Symbiotic Whiskers

Chapter 11

Straining his heavy eyelids open, Adrien yawned as he heard the alarm from his phone alerting him. That was typical, but everything else was not. All around his room was a wreck, nearly everything turned over on itself with books and discs scattered about. Some new smell was permeating the air with a foul odor, Adrien finding a few crumbs on his fingers. Lastly, he woke up on the ceiling in his suit.

"Someone had fun last night." Standing up next to the lights atop his room, Adrien dropped down and with a quick flip landed on his feet.

'Oh we did'

He flinched, spinning around when a deep purring voice spoke up right behind him. No one was there though.

'No, just us.'

Adrien spun around again, and again, his senses on full alert for this intruder.

'We're no intruder'

Something emerged from his shoulder, sneaking around the back of his neck until crawling over his arm. Adrien held out it, staring wide eyed as his suit had somehow conjured a cat made of tar with glowing green toxic eyes that narrowed towards him. It smiled, putting its fangs on display towards the boy.

"Hello Adrien" It greeted, his suit, alive, talking to him!

"When….what?! This is just, wow." Adrien was in total shock, exhilarating but also terrifying because what did this mean? He wanted to take a second to sit down and have a conversation, one he wanted to have for a very long time, but there was barely anywhere he could step that wouldn't break something. "You're going to help me clean up this mess."

"Why should we do that?" The feline strutted over towards his other arms, his fluid legs dripping as it remained connected to the suit. "We are so much stronger now, and as we see it we can do whatever we want."

"And I want a clean room." Adrien argued, already bending down to start picking up whatever he could. "Look, this is awesome and all that but if Nathalie sees this she's going to start asking questions I can't answer, and keeping a closer watch on us."

"Oh we have something for that." A tendril snapped out from his arm, grabbing Adrien's phone and flicking on the camera. Adrien saw himself, but not the slimy cat smiling right next to him with pride. When his mask came over his face, he became completely invisible to the camera. "That's only a fraction of our new tricks. Come on, don't you want to try them out?"

"Definitely!" Adrien could only imagine how easy it would be to get around the city now, or sneak out without needing to watch after every camera in his house. Only there was a little hiccup, he was planning on checking up on Marinette this morning and at this rate he wouldn't get his room clean enough to get some-

"Chocolate?!" An army of tendrils squirmed out from Adrien's body, sweeping over the room to accelerate the clean up process.

Well, it looks like some things haven't changed. Adrien went back to cleaning up his room, mentally keeping in mind how much he could actually throw away or stash into a drawer for now. His hand found an empty hexagonal box with the red symbols and everything. "What was in this?"

The cat made of tar peeked over his shoulder to examine what he was looking at. "Oh we have much to share regarding that, but that will take some time."

"Yeah, we'll have to sit down and go over a lot." Adrien agreed, putting the box somewhere for now with his suit helping. His suit, this whole time he's referred to it as all sorts of things but never had something proper to call it, or him. "But now that I can talk to you, what do I call you?"

The cat rested its chin atop Adrien's head, humming in thought over the idea of a proper name. "You can call us, Plague."

Last night, she tried to get some sleep. She really did, but her mind refused to rest as it kept running, and running, and running. It was a mental marathon with everything going on. Black Cat, Cat Noir, Adrien, and now there was a new partner that would be replacing Black Cat. So many cats in the backyard of her head and she couldn't possibly look out for them all.

So she tried focusing on one thing, Cat Noir or Adrien?

Alya had made a note several times that she had unknowingly made lots of appreciation for Cat Noir. But did she actually like like him?

After gathering all the photos she had of Adrien, stacking them in a single pile, she weighed it against the few she had of Cat Noir alongside a staggering amount of sketches she never realized she made of Cat Noir.

Fiddling with a pencil, balancing the tip of it with her finger to stand up, she kept leaning it back and forth between the two. "Oh Tikki, I don't know what to do anymore."

She probably shouldn't bother a magical kwami with these little things, instead asking more important things about her responsibilities as a superhero. But this was so distracting, and Tikki was always willing to give her thoughts and advice.

"It's important to try and understand your feelings." Tikki agreed before offering her wisdom. "But I think you should consider their feelings too."

"Well I know how Cat Noir feels about me already!...I think….crap Tikki do you think he still likes me?"

"There's a lot to consider." Tikki floated down to grab one of the pictures of Ladybug and Cat Noir together, before grabbing one of her as Marinette and placing it over the cat. "Not only how you feel about two boys, but how these two boys feel about Ladybug and Marinette."

"This love triangle is turning into a love disaster." Marinette dropped her head onto her desk, a resounding clang spilling the two piles over her workstation. "I can't even talk to Adrien, how could I even ask how he feels about me let alone Ladybug."

"You talk to Cat Noir all the time though." Tikki tried to help ease her burden. "I'm sure you can work up the courage to ask him."

"You're right!" Marinette shot up, holding up her two fingers and imagining a few faces on them. "Marinette can ask Cat Noir how he feels about Ladybug, and Ladybug can ask how he feels about Marinette. If he says yes to either, I can go on a date and figure out how I feel about him!"

But there was something else Tikki wanted to bring up, needed to bring up because she wanted to assure Marinette's safety. "Marinette, maybe hold off on that for now?"

Marinette knew Tikki would only bring this up out of care, but now that she had a plan to help clear her head it felt like too much to back out now. "The sooner I get my head clear of all this boy stuff the better I'll be able to focus on keeping Paris safe."

"We need to be careful with Cat Noir, there's something about him that-" Tikki gasped before zooming out of sight, Marinette confused as to why until a little tap came across her window.

Cat Noir gave a short wave from her window before climbing up, Marinette rushing up her ladder to open up the door for him. "You know you can enter whenever you like."

"I was told it was always polite to knock." Cat Noir rolled onto her ceiling, walking along the walls as Marinette went to stand in the way of what was on her desk. "I noticed that last night you weren't here. Everything ok?"

Waving her arm behind herself to quickly shuffle the photos out of view, she gave a clear nod. "Yes!"

