buildings across the way. She dropped to her knees and held onto the android girl who she had come to love as her own child, who then transformed into that of Aeon.

"What have you done?" She cried. Perhaps it was due to her own upbringing, but Majestia had never been one to feel that the love one has for a child is somehow a superior love, one more meaningful, more significant, and grander than any other. But it is a singular love because it is a love whose foundation is not physical attraction, pleasure, or intellect, but fear.

You have never known fear until you have a child, and maybe that is what tricks us into thinking that it is more magnificent, because the fear itself is more magnificent. Every day, your first thought is not "I love them" but "How are they?" The world, overnight, rearranges itself into an obstacle course of terrors. She would hold Aeon in her arms and wait to cross the street and would think how absurd it was that her child, that any child, could expect to survive this life.

And it doesn't matter how old that child is, or when or how they became yours. Once you decide to think of someone as your child, something changes, and everything you have previously enjoyed about them, everything you have previously felt for them, is preceded first by that fear. It's not biological; it's something extra-biological, less a determination to ensure the survival of one's genetic code, and more a desire to prove oneself inviolable to the universe's feints and challenges, to triumph over the things that want to destroy what's yours.

The other thing is when your child dies, you feel everything you'd expect to feel, feelings so well-documented by so many others that there is no point to list them, except to say that everything that's written about mourning is all the same, and it's all the same for a reason—because there is no real deviation from the text.

Sometimes you feel more of one thing and less of another, and sometimes you feel them out of order, and sometimes you feel them for a longer time or a shorter time. But the sensations are always the same. But here's what no one says—when it's your child, a part of you, a very tiny but nonetheless unignorable part of you, also feels relief. Because finally, the moment you have been expecting, been dreading, been preparing yourself for since the day you became a parent, has come.

Ah, you tell yourself, it's arrived. Here it is.

And after that, you have nothing to fear again.

"It's my fault.." Chat mutters. He let Ladybug's words distract him and now someone else had paid the price. A moment later KnightOwl lands on the roof after looking for Techlonizer, only to find him gone, unknowingly picked up by HawkMoth.

"Why didn't you call us?!" KnightOwl scolded Sparrow before turning to Ladybug and Chat Noir. "And, you, what are you doing here?!"

"I-I might be able to help," Ladybug says, holding her Lucky Charm.

"Oh, really? With your magical bicycle pump?" KnightOwl asks skeptically.

"Precisely." Ladybug responds, throwing it into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" She throws her bicycle pump up in the sky and the Lucky Charm fixes the building, the Museum, and Aeon.

Majestia smiles and hugs her daughter. "Oh, thank you, Ladybug!"

"You two are dangerous!" KnightOwl says, thankful, but unimpressed. Sparrow took a step forward.

"No, they tried to-" But KnightOwl wouldn't hear it.

"So are you! You disobeyed me! You were supposed to call us, and you didn't!" He shouted before turning back to Ladybug and Chat Noir. "I order you to revert to your civilian identities and hand me the source of your powers! You'll have them back when you leave town!"

"We can't do that! It's true we made a mistake, but I've fixed everything!" Ladybug argued pointlessly.

"If your power is fixing Chat Noir's mistakes, we don't need you!" Majestia came up behind KnightOwl and looked down at the heroes with pity. Although her partner had a tendency to be a little extreme, she agreed. Ladybug and Chat Noir were children and as a whole was unpredictable. She understood they had been trying to help, but it almost cost a life.

"It's better like this." She spoke gently. "What would've happened if you hadn't been able to fix Uncanny or she hadn't been an android?" Ladybug knew there was truth behind the American hero's concern. After all, she had repaired enormous amounts of damage in the past and healed countless from it. However, she wasn't certain that her power had the ability to bring people back to life. Aeon being an android was in a way the exception. Had she not been, it is very possible that things would have played out differently. Regardless, the pair could not give up their Miraculous, not only because the heroes that wanted to hold on to them were complete strangers, but because that would require them to reveal their identities to each other and then would no longer be able to be Ladybug and Chat Noir. Something inside Ladybug knew that KnightOwl wouldn't care what their reasoning was behind the refusal.

