Zoe had gotten out of school that day to help her stepfather with his case. Marinette had come along to talk with the case worker and help plead their case. However, she had to leave early. Zoe and Andre stood in the agent's office as she watched her girlfriend and their close friend do battle with a villain called Heart Changer in New York. The villain was not an akuma, so her victims could not be magically fixed by Ladybug, but Marinette had gotten the call to action from Eagle. Zoe had longed to go with her, but vanishing right now was not in the cards. She needed to show her stepfather was being a good guardian to her and not letting her run off.

She watched the heroes deflecting the blasts of the villain, protecting themselves as well as the people. The anchor on television remarked.

"The good news is, the villain seems to have very particular targets in mind. Only three people have been hit so far, and none of them were very pleasant people from what we can gather. Her powers seem to swap some aspect of the victim's personility. Now, let's hear from an expert on what the reaction to this attack will be."

The agent shut off the television and shook her head. "You know it's bad when they called Ladybug and Chat Noir to help. At least we still have the other heroes in case Mariposa tries to take advantage of their absence."

Zoe blushed and turned away as if looking at a poster while she gained her composure. Her stepfather patted her shoulder.

"Are you well, Zoe dear?"

"Yes, just worried for our heroes. What if they get hit and turned evil, or selfish, or cowards? What if they cannot be our Guardians anymore?"

Her ward gave her a soft smile and hugged her. "They will be fine, Zoe. We just need to have faith in our heroes. The best thing we can do to support them is go about our normal lives and try to resist the whims of whatever crazed villain decides to target us."

Zoe pulled away and flashed him a brilliant smile. He had tried with Chloe, whom was just too much like their mother. She had the potential to be better, but she clung to being a carbon copy of their worst parent. She was glad he was getting a second chance at being a father. Kwamis knew her own father didn't care about her.

"Thank you."

The agent stood up, smiling. "I can see this is a good match, already. I'll put in a good word with the judge. I am fairly confident that we have a case to take custody away from your wife. As long as Chloe agrees to the conditions we listed, she will be welcome back in France."

Her stepfather nodded, his expression turned grim. "Yes, I will see to it she agrees. She threw me under the bus and declared herself the ruler of Paris. I don't have that kind of power anymore, nor do I intend to let her have her way with me again."

The agent nodded, smiling. "Not many people get to fix their mistakes. I'm glad you are taking this seriously and believe you are on the right path. Good luck you two."

Zoe and her stepfather left the office and headed back towards the hotel. He took out his phone and brought up the news, handing it to her. She smiled gratefully as they got into the limo. She saw the villain being taken away in strange chains. Ladybug and Chat Noir were pouding fists with teenage heroes from New York before they swallowed space powerups and soared away.

"I wonder what will happen to the victims."

Her stepfather scratched his head. "I wish I knew. I'm used to all the magical side effects just going away after a fight. I'm sure there is something they can do. Powers and magic are fairly common in America. I'm sure there is a specialist there."

Zoe smiled and leaned back in her seat. Her phone chimed, and she knew Marinette had messaged her from her yo-yo. "Do you mind if I go to Marinette's tonight?"

He nodded with a grin. "Oh course, Zoe dear. I hope nothing was wrong when she left so suddenly."

Zoe giggled. "No, that's just my girlfriend. She stretches herself thin and then suddenly recalls something she needs to do."

They shared a laugh together as they approached the hotel. Zoe had hope in her heart as she took out her phone and saw the notification from Marinette. Then her phone chimed again. A new message, this time from Chloe. She sighed and opened it, expecting something mean and possibly homophobic. She reached out to tap her stepfather's shoulder to get his attention.

"You're gonna want to see this. It's from Chloe."

He took the phone. "I only messaged about her coming home this morning. What does the message say." He broke off as he read. "Locked in her room? Audrey refuses to let her return to Paris? Well, I cannot say I'm surprised at that but I am that Chloe would tell us or give us evidence to use against your mother. I wonder what got into her?

He returned her phone as another message appeared. It read.

'I'm sorry, for everything. Please, help me. She's losing her mind. I don't know what she's going to do to me. I'm scared. Please, Zoe.'

Zoe felt her blood run cold. Her sister had never used her name before. If she was doing so now, something was very wrong. She forwarded the texts to Marinette, whom would be closest to Chloe over the ocean. She got a text back immediately.

'Me and Chat are turning around. We'll save Chloe. Sent the texts to Alya and tell her to write on the Ladyblog that Chloe sent them directly to her and she got in contact with us. Thank the kwami I told the press that Alya could contact me in emergencies. We'll have Chloe home before the night is over. Love you.'

Zoe texted back right away. 'Thank you, so much. I'll do that. Love you as well.'

She then looked at her stepfather. "I just forwarded the texts to Alya. She has a way to contact Ladybug."

He nodded solemnly. "I wish there was something more we can do, but Chloe is a Parisian citizen. Ladybug is well within her jurisdiction to rescue her. Thank goodness they did not revoke her citizenship or even the heroes could not have saved her."

Zoe bit her lip. She hated waiting but it was all she could do. She hoped they would bring her sister home, safely.

Next time: Slumber Party and Reunions.