Edited


When You Live Forever...

New things become old

'Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.'

-Denis Waitley


Marinette woke up the day after Stormy Weather slightly sore, but fine otherwise. To her surprise, Plagg was curled up on her chest, purring loudly. She doesn't know when he got there, but it must have been after Tikki went to sleep, sprawled across her stomach.

"Plagg." She whispered, and he opened one golden green eye. "Adre-Adrien's going to be worried if you're not there when he wakes up."

Plagg yawned, staying quiet for the sleeping Tikki. "He's already awake. He wanted me to wake you up, but you were so warm… I took a nap instead."

Marinette looked at the clock by the bed. 7:15. "Why this early?" She voiced her confusion. He shrugged.

"He wanted you to know why he wouldn't be here when you woke up. He started going to school again."

At that time, she conveniently remembered what he said about Alya. So she nods, getting up. She should have extra documents, birth certificates, etc. already prepared. "Well then, school, here I come."

"You don't have to go," Plagg said. "Adrien just started to go because he was bored and lonely."

"I'll be bored and lonely if I don't go." Netta countered, picking Tikki up and placing her on a pillow. Getting up, she scanned her suitcase before picking up a file bag. Papers filled to the brim, she filed through them, picking up a few. "Plus, I want to meet Alya."

She'd never not meet a descendant, when she had the chance.

Plagg muttered something, and flew to sit with Tikki as she changed clothes. Placing the papers in her bag, Netta left her new room. Adrien's new cat, (which was beautiful, and named after her, meaning Adrien thought she was beautiful-) Mari, was snuggled up next to Adrien, who was drinking coffee. He loved his coffee. Some things would never change.

He raised an eye at her ready attire. "Have plans?" He asked, taking a subtle sip of his coffee. Mari mewled and jumped off the couch.

"Yep." Marinette grinned as she held up her documents. "I'm going to school as a new exchange student."

He stared for a long moment, before a large, cat-like smile emerged on his face. His eyes glinted. "That so?"

She nodded, rolling her eyes and letting her hands settle on her hips. "Yes, Adrien, what's got you so catty this morning?"

He snorted. "I'm always catty."

Netta darted over, snatching his coffee to take a sip as he pouted. Making for a weak attempt at grabbing the coffee, she danced away from his hands. Taking another sip, Marinette gave it back, bringing her hand up to his hair to scratch it. "Thanks for the sip."

"You're so nice." He grumbled, a purr starting in the back of his throat against his will. He leaned his head on Netta's shoulder, leaning into her touch. "I don't want to go to school anymore…"

She stopped, standing up. "Sorry, kitty, but I want to check out Paris. I've been here two days and I can tell it's changed."

"They kept the Eiffel tower." He said. "Ashi would be glad. She worked so long on it."

Adrien made sure Mari would be fine, and they woke their kwami. Plagg opted to spend time in Netta's bag, so she carried both kwami as they made their way to the elevator.

x-X-x

School wasn't too far away. As soon as they reached it, Adrien grabbed her arm. "There's something you need to know before you go in and see it."

She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

He licked his lips. "There are some school kids here, more than just Alya, that look alot like some of the immortals."

"Descendants?" Mari questioned. Adrien nodded.

"I think. Then, there's this other girl, Chl-"

"Adrien!"

Marinette was ashamed to say that the girl had snuck up on her. In a wave of blond, this girl had tackled Adrien into a hug, kissing his cheeks. Mari's eyes widened, and she looked away. Adrien got a girlfriend?

She… didn't know how to feel about that.

Crazy, to expect him to never not have one, yes, but they spent hundreds of years not only without them, but constantly rejecting courtings and advances. Of course, people can change, but-

Marinette takes a deep breath, and tells herself to just ask him before deciding on something she knows little about so far.

Adrien pulled the girl off of him, and she realized something. She looked identical to Nonna, the immortal with the bee kwami. Marinette had been there when she died.

"Chloe." Adrien greeted, keeping her at arm's length. She smiled at him, then saw Netta. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "This is my best friend, Marinette. She just moved here."

Chloe looked like she wanted to argue about who was who's best friend, but she kept her mouth shut. Marinette only got a nod before she started fawning over Adrien again. With that, though, Mari could tell. Had seen it enough throughout history to see that age old pattern. They were not dating.

…phew. Marinette doesn't know if she could take such a big change to the status quo. She'd of course be supportive, but just the thought of it is kind of earth shaking for her.

