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Chapter Text

Mayfly

Chapter 1: Dark Moth

"Tikki, spots on!"

The transformation washed over her, giving her the boost of energy she desperately need.

The current akuma, Dark Moth, was exactly what they expected. They had been prepared, and had the upper hand - something that had yet to change, even as the battle dragged on.

The problem was simple - Dark Moth had all the powers of the previous akumas, including Sapotis. That meant that until Markov could locate the original Dark Moth with the akuma, he could keep multiplying. Ladybug wouldn't say that they were overwhelmed, but she had used enough lucky charms to detransform, even with their new power-up.

Leaving her hiding place behind, Ladybug flew up and landed on a roof. She activated one of her super cool upgrades - a ladybug drone, which lived on the top of her yo-yo until she needed it - and sent it to do surveillance. Tikki the Second, as Plagg had started calling it, flew away with a mechanical grace.

"Markov, are you tapped in?" Ladybug asked.

"Affirmative, Ladybug," Markov said. "Dark Moth Prime is still in hiding, but Lis Tigre and Pigmy could use help. Sending location now."

Ladybug watched the location come up on her yo-yo, and flew in that direction.

She loved having wings.

It wasn't the only bonus of her new upgrades - she now, finally, had pockets, foot support, and even some armor. Her yo-yo could now change to a staff or shield, and the drone was a big bonus.

Lis Tigre and Pigmy were near the Seine, fighting a Dark Moth with Stormy Weather's powers. He was forcing them to dodge lightning strikes, and using wind gusts to throw their attacks of balance. Pigmy's weapon - a ribbon wand - and been thrown into the river.

"Pigmy, Lis Tigre, I'm coming in," Ladybug said over the comms before folding her wings back and diving at the Dark Moth.

Like Sapotis, the Dark Moths disappeared when whacked in the location of the akuma - this time, a silver bracelet on his right wrist. Ladybug changed her yo-yo to a staff and used her downward momentum to ram it into the bracelet, shattering it and making the Dark Moth disappear.

She tucked and rolled to soften the landing, her wings shifting to protect her neck.

"Flying looks so fun!" Pigmy said.

With her nearly all pink outfit, it was easy to Rose behind the mask. She definitely had adapted quickly to the pig miraculous, proving quickly she had been the right choice.

"I definitely enjoy it," Ladybug admitted. "You two okay?"

Lis Tigre nodded. "We're fine. Thanks for the save."

Even with her mask, Lis Tigre never looked like she was hiding the same way Juleka did. She was absolutely stunning with her hair pulled back, and Ladybug was hoping Juleka would pick up the habit in her civilian life, too.

"Look out!" Pigmy tackled Lis Tigre, and Ladybug dodged off to the side.

A boat slid into the pavement where the three superheroes had been standing. It vanished a second later, revealing Stampede behind it.

"Sorry!" Stampede apologized with a wince. "It's hard to aim something so big."

To Ladybug, her words were in fluent French - that was part of the magic of the miraculous, translating automatically and hiding Sadie's British/American accent.

"Stampede, there is a metal giant by the school," Markov said. "Ladybug, the dragon has regenerated."

Ladybug groaned. "Again?"

She kicked off, spreading her wings and taking to the skies. The dragon was easy to spot, and since Ladybug had already dealt with it twice, easy to defeat.

The dragon vanished, and Ladybug landed on a roof to catch her breath.

Her ears barely caught the sound of an arrow being released, and she turned towards the sound.

Kota jumped in front of her, catching the arrow with ease. The magic died in her hands.

She flipped the arrow around and shot it at a Dark Moth like a dart, forcing him to dodge.

"Nice save!" Ladybug said.

"Thanks," Kota said.

Ladybug wrapped the Dark Moth with her yo-yo and yanked him towards them. He landed roughly on the roof top, and Kota broke his bracelet.

"Need help!"

"Requesting help with an akuma."

"I've got the first one," Ladybug said. "You help Pegasus."

Kota nodded, and they ran off in opposite directions.

A few allies Ladybug found Bunnyx and Viperion fending off a Dark Moth, Bunnyx barely avoiding being cataclysm and Viperion close to detransforming.

Ladybug dove and kicked the Dark Moth in the face, sending him backwards. Bunnyx used the hook of her umbrella to grab his ankle, flipping him onto his back. With a stomp, Ladybug broke his bracelet, and he vanished.

"Thanks," Viperion said. "He was really becoming a problem."

"You okay?" Ladybug asked.

Viperion nodded. "Yeah. Just need to recharge - Sass is probably exhausted. Scales slither."

He detransformed, and Luka leaned his head back against the wall.

"Let me know if you need anything else," Ladybug said.

Luka shot her a thumbs up, and Ladybug flew off.

"Markov?" Ladybug asked.

"Looks like everything is under control," Markov reported.

Ladybug paused, mid-air, and watched the fights below. It didn't look controlled, but it was obvious who had the upper hand.

A burst of pride swelled in Ladybug's chest.

She checked her yo-yo, where she could see her drone camera. She watched for a moment, waiting to see where she was needed.

Turned out she didn't the camera, because Roi Singe went flying through the air.

Ladybug dove towards him, catching him before he landed, and gently put him back down.

"Are you okay?" Ladybug asked.

"Yep," Roi Singe. "Just - uh, got launched by the mime."

"Oh, he's fun," Ladybug replied.

"The two illusionists are back," Markov reported.

"Why don't you wreck havoc with them," Ladybug suggested. "I'll handle the mime."

Roi Singe nodded. "I've got them."

The Mime was close to the bakery, miming... something. It was hard to tell exactly what he was trying to do - not that it mattered.

Ladybug landed behind him. "Dark Moth! Is that the best you've got?"

The Dark Moth turned towards her with a scowl. "Ladybug. You-"

Ladybug didn't let him finished, snapping her yo-yo out and breaking the bracelet.

"Incoming!"

A portal opened above Ladybug, forcing her to move out of the way as a stream of water roared down. A Dark Moth with a mermaid tail fell onto the ground, and second later Pegasus landed next to him, easily breaking the bracelet. Kota landed beside Pegasus, soaking wet.

"Good job you two," Ladybug said.

Kota beamed, and Pegasus smiled.

"We have another water akuma in the Seine," Markov reported. "Ladybug, Ryuko needs backup."

"Round two?" Kota asked.

"Same plan," Pegasus replied.

"Send me Ryuko's location," Ladybug replied. "And tell her I'm on the way."

Markov obliged, and Ladybug took off to help Ryuko.

Ryuko was surrounded by knights. She was handling them admirably, disarming one after the other, but until the Dark Moth - who, of course, was not in the fighting - the knights would not stay down.

"Don't worry about Ryuko."

Ladybug turned towards her partner, posed on the edge of a nearby rooftop.

"I can handle this," Chat Noir finished. He spun his baton in his hands before leaping down.

Ladybug watched them for moment, but the two were nearly unstoppable together.

"You know, you aren't the only hero who can fly around looking cool."

Ladybug turned and quirked her eyebrow at Queen Bee, who was fluttering behind her.

"We're running out of villains to fight," Ladybug said.

"Sounds like the opposite of problem," Queen Bee replied.

"Queen Bee, could you please freeze this guy?" Roi Singe asked.

"No problem," Queen Bee replied, easily turning to head in that direction.

A strange orange mist filled the street, and Ladybug landed on the rooftop to investigate.

What was that? It didn't match with anyone's powers, except for -

Ladybug caught something moving. It was invisible, except for the fact that the mist disappeared as it moved.

The figure turned away from the mist, smacking right into Rena Rouge. With a swift chop from her flute, the Dark Moth vanished.

Ladybug landed next to Rena Rouge.

"Nice thinking," she said.

Rena Rouge grinned. "Thanks."

"Everyone's doing such a good job, I don't know what to do," Ladybug admitted.

"I could use some help!"

Ladybug turned to see Carapace trading blows with a Dark Moth with four arms.

"L-"

"I've got this, LB," Rena Rouge said. "Mirage!"

The mirage engulfed the Dark Moth. Ladybug couldn't tell what it was, except that a second later, Carapace had destroyed the bracelet.

"Thanks babe," Carapace said.

"Anytime."

"Ladybug, your drone has found him," Markov said. "Hiding under the Eiffel Tower."

"Great," Ladybug replied. "Give me ten seconds."

She kicked off into the air and zoomed towards the Eiffel Tower. It was easy to locate Dark Moth, now that Ladybug knew what to look.

"It's over," Ladybug announced, landing behind the Dark Moth.

"Not quite yet," Dark Moth replied.

Ladybug rolled her eyes. He wasn't even armed.

The bracelet broke easily, and Ladybug quickly purified the akuma.

"That took a total of thirty seconds," Markov reported.

"Close enough," Ladybug responded. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: The New Normal

Sadie woke before dawn, tired and sore.

She didn't like waking before dawn, but it was a habit from the Brooklyn house she had yet to break. There, she had to wake early - to make sure everyone had breakfast, lunch packed, homework done, and that she herself was prepared for school.

It was one of the reasons Amos wanted her to take the opportunity to spend time in Paris.

She needed the break from all the responsibility, plus she was still jealous of all the traveling Carter got to do. There were, of course, other, more important reasons, like the fact that her good mortal friend Lacy was actually a demigod and somehow managed to become a superhero during the short period she lived in Paris how did that even happen?

(Then again, Sadie was pretty sure the mansion next door to the Brooklyn house had been destroyed by cows last summer, so nothing really surprised her anymore.)

Stompp, the ox kwami, didn't seem to mind to early morning, and trailed behind Sadie as she heated up breakfast.

"To be fair," Sadie said. "I am a lot less sore than after most battles."

"The Miraculous do prevent some soreness," Stompp replied.

"I wish I found you long ago," Sadie said. "I could've used that extra power boost with the whole apocalypse thing."

Her phone beeped, distracting her from her train of thought. She immediately checked - could be Carter, or Zia, and something might have gone wrong - and a notification for the Ladyblog popped up.

What was Alya doing up this early - or had she gone to bed at all?

Alya and Sadie weren't very close, so Sadie didn't feel the need to question her over her sleeping choices. Instead, she clicked the notification and scanned the article.

It was just a summary of the battle last night. Alya had gone over the appearance of the three new heroes, the change in outfit for several heroes, the new nickname for Mayura - Mayfly, a combination of Mayura and butterfly, her current miraculous. At the end of the article were several fan-submitted photos from the battle.

Nothing Sadie didn't already know, but the photos were cool.

It was close to midnight in Brooklyn, and her old class's group chat and the Brooklyn house group chat where still active. Lacy was up divulging the newest Paris secrets of fashion to one of her old classmates - Sadie noped out of that conversation. Fashion wasn't her thing, or at least popular fashion trends. Carter and Clio were spamming the Brooklyn house group chat with niche Egyptian memes, most of which were, admittedly, hilarious.

Sadie would never admit to laughing at one of Carter's jokes, but alone in the kitchen in the morning, she could laugh.

The "saviors of the world" group chat Annabeth added her to was discussing horse care, which Sadie has no interest in. Her current class's group chat has gone from Nino scolding Alya for staying up so late to Chloe scolding Nino for using the group chat for that, to Alix yelling at everyone for waking her up.

After eating breakfast, Sadie laid out what her host family would need for breakfast.

"You don't have to do that."

Sadie glanced behind her to see Tidir. She looked like she just rolled out of bed, with her shirt brown hair all over the place, and eyelids fluttering shut.

"You're up early," Sadie commented.

Tidir sighed. "The entire reason you're living here and not at the nome is so you can relax."

"I know," Sadie said. "But I'm up, and my homework's done, so it's not a big deal."

"Sadie," Tidir replied. "Go take a nice shower or something, leave the housework to me."

"Fine," Sadie relented. "A shower does sound nice."

It was true that she was staying with a host family, instead of at the Paris house on the other side of the city, and that part of the reason it was offered was so that Sadie didn't end up just taking on responsibility. But Sadie herself had only chosen to stay here so she could go to the same school as Lacy, the only person in Paris she had known beforehand, and with most of her new superhero teammates.

Tidir smiled and waved Sadie away, taking over the preparation.

The apartment was decently sized - since Tidir was fostering two young magicians by herself, the Paris House of Life had agreed to help pay rent so that she could afford a nice place. The bottom floor had a nice living room, kitchen, and Sadie's room as well as a small bathroom near the living room and one between the two bedrooms.

Tidir's bedroom, as well as her two foster sons' bedrooms, was upstairs. Upstairs also had a nice loft with a large window a few bookcases, but Sadie never used it. She loved the view the apartment had, even though she didn't have a balcony like almost all of her classmates did, but she just wasn't a cuddling nook type person.

The shower felt great on her sore muscles, and she still had enough time to leisurely get ready. Sadie threw on her favorite pair of black jeans, and a black sweatshirt, and her favorite pair of combats boots, and even had time to put on a bit of makeup.

"You're going to roast in that," Tidir commented, as Sadie gathered her homework from the kitchen table (her grandparents would have never let her get away with leaving papers on the table, but they weren't here).

"It's only what, 20 degrees?" Sadie replied. "I'll be fine."

Since she was wearing her Chat Noir sweatshirt, Sadie couldn't resist grabbing cat ears to go with. In Brooklyn, they would look weird, but Paris was slowly being taken over by hero-related accessories, like cat ears, fake tails, spots, and scales.

Sadie didn't usually wear things because they were popular, but she was too much of a cat person to resist. The Chat Noir outfit incidentally matched the green - once purple - streaks running through her hair, making her look like a super fan instead of just a cat person.

After grabbing snacks from the fridge - including celery, Stompp's favorite food, and a piece of cheese to hide in her sweater - Sadie was ready to go.

"Ready?"

Kagami was up and ready, looking as usual like a star student in a black sweater, black pleated skirt and red shirt.

Sadie nodded. "Let's go."

The walk to school was long, and Sadie would have preferred not walking, but Kagami and Stompp had teamed up on her to convince her to walk. It wasn't tiring - Sadie wasn't an athlete but she was forced to be fit - but that didn't mean it preferable to sitting. Plus, Kagami walked fast.

"You don't have to rush," Sadie said, struggling to keep up.

"I am not rushing," Kagami replied. "This is simply how I walk."

"Well, walk slower," Sadie complained.

They arrived at school early, as usual - Kagami liked being early, and Sadie enjoyed having the time to talk to her classmates. Kagami stopped at the steps of the school, saying she was meeting a friend, and Sadie continued in.

The usual group of early students were in the classroom. Lacy, Kim, Max, Alix, and Rose were clustered on one side of the room, talking faster than Sadie could understand in French. Lacy and Rose waved enthusiastically when Sadie entered.

Sadie slid up on the desk next to where Lacy perched.

"Quite a fight yesterday," she said, stretching her arms for emphasis.

"I know," Lacy said, slowing down her French a little so it was easier for Sadie to catch. "But it was worth the extra day to complete that science essay."

"That's due today?" Kim asked.

"Uh, yeah?" Alix replied.

"Oops."

"It's pretty easy," Rose said. "Just a review of lab safety."

"Again," Alix complained.

"Did you manage to complete the assignment, Sadie?" Max asked. "Or did you need help with the French?"

"Actually, Mendeleev is letting me do my homework in English," Sadie replied. "She says understanding the content is more important."

"Mendeleev is surprising like that," Lacy agreed. "She seems super strict with science, but she's also really lenient when it comes to writing. Which is amazing."

"She's still really scary," Rose admitted.

Alix shrugged. "Teachers like her have worse barks than bites."

"I wouldn't call her scary," Kim agreed. "But she's definitely not as cool as Bustier."

Rose perked up, signaling Juleka's arrival. Juleka slid onto the bench next to her girlfriend, the two hugging quickly.

Alix made a face. "Eugh."

"Have you seen the pictures Alya posted?" Rose asked, speaking mostly to Juleka.

