In Marinette's house...
Marinette was shocked to hear Sabrina mention Ember when she got here. Something about bothered her, especially when she told her that she needed Ladybug for some reason. Whatever happened with her, she knew that she could help more as one of Parisian heroes. Besides, she had to check on something anyway. She usually did a night patrol with Cat Noir, but ever since he left, Rena Rouge has been there to help her.
Marinette soon gave everyone their Miraculous back, and they all transformed in her room. Rena Rouge used her mirage power to create an illusion that they were still in her room. She smiled, seeing them all asleep in their sleeping bags. Soon, they all launched out of the balcony door. Miss Hound told Ladybug where she went and followed her direction.
"Obviously she wasn't akumatized since Mariposa still has it on her," Ladybug said to them, "This has to be something else."
"What else could it have been? Bullies?" Rena Rouge asked them.
"Whatever it was, she was dirty and acting suspicious, so I don't think it was bullies," Miss Hound explained to them, "She seemed like she didn't want me to spot her."
Ladybug's eyes widened and wondered what she was up to. Something about her seemed different right away once she came to school. She knew that Ember might've been hiding something, but worried that it might've been something bigger than she expected. She tried to shake it off for now and went after Ember. She looked around for any sign of her, but didn't see anyone.
It was quiet and no one walked around the city except for a couple people on dates.
The lights were on as the night sky got darker. The stars and moonlight helped them see, but it was still hard to tell who was who. Ladybug couldn't find Ember anywhere as they looked around. She frowned, unable to pinpoint her.
"Any sign of her?" Rena Rouge asked her, "I can't see her anywhere."
"No. I can't find her anywhere. Purple Tigress, anything?" Ladybug asked her, "You have night vision."
Purple Tigress looked around the city streets and couldn't find anything. She even looked for Embers two red, messy buns that she had on top of her head just to pinpoint her better.
Nothing.
"No. I don't see her anywhere," Purple Tigress said back, "She must be long gone by now. If only we knew where she lived."
Ladybug slumped her shoulders, hoping that she was okay. She really wished that she knew where she went, then she could check on her and make she was okay. She was definitely going to school just to make sure she made it home.
"Ladybug. I'm sure she made it home just fine," Rena Rouge said to her, "Do you wanna do a quick night patrol? I'm sure everyone here wouldn't mind."
"Yeah! A girl's night out. Sounds like fun!" Pigella exclaimed a little too loudly.
Ladybug smiled and thought that this might make things feel less tense for her. She knew where she needed to go anyway.
"Sure. Why not?" Ladybug said back, "I need to check on something before we go back to my place anyway."
Ladybug soon flew through the sky, excited to have her friends here with her. They all followed her with Rena Rouge by her side. She felt the wind blow through her hair and face. Something about it felt so refreshing and knew that she needed this. Ladybug smiled, feeling so good just swinging around with her yo-yo. Something about it felt like the good old days when Cat Noir and her got to face akumatized villains once a week.
It felt like things were going to be okay now.
Ladybug and Rena Rouge soon found themselves heading away from the city, which surprised everyone. They all seemed confused as to where they were going. Ladybug looked like she knew what she doing, but it still seemed to bother them. Something about it seemed a little ominous.
"Ladybug? Where are we going exactly?" Mariposa asked her.
"Yeah. This isn't what any of us were expecting," Rose said back.
Ladybug hesitated to explain things, but Rena Rouge gave her a look. Something about it felt like the time to explain things since they've never done this before. Her and Rena Rouge have been doing this for six months now, but no one else ever tagged along. She let out a sigh and felt like she could finally let them know what was going on.
"I need to check on Chrysalis's lair," Ladybug told them, "It's still up and running. I've been keeping an eye on it ever since. Cat Noir isn't here to destroy it, so I've been keeping tabs on it ever since. We can't let anyone find this place."
They all looked at each other, shocked to find this out. Even Mariposa wasn't expecting any of this. She instinctively touched the Butterfly Miraculous, hoping that things were okay with it.
