Author's Note: The inspiration for this fic came when I was rewatching the series from the beginning in french, watching by the episode order prescribed by the Ladybug Wiki website. Imagine my shock when there was a clear Hawkmoth Win moment in the very third episode, not counting the origin story! I couldn't help but wonder how differently the story would have looked if Hawkmoth hadn't given some truly bonehead advice to Lady Wifi. And thus, a fanfic was born.
As an aside note, for anyone who is not aware: "Chat" is pronounced "Sha" in French. The French are very fond of dropping syllables, but boy does it make them sound très élégant.
Read on.
Chapter One - Truth
The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.
James A. Garfield
Taloness stared at the painting in front of her, heart hammering in her throat. It was a gorgeous piece, geometric and shimmering golden, made to imitate the famous portrait of Adele Bloch-bauer. Adrien Agreste's beautiful mother was cloaked in a dress designed to look as though hundreds of stylized eyes were staring outward, watchful. The surrealism paired with the woman's kindly green gaze somehow gave the impression that she was a supernatural deity, like an Egyptian queen-goddess, gracious but ever watchful. She hoped that, if she was, she couldn't see through Taloness' power of Invisibilty granted by the Rooster Miraculous.
She reached out, tentatively placing her fingers, which only she was able to see, in the same positions she saw him place his. Part of her whispered that this was absolutely bonkers and she should leave before anyone came back, never mind that she was invisible, she was going to get caught -
Sure enough, she could feel a texture and pressure underneath her fingertips that did not match what a simple canvas painting should feel like. Her anxious thoughts stilled, though she could feel her hands trembling ever so slightly. Holding her breath, she pressed her fingertips into the wall - watching as they sunk with a satisfying snick that sent a thrill of excitement and dread through her simultaneously.
Immediately a hole in the floor telescoped open, and she bit back a yelp as her stomach flipped in the familiar but unexpected sensation of going down in an elevator. Her small circular platform continued to sink until she stood in a dark and narrow corridor, lit only by a pattern of luminescent butterflies lining the floor, leading to what looked like another circular platform. The walls were bare and dark, but gleamed glossily, as though they were highly polished obsidian. The faintly purple-white glow of the butterflies cast an otherworldly aura, ghostly and haunting.
What in the world…?
Whatever she had been expecting, this was not it - although the butterfly symbols told her she was on the right track. Not seeing any other option, she took her first tentative step into the corridor - and gasped when the previously stoic walls bloomed to life with electric color.
They're like television screens…
But it wasn't a movie or news that was unfolding on the screen. With each step she took, another word blossomed on the high definition surface, along with dozens of pictures of the same person with minimal variation.
Emilie Agreste. Young and laughing at the camera. With messy hair and eyes focused on a baking project, a candid shot. Holding a green-eyed baby that must have been Adrien Agreste. Photogenically gazing upon her obviously pregnant belly with fondness. In a simple but breathtaking white gown next to a dark-haired and soft-eyed young man. It took her a moment to realize it was her and Gabrielle Agreste on their wedding day - he looked so different from the stoic fashion designer of today. Every life stage, every angle, poised, and candid, Emilie Agreste formed a continuous collage as Taloness continued to make her way slowly, entranced, down the hallway. Taloness knew she didn't have all the time in the world - only five minutes before her transformation wore off. But the chills racing down her back demanded she take in the entirety of this eerie experience.
When she got to the other circular platform, she had a few moments to turn and look back down the way she had come. The message that wrote itself out with each of her steps, embedded in the collage of an immortalized wife and mother, were the simple words:
Do it for her, along the left wall. Bring her home, along the right.
Taloness' throat was dry, and she felt a wave of nausea as the platform began gliding upward this time, slowly blocking the eerie corridor from view. She wasn't sure how far upwards she travelled, but just as she was getting claustrophobic and paranoid that this was a trap, an opening appeared in the 'ceiling' above her.
As though triggered by her entry into the room, the entire wall in front of her rotated open to reveal a dome-shaped room with a gigantic stylized butterfly window and a breathtaking view of Paris. The fading light from the setting sun filtered in through dust motes dancing in the air in an otherwise completely bare room. There was a rustling, and every muscle in her body tensed.
I'm not alone!
But as soon as she had the thought, her mind caught up with what her eyes were seeing. Not dust motes. Butterflies. An entire kaleidoscope of small white butterflies that were all too familiar.
Just then, her last minute ran out, and her kwami swam into view. Mechanically, she fished out a handful of dried fruits and corn kernels from her side pouch.
"What do you think, Orikko?" she asked, feeling the numbness of shock wear off into hardened resolution.