Adrien excused himself, and together they walked to the principal's office. It was surprisingly easy, only taking ten minutes at most. It probably helped that Adrien recommended her, and, apparently, he was a golden boy at school.

(It shouldn't have been so easy, though. They should have wanted more, and yet they were so open about letting her in. Like they're used to students randomly enrolling here.)

Their kwami stayed quiet as they entered the classroom. Mari took an empty seat behind Adrien. The class was half full, and the seat by him was taken by a boy that looked strangely like a young Wu. Not exactly like him, with darker skin, but similar. Enough to give Netta some pause.

She thinks she's starting to get what Adrien was saying, earlier.

Adrien introduced them. His name was Nino, and they hit it off when he started talking about mixing tracks from two of Netta's favorite modern bands.

Adrien, though, didn't know of them. "I feel left out." He grumbled.

"Adrien, you're pouting a child." Someone teased, and a girl entered the classroom. Again, she distantly reminded Mari of Faro, before he and his twin went crazy with the different hair dye. Again, from whatever genes, she was darker than him. But Netta could see his smirk on her face, his features, she even had his blue eyes. She was clutching her phone like it was gold. "You have to see what I've got!"

Surprisingly, horridly, she had recorded their entire fight. And posted it. "I've started a new blog!" She squealed. "I haven't thought of a good name for it, maybe Ladyblog, because she's a ladybug or-"

"What about the guy?" Nino asked. "Maybe a mash of their names. Like, I dunno, the LC Blog or something."

She bit her lip. "I'm thinking, but I've already got over two thousand views, and eight hundred likes… And I've added a page where viewers can add pictures of them if they take any. People are going crazy about them! They're superheroes!"

"Sounds like you're the one going crazy over them." Adrien murmured, before brightening. "Hey, Alya, I want you to meet my best friend, Mari. We were close before I moved here."

"Nice to meet cha'." She says, sliding into the seat next to Netta. "I have a thought on who Ladybug might be, but I have no clue on Chat Noir… that's what people are calling them. I like it."

Marinette spoke up. "Well, looking at Chat Noir, his eyes are catty. It'd be hard to figure it out, he might not even have green eyes really." Throwing them off the trail since day one, good job Mari.

Alya clicked her tongue. "Looks a bit like Adrien, distant relative?"

Adrien made a face. "Don't remember anyone who could wield a baton and cough up hairballs."

He didn't mention that he was an only child, that his parents had died thousands of years ago, that the closest family he had was being killed off by someone he also thought of as family. That he could be killed next.

"My Uncle Jack used to pee in a litter box." Nino offered. Marinette snorted. Alya gave him a knowing, inside smirk that shared emotions Netta couldn't reach.

The class was a combination of history and English. Marinette understood history pretty well, but English had always been hard for her. At least French would be easier, given it being her native tongue, even if most of the words used nowadays didn't exist back when she first spoke it.

She was taking down notes when someone spilled water over them. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

It was a blonde, with sky blue eyes. She had a hand over her mouth and held tears in her eyes. Mari shook her head. "It's okay. I'm Marinette. You are?"

"Oh, Rose." She gave a half smile, before ducking her head and moving to the back. Marinette grumbled slightly at the ruined notes and fished out more paper when another paper hit her desk, orderly notes all written down. She looked up at Adrien.

He shrugged. "Don't look at me like that, Mari. You're a clumsy person, I knew you would lose them at some point."

She smirked at him, ready to retort, but stopped before the teacher could say anything. This wasn't her fault. But it didn't really matter, as Rose came shuffling back with some paper towels soon after.

School ended after a dull haze of already known information, and she walked with Adrien and Nino home since Alya lived the other way. Nino seemed excited about something.

"Dude, you should be more excited for this! It's your birthday tomorrow! 16, right?"

Adrien snorted. "Actually, it's 2,998, almost 3,000." Nino went blank. "Just kidding, I'm turning 16."

Netta giggled a little. They didn't know their actual birthday, the calendar changed so much over the years. Mari just let Adrien decide on a date, and she chose around three months after. It's worked so far. "He's never been a birthday person."

Nino's eyes lightened. "You gotta help me throw him a party!"

Adrien shook his head, eyes darkening. "Nino, it's fine. I don't even care about my birthday." He said, curt, his voice snapping slightly, before walking forward a bit, ending the conversation.

She gave Nino a sympathetic smile. "Something bad happened on his birthday a while back, so it's bittersweet. Don't worry about it."

Nino sighed. "Oh, now I feel bad." He frowned. "That's not fair to him at all!"

