The next day, both Marinette and Adrien were late for school; Adrien used the same business excuse he always used while Marinette went with the classic 'slept in'.
Both made their way to their desks with a warning from the teacher. As they climbed the steps they both ignored the looks that Lila was sending their way. In all honesty, neither was surprised at the looks from the rest of the class, they did both look like death warmed over. Neither had been able to get any sleep as the details and ramifications of Gabriel's reveal sank into their brains.
Adrien sighed as he finally took his seat, his eyes slightly puffy from all the tears he'd shed the night before. Both he and Marinette had dark circles under their eyes and were exhausted.
Just as he and Marinette were getting settled an announcement came over the speakers.
"Would all staff please turn their televisions on and to the news? We have been informed there is an important broadcast starting soon."
Ms. Bustier frowned before rising from her seat and turning the television on. As the picture appeared Nadja Chamack was sitting there holding a paper in her hands, she waited a few moments before she began speaking.
"Don't be bemused, it's just the news. This is Nadja Chamack, live with a very special broadcast. As we all know Hawk Moth gave a cryptic broadcast calling for a meeting with the Heroes of Paris. I can confirm that that meeting did take place, there were several eyewitnesses and numerous videos. Unfortunately, our news helicopter was not able to get to the Eiffel Tower in time to catch the meeting as the heroes and what appeared to be Hawk Moth disappeared into the night. I currently hold in my hand a statement prepared by the villain Hawk Moth and hand-delivered to this station by Ladybug herself. I will be reading the statement in its entirety. It says:"
She held the paper up to read the page, she was thankful that whoever wrote it was thoughtful enough to print it from a computer, so she didn't struggle over illegible handwriting.
"My name is Hawk Moth, and I come to you this morning with an explanation of my actions. This is not an excuse, there is nothing I could ever say that would excuse it. What follows is my explanation of my actions and the cause of those actions. As everyone is aware, a miraculous is the object that gives us our powers. My goal was to gather the miraculous of the Ladybug and the Black Cat to combine them to make a wish. This wish would have been to heal someone very dear to me, however, upon gaining clarity, thanks to the Heroes of Paris, I realized that I could never go through with that wish. Doing so would most likely cause the death of one or several people who are dear to me. At this realization, it became clear that this was no longer acceptable. I determined that the only way to prevent myself from akumatizing more innocents to get the miraculous was to return mine to the hands of Ladybug. Doing this allowed me to break free from the influence of the miraculous which had been damaged long before it came into my possession. A previous user of the miraculous had been a corrupt individual who poured their hate into the miraculous and corrupted its power to do good. It was this, along with the damage, which allowed the miraculous to corrupt me into akumatizing innocents to fulfill my desires regardless of the consequences. It was thanks to Ladybug and Chat Noir that the corrupting influence was broken, and I was able to regain myself. When I did, I swore off using the miraculous and had done so, until last night when I handed it over to Ladybug. As I stated before, I make no excuses for my actions except to say that they were not entirely of my own volition. My heart goes out to all those whom I akumatized and caused more emotional and mental distress than I could ever know. I hope that Ladybug can get the miraculous repaired and the corrupting influence destroyed, that way I would be able to once again take up the mantel, not as Hawk Moth, but as the Butterfly, and use the powers to help those in need and to in some way, undo the harm I have created, As of this moment, Hawk Moth is no more, and I too will seek treatment for the damage that the miraculous has caused to me. When I am in a place where I can be certain that all corrupting influences are gone, I will reach out to the Police to discuss the terms of my surrender."
Toward the end, Nadja's hands started to shake slightly, and they were still shaking when she finished reading and lowered the paper to the desk.
"There… there you have it," she said as she looked into the camera. "Hawk Moth is gone, and Paris is free from his influence. Please tune in later when our analysts will discuss the meaning of his letter. This is Nadja Chamack, good day."
Ms. Bustier moved to turn off the television as the class broke out into a hushed murmur.
Adrien and Marinette just sat back in their chairs, neither felt any desire to discuss the announcement, especially since they had spent most of the morning composing it.
Marinette glanced at Adrien as the rest of the class was talking about what it meant, with an eye roll she looked in Lila's direction. Adrien rolled his eyes in reply, both knew that the liar would somehow try to turn these events in her favor.
"I'm so glad it worked out," Lila's voice rang out, prompting an eye roll from all those who knew she was lying.
"What worked out?" Alya asked, taking the bait as Lila knew she would.
"Oh, my idea on how to stop Hawk Moth," she replied with a demure look, "after the announcement from him yesterday, Ladybug came to see me to ask if I had any ideas. She'll often come to see me when there is a very tricky Akuma."