"I think," her kwami said between bites, "that this is much more than a rich person's eccentric mansion."
"I'm afraid you're right. Eat up. This place gives me the creeps, and I don't want to stay here long enough to get caught, or be visible long enough to be seen. We can poke around for a little bit to see if we can find more evidence, but I think this is all that we need."
Orikko was obligingly tucking into his snack with vigor.
The heroine pursed her lips, trying to breathe through the unsettling knot in her chest. How had things come to this? So much had changed, and yet nothing had changed at all. Hawkmoth was still wreaking havoc. Parisians still lived in fear. But tonight, maybe the tide was turning - even though it meant that everything she thought about her friend was called into question.
What are you doing, Adrien…?
She ground her teeth against the feeling of hopelessness that threatened to eclipse her reason. Maybe he was caught in this, maybe he wasn't. But either way, she had to act. In the meantime, she turned to her kwami.
"Finished?"
Orikko nodded, retaining the nobility inherent to the rooster.
"Good. Orikko, Sunrise!" Her thumb-ring disappeared into her super suit as her fingers became delicately tipped with golden talons, reflective of her name.
Taloness was no Ladybug, but she still had a job to do.
—
Six Months Earlier
"Marinette, this means you'll have to fight your best friend!"
"No, Tikki," Marinette smiled with determination shining from bright blue eyes. "It means I'm going to save my best friend. Tikki, spots on!"
Lady Wifi was the villain name of Alya Césaire, who had been the most recent victim of Hawkmoth's particular brand of brainwashing. Like a coward, he hid in the shadows and took advantage of civilians with strong, negative emotions, giving them superpowers and a desire to serve him. He never really cared about what they cared about - he only wanted them to steal for him the Miraculous gems that he desired. These were the Miraculous of the Black Cat, a ring, and the Miraculous of the Ladybug, a pair of earrings - which now glinted from Marinette's ears, and transformed her into a ladybug-themed superhero, mask and all. Chat Noir, her partner, dashed alongside her across the rooftops, his black-cat-themed hero suit oddly complementing his unruly blond mane of hair. Luck and catastrophe. Creation and destruction. Two halves that made a whole.
Alya as Lady Wifi was already proving to be the most formidable opponent they had yet to face. Her mobile phone granted her the power to Pause, Stop, Lock, or Record anything she commanded, her sole desire being to trap Ladybug and reveal her true identity to the world. Fortunately, Lady Wifi was hot on the wrong trail. As soon as Ladybug and Chat Noir blasted into Le Grand Paris, they had to learn quickly. Lady Wifi had been holding Chloé Bourgeois, the spoiled rich daughter of the mayor of Paris, captive, attempting to prove that she was the true Ladybug. Obviously the arrival of the true superheroes rectified this egregious error in judgment, but now the full force of Lady Wifi's powers were directed at them!
"Quick - to the basement! She won't have signal there!" Ladybug suggested as they sprinted and dodged away. When Chat Noir and Ladybug looked behind them, however, there was no Lady Wifi to fight - she hadn't taken the bait.
Urgently, the superheroes began to re-trace their steps, seeking the villainess. Each door in the stairwell leading up from the basement was already supernaturally Locked with a glowing icon, similar to the lock screen on a mobile phone. Finally, there remained only one door open to them.
"Prepare for an ambush! On three. One, two… three!"
Ladybug and Chat Noir rushed the door to find - a lavish and empty dining area? Her magical yo-yo was spinning fast enough to form a shield, on the defensive, but she allowed it to come to a halt.
Chat Noir was uneasy. "So much for the ambush."
"Where could she be hiding?" Ladybug wondered, cautiously walking forward. Immediately she began to notice sleek black cellphones standing out against the white tablecloths of the dining room, one in the center of each table, like new age centerpieces. "And what's up with all these phones…?"
Without warning, the air shimmered in an array of pixels and solidified into Lady Wifi, grinning maliciously down at them from a table. Ladybug and Chat Noir only had time to evade as the villainess shot glowing Pause icons at them, attempting to pin them in place. Ladybug had just managed to wrap her yo-you around Lady Wifi's arm, arresting her, when she dissolved into a spray of pixels again.
Phones on the tables began lighting up, shimmering pixels in the shape of Lady Wifi appearing and disappearing above them in quick succession. She could teleport from any cellphone, even going directly from phone to phone!
As if sensing Ladybug's dismay, Lady Wifi chuckled darkly. "You can't get me."
Ladybug thought in a split second of all the phone screens she had cracked as her civilian self, fumbling or even sometimes outright throwing them in her clumsiness. She smirked.