"Even with, everything going on?" He fell down smoothly onto an empty seat. "Aren't you scared if people find out your connection with me?"

"I, I guess I never thought about it." There was already so much to think about, but if the mayor found out she was keeping Cat Noir at her place that put her parents in danger. They, alongside her, would be thrown in jail immediately. Hard to be Ladybug if she was imprisoned.

Cat Noir seemed to be distracted for a moment, turning his head to the side as he spoke up. "Hold on a second I'll ask."

"Um, Cat?"

"Sorry." He returned his attention to her. "But, you wouldn't happen to have any chocolate?...and cheese, that's a new one."

Something seemed off with him, different than usual. Tikki's concerns came to her mind, and Marinette couldn't put them aside any longer. "I still have some but, what's going on? You know I'm here for you."

Bringing his legs up and squatting on the small chair, Cat Noir's mask lifted as he watched Marinette go grab the stash. "Well, you know how I couldn't really talk with my suit before except on rare occasions?"

Grabbing the small plastic bag, Marinette held it out to him. "Yeah?"

A tendril moved out on its own, grabbing the treats and bringing them up to Adrien's shoulder. "Well, he's gotten a lot more chatty. A lot."

"How much is a lot?"

"Since I woke up, all day. Inside my head." He plucked a few of the sweets out with his hand, popping them into his mouth. "He also can….what do you mean you don't want to tell her? I tell Marinette everything."

He was speaking, just not to her. Why did Tikki have to be so right, especially now that Cat Noir's powers were changing or growing? Marinette wanted to know too, but she didn't know how to feel about this because she didn't know how to feel about him.

She couldn't have Adrien, she couldn't have him, was she allowed to have anything?!

"Woah woah hey." Cat Noir picked up on her distress immediately, going over to her as she tried to keep it all inside. "I'm sorry, I should have known how stressful this was starting to get."

His arms stopped just short of her, pulling back to himself as Cat Noir intended to give her space.

"Don't go." Marinette snatched out, grabbing his arm to prevent him from leaving.

"I'm the one making trouble for you." Cat Noir pointed out, before an unheard voice brought his attention away. "Shut up, this is between me and her."

His argument was interrupted by a hug, Marinette clinging around him as he awkwardly accepted it. She pressed her face deeper into his chest as she spoke honestly with what little she could say. "There's a lot I need to figure out, but one thing I know is that I want you to stay in my life."

Cat Noir nodded, accepting her with a resolved embrace. "Thank you Marinette. I have to figure some things out too with this new change but, how I feel about you isn't going to change."

"Then….how do you feel about me?"

Cat Noir was about to answer, the words clogging in his throat as he stopped to ponder the very same question. Before the answer could arrive the morning alarm cut him short, Marinette defeated by her alarm clock yet again.

"I need to go now." Cat Noir pulled away before going towards the window to let himself out. "I'll see you again soon, with as many answers as I can get."

Wistfully watching him leave, Marinette wanted to pull him back inside as he rushed off across the city. "See you."

Tikki had concerns, Marinette had questions, but it all kept arriving at the same thing. Cat Noir was the answer, and maybe it was time Marinette accepted that.

Adrien barely managed to make it back in time, his suit shifting back to his clothes as he quickly gathered his belongings for the day. There wasn't a photo shoot this morning, but he had a quick fencing class and school right after that. Normally it would be done in a hasty silence, not anymore.

"You should stop by that girl's place more often." His feline emerged from his back, pacing back and forth between his shoulders. "She treats us well."

"Marinette is great." Adrien admitted as he grabbed his school bag. "I want to see her more without putting her in danger, but she doesn't like me as Adrien, only as Cat Noir."

"Life as Cat Noir is more fun."

"If you count becoming a wanted criminal as fun."

"Like there's anything the police can do against us now." Leaping off his body, keeping its form tethered to Adrien's body with its tail it hopped onto the piano to observe the boy as he continued preparing for the day. "We were already agile before, but now there's hardly anything that can harm us."

"So what did happen?" Adrien asked, realizing that there was some homework misplaced so now he had to search for it in the clutter stashed away in a hurry earlier. "Not that I'm complaining unless all of a sudden we're going to start biting peoples' heads off."

"Tempting."

It was a joke, right?

Pulling itself back by the tail, Plague began to take a stroll up Adrien's leg. "Long story short, you were selected to be the next Black Cat, technically the original since she wasn't supposed to have it in the first place."

Wait, he was supposed to have Zoe's powers first? How did she get hers on accident and why was….the box!

"Bingo." Plague laid on Adrien's chest, sticking to him easily as Adrien waited near his bedroom door for Nathalie to get him. Adrien felt something move his arm on its own, small tendrils of black moving over to his finger to merge into a black ring with a green cat paw on it.

"So you really are a kwami then?" Adrien tried to guess, getting a chuckle from his companion.

"Kwami, and symbiote as one. We found we had very similar interests and goals, and combined we became Plague."

"Well one voice in my head is better than two." Excluding his own thoughts.

"Someone's coming." Plague suddenly dissolved back into his shirt, taking the ring back and storing it who knows where on his body. When the knock at his door proved Plague right, Adrien braced himself for a new day.

Hopefully this one would be better.

Answering it, he did not expect his father to be the one to check up on him.

"Father? Where's Nathalie?"

"She was feeling a little sick." Straight and to the point, Gabriel motioned for his son to follow him out of his room. "So I had her get some rest for today. Nothing serious."

It was rare for her to get sick but not unheard of, Adrien silently wishing her a speedy recovery as he went out into the main hall.

"Are you, feeling alright Adrien?" Gabriel questioned with less confidence than the man usually had. "Things in Paris are getting more dangerous, and you've lost someone."

"It's, a lot yeah." Who was this and what did he do with his father? Whatever was coming over the stubborn man, Adrien was not going to ask it to stop. "But seeing friends helps a lot."

The man placed his hand on the boy's shoulder fondly, smiling down to his son and only family. "I'm glad. If you ever need something, please let me know."

Stunned by the display of affection from an otherwise stone hearted man, Adrien was grateful for him to personally check on him. "Thank you, father."