"Girl! Why didn't you ever say so?"
"It didn't seem important at the time," Lila said.
"Well," Alya said as she practically jumped in place, "what did you tell her? This will make for a great article for the Ladyblog."
"Oh," Lila said as her smile fell for a moment before it returned, "it's not important now, all that's important is that it worked, and Hawk Moth is gone."
"That's right!" Alya gushed, "And it's all thanks to your idea, you're a hero, Lila. I have to write an article for the Ladyblog," Alya added as she trailed off when she opened the blog update page of the Ladyblog on her computer. Ms. Bustier just sighed knowing that Alya would not be able to focus on classwork until she'd written the article.
"Now that Hawk Moth is gone, we don't have to worry about anything disrupting the fashion show," Sabrina said.
"Thanks for getting us those tickets again, Lila," Rose said.
"Oh, it was nothing. Anything for my friends," she replied with a huge grin and a possessive look in Adrien's direction. "After all, when Adrien and I are married, his friends will be my friends too."
"Which reminds me," Ms. Bustier said, "I still need confirmation from a few of the class for the show."
.o.0.o.
Adrien and Marinette collapsed onto the bed once they reached her loft bedroom. Neither had the energy to go much beyond the bakery, and the Gorilla had been fairly supportive of the decision for them to go upstairs and rest. Adrien suspected it was a combination of concern for their well-being and a desire for fresh pastries.
"I'm so glad you lived so close," Adrien said from where he lay half off the bed.
"Me too," Marinette replied from her position face down on the pillows, "even if the Gorilla was driving, I don't think I could have made it to your room."
"Our room," he replied as he turned his head to her, she just rolled hers and stuck out her tongue.
Adrien laughed as he rolled over and collapsed half on top of her, cuddling into her side as he held her.
"Let's just lay here for a few minutes, until we get our strength back."
"Good idea," was the muffled reply as Marinette turned her head out of the pillow so she could breathe, her eyes closed as she started to drift off. Adrien smiled as his eyes closed and he soon joined her in dreamland.
Sometime later they were awoken by Sabine and the offer of dinner.
Both, even though they were still groggy, happily accepted the offer and followed her down to the dining room.
Once everyone was seated around a delicious pot roast, they all dug in.
"Where's the Gorilla?" Adrien asked.
"He went home," Sabine said as she passed him a salad, "he had been waiting for you but since you fell asleep, we sent him home and told him you'd message if you needed him."
"Thank you, mama," Marinette said as she took her salad.
As the sound of utensils on plates rose into the air, Adrien and Marinette shared a look. They had both been talking about how to reveal their secret to her parents, the reveal to Gabriel, while unexpected, had forced the couple to evaluate if they should keep the secret anymore now that Hawk Moth was gone. In the end, they decided that they should only tell a select few, namely their parents, the Gorilla, and Nathalie. Telling anyone else would make it difficult to resume crime-fighting should the need ever arise.
As they all sat and enjoyed a nice dinner together the teens both felt that now was the time to reveal the secret. With a shared look, Marinette set her utensils down and looked at her parents.
"Mama, Papa," Marinette began as she looked at her folded hands, drawing strength from Adrien when he took one of her hands in his and squeezed it. She smiled at him before returning to look at her parents.
"Adrien and I have some very important things to tell you, a secret we have both been keeping."
"I knew it, I just knew it!" Sabine said in joy as she clasped both hands together and began to visibly shake in excitement. "You're pregnant! That's really why you had to rush the wedding!"
"Wait, what?" Marinette said as she just stared at her mother in shock even as her father actually face-palmed, Adrien almost choked on his drink when she said that.
"I'm not pregnant, at least I don't think I am." Adrien just shrugged when she looked his way, he had no idea what was going on either.
"Oh," Sabine said as she calmed, a look of minor disappointment on her face, "what did you have to tell us then."
They took a moment to compose themselves after that strange incident, which had Tom still hiding his face in his hand and mumbling about his wife's excitement getting away from her.
"Adrien and I are Ladybug and Chat Noir," Marinette told them after a deep breath.
"Oh, is that all?" Sabine said as she returned to her salad, Tom shrugged and started on his as well.
"Is that all?" Marinette asked in shock, her eyes finding Adrien who was just as surprised. "Mama, I just told you the identities of the Heroes of Paris, and all you can say is 'Is that all'?"
"Well, of course, Tom and I have known for a while now. We just never said anything to protect you both."
"What, I…" Marinette stammered as her mouth dropped open.
"What my beautiful wife is trying to say," Adrien said as he processed the information, "is how did you find out?"
