Chapter 8 Heroes Assemble

Ladybug, Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen Bee, and Viperion were all gathered in the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was about 11 p.m. and there was only one day left before Wolf would execute his threat. The Cathedral was vacant, which made it the perfect meeting place for the heroes, and if anyone felt so inclined, it was also the perfect place to pray. Who knows? Maybe they would need a prayer or two if they were really all planning on fighting Wolf.

The six heroes all sat in a circle at the altar, a crucifix of Christ overlooking them all. None of the heroes were very religious people, but somehow it was still a little comforting having a sense of possible divine intervention, considering what they were up against.

"Okay, let's all go over the plan one more time." Ladybug said. She tried to act brave, but she was a little paranoid. This would have been the fourth time they had gone over what they discussed. Who could blame her? She knew who Cat was and she still hadn't got the chance to speak with him about it. Worse still, Nathalie had used Adrien's name in front of her!

She didn't blame Nathalie, she was sure that she was just worried about Adrien and probably hadn't even intended to reveal his identity to her… not that she didn't already know. Cat had already… well, let the cat out of the bag so to speak on that one. Wait… did she really just make that joke in her head? Was she feeling okay?

It took practically all of Ladybug's strength to pry Cat away from Nathalie. When they finally asked her where Gabriel was, she confessed that she didn't know. Apparently he had simply 'Gone to do what he had to do.' whatever that meant. Was she telling the truth? No one knew for sure, but unfortunately there was no time to look for him. Wolf was the more immediate threat, and considering the magnitude of his powers, Ladybug and Cat had no choice but to put Hawk Moth on hold. That also included the conversion they were sure to have about Cat's identity, now that he knew that she knew. What a traumatizing mess…

"Quit worrying already Ladybug, I think we all know what to do by now. We totally got this!" Queen Bee said, sounding rather sure of herself.

"Oh really?" said Rena. "Well then maybe you wouldn't mind giving everyone a recap?"

"Of course I can. Firstly, Rena casts her illusion over Ladybug to make Wolf think that she's actually Amy. She'll need to constantly keep casting it so Carapace will stand alongside her and cover her in case something goes wrong. Meanwhile while Ladybug is distracting Wolf, Cat Noir and I will pounce. By overwhelming his senses and taking advantage of his emotional state since Wolf thinks he'll be talking to Amy, Cat Noir and I will either be able to Cataclysm him or more preferably, I can just inject him with my Venom. Lastly, if anything goes horribly wrong, Viperion can use his Second Chance until we get the plan right. Honestly, it's not that complicated." Queen Bee was smug and sure of herself during the entire recap. Smug as she was, she got the plan right exactly.

"Well, I can't say I don't like the confidence." Rena responded.

"This won't be as easy as it sounds." Ladybug said. "I think we have a good plan, and we'll be doing it during the daylight hours so Wolf won't have the advantage of night, but still, Wolf is crafty and extremely powerful. We can't underestimate him."

Cat Noir stood up from the group circle. "If we're all clear on the plan, I need some fresh air."

With that, Cat walked out the door appearing somewhat irritated.

"Dude… I mean… Ladybug, what's with him?" Carapace asked.

"He's… going through a lot right now. I wish I could tell you."

"He definitely seems like he's in low tunes. I'll go and make sure he's okay." Viperion offered.

"I appreciate that Viperion, but go easy on him okay?"

"Don't worry LB."

Viperion followed Cat Noir out of the Cathedral. He had his work cut out for him. He had no idea what was going on with him so trying to cheer him up wasn't going to be an easy task.

They both stepped just outside of the front door. The crisp night air was enough to give both of them chills. Cat Noir sat on the top step of the staircase, hugging his knees and staring up into the night sky, the light of the moon offering some form of solace.

"Cat Noir?" Viperion spoke softly.

Cat turned his head to see Viperion standing behind him. He hadn't even noticed that he had followed him out.

"Look Viperion, I really just want to be alone right now." Cat tried to speak calmly. He didn't want to offend an ally.

"Really? Because you look lonely enough already."

Cat's jaw dropped a bit along with his shoulders. It was easy to forget how perceptive Viperion was.

"You're not using Second Chance until you find a way to make me feel better are you?"

"No." He smiled. "Although that would have been a pretty clever idea."

Cat sighed as he realized that Viperion wasn't going anywhere. A part of him was sort of grateful for the company, but he had a lot to think about and he didn't know how to organize his thoughts.

"What's on your mind?" Viperion asked warmly, sitting down next to Cat.