She shook her head. "He's used to it. I'm actually a little surprised he told you about his birthday, he usually keeps it hidden."

Nino places a hand on his forehead, watching his house come closer. He mumbled to himself. "Not fair at all."

Marinette watches him leave, frowning. Maybe Nino's just a really empathetic guy, or he just really cares, but that was a lot for someone just not wanting to celebrate their birthday.

Shaking off a sudden cold feeling, she jogged to catch up with Adrien. "Adrien, don't be like that."

Adrien mumbled something, before speaking louder. "He doesn't need to worry about my stupid made up birthday. All it does is bring misfortune and death."

She frowned. "Nonna's death was not your fault. She was the one who found us, she was the one who decided her fate."

He was still upset. "She quite literally told us that she was planning to leave Tibet before we arrived, but she remembered my birthday was coming up and wanted to surprise me. Because of me, she was killed." He paused for a second, leaning against a wall. "What if we're the only ones left? Mairenn could've died, we haven't seen her. The twins have been missing for too long, and I'm worried about them. If we defeat Gabriel, would it even matter anymore? People I thought I would have forever… they're gone."

Marinette's gaze softens. She walks up to him, giving him a hug. When they parted, she punched him in the arm. "Don't talk like that!" She scowls. "If I gave up, then I would have died a thousand years ago!"

Adrien frowned and went to speak when a boyish laugh echoed around. Suddenly, he was surrounded by a large bubble. "Time to party!"

x-X-x

It was Nino's voice, but the outfit was all wrong. Blues and yellows and purples. Marinette went to move, but when she backed up into Adrien's bubble the thing engulfed her. She yelped and fell backwards into the strange substance.

Adrien helped her up as they started floating into the sky. From their view, they could see other bubbles, trapping other people and things. She quickly noticed that all kids grabbed were going to the park, while the adults were heading straight for the tower.

Nino, whatever happened to him, stood in the center of it, stealing things and teens and placing them in the park. Adrien looked up at her, then down at the ground 200 feet away. "Think I'll land on my feet?"

(Something was wrong. Mari doesn't understand how Gabriel's powers work completely, but she knows there's an emotional requirement needed before he can change someone, and she knows that Nino shouldn't have fit the bill. What happened?)

Marinette rolls her eyes, but she can't help the fond smile that spreads across her face.

Plagg and Tikki finally make their appearance, popping out of her bag. Plagg grumbled. "All this magic woke me up, what's going on? We're really high."

"Are we in a bubble?" Tikki asked childishly. "Can I pop it, please?"

She gave Netta bug eyes when a chuckle started behind them. Mari spun around, seeing Nino floating in the air, a moth mask over his face. His voice had deepened into Gabriel's. "Little Tikki, you couldn't pop it if you tried. You couldn't possibly even try. This bubble's made of-"

The bubble popped suddenly.

And they were falling from cloud level.

"Tikki!" Mari screeched, but she just shrugged. She's always grouchy after naps. "We'll talk about this later! Can you please-?!"

Suddenly, in a blur of red, she felt lighter, her vision sharper. Grabbing her yo-yo, she hooked it to a building top and grabbed a still transforming Adrien. Landing in a crouch they rolled along the roof before catching themselves.

Mari got up to brush herself off, when a bubble came flying towards her. She flipped out of the way, before having to duck under two other bubbles. Chat batted off the attack bubbles with his baton, beckoning her over.

"Think you can keep them off my back for a moment?" He grunted, jumping to miss one aiming for his legs. Mari nods, letting him jump off the back of the building.

A moment later, a baton went flying at Nino from behind, hitting his head and dazing him. The bubbles stopped immediately, floating to the ground and popping. Nino wobbled, before falling down. Sending an opening, Marinette darts forward, hand reaching out to grab the only possible akumatized object - his wand.

"Netta, no!" Chat cried out, fear lacing his voice. Enough for him to use her real name. She skidded to a stop in front of Nino, arms out to brace for any attacks.

It took her a second to realize that Nino was faking. As she tried to jump back, three bubbles clung to her suit. One tick, and they exploded.

She was thrown backwards, flying past buildings by the dozens before hitting back first on a brick building. She hits the ground with a thud, groaning in pain. Pain that was surprisingly dull, given how damaged she should currently be.

As if cursing her, her earrings beeped.

…what?

Slinking behind a nearby dumpster, she glanced out at the progressing battle. Nino had his hands full with Adrien, who was stuck between running to Marinette and running Nino away from Marinette.

Tikki lands in her lap as she de-transforms. Her side is painted purple, the color licking up her back and wings. "Tikki?! Are you okay?"

Tikki blinks once, twice. Manages a weak smile. "I take most of the damage done to you while you're in your suit. I'll be okay." She shudders. "It just hurts more… I'm only a piece of a soul."

Marinette worries at her lip. She doesn't know Paris anymore, doesn't know where everything is. She could use a bakery right now, somewhere that sold food Tikki could eat.

"Your personal chef is here, my lady."

Marinette squashes her pleased grin, a grateful one taking its place as Chat appears at her side, two cookies in hand, pre-prepared. "I should have never worried about you." He was obviously more prepared than her.

Chat's grin is sharp. "Please, worry about me as much as you want." His eyes dart out onto the street, his grin falling into a frown. "I don't like this." He admits. "Gabriel's singling people out, people close to us."

To him, which means Gabriel knows enough about what he's doing to know who he's close to. Nino might've been upset, but he wasn't akumatized levels of upset. The fact that he was still chosen…

She sets her jaw. "Can you drop me off at the park? Those bubbles got everyone in the city, do you think Gabriel would be there too?"

Chat frowns. "I'm not sure if Gabriel still looks like a teenager, he was always older looking. And besides, it's dangerous!"

Marinette arches an eyebrow. "So should I wait here, vulnerable, five feet away from where Nino threw me?"

Adrien grumbles. He picks her up. They jump through alleyways, staying as hidden as possible. After almost no time, Chat sets her down with a soft glare. "Don't get hurt."

She scratched him behind the ears. "Course, kitty."

It took her a moment to find a side entrance that wasn't guarded, but Nino didn't cover the trap door on the stage, which led to a building across the way. Marinette blended in perfectly with the rest of the teenagers. Where were the kids? Babies? Home by themselves?

Oh god.

She found Alya easily enough, tapping her shoulder. She squeaked slightly, snapping her mouth shut when she saw Mari. "Marinette? Thank god you're okay."

Even after all these years, she still couldn't lie well. Instead, she just danced around the truth. "Thanks, and you too. What's going on?"

Alya tapped her phone against her thigh, a tight lipped frown on her face. "Nothing good. We're trapped here, no exits. There's party favors here, and it seems like the bubble guy wants to throw a party for someone."

Netta barely hid her flinch. Alya continued. "The superheroes don't seem to be doing any good. We all saw them go up in a bubble, and fall down. I got it on video. Someone else posted a video that I put on the main page. Apparently, Ladybug's hurt. I don't think Chat will do good without her. They're a duo, not a single act."

Mari cut in before either of them could spiral into worry. "Alya, I need you to use that LC Blog prestige that you might have. I think I found a way out."

She blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah," She points towards the stage. "There's a trapdoor under the stage. I'm going to go through it. If I don't come back in ten minutes, gather everyone up and start sending them through."

Alya nodded, a determined look on her face. Netta ran back to the stage and dropped in, climbing through and checking the empty building. Ten minutes later, the first boy, someone Mari recognized from school as Nathanael, climbed through. He gave her a shy smile as he passed. "Thank you."

She tilted her head at the blush coating his cheeks, but chalked it up to exertion and nervousness. Or maybe some hero worship. She's heard of that phenomenon before. "No problem! Happy to help!"

Soon, teens were flooding out from the park. Marinette directed them through back doors and alleys. In a few hours, most of the teens in Paris would be back at their homes.

"No!" Nino yells as Alya finishes checking the park, climbing back through. "No one wants to party?!"

Alya squeaked as Netta pushed her down behind the reception area, popping her head up to look around. Nino flew by, and she had a sudden, vile thought.

"Chat..?" Her voice was a mere whisper as she scanned the area. He wasn't there. Had he gotten trapped? Or hurt? Or-

Her breathing started to pick up, but she forced herself to calm. She would have felt it happen. Tikki would've felt it happen. Everything's fine…

That didn't stop the tears that welled in her eyes, wanting to be let out. Where was he? Where is he? Come on Adren…

"Hey, Bubbler!" Finally. From her spot, she could see him on a nearby roof. Nino looked over in his direction, and Chat grinned, before sticking out his tongue and turning around and jumping off the roof. Netta cracked a smile as Nino bursted off into his direction.

She turned to Alya. "Your house seems a little too close to this mess. You can crash at Adrien's and I's apartment."

Alya pursed her lips, eyebrows furrowing before a single one raises. "You guys live together? Are y'all..?"

Well, technically, thousands of years ago, they were betrothed, but that was mostly because they were the only two children of their village for over a decade. They never really minded it, and after they were blessed that just kind of fell away. So… yes, she guesses, but she guesses also no. "Just friends."

Ayla hums a tune of disbelief, but says no more.

They ended up on the rooftop, after a brief encounter with Nino caused Chat to set them up there. He left before Alya could get a word out of him. By the time they got to their apartment, Tikki was mostly healed again, thankfully.

"Mari." Alya said, a cautious note to her voice. "There's no roof access to your apartment."

…oh. Hmm…

She studies the gap between buildings. Mari the cat was dozing on their balcony, which was too high from the ground but too low to just vault to from the roof they're on. Netta's eyes land on the fire escape. She smiles.

"Hold on to my backpack, Alya." Before she could ask, Netta takes a step back, gets a running start, and jumps.

The fire escape is too far to land on, at least in this form. She grabs it instead, hand gripping the railing as her foot came into contact with the side of the building. She holds herself there, sure and steady. "Come on!"

"What the hell Marinette-!"

She couldn't blame Alya, it was close to a ten foot jump that she just easily cleared. Still, "I did a lot of gymnastics when I was younger." Is her excuse. "They said I was good. Now, come on! Grab my hand!"

Ayla bit her lip. Then she shrugged. "Heh, yolo, I guess."

Then, without another second of hesitation, she jumps.

Marinette can definitely see the Faro in her.

She catches her hand, grunting from the strain. What would have definitely dislocated a normal person's shoulder only made her's ache for a moment, a slight discomfort. She's resilient, and it seems Alya is a descendant, because she is too.

When her hand started slipping out of Marinette's grip, she hooks her free leg around the fire escape's railing, doing the same with her other so she had a free hand. Hanging upside down but with a better grip on Alya, they looked similar to traipse artists.

"I'm going to swing you over to the balcony, okay?" Marinette told her, already starting to sway before Alya could syke herself out of it. "Trust me, you'll be fine."

"There's not much I can do besides trust you now!" Alya's shaking, just a little, but she lets Marinette swing her back and forth. After a few swings, Marinette let's go, and Alya makes it the short distance over to their balcony, waking Mari in the process.

"That, was, awesome!" Alya's buzzed from the adrenaline. "I wish I got that on camera!"

Netta copies her smile, pulling herself onto the fire escape. "I'll be right back, I have to go find Adrien." And before Alya could protest, she got out of sight.

x-X-x

Her long disappearance was for the better, Nino wasn't prepared for her to reappear. She was able to pull the wand away from him quite easily, throwing it Adrien's way as she batted the indestructible bubbles out of the way.

Nino wailed the moment he lost the wand, diving towards it and Adrien. Netta got in the way, wrapping her yo-yo around his waist and pulling him back. The man struggled, trying to attack with obviously unskilled hands.

She swept his legs, and as he started to come back up he stopped, slumping on the ground. "Ladybug!"

She turned to find Chat nearby, holding dust in his hands. She twirled her yo-yo, letting it open and slinging it towards him. With a practiced ease, he let the dust fall into the yo-yo, and it snapped back to her right after he had emptied his hands of the destroyed akuma.

While Marinette hadn't used Lucky Charm at all during the battle, Chat seemed to think that doing it now would work fine, which he was right about. The bubbles and wreckage disappeared, the parents of Paris returning to their homes in a dazed state. Chat slunk into a nearby alley, and Marinette went to follow him after she found that Nino had already vanished, recovered from the akuma's effects faster than normal.

(It was still strange. Nino was obviously targeted- did this mean that Gabriel could push the boundaries on those he chose? Or did it have to do with who Nino was? Did it have to do with the fact that he was a descendant?)

She transformed back the moment she entered the alley, seeing Adrien leaning against the side of a brick building, Plagg on his shoulder. He's caked in sweat, exhausted, and Marinette feels a pang of guilt. "Adren? How are you?"

He groans, panting as he pulls himself up. "I'm fine, Netta." He assures, even as he puts an unconscious Plagg in his jacket pocket. "Just some complications. We're good."

Marinette didn't know whether or not to believe him. Still, she takes his words at face value. "Okay then. Let's go home, Alya's waiting."

Adrien tilts his head in confusion. Marinette giggles, grabs his hand and leads him home.


The LC Blog, because I believe in gender equality and that CHAT NOIR IS AN EQUAL FUC-