The moment was shattered when Gabriel's phone started to ring, a scowl rising to his features as he answered it in annoyance. "Yes, what is it?...how it was a simple design?...the show is in three days we don't have many options."

And there he went, Adrien watching as he went over to his usual room to discuss business as he left the door open. Inside was a book he left out on the table, Adrien intrigued by it shortly because it had the same symbols on it as the box. Then his attention was on edge when his father opened up the portrait of his mother to reveal a safe hidden behind it!

'Ooohhhh, we love some dirty little secrets.'

"When did my father start hiding things?" Adrien asked to himself, and Plague now. Was all his internal monologuing always going to be listened to now?

'Yes, but we always knew what you were thinking.'

Trying not to think about every weird or dirty thought he had ever since he got the suit, Adrien ducked back out of the way as his father quickly walked out of the room still on the phone. "Excuse me Adrien, I have to handle this. Your bodyguard will be here in a few minutes to take you to the school."

"Thank you."

Gabriel went back upstairs, out of sight, with no bodyguard here yet, leaving just him and Plague. His body yanked itself towards the room, Adrien catching himself as he could feel Plague pulling him towards the portrait with the hidden safe.

"What are you doing?!" Adrien hissed out. Was it the kwami that made his suit way more curious than usual? It would make sense since it was a little cat one.

Plague's head popped out of his sleeve and over the top of his hand, pulling Adrien's arm towards it. "We just want to take a quick peek."

Then the blob along his hand moved through the portrait. It was only a few seconds before Adrien heard a few clicks inside the safe when it began to open. Taking a step back, Plague retreating back to observe from his hand, there were a few random things inside.

A photo of his mother, a book about Tibet, flyers from a hotel, a notepad next to some old looking papers, and the book. Now that Adrien and Plague were so close to it, the symbols were unmistakably the same.

The miraculous box and this book had some connection.

Thirsting for more knowledge about this new world Adrien has been dipping into, he took the aged tome out from the safe and surfed through the contents. He couldn't make out the lettering, but his feline companion did identify something from it. "We have seen this before."

"When?"

"It was many years ago, we were not allowed to read it. But as far as we knew it was lost, alongside the butterfly miraculous and the peacock."

Hawkmoth, and the other woman. He needed to look into this, figure out what his father was doing with this book and how exactly it was connected to those villains. Unfortunately it was almost time for school, Adrien hearing his bodyguard entering the house and the boy hastily going to close it all up.

Only he kept onto the book, storing it in his bag for safekeeping so he could figure out what it was about.

"We need to find a way to decipher it." Adrien decided as he took a few steps away, his foot stopping without warning. He tried to pull it away, Plague for some reason taking control of his leg. "Plague, now is not the time."

'The floor, don't you feel it? Hollow.'

Control was relinquished back to Adrien, the boy giving a few test taps with his foot. It was sturdy, and was practically seamless with the rest of the ground. But with his enhanced senses, he could hear it, an echo underneath them.

They didn't have a basement, so what was down there?

The Gorilla cleared his throat at the door, Adrien putting aside his investigation for now to follow the man out to the car. He wasn't letting this go though, he would figure out how his father is connected to all of this, and what secrets he was keeping below.

Despite a strong serving of caffeine this morning, it wasn't enough to keep her fully awake. Marinette was in a near sleepwalking state, Alya forced to guide her as they tried to get to class. The bustling chatter all around them, the new gossip, all of it fell on deaf ears of the sleep deprived girl and her seeing eyed friend.

"What were you doing last night?" Alya had to ask, noticing some heavy bags under her eyes. "Let me guess, rewatching Adrien's latest appearance in a swimsuit ad?"

"IS THERE?!" Marinette was suddenly very awake, yanking her phone out to try and find it.

"Woah woah hey I was only kidding." Alya calmed the girl down, or at least tried.

Marinette was only a single letter away from typing his name out in the search bar, the girl sighing as she let go of the temptation. "No, well it does involve Adrien but, I've been thinking a lot about what you said."

"I say a lot of things, you're going to have to be more specific."

"I…I don't have what it takes to ask him out." Marinette felt like she was stabbing herself in betrayal just saying it. "I fantasize about him, look out for everything he stars in, imagine a perfect future with him, but when it comes to spending time with him it's too much. My heart feels like it's going to explode anytime I'm near him and when he talks to me it melts my brain. I want him, I really do but I can't have him."

While Alya rubbed her head, wishing it hadn't come to this end, it was probably for the best. "Well, normally I'd say don't give up because you never made a move, but you also kept rejecting every chance you had. Maybe Adrien is your dream guy, just a dream guy though. You need to find someone you're comfortable with to open up to and spend time around,"

Nodding her head in acceptance, Marinette tried to plan out her day without Adrien involved in some way. It was tough, but this was the first step to moving on.

"Good timing too." Alya nudged her shoulder, pointing up towards the second story. "Looks like that popular new girl is making her claim."

WHAT?!

Marinette's mind threw away all desire for sleep, only wanting answers as she immediately spotted some tan floozy in a vermillion jacket over a black romper, way too tight of leggings, garbage green eyes, and long dark tobacco hair. She was running her finger all over Adrien's chest, making her gut boil at the sight.

"No way is she good enough for Adrien." Marinette seethed, Alya trying to calm her down with some logic.

"Woah hey, that girl has some connections. She knows a bunch of people in Hollywood, Jagged Stone wrote a song about her, and when Ladybug saved her life they became close friends."

Marinette's arms lashed out to clamp onto Alya's shoulders, the girl not letting go of that last bit of information. "She says she's friends with Ladybug?"

"Um, yeah? Didn't you see the latest interview I had with her on my ladyblog?"

Obviously not! Marinette let go of her, stomping away as she went off to go investigate this 'friend' of hers who was trying to get so close to Adrien.

Alya could only watch on in disappointment, realizing her friend might have a real problem. "And just when I thought she was letting go of Adrien."

Ok, fencing was done, school was about to begin, and this new girl was trying to get him to help her get caught up on some history. Lila, a name everyone kept mentioning around him. He didn't know how to feel about her yet, especially with how touchy she was, but he sure knew how Plague felt.