Juleka nodded. "They're pretty good."

"You looked really cool in some of them," Lacy added.

Juleka blushed. "Thanks."

"Okay, but I looked awesome too," Sadie added.

"Yes, you did," Lacy replied.

"We're superheroes, we all looked cool," Alix declared.

"Totally," Kim agreed.

"Cheese!"

If Plagg was any bigger, he would have knocked Sadie over as he flew for the hidden cheese in her sweatshirt. As is, he still managed to startle her - she hadn't heard Adrien arrive.

Sadie chuckled, bringing out the cheese for the kwami.

"Morning!" Rose chimed, waving enthusiastically as Adrien and Nino entered the room.

Adrien made a face at Sadie. "You spoil him too much."

"No she doesn't," Plagg replied, already having finished the cheese. "She appreciates me."

Adrien sighed.

"So, how late was Alya up last night?" Alix asked.

Nino sighed. "I don't know. Way too late. You know how she gets when she's focused."

"Morning!" Mylene said, coming in behind the boys. "Bustiers on her way up."

"Morning!" Lacy replied. "Orikko, time to hide."

Orikko, who was hiding up above the whiteboard, flew down to Lacy and ducked into her bag.

Xuppu, who had been doing laps around the classroom, also ducked into Kim's school bag. Plagg flew back into Adrien's giant sweatshirt.

Bustier entered seconds later, greeting the class with a warm good morning.

"Who's up to yelling at Alya?" Marinette asked as she walked into class. "She said she got an hour of sleep last night."

"It's not that big of a deal," Alya complained, following behind her. "Besides, did you see those pictures?"

"Morning," Bustier greeted, ignoring Marinette's question.

Marinette wasn't surprised to see that she and Alya were the last to arrive - the two had been caught up in a conversation with Kagami. The rest of the class was all in clusters, engaged in whatever conversations they were having.

"I gave up on that long ago," Nino said. "Alya will do what she wants."

"Agreed," Alya replied.

"Alright, everyone, let's settle down," Bustier called.

Marinette and Alya took their seats - Alya next to Nino and Marinette on the other side at the front. The class seating had been rearranged again, since they had a new student.

At first, Sadie had taken the seat next to Lacy, and Alix had moved to the back next to Nathaniel. But both of those had turned out to be horrible ideas, and only an hour later Bustier had to ban Sadie and Lacy from sitting together and Alix and Nathaniel from sitting together. So Sadie had moved to sit next to Adrien, the only other student fluent in English.

That meant Nino had to move, and since he wasn't allowed to sit in the back, he had moved next to Alya. But no one wanted to kick Marinette to the back again, especially since Bustier was worried she couldn't hear, so Chloe had offered up her seat.

Sabrina had wanted to sit next to Marinette, so Chloe moved next to Mylene and Ivan next to Nathaniel.

Marinette was just glad they had finally figured it out. Seating shouldn't cause as much drama as it had for their class.

As Marinette sat down, she scanned the classroom to make sure her classmates were okay after the battle yesterday. She had already checked in with Kagami and Luka earlier, but had hoped she would have time to check in with the rest of the class.

Nearly everyone was dressed for summer. Sabrina was wearing a white shirt with just enough sleeve to pass the dress code, a lacy top half, and a peasant-style neckline, with black denim shorts and black Toms. Since she wasn't in the official superhero loop, yesterday hadn't been as major as it was to most of the class.

Behind them, Lacy and Alix were as restless as normal. Lacy had started pinning her braid up, to keep her neck cooler, and her cheeks were still red from her morning patrol. Alix's hair dye was starting to fade out, and she had ditched the long-sleeve undershirt and only wore a short-sleeve workout top. If yesterday had any affect on her, she wasn't showing it.

Kim was extra energetic that day. He had finally shed his favorite red sweatshirt, showing off a Ryuko fan shirt underneath. Max was dressed as usually in a short-sleeve button up, but he had left it partially unbuttoned and more ruffled than usual. He looked tired, but nothing more than that.

Juleka had recently cut her hair, so it now barely touched her shoulders, and shaped it so it no longer hid half her face. She still hid behind the bangs,e ven today when she was beaming. Unlike most of the class, the hot weather hadn't affected her and she still wore torn black jeans and a black short sleeve turtleneck. Rose was wearing a pink short-sleeve sundress over gold leggings, looking and acting like her normal self.

On the other side of the classroom, Nathaniel and Ivan were quietly sitting next to each other. In front of them, Chloe was exaggerating every time she yawned, which gave the impression she wasn't as tired as she said. Mylene was watching her, mainly with amusement.

Alya looked like death warmed up, in her oversized Ladybug t-shirt and messy hair. Nino was acting a tad more tired than normal, but was otherwise unaffected. Marinette still didn't know Sadie well enough to tell how she was doing.

And then there was Adrien.

He dealt with his father's arrest as best as he could, but it was obvious it was catching up to him. His appearance was slipping - for the first few days he had done his best to still look like the model he had been, but now his hair was messy and uncombed. He slumped in his black sweatshirt, and bags drooped beneath his eyes.

Adrien was still living with Nino's family as the doctors did their best to figure out what was wrong with his mom. Nino told Marinette that Adrien was keeping up with his therapy sessions, but at the moment they didn't seem to helping.

Bustier ran them through their usual morning routine before moving on to announcements.

"The school has decided that due to the added stress this semester, there will be no final exams," Bustier announced.

Wait for it.

"Instead, there will be a small project for each of you to do," she finished.

There it is.

"What if we prefer tests over projects?" Max asked.

"I assure you, this project is much better than a test," Bustier replied. "You will choose one topic that interests you, and present on how history, literature, math, and science all play a role in this subject. Me Damocles has asked that students don't work together or do the same subject as someone in their class. Marinette, I assume you want to do fashion?"

"Yes please," Marinette replied.

"Ooh, can I do photography?" Lacy asked.

"Kim, I'll arm-wrestle you for rights to do sports."

"You're on!"

"Kim, Alix, how about you do different aspects of sports?" Bustier suggested.

The class continued to call out different suggestions, Bustier mediating whenever two students wanted the same subject.

"And that just leaves Juleka and Adrien," Bustier announced.

"I could do musical instruments," Juleka suggested.

"Sounds good," Bustier replied. "Adrien?"

"Oh, uh..."

Nino whispered something into Adrien's ear that made him smirk. Sadie also leaned in and whispered something that got him to chuckle, but Adrien seemed at a lost for real ideas.

"Maybe Adrien could do keyboard instruments and I could do brass?" Juleka suggested.

Adrien relaxed at the suggestion. "Sounds good."

"Alright, now that that's over with-"

Somewhere along the way, Sadie had learned responsibility (eugh), so after class she immediately started brainstorming for her project.

How to tie in math and science into theater?

Lacy bumped into Sadie's shoulder, dragging her attention away from her google search.

"Where are you off to?"

"Grabbing something to eat before patrol," Sadie replied. "Any suggestions?"

"Ooh, Marinette's bakery," Lacy replied.

"I've already tried that - I want something new."

"But you won't find anything better," Lacy replied. "I'll see you later, I'm watching Kim's swim meet."

"Get good pictures!" Sadie called as Lacy walked away.

Lacy did have a point. The Dupain-Cheng bakery was good. As much as Sadie liked exploring new foods, the allure of the promise of good foods was too much to resist, and she headed to the bakery.

Marinette's back was just disappearing as Sadie entered, and her mom smiled at her from the counter.

"You're the new foreign exchange student, right?" She asked.

"Yep," Sadie replied. She stumbled through her order in French, as Mrs Dupain Cheng waited patiently.

A minute later, she had her food and was heading out the door.

And that's when Sadie saw the girl sitting by the window.

She looked strangely familiar, but it took Sadie a minute to place her. And once she did, she just had to talk to her.

Sadie approached the table and, without bothering to introduce herself, spoke.

"Aren't you the girl who's house was run over by cows?"

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Rose of Steel

The girl looked up at Sadie with surprise. "That wasn't on the news."

"But it happened," Sadie replied. "I saw it happen. Last summer."

The girl looked over Sadie. "Wait - aren't you the girl who lived next door?"

Sadie frowned. The girl shouldn't have been able to see the house, much less recognize Sadie from it.

"Yes?" Sadie replied.

"I knew I'd meet someone interesting today," the girl replied. "But you can't stay long. Let me give you my phone number." She scribbled something on a clean napkin and handed it Sadie.

"Thanks," Sadie replied. "Who-"

Her phone beeped. Akuma alert.

"See you later," the girl said.

"I got the best idea for the project," Marinette said, spinning her chair.

"Tell me," Alya prodded from the other end of the phone call.

"Edna Mode," Marinette replied. "She used science to create fashion. The Incredibles takes place in the past - and it ties into literature because the first superhero was in a book."

"Sounds perfect!" Alya replied.

Marinette's phone beeped.

"Akuma alert," she read.

"Looks like I'll be using that babysitting backup," Alya said.

One of the benefits of everyone knowing each other's identities was setting up backups for akuma attacks. For instance, Mylene had volunteered as an emergency babysitter, something that Alya would need now since she was supposed to be watching her sisters.

"I'll see you there," Alya said, hanging up.

Another nice change - Marinette didn't feel like she had to rush.

Under her bed she had a white board calendar she designed to keeping up with superhero shifts. They had separated into three main categories - heroes expected to respond immediately during a certain time, heroes that could be backup, and heroes that only could be called in an emergency. Right then, Kim was at a swim meet, and Sadie, Alya, Nino, and Lacy were expected to be responding. Plus Marinette and Adrien, of course.

"Tikki, spots on!"

By the time Kota arrived, Chat Noir and Carapace were already there, watching the attack from the rooftop.

Unlike Kota, both Chat Noir and Carapace had gained a new outfit after Hawkmoth's defeat. Now, Chat Noir's hair turned black when he transformed. He no longer had a bell on his throat, and instead green lightning cracks spread across his top. Carapace's outfit hadn't changed much, but the hoodie was a rougher and thicker material.

"What's up?" Kota asked.

"It's Sabrina's mom," Carapace replied.

"Apparently Dark Moth got to Officer Raincomprix," Chat Noir nodded. "He's healed, but-"

"Oh."

"I can't figure out what her powers are specifically-" Carapace continued.

"She's stabbing things," Rena Rouge said, landing behind them. She also had an updated outfit - an orange top with a white breast plate and shoulder armor, black elbow pads, and black gloves. She had an orange scarf around her waist, thick black leggings with orange kneepads, and black boots with white lining.

"She's calling herself Steel Rose," Rena Rouge explained, "and is covered in thorns that launch at anyone who gets near. She's grown Weredad-like rose vines all over her apartment to protect Sabrina and her husband."

"Should we try to get them out?" Carapace asked.

"Our first job should be getting Steel Rose away from the civilians," Rena Rouge replied.

"Sports arena," Chat Noir suggested.

"I can lure her with my mirages, but I'll have to duck out immediately to recharge."

"Sounds good," Ladybug said over their earpieces. "Stampede and I will meet you at the arena. Chat, Cara, don't use your powers unless absolutely necessary. Kota, if you want to stay to get Sabrina and her dad out, feel free."

"Got it," Chat Noir said.

"I'll try," Kota said.

"Wait until I say Steel Rose is out of range," Ladybug told her. "Rena, go."

"Got it. Mirage!"

The mirage Steel Rose lured away, Rena Rouge staying right behind. Chat Noir and Carapace followed, making sure none of Steel Rose's wild shots hit any civilians.

"Kota, you're good to go," Ladybug said.

"Got it," Kota replied.

She launched herself off of the rooftop and landed on the street. From there, she could see the apartment building and how thick the rose vines were.

How am I supposed to get through that?

Kota circled the building before spotting a window on the third floor that had a decent-size gap. It was easy to climb up to it, and once there she just had to kick the window in.

"Sabrina's apartment should be the one next to that."

Kota startled, nearly slipping off her perch.

Queen Bee snorted. "You still startle too easily."

"I know, I know," Kota replied. "I'll bring them out and you fly them down?"

"Sounds good," Queen Bee replied.

Kota slipped through the hole and into the building. It was unnaturally dark, and way too quiet, and the stillness was stifling.

"Sun beam!" Kota called, and her powers flickered on, illuminating the space.

Everyone else seemed to have evacuated, so Kota headed directly to Sabrina's apartment. The inside door was also covered in vines, and Kota ended up having to whack at them with her kite.

Eventually, she pushed the door open, and stepped into the apartment.

"Sabrina? Officer Raincomprix?" Kota called, stepping in.

"Over here!"

Kota followed the voice, finding Sabrina and her dad in the living room, surrounded by more rose vines.

Kota looked over the vines, trying to figure out how to break through. Eventually she shrunk her kite, stuck it between two vines, and extended it.

"Thank you!" Sabrina said, crawling out first and giving Kota a big hug.

"Uh, you're welcome?" Kota replied. "Queen Bee is waiting outside to take you to safety, I'll show you the way out."

Ladybug flew above the battle, watching Rena Rouge's mirage lead Steel Rose to the stadium. Chat Noir and Carapace were right behind, and Stampede was already at the stadium.

Knowing who she had to work with, Ladybug could begin planning.

"Come out, come out, Ladybug!" Steel Rose called. "Let me give you what you deserve for not protecting my husband."

For an akuma, Steel Rose was beautiful. She had a steel-color billowing dress with spikes down the sleeves that could shoot out with scary accuracy. Her hair was pulled up into a bun, still its usual red color, and a matching rose was on her neck.

"I bet her choker is the akumatized object," Ladybug guessed.

"Seconded," Rena Rouge replied.

"Sabrina and her dad are safely out," Kota reported. "Queen Bee is heading to the stadium, I'll be there once I've recharged."

Queen Bee. She was a good addition to the team - necks were hard to get to, so Ladybug was thankful for the use of venom.

"Did you use your powers yet Bee?" Ladybug asked.

"Negative, Ladybug" Queen Bee replied.

"Good. Carapace, once everyone's in the stadium, can you do a shelter big enough to keep everyone in? I don't want spikes flying outside."

"You've got it," Carapace replied.

"Rena, make sure you duck out before Cara uses his shelter," Ladybug said. "Stampede, are you ready?"

"I was born ready," Stampede replied. "But yes."

They reached the stadium just as Rena Rouge's timer timed out.

Alya ducked to a hiding place as Ladybug, Carapace, and Chat Noir landed. Queen Bee was already there, and she and Stampede joined them on the field. A few moments later, Kota landed next to them.

"Shelter!"

Steel Rose observed the shield. "That's not going to help you if I'm in here with you."

"Maybe not," Ladybug said. "But we don't need help. Lucky charm!"

Steel Rose yelled, aiming her spikes at the heroes. Kota leaped to the front, expanding her kite to fend off the spikes.

The lucky charm - a compact tent set - fell into Ladybug's hands.

"Get her to turn around!" Ladybug said. She changed her yo-yo to a shield to protect herself as the heroes diverged around her.

Carapace and Chat Noir went one way, Stampede and Kota the other. Queen Bee pushed off, staying in the sky above and waiting for her chance. Steel Rose spun and moved, making it hard to pin her down.

But there was one weakness that would be easy to hit.

Ladybug pulled the tent stakes out of the kit and peaked over her shield. She grabbed one in her hand and, when Steel Rose was distracted, smacked into into the ground on the train of her dress.

She used her shield to make sure it got good into the ground before retreating.

Steel Rose kept moving, tangling her dress up, until eventually she was prevented from moving.

"Queen Bee!" Ladybug called.

At the same time, Queen Bee yelled "Venom!"

With Steel Rose completed focused on her dress, Queen Bee was easily able to hit her with her top. Steel Rose froze.

Ladybug easily approached and grabbed the rose. "It's made of steel, like I thought. This is what I need your cataclysm for."