"Oh, your little Kwamis I think they are called. Well, when you were asleep one evening Tom and I went to check on you both, and the darling little creatures were snuggled up next to you in bed. We'd often heard Ladybug mention them in passing on the news and we just put two and two together and figured it out since Ladybug and Chat Noir are the only heroes who have their miraculous full-time."
"How did you… wait, no, I don't want to know," Adrien said as he held up his hand to forestall the answer. Adrien sighed as he sat back in his chair and looked down at Marinette's hand still held in his. He absently began to play with her fingers as he thought. Beside him, he could feel the gears in Mari's head turning as she processed this new information. It was a lot to take in, almost as much as finding out Gabriel was Hawk Moth.
"Well," Marinette said after processing, "that makes it easier then."
"I guess it does," Adrien replied as he looked up from her hand, a smirk playing over his face. "All we need to do is tell the others then we can keep planning Lila's downfall."
"Well, your bodyguard already knows," Tom said as he kept eating his salad, "he was with us when we found you. He didn't seem surprised, unlike Sabine and me."
"I have been getting the feeling he knew something," Marinette said.
"Well, if he already knows, then I'm sure Nathalie has found out one way or the other so there is no reason to tell her. That woman could discover the government's deepest secrets if she felt there was a need to know." Adrien replied with a small laugh.
"She could probably find Jimmy Hoffa," Tom added with a laugh.
"Now that we have that out of the way, how about some dessert?" Sabine asked as she rose and began to clear the table, Adrien started to stand to help but she waved him back down.
Adrien finally released Marinette's hand and ran both his over his face, he was exhausted, physically, and mentally.
"It'll be okay," Mari said as she placed her hand on his shoulder and touched her forehead to his. He sighed and closed his eyes, relishing in the contact.
"I thought I was supposed to be the one telling you that," he said before going on, "I know," he replied without opening his eyes. "It's just the stress of planning her downfall is getting to me."
"Hey," she replied as she wrapped her arms around his shoulder. "We're all in this together, don't worry about that. She's going to get all that karma has in store for her."
Adrien smiled at his wife and placed a kiss on her nose as Sabine returned to the table with a delicious cake.
All conversation regarding a certain Italian getting what was coming to her was put aside in favor of dessert, the two Kwamis appearing like magic at the idea of dessert, drawing a laugh from all present.
.o.0.o.
Another week passed before all the various cogs were in place and the plans had been finalized. The fashion show was to be held Friday of the next week and all those Lila had lied about were ready to do their part when needed.
Marinette was currently rushing around her loft looking for some last-minute notes she had for the show, Tikki floating above her head enjoying a sugary snack didn't help as the Kwami was dropping crumbs on her head. Thankfully it was a Saturday after a very uneventful week so the only rushing she had to do was around her old room.
"You know, I'd expect the crumbs from Plagg," Marinette said as she shook the crumbs from her head and kept looking, eventually finding the notes under the foot of her chaise.
"I guess old stinky sock is rubbing off on me," the Kwami said as she munched another treat.
Marinette just glared at the small god as she flipped through her notes. She let out a sigh of relief when they were all there.
Flopping onto her bed she covered her face with her arm.
"Marinette," Tikki said as she floated to sit on her holder's arm, "it's going to be okay. Gabriel has been working with you on what you need to do. You don't have to reveal yourself if you don't want to."
"I know, I don't want to, but it's the first step in taking Lila down."
"A step that can still be taken even if you don't reveal you are the designer."
Marinette sighed as she sat up.
"I know, I probably won't reveal myself, but I still want to be ready in case I do."
Floating to sit on her shoulder, Tikki patted her cheek.
"Why don't we go see Adrien and all the preparations for the show?"
Marinette nodded, she hadn't seen him all day as he'd been at the venue with Gabriel and Nathalie working on final details. Standing she made her way downstairs to the bakery.
She stopped in the kitchen to tell her father where she was going, Tom could only nod as he was working on a fancy tart order.
Seeing her mother as she passed through the front of the bakery she gave her a quick hug and told her where she was going, just in case her father forgot.
Marinette took a deep breath of the cool spring air as the door to the bakery closed behind her. She was in high spirits today; Lila was tied up with preparations for the show and would not be able to bother her or threaten her. If she recalled, the Italian was actually at the venue right now working through the blocking of the different clothing lines.
Adrien had insisted on all the models being present to practice a few times before the show. While there wasn't anything different than a normal fashion show, he wanted to make sure all the models were familiar with the timing and the outfit changes. Of course, he had passed the idea through his father as his ownership of the company was still unknown.
Currently, he was off to the side with Nathalie finalizing the order and making sure the lighting was correct.
As she entered Marinette saw him bent over a tablet, copying notes onto a pad of paper.