"We didn't even know that Chrysalis's lair was still up," Purple Tigress said to her.
"We kind of forgot about it since Lila isn't exactly going to school here anymore," Polymouse said to them.
"Yeah. Me and Rena Rouge forgot about it as well," Ladybug said back, "Then we came across it during night patrol a long time ago. We knew that this was something that we needed to make sure no one ever finds."
Ladybug and her teammates launched across Paris and soon found themselves heading towards abandoned warehouses. Ladybug spotted Chrysalis's lair in the distance and noticed nothing different. As she got closer however, she noticed something off about the place. She got nervous and wondered if anyone actually got inside.
They all landed further away from the lair just to make sure that no one was hiding in there. Ladybug and Rena Rouge made their way closer to it as the others followed them from behind. Ladybug got her yo-yo out and spun around like a lasso. They all noticed Ladybug getting serious and worried that something was wrong.
"Ladybug? Is something wrong?" Mariposa asked her.
"There might be someone here," Ladybug said back, "Get ready."
They all got their magical weapons out, ready to face whoever was in there. She walked over to a window that clearly someone broke into. It wasn't very subtle since there was glass everywhere. Ladybug was used to not having wings at this point, so she and everyone else went around to the door. It was sealed shut from a Lucky Charm that Ladybug put around the handles.
"Are you sure that you want to do this Ladybug?" Rena Rouge asked her, "This isn't exactly the greatest place to be right now. I know how much you'd rather avoid it."
"Yes, but if someone broke in here, then they might find out about Quirks and another Japan. We can't let that happen," Ladybug explained to them.
Soon Ladybug summoned her Lucky Charm, and a red and black polka dotted pliers. She grabbed them and broke the chains with them, causing them to fall to the ground. Ladybug kicked them out of the way, and she soon opened the door. It made a loud creaking noise, so she only opened it enough for them to make their way through. Once Ladybug got inside, she noticed that nothing was any different.
Although, she did notice something on the ground that caught her attention. She lifted it up and noticed a sleeping bag laying there. Whoever was in here, was sleeping here for a little while.
"Ladybug. Someone was obviously staying here recently," Rena Rouge explained to her when she spotted the sleeping bag.
"Yeah, but how did we never notice?" Ladybug asked her, "This isn't exactly a place to stay for a few nights. Whoever stayed here might've come here for a reason."
"Or they were just looking for a place to stay," Rena Rouge, "Seriously Marinette. Things are different now. It's not like there's anyone that even knows about Izuku or his classmates."
Ladybug gave the sleeping bag a dirty look and looked around some more. Nothing stood out exactly. Everything was pretty much in the exact same place that they left it the last time they saw it. Something about it however still felt off as Ladybug put down the sleeping bag as if they had never found it.
Then something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was that machine.
Ladybug walked up to it and spotted the old chains that held Midoriya, Uraraka and Bakugo down. She remembered that day really well. She remembered how determined she was to stop Chrysalis and HawkMoth. Something about seeing those chains gave her chills. Those things were the reason for Bakugo losing his quirk. Luckily he got it back, and Uraraka barely lost any of it.
Ladybug didn't even notice that she had walked up to it to touch them. It felt cold and heavy and couldn't imagine what that felt like to get your quirk taken from you like that. She was just glad that her friends were home safe and sound.
"Ladybug. You might wanna take a look at this," Rena Rouge said to her.
Ladybug looked back at her friends, and they were looking at the machine. Rena Rouge looked like she found something and knew that she wouldn't like what she found. She made her over, and they moved over for her to look at it. Her eyes widened in shock, not sure what to make of this.
Someone had been going through the files and found something.
"Th-This... This can't be happening..." Ladybug said under her breath as she looked through the files, "These shouldn't even be here. These were here before. How is that possible?"
"Well, you guys did decide to keep the portal up. Is it possible that some information somehow got leaked out about their Japan?" Rena Rouge explained to her, "I mean, you did say that you guys were able to communicate through the portal."
Ladybug felt her heart skip a beat, realizing exactly what this meant.