'She touches us again, we bite her hand off.'

"No." Adrien spoke to himself.

"You won't help me study?" Lila, with a very disappointed face asked.

"No, I mean I'll help but-"

"Great!" She pulled him towards the library with her emotions flipping over into joy in an instant, where Adrien had some intentions of going anyways to read up on this book. "Let me get my textbooks real quick, I'll be right back!"

Well great, now he wasn't going to have much time other than a quick lookover. Sitting down at the empty table, Adrien whispered quietly to himself. "We have to find out a better way to talk to each other."

'We can simply listen to your thoughts.'

"Having a conversation in my head is hard enough with myself. There's got to be a better way." Rummaging through his school bag for something, Adrien found one of his notebooks before flipping to an empty page. "How good is your handwriting?"

'You expect us to write?'

"With my hand, we just write to each other on the same page." Adrien held his hand out onto it. "That way I can also look back to what you said before."

'We're pen pals now?'

"Exactly, now give it a tryyy!" Adrien's hand quickly shot out, his hand scribbling out a quick sentence in rough scratchy writing that was the opposite of his own. It was still eligible, Adrien reading out the words written on it.

Someone is watching

He looked around, trying to find the culprit as his ears focused in on a heartbeat around the corner. If he talked to himself, he would sound mad. Luckily he just managed to figure out a way to look like he was taking notes instead of talking aloud on a one sided conversation.

Who?

Marinette. She watches you a lot.

How much?

'Look alive.'

"Thank you again Adrien for helping me out!" Lila interrupted his conversation, Adrien dumpling up the paper and pushing it aside. "I've been so busy volunteering to help out at orphanages that I've fallen behind on my history."

"No problem. Is there a certain time period you need to catch up on?"

"Yes, and what do you know I think that book might cover it!" Lila went out to slide the old worn down book under Adrien's arm out to inspect it herself, but his arm snapped out to grab her wrist. She gasped at the sudden move, Adrien taking back control to let her go. "Sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you."

"No worries, I should have asked first." But she still brought the book over to herself to open up to read inside without permission. "When I tried getting in touch with myself I spent a few months studying alongside a group of peaceful monks, and since they don't believe in attachment no one cares if you grab a book without warning."

That, sounded weird but he didn't know a lot about monks.

She flipped through some of the pages, noticing a lot of images about heroes inside. "Are you a superhero fan? You know I know Ladybug, we're close friends."

'She's lyyying.'

Wasn't he close friends with Ladybug? How come she never mentioned Lila, or was this because Lila knew about her secret identity. Even then, Ladybug was very firm on not letting anyone know her identity, not even him.

"Do you know who she really is?"

"Of course! But I can't tell you, sorry. I promised to keep it a secret."

'Liar liar let's light her face on fire.'

Did Plagg or his suit always have this tendency for violence?

"But." Lila scooted closer towards Adrien, placing her hand over his. "I'd be willing to share some of my secrets with you. I feel like I can really trust you. Do you feel the same?"

The bell rang, and when Adrien stood up Lila's hand accidentally scattered their books. "Oh so sorry! I haven't recovered from a sprained wrist fully after saving someone from jumping off a bridge. Here let me help."

Adrien grabbed his stuff quickly, putting it in his bag as he stood back up with Lila holding her stuff behind her back. "But hey, let's meet up after school to resume our studying. Ok? Meet you at the front entrance."

There was already enough on Adrien's plate to look into and learn about. His new power situation, what was under his house, and the book.

'She has the book!'

Having Plague take control of his eyes was something he never wanted to experience again, but he was right. Lila did have his book and was walking right out the library with it.

"Lila." Adrien called out a little more firmly than he anticipated. "You have one of my books."

She seemed to freeze in the doorway, her heartrate increasing to where he could hear it thumping away at her chest. "Oh, sorry. Still have some bad habits after studying with those monks. Can I bring it back to you after school when we-"

"I need it." Adrien wasn't budging on this. Maybe with any of his other books, but that one was one his father kept secret even from him. No way was he letting it out of his sight. Holding out his hand, Lila still wasn't immediately complying.

"I bet I could help you with whatever-"

"Now." That deep threatening purr rose up from Adrien's throat, the boy's green eyes almost burning as a subtle glow came through the color.

Lila quivered as a cold feeling rushed through her back, the hairs on her neck standing as she handed over the book. Without any excuses, without another word, she left to run off to class, leaving Adrien almost alone in the library. Still aggravated over Lila taking it and nearly using force to get it back, he wasn't thinking when he spoke up.

"Come on Marinette, let's get to class."

"EAAHP!" The girl flinched around the corner, peeking out to see Adrien waiting for her, looking right in her direction! Did he know she was here this whole time?! "A-alright."

The boy left first, pushing out the door harshly as Marinette followed behind. Lila was just around the corner of the hallway, scowling as she watched the boy leave with the seemingly timid girl. She would learn more about her by the end of the day.

All throughout class, Adrien appeared to be very studious. His pencil always moving, the boy glancing up from his notes to the board and back down to his notebook that was filling up faster than usual. Marinette couldn't help but notice, still trying to pull her prying mind away from the boy but it was a losing battle.

For Adrien, he was putting aside class work entirely for the day as he was learning more about himself. Or rather Plague.

So the alien part of you can copy and enhance all powers?

To an extent. Both parts of us already enhance whoever we bond with, but as Plague our abilities have only multiplied.

Anything new?

Plenty, and we are eager to try them all out.

Do we still have the same weaknesses?

Not that our enemies will get a chance to use them against us.

But we should still avoid them.

Yes

The end of the day finally arrived, Adrien ripping out his latest entry to crumble up in his hand before tossing behind his back to land in the trash. He was wanting to get home right away, his moment to try and figure out if there was anything his father had to decipher the book written in a language that didn't exist from what he could research.

"Adrien!" Max quickly ran up to him before he left.

"What's up?"

"You know that app I talked about?"

Excitement rushed through Adrien, glad to have friends at school with all sorts of quality talents. "You didn't!"