"We can't give them our Miraculous." Ladybug mutter to Chat who nods in agreement. KnightOwl holds out his hand only for Ladybug and Chat to bolt and jumps off the roof. KnightOwl attempts to catch up with them, only to lose them as they escape down in the were system.

OoOoOoOo

"Okay!" Ladybug pants as the pair stop running. "Let's feed our Kwamis and get back to Paris to take care of Robostus." She pulls out her communicator to see what the latest on Paris is only to find they were too late.

"Today, Paris was attacked by a villain who ultimately disappeared on his own! Clara Contard is on the scene."

"Parisians are surprised! Why didn't Ladybug and Cat Noir step in? And will Ladybug repair the damages caused by the villain?"

Ladybug and Chats' eyes widen as they oversee the damage that had been done while they were away.

"We waited too long to return to Paris." Ladybug cries. "There's nothing I can do anymore!"

"Can't you just do a Lucky Charm when we're back in Paris?" Chat asks hopefully and Ladybug looks at him somberly.

"My powers allow me to create a magical object that repairs damages caused by a specific villain! But the villain is already gone!"

"Then there's no longer a chance for repairs?" Ladybug groans and walks away and Chat sadly makes his way to an opposite wall. "It's all my fault. You were perfect as always. Knightowl was right to want to confiscate my Miraculous. I left Paris without telling you. I ruined everything! And if Uncanny Valley hadn't been a robot, I would've caused irreparable harm."

The pair detransformed and Adrien thought about the time Lucy had informed him how he tried to use his cataclysm on her when he was under Dark Cupids' influence. They had kept that conversation short and light, and he tried to focus on the fact that her kissing him was what brought him back to his normal state. Now, however, Adrien couldn't help but wonder once more if that plan had not worked, and if had actually used his power on Lucy, if Ladybug's power would have actually brought her back to life. The power of creation. Did the power of creation also give the power to overcome death? If so, should anyone really have such power?

Maybe it was Ladybug's limitations that made her gift less of a threat to the balance of the universe. That her gift could only be used in specific situations at specific times. But Chat's wasn't. The power of destruction differed in that way. He could call upon his gift at any given moment and use it on any given object or person. He could destroy...he could kill any time he pleased. Adrien thought about what Lucy would say.

"Anyone can destroy and kill any time they please Chat. People do it all the time." She would probably say. And she wouldn't be wrong.

But his power. His gift. It was created to help the holder of creation not burden it. What was that saying? Guns don't kill people. People kill people. But what if you are the gun? His safety switch is turned on until the moment the words Cataclysm come from his mouth. After the safety is turned off, he can't turn it back on again. There is no choice but to fire, or in a case such as the one before, be fired.

Ladybug didn't trust him anymore to make the right calls. How then was he supposed to trust himself to do so either? How long would it take for some other villain to take his hesitance and use it to fire him off like the weapon he is at someone, anyone, who didn't deserve it?

"Please forgive me, my friend," Adrien says, grasping his ring. Plagg's eyes widen at the realization.

"Huh?! NO!"

"I renounce you, Plagg." He says taking off his ring. Plagg disappears inside of the ring.

"WHAT?!" Marinette asked in shock.

Of course, she was upset with Chat. He had promised her he would watch over Paris while she was away. But she had not blamed him for everything that had just happened. Even if he had been in Paris, he would have had to hold off Robustus without her, and if she had ended up helping Sparrow and Uncanny Vally without him, the odds were she still would not have made it back in time to help him and fix everything. Marinette was frustrated with Chat for not keeping his word, and maybe she even overreacted in that frustration. But the truth was she was more upset with herself.

"I never wanna risk harming anyone ever again."

"Wait!" Marinette shouts, coving her eyes, not wanting to accidentally find out his identity. But the boy who she knew as Chat Noir didn't give her the chance to apologize or change his mind as he ran off down the sewer line.