"Yes, I can."
Ladybug began smashing every phone she could see with her yo-yo, leaving only the one that Lady Wifi held in her hands. When the villainess retreated to the kitchen, Ladybug pursued, only to freeze for an instant when she saw the control phone pointed at her.
I can't let myself get Locked in place like Chloé was!
With a quick dodge she was safe, but as she continued fighting, she realized she had been separated from Chat Noir with the only entrance Locked shut.
Better finish this quickly!
She launched herself at Lady Wifi, ready to tackle her into submission - only for the villainess to disappear momentarily into her phone. Ladybug grunted as she landed and sprang back into fighting stance, reorienting herself -
But Lady Wifi had already reappeared and hit her dominant hand with a Lock, her left hand following immediately after. Ladybug's eyes widened as she struggled against the unnatural force, but her hands were completely powerless. Lady Wifi swiped on her phone and a glowing Recording icon hovered in the air, and Ladybug knew that whatever happened next would be broadcast through all of Paris.
Her heart panicked as the villainess' hands reached for her, but calmed slightly as they went for her mask - not her earrings. Ladybug almost had to fight the urge to laugh as her best friend, akumatized, comically tried to yank off a mask that may as well have been a second skin.
"Ugh - why doesn't it come off!?" Lady Wifi exclaimed in frustration.
"Uh, because it's magic?" Ladybug replied, implying an unspoken 'duh', but was internally relieved. If Lady Wifi believed there was no way to reveal Ladybug's identity, she may have enough time to think of a solution.
Just then, the service elevator opened, revealing the person she wanted to see most right now.
"You're out of minutes, Lady Wifi," Chat Noir stated. Ladybug had never been so glad to hear a bad pun in her life.
"Aw, how romantic. Tomcat's come to save his Lovebug," drolled Lady Wifi.
Ladybug couldn't resist. "I am not his Lovebug!" How ridiculous!
"We'll come back to that later," Chat Noir winked. It was then that Ladybug realized he still wasn't in attack position, and his gaze was focused on her, Ladybug, rather than his opponent.
As if reading her mind, Lady Wifi wasted no time in taking advantage of Chat Noir's cavalier attitude. Though her first attack was easily dodged, the second was quick enough to knock Chat Noir off his feet… and into the industrial freezer, which the villainess promptly kicked closed and Locked with a glowing icon.
Ladybug's mind raced. Chat Noir incapacitated, her hands immobilized, no reason to expect any backup...
Lady Wifi seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Well, well, what am I going to do with both of you?" Her tone was leisurely and unrushed.
Ladybug was out of ideas.
–
Lady Wifi was reveling in her success when a familiar voice spoke in her mind.
"Get her to use her Lucky Charm! It'll force her to switch back, and her true identity will be revealed… and her miraculous will be mine!"
Lady Wifi smirked and was reaching for her phone to do as Hawkmoth suggested when she had a thought.
Wait, isn't Lucky Charm her most powerful weapon? Why would I give her a chance to use it if I already have her right where I want her?
"Hawkmoth, is using the Lucky Charm the only way to turn her back to normal?"
The voice in her mind sounded taken off guard. "Uh, well… I suppose -"
"If you want her Miraculous so badly," Lady Wifi cut him off, coming to her own conclusions. "Maybe she wants them just as much. Which means the earrings are the key to her identity, not the mask. Watch and learn."
Ladybug gasped, "Alya, no - !"
She growled. "I told you, my name is Lady Wifi!"
Lady Wifi aggressively swiped her phone, Locking both of Ladybug's legs in place. She lunged forward and, holding her chin steady as she had before, quickly removed one, and then another, earring.
"Yes, Lady Wifi, bravo!" Hawkmoth exclaimed.
"No - !" Ladybug's cry was cut off as a pink light receded from her, revealing…
"M-Marinette?" Lady Wifi gasped. In her shock she stumbled back a couple steps. Dimly she registered a clattering tink as she dropped the earrings.
"Alya, please!" Her best friend was no longer struggling, just looking at her pleadingly. "I would never have been able to become Ladybug if it weren't for you! Do you remember? All that is required for the triumph of evil…?"
"... is for good men to do nothing", finished Alya in a whisper.
Instantly pain lanced her skull, and her hands came up to ward off an invisible pressure.
"What are you doing, Lady Wifi? Don't hesitate now! Finish the job and get Chat Noir's miraculous! I must have their power!"