"I did." With pride Max held out his phone towards Adrien to show it off. "It was a simple process really, an app to tune out any noise ranges from four to six kilohertz. Of course this will only work for anything you play through whatever device you have this installed on. We could maybe modify some hearing aids to help cancel out those noises for you."

"This is more than enough." Adrien whipped out his own phone to download the new app. Yes, the hearing aid thing is a good idea but it's not going to help when his whole body is affected by the noise. This was as far as they could go without hindering his powers. "Thanks Max."

"Nice job bro!" Nino gave Max a hearty pat on the back that nearly took the boy down. "Now I can finally share even more tunes with Adrien!"

The moment they left together, Adrien happy to chat for a moment with them before rushing back home, Marinette swooped into the garbage can.

"Again Marinette?" Alya hoped that this nudge would pull her back to sanity. "What do you think you'll get this time?"

When the girl unfolded the ball, she recognized half of the hand writing, but the other half was a mystery. It looked like he was passing notes to someone, but she would have spotted that right away. Was Adrien ok?

"Pst!" The little reminder jostled in Marinette's bag. "The book!"

The book, that's right! The one Tikki was obsessed with when they spotted it in the library. That meant talking to Adrien, trying to get a better look at it.

Oh why oh why cruel universe, just when she was trying to move on it was pulling her right back towards the insanely handsome boy.

Lila waited outside dutifully, after asking around she learned quite a bit about the dynamic between Adrien and Marinette. Simply put, there was nothing between them. One of them was hopelessly smitten by Adrien and stalked him to no end while the boy seemed to be the very image that everyone was fond of. Marinette never made a proper move, so she would. And if the girl had a problem with it, there was plenty to make use of to get her to back off for good.

There he was! Oh the magazine covers didn't do him justice. They never captured this personal dark side he had about him, and yes while she was startled by how angry he could get that only made taming him all the more worth it.

"A-Adrien!"

"Marinette?" The boy turned around before Lila could catch him, facing that girl who was supposed to keep her distance!

"U-Um, hey so…yeah. You uh, stop by my place a lot-my parent's bakery! A lot and, um, was wondering if you…you wanted to eat me-WITH ME! There, for a quick bite." No way, out of all the times she gets a backbone it's today?!

No worries, Adrien would turn her down.

"I don't think I could ever turn down an offer like that."

He didn't, crap. Time for her to cut this girl's sudden pride down to size. "Oh Adrien!" Lila waved over to him, the teen about to go with Marinette to her place. "I thought we were going to go study together? I could really use that help you promised me."

"He never promised you anything." Marinette bit out.

"It's an expression, but how are you so sure…wait, didn't I see you watching Adrien and I when he wasn't looking?"

Bullseye, Marinette literally jerked when Lila called her out. She didn't even need to make up anything this time. Time to lay it on thick to get the point across. "Oh my gosh, are you that girl I keep hearing about that's sneaking photos of him, even in the locker room?"

"W-what? I-I w-would n-never-"

"Look Marinette, I know Adrien is cute and all but maybe learn to give him some privacy."

It worked like a charm, Marinette turning into a mumbling mess before she ran off, probably about to ball her eyes out.

Adrien for whatever reason looked like he was about to run after her, Lila going in to hook her arm around his while appealing to his caring side. "Oh no, I didn't mean to hurt her feelings. Crap, maybe I should apologize to her and-"

"Let go of us." That dark tone emerged from Adrien's throat again, the teen's fist clenching tightly as he slowly turned his head to glare at her. A black ink washed over the whites of his eyes briefly, the green around his pupil burning dangerously towards her. "We are tired of your lies."

"Adrien, but I would never lie to-

"You don't know Ladybug, you don't know Marinette, and you don't know us."

Lila jumped out as she swore his face distorted into something, monstrous for a moment. A demon inside taking off the mask to bare its fangs at her before returning back to Adrien. The boy ran off towards where Marinette went, Lila defeated as her legs couldn't stop shaking.

He chose Marinette, over her. What kinds of lies did Marinette spout to him about her during class?! How dare Marinette make him think she was the one lying?!

Marinette could only hear her own footsteps as she ran down the street. Not the cars, not Tikki, not even herself. All she wanted to do was run away from it all and never look back. She messed up, time and time again with Adrien and today she was going to stop. But she couldn't help herself once someone tried to enter his life, falling into old habits and spying on him.

Not knowing how far she went, when her foot hit the wet grass unexpectedly she slipped and fell flat on her face, green streaks staining themselves across her clothes and her skin. She didn't bother to get up, just lay there in the park as she tried to pick herself up.

"Marinette!" Adrien came sliding to her side, his presence only making her feel even more horrible. Here he was coming to her aid again and what did she ever do for him? Only perverted his image in her mind. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

He gently helped her up, Marinette incapable of looking him in the eyes as he continued to help her. What was the point? He was so nice and caring beyond his pretty face, and she never did anything for him. "Why do you keep being so nice to me?"

"Because you try Marinette, you don't give up on people." He readily answered. "I see you everyday doing your best just to be my friend even though you don't have any reason to. I don't know what part of you hates me or what exactly about me you dislike so much that makes it hard for you to tolerate me, but you still do."

"You, think I hate you?"

"Well, maybe hate's a strong word, but I notice you never like talking to me or being around me. You don't have to force yourself. I wouldn't be mad at you for just keeping your distance."

Was she really that awful to him that he thought she hated him? Still he was so nice to her, supportive, including her in so many things and giving so much support including now. Yet all her efforts she did to get close to him backfired everytime, coming across as hate instead of love.

They really weren't meant to be.

"T-thank you Adrien." She could barely stammer out as she quickened her pace to get away, just to go home and embrace solitude. "I'll be fine now."

"Are you sure-"

"I said I'm fine!" She shouted at him, and then she saw it, how her actions pushed him away. Taking off again, she never saw how Adrien wished to go after her, help her in some way.

This was an intriguing development. Hawkmoth could feel the swirling negative emotions rolling out in waves of not just one, but two individuals. It wasn't rare, but both were excellent opportunities that he wished to take advantage of. But which one would serve a greater purpose? Which one would overturn a victory against Ladybug and Cat Noir?