Marinette felt her heart thud against her chest. How could she have been so selfish? She had left Paris knowing she was the only one who could purify the Akuma as well as repair the damage it caused. She should have come up with some excuse not to go to New York because of her responsibilities as Ladybug but just for a while, Marinette wanted to do something exciting and new as herself. It was hard, she thought, being a hero. But it was even harder when you are also just a teenager. Sacrifice is required in her line of work. It didn't matter that she was technically a child still. She took on the responsibility of keeping Paris and the world safe with her own free will. Though, it didn't quite feel that way at first.

A while back, she had asked Master Fu why he had given such powerful tools to a couple of teenagers. Why not adults? He had smiled at her and said that although adults carry wisdom, children carry hope. And that although sometimes it didn't seem like it, hope in many cases played a bigger factor in a person's ability to become the best possible version of what a hero should be. Fu gave her a sly look as he also mentioned that with the Miraculous being more limited in its abilities for children, vs when they are adults, he suspected that if he had made a mistake in his choice, it would be easier to rectify it that way. He understood he would be putting a lot on whoever he gave the miraculous to, but advised Marinette to have faith that he would not have chosen her or Chat Noir if he had not felt certain they could handle whatever life as a hero could throw at them, and to also have faith in herself to know the same.

"Chat..."

OoOoOoOoO

Adrien's frown deepened as he looked at his phone and saw all the missed calls from Nino and Lucy, along with several texts. He was already guilty about the mistakes he had made as Chat Noir, and now he would feel guilty about worrying his friends. As he reached the hotel, his eyes landed on Marinette. He wasn't sure what she had been doing out in the rain. Maybe out looking for him. He wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. It would have been a very Marinette thing to do. Just another person he's let down. The class, sporting the two teens in the window quickly came out to question where they had both been as a car pulled up in front of the building.

"Adrien, get in the car at once. I should never have listened to your friend. The city is much too dangerous." His father's voice rang out from the screen on the back of the headrest in the car. Unknowest to Adrien or the class, Gabriel had just given the miraculous of freedom to a reakumatized Techcolnizer. The city of New York was about to look like a superhero insane asylum and he needed to get his son out of it immediately. Lucy rushed down the steps, pushing past her friends, and stood in between Marinette and Adrien. Her head twisted left and right as she looked at both of them with concern in her eyes.

"Where the hell have you two been!?"

Marinette was exhausted. She couldn't find the brainpower to come up with an excuse at that exact moment. Her mouth opened as if to speak, but no words came, and instead looked at Lucy dumbly.

"Adrien?" Lucy asked, bringing her eyes to him.

Worry and confusion rested on Lucy's features. She had thought he was in danger, but the truth is he was the danger. All Adrien wanted to do was hug her. Hug her and let out his feeling of guilt for the mistakes he had made. His heartache for feeling the only way to make sure it never happened again, was to give up being Chat Noir. Even if he could, Adrien didn't know if he could take the look of possible horror that would take over her face if he was able to confess that he had almost killed someone.

"Adrien..." Lucy called out again softly. "Talk to me."

"I have to go," Adrien replied. "I'm sorry, guys. You fought so hard for me to be here. I wish this trip could have played out a little differently."

Lucy's shoulders slump at Adrien's words as he gets into the car.

"My father's right. I should've never come to New York."

The door closes and the car takes off down the street, leaving Lucy, Marinette, and everyone else in the rain looking after him distraught with his departure.

"What is wrong with you, Marinette?" Alaya shouts, running down the steps. "Couldn't you see that he was just waiting for you to tell him to stay?" She asked, grabbing Marinette by the shoulder and shaking her slightly. Lucy perked up at the statement, raising a brow and looking over to her two friends.

"What-? But I...? He... he made his choice. What did you expect me to do?"

"It doesn't matter what I expected you to do! Who's Adrien to you? A friend or more than a friend? There will never be a better time to be clear with yourself, Marinette! Do you want him to leave or do you want him to stay?" Marinette shrinks slightly under Alya's intense gaze as her own eyes shift to Lucy who is watching them with what looks like disbelief.