Cat wasn't sure exactly what to tell him. He couldn't really talk about his father. That was still being kept secret from the rest of the group. The only other thing on his mind was Ladybug, and how she knew his identity, but hadn't brought it up since she found out.

"Ladybug… knows who I am."

"Is that… a bad thing?"

"I don't know. She hasn't said anything since she found out. I feel like she's disappointed now that she knows who's behind the mask."

"I'm sure that's not true. You both just have other things to worry about right now. Once we take down Wolf, I'm sure you guys will talk."

"Maybe, but we're not supposed to know who each other are. What if she has to take my Miraculous away? I don't know what I would do if I couldn't be Cat Noir."

Viperion smiled. "I don't think Ladybug knows what she would do without you either. You both work so well together, it would be a waste to take your Miraculous away."

"She might have thought that before, but now that she knows the real me I have no idea what she's thinking. What if she thinks I won't be able to handle it anymore?"

Viperion placed a hand on Cat's shoulder. "Mask or no mask, you have always been the same person. If you could handle it before, you can handle it now, and Ladybug is smart enough to know that."

Cat felt the warmth from his hand and looked over to him, sadness in his voice. "What if our relationship is never the same again?"

Viperion thought for a moment before he answered. "It probably won't be, but everyone in Paris knows you've always wanted to be closer to her. Now that she knows who you are, there's no doubt now that you'll become closer."

Cat's ears perked up slightly, but the anxiety in his voice was still very real.

"What if she doesn't accept me? What if she hates who I really am? What if she…"

Viperion was able to cut him off with a single look. "She won't Cat Noir. She's not like that. You know that."

Cat looked away again, burying his face.

"How did she find out?" Viperion asked.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that. There are still some things that only Ladybug and I must know."

"Does it have anything to do with the Agreste mansion?"

Cat looked back over at him, absolutely stunned. "How… how did you…?"

"Just trying to put two and two together. I saw on the news that it was your Cataclysm that destroyed the mansion and that Adrien Agreste went missing. Next thing I know we're all in the Cathedral making a plan to take down Wolf. I'm sure that whatever happened wasn't your fault."

Cat was dumbfounded. Viperion was pretty sharp. He must have underestimated Luka. "How much… do you know?"

"Nothing really. But… try to go easy on Ladybug okay? Whatever happened at the Agreste mansion, I'm sure you tried your best, but Ladybug is probably pretty worried if Wolf really kidnapped Adrien, knowing how she is anyway."

What a relief! Viperion didn't know who he was after all, but he still had a point. Ladybug knew that Adrien was safe obviously, but she was still going through quite a bit nonetheless, and all he was doing was worrying about himself.

"By the way, do you have any idea why Wolf would kidnap Adrien?" Viperion asked with just a hint of concern in his voice.

At last Cat finally smiled. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Huh? A secret? I mean… yeah sure. Of course I can." Viperion muttered somewhat surprised at Cat's sudden change in attitude.

"Adrien is safe. Wolf never kidnapped him." Cat said softly.

"What? How do you know that?"

"Sorry Viperion. Telling you anything more would be taking quite a risk. I just wanted you to know that he's safe."

Viperion looked on, a little puzzled. "Does Ladybug know this?"

"Yeah she does, but don't tell her that you know too. I only told you because you looked concerned."

"Well I am concerned. Adrien goes to school with me and he even plays piano in my band. He's a good guy, and I consider him a close friend."

Cat Noir smiled, grateful to have Luka as his friend. "I'm sure he would appreciate that."

"You're absolutely sure he's safe? I know you can't tell me everything, but if Wolf was after him for some reason…"

"You have my word. Cats honor." Cat put his hand over his chest.

"Okay…" Viperion sighed.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you more."

"No, it's okay. As long as he's okay then that'll be enough for now. I just wish I could tell others. There's going to be a lot of other people that are worried about him too, but I'm sure you have a good reason for keeping his whereabouts secret."

Cat smiled again. He wanted to tell Viperion more, but it was complicated. It was bad enough that Ladybug already knew who he was, but everyone else on top of that? It would be risky. Consequences of that couldn't be predicted yet. It was too early.

Viperion continued thinking out loud… "His best friend Nino, I'm sure, is probably worried sick about him and Alya along with him. The mayor's daughter Chloé, she's probably worried sick too. I know you probably don't really know these people but…"

"I know them. They've been akumatized before, remember?" Cat was grateful he could at least be honest about that.

"Oh yeah… with so many people being akumatized I actually forgot all about it."

"Hey sometimes I lose track too." Cat chuckled.

"There's someone else though who's never been akumatized that is probably taking his disappearance harder than anyone."

"Oh?" Cat asked wide eyed. "Who?"