She tossed the rose to Chat Noir, who nodded.

"Cataclysm!"

"Sabrina's moving."
It didn't come as much a surprise, when Lacy whispered it to Sadie the next day in class, after the previous akuma and learning about what happened to her dad. Most families would be looking for a way out of Paris.

"When?" Sadie asked.

"Today," Lacy replied. "She's not even getting a chance to come to class again."

"That sucks," Sadie said.

"Chloe's taking the day off to help her pack," Lacy added. "And Marinette will probably organize something later. You know, so she knows we'll miss her. It's just rough. But Sabrina doesn't have many friends outside Chloe, and even that's a little - well, you know - so maybe this will be good for her."

"How'd they find a place so soon?" Adrien asked, sliding in his seat next to Sadie.

"Staying with family, I think," Lacy said. "Her mom's work is giving her pay for whatever sick time she had off, since they feel like she's being forced away, but her dad isn't getting anything."

"Mayor Bourgeois has to start treating his employees better," Alya said.

Sadie glanced back at her, surprised she had been listening to the conversation.

Adrien frowned. "Problems with your mom?"

"No, just in general," Alya answered. "We need a new mayor."

"The only person to run against him in years is stuck in the Middle Ages," Nino said. "Not exactly an upgrade."

"Ugh, politics," Sadie complained. "Makes my faith in humanity hurt."

"Bourgeois and Hawkmoth are the same breed," Alya commented. "Both incompetent who shouldn't be trusted with a pet rock, much less a business or city."

"Father is competent," Adrien said. "Just, not as a terrorist."

"Or as a father," Nino muttered.

"Neither is Audrey Bourgeois," Lacy said. "Ugh, she bothers me so much! And don't get me started on the rich parents I know about in America."

"It has been my goal in life to punch Gabriel Agreste in his face," Nino added. "And he had to ruin that by going out like a wimp."

Simultaneously, everyone's phone went off.

"Akuma alert," Alya announced. "Let's Go."

"Uhhh, what about class?" Nino asked.

"What about it?" Sadie asked.

"You know, it's important," Nino explained.

"We'll come up with an excuse later," Alya replied. "Trixx, let's pounce!"

Sabrina was not happy.

She wasn't a picky person, but she did like having more than few hours warning of her life being completely changed. Her mother and father wasn't hearing it, though, and Chloe was still a few minutes away.

Sabrina sighed, leaning back on her bed. Paris was her life - how was she supposed to just move?

Her parents didn't seem to care. If anything, she felt completely invisible.

Hello, Vanisher.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Vanisher

The fight had only been going on for about five minutes when Ladybug had messaged "all brains on deck." Not many of the heroes were confident with strategy, but those who could still transformed.

"Invisibility is my power!" Lis Tigris complained as she and Pigmy headed towards the fight.

"Actually, Vanisher was akumatized before you received your miraculous," Pegasus chimed in over the comms.

"So why can't we defeat her like we did with Dark Moth?" Pigmy asked.

"Power upgrade," Ladybug replied. "I don't know if powder isn't sticking, or if the powder that does stick turns invisible, but there seems to be no way to track her."

"And she isn't dissipating my mirages the way Dark Moth did," Rena Rouge added.

Lis Tigris and Pigmy turned a corner, landing on the rooftop next to Ladybug and Rena Rouge.

"I don't want to use my lucky charm yet," Ladybug said. "It's too dangerous to detransform if we have no idea where she is."

"I'm going to detransform in about a minute," Rena Rouge added nervously.

"What about Roi?" Chat Noir asked, landing behind the heroes.

"Swim practice," Ladybug said. "He has no access to his phone for another five minutes. Besides, he needs to know where to aim."

"Have you tried tracking her heat?" Pegasus asked.

"Heat? How would I do that?" Ladybug questioned.

"Use your drone," Pegasus said.

"Of course!" Ladybug replied. She activated Tikki the Second, and they watched it fly off.

Ladybug opened her yo-yo, the screen showing the heat from the scene below.

"Got her. I'm sending you all the video feed."

Unlike the rest of the heroes, Lis Tigris's screen wasn't on her weapons. Her weapons were two expandable push daggers, which looked a lot like Wolverine's claws, and were too small for any accessories. Instead, she had a thin tablet in one of her pockets.

The abundance of pockets was a definite plus for her outfit. The transformation pulled Juleka's hair out of her eyes and back into a braid, with orange stripes threaded through. Her mask was solid black, and she had a black turtleneck with a tiger-striped breastplate and orange elbow guards. He pants were solid black except for a few padded orange stripes on her knees, and she had black boots with orange laces. Pockets lined her pants, and she had a small pocket on each shoulder.

Pigmy activated the screen in her ribbon wand, and Rena Rouge from her flute.

"I can see her clearly," Rena Rouge said. "I'll go recharge."

"Okay," Ladybug replied. "So, here's the plan. We keep acting like we have no idea where she is, distracting her. Lis, you go invisible and sneak up on her. Got it?"

Lis Tigris nodded. "Stripes on!"

She could feel the invisibility wash over her, but it was hard to describe what it felt like. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good, she just went from visible to not visible.
Lis Tigris leaped from the rooftop to the street, landing quietly, and raised her screen up. She could see Vanisher moving, and easily stalked her.

When the position was right, Lis Tigris pounced, grabbing Vanisher into hold against her chest.

Vanisher wriggled in her grasp.

"Stripes off!" Lis Tigris yelled. "I could use a little help."

"I've got her!" Stampede landed in front of Lis Tigris, and Lis Tigris passed Vanisher to her.

"Good job," Ladybug said. "Now see if you can find the akuma!"

"Uhh..." Stampede tapped along the wiggling form, but came up with nothing. "I can't find it!"

"Uh, then," Ladybug stuttered. "Oh, it might not be on her!"

"What? Since when!" Stampede looked at Lis Tigris. "Did you know that could happen?"

Lis Tigris shrugged.

"Happened with Dark Owl," Chat Noir said.

"My drone will disappear when I detransform," Ladybug said. "Pegasus, can you have Markov do some surveillance?"

"Yes," Pegasus said.

"Okay, make sure he stays out of sight," Ladybug said. "The rest of us should detransform while I come up with another plan."

"Yeah, maybe we can even make school today," Carapace stated.

"At best, we will have only missed three minutes of school," Pegasus added.

"I'll stay with Markov," Viperion added.

"Sounds good," Ladybug said. "Vipe, let us know if she does anything weird. We'll head back to school and then regroup later."

"Okay," Chat Noir agreed. "See you all in a few minutes."

"Okay, so here's the plan," Marinette said, slipping into the seat next to Adrien. Sadie, Nino, and Alya leaned closer to her.

The rest of the class was packing up to leave for lunch. Juleka and Rose lingered around Marinette when they noticed her in full planning mode.

"Juleka, Adrien, you'll sneak into Sabrina's room and see if you can find where the akuma is. Rose, Alya, Carapace, you stand guard. Either we find the akuma, or we rule out her bedroom as where the akuma is."

"Sounds like a plan," Adrien said.

"Let me know how it goes," Sadie added. "I have to meet up with someone."

"Oh, who?" Alya asked.

"Someone," Sadie replied. "I'll tell you all about it later."

The girl was waiting outside the bakery when Sadie arrived.

"Okay, so who are you?" Sadie asked, crossing her arms.

The girl smiled. "Rachel. I don't think I got your name?"

"It's Sadie. But, like, who are you?"

Rachel laughed. "Officially, I'm the Greek oracle. Unofficially, I'm just someone who chose the wrong year to visit France."

Sadie snorted. "Tell me about it. Want to grab something to eat?"

Rachel nodded. "Sounds like we have a lot to talk about."

The two walked in and ordered before heading to the park behind the bakery. They found an empty bench, where Rachel delved into explaining what an oracle is, and Sadie explained why she was in Paris.

"The miraculous magic is weird," Rachel admitted. "I haven't done much investigation, since I had such an intense summer - that's a story for another time - but from what I can tell, the miraculouses can mess with other magic."

Sadie nodded. "It's definitely weird. But it's an excuse to do some traveling, so I don't mind."

Rachel nodded. "It is nice here. I'm rooming with some seriously cool art students, and it's been a blast. Well, one of them did get akumatized - that was interesting. I'll have to tell you that story some other time."

Sadie phone beeped, signaling it was time to head back to class.

"Talk to you later?" Sadie asked.

"Definitely," Rachel replied.

Lis Tigris carefully creaked the door to Sabrina's room open and stepped inside. Chat Noir followed behind.

Vanisher was nowhere near her room, but Lis Tigris and Chat Noir still crept as quietly as they could.

"Any idea where the akuma could be?" Lis Tigris asked.

Chat Noir scanned the room. "First guess: her boxes."

"Sounds like a good place to start," Ladybug agreed over the comms.

Lis Tigris expanded her daggers and slashed the first box apart. Chat Noir used his claws to tear through another.

They went through three or four boxes before Lis Tigris called for Chat Noir's attention.

"There's a photo by her bed of her and Chloe," Los Tigris said. "I bet that's it."

"Good eyes, Lis," Ladybug said.

Lis grabbed the photo from the wall and tore it into two, and a butterfly flew out.

"Butterfly coming your way, LB," Chat Noir reported. He held out his fist to Los Tigris.

"Pound it!"

"Good job you two," Rena Rouge said over the comms.

Lis Tigris could feel her face heating up at the praise.

"Yes, great work!" Ladybug added. "See you two back in class."

The second Sabrina saw Chloe, she tackled her with a hug.

"I'm going to miss you!" Sabrina said.

"And I'm going to miss you too," Chloe replied.

She hugged Sabrina back for a second, before pushing her away.

"What am I going to do without you?" Sabrina asked.

"You'll be fine," Chloe said. "Now, Marinette's holding a goodbye party at her bakery, if you have the time."

Sabrina looked back at her mom for permission.

"I don't think staying an extra hour will hurt," Sabrina's mom chimed in.

"Sounds fun!" Sabrina said. "I'll be right over!"

"Great," Chloe said. "I'll go make sure everything is perfect for you."

She started walking away, but halfway between the door and her limo, she stopped.

"Sabrina?"

"Yeah?"

"Wherever you end up, don't let anyone treat you like I did."

"But-"

"No buts," Chloe interrupted. "I was a bad friend, and you deserve better. This move might suck, but it's a chance for you to start over. Get healthier relationships. And don't do anyone's homework for them, okay?"

Sabrina nodded, unconvinced. "Okay."

"I'll see you at the party."

The party was a blast.

The Dupain-Chengs baked a cake for Sabrina that she swore was the best she ever had. Lacy took photos of the class together, with promises to send it to everyone, and Marinette had made Sabrina a locket with one of her favorite motivating quotes.

"Switching schools is hard," Alya said.

"Moving is hard," Lacy added.

"But you'll be fine," Alya continued. "I was so nervous when I started at Francois Dupoint, but I made the best friends I've ever had. This might be what you need."

"Thanks," Sabrina said.

"And if it's not," Kim added. "Let us know and we'll kidnap you."

"Kim!" Marinette scolded.

"I will," Sabrina replied. "Thank you all, so much. I'll miss you!"

"We'll miss you too."

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: The Non-Exciting Hero Life

The door to his therapist's office closed behind him, and Adrien let out a breath of relief.

Therapist appointments seemed to cause more stress than they relieved, and Adrien dreaded going to his weekly appointments.

The waiting room was empty, and within a few seconds Adrien was at the elevator. The elevator beeped, opened, and he stepped inside.

"You know," Plagg said, flying out of Adrien's sweater. "There's no point letting them drag you to this if you aren't even going to try."

"I'm not letting them drag me into anything," Adrien replied. "This is required."

The elevator stopped and beeped again, and Plagg returned to Adrien's sweater.

The bottom lobby was occupied, but not crowded, and Adrien could feel eyes on him as he headed to the door.

Then he was out the door, onto the street, only a few blocks away from Nino's apartment.

Adrien took a deep breath and headed to his new but temporary home.

Nino's family lived in a small apartment on the third floor of an average apartment building. The elevator was small and smelly, and Adrien always took the stairs.

Alone in the staircase, Plagg remade his appearance.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"I'll ask Marinette to bring them to class tomorrow," Adrien replied. "I don't feel up to running by the bakery right now."

"But my cheeeeese," Plagg whined.

Adrien sighed, opening the door to the third floor.

"Come on," Plagg continued. "All the transforming we've done these past couple of days? I want my cheese!"

"And you'll get it," Adrien replied, arriving at the apartment finally. "Tomorrow."

It took Adrien three times to unlock the door, and then he had to push the door open with his shoulder. Nino's parents had alerted the apartment management about the malfunction, but nothing had been done to fix it.

Nino's mom was in the kitchen cooking, and waved as Adrien entered. Adrien gave her a half-hearted wave before heading to his room.

Well, it didn't feel much like his room.

The bed still had the sheets the Lahiffe's had bought when the room was still the guest room. The carpet was a weird color, and Adrien hadn't kept enough belongings to fill up the bookshelf and nightstand.

Adrien collapsed on the bed, covering his face with his arm.

"Ugh," he groaned. "I want a nap."

"Then take one," Plagg said, moving up to his pillow. "Schoolwork can wait."

"Schoolwork can wait," Adrien repeated, already falling asleep.

His phone beeped. Akuma alert.

"You have got to be kidding me," Adrien complained, blindly reaching for his phone. "Nathalie's timing sucks as bad as Hawkmoth's did."

"We can skip this one," Plagg suggested, also half asleep. "Just tell Ladybug you're not feeling well."

Adrien sighed. "I shouldn't." He pushed himself out of the bed. "Plagg, claws out."

"Pound it!"

"Good job everyone," Ladybug said, giving the heroes her brightest smile. "I have to run - I have another Jagged Stone commission, but see you in school tomorrow."

"And we have a date to get back to," Rena Rouge added. "See you tomorrow!"

Carapace, Rena Rouge, and Ladybug all bounded away, leaving Viperion, Roi Singe, and Chat Noir with the akuma victim.

"I can handle him," Roi Singe said.

"Okay," Viperion said. He tapped Chat Noir on the shoulder. "Can I talk to you?"

Chat Noir shrugged and let Viperion lead him to a rooftop.

"What's up?" Chat Noir asked.

"Are you okay?" Viperion asked.

"Yeah, why? Did I do something wrong?"

Viperion shook his head. "No, you just - there's been a lot and - I just wanted to check."

"Okay," Chat Noir replied. "I'm fine. Are we good?"

"Yeah," Viperion said. "See you later."

Adrien re-collapsed on the bed as Plagg spun out of his ring.

"Are the fights getting more tiring?" Adrien asked. "Or is it just me?"

"It's just you," Plagg replied, curling up on the pillow next to Adrien. "I have all the energy in the world."

And then Plagg fell asleep.

Adrien sighed and closed his eyes.

Someone knocked lightly on the door, and Adrien opened his eyes to see Nino.

"Back from your date already?" Adrien asked. "That wasn't long."

"It's getting pretty late dude," Nino replied. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes," Adrien lied.

"No," Plagg complained. "I miss my Camembert."

"I'll grab you something," Nino said.

Nino disappeared down the hall, and Adrien grabbed his phone to check the time.

"Must have fallen asleep," he muttered. "It's been an hour since the fight."

"Sleep is good," Plagg Said. "Not as good as f- CHEESE!"

Plagg zoomed away, nearly knocking Nino over as he reentered the room with food. Nino handed Plagg a cheese stick, and laid the plate of food on the nightstand.

Adrien groaned in thanks.

Nino sat down on the bed next to Adrien: "How'd your appointment go?"

"Good," Adrien lied. "Feel like it's really helping."

"Uh huh," Nino replied.

Adrien sighed. "I don't know, I - I'm not sure I even need it in the first place. I mean, all this sucks - but I'm not that bad. I can handle it fine."