"These files... I've never seen them before..." Ladybug said to them, "They look like files on U.A. and classmates... and even their quirks. It seems like it's only Class 2-A to be specific... There were files on them, but only a few. Now it's all of them."
"That's a little weird," Purple Tigress said to her, "Why would any of them be on there? Not all of them came here in the first place."
"It might've just been a leak from the portal," Rena Rouge explained to them, "Ladybug, whatever this is, it's clearly something that we need to look into. Someone was here, that means that they might know about these classmates of yours. It's possible they might about their Japan."
Ladybug's heart skipped a beat, worried that someone might be after them.
After six months of peace and quiet, things just got more interesting for her and her teammates.
In Class 2-A's dormitory...
Midoriya stirred awake, feeling pretty refreshed that morning. He laid there for a while just staring at the ceiling. He wondered what Marinette was up to since he heard Adrien left the dormitory to go talk to her. He hadn't talked to her in a while and wondered if he should. He picked up his phone and noticed that he got a text from Lila.
His eyes widened and sat up straight to see her finally text him.
He hadn't heard from her in a couple months and worried about her. He hoped that things were going well with her and her mom. Something about it though gave him a good feeling. He soon opened the text and read through it thoroughly.
Lila: Hey Izuku. It's been a while since I've texted you. Sorry about that. I've been really busy. I wanted to save it for later just in case things didn't work out, but I finally got into that art school that I've been talking about! My mom is letting me go, so I sent my portfolio. It took awhile, but they got back to me about a month ago! I just started there yesterday! I'll let you know all about it some other time, but so far, it's been great!
Midoriya's eyes widened in shock, hearing her just dump this all on him. He was so happy to see Lila finally get this opportunity. Something about it made him realize that she actually talked to her mom. She actually got the chance to sit down and talk to her about everything. He felt so good about this and instantly got back to her.
Izuku: Hey Lila! This is amazing news! Congrats! I wish I were there to celebrate with you! I'm sure that you'll do great there! I hope you and your mom are getting along better now all things considered. Take your time at the art school. A new school can be difficult at first, but I know that you can handle this. You're really talented, and I really think that you deserve this! Tell me all about it whenever you get the chance! :)
Midoriya couldn't stop smiling as he put his phone down. Something about seeing her texting him such a long message got him realizing that he meant a lot to her. She took the time to write this out and send it to him. Then he looked at the time and noticed that he was up pretty early. His eyes soon noticed that he missed a call with Marinette.
She called three times.
He instantly worried about her, but then noticed how early it was. He didn't want to wake her up, so he decided to wait until either lunch or after school was over. He hoped that it wasn't anything important. He soon got dressed into his school uniform. Once he finished doing his hair, he noticed his Miraculous on his nightstand. It had a slight shimmer to it with the light hitting against it. He walked over to it, realizing that it's been a while since he's tried to recharge it.
He still couldn't believe that it had been six months since it broke. It was healed thanks to Ladybug's magical ladybugs, but it still wasn't fully recharged for some reason. Midoriya never understood why it was taking so long. It should've been recharged by now. He wondered if he should've had Marinette try to heal it, but didn't have One for All anymore.
She wouldn't have been able to do anything.
Midoriya picked it up and looked around to see if Dekku would appear around his room.
Nothing happened.
Midoriya let out a sigh and looked at his Miraculous. He wasn't worried about it, just confused as to why it wasn't working.
"Dekku... What is going on with you...?" Midoriya asked him, "Why aren't you waking up...?"
Midoriya held onto it and focused on One for All. He tried to recharge it by holding onto it tightly. He could tell that the Miraculous was charging it, it was just taking so much longer than he expected. He didn't think that it would take six months to recharge. There were times where he forgot recharge it because he was so busy with schoolwork and hero training. He could tell that One for All was charging as the sparks got absorbed into it, but nothing reall changed.
It was still barely responding to him for some reason.
After focusing on it for a few minutes, Midoriya finally let go of it. He tried to catch his breath and soon put it around his belt loop. He looked at it and let out a sigh.