"Don't look at her right now!" Alya says, gaining Marinette's eye contact once more. "For just a second forget about everyone else, what do you want Marinette! I can't keep going on with this will she or won't she emotional roller coaster with you anymore! Make him stay or let him go!"

Marinette releases herself from Alya's grip and stumbles back. Her eyes shift between Alya and Lucy and before she can contemplate what she is doing, she runs. She doesn't know where she is going or why but what Marinette did know is that she couldn't be there anymore. She couldn't listen to Alya's brutal honesty about her need to figure out what she wanted. She couldn't stand the look on Lucy's face as she waited to see what that choice would be. Marinette didn't know what she wanted from Adrien anymore, but she did know she didn't want him to have to leave. Chat Noir had left before giving her even the slightest opportunity to stop him, and now Adrien was leaving too. Neither of them deserved her silence. Maybe asking Adrien to stay would do nothing. Maybe his father wouldn't be persuaded a second time. But there was something about the look on his face that made Marinette feel inclined to try. To, even if it didn't make a difference, let Adrien know that she wished he could stay. That they all did.

OoOoOOoOo 15,600 words and we are finally getting towards the end of this chapter that feels like it will never end.

Lucy could feel herself start to shiver as her clothes got wetter and wetter from the falling rain she was standing in. She craned her neck and made her face parallel with the sky, closing her eyes as she felts the water pelting her in the face.

"Miss Shepherd," the voice of her teacher rang out. "Get inside before you catch a cold!"

"Come on, Lucy," Alya said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Why'd you do that?" Lucy asks, her eyes opening slightly but still remaining aimed at the sky.

"Do what?"

"Have Marinette go after Adrien like that? Do you really think asking him to stay would actually get him to do so? His father made him leave." Alya's hand slipped off Lucy's shoulder and she let out an annoyed breath of air.

"I don't know. Probably not. But this trip was supposed to help Marinette get clarity on her feelings. She can't pine after Adrien forever and never do anything about it."

"And you think now is the right time?"

"It's Marinette, Lucy!" Alya exclaimed. "It's never the right time. There is always some ridiculous excuse for her to not be honest with herself or with Adrien and it is exhausting! Don't you think it's exhausting?!" Letting out an exasperated sigh, Alya runs her hands up her neck. A part of her wanted to just tell Lucy about what Adrien had confessed to Marinette. But for one, she promised Marinette she wouldn't. They all had. And secondly, Alya wasn't even totally sure if that was the case anymore. After all, Adrien was supposedly seeing Kagami. She stood by what she had said to Marinette before. If Adrien liked Lucy as much as he claimed, then why wouldn't he do anything about it? Adrien wasn't like Marinette. He wasn't awkward and clumsy. Marinette couldn't;t up until recently form proper sentences around Adrien but Adrien had no problem talking to Lucy. Why wouldn't he ask her out if he was in love with her?

Lucy didn't answer Alya but brought her head down. Alya licked her lips as her leg began to twitch.

"Maybe Adrien feels the same way." She started. "Or maybe he is in love with Kagami, or maybe he is in love with you-"

Lucy glared at Alya through the rain. "Don't even-"

"Maybe he isn't in love with anyone." Alya continued. "But if Marinette still has feelings for Adrien, then she needs to know. And yeah, maybe the answer will suck. Maybe it will break her heart a little but at least she will know and can move forward." Alya takes off her glasses that now are covered in water droplets and attempts to dry them off on her shirt. She places them back on her face and then turns to head back inside the hotel.

"Come on. Ms. Mendeleiev is right. We'll catch colds."

Hesitantly, Lucy followed suit and went inside. The two girls were offered towels from their teacher. Lucy slumped back down in a nearby chair and rubbed her head with the fluffy towel as Aeon approached her.

"I'm sorry your friend had to leave." She spoke kindly, earning the blonde's attention.

"Thanks, but it's not your fault," Lucy replied with a weak smile.