"Maybe," Nino said. "But dude, you shouldn't have to. A little help can go a long way."

"I'm fine," Adrien argued.

"If you say so, dude."

Technically speaking, the heroes weren't supposed to use their powers for anything besides heroing.

Of course, technically speaking, practicing using their powers was an important part of being a hero, so, technically speaking, they were allowed to meet up after school to practice.

Roi Singe and Bunnyx were racing each other on the rooftops, while Ryuko and Ladybug sparred together. Viperion was helping Rena Rouge experiment with her flute, Chat Noir was napping on a nearby bench, and Kota had convinced Carapace to attempt the launch-off-a-shield move. Lis Tigris was also... somewhere, practicing her sneaking.

"Okay," Kota said. "So, crouch down, and when I hit your shield, push up."

"Okay," Carapace replied. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Totally," Kota said. "Ready?"

"Yeah, sure."

Kota took a deep breath and started running towards the shield. She leaped up, landing on the shield, just as Carapace pushed up, and jumped.

She ended up jumping more forward than up, and ended up back on the ground seconds later.

"You hit the shield too far forward," Viperion said. "You've got to hit it right in the center."

"Right," Kota agreed. "Try again?"

Carapace shrugged, and Kota reset herself to attempt it again.

This time, she focused on where she landed, and when Carapace pushed up, she went almost straight up.

She landed, bending her knees to help take the impact. The miraculous magic mostly keep her from being injured - without it, she would have injured herself regardless of how she landed.

Kota straightened up, raising her arms above her head like a gymnast.

"Ten out of ten!" Rena Rouge called. "Do it again and I'll videotape it!"

Kota obliged, giving a little bow at the end of the jump to Rena Rouge's camera.

A few seconds later, Roi Singe arrived, out of breath, followed by Bunnyx.

"Ha!" Roi Singe cheered. "I won!"

"Only by a little," Bunnyx replied. "And only cause your staff helps you jump rooftops."

"You want to bet? Same race, no weapons?"

Bunnyx yawned. "Maybe tomorrow. I got homework to do."

"Oh come on!"

"I think I'm done for the day," Carapace admitted. "Oh, Lacy-"

"Kota," Ladybug interrupted. "Use heroes names when we're transformed."

"Right, sorry dude. Kota, I was wondering if we could talk after."

Kota shrugged. "Sure.

Lis Tigris appeared at Kota's shoulder, startling her.

"Didn't you say something about being behind on homework earlier?" Lis Tigris asked.

"Did I? Oops."

"Talk on the way home?" Carapace suggested.

Kota nodded. "Sounds good."

"And I'm just worried about him, you know?" Nino continued.

"That's sweet," Lacy replied. "Maybe he just needs time?"

"Probably," Nino replied. "I just - I don't know, dude. I'm worried that he's not giving himself the chance."

"Maybe not," Lacy agreed. "But that's a choice that's ultimately up to him."

"I know, but-"

"You're a good friend Nino," Lacy said. "But you can't force someone to heal."

"I guess."

The two stopped in front of Lacy's apartment building.

"Thanks, dude," Nino said.

"No problem," Lacy replied. "See you tomorrow?"

Nino nodded. "See you later."

Lacy walked up to her apartment, wondering if she needed to remind her teammates that just because her dad was a therapist didn't mean she was qualified to give advice. She hoped what she told Nino was helpful, but Adrien was the classmate she understood least.

She opened the door, not surprised to see Sadie lounging on her couch.

"About time!" Sadie said, stretching dramatically. "I was starting to get lonely."

Lacy rolled her eyes. "I hope you're here to do homework, cause I need to do some catching up."

"Totally," Sadie lied. "I'm supposed to be researching that incident at the Louvre."

"What happened?" Lacy plopped her backpack into the ground and sat down next to Sadie.

"You didn't hear?" Sadie asked. "I guess people randomly teleporting to the middle of a museum isn't that weird here."

"Wasn't that weird in New York either," Lacy replied.

"True. Well, anyways, he was trying to get from DC to London - I don't know how he ended up here. Usually, the problem is that portals to here don't work." Sadie sighed drastically and leaned back. "This all sounds like a Carter job."

"Yeah, except then you wouldn't get to live in Paris," Lacy argued. "Or be a superhero."

Sadie chuckled. "That's true. Being a superhero is fun. Anyways, didn't you say you had homework to do?"

Lacy groaned. "Probably. Want to help me figure out what I forgot about?"

Sadie laughed. "Sure."

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: A Desperate Try

Ladybug landed on the window sill to the hospital room, and knocked on the window. The doctor opened up the window, letting Ladybug step into the room.

"How is she doing?" Ladybug asked.

"The same," the doctor said. "Any luck with your research?"

Ladybug shook her head. "But we're looking into it."

In the middle of the hospital room, Emilie Agreste laid unmoving, just as she had been found in Hawkmoth's basement.

Ladybug sighed. There had to be a way to help Emilie, but she had no idea yet of what it would be. They needed more information, but only one person knew and he wasn't being forthcoming.

"I'll check in again later," Ladybug said. "Good work."

She leaped out of the window and flew to a nearby rooftop, where Chat Noir was waiting.

"Any change?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

Ladybug shook her head. "I'm sorry, Chat."

"It's fine," Chat Noir said. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

Ladybug wasn't so sure. What was effecting Emilie was far beyond -

Was that a flying car?

"Akuma alert," Ladybug said, gesturing to the now falling car.

Chat Noir smirked. "Time for some original duo action, I think?"

"Maybe," Ladybug said. "Stampede and Carapace should be available if we need them. Let's go!"

The akuma was easy to track, as he was throwing things high in the sky. Ladybug landed on the rooftop near him, Chat Noir landing behind her.

The akuma immediately noticed, and chucked a car at them.

Before they were forced to dodge, Stampede jumped from another rooftop and slammed into the car, throwing it off course.

Ladybug flew down, landing next to Stampede.

"It is nice to fight a bad guy without almost dying," Stampede said, grinning.

A bus nearly crashed into them, and Ladybug pulled Stampede out of the way.

"You were saying?" Ladybug asked.

Stampede shrugged. "I've been hit with worse."

"Seems a fairly simple akuma," Chat Noir said. "Only super strength. You probably didn't even need to come."

"You wish," Stampede replied. "There's some kind of shield around -"

The akuma threw a lamppost, making the heroes dodge.

"There's some kind of shield around him," Stampede continued. "My bet, only your cataclysm can get through."

"Any idea where the akuma is?" Ladybug asked.

Stampede shrugged helpfully.

Ladybug activated her drone. "We need to figure out where the akuma is before we take his shield down - we don't know if he can regenerate it."

"I can distract him," Stampede offered. "I am very attention grabbing."

"Great," Ladybug said. "I'm going to see if Lis is available."

The akuma threw another light pole, and Stampede rolled under, coming up closer to the akuma. Ladybug flew back onto the roof, crouching down to stay out of sight.

She opened her yo-yo to watch the drone's camera.

"Hey, your aim sucks!" Stampede called, waving her arms.

The akuma was big, probably seven feet tall. He had a solid black suit - black leggings with bagging shorts over, large black boots, a black muscle shirt, and two black watches on each wrist - except for a purple butterfly pattern on the front of his shirt and a white elbow guard/brace thing on one arm.

"My bets on the elbow guard," Ladybug said.

"Agreed," Chat Noir replied.

"Suggestion," Stampede said. "Get him somewhere with less throwable things."

"The stadium," Ladybug said. "Stampede, go right."

"Got it." Stampede deflected another attack, and launched herself up to a rooftop on her right. "Bet you can't catch me!"

The akuma huffed. "You're just trying to taunt me to somewhere where I have less ammo. It won't work! I have no need for you, but you have to catch me."

"That's inconvenient," Ladybug muttered.

Another hero landed behind her, and Ladybug turned to see Carapace. Viperion landed behind him.

"Carapace, great," Ladybug said. "If we can't trick him somewhere else, let's trap him here - he's already broken too much to have much left over to use."

"On it. Shelter!"

The green shield appeared around the neighborhood, surrounding the now-empty buildings, the heroes, and the akuma.

"Viperion?" Ladybug said.

Viperion nodded. "Second chance."

"Okay, Carapace, Stampede, we'll distract him so that Chat Noir can get close enough to cataclysm his shield," Ladybug said.

"Wait," Viperion said. "The shield won't stay down for long. And the akuma isn't in the arm guard."

"Where could it be?" Ladybug wondered. "Oh, I bet it's in those-"

"Not in the bracelets either," Viperion said.

"But what does that leave?" Ladybug muttered. "His shirt?"

"Why not?" Carapace asked.

"Okay, let's try it," Ladybug said.

Ladybug kicked off the rooftop, hovering over the akuma. "Up here!"

The akuma snarled, picking up a broken part of an already thrown car and hurling it at her.

Ladybug dodged easily.

As Ladybug and Stampede distracted, Chat Noir snuck behind the akuma. The Akuma picked up the bumper of a broken car and tossed it, forcing Ladybug to dodge.

She didn't see Chat Noir destroy the shield or rip the shirt. By the time she straightened back up, the butterfly was loose.

Easy catch, easy release.

The miraculous cure cleaned the street, and Ladybug landed in the middle of the repaired street.

"Pound it!"

"That was nice and quick," Ladybug said. "Thanks for your help."

"Anytime, Ladybug," Carapace replied.

"You all make sure you-"

"Sleep tonight?" Ladybug guessed, interrupting Viperion mid-sentence. "We can take care of ourself."

"Right," Viperion replied. "How much did any of you sleep last night?"

Ladybug spluttered. "I uh - I had a commission-"

She wasn't the only one.

"Someone has to figure out the issues with the portals," Stampede said.

Carapace crossed his arms. "How much did you sleep last night, dude?"

"A good, healthy eight hours," Viperion replied. "I had a really weird dream about an underwater concert."

"I keep dreaming about Camembert," Chat Noir muttered. "I blame Plagg."

"I once imagined a Hamilton AU set in Ancient Egypt," Stampede added. "It made about as much sense as it sounds."

"I'm slightly concerned about all of you now," Carapace admitted. His bracelet beeped. "We should be heading out now."

"I'll walk you home, Viperion," Ladybug said. "Bug out!"

"Are you going to lecture me?" Luka asked when the two started heading to the Liberty.

"No," Marinette replied. "Kinda? I just - I know you're older than all of us, but you don't need to act so-"

"Older brother?" Luka guessed. "Sorry. I guess I don't trust you to sleep."

"I am doing better," Marinette replied. "Having more heroes helps. A lot."

"Hopefully, nights like last night will get rarer," Tikki added. "As her load during the day lightens up."

"But let me guess, you design better at night?" Luka asked.

"Yeah," Marinette said. "But getting more sleep is important. I guess."

"When you're a famous designer, you'll get to set your own schedules," Luka said.

Marinette chuckled. That sounded nice.

They arrived at the Liberty, and Marinette waved goodnight.

"A good night's rest does sound nice," she admitted to Tikki. "I think that commission can wait a day."

Stampede wouldn't say she was good at reading people, but there was something obviously bugging Chat Noir, and she had an inkling of what it was.

"Hey, Adrien," she called. "Can we talk a moment?"

Chat Noir shrugged.

They detransformed, heading for Sadie's place. Sadie had planned on starting the conversation, but Adrien interrupted her.

"Is this where you tell me I can talk to you if I need anything?" He asked.

"Heh, no," Sadie replied. "You have other people for that. I understand the sentiment though."

"Then why did you want to talk to me?" Adrien asked.

"Because I think I know what's bugging you," Sadie replied.

"You mean besides my entire life being turned upside down?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah," Sadie said. "That. Your life is totally different than it was."

"No kidding," Adrien said.

"And now you're desperately holding on to whatever strands of your old life you can," Sadie continued. "And get all grumpy cat when they slip away."

"Grumpy cat?" Adrien repeated.

"You heard me," Sadie replied. "You got grumpy in the fight today - don't deny it, I saw you - because all the new heroes are too new for you. Your home life is in ruins, so you don't want anything to change."

Adrien grumbled. "I don't see what's wrong about that."

"What's wrong about that is that some things need to change," Sadie replied. "Just because one thing is good doesn't mean the next thing won't be just as good. And even if it does get worse, it can still get better."

"I appreciate the attempt, but-"

"It's not an attempt," Sadie said. "You're not the only one hear who's had their life thrown upside down. Just trust me on this - stop trying to hold onto the past. Appreciate it and all that, but don't let it keep you from being in the present."

Adrien sagged. "It's just - everything's changing so fast."

Sadie scoffed. "You think this is fast? At least you're still in the same city. At least you're still on the same continent!"

"She has a point, kid," Plagg added. "Ladybug needs the extra support."

"Look," Sadie continued. "You can't control your emotions. But don't take it out on the rest of us."

"You're right," Adrien said.

"I'm always right," Sadie replied. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

Shoot. That was an old teaching habit coming up.

"What?" Adrien blinked. "Um, not be grumpy? I guess?"

"Or be grumpy towards the right people?" Plagg suggested.

"Yeah, that," Adrien said.

"And apologize," Sadie edged on.

"And apologize to Ladybug," Adrien agreed. He sighed. "See you tomorrow?"

Sadie nodded. "Yep. See you tomorrow."

In his old life, Adrien always had breakfast prepared for him, and would eat it mostly in silence.

Now, he made breakfast himself, while trying to squeeze into the other four members of the house trying to make breakfast.

Nino's mom always had something sweet in the mornings - donuts, or sugary cereal, or if she was running late something from the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. Nino's dad always had a coffee and a microwave burrito. Chris had a favorite cereal, and Nino usually had an apple or banana with hot tea or, if he stayed up too late, coffee. Adrien was starting to enjoy just dumping cereal into a bowl and adding milk. Nice and simple.

He could wear what he wanted to school, as long as it was within the dress code. His hair didn't have to be photo-ready all the time. Adrien was having a hard time adjusting, but there were some things he definitely enjoyed.

And when Adrien decided to make a stop before going home that afternoon, he easily got permission.

The hospital was always a hard place to visit. Adrien remembered his mom as full of life, completely in control of everything - seeing her in a coma was hard. But he was her son, he had to visit.

Just as Adrien stepped inside the hospital, alarms sounded.

"Akuma alert!" The person at the front desk yelled. "Everyone out!"

Adrien turned right back around and headed for the first secluded space he found.

"Alright, Plagg-"

"You want me to transform you?" Plagg asked, coming out of Adrien's backpack. "After not feeding me all day?"

"Wha - I fed you!" Adrien argued. "At breakfast and at lunch! And don't think I didn't notice all those snacks Marinette and Sadie snuck you."

Plagg crossed his arms. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Plagg," Adrien replied. "It's a hospital."

Plagg eyed the building. "Ok, fine."

"Plagg, claws out!"

Chat Noir was already hunched over a rooftop overlooking the hospital when Ladybug arrived.

"One of the doctors was akumatized," Chat Noir said. "But she hasn't done anything violent."

"What has she been doing?" Ladybug asked.

Chat Noir gestured towards his baton, which had the video screen out. On it, she could see the akumatized doctor standing next to -

"Is that your mom?" Ladybug asked.

Chat Noir nodded. "I think she's trying to heal her."

Ladybug watched as the doctor put her hand on the patient, and a purple glow began to grow.

Mayfly wasn't Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth had never made a peaceful akuma that they knew about, but that didn't Mayfly wouldn't.

And there was a chance, a very small, small chance, that it could work.

"Okay," Ladybug said. "We wait. See what happens."

She sat down on the roof next to Chat Noir, and they waited.

Nathalie was a hard person to understand.

Ladybug hadn't understood why she was so devoted to Gabriel. There was no way that Hawkmoth was paying his employees fairly, and everything Ladybug had heard about him personally made him sound awful.