"Dekku... I really wish that you were here..." Midoriya said to his Miraculous, "I could really use a friend right about now..."
Midoriya soon grabbed his backpack and headed down to the common room. He stood in the elevator, wondering how things would go with Skylar today. Something about her still seemed weird. She was naturally strong, which was impressive. But something about it felt a little off. Like he had a feeling that they've either met or he's come across something similar to this before. He couldn't pinpoint why she felt familiar, but he knew that something would come up sooner than later.
In the corner of his eye, he thought he noticed something glowing. It looked like it was pink and green, but it soon disappeared as soon as he noticed it. His eyes widened in shock and could've sworn that his Miraculous was glowing. Something about it felt like One for All was preparing for something. Whatever it was, he felt chills running all over his arms and legs. Once the elevator opened, he tried to shake it off as he stepped out to greet everyone.
Midoriya tried to shake it off and noticed Skylar was the first one up. He hoped that she wouldn't be, but quietly made his way over to the kitchen. She was making some toast with eggs, and Midoriya caught her eye right away. She smiled, happy to see someone up early with him.
"Hey Izuku!" Skylar said a little too loud for so early in the morning, "I didn't think anyone would be up this early."
"Ye-Yeah. I usually get up pretty early to go jogging," Midoriya said to her, "But I think I'll pass. Hero training really wiped me out last night."
"Oh! You go jogging? I used to go jogging all the time," Skylar told him, "It's pretty amazing jogging in Paris. You get to see so many amazing sunrises during them. You know what they say, early bird catches the worm."
Midoriya didn't know how to respond to that, but he did agree with her about jogging in Paris. Even if he couldn't say anything, he remembered how good it felt to go jogging with Zoe that one time. That was when he just showed up in Paris. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if Marinette didn't accidentally make that wish.
"I'm sure it is really fun," Midoriya said back, "It's pretty amazing here too you know. Maybe... we could jog together sometime."
Skylar's eyes lit up and couldn't look away from him. She practically jumped into his arms, but stopped herself.
"Really? Oh, that would be amazing!" Skylar exclaimed, "I wouldn't mind having a jogging partner, especially with you Izuku!"
He almost forgot that she was a fan of his. He scratched the back of his head, trying to get used to her energy in the morning. Midoriya soon grabbed some more bread and made some toast alongside hers. Skylar smiled and scooched over so he could make some.
Then something caught her eye as he set up his breakfast.
His Miraculous was dangling from his belt loop.
"Hey. What's that?" Skylar asked him.
Midoriya looked down at what she was pointing to and didn't know how to respond to that. It was a Miraculous, but she didn't know that. He didn't know if it was okay for her to know about what they've been through. She was a part of the class now, but for now he had play it off as any regular keychain that he got at a store.
"Oh this? It's just something that one of my friends made me," Midoriya lied to her, "She thought that it would be cool to make something before leaving to go back home. She was kind of inspired by my hero costume."
"Really? That's so cool!" Skylar said back, "I wish I could've met her before she left. Was she nice?"
Midoriya looked down at his Miraculous, knowing full well that this wasn't full truth. Marinette didn't even make this, but he did help him heal with a bunch of times. He remembered how good it felt to have that goodbye moment with her. Something about it made him feel like this wouldn't be the last time they see each other. He smiled, so glad to still have her as a friend.
"Yeah... She is."
Another amazing chapter!
I am liking where this is going! It's just fun to see Ladybug finally having a girl's night out kind of thing! The lair is still up and running! Ladybug and Rena Rouge looking after it just made sense to me. They would definitely not wan any random civilian coming across the lair. It looks like someone was staying there. I am interested in where this could possibly go. It seems like information was leaking out and into the machine somehow. The portal is somehow accidentally connected to the machine. Who knows what other information is being leaked into it! Midoriya and Lila's relationship probably won't do much, plot wise, but I do like him keeping in touch. I thought that it would be fun. Skylar has been writing!
What's going to happen next??
More to come soon!