"I'm sure he didn't want to leave you." Lucy blinked at Aeon and shook her head.

"I know he didn't. I'm not upset about that, well, I am bummed he had to go but I..." Letting about a sigh, Lucy held out her hand in a stop motion. "It doesn't matter."

"Of course, it matters." Aeon countered gently, earning a skeptical laugh from the blonde. "You two are made for each other."

Lucy could feel herself choke on her own saliva at the other girl's words as her face suddenly flushed, unprepared for the statement.

"Whoa," she said, holding up her hands defensively. "Adrien and I aren't- we're not-"

"Maybe not yet," Aeon spoke smiling. "but someday. I have an eye for these things."

"Bold of you." Lucy snorted before her frown returned. "I just wanted to make sure he is okay." Her eyes shifted downward as she fiddled with her thumbs. "I can't help if he doesn't talk to me ya know?"

Across the room, the news played on the lobby tv as someone shouted to turn it up. On the screen, HawkMoth appeared looking at calculating as ever. "Ladybug! Cat Noir! I'm in New York too!"

"What?" Lucy spoke aloud, squinting at the tv in confusion as she stood and walked over to hear better.

"If you don't want the party to be ruined, your only option is to hand your Miraculous over to ME!" While everyone else remained distracted by the sudden chaos taking over the streets of New York, Aeon and Jess quickly make their leave. They needed to find Ladybug and Chat Noir and fast.

OoOoOoOoO

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, New York needs Ladybug!" Uncanny Valley says, approaching the teen girl standing alone in the street. Marinette's eyes widen at her approach and quickly tries to wave the android off.

"I-I'm sorry... I-I-I can't help you. I don't know her!"

Your suit's quantum masking is meant to confuse human minds, Ladybug. I am not human! Uncanny says as she detransforms back into Aeon.

Marinette, along with the two Kwamis in her purse gasp at the realization. "Miraclonizer is really an akumatized Techno-Pirate." Aeon continues. "Which means HawkMoth is in New York too! We cannot defeat them without the girl who can fix everything."

The girl who can fix everything. Marinette didn't feel like that girl at the moment.

"I don't know if I can do this..." Marinette confesses, holding Chat's ring. "I can't imagine being Ladybug without him." Aeon transforms back into her android form and holds out her hand to take the miraculous.

"This, I can fix!" Normally, the idea of handing over a miraculous, let alone Chat's miraculous to a practical stranger would be something Marinette would be more hesitant on, but she was desperate. If HawkMoth was in fact in New York, then she needed to be Ladybug, and she needed to trust that Uncanny could bring back her Chat Noir.

OoOoOoOoo

Adrien was less surprised when Uncanny Valley broke into his father's plane and addressed him as Chat Noir, but it didn't matter.

"I am no longer Chat Noir."

"To err is human, apparently," Uncanny commented but Adrien only shook his head.

"How can you say that? Don't you understand I almost..." He didn't know if killed was the right word.

"And I forgive you," Uncanny said easily. "And so does Ladybug" Uncanny valley presses a button on her chest and plays the last recorded conversation piece between her and Ladybug.

"I don't know if I can do this...I can't imagine being Ladybug without him." Uncanny holds out Adrien's ring, and he carefully takes it back, looking it over.

"I just wanted to make sure he is okay. I can't help if he doesn't talk to me ya know?"

"There are bound to be countless events in your life that challenge the image and morality you set for yourself. It is important to lean on those who we love, and those who love us in order to face those challenges." Uncanny encourages. Adrien smiles at her and puts the ring back on his finger. Plagg emerges and swirls around him.

"Glad to see you again, Plagg!"

"No need to get so cheesy!" The Kwami retors, though, he is equally as happy to see Adrien again as well.

"Who are you talking to?" Uncanny Vally asks.

"My kwami!" Adrien answers as it was obvious.

"Kwamis can't be detected by technology," Plagg explains. "which means your robobuddy can't see or hear me. "He makes funny noises, waves in Uncanny's face, and flies around her head.