Now she wondered why Nathalie was still fighting. Mayfly seemed to be more vicious than Hawkmoth, but this latest akuma was made with the hopes of helping, not hurting.

What did she want?

"It didn't work." Chat Noir's voice cut through Ladybug's thoughts.

Ladybug sighed, standing up. "Well, it was worth a try-"

She watched in surprise as the akuma left the doctor, flying back out as a harmless butterfly.

"The akuma must not have had any fighting abilities," Ladybug theorized. "That's why Mayfly gave up so easily."

"Maybe," Chat Noir replied.

"Good," Ladybug decided. "A hospital is no place for a fight. I'm going to go patrol, in case Mayfly akumatized someone else."

Chat Noir nodded. "I'm going to stay here. Just in case."

Ladybug nodded. "Okay. See you tomorrow."

He had lost the will to actually go in and see his mom, but he did stay on the rooftop for about half an hour.

Just in case.

Eventually, Adrien detransformed and fed Plagg, and started heading home.

And tried to ignore the disappointment filling his chest.

Plagg was quiet, which left Adrien to his thoughts. He didn't like his thoughts.

"She's going to be alright."

Adrien turned, not recognizing the accented voice but still feeling someone was talking to him.

Behind him stood a girl several years older than him with bright red hair. And she was definitely looking at Adrien.

"I'm sorry-"

"She's going to be alright," the girl repeated. "I know."

Adrien shook his head. "I don't know who you're talking about. I don't know you."

"Maybe not," the girl replied. "But it's my job to know things."

Adrien stared at her for a second too long before deciding to continue on.

He wasn't about to get his hopes up again.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Grandma Lavillant

The Liberty did not have enough room for all the heroes, but they didn't care.

Lacy, Alix, and Sadie had no problem sitting in a clump. Marinette was curled in on Alya, who was sitting with her knees against Nino, who was next to Adrien. Juleka and Rose cuddled, Mylene was curled up with Ivan, and Kim was against the wall upside down, leaving enough room for Luka, Chloe, Kagami, and Max not to feel cramped.

"Mysterious American red-head?" Lacy summarized after Adrien described his encounter. "Yeah, that's Rachel."

"You know her?" Adrien asked.

"Yep," Lacy replied. "She's an oracle - or possessed by the oracle? I don't really understand it. But she sometimes gets all green and misty and spills out prophecies."

"So her prediction?" Adrien asked. "Is it true?"

"Probably," Lacy replied.

"What's a Greek oracle doing in Paris anyways?" Alix asked.

"Artsy stuff," Lacy replied. "She's rich and she's an artist, of course she's in Paris." She nudged Alix in the elbow. "You two might get along."

Alix scoffed. "I'm not that artsy. It's just a hobby."

"Sometimes I wish I kept mine as a hobby," Marinette admitted. "Taking these commissions is draining me and keeping me from making what I want to make."

"Then put them down for a while," Alya suggested. "I'm sure Jagged Stone can afford another designer."

"Plus, we don't need any new designs!" Rose chimed. "We've got to work with the ones we have!"

"Thanks," Marinette said. "Oh, are there any practices this weekend? I'd love to come!"

"No," Juleka replied.

Rose shook her head. "I have family visiting."

"Ooh, fun!" Alya said. "Who is it?"

"My grandma and little cousins," Rose said. "My parents are taking my grandma to this big show on Saturday, so I'll be babysitting."

"Oh, fun," Alya said.

"Is it the play my dad's in?" Mylene asked. "I'll have to see if I can find them!"

"They'd love that!" Rose replied.

"We've all met Rose's parents by now, right?" Alya asked. "Aren't they the sweetest?"

"I haven't," Adrien said.

"Me neither," Sadie agreed.

"Or me," Lacy added.

"Or I," Kagami said.

"Oh, you should come over some time!" Rose said. "But you should be warned - it does smell fragrant."

"Very fragrant," Juleka added. "I can barely stand it."

"We like our candles!" Rose explained.

"I don't understand candles," Kagami admitted.

"Me neither," Max agreed. "One would think we were past the need to keep open flames in our house."

"But they smell good!" Rose argued.

"Many things smell good," Kagami said. "Food, for instance."

"My apartment always smells like food," Alya added. "Definitely better than any candles."

"Same here," Marinette agreed.

"Anything's better than perfume," Lacy noted. "I have smelled enough perfume to last a life time."

"Same," Sadie agreed. "And I only know one of your sisters."

"Lots of perfume is also a fire risk," Max stated. "Food is obviously the superior choice here."

"Plus, food is edible!" Kim added. He had readjusted his position so most of his body was on the wall, and only his shoulders supported him.

"That is by far the best part of food," Alya agreed.

"Agreed," Max added.

"Speaking of food, where did the kwamis end up?" Adrien asked.

"What does that have to do with food?" Mylene asked.

"Plagg eats a lot," Adrien explained.

"I have no idea," Marinette said. "They'll reappear eventually."

"They haven't had much time outside of the box!" Rose said. "Let them explore!"

"Plaggs not exploring," Adrien said. "He's probably eating something."

Luka shrugged. "We have plenty of food. Let him eat."

"The Couffaine's won't appreciate you eating all their cheese," Tikki scolded.

"I'm not eating all their cheese," Plagg argued. "Plus the blue-headed kid said I could have some."

The kwamis had taken over the meager kitchen while their holders talked. Human conversations were still strange to most of them, or just flat out boring. So, instead, they convened elsewhere.

"I'm sure they won't mind," Sass confirmed.

"These fridges are extraordinary," Longg commented. "They just stay cold."

"Technology has come a long way from the last time most of us were active," Tikki commented. "I wish we didn't miss so much history."

"Master Fu had his reasons," Wayzz reminded them. "But it has been lonely without you."

Sadie tried not to laugh when Lacy, instead of sitting down like person, hopped onto the bench and perched like a bird.

"Don't laugh," Lacy said. "You'll be acting like an ox in no time."

It was a beautiful Saturday to be sleeping in, so Lacy had dragged Sadie with her to the zoo early in the morning. Sadie had been wanting to go anyways, and it was fun hanging out with Lacy. Even when she was mainly focused on her camera.

"Can't wait to see how these pictures come out," Lacy said. "It'll be nice to have some new photos that aren't top secret."

"Top secret?" Sadie asked. "You mean from your early morning patrols?"

"Uh huh. I haven't been able to show anything to my dad lately."

Sadie opened her mouth to respond, but was rudely interrupted by a scream.

Lacy startled, knocking her balance off and nearly face planting in the ground below. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Sadie said. "Let's go see. Towards the screaming!"

They made it two footsteps before the source was evident.

"Akuma!" Someone screamed.

Sadie pulled Lacy to a hiding place and they ducked. Lacy quickly glanced at the akuma again while Sadie dig out her phone.

"Angry parent vibes," Lacy said. "Sounds like he's ranting about the important of controlling yourself."

"Powers?" Sadie asked.

Lacy glanced again. "I think he's eliminating people's ability to control themselves?"

"In a zoo?" Sadie asked. "That's great. I texted the group chat, we should get help soon."

"Then let's transform."

Lacy shot Sadie a grin, and Sadie couldn't help but return it.

This was the fun part.

Kota deflected a ray with her kite, preventing the no-control ray from hitting a family of four.

The Akuma Villain - Non-Tyrant - scowled at the deflection.

"Could you stop doing that?" Non-Tyrant asked.

"Nope."

There wasn't much else to do. Non-Tyrant was near impossible to get close to, though Kota couldn't pin down the reason why, and back-up had yet to show up.

Stampede grabbed a golf cart and threw it at Non-Tyrant, and he dodged.

And he dodged the ice-cream cart as well.

"Stop dodging!" Stampede yelled.

"He's not."

Viperion's sudden appearance behind Kota startled her, and she made a small eep.

"What do you mean?" Stampede asked.

"The way he's moving - it's like he's unfocused," Viperion clarified unclearly.

"Yes," Stampede agreed. "But what does that -"

"I don't think he's actually here," Viperion explained.

Non-Tyrant had noticed the lull in thrown large objects, and targeted another family. Kota darted, just barely deflecting the ray in time.

"Like a projection," Stampede said. "Makes sense. But how do we-"

"He must be somewhere," Kota reasoned. "Can anyone track him?"

"Leave that to me."

Rena Rouge landed heroically on the top of a cage.

"What do you have planned?" Stampede asked.

"You'll see," Rena Rouge replied. "Just keep throwing things at him."

"Have I mentioned I love this job?" Stampede asked. "Throwing things is so much easier than what I'm used to."

Rena Rouge leaped from the cage, off to do whatever she was going to do. Stampede grabbed a bench and swung it at Non-Tyrant, distracting him from whoever he had been aiming at.

Kota caught a glimpse of Lis Tigre out of the corner of her eye, but she kept her focus on Non-Tyrant as she and Stampede did their best to distract him.

It might have been an hour, it might have been two minutes, but sometime during the fight, Non-Tyrant vanished.

"Ha!" Rena Rouge said, through the comms. "We've found h- Lis is hit! I need back-up!"

"On it!" Kota replied. She checked her kite for Lis Tigre's location, barely catching the location before it disappeared. Right behind one of the bathrooms.

"Hurry!" Rena Rouge shouted.

Kota leaped to the location. The bathrooms had been destroyed - ew - and the whole area had been covered in orange fog.

"Kota, over here!"

Rena Rouge was completely covered in the fog as she wrestled with a detransformed Juleka.

"What happened?" Kota asked.

"She tried to detransform in front of non-tyrant!" Rena Rouge explained. "I just barely managed to cast mirage in time."

Kota moved to grab Juleka so Rena Rouge could rest.

"I wanted him to know!" Juleka shouted. "I want them all to know! I don't want to be invisible any more!"
"You're not invisible!" Rena Rouge said. "You are very visible right now! That's the problem!"

Ladybug landed behind Rena Rouge in a blur of red

"What's the problem?"

"She got hit!" Rena Rouge said. "I lost track of Non-Tyrant."

"I can fix that," Ladybug said. She opened her Yo-Yo and her drone took off into the sky. "We'll catch him in no time."

"I want to fight him!" Juleka yelled. "And I want everyone to know it was me."

Kota watched Ladybug's face flash with emotion - first confusion, then understanding, and then determination.

"Do you?" Ladybug asked, putting her hand on Juleka's shoulder. "But isn't the mask freeing? You can be brave, be bold in it in a way you can't as Juleka. Do you really want to give that up?"

Juleka hesitated. "I guess not." She relaxed, and Kota let her go.

Ladybug's yo-yo beeped. "We found Non-Tyrant - let's go!"

"I need to recharge," Juleka said.

"Me too," Rena Rouge said.

"Okay," Ladybug said. "Kota, you're with me."

"And me?" Stampede asked.

"With us please."

Ladybug leaped back into the air, spreading her wings. Kota ran to keep up with her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blur of black. Chat Noir had arrived.

They stopped by a small kiosk selling drinks. Ladybug gestured for Stampede and Chat Noir to go one way as she and Kota circled the other way.

They crept around the building, and poked their heads around to see Non-Tyrant sitting on the ground, looking like he was meditating.

Kota watched him for a moment, something bugging her. Ladybug made a gesture to move, and the four heroes moved in.

And then it clicked.

"Wait!" Kota yelped.

Non-Tyrant vanished like an illusion, and a blast of power came from the roof.

Stampede managed to dodge, but the blast hit Kota, Chat Noir, and Ladybug.

Stampede threw something at Non-Tyrant, forcing him to move, at the same time Chat Noir called to detransform.

Kota shoved Adrien into a small enclosure, knocking him onto the ground, before anyone could spot them.

"Chat!" Ladybug snapped. "What are you doing?"

"Laying down," Adrien replied, dramatically throwing his arm over his face. "I'm tired."

Kota moved to the front of the cave, watching for Non-Tyrant. He landed back onto the pavement.

"Well, maybe I don't want to fight either!" Ladybug said. She sat down on the ground beside Chat Noir and pouted.

Non-Tyrant looked up.

"Mirage!"

Rena Rouge was heading to the cave, flute in hand, as Kota made for Non-Tyrant. She kicked, but he ducked.

"We can't beat him without you!" Rena Rouge said. "You can't quit!"

"Too bad!"

It had been hard to make out Non-Tyrant's outfit when he had been blurry, but now Kota could see him clearly. He had a broken crown, shaggy white hair, unnaturally white skin, eyes with no iris or pupil, and a white suit. Kota smacked the crown off his head, breaking it, but no akuma flew out. She used her kite to rip his jacket and pants, but no luck. The akuma was not in anything he was wearing.

"The akuma isn't on him!" Kota said.

"I'll find it!" Lis Tigre replied.

"Wait!" Viperion yelled. "We have to get Ladybug functioning again."

"Solve it yourselves," Ladybug growled.

"We need Pigmy!" Rena Rouge decided. "She can calm down Ladybug."

"Good idea," Kota said.

"But she's babysitting," Lis Tigre said.

"I can babysit for her!" Stampede offered. "I'm great with kids."

"Okay, go. Quick!"

Rose watched her grandmother with nervousness.

She was supposed to love Juleka - but then again, Juleka was supposed to be here for much longer than five minutes. Maybe it was the sudden departure that was making her grandmother grumpy - surely she wanted to get to know her granddaughter's girlfriend better?

And now it was awkward.

Rose sighed, watching the flames on one of the candles flicker. Her cousins were playing on the living room floor, and her parents were talking about the play. Only she and her grandmother were silent - but it was enough to make Rose anxious.

Someone knocked on the door, and Rose jumped to get it.

She was surprised to see Sadie on the other side.

"One babysitter reporting for duty," Sadie announced.

"Huh?" Rose asked.

"Have you been checking your phone?" Sadie asked. "They need you at the zoo."

"Akuma?" Rose assumed, and Sadie nodded.

Rose let her in, already trying to work out an excuse for her parents.

"Mom, Dad, this is Sadie," Rose said. "There's an emergency, I have to check on Juleka, so she's going to babysit."

"I can assure you I have much practice," Sadie said.

"Of course," Rose's mom answered. "Rose, you go check on Juleka. I'll make sure Sadie can handle your cousins."

"Thanks!"

Pigmy had only just arrived at the zoo when someone yelled directions at her.

Ladybug was exactly where Pigmy had been directed, sitting cross-legged and armed like a toddler.

"Alright," Pigmy said, taking out her wand. "At ease."

Her powers released in pink, same color as her costume, and consumed Ladybug.

The power of contentedness had seemed strange, at first, but Pigmy had come to understand it. It was the ability to give to others, temporarily, what she had always worked to have.

To be content with whatever was happening.

Ladybug relaxed. "That was - okay. I'm Ladybug, so I have to do this. Thanks, Pigmy."

"Of course!"

Rena Rouge shot her a thumbs up.

"Found the akuma," Lis Tigre reported. "Shall I release it?"

"Let me get to your location first," Ladybug replied. "Good job Lis."

Pigmy could picture her girlfriend blushing at the compliment. It made her feel proud as well.

Petunia Lavillant, Rose's grandma, was not very happy with what she was seeing of her granddaughter's friends.

First was the girlfriend. Juleka had seemed all doom and gloom - surely such a person wasn't good to spend time around. And then the babysitter - Petunia's daughter-in-law had grilled her hard to make sure she was a responsible babysitter, but Petunia was still skeptical. The girl had seemed - well, Petunia wasn't sure what it was but she didn't like her.

Surely Rose should have better friends than these?

Of course, a voice echoed in her head. Of course she should, Grandmother Nature.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Grandmother Nature

"Pound it!"

The heroes fist bumped. With the cure already casted, the zoo was safe and the job was done.

"Good job everyone!" Ladybug said, forcing herself to sound cheerful. "Especially you, Rena. You really stepped up."

Rena Rouge blushed.

"So are we going to talk about it?" Viperion asked.

"No," Ladybug said.