"This is an opportunity you can't take advantage of alone." Nathalie had entered his chambers, Hawkmoth turning around to seeing the woman up already.

"Nathalie, you should be resting."

"The damage is already done, we can rest once we gain the miraculous. Duusu, spread my feathers." The woman shifted right in front of him, turning into Mayura and arriving next to him. "We also don't know who possesses the cat miraculous, or if it has a new wielder."

That was true, time and time again they tried to have the element of surprise only for their plans to be ruined due to their lack of knowledge. This time, they would try to keep an open mind towards multiple possibilities, prepared for any sudden changes "Ok then."

Adrien was left wanting to help Marinette as she ran off, but again he was stuck as Adrien.

'You're an idiot.'

"Thanks." Adrien sarcastically said aloud before walking over to sit on a bench in the park. "I think I screwed up any chance I have of being friends with Marinette.'

'You already are.'

"As Cat Noir yeah, but…I don't know I hate being a burden on her. She helps people and they don't even have to ask. She's a lot like Ladybug in some ways but, down to Earth? Whatever it is, I just, really like her and it hurts knowing that my life as Adrien makes her life somehow worse than as Cat Noir putting her life and her family in danger."

'We know how you feel.'

"You do?" Adrien muttered as he rested his chin on his hand.

'Do you really know how you feel about her?'

"What's that supposed to mean?"

'Oh for the love of all that is creamy and gooey!' A tendril flew out of his shirt, slapping Adrien in the face.

"What was that for?!"

'This is too awful to-akuma!'

"Where?!" Jumping to his feet, Adrien spotted the shadow butterfly moving quickly overhead. It was too high up, and he was still out in public. Running over to the closest alleyway he could he began leaping between the walls, his suit rushing over him and invigorating his body with immense power.

As soon as he reached the top he ran forward on all fours like a wild animal, zeroing his senses in on the akuma as he tracked it down. Could he even stop it from possessing someone? Only Ladybug could cleanse them, leaving very little ideas on how to try and handle it.

Though once he saw whose house it was going towards, all caution was thrown out the window as he clawed through the rooftops to force himself to go even faster. It went straight through the open window, entering the room, and about to touch Marinette.

Cat Noir dove after it, his claws barring the butterfly in his grasp to which he yelled. "CATACLYSM!"

Clenching his fist, the akuma dissolved in his grasp just short of the surprised girl. Cat Noir pulled back, letting the ash fall out through his fingers as he stood there with Marinette with a loss for words.

"I uh, pardon the intrusion." Cat Noir was about to leave, only Marinette slammed her arms around him to keep him present.

"Cat I…that was too close."

"Just doing my job." But while he was here, while she was open with him like this, he wanted to help her further. "But why did the akuma go for you?"

"It's, complicated." Marinette's muffled voice came through the back of his outfit.

"Then why don't we unwind this ball of yarn." Cat Noir offered, Marinette not bothering to sit in any of her chairs and electing to just fall down to rest on the ground. Cat Noir moved her head to rest down on his lap, looking down to admire her.

"I was an idiot."

"Well I get called that a few times so I should know what one is. But you don't seem like one."

She appreciated his way of making things lighter at times, Marinette reaching up to touch the face that was right over hers. Cat Noir was here, always here when she needed him. Yes she messed things up with Adrien, but she had already decided to give up on him. She never could have imagined that she came across as hating him, but he didn't hate her. "I, sort of liked this guy. A lot."

"Who?"

"You know." Marinette gave a pointed look towards her trash, where multiple photos she tore in an emotional frenzy rested. "The same one I keep talking about all the time?"

Adrien glanced back and forth between her, and the photos, the photos of him as Adrien, the guy she apparently said she liked a lot. Oh.

'Finally!'

"You don't mean, Adrien do you?"

"Quit playing dumb." She rolled her head to the side, Cat Noir dumbfounded for a moment because he wasn't playing. He really was that stupid. She liked him so much that she couldn't handle being near him, talking to him, but she made an effort every chance she got but got tongue tied.

"Did you tell him?" He had to keep playing dumb, probably what he was best at.

"No." Reliving the shame Marinette rolled over until her face was hidden in his thighs. "He thought I hated him but he was still really nice about it. Thing is, I was stressing myself out so many times just trying to get a little closer to him. I put all this effort into something that wasn't working out, and I should have seen it a lot sooner."

"It's not too late!" Cat Noir spat out, surprising himself because why was he rooting for her all of a sudden. "I'm sure that if you had a friend help-"

"But I do, well did." Marinette rolled back over onto her back, looking up at the ceiling as she let it all out. "She's still my friend but she helped me realize that I was in love with the idea of being with him even though I never got to spend any time getting to know the real Adrien. She became convinced it wouldn't end well, and it didn't."

Wow, he felt really disappointed right now. In himself, in the fact that Marinette was giving up on this, but he never made it easier for her because he never saw. "Well what do you want now?"

Marinette yawned, the day's exhaustion paired with her drained emotions blurring her thinking. All she felt was the warmth of his presence, his comfort, his care for her. It felt right, like it was meant to be. "I wasn't really sure until now."

That didn't really answer his question, but Cat Noir was just happy he could be of some help. He messed it up as Adrien, and managed to fix things up as Cat Noir. While he got into trouble sometimes, he could at least protect the people he cared about. Sometimes it was hard, but having Ladybug alive, Marinette relaxed and with him right now, all worth it.

'Forgetting about something?'

"Do you want to say hi?" He whispered as Marinette began to drift off to sleep on him. "Little late for that."

'We can't risk exposing ourselves as we are, not with too many witnesses.'

"Marinette already knows about you."

'We're not talking about her.'

What? Who else was watching?

'We probably shouldn't say.'

"Well aren't you just a conniving little-"

A rumbling, ah great Hawkmoth found someone else to akumatize didn't he? Sorry Marinette, he had to go now.

Whipping out a string out to a pillow, he tugged it over to himself before carefully sliding it under Marinette's head to replace his thighs. "Sleep tight, don't let the Ladybugs bite."