As if awakening in force, all of Alya's - not Lady Wifi, but Alya's - memories of her admiration for superheroes and heroines, and her time with Marinette, came in a rush. A photo of Majestia flying through the air with a confident grin, latest disaster averted. Marinette laughing and hugging her, pulling her in the direction of yet another sleepover. They jarred against her desire to reveal the truth, her hate of the injustice she had received, and the desire to prove herself right.
Marinette is my best friend! We haven't known each other for long, but she's always there for me!
What kind of best friend would keep something as big as this a secret?
The voice in her mind was acidic and biting, leaving no room for mercy. It was her own voice, and yet she struggled against it. She didn't like the cynicism that left a taste like bile in her mouth.
It's because it was so big that she couldn't tell me! Majestia is the most powerful and honest superheroine in the world, and her identity is still a secret!
"Lady Wifi, if you give up now, you will be powerless to reveal the full truth!" Hawkmoth's voice joined the fray.
The truth…?
Isn't the truth always better? Sneered the darkest part of herself.
Hawkmoth doesn't care about the truth. The thought struck her with its clarity. The fog in her mind cleared a little. Hawkmoth has never cared about the truth. He has one goal, and he is using me to achieve it.
Anger rose in her, making her hands at her head clench and tremble, her body tense. Her mind split again in a pain sharp enough to make her cry out through gritted teeth. Her breaths came in shallow pants, all her focus on the storm inside her.
What does it matter, if I get what I want too? If I get to show the world that I discovered Ladybug's identity! That I was right!
This isn't about being right anymore, Alya's inner voice gained strength. She realized as she thought the words, how childish and immature this whole situation was. She gave in to Hawkmoth because she wanted to prove she was right, like some spoiled child? This is not about me, or even Marinette. This is about -
"This is about…" Alya whispered aloud, still clutching her head. "... standing up for what is right!"
There was a breaking sensation inside of her, and Alya stood her ground against the last cries of Hawkmoth's voice fading in her mind. As a cascade of darkness retreated from her body, she weakened at the knees and slumped. A black butterfly flapped in front of her face for a moment before turning a luminescent white.
"Alya!"
She felt Marinette's hands on her shoulders as Lady Wifi's Locks were released.
"Marinette…?" Alya groaned, feeling a dull throb in her skull. She opened her eyes and looked towards the empty space where the Recording icon had been. It was gone now, but Alya knew the damage had been done. "Marinette, I'm so sorry…"
"Nevermind about that now. I can't believe you cast out the akuma all on your own! You were amazing, Alya!" Marinette gently touched Alya's face, forcing her to redirect her gaze to her friend's beaming blue eyes. "No superheroine could have done better."
Emotion welled in Alya's chest, battling relief and guilt. Her nose stung as the tears came suddenly, and she launched herself into a fierce hug of her best friend.
"I almost lost," she whispered into Marinette's shoulder. She hugged harder when she felt Marinette's arms securely lock around her back.
"Being a hero doesn't mean you don't struggle with the darkness. It means you choose the light."
A few sobs wrenched out of Alya as the catharsis of what had happened fully settled over her. Ladybug was no more. Hawkmoth could be resisted. And Chat Noir…
Alya gasped and pulled herself upright. "Chat Noir! He's still in the freezer!"
Marinette's eyes widened and she propelled herself to the freezer. Yanking open the door, she caught the superhero as he fell, no longer supported by the door.
"Chat Noir?" Marinette asked, holding his head on her lap. "Chat Noir, are you alright?"
Green eyes cracked open in a shivering face. "Marinette…? What are you… Where's Ladybug?"
She smiled a bit guiltily. "Hi, Chaton."
Alya shoved her friend's shoulder lightly. "What are you doing?" She hissed. "He still doesn't know!"
"Precisely," Marinette responded, face grave. "He's the only one in all of Paris who doesn't know. There's no use hiding it anymore." She looked fondly at her partner, pinching his cat ear. "The cat's out of the bag for me."
Chat Noir, recovering more fully, sat up and faced both girls. "You mean, you, Marinette -?"
"I am - was - Ladybug." She sighed and covered her face. "I'm so sorry, I failed you both. I failed all of Paris!" She looked at the ground where the red earrings where Lady Wifi had dropped them. "I guess I really wasn't cut out to be Ladybug after all."
Chat Noir still seemed shocked, suspiciously so.
Does he know her in real life? Alya wondered briefly, before mentally slapping herself on the wrist. This wasn't the time to be thinking thoughts like that! That was what got them into this mess.
"Don't say that, Marinette," Alya said. It was her turn to take her best friend by the shoulders. "Even without the mask on, you still managed to get through to me. It's because of you that Hawkmoth still doesn't have the Miraculous!"