She placed a gentle hand on his back as she reached him, smiling at Nathalie as she looked up from her tablet for a second.
"Hey," she said as her hand dropped to the table next to him, he smiled as he straightened up.
"Hey, great timing, we were just talking about you."
Adrien laughed at the look she gave them.
"Only good things, as always, Mari," he replied with a laugh.
"Hmph," she replied as she crossed her arms and turned away for a second. She laughed and turned back to them. "So, what were you talking about?"
"Well, the media is going to be here today to do some promo spots for the news. We thought now would be a good time for him to trap Lila. Butterfly has been visiting Hawk Moth's victims this week and granting them their wish to help with the trauma, and since Lila was a victim several times we thought Butterfly might visit her, today would be a good time since it wouldn't distract from the show itself."
"I don't know," Marinette replied after thinking it over. "Seems risky with the media here."
"We agree, but with how much she loves being the center of attention, the media being here would draw her out more. Well, full disclosure, we only invited Nadja and not all the news. Nathalie felt she was the one we could trust the most to hold the footage until we were ready."
"We did extend an invitation to the rest of the media outlets for promo spots on Monday," Nathalie added as she placed her tablet on the table.
"Still feels risky," Marinette added, "but you have a point. Nadja may have mentored Alya, but she's honest, and once we tell her about the plan she'd be on board."
"And if the heroes offered her a private interview, that might sweeten the deal," Adrien replied with a wink.
Marinette sighed; she knew there was no other way. She reluctantly nodded. Nathalie nodded in response and set off to find the reporter. It had been agreed upon that Nathalie would recruit Nadja to the cause before Butterfly arrived. Shortly after Gabriel had revealed himself as Hawk Moth, Nathalie had told the teens that she was Mayura and knew they were the heroes as well. Needless to say, things had been strained for a while until Marinette and Adrien had accepted it.
While the Butterfly miraculous hadn't been fully repaired, it had been purged of the evil influences. The Guardians had agreed that limited usage by Gabriel would prevent him from being influenced by the miraculous too much. When he wasn't using it to help those he had hurt it was kept safely stored inside Ladybug's yo-yo.
While they waited for Nathalie to return from the recruitment mission, Adrien and Marinette decided to go over some final details of the outfits. However, as they were looking over the designs they heard the sound of Lila making her way through the venue. Soon she appeared around the corner and stopped in her tracks when she saw Marinette.
"What is she doing here?" She demanded as she stormed up to Adrien and tried to pull him away from Marinette.
"Mari is my guest," Adrien replied as he forcefully pulled his arm from Lila's grasp, the faint indication of fingernails having dug into his skin visible as he pulled away.
"Well, I don't want her here," Lila demanded as she tried to move between Adrien and Marinette. Marinette just moved to the other side of Adrien, her hand brushing his back as she passed behind him.
"I am afraid you are in no position to make demands here, Lila," Adrien told her, "as I said, she is my guest and will be here all day."
Adrien and Marinette could see the anger building in Lila before she turned and stomped away.
Nathalie reappeared as Lila rounded the corner and slammed through one of the doors.
"All preparations have been made."
"Good," Adrien said with a sigh as he leaned against the table, Marinette rubbed his back as he did.
"The camera crew will be wandering the venue taking video of the preparations and will be in the right spot to be able to capture Lila's interactions with Butterfly discreetly."
"Good, let him know we have 30 minutes before he is needed," Adrien answered, "and be sure that she gets to the right place on time."
"That will be the more difficult part," Nathalie replied as she walked away to find the Italian model.
"So, we have 30 minutes?" Mari asked with a mischievous smile.
"Yup," Adrien replied as he put the notepad and tablet into his bag and turned to look at Marinette. "Why, what do you have planned?"
She only grinned bigger causing his eyes to narrow.
She just laughed and drug him off toward the craft services table to get some lunch.
A few minutes later they were both sitting among the audience seating as they ate their lunches, sandwiches from a local fast food sandwich shop. Their conversation was kept professional, talking about the upcoming fashion show next week. They'd been so occupied in their conversation they'd lost track of time until Adrien's phone rang sometime later.
Taking the device out he read the message from Nathalie.
Footage acquired.
"They got it," he told his partner as she looked over his shoulder, a smile breaking across her face as the final piece in the plan fell into place.
"After the fashion show?" she asked.
"Yeah, we've all agreed that the week after the show would be best for everyone."
"I can't wait for this all to be over," Marinette told him.
"Me too," Adrien answered with a sigh. "So, since you are here, why don't I show you around so you can see how it's going to go down?"
"Why I would love to," she replied as she took his offered arm and they moved to go tour the venue.