Maneuvering quietly back over to the open window, Cat Noir quickly flipped himself up to the rooftop balcony and balanced himself on the railing. "Now then, what's going to be the beat em up villain for today?"

'We hope they're strong, because we have so many things to-'

The two looked up, seeing a massive meteor lugging its way down to Earth.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me."

'Fake.'

"What? How would you know?"

'We know a thing or two about meteors and extinction level events. Too slow, nowhere near as bright as it should be, and it should have broken the sound barrier.'

"Oh great." Hanging his head and standing up on the two inch bar, Cat Noir was disappointed by the lack of creativity. "Another akuma that's trying to trick us. Bad enough we did the evil twin thing twice but now someone who can just conjure up fake meteors?"

He noticed it was taking a lot longer for it to reach the ground, like it was slowing down, Like it was waiting for something to happen. "Maybe we should play along for now. Still, Hawkmoth did move on pretty fast. Maybe that other woman is behind this and do, whatever she can do."

'The holder of the peacock miraculous can make sentimonsters.'

"Wow, that kwami knowledge comes in handy. No wonder Ladybug was so confused why I knew nothing." Leaping forward with a flip, Cat Noir began to run across rooftops, only swinging through the streets when he saw there weren't a lot of people to notice him. "So what can you tell me about sentimonster?"

'Similar to akumas in many ways, only instead of possessing someone it creates a separate creature with powers.'

"So that's why it doesn't leave anyone behind." It wasn't just the other Ladybug then, it was also that firework wizard back at the church. Hawkmoth has been working with this person for a while now, and each time the two worked together it only caused them suffering. "Are sentimonsters, sentient?"

'Most are just creatures driven on impulse, but the last two, especially the Ladybug, are as detailed as you are.'

"What exactly does that mean?" Crouching atop the corner of a billboard, he saw some little orange flare rushing to stop the fake meteor. Ok, well if it's fake either it rushes right through it-or actually touches it to somehow push it back.

"No time to play misdirection." Cat Noir took off to begin covering the city. "Time to find the magician. You know, I don't think we fought a magician themed villain yet. Oh! Miss Direction would be a great name!"

The orange blur swooped down to one of the larger buildings, landing at one of the larger buildings in Paris with a crowd already gathered. Please be a magician, please be a magician.

"I am Volpina!" Not a magician, instead a girl in a fox outfit. "And I'm here to be a true hero for Paris!"

'That lying snake!'

"Fox." Adrien jokingly corrected as he leapt above another road to get a closer look. It looks like they were alone at the moment, but the question was if this girl was a sentimonster or-

'Akuma.'

"How can you tell?"

'Because we know who's behind the mask.'

Another akuma so fast? Well if the sentimonsters can be created through someone's emotions then Hawkmoth could probably just hop on that with his own akuma. It would make sense, especially if the two were working together. Pulling out his phone, he was going to give a quick text out to Ladybug before his suit pulled the device back inside.

"Hey! What was that for?"

'Shhh, we're doing something. You know how Black Cat could use her staff like a phone? Gain access to public information?'

"I know Ladybug could, but I didn't realize it came standard with a miraculous."

'Well we can do so much more.'

A ringing came into Adrien's head, like a phone. Holy crap his suit was a phone too now?! "This is an awesome upgrade."

'You haven't even seen the best stuff yet.'

He couldn't wait, but the self proclaimed hero suddenly came straight for him! Cat Noir was at the ready, crouched low with a hand baring its claws out. Volpina landed on the other side, Adrien's ears flicking as he began to notice some oddities. No breathing, no heartbeat, this was just another trick.

"Cat Noir, I'm glad I ran into you. I need your help."

"My help?" Standing up a little straighter but keeping cautious, the cat warrily allowed her to speak. "And why exactly would you need my help?"

The copy, fake, whatever it was seemed in a hurry. "Because I know where Hawkmoth is, and he's making his move today."

'She's getting away!' It was like he was aware of eyes on the back of his head, a secondary sense alerting him to the real Volpina that was already running off. Running, not flying.

"Where's Ladybug?"

Good question, wish she would answer but at the moment he would mentally send her updates over text. Hopefully she would be able to catch up once she saw them. "On her way, but if what you're saying is true then we can't waste anymore time. Don't worry, she'll be right behind us."

Nodding along, Volpina's form flew up above him. "Then let's go."

Once she took off, Cat Noir followed loosely behind her, keeping in mind where the real Volpina was heading towards.

'We have a good idea where she's going.'

Adrien didn't argue, knowing that Plague had more insight into the matter than himself. Whatever this akuma's original goal was, or whatever Hawkmoth had planned, they could use it against them so long as they could follow the real one. "Then why don't we flip this game on their heads?"

Tikki had a problem, a BIG problem. Well lots of problems to figure out, many involving Marinette's many stresses, but the biggest issue right now was Marinette's single least stressing one. The girl wouldn't wake up!

That big meteorite falling down, a new hero showing up? Ladybug was needed immediately to investigate!

"Marinette!" Tikki pulled at the girl's hair, unable to get her to even flinch from her spot. Next she went over to her computer, punching a key to get a song playing. "You've got to wake up Marinette!"

The girl deserved her sleep, but she would have to get it later after Ladybug at least checks the scene out to make sure it's safe. With no other options, Tikki flew over to Marinette's face, already regretting what she had in store.

Shoving her little arms into the girl's nostrils, Marinette began sputtering as her body believed it was suffocating. The teen threw her head up, coughing and whining to get the foreign object out of her nose. Tikki pulled out, putting aside her desire for a tissue to help Marinette.

"Ugh noooo." The girl whined as she was about to put her head back down. "It's the weekend let me sleep."

"It's not the weekend Marinette!" Tikki grabbed Marinette's eyelashes to tug on, finally getting the girl to really wake up.

"Ouch! Tikki what the crap?!"

"We need to transform, something is happening!"

Marinette groaned as she began rubbing her sore eyelids. "Cat Noir can handle it. He's a good, competent kitty."

"Paris was almost hit by a meteor!" Tikki tried to size up the threat, Marinette's sluggish mind still pointing out the slip of a detail.