"No," Chat Noir said.

"Please no," Lis Tigre said.

"How come it didn't effect you?" Rena Rouge asked, turning to Kota.

Kota blushed. "Well, uh, I mean - I've always been surrounded by such cool heroes, it's kinda always what I wanted to be? So I was already doing what I wanted?"

"So if you were a civilian who got hit," Rena Rouge responded. "You'd be in trouble."

"Yep," Kota said.

"You know, Rena," Chat Noir said. "Since you and Viperion didn't get hit, you should tell us what would have happened if you did. So that it's fair."

"No," Rena Rouge said.

"No," Viperion agreed.

"Glad that's sett-" Ladybug was cut off by a yo-yo beep. "Another akuma attack."

"I need to recharge," Pigmy said.

"Me too," Rena Rouge added.

"Okay, meet us there," Ladybug said. "I'm sending you all the address."

"You four go ahead," Rena Rouge said. "I'm going to talk to Ladybug for a minute."

Please no.

"I'll go recharge," Pigmy said, before heading to a hidden corner.

"See you there," Chat Noir said, and he, Viperion, Lis Tigre, and Kota bounded off.

"What?" Ladybug asked.

"What was that?" Rena Rouge questioned

"I -" I don't know. Ladybug sighed. "When Adrien started being - well, you saw it - it - I don't know, annoyed me? Brought back old feelings of always having to be the responsible one. And then I thought, what if I don't? So I didn't."

"Okay," Rena Rouge said. "But you're alright? This isn't a symptom of something currently going on?"

"I don't think so," Ladybug replied. "I told Jagged Stone that I'm taking a break from commissions, so I'm not as stressed as usual, and this project is easier than I thought, so. No."

"Good," Rena Rouge replied.

"So let's never speak of this again," Ladybug decided. "Go recharge, we might need you."

The four heroes landed on a roof over looking the attack.

The road below was covered in dots - flowers and grass. Vines were curling up the building. Butterflies flew through the air and bunnies hopped through the grass.

The akuma was pacing around the grass. She was wearing a pink cape shaped like a flower petal, and a flower crown on top of gray hair.

"Is the flower crown the akuma?" Kota asked.

Lis Tigre frowned. "I think that's Rose's grandma."

"What do you think her powers are?" Chat Noir asked.

"Making things nature-y?" Kota guessed.

"I'm on my way!" Pigmy reported.

Lis Tigre grimaced. "Rose, just so-"

"Pigmy," Viperion interrupted. "Mari - I mean, Ladybug wants us to be strict with calling each other hero names while transformed."

Lis Tigre gave him a look.

"You know you just-"

"I know," Viperion interrupted. "It's hard not to. That's why we need to correct each other."

"Were you going to say something, Lis?" Pigmy asked.

"Right," Lis Tigre said. "Pigmy, I think it's your grandma who has been akumatized."

"Oh."

"You know," Chat Noir said. "Anyone listening in could have figured out Pigmy's identity anyways-"

"I know," Viperion interrupted. "That's not the point."

"Anyways," Kota interrupted. "Whats the plan?"

"Um," Viperion said.

Ladybug landed behind the heroes and walked up to the edge of the building.

"Nature Powers," she deduced. "Those vines are all connected. Chat -"

"On it!" Chat Noir replied.

He bounded down to the sidewalk, quietly landing behind a bus, and raised his hand.

"Wait," Ladybug said. "Once he uses his cataclysm, we need to move instantly. Kota, you're with me. Lis, sneak up behind her. And Viperion, stay back here and activate your second chance."

Pigmy landed on the roof. "Do you know where her akuma is yet?"

"Her flower crown," Kota guessed.

"I don't think so," Pigmy replied. "She wasn't wearing anything earlier that would make a crown."

"Do you think you caused her to be akumatized?" Viperion asked. "Would there be something connected to you that the akuma might have flown into?"

Pigmy flinched at the questions. "I - don't know. I mean, she's been grumpy since - well, she's been grumpy today. Maybe? I did give her a ring for her birthday - I think she was wearing it today!"

Ladybug brought her yo-yo up, using it to zoom in on the akuma below.

"She has a band of green around a finger," Ladybug said.

"Rings are the worse," Chat Noir groaned.

"I think I might be able to talk her down," Pigmy said.

"Akumas don't get talked down," Chat Noir said.

"If she says she can, she can," Lis Tigre said.

"Give it your best," Ladybug said. "New plan: Pigmy approaches the akuma. As soon as she noticed Pigmy, Viperion activates his second chance. Lis, turn invisible and stay nearby Pigmy in case this goes wrong. Kota and I will stay up here. Chat Noir, when you think the akuma is distracted, cataclysm the vines."

I don't want to stay up here, Kota whined internally, but she nodded.

"Okay, go."

"Stripes on!"

Pigmy leaped gracefully from the rooftop and landed on the road. The akuma noticed her instantly.

"Second chance."

"Ooh, these flowers are lovely!" Pigmy said. "Did you make them for someone?"

"What are you doing?" The akuma asked.

"Admiring your artwork!" Pigmy replied.

"Oh, uh, well, thanks. It's for my granddaughter."

"You must love her very much," Pigmy continued.

"I do." The akuma stepped closer to Pigmy. "She is such a lovely person, I want to make the world match."

"Aww," Pigmy replied, holding her hands over her heart. "That's so sweet!"

"I want to make a world that won't tear her down," the akuma continued. "No more doom and gloom friends."

A strange expression crossed Viperion's face. It took Kota a second, but she realized the akuma was likely talking about Juleka.

And Sadie.

That took her back. Many of the teachers back at BAG had reacted badly when Sadie and Lacy first started to hang out. Everyone seemed to think Sadie would be a bad influence because of the way she acted - never mind that she was the first student not to be too scared of Drew to be Lacy's friend.

Kota missed whatever Pigmy's response to that comment was.

"I would do anything for her!" The akuma continued. "And now I can turn Paris into a garden just for her, for I am Grandmother Nature!"

"You know what you could do for her?" Pigmy said. "Imagine how cool it would be to have a grandmother who fought off Mayfly! Just turn over your akuma."

Pigmy held out her hand expectantly.

"I don't think-"

"Don't you want your granddaughter to have the coolest grandma?" Pigmy asked. "You're already the sweetest. Imagine if you were also the toughest - tough enough to fight off a supervillain!"

"That does sound appealing."

The vines turned to dust, but the akuma didn't falter.

"Good job, Chat," Ladybug whispered

"Don't you mean a purr-fect job?" Chat Noir questioned.

"I take it back."

"- and if there's anyone in Paris that's all doom and gloom, it's Mayfly!" Pigmy continued. "You wouldn't want to give her more power, would you?"

"I - I guess not," Grandmother Nature replied. She slipped her ring off. "Here you go."

"I am officially impressed," Chat Noir whispered.

"Good job, Pigmy," Ladybug said.

Pigmy broke the ring, and the akuma flew out.

Rose beat her grandma home.

Sadie was on floor with Rose's cousins, playing a game. She grinned when Rose appeared, taking a moment to wrap up the game before standing to greet her.

"Everything go okay?" Sadie asked.

Rose nodded. "Two akumas beaten. Thanks for all the help."

Sadie frowned. "Something bothering you?"

"The, uh - never mind," Rose said. "Enjoy the rest of your night."

Sadie didn't look convinced, but after a moment, nodded. "Okay. I'll see in you class on Monday then."

She grabbed her bag, waved goodbye to Rose's cousins, and headed out.

Rose sighed. She was not looking forward to her grandma coming home. What kind of conversation will that be?

She didn't have much time to prepare, because the front door opened behind her. Her grandma had arrived.

"Grandma," Rose greeted. "Are you okay? I heard you were akumatized."

"Rose, sweetie," her mom replied. "You look like you are about to drop dead. Go to bed, we can handle this."

Rose nodded. "Thanks."

She did her best not to hear any of the following conversation as she headed to her room.

Once alone, Daizzi flew out of her purse.

"Are you okay, Rose?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Rose sat down on her bed. "Just tired."

"Then let's sleep," Daizzi said.

She curled up on the small bed Rose had made in an empty shoe box, and within seconds was asleep.

"Sleep sounds nice," Rose agreed.

And then faceplanted into her pillow.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

Lacy woke with a start just as the first sun beams began to shine.

The world came into sharp focus, and Lacy felt the urge to pounce on... something. What had woken her?

That's when Orikko decided to scream.

With a groan, Lacy grabbed the pillow dedicated to throwing at Orikko in the mornings and threw it at Orikko. He dodged easily.

"Can't help it," he said. "It's dawn."

"It is," Lacy agreed. She swung her legs over and sat up, yawning. "Do you know what woke me?"

"It's dawn!" Orikko declared.

"I got that," Lacy replied. "But something startled me."

"You did look like you were having a nightmare," Orikko suggested.

"No, this wasn't that," Lacy disagreed. "Is it just me or - is it silent?"

An eerie, familiar silence. Lacy's stomach jolted.

She stood up and walked to the window. Peering out, she could see the city had slowed to a halt.

Just like Manhattan had, when everyone had fallen asleep, and there were bodies everywhere, and in the car, and-

"Are you okay?" Orikko asked, floating in front of her.

"Huh? Yeah, I just-" Lacy took a few steps back and plopped back on her bed. "Bad memories."

Her breathing was getting faster and faster and -

She hadn't had a panic attack like this in a while.

Breathe. In. Hold. Out.

In. Hold. Out.

"Right, akuma," Lacy said. "I didn't think my miraculous was enough to completely fend off something like this."

"It's a widespread effect, so it takes less to wear off," Orikko guessed. "Plus your adrenaline is probably spiking from the anxiety."

Right. The sudden silence might have been what startled her awake.

"Okay," Lacy said. "But that means no one else is awake. So I have to go wake Marinette."

"That would be a good idea," Orikko agreed.

"Orikko, sun up!"

Class started an hour later than usual, and Bustier was even later than that, giving her students free reign of the classroom at the start.

Almost all the of the students were on time.

"Anyone see Lacy?" Sadie asked. She had expected Lacy to beat her to class, miraculous of the dawn and all, but she hadn't arrived yet.

Alix shrugged. "She was up when the - you-know-what- but maybe she crashed after?"

"Hm," Sadie said. "I'm going to text her."

"I did already," Alix said. "No reply - but she never replies."

"She was grumpy earlier today," Marinette suggested.

"Earlier today?" Nathaniel repeated. "How were you awake?"

Alix frowned.

"Oh, I meant, um, late yesterday," Marinette lied.

Alix turned back to Marinette. "We can tell him. I trust him. And he's the only one in the class that doesn't know."

"Tell me what?" Nathaniel questioned.

"It's not something we just tell people so they're included, Alix," Marinette replied.

"But I trust him," Alix argued.

"We can have this conversation later," Sadie interrupted. "I'm going to go check on Lacy. Coming?"

Lacy leaned back, enjoying the sound of the city at full swing.

She grew up in a city. She wouldn't call the noise pleasant, but it was familiar and it made her feel safe.

Her legs dangled off the balcony, Orikko hidden behind her so no stray eyes would spot him. She had grabbed a (reusable) water bottle, and was set to just stay there for a moment.

And then Lacy saw a flash of faded pink hair, and realized she never checked in with her friends.

"They must be worried about me," Lacy muttered, a pant of guilt forming in her stomach.

She had left her phone inside, which meant she had to get up to check it. Multiple notifications popped up.

Oops.

"Don't worry about it," Orikko said. "They're all used to you not replying."

The last text was from Sadie, saying that she and Alix were coming to check in on her.

"They're missing school," Lacy muttered.

"So are you," Orikko noted.

"Only the first little bit," Lacy said. She intended on going, but she needed some time to calm herself down.

The doorbell rang. Lacy glanced in the mirror, realizing that she should've taken time to do her hair that morning.

The doorbell rang again, and Lacy undid and finger combed her hair as she came down the stairs.

The doorbell rang yet again as she opened the door.

Alix and Sadie were in the hallway.

"There you are!" Alix said. "I've been ringing for you for hours!"

"You okay?" Sadie asked.

"I'm fine," Lacy said. "I promise I feel better than I look."

"That's not saying much," Alix commented.

Sadie elbowed her.

Lacy chuckled. "That's true. It's just been a rough morning. But I'm fine, go back to school."

"Aren't even going to let us in?" Sadie asked, not waiting for an answer before pushing her way in.

Alix followed. Their kwamis floated from their hiding place, settling in on the table.

"But school," Lacy repeated, trailing after them.

Sadie waved it off. "School can wait. Have you eaten?"

"I'm fine."

"Have you?" Sadie asked. "Orikko, has she?"

"Nope," Orikko said, like a traitor.

"What do you have that's microwaveable?" Sadie asked, opening the door to her fridge.

"You don't have to cook for me," Lacy said.

"At this point," Stampede said. "It's better to just let her cook."

Lacy sighed. "Okay. But feel free to cook something for yourself."

"I've had a big breakfast," Sadie said. "Tidir cooked for us."

While Sadie grabbed something and popped it in the microwave, Alix and Lacy sat down at the couch.

"I'm sorry for not texting you," Lacy said. "The akuma this morning just freaked me out."

"It's fine," Alix said. "I can afford to miss a few classes."

"If you're sure," Lacy replied. "Are you okay? You seem a little distracted."

"Hm? Yeah, just - I feel bad, not telling Nathaniel."

"About - oh, about the miraculous?"

Alix nodded. "I can keep a secret, but it's one thing if it's my secret, and another if a bunch of people know, but not my best friend."

"You and Nathaniel are really close," Lacy said. "I can imagine how that would feel, though I can't say I've ever had a best friend."

Mitchell didn't count, since he was her brother. Lacy had always felt like Sadie was hiding something from her that their other friends knew (and she had been right). There had been Helen, but that hadn't ended well.

Alix shrugged. "Not everyone does. But you have plenty of good friends, that's for sure."

The microwave beeped.

"I do," Lacy agreed. "Thanks for checking in on me."

"Of course."

"You two can head back to school, I'll be there once I've eaten and changed," Lacy said.

"If you say so," Alix replied.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Sadie asked.

"No, I just don't want you to miss school because of me. Now shoo."

The class, now fully present, was halfway through their history class when everyone's phone, minus Nathaniel's, buzzed.

With lots of shuffling, the students each reached into their pockets or bags to grab their phone without the teacher noticing.

Alix got her phone out first, so Lacy leaned over to see the notification.

A text popped up from Kagami.

I believe there is an invisible akuma in the school.

Marinette was the first to reply.

Where?

In the school, Kagami replied.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lacy could see Marinette facepalm.

The teacher continued with the lesson, still unaware.

We need to hack into the cameras to track it, Max texted. Tikki The Second would be too obvious. As would Markov.

Alix turned her phone back towards herself to reply, before turning the phone again so Lacy could see.

I'll handle the distraction, Alix had texted.

OK, Marinette replied.

Alix moved her phone again, not letting Lacy see what she was doing.

A second later, Nathaniel raised his hand.

"Yes?" Bustier asked.

"Can I talk to you? Outside?"

As Nathaniel and Bustier left, Alix flashed him a thumbs up.

The door shut, and Marinette turned to Max.

"Are you sure we can't use the same trick we used with Vanisher?"

Max shook his head. "Not unless you want the akuma to realize we're tracking them. If I can get into the school's cameras I'm 90% certain I can track them."

"I'll still transform and deploy my drone," Marinette decided. "She can make sure that the akuma doesn't leave the building."

"Won't you be unable to detransform?" Nino asked. "You'll have to miss school."

"You all worry about school too much," Sadie decided.

"Max, where do you need to be to be able to access the school cameras?" Marinette asked.

"Anywhere without someone watching," Max replied. "I'd go home, but my grandfather is there at the moment."

"Use my place," Chloe suggested. "I can call my chaeffur to pick us up."