"Marinette Dupain Cheng. No doubt she's wrecked with worry."

"Oh, Marinette. Yeah I know her, well, a little anyway. Why would she take his disappearance harder than others would?"

Viperion smiled. "Marinette is the nicest, prettiest, and most talented person I know. Adrien has no idea how lucky he is to have someone like her as a friend."

Cat raised his eyebrows. "You sound kinda smitten with her."

"I am, well, I was! She and I were dating at one point."

"Oh… what happened?" Cat asked curiously. He had always wondered what exactly happened between the two but knew it wasn't his place to ask as Adrien, but maybe Cat Noir could get away with it.

"I… let her go." Viperion said with just a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Why?"

"I was never the object of her affection. She liked someone else. She still does."

"Oh, who?"

"Adrien obviously. Who else?"

Cat froze at the revelation, his eyes wide. Marinette like him? Liked Adrien? Since when? Why had he never noticed before? And if she really did like Adrien then why would she kiss Cat last night? Or had he kissed her? Cat still hadn't quite worked that one out yet.

"Hey are you okay?" Viperion asked, noticing that Cat was spacing out.

"Oh uhh, yeah! Yeah I'm alright!" Cat perked up.

"Good, and thank you for telling me that Adrien is safe. I promise to keep it a secret."

"You're welcome." Cat said back.

"Want to head back inside with me? It's kind of freezing out here." Both Cat and Viperion's breath were visible.

"Yeah, thanks Viperion. Go on in, I will only be another minute."

Viperion nodded and went back inside, Cat relaxed his body and stretched out his limbs. He actually did feel a little better. It was nice knowing that there were people in his life that still cared about him. Especially Marinette.

The next thing Cat knew, the shadows of the night seemed to move in the darkness around him, and before Cat could react, Wolf materialized next to him, like a silhouette coming closer into view. Wolf sat next to him on the steps as if the two superheroes were old acquaintances rather than enemies.

"Hey Adrien."

Cat looked over to him in shock, scooting slightly away from him. "Wolf? What are you doing here?"

"Would you like me to leave?" Wolf asked, his voice sincere.

"I… I didn't say that…"

"It's alright. I'm not here for a fight. I only wanted to see how you were holding up."

Cat wasn't sure whether to be shocked or not at Wolf's casual demeanor. Even more so than that, he wasn't sure whether he should believe that Wolf was here on friendly terms.

"You came to… check up on me?"

"Surprised? You may recall I haven't hurt you once since we met. To be honest I prefer to keep it that way."

Wolf had a point. Not one time had he done anything violent towards him since their first encounter.

"Well yeah but, you're a super villain right? Super villains don't just check up on how heroes are doing."

Wolf practically chuckled at Cat's remarks. "Super villain huh? Yeah I suppose that's fair considering the circumstances, but I don't consider myself one of those."

"Then… what do you consider yourself?"

Wolf pondered the question for a moment. "I suppose I'm… just a desperate man."

"So was my father." Adrien's voice turned stern.

This time it was Wolf's turn to be surprised. He didn't want to admit it, but Cat was right.

"Alright fine, I admit the similarities I have with Hawk Moth, but I do what I do only as a last resort! I never wanted it to come to this!"

Cat softened his expression. "I know, but what you've done has gone too far. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for some of the stuff you've done. You've shown me my mother is still alive, you revealed who Hawk Moth was, you even showed me where to go after the big reveal. You were… kind, and compassionate. That does mean something."

"Your father is the same man who took my Sylvia away from me. I suppose it's only natural that you had my sympathy."

"It's more than that." Adrien began to slightly relax. "You comforted me when you didn't have to. You behaved like a friend would. I really hate how you've threatened all of Paris, and frightened all those people, but I believe if circumstances were different, we could have been friends."

"I wish circumstances were different…" Wolf confessed.

"I do too." Cat scooted closer. "You… really just came to check on me?"

"Believe what you wish. I've told you the truth." Wolf gazed up into the sky. The moon was as full as anything, casting a gloomy glow over the city.

"Thank you." Cat said softly. "Maybe super villain wasn't the right word."

"It doesn't matter. You probably weren't entirely incorrect anyway." Wolf confessed.

There was a short pause before Cat spoke again.

"Wolf? What are you going to do if Amy doesn't show up?"

"She'll show up. She has to."

"Humor me. What if she doesn't?"

If Wolf was being honest with himself, he hadn't really thought that far ahead, or even considered it a possibility. Amy was the Scarlet Beetle, an extravagant superhero, a do-gooder to her core. To not show up and answer to Wolf's threats was unthinkable.