"There's no time to lose. We have to get back on this plane before it lands!" Adrien says, ready to rise to the challenge. (Once again, the flight from the US to Paris is several hours and since he just left we'll say maybe an hour ago, his ass should have some time.)

OoOoOoOoOoOoo We are now over 1700 words so excuse the briefness of the action that is about to take place.

Ladybug swoops down and snags up Sparrow, quickly hiding them from the band of hypnotized superheroes on the side of a building.

"We've got to break the object where the Akuma is." Ladybug said, watching the adults pass. "I bet it's in his handcuffs. He already had them on at the museum!"

"Something else has changed! He was wearing the necklace Lafayette gave to Washington!" Sparrow added.

"A Miraculous!" Ladybug gasped. Fu had told her how at one time there was a great deal of mirical boxes that had been lost. She figured most of them would be buried where the temple they were stored in fell, but perhaps that was entirely the case. "That would explain his power upgrade!"

"Good insight, M'lady!" Chat comments as he lands beside Uncanny Valley, his suit reverting from AstroChat back to normal.
Ladybug relieved that Chat Noir is back rushes to hug him wiping away tears from her eyes.

"Don't ever do that to me again!" She said in her embrace. Chat hugged her back and then released her.

"I'm sorry. I was so afraid to disappoint you that I didn't dare tell you the truth. I was so stupid."

"No," Ladybug said with a shake of her head. "I was angry you didn't tell me you were leaving Paris but I let that anger cloud my focus on what was important at the time, taking care of Techolonizer. Instead, I communicated with you with passive aggression and blame and that wasn't fair. I'm sorry Chat." Ladybug and Chat Noir do a silent fistbump signifying that all was forgiven between the two.

(I wanted to add that Diolage from Ladybug because although she shows how happy she is that he is back, she never really apologizes for the things she said. Chat should have communicated for sure. He's not faultless, but he also isn't at fault for everything, which it kinda seemed like Ladybug in the special was making it out like it was.)

OoOoOOo

Defeating Miraclonizer turned out to be easier than expected once the young heroes managed to trick DoorMan into opening a portal door into the top of the Statue of Liberty where Miracolnizer was waiting with his stolen missile launcher. With a quick sneak attack, Ladybug managed to tear off the Eagle miraculous and tossed it to Sparrow, who then used it to get the Heroes affected by its power back to their normal state of mind. Miracolonizer did in fact try to set off the missile, but a now morally conscious Majestia took care of it, hurdling the weapon into the sun. Night Owl also gave a helping hand to the Ladybug and Chat on the ground, and together they deakumatized the villain. TechnoPirate of course had no real memory of anything he had done while under the influence of the Akuma but that wouldn't stop him from his jail time to the crimes committed beforehand.

Sparrow or at the moment, Eagle went to remove her miraculous and hand it over to Ladybug, but to her surprise, the bug heroine stopped her.

"Keep it, I know you'll use it well."

OoOoOOoOo

HawkMoth smiled as he gazed out his hotel window and onto the city below. After Ladybug and Chat Noir managed to take back the Eagle miraculous, HawkMoth was quite certain of his unfortunate defeat. Still, if he could help it, the man would avoid giving away his hand. Thus, he sent the missile out anyway, knowing that even if it would be intercepted by Majestia, he could at least stick in his young foes' head that he would go to great lengths in order to get his way, assuming they didn't truly get that yet. No, this fight was a loss on his end, but not in its entirety. HawkMoth now knew with certainty that other Miraculous were scattered around the world, and it was only a matter of time before he came across another one.

OoOoOoOoO

Paris was forgiving of Ladybug and Chat Noir's absence once they found out they had been in New York. The time and money it would take to fix the four blocks of damage caused by the Sentimonster while they were away was on the large side to say the least but, thanks to saved funds from previous attacks as well as donations ad volunteers, it looked like things would be back to normal before they knew it. The night before the class was set to leave, New York held a celebration in honor of the collaboration between the French and American heroes. The class had created a banner for Adrien, who smiled as he caught sight of it on the news from his room back in Paris.