"But it wasn't, and we're alive. Now I sleep."

This was a cruel idea, but it was the only one Tikki had that might get her to act. "Cat Noir might have been replaced!"

Lightning jolting through Marinette's body the teen threw herself up. "What?! Why didn't you say so? Tikki, spots on!"

Volpina made sure to have plenty of Hawkmoths scattered across Paris should either Ladybug or Cat Noir run into any, always just a street away but never close enough to touch. If they did, well then they'd be in for a fight and she'd know. It wasn't just Hawkmoth who granted her the ability of illusions, but this new woman Mayura gave her a helpful little friend who could actually condense light to allow her illusions to be tangible.

She couldn't just pretend she had allies, she could make them.

Nothing was going to get in her way, and neither Ladybug nor Cat Noir would be able to handle so many at once.

'Do not underestimate them.' Hawmoth's voice echoed inside her mind as he reached out to her. 'Ladybug's lucky charm is unpredictable, and Cat Noir continues to be full of surprises. We also don't know if there will be a third or not.'

"Don't worry Hawkmoth." With her true destination in sight, Volpina wanted to try and settle her own agenda before gunning for the heroes. "What's three, against a whole army."

'They have already faced many duplicates.' Mayura warned, speaking through the same charm that Hawkmoth spoke through. 'My sentimonster can help give you numbers, but you will have to be more cunning if you are to deceive them.'

"I already have Cat Noir running around Paris." Volpina landed in the window of the one and only Agreste mansion, peering inside the room of the top teen fashion model. "Ladybug's lucky charm can't work in multiple places at once."

Steadying herself, adopting the sweet innocent attitude just trying to do the right thing, the one everyone bent over for, Volpina hopped into the room and looked around for the boy. "Adrien? Are you here?"

No response, Volpina taking a moment to look around through the area. Big television, basketball court, rock climbing wall, a whole second story for just books and games, and even a large bathroom that made her bedroom jealous. Oh she would find a way to get all of this, just by fluttering her eyelashes at the boy.

If he believed she was a superhero, all would be forgiven.

"Adrien, I came to protect you." Volpina spoke out again, wandering through the empty bedroom. "I think you're in danger."

Something slammed right behind her, Volpina twisting on her heel to see a black tendril latching onto Adrien's computer, spreading its roots deeper inside as green lines pulsed through the limb.

"Intruder alert activated, lockdown initiated." An automated voice spoke out from the speakers, and suddenly the windows, the walls, all were slammed shut behind thick steel walls.

"He's not the one in danger."

Volpina followed the tendril up as it retracted, seeing Cat Noir on the ceiling above staring down at her. "You should be more worried about yourself."

How did he follow her?! He couldn't have figured out her power already. Even if he did, he couldn't have caught up to her so fast even if he stopped following the breadcrumbs she placed all around the city.

'You fool!' Hawkmoth screamed in rage inside her head. 'Get him out of that house!'

"Are you watching Hawkmoth?" Cat Noir asked as he dropped down from above. "We've learned a few tricks recently, and we want to try them all by the end of the day."

Volpina brought her flute up to her mouth, Cat Noir extending a baton from his hand at the same time, but he waited for her to make the first move so he could retaliate. With a quick tune, and her hidden friend breathing light into her illusions, a squadron of Volpina's were at the ready to take on the hero.

"And what do you think you can do with a stick?" She mocked, before gaping in horror as dozens of lime colored blades shot out from the baton, turning it into a mangled mess of deadly spikes and edges in the rough shape of a hulking sword that pulsed toxic green with obsidian veins.

"A lot more than you can do with yours." Cat Noir's mask split around his mouth to form a wide grin of two rows of black fangs that were like shadows, a burning emerald light in his mouth shining with every other sickly firefly glow that was part of his body.

This chapter was a little slow but I wanted to build up on a couple things before we really delve into the juicy meat. Between the plot and Adrien's new abilities I wanted to set a baseline before jumping head first into the action.

Plagg and the symbiote have realized one simple thing, they like to have the power to do whatever they want and keep their wielder happy. Now there's no Plagg, only Plague, and boy is this going to be the biggest power trip Adrien has ever felt.

Will the boy fall into the temptation and ruthlessness of cutting loose after everything that's happened, or will he keep control of himself and his over eager companion?

I also looked back to see a few of the things Cat Noir's powers let him do paired with symbiotes. It's OP, not gonna lie but I'm going to make sure that the story doesn't become a typical power fantasy insert.

Planar-Walking-Entertainment: Maybe if Fu was aware who Cat Noir was, and he thought he did in the beginning until Black Cat showed up. A very simple overlooked piece of knowledge, will bring about the biggest changes.

edeath756: Now I'm more confused.

Are you saying 'no venom level of brutality' as in you don't want that, or as in 'no, venom level of brutality' as in you want some more intense moments? Also keep in mind I'm trying to keep the rating low.

AlterInk: Trust me, if I'm making Adrien stronger it's only because I'm about to make it harder for him.

SSJB312: Just when everyone thinks they have a clue as to what's happening with Cat Noir, they end up being wrong. I do want Zoe to be involved again in the near future, but I'm putting her on the backburner as I delve more into some personal relationships. Aka, Marinette finding her feelings and Adrien with Plague.

I also find it amusing because Master Fu believed Adrien to be Cat Noir until Black Cat showed up. It never occurred that who he chose to be the wielder also just happened to have his own powers.

Hope you're having fun with the new DLC! My wife and I both loved the game and we're planning on checking it out soon.

Brookdking: You're not the only one to bring up Doctor Strange, makes me wonder if I'll do more with the 'Marvel' crossover aspect.

Ruby Warrior Girl 730: The hardest part about answering good questions is avoiding spoilers, but I feel like I've left a few hints in previous chapters. Next one I'll be going more in depth on how much Tikki knows.

Fire turtle: There are LOTS of rules to symbiotes, and it can even change franchise to franchise. I don't think I'll have it be able to copy Plagg's powers, probably an excuse revolving around magic and all that.

Can't say I've heard of Hilda, maybe I'll check it out but it's unlikely.