"She'll show up!" Wolf insisted.

"Okay…" Cat said softly. "I hope you're right."

(Meanwhile back in the Cathedral)

Viperion closed the cathedral doors behind him to console Cat Noir leaving only four of the six superheroes. It was impeccable timing, for just as the doors closed, a burrow opened, allowing Bunnyx to step through it.

"Hey, little bug." she greeted with a half smile on her face. Bunnyx looked absolutely exhausted.

"Bunnyx!" Ladybug practically shouted. The other three superheroes looked like they had seen a ghost.

"It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it has. Oh, everyone, this is Bunnyx. She's a friend with the rabbit Miraculous. No need to fear."

Carapace, Rena Rouge and Queen Bee all let out a small sigh of relief. "Dude you nearly scared us half to death!" Carapace shouted.

"Sorry about that, everyone. Bug… we need to speak in private." Bunnyx's voice was serious, which wasn't good. If Bunnyx was here then something in the future had to have gone wrong, and with everything going on recently, it was anyone's guess as to what it could be.

"Of course." Ladybug tried to behave confidently in front of her team, but she knew that if Bunnyx was here, things were worse than she thought.

The two walked into an entirely different room of the cathedral. Bunnyx insisted on making sure this conversation was private.

"What is it Bunnyx? Did something happen in the future?" Ladybug didn't bother to hide her concern in front of Bunnyx.

"Well… actually I'm not sure."

Ladybug was confused. "You're not sure? What's that supposed to mean?"

"As far as I can tell, nothing catastrophic in the near future will happen, but I've been investigating how to stop Wolf on my own and I've found some… disturbing information."

Ladybug narrowed her brow. "Disturbing in what way?"

"Well I figured that the easiest and most peaceful way to stop Wolf would be to bring a past version of Sylvia to the future. If anyone could ever talk him down it would be her."

"Not a bad idea in theory. What happened?"

"Well that's the thing. I was looking through the past timelines and… Sylvia is gone. There is no version of her in the past, present, or future that exists."

Ladybug's eyes widened. "What? But there has to be somewhere where she is still alive! Surely she can't be dead in every timeline!

"That's what I thought too, but the past is being altered somehow. I wanted to figure out what was going on so I tested it out. I went back in time to before Sylvia was killed, only to find that that place in history doesn't exist."

"Doesn't exist? How is that possible? It has to exist otherwise she would still be alive right?"

"Theoretically yes, but I learned that small sections of multiple timelines have been removed or cut out somehow, at least in a way. They have still happened because people still have memories of it, but as far as history is concerned it basically never happened."

"Bunnyx, you're not making any sense. How can something both happen and not happen at the same time?"

"It has to do with Wolf's blades. Do you remember what Master Fu told you? Anything cut with his blades cannot be repaired or healed by any means at all. Not even time travel can repair the damage done. Don't you see? His blades don't just cut through flesh and bone, they cut through time and space!"

Ladybug's hands trembled. "So… you're saying that… even though people can remember who Sylvia was, there's virtually no record of her existing?"

"Almost. I was able to find a birth certificate and even old photos of her. She definitely did exist, but my burrows to those parts of the timeline have been severed. It's as if time itself has been injured beyond repair. I can't go to any point in time at all where she was alive, not even in alternative timelines."

"Then… if parts of the past have been cut off from you…"

"Then it's likely that parts of the future have been cut off from me as well. I'm here because for the first time, I don't know what's going to happen."

This was scary. Ladybug didn't fully comprehend it. Time travel was always so confusing, but if Bunnyx was here without even knowing what was going to happen, then Ladybug didn't know what to think.

"Bunnyx… have you tried going into the near future? To see the outcome of all this?"

"I have…"

"And? What did you see?"

"Bug… something is going to happen…"

"What is it? Bunnyx you have to tell me! I have to stop it!"

"I can't tell you because I don't know. Time has been severed here as well, which can only mean one thing. Wolf is going to use his blades again."

"Can't you just go forward in time and see?" Ladybug was growing more desperate.

"I tried, but my burrows can't enter a place in time that's been severed from the timeline. I'm surprised I was even able to come here."

"But… since you are here, we can rule out some things at least can't we? Cat Noir and I are still here along with the other superheroes. Maybe whatever happens isn't so bad?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Remember Marinette, whatever is going to happen technically has already happened since I can't see into the future beyond this point."

"But you said you couldn't go to a place in time where Sylvia was alive right? Since you're here and all of us are still alive, then that means everyone survives right?"

Bunnyx furrowed her brow. "Yes that's true, but if I can't see the future beyond this point, then the question becomes… What are we surviving?"