That night, around 10 pm, Lucy's phone went off, waking her from her slumber. She groaned in annoyance as she hadn't been asleep long and felt she was just starting to fall into that deep slumber state. Looking at her phone, her brows knitted together at the contact of Adrien on the screen. She answered the face time call with a yawn.

"Adrien?"

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't think you would be asleep yet." Adrien apologiezd.

Lucy squinted at the time. "Isn't it like 4am there? Why are you up?" Adrien, who had been laying on his back in bed when Lucy answered, rolled onto his side.

"I set my alarm to wake me so I could call. I knew there was that celebration going on, so I wanted to wait until I knew you were back in your dorm. I'm sorry, I really didn't think you would be asleep yet, we can talk later."

Another yawn left Lucy as she sat up from her bed and looked around at the sleeping girls in the room. She snaged up her blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders as she got up from the bed. "No, it's fine, hold on." She said making her way to the window, quietly opening it and making her way out to the fire escape stairway. Closing the window, Lucy then moved to the steps and took a seat, rubbing her eyes in the process.

"Alright. What's up?"

"I'm sorry." Adrien said gently, making Lucy roll her eyes.

"Adrien, it's fine, I'm awake now, so what is it?"

"No," Adrien clarified. "I called to say I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Lucy asked confused.

"For worrying you. Nino told me how stressed you were about me and Marinette. They said they all were but you specifically seemed on edge. Marientte and I got separated pretty quickly when Technocolonizer showed up. I heard you call out for us. I wanted to yell back but I was worried that would draw unwanted attention."

"Adrien..." Lucy said. "It's okay."

"When I finally made it back to you guys I saw the worried look on your face. When my father's car showed up it felt like this whole trip was for nothing. All the effort it took to get me here was for nothing. I was hoping that this experience would go over so well that my father would worry less and maybe I would gain a little more freedom but after the whole ordeal I'll probably never step foot out of Paris again if my father has any say. This was my chance to show him the world isn't as dangerous as he sees it and it was ripped away."

Although it wasn't entirely a lie, Adrien still felt uneasy about the explanation he was giving Lucy. He was in fact upset that HawkMoth had managed to ruin this trip for him, and he did worry his father would use it as one of the many examples as to why he was so protective, but that wasn't what was eating at his heart. Although he had been forgiven for his mistakes, Adrien still couldn't shake the unsettling memory of what happened as well as the image of what could have. He needed to talk to Lucy about it. He needed her level headed reasoning to console him, but he couldn't get that from her as Adrien. He would have to wait until she got back and talk to her as Chat. In the meanwhile it gave him time to come up with a proper explanation as to why he was there in the first place.

"Try not to worry so much," Lucy tried to sooth. "It's true this is probably a set back as far as getting you out more is concerned but lets face it, it's not like a ton of progress has been made in the first place. This will blow over eventually. Does your father know you were caught in the cross fire there for a moment?" She asked, to which adrien shook his head no.

"I don't think so. I wouldn't have heard the end of it."

"Well, then as far as he is aware you were perfectly safe with your class and as soon as things got hairy he was able to get you out of there. No harm no foul. So maybe your bodyguard will still have to go with you places? Not a big deal. Besides, how often do big travel plans like this come up? We have time for him to let this go. Take it easy."

Adrien gives a half smile. "Letting things go isn't my fathers strong suit, but I'll do my best not to over think it for now."

"That's all I ask." Lucy responds. "Alright, we have an early flight tomorrow. I'll see you soon."

"See you soon."

OoOoOoOOoOo

Two days after everyone had returned, Chat Noir met with Lucy on their park bench. The moon had risen, illuminating the pair as they sat silently in the cool night air. Lucy was the first to break the silence. "The rebuilds seem to be coming along." She commented, her eyes set on a building across the park that had scaffolding in front of it and heavy plastic over the windows.