"Having the privacy of the limo would be nice," Max noted.

"Okay," Marinette said. "Chloe, take Max and Lacy with you. Adrien, you and I will stake out outside of the school while Max does his thing. The rest of you, keep your phones close."

The limo waited for them outside.

Chloe had a quick conversation with the driver, who was concerned about being called in the middle of the school day, and then she, Lacy, and Max slid into the back.

"He won't be listening," Chloe said. "So what's the plan?"

"I've already set up an easy way to hack into the school cameras," Max explained. "Purely for heroing purposes, of course."

"Have you done that for all the places akumas regularly show up?" Lacy asked.

Max nodded. "As best as I can. Now, after Vanisher reappeared, I started working on an algorithm to catch invisibility akumas by monitoring movement."

Kaalki flew up besides Max. "My holder is a genius like that."

Max patted her head.

"Of course, human eyes are always helpful," Max added. "You may catch things the computer won't. It is unlikely, but still possible."

Lacy and Pegasus, now transformed in the safety of Chloe's room, sat side by side on the couch while an impatient Queen Bee paced. Lacy stared at the camera feed, trying not to get distracted by the pacing.

"We should have the akuma's location in approximately one minute, Lady-"

"There!" Lacy pointed at the video feed. "I saw them there."

"Nice eyes," Pegasus said. "If you give me a second - I'm tracking her. I'll summon a portal; Queen Bee, if you shoot your venom straight ahead you should hit them."

"Finally," Queen Bee said.

"Voyage!"

"Venom!"

"I hit them," Queen Bee confirmed, recalling her top. "Ladybug, your turn."

"On it," Ladybug replied. She checked the location on her Yo-Yo, and leaped from the rooftop and into the school.

Chat Noir followed, landing silently behind her.

"According to Pegasus, the akuma victim should be right-" Ladybug was cut off when she ran into something invisible.

"Looks like you found it," Chat Noir commented.

Ladybug groaned. "Yeah. Now to figure out where the akuma is. Lucky charm!"

A magnet fell into her hands.

"Must be magnetic," Chat Noir mused. "Wait, does your miraculous know where the akuma is?"

"Yes and no," Ladybug replied.

"Huh?"

Ladybug waved the magnet around the akuma, grinning when something hit it with a clink.

"I've got you now."

Sadie fidgeted with her necklace.

It was weird, sitting in class while a battle was happening. It was nice, in a way, but strange and part of Sadie wanted to help somehow.

Especially after sleeping through the akuma that morning.

That had sucked. It wasn't her fault though - she had a few protection amulets made by Walt, but nothing that could fend off a sleep akuma, apparently.

But that wasn't a bad idea.

Making sure Bustier wasn't paying attention, Sadie dug her phone out again and sent a text to Walt and Carter.

Do we have any magic that wards off sleep?

It was still night in Brooklyn, so Sadie didn't expect an immediate response. She slipped her phone back into her school bag just in time for Bustier to glance her way.

"Wait a moment," Alya said, just loud enough for Sadie and Nino to hear. "There's an akuma fight going on."

"Yeah?" Sadie asked.

"That I'm not a part of," Alya continued.

"I see where this is going," Nino said. "It's a bad idea."

Alya pulled out her phone and stood up. "I'll be right back."

Nino sighed loudly.

Without waiting for permission from Bustier, Alya burst out of the room.

The door swung shut, and then swung open again, and Alya walked back in defeated, followed by Marinette.

"It's already over," she whined.

Alix paced nervously at the meeting spot.

Marinette should have been here by now - but this was Marinette, who always ran a little late. Alix was just being impatient. But this was an important conversation!

A total of fifteen minutes and six seconds (as reported by Fluff) after she was supposed to arrive, Marinette appeared.

"Finally," Alix complained. "I've been waiting for you forever."

"Sorry," Marinette replied. "Bakery emergency."

"Right," Alix said. "So, what do you think?"

"About Nathaniel?" Marinette asked. "I don't know. Telling people just to tell them sounds dangerous."

"But Nath can help!" Alix argued. "He helped today!"

Marinette considered this.

"That's true!" Tikki piped up. "And he did it without knowing why!"

"Plus Nathaniel hates raising his hand in class," Alix added. "But he did, because I asked him too!"

"Plus everyone in class knowing means us kwamis don't have to hide!" Fluff added.

"Except we're not telling Miss Bustier," Marinette said. "But yeah, these are all good points. He's come a far way this year, I trust him."

"As do I!" Alix added.

"I assume you want to tell him?" Marinette asked.

"Yes!" Alix bounced on her toes. "He's my best friend - I need to be the one to tell him."

Marinette sighed. "Okay. Alya and I might - I'll tell you guys about that later. When will you tell him?"

"Tonight," Alix said. "He's sleeping over - and since Lacy has a hair thing-" Alix made a face "it will be just us."

"Sounds good," Marinette said. "I need to get back to the bakery. Let me know how it goes!"

Marinette tapped her pencil on the table, trying to focus on the math problem.

"Maybe you should put your homework away for a while," Tikki suggested. "Take a breath."

Marinette sighed. "You're right. Today's been so hectic - it's hard to focus." She put her pencil down. "I'm going to grab something to eat, what would you like?"

"Anything would be great!" Tikki replied.

Marinette nodded, and headed down to the kitchen.

Inside her parents were talking in hushed tones. They stopped when Marinette appeared.

Marinette halted, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Um, is something wrong?"

"Why didn't you tell us you were Ladybug?"

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: Worst Nightmares

It was peaceful in the hair salon.

It wasn't often peaceful around Chloe. She always needed to be the loudest person in the room, but today she seemed content to keep her voice down as she chatted with the person doing her hair.

Mylene was happily discussing hair styles on the other side of Lacy. Lacy wasn't up to talking much - she was just focusing on the feeling of having her hair done.

It was over too soon.

"Oh, I was going to ask," Mylene said as they left the salon. "One of the other girls in my theater class is super cool, I was hoping she could come along with us next time!"

"Sure," Chloe said. "The more the merrier."

"Sounds fun," Lacy agreed.

Chloe and Lacy parted with Mylene at the bus station, before walking back towards their places.

"I've noticed you haven't been using the limo much," Lacy said.

Chloe shrugged. "Trying not to use as much gas, plus Pollen enjoys our walks."

They arrived at the hotel, where Andre the ice cream man had parked. Lacy recognized several of her schoolmates, including Sadie.

Lacy waved largely, so that Sadie saw her. Sadie waved back, paid for her ice cream, and headed over.

"Do you think this soulmate thing is real?" Sadie asked. "It doesn't look much like Walt."

Lacy shrugged. "No clue."

"I doubt it," Chloe said. "I think soulmates are-"

Whatever Chloe had been about to say was cut off when both Chloe and Sadie vanished.

Well, Chloe vanished. After a second, Lacy noticed the bird on the ground where Sadie had been.

"Sadie?" Lacy asked, kneeling down.

The bird pecked Lacy's knee lightly in confirmation.

The nose ring seemed to have transformed with Sadie, but Stompp had landed under the bird. Lacy patted her bag, and Stompp flew into it.

And that's when the zombies attacked.

Nathaniel's eyes widened. And then continued to widen.

"You - you're-"

"Yes, I'm Bunnyx. Fluff, counter-clockwise."

The transformation dropped, Fluff spiraling out of the watch.

"But -" Nathaniel continued stuttering. "But you're - I know you."

"Yes."

"And you're a hero."

"Yes"

"But - but I know you."

"Nath, we literally go to class with the daughter of the mayor."

"That's different," Nathaniel said. "You're a superhero."

"Yes, we've established that." Alix sighed. "You're going to be weird about this, huh?"

"No," Nathaniel denied. "I'm just - shocked."

"I can tell," Alix stated. "Anyways, most of the class has been heroes - except Sabrina and Lila, but they aren't here anymore."

"Wh - most of the Class?" Nathaniel repeated. "Marinette? Lacy? Chloe?"

"You already knew about Chloe," Alix pointed out. "But yes. Marinette is Ladybug, Adrien is -"

"Spider!" Nathaniel interrupted. "Alix, there's a spider on your shoulder."

Alix's insides froze.

Spider.

Alix brushed at her shoulder, knocking the spider down.

That's when she noticed another spider climbing up her leg.

"Agh!" Alix shook her leg. "Stop it! Get off!"

The spider clung on, and another spider climbed up her torso.

Someone cackled.

And another Alix walked into the room.

"Akuma," Alix guessed.

The other Alix began laughing.

"Sandboy again," Nathaniel guessed.

"You're worst fear is me laughing?" Alix asked.

More and more spiders came crawling in.

"People in general laughing at me," Nathaniel explained.

Alix stepped up onto her bed to avoid the spiders. "I'm really tempted to burrow myself away from all of this."

"Burrow - you mean time travel?"

The spiders were on her bed.

"Sort of. I'll show you. Fluff-"

"Food," Fluff whined.

"Right," Alix said. "Carrots are in the kitchen. Don't let dad see you."

"Huh?" Marinette responded.

"You're Ladybug," her dad repeated.

"What? Ladybug? Me?"

"We're disappointed in you," her mom said. "You should have told us. I can't believe you kept a secret from us."

"Can we ever trust you again?" Her dad asked. "Can we ever believe a word from you?"

"You-" Marinette started. "I had to!"

Her dad smacked the counter. "There's no excuse!"

"Marinette?"

Marinette turned to find her mom behind her.

But her mom was in the kitchen?

The second mom's eyes focused on the first mom, and before Marinette had a moment to figure out what was going on, her mom was stepping in front of her. She pushed Marinette back, like a mother bear protecting her Cubs.

"Marinette, it's an akuma," her mom said. "Go back into your room and hide."

"Oh, she's not going to hide," not-mom taunted.

"Shut up!" Marinette yelled.

"You should tell her," not-dad added. "Tell her what a liar you are!"

"How dare you talk to my daughter like that!" Her real mom said. "Marinette, whatever you're going to do, get away from here!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Marinette said.

But I need to transform, her brain said. I need to leave to transform.

"Go!" Her mom barked. "I've got this!"

"The akuma is either Sandboy or has the same powers," Pegasus reported. "It's throwing Paris into a panic."

"Fear based powers?" Kota asked. "Today? Seriously?"

The transformed heroes were gathered on the rooftop of the hotel, hidden behind a Shellter as they planned. Absent was Bunnyx, who would come if they needed her, Queen Bee, who had yet to reappear, Chat Noir, for reasons unknown, and Stampede, who was still a bird.

"We need a plan," Roi Singe stated. "Preferably one that does not require fighting the giant spiders."

"Arachnophobia is one of the most common fears," Kota piped up.

"Also, there's the zombies," Carapace added.

"Necrophobia is less common," Kota said. "But it's what I have."

"Wait, what are all of your worst fears?" Rena Rouge asked. "So we're prepared. I'm always afraid that I'm going to be responsible for something happening because I didn't speak up, you know?"

Ladybug hesitated a moment. "Failure, mostly, at least when I'm Ladybug."

"Same," Roi Singe admitted.

"Fear of failure - that's Atychiphobia," Kota stated.

Everyone gave her a strange look.

"You know your phobias," Pegasus stated.

Kota shrugged. "It's an old interest of mine. I'm necrophobic, as I said. So yeah, the zombies are my fault."

"Mine is loud noises," Lis Tigre said.

"Phonophobia," Kota said. "I've always wandered - do you have sensory problems?"

Lis Tigre nodded.

"I'm afraid of hospitals," Pigmy added.

"Nosocomephobia," Kota said.

"I'm aichmophobic," Pegasus said. "I don't like sharp things."

"That'll be fun to work with," Ladybug muttered. "So far we've got loud noises, hospitals, zombies, failure, sharp objects, and not being able to help."

"I'm also afraid of failure," Ryuko added. "I have thought about it, and I believe it's my worst fear."

"I'd have to say my worst fear is losing my family," Viperion stated. "Which, thankfully, doesn't seem to actually impact them, just create an illusion."

"That is consistent with Sandboy's other attacks," Ladybug admitted.

"We're not going to talk about this later, right?" Carapace asked.

"This isn't leaving the rooftop," Ladybug confirmed.

"Why, what's you're fear?" Roi Singe asked.

Carapace shifted his weight. "Well, depression, probably. And we are not talking about why."

Rena Rouge looped her arms around Carapace. "I'll love you no matter what."

"Okay," Ladybug said. "So those are the fears we'll personally be facing. Just remember - sometimes the best way to overcome fear is by sticking together."

"If someone is afraid of failure, perhaps they should stay back," Pegasus suggested.

"But we need Ladybug," Rena Rouge said.

"It'll be alright," Ladybug said. "We managed last time. Okay, first up - we need to find the akuma."

"Deploy Tikki the second?" Rena Rouge suggested.

Ladybug nodded, pulling out her yo-yo and deploying the drone.

"Pegasus?"

"Markov was affected by the akuma and doesn't seem to be functioning," Pegasus reported. "I am not totally sure why."

"Okay," Ladybug said. "Do we have any way to figure out where the akuma victim was originally?"

"Already looked into that," Pegasus replied. "No."

"So we have to search all of Paris?" Kota questioned.

"Better get started," Ladybug said.

Bunnyx watched the fight in real time as Nathaniel sat next to her, bucket over his head.

"If you can time travel, why are we waiting on the fight to end?"

"We're not waiting," Bunnyx replied. "I'm watching. I want to make sure they don't need me."

Around her, images from different times and places played. Bunnyx could tune out anything, when she was focused, and right now she was focused on one. She wasn't sure if she could help against the new akuma - if anything, she'd make the spider problem worse.

"Why not look at the ending?" Nathaniel suggested.

"Because - because I'm still not sure if I should," Bunnyx admitted. "Time Travel is complicated. If I skip to the end and they lose, can I just rewind it or would that complicate things? I keep asking fluff-"

"Fluff?"

"My kwami. They power the miraculous, so they should know how it works, but I can't get a straight answer out of them." Bunnyx ran her hand in front of her face in annoyance.

"What is a kwami? Like an alien, some kind of magical creature?"

"They are magical creatures born from a concept or idea," Bunnyx explained. "They have immense power, but not the ability to control it, so the power was tied to the miraculous, where humans can command that power, so it's controlled. Without that control - well, you've heard of Atlantis, right?"

"But if you're sharing this power, how much control do you really have?"

"Complete control," Bunnyx answered. "Miraculous magic is intention-based."

"So the kwamis don't have any control on how you use your powers?" Nathaniel asked.

"No," Bunnyx said. "Otherwise Mayfly wouldn't be able to do what she does."

Bunnyx turned her attention back to the screen, and reached up to move the image to where Ladybug was now.

And then froze.

"Wait," Bunnyx muttered.

"Okay," Ladybug said, her voice sounding tired as it came through the comms. "This isn't working."

Kota, who was fighting off five zombies while trying not to puke, had to agreed.

As Kota whacked one zombie away, a skeleton jumped on her from the rooftop. She screamed, bucking as she tried to knock it off, and ran right into another zombie.

"Agreed!" A somewhat-panicked sounding Lis Tigre yelled. "I feel like my head is going to split open."

"We need to regroup," Ladybug said. "Rena is frozen, for some reason. Carapace, are you recharged?"

"Yeah, I can make sure she's okay," Carapace replied. "Go regroup."

"I'm going to need help," Kota said. She managed to to knock off the skeleton, but the zombies still surrounded her.

"I see you."
Kota didn't get a chance to ask where are you? before Ladybug's Yo-Yo was wrapped around her torso. A second later, she was off the ground and flying behind Ladybug.

They landed on the hotel again.

"You know the zombies will just follow me?" Kota asked.

"We'll handle that," Ladybug said. "Any idea where the akuma is?"

Kota shook her head. "I tried to stay on the search path, but couldn't fend off the zombies. Ugh, I think I'm going to throw up."