Marinette sniffed and, head turned, swiped at her eyes with the heel of her hand. A moment passed, and Alya saw her friend's mouth harden into a firm line, her expression resolute. Alya, with a detached sort of amazement, realized that she was looking at Ladybug right now, super suit or no.
My best friend is my superhero! Literally!
Oblivious to her internal drama, Marinette collected herself enough to speak again.
"You're right, Alya. This isn't over yet. We have to keep our heads in the game, and we can't afford any more missteps. Now think," she closed her eyes in concentration. "What does Hawkmoth know for sure, and what would be his next move?"
"Well," Chat Noir recovered himself. "He knows your name, but does he know your full name, M'la-... Marinette?" He blushed at his slip, seeming more like an awkward school boy than a superhero.
Marinette seemed to not have noticed, looking deep in thought. "You're right. Assuming that he's not someone I know in my civilian life, Alya only said my first name. There's not much reason to believe he would know my full identity, and it may take some time for him to figure out my family name and address."
"Then we have to get back to your home and get your parents to safety before he finds them and threatens you all!" Alya exclaimed, shooting to her feet. A renewed sense of purpose was thrumming through her, gathering like electricity in her body. She wanted to do everything she could to make up for what her selfishness had caused.
Marinette crossed the room to her miraculous, scooping them up and staring at them in her cupped hand for a moment. Alya let out a cry as a… a giant red bug appeared in front of them.
"What the heck is that!?"
Marinette ignored her and spoke to the… what was that thing?
"Tikki, I'm so sorry…"
Alya almost fell backward at the high pitched voice that came in response. It talked!?
"Oh Marinette, you did the best you could. I know you will come up with the right plan moving forward." Alya felt firm hands on her shoulders, and Alya realized with a start that she had scrambled into Chat Noir's chest.
"Is there any way…" Marinette bit her lip. "Is there a chance that my Miraculous Ladybug could make everyone forget my secret identity?"
Alya felt the hands on her shoulders tighten subtly, and she looked over her shoulder at Chat Noir. He seemed to be waiting for the answer with baited breath, heart in his eyes.
He doesn't want to forget who she is, Alya thought. He must really love her, more than even their banter suggested. With a twinge Alya realized what a great scoop that would be for the Ladyblog… if there even would be a Ladyblog after this.
"I don't think so," the creature sighed, settling in Marinette's outstretched hands. "Your identity wasn't revealed through brainwashing or any direct supervillain power. Essentially, it was just good journalism with the aid of some superpowers! There's nothing magical about that for the Ladybugs to reverse."
Marinette pursed her lips, and put the earrings on. "Well then, let's get to my house to make sure my parents are alright. They're probably worried sick. Tikki, spots on!"
The creature disappeared, seemingly into the black studs. Alya blinked in a mixture of confusion, bafflement, and awe as her best friend transformed in a flash of light. She turned to look at Alya, whose jaw was slack. Despite the gravity of the situation, Ladybug huffed a short laugh.
"You coming, or what?" The superheroine held out her hand to her best friend. Alya could feel an inexplicable giddiness rising up her chest, making her want to release an unhinged laugh. Was this hysteria?
Regardless, she took her friend's hand and was hefted to her feet. In moments they were all on the rooftop. Alya didn't have time to ask what happened next when she felt an arm around her waist.
"Hold on tight!"
"Eh? - Aaaaah!"
Ladybug zipped them through the Parisian night sky. Alya's stomach dropped and her initial scream of shock turned to breathless laughter. Tears streamed from her eyes from the wind and, admittedly, from the overflow of the night's events. She looked at Ladybug's face and sobered at the determined expression she found. But when Ladybug turned to make eye contact, she only gave the soft, understanding smile of a friend who you never have to explain yourself to. Alya returned it, and her heart untwisted a little with hope.
No matter what happens next, we'll go through it together.
For those who are curious - my head canon is that Hawkmoth's lair is at the very pinnacle of the Agreste mansion, in the turret that seems ornamental. Obviously, since this would be located above Gabriel's office, but the portal to his lair opens under him from the floor, I had to explain how the direction changed vertically. I thought about there being basically a tube like in a mailing shoot, where the cylinder just gets sucked through a pipe to deliver the villain of choice to his lair, but this doesn't really suite the composure and style of Gabriel Agreste's Hawkmoth. So, instead I envisioned a short walking commute from one vertical direction to the other... but would Gabriel have a normal corridor? Of course not. Thus, the Dead Wife Hallway was born.
Feedback appreciated via review. ;)