"Yeah," responded Chat. "before you know it, everything will be good as new." Lucy hmmed in response. Chat took a deep breath before looking over at Lucy, who looked back when she felt his eyes on her.

"I know your curious about what Ladybug and I were doing in New York, but I can't really-"

"I know, Chat." Lucy interrupted. "You're right, I am curious. Even more curious as to why HawkMoth was there. Did you know he was going to New York?"

"No." Chat answered. "As unbelievable as it is, that was a coincidence."

Lucy nodded with raised brows. "A fortunate one I guess. Things might have been worse had your guys not been there."

"Yeah..." Chat spoke slowly. "Worse." Lucy watched him carefully, noting the frown he carried.

"Did something happen?" She asked and his eyes shot back up to hers.

"Yes." He answered honestly.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Chat nodded and swallowed. The heaviest of burdens crushes us, we sink beneath it, it pins us to the ground. But in love poetry of every age, the woman longs to be weighed down by the man's heaviest of burdens is therefore simultaneously an image of life's most intense fulfillment. The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become. Conversely, the absolute absence of burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as free as they are insignificant. What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?

"I do, but..." He paused. "Lucy, it's heavy."

"Well," Lucy said slowly. "What kind of friend would I be if I can't help you carry it?" There was an intensity in his gaze that Lucy had only seen a small handful of times in their time knowing one another. Whatever was bothering him...it was serious.

"I killed someone."

Those words knocked the air right out of Lucy's lungs. Out of all the things she could have conjured up in her mind to guess what was wrong, murder would have never made the list. Chat closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I almost killed someone. Ladybug fixed it."

"Who?" Lucy asked quietly.

"Uncanny Valley. She is technically an android but it didn't feel any different that if she were human."

Lucy swallowed tightly. "Well, Ladybug fixed it, so..."

"It doesn't matter," Chat spoke over her. "I mean, I'm glad she was able to fix Uncanny, but what if she wsn't? Majestia is her mother. You didn't see the look on her face." Lucy could feel her own eyes water as she watched Chat try to fight back his own. "Orphan is the word we use to describe a child who has lost their parents. What do you call a parent who has lost their child?"

"Vilomah." Lucy answered. "It means against a natural order."

"Ladybug was able to fix Uncanny. But what if she wasn't? What if Uncanny had been human? Would Ladybug truly be able to have fixed my mistake?" Chat pondered.

"Ladybug heals people all the time. It's a possibility that the extent of her power very well could save someone who had just recently passed under specific circumstances that involve her." Lucy tried to reason.

"But we don't know for sure."

"If your lucky, you'll never get the chance to test it." Lucy said, taking Chat Noir by the hand. "I know being a superhero might make you feel that mistakes are not an option, but you're not just a hero, your human. All humans make mistakes. What determines a person's character aren't the mistakes we make. It's how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses."

Chat took in a deep breath of air, filling his lungs to capacity before slowly letting it out. He squeezed Lucy's hand as he looked at her.

"I can't make that mistake again."

"Then do everything in your power not to."

Alright, 19,400 words in and I am spent. This chapter took me almost 2 months to write and I have no idea why. But its out! Its done! And now we can move on to SEASON 4! Im excited. Are your excited? As you can see, Lucy is starting to consider the possibility of harboring some more than friendly feelings for our dear boy Adrien, now she just has to figure out what to do with them. In the coming chapters I hope to bring better clarity to Lucy's feelings, Adriens, and even Marinette's. Of course, nothing is ever simple with these guys.

There is one issue with this show and that is that it is still running. A lot of the time, when I write fics, its on movies that have an ending or shows that have also come to a close already so that I have everything I need to map out the story, but due to this show still being on going, that means that I either need to come up with my own ending, or keep writing along with the show, but if I do that, this book may very well never end. Still trying to figure out which way to go. Being that we are 56 chapters in, its safe to say this book already feels like it never ends lol.

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, sorry for the wait! Remeber to leave comments and let me know what you think! I love reading them! As always I will see you in the next chapter! Hopefully it wont take as long to write! Chow for now!