"We need a new plan," Ladybug decided.

Nathaniel had been laying down, bored, as Bunnyx watched the screen.

And then he bolted straight up.

"Don't knock the bucket off," Bunnyx said.

"I made fan art of you!" Nathaniel blurted.

"You did," Bunnyx said.

"But - you're- and I - you encouraged it!"

"Did not!" Bunnyx argued. "I just - look, you're a great artist, and maybe I wanted to see what I looked like in your style. Maybe."

Nathaniel plopped back down with a sigh, and Bunnyx sat down next to him.

"When Marinette saw those drawings I did, I felt really bad," Nathaniel said. "I hadn't wanted to share that with anyone, I was so worried she'd think I - I don't know. She didn't get mad at me though, but I felt - I wish that hadn't happened."

"That's why you tried to move on from your crush on Marinette," Bunnyx remembered.

"Yeah," Nathaniel said. "But everyone was making fanart and stories about Ladybug, I thought it was different. Now it looks like I've got to apologize to her again."

"Honestly? Everyone in the class has a problem with pushing boundaries."

"Except you."

Bunnyx nodded. "Except me. Not that I'm perfect, just not as interested in all that stuff."

"Lucky charm!"

The words recalled Bunnyx's attention to the battle, just to see the lucky charm land into Ladybug's hands.

"Looks like I'm up."

The pair of spotted roller-skates landed in Ladybug's hands, and she and Kota stared at it blankly.

"Um," Kota suggested.

Ladybug blinked. "I'm not sure-"

"I am!"

Bunnyx walked triumphantly through the burrow, umbrella over her shoulder.

"Of course," Ladybug said. "Bunnyx, can you use your powers to hunt down the akuma?

"Already done, minibug."

"Okay, just because older you called me minibug doesn't mean you get to."

"But I'm taller than you."

"Am not!"

Bunnyx straightened up, and Ladybug straightened up, and realized that, yes, Bunnyx was now taller than her.

"How?"

"Growth spurt!"

"Nevermind," Ladybug muttered. "Where is it?"

"I sent M- Pegasus, the coordinates," Bunnyx replied. "We should be getting a portal... now."

Right on cue, a portal opened up.

"Alright, let's go!" Ladybug said.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Bunnyx asked, and held out her hand.

"Huh?"

"The skates," Bunnyx said. "They're for me, aren't they?"

The akuma - who was Sandboy again - was sitting in the park, eyes closed. It would be easy to sneak up on him, except that Ladybug landed loudly.

The akuma's eyes didn't open, but the spiders, snakes, and zombies crawling out around him all turned towards them.

"I can't do this," Ladybug complained. "Not with my fear."

"That's what I'm here for!" Bunnyx said, patting Ladybug's shoulder. "Kite?"

Kota handed over her kite, and Bunnyx pulled the string from under it.

"Watch and learn."

And then Bunnyx was off.

Ladybug had seen Alix skate before, but not like this. She was nothing but a blue blue, ducking under and skating around the fears crawling from the akuma. The string threaded through the monsters, tripping them and tying them together.

Within moments, Bunnyx had the akuma trapped by the fears. A second later, the butterfly released.

"Skates, please," Ladybug said.

Bunnyx handed them over, a grin on her face.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

The cure swept through the city. The fears around them vanished as Ladybug purified the akuma.

"Pound it!"

"I should head home," Kota said. "See you tomorrow?"

"You mean today?" Bunnyx asked, gesturing at the sunrise.

"You're kidding me, right?" Ladybug groaned. "I didn't realize the battle was taking that long!"

"School today is going to suck," Kota muttered. "See you then."

As Kota bounded off, Bunnyx turned to Ladybug.

"I want to apologize," she said. "I - I could have intervened earlier, but I - I guess I'm still nervous using my powers? What if I see something I'm not supposed to?"

"It's okay," Ladybug replied. "I get it. Time travel is tricky, you're doing great."

"Thanks," Bunnyx said. "Oh, by the way, do you know where Fu lives?"

"Yes, why?"

"I have something I need to ask him. Text me his address?"

"Uh - okay?" Ladybug's earrings beeped. "Gotta go, see you at school."

"Or don't! You deserve the day off!"

"I'll be fine!"

Marinette reached the door to her apartment, and stopped.

She was very much not fine.

What had her parents figured out? Did they suspect her? Did they suspect something worse?

"Oh, Tikki, what am I going to do?"

Marinette leaned her head against the door. Tikki watched her with concern.

"I think it might be time to tell them the truth," Tikki finally said.

Marinette nodded. "Yeah."

I really don't want to do this.

Marinette straightened up, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Her parents were sitting in the living room, look somber and tired. Her dad perked up slightly when she walked in.

"Good, you're safe," he said.

"You didn't have to wait up for me," Marinette replied.

"We wanted to talk to you," her mom said. "You're not in trouble. Take a seat."

I'm not in trouble, I'm not in trouble, I'm not in trouble...

Marinette sat down.

"You know you can tell us anything, right?" Her mother began. "I don't know what it is you're so scared of us finding out, but you can tell us. I promise."

"And even if you don't," her dad continued. "We won't hold it against you."

"We love you, Marinette. No matter what."

Marinette stared at her hands, surprised to feel a tear running down her cheek.

"I have a secret," she said. "But that secret getting out isn't my worst fear. I think - I think I'm afraid of rejection."

"We know, dear," her mom said. "But we won't reject you."

"You know I had a falling out with my father," her dad added. "When that happened, I knew I would never treat my kid like that."

"Thank you," Marinette muttered. "I think I want to tell you two something."

"We're ready whenever you are."

"I'm Ladybug."

And that, of course, was when the akuma alarm went off.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: Perfection

Lacy was barely in through the door when her dad pulled her into a hug.

"That was scary," he muttered.

"I think that was the point," Lacy replied.

It was easy to guess what her father's worst fear must have been.

Lacy let herself melt into the hug .There was no one who made herself feel as loved as her dad did.

Eventually, Elisabeth broke up the hug, saying that Lacy probably needed a nap.

"Can't," Lacy replied. "Don't want to miss school today after missing yesterday morning."

"But you-"

Whatever Elisabeth was going to say was cut off when Sadie walked down the stairs.

Right. Lacy hadn't forgotten she'd stashed bird-Sadie in her room for safety.

Her dad and Elisabeth watched as Sadie came down the stairs and into their kitchen, and grabbed an ice cream from the freezer.

She pointed the ice cream at Lacy. "We are never talking about this again."

"You can't have that for breakfast," Lacy's dad said. "You need something-"

Sadie ignored him completely, leaving without saying another word.

Elisabeth blinked. "Okay. Anyways, don't push yourself, dove." She put her hand on top of Lacy's head.

Lacy nodded. "I'll be fine. Promise."

Elisabeth smiled and shook Lacy's hair. "Alright. Go get ready for school if that's what you're going to do."

Lacy nodded again, before giving her dad another hug and running up to her room.

Halfway up the stairs, her phone beeped with an akuma alert.

Of the team, Lacy was likely the most awake. That meant she needed to help with the akuma, which meant missing school.

Oh well. She'd probably had ended up falling asleep in class anyways.

The energy from her recharged miraculous was enough to keep Kota moving.

The akuma was at an apartment building not very far away, and Kota was the first at the scene. She perched on a rooftop across the street, keeping her eye out for the akuma.

It was clearly water based, whoever the akuma was. The entire building looked like it was crying, and the civilians had all been flushed from the building. But Kota could not spot the actual akuma.

"That's Kim's building."

Kota startled, not having heard Ladybug land behind her.

"All the civilians have evacuated," Kota said. "If he was here when it happened, he's fine."

"Where's the akuma?" Ladybug asked.

Kota shrugged. "Whoever it is hasn't appeared."

"We do have water power ups, right?" Stampede's voice cut through the comm system a second before she and Ryuko landed on the rooftop.

"I don't think we need those yet," Ladybug said. She tapped at her yo-yo, releasing Tikki the Second. "My drone should be water-proof. We'll find this akuma in no time."

"I know who it is." Roi Singe landed beside Ladybug. "It's my mom."

"Oh."

"Are you okay?" Kota asked, knowing the answer. The way his shoulders slump, the slight frown, the way his tail hung - he was not fine.

But that's not what he said.

"I'm fine. We just had a little argument, nothing we can't smooth over later."

That was a lie, and even Ryuko seemed to realize it.

She frowned. "Are you sure you want to fight her?"

"No," Roí Singe said. "But I will. She's got the thing, with the thing-"

"Perfect aim?" Ladybug guessed.

"Yeah, that. You'll need me."

"Okay," Ladybug agreed. "I'll still send my drone, see if we need to power up or - Chat. Noir."

Everyone's attention turned to the hero, who had just landed. Chat Noir chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"Um, sorry?"

"Sorry?" Ladybug repeated.

"Look, I can explain," Chat Noir said, holding his hands up. "You know what my worst fear is, right? When I'm untransformed?"

"Claustrophobia," Ladybug said.

"You mean claw-strophobia." Chat Noir finger gunned at her.

"Chat."

"Right, not the time. Anyways, when it first happened, I just cataclysmed it, right? But then I thought, well, we have more teammates now, I don't need to rush. So I detransformed to recharge, but then - then the bars reappeared."

"That sounds annoying," Stampede said.

"As annoying as being stuck as a bird?" Kota asked.

Stampede scowled at her. "I told you not to mention that!"

"But Chat, you could have just texted us," Ladybug said.

"Phone wasn't working," Chat Noir replied. "Part of the claustrophobia, probably."

"Don't you mean, claw-strophobia?" Roi Singe asked.

"Roi," Ladybug scolded.

"It's a good pun," Roi Singe replied.

"You know what? Nevermind. Let's focus on this Akuma."

"Sounds like a plan," Chat Noir agreed.

"Anyways, as I was saying," Ladybug continued. "I'm sending my drone in to scout the apartment building. From there, we can tell if we want to power up or not. Sound good?"

The heroes all nodded, and Tikki the Second took off.

And the roof of the apartment building exploded.

The akuma shot up, propelled by a spiral of water.

"You are taking forever!" She shouted. "Well, time is up! I'm taking this fight to you!"

The akuma herself was bright gold. She wore a Greek-style dress the fell passed her feet, and her hair up in a loose bun. Golden laurels circled her head like a crown.

"Okay then," Ladybug muttered. "Any idea where the akuma is?"

"Her necklace," Roi Singe said. "I saw it fly in."

Kota squinted at the akuma, but couldn't make out a necklace.

She did see her raise her hand, so Kota had plenty of time to jump out of the way of the water current. But the water curved to follow her, blasting her and knocking her off the roof.

Kota smacked into the ground, wincing at the pain. Her miraculous kept her from being injured, but it still hurt.

Stampede and Ryuko had landed next to her, both stumbling to their feet quickly. Stampede held out a hand to help Kota up.

"Thanks."

"Roi!" Ladybug called over the comms. "We need to mess up her aim!"

A second jet of water shot over the rooftop, knocking Kota into the air and across the street. She hit a building with a thunk.

"I would if I could stay on my feet for more than two se- aagh!"

"We need to trap her somehow," Stampede said. "Is she creating the water herself or just manipulating-"

Stampede was cut off by another blast of water, and slammed into the wall next to Kota.

"Creating it herself," Roi Singe answered.

"That's annoying," Stampede muttered.

"I can't avoid her even when using my powers," Ryuko said. "This will be troublesome."

"We can't get close to her if she keeps knocking us with - ugh!"

"What about Lis?" Stampede asked.

"Kota, can you-?"

"I'll find her."

"Good. The rest of us will distract the akuma. Go!"

Lacy detransformed about a block from the Liberty. Her clothes were now dry, but her hair was still soaked.

"That was fun!" Orikko said. "What a challenge!"

Lacy yawned. "I just wish the challenges weren't back to back."

Anarcha was the only one on the Liberty's deck, and she waved at Lacy when she approached.\

"I was hoping to talk to Juleka about school stuff?" Lacy said.

"She's in her room, just head on down," Anarcha replied. "But try to be quiet, she has a headache."

Lacy nodded. "Thanks."

She headed down to the bedroom below deck, lightly knocking on the door.

"It's me," Lacy said.

Sass phased through the door, looking at her with sleepy eyes.

"They're tired," they said.

"Ladybug needs Lis," Lacy said.

"Another akuma attack?" Sass questioned.

Lacy nodded. "We're all tiring out."

Sass floated quietly for a moment. "Are you sure you need Lis?"

Lacy shrugged. "I don't make the plans."

"We're all tired," Orikko complained. "Even I'm tired. But there's an Akuma out there, and Ladybug said she needed Lis."

Sass nodded. "Okay, but be quiet."

He floated back through the door. Lacy slowly opened it, willing it not to creak. It creaked anyways.

Luka and Juleka had fallen asleep sitting next to each other, Juleka's head on Luka's shoulder. Lacy hesitated - she didn't want to wake them.

Orikko had no such hesitations.

"Wakey wakey!"

"Quietly," Sass hissed.

"That was quietly!" Orikko replied, still talking very loudly.

Luka woke first, which jolted Juleka awake.

"Sorry," Lacy whispered. "But we need you."

Ladybug winced when she saw how tired Lis Tigre was.

"Sorry," she said. "I wouldn't have waken you if I had a choice, but Rena can't make it and we need a distraction."

"It's fine," Lis Tigre muttered.

"So here's the plan," Ladybug said. "The Akuma has perfect aim, but if you turn-" Ladybug cut herself off with a yawn. "If you turn invisible-"

"Got it," Lis Tigre said.

"Roi will sneak up on her while you've got her distracted," Ladybug finished. "Be careful, those jets of water are strong."

Lis Tigre nodded. "Stripes on!"

Thankfully, the plan worked.

The akuma couldn't aim at what she couldn't see, but Lis Tigre made just enough noise to keep her trying. When the akuma turned her back, Roi Singe used his powers and completely messed up her aim. From there, it was easy for Chat Noir to sneak up on her and snag the necklace.

After that, they fist bumped, and they were good to go home.

"Skip school," Ladybug decided. "It's not worth it. Go and get some rest."

"That sounds like a great idea," Chat Noir agreed. "I think we could all use a cat nap."

"We'll need to have a team meeting to go over something, but not today," Ladybug continued, ignoring Chat Noir. "Bug out!"

And with that, she yo-yoed off.

Chat Noir volunteered to see the akuma victim, the other heroes all muttered something about needing a nap, and soon Ryuko and Roi Singe were the only ones left.

Roi Singe raised an eyebrow. "Don't you need to sleep too?"

"I will," Ryuko said. "But I wanted to make sure you were okay first."

"I'm fine," Roi Singe said. "Like I said, nothing that we won't smooth over later."

"You missed swim practice this morning, correct? That's what the argument was about? Missing one practice?"

Roi Singe sighed. "Yeah. I guess I should've known you could figure it out."

"I know how stressful living with someone like that is."

"It's not that," Roi Singe said. "I mean, not as bad. You see, my mom was a competitive swimmer, and had dreams of going to olympics and everything."

"But something happened?" Ryuko guessed.

Roi Singe nodded. "She got injured, helping someone. She says she doesn't regret it - after all, that's how she met my dad - but when I started showing interest in competitive swimming, she became..."

"Intense?"

"That's one word for it." Roi Singe sighed. "And it's gotten worse these last couple years."

"And you don't want to let her down," Ryuko said. "Because she's your mother, and you love her."

"Yeah, but at the same time - I don't know if I want to compete, at least professionally. I enjoy it now, especially since I get to do it with Ondine, but - I don't know."

"It's tough," Ryuko said. "If you ever want to talk about it-"

"Thanks. You're a good friend, you know?"

"I - uh, thanks."

Ryuko looked down, surprised to feel her cheeks heating up.

"Anyways, enough serious talk," