Earlier in the streets of Paris...

Rena Rouge soon found herself running towards Marinette's parents's Bakery Shop. She didn't want to freak anyone out, but they had to know what was going on. She couldn't go through the balcony door without it being awkward. It was too small for the both of them. She had to go through the entry way.

She noticed that no one was in the Bakery Shop. No customers around or anything like that.

Rena Rouge let out a sigh, knowing full well that she could enter with no trouble whatsoever. She soon entered the Bakery Shop, expecting them to gasp at the sight of their daughter in her arms. Once they spotted Marinette unconscious, they instantly ran over to her.

"Marinette!" Tom cried out.

"Al-... Rena Rouge, what happened?!" Sabine asked her.

"She kind of got caught in a fight with two thieves. It's hard to explain right now with her in my arms," Rena Rouge explained to them.

She didn't even need to explain anything to them as Sabine closed the Bakery Shop. They all headed upstairs and into their living room. Rena Rouge detransformed into Alya as she settled her best friend down onto the couch. Tom ran around the kitchen and bathroom, grabbing some things that might help his daughter. Sabine checked on her as Alya stood by to let her help out. After a few minutes of checking her, Sabine looked up at Alya.

"It's hard to say since she's unconscious, but do you have any idea what happened?" Sabine asked her.

"No idea. Tikki came to me and told me that Marinette needed some help. Then I found her unconscious on the ground," Alya explained to her.

Tikki floated out of Alya's pocket and towards Marinette. Sabine noticed how sad Tikki looked, and Alya wondered if she knew anything else that might help them out.

"Tikki, is there anything that you noticed? Anything at all?" Alya asked the Kwami.

"Well, Ladybug was fighting off the thieves. I could tell however that they were powerful than she expected. I don't know how exactly since she was transformed. Whatever it was, it clearly threw her off. I think I felt something hit her pretty hard as if it were strong enough to knock her out," Tikki explained to her, "Then the next thing I knew, she detransformed without even using her yo-yo. I think one of thieves broke it. She told me to find you, and she couldn't get up."

Alya and Sabine shared a shocked look as Tikki checked on her holder. Alya had never heard of a thief having that kind of power, at least not around here. Maybe in the other Japan, but not here in Paris. But then she remembered that Ember had a quirk. She wondered if this had anything to do with her. Then she pulled back a bit, knowing full well that she couldn't go around assuming things like this around here. Not when Ember needs help finding her way back home.

Alya didn't know what else to do, so she stayed with Marinette. She couldn't leave her like this, not when Marinette clearly needed her help. Tom soon came by with a bunch of stuff that might help or do nothing at all for her. Sabine tried to calm down Tom and soon sat down beside Marinette. Sabine grabbed some ibuprofen and grabbed a cup of water that Tom grabbed. She sat up her daughter carefully and gave her a couple of them just in case. She laid her back down, but she stirred a little from her swallowing something.

Marinette soon opened her eyes to see her Kwami, her best friend and her parents all around her. Tikki soon flew over to her and gave her a big hug on the cheek.

"Marinette! I was so worried," Tikki said with tears in her eyes, "You were knocked out cold from those thieves. Luckily Alya found you just in time."

Marinette looked up at her best friend, and Alya smiled at her. She didn't hesitate and gave her a big hug. Marinette winced, and Alya realized that she was hurt pretty badly.

"Sorry. I forgot that you were hurt pretty badly," Alya said to her, "What happened back there? Tikki told us, but didn't quite understand what happened."

Alya could tell that something clicked, and she almost launched out of her seat. Sabine gently pulled her back down so she wouldn't move around too much.

"Marinette. Be careful. You might have a concussion," Sabine said to her, "You can't be moving around so much."

Marinette thought about it some more, and Alya could tell that something was bothering her. She wanted to know what happened back there since she didn't quite understand what hurt her so badly. She hoped that this had nothing to do with Ember. If they had something like a quirk, then she worried that there was more going on than she initially thought.

Marinette clenched her fist and then touched her Miraculous as if something was going on with it. Alya could tell that something was bothering her, and she wondered if something was wrong with her Miraculous.

"Back there... one of the thieves had some sort of gauntlet," Marinette explained to them, "It reminded me of Izuku's. The way it looked and the way the thief fought with it was similar to it as well. Whatever it was, he said that people here are taking inspiration from them. I guess others are making inventions similar to their quirks and hero costumes here now. Whatever the case may be, clearly things might pick up around here soon even without HawkMoth or Chrysalis."

Alya's eyes widened, shocked to hear something like this coming from her. She didn't expect anything like this. Then again, she preferred this over anyone actually finding out about the portal or the other Japan. She let out a sigh, realizing that this probably had nothing to do with Ember.

"Well, at least Ember has nothing to do with this," Alya told her, "I really thought that she was involved with these thieves because of the power they used. They must've been tough to fight if they were using a gauntlet similar to Izuku's."

Marinette looked down at her fist, and Alya could tell that something happened back there. Something about this felt a little weird with her mom and dad here to talk to. Then again, she did explain things to them and how things worked with them as superheroes. They seemed to understand for the most part, but it was still weird to them.

"Marinette, honey. Are you okay?" Sabine asked her.

Marinette snapped out of it, and she locked eyes with Alya. Something about it felt like Marinette was hiding something from her. She could tell that something happened with her Miraculous. Alya worried about her and hoped that this wasn't anything for her to worry about.

"Marinette. Does this have anything to do with your Miraculous? You have to tell me," Alya said as she kneeled down to face her, "This is the Ladybug Miraculous we're talking about. You can't just hide this from me. It's important that we keep your Miraculous safe, especially without Cat Noir around."

Marinette looked up at Alya and something about her eyes looked lonely. She could tell that she missed Cat Noir that moment. Something about what happened with her Miraculous made her really miss him. Alya placed her hand on hers, supporting her as friend and teammate. Marinette looked at her, and Alya knew that something was going on with her.

"Alya... I..." Marinette trailed off for a moment, "I don't know how to put this, but... There's something going on with my Miraculous. This morning... I felt something... familiar. I thought... I thought that maybe it was... One for All coming back for a moment..."

Alya's eyes widened, not expecting her to bring up Midoriya's quirk. Even Sabine and Tom were a little shocked by this confession.

"Wait, isn't that Izuku's quirk that you borrowed for a little while?" Sabine asked her daughter.

"Yeah. It is," Marinette explained to them, "I felt something come over me. Like something happened with Izuku's quirk. It felt like me and Izuku had that connection again for a moment. It felt subtle and far away for a while there, but I couldn't do anything to activate it."

"Can you still feel it?" Alya asked her.

Marinette touched her earrings instinctively, and Alya noticed her looking a little distant for a moment there.

"No. I can't feel it anymore," Marinette said to her, "For some reason it's out of reach now. I can't even feel that subtle energy around me."

Alya felt a little disappointed since it would've been nice to have that kind of power around here. She was just glad that her best friend was okay however.

"We're just glad that you're okay sweetie," Sabine said to her.

Tom and Sabine gave her a hug, which made Marinette wince a little but she didn't seem to mind. Alya couldn't help but smile at them hugging and shared a moment with Tikki as the Kwami floated there. Once they stopped hugging, Alya wondered if she should go after the thieves. Marinette couldn't go do it with a mild concussion. She had to at least make sure that they were caught and taken into custody.

"Marinette. You should stay here. I'll go after the thieves," Alya said to her, "It's best that you stay here and get some rest."

Marinette's eyes widened in shock, and she almost stood up to stop her from leaving.

"Alya, no! You can't go after them by yourself," Marinette told her, "That gauntlet was stronger than you think. Besides, your kind of power won't do anything against them."

Alya smiled at like she knew how to handle two common thieves.

"Not unless you know how to handle them. Trixx, Let's Pounce!"

Alya suddenly transformed into Rena Rouge and turned towards the window. Before she could leave, Marinette grabbed her wrist. She looked back at her best friend who looked worried about her. She could tell that Marinette had trouble with these two. She didn't want the same thing to happen to her.

"Alya, please be careful," Marinette said to her.

Rena Rouge smiled at her and nodded with determination.

"Of course. I'll be back in a flash," Rena Rouge told her.

Marinette let go of her wrist, and Rena Rouge leaped through the window. She landed on the ground and made her way towards the area where those two thieves were. If she had to start anywhere, it was going to be around that same area where she found Marinette. She clenched her fists, frustrated that she let this happen to Marinette. Something about those thieves hurting her best friend made her really furious.

She had never felt this way before, especially since Marinette and her were finally getting things back to normal.

Rena Rouge launched across the street and soon found herself on top of a building. She ran across them and leaped towards that area. She could hear sirens going off, which made things easier for her. Once she caught up to the police cars, she stopped in her tracks for a moment. Rena Rouge noticed Sabrina's dad and policemen looking around for those thieves.

Rena Rouge could tell that they were lost and didn't exactly know where to look. She scanned the area and didn't see them anywhere nearby. It was still raining, enough for them to take cover so the paintings wouldn't get ruined. Rena Rouge then knew that they had to have entered a building or gone inside somewhere around here. If they really wanted to keep those paintings, they would've gone inside so they don't get damaged.

She looked around and figured that they wouldn't be stupid enough to hide around here. Rena Rouge scanned the area and figured that she'd have better luck finding them elsewhere. She decided to keep going and looked around the streets of Paris. There was nothing that stood out in particular. The area that they were in didn't have any place that was somewhere to hide. They wouldn't be stupid enough to break in just to keep the paintings dry.

They had to be somewhere abandoned and close by.

Then it clicked.

Rena Rouge whipped her head around as she stopped in her tracks. She looked in the direction that she thought about, knowing full well that it wasn't too far away. She didn't want to believe that they would actually go there. Then again, it was one of the only places that was abandoned around here. Everywhere else was either open, someone's house or apartment building. It was the perfect place to hide until the rain stopped.

She knew that she had to at least take a peek. As much as she didn't want to go back, she had to stop them. Rena Rouge gripped on her flute, ready to take care of things. She let out a sigh and ran in that direction. Rena Rouge was just glad that Chrysalis was gone, and they didn't have to do deal with her ever again.

Rena Rouge kept going, knowing full well where the abandoned lair was. It took a minute to get there and soon the rain was picking up a little more. She felt the rain hitting her face as she made her way over there. She soon spotted the abandoned lair and didn't see the thieves anywhere. Then again, they could already be inside.

She slowed down and soon made her way down there. She tried to be as stealthy as she could without making so much noise. It was pretty quiet over here away from traffic and city noises. She got her flute out at the ready just in case they were nearby. Rena Rouge wondered if she should've asked for backup. She couldn't even contact anyone without their Miraculous activated.

The only person that she could think of at the moment was Nino. She opened a slot that allowed her to use her flute as a phone and scrolled through her contacts. Unfortunately, they didn't tell her if they were activate or not. She had to guess. She spotted Carapace's number and called him. It rang, but it soon went to voicemail.

"Nino. I need you to come to the abandoned lair. Yes, Chrysalis's lair. I'll explain things later," Rena Rouge whispered to through her flute, "There's a couple of thieves that I could use some help turning them into the police. Just please get here as soon as you can."

Rena Rouge ended the voicemail and got back to what she was doing. She got closer to the abandoned lair and leaned into the wall. As she got closer to the entrance, she noticed a window cracked open. It was the same window that they noticed from a few days ago. Rena Rouge couldn't fly or float up to see what was going on. She quietly leaped up and grabbed onto the window.

Trying to be as quiet as she could, she hoisted herself up to look inside. Her eyes widened to see the thieves inside of the lair. She was right, they had taken shelter in this abandoned lair. She spotted the paintings as a lady took off her ski mask to look over them.

"That was really wreckless back there, Bryce," The young lady said to him, "That was Ladybug of all heroes. You couldn't have been just a little inconspicuous back there."

"Of course not. This is Ladybug we're talking about," Bryce said back with a smirk, "That insect deserved it. She's always getting in the way or making things worse for all of us. She brought back Gabriel, but left Chrysalis behind in Japan. Why couldn't she just leave him behind? He should've been locked up right away for everything that he's done to us. She doesn't know what the hell she's doing."

Rena Rouge clenched onto the window, feeling really frustrated at what he was saying. Something about what he said really irritated her to no end.

"Bryce. You need to shut up. Her teammates could show up at any minute," The young lady said to him, "Ladybug isn't dumb. She knows how to find us. She's dealt with a lot of villains before."

"You think I don't know that?" Bryce asked her, "Rylee. Don't you realize that something's going on with Ladybug and her teammates? They're keeping something from us. Something that has to do with those japanese exchange students. Whatever happened in Japan, clearly things didn't turn out how they expected. Hell, even their powers seem completely different compared to Ladybug's and her teammates's."

Rena Rouge's eyes widened in shock, realizing some people in Paris are probably talking about stuff like this. She hoped that these two weren't anything for her to worry about. If anything, she needed to stop them before they found out about that machine in there. She quietly landed on the ground and knew what to do.

She grabbed her flute and blew a few notes into it. Once she thought about what illusion to use, she slammed the flute onto the ground.

"Mirage!" Rena Rouge whisper yelled.

Soon enough, an illusion of smoke appeared inside of the lair. The two thieves were confused as to what was going on as Rena Rouge and a few of her teammates appeared before them. They looked like they were in shock, seeing them suddenly appearing out of no where.

"Give yourself up. We've caught you," Rena Rouge said to them.

The two thieves stood up, but Bryce didn't back down. Rylee looked at him like he was doing something really stupid.

"What's wrong with you? We need to get out of here now!" She cried out.

"No way. Not when I have these gauntlets," He said back as he showed them off, "There's no way I'm letting these heroes stop us. I need that money just as much as you do."

Rena Rouge was hoping that they'd back off or try to get away from them. Luckily Rylee stepped away from the paintings. Rena Rouge really wished that she could turn invisible right about now as she tried to sneak through the window without them noticing her. She quietly landed on the floor and walked by the machine. She ducked under it, hoping they wouldn't spot her. She had to act quickly since Bryce was about to throw a punch at the illusion.

She spotted the paintings on the floor and snuck over to them. Then she soon grabbed a painting, but noticed Bryce about it make contact with her illusions. Suddenly all of her teammates just disappeared right in front of them. He stood there, confused as to what just happened.

"Wh-What just happened?!" Bryce cried out, "They all just disappeared!"

Then Rylee turned around to see Rena Rouge carrying a painting.

"Hey! Give that back!" Rylee cried out as she reached out for it.

Rena Rouge was about to run off with it, when she suddenly came face to face with Bryce's gauntlet. She got hit, but just barely fortunately. It still hurt, but she managed to avoid getting hit the chest or stomach. She skidded across the floor and tried to stop herself from going flying. She held onto her flute, ready to call for backup. She looked around, hoping that Carapace will show up soon.

"Rena Rouge," Bryce said with a smirk, "Looks like you came alone. We'll make this quick."

Bryce got his gauntlet at the ready, but Rena Rouge heard her Miraculous beeping.

She knew that this fight wasn't going to turn out very well.

Another amazing chapter!

I really like this little moment with Rena Rouge. I like that Marinette is letting her handle these thieves. I actually really like Alya and Marinette's relationship a lot. I really do think they are great friends that look after each other. I especially like that Rena Rouge or Alya is going through something like this. It makes it more interesting to how she'd handle these sort of situations. She's really fun to write, especially since she wasn't in the sequel that much. Now she's going to have to deal with these weird gauntlets. By the way, one of the thieves is a reference to Bryce Papenbrook who is Cat Noir's voice actor.

What's going to happen next??

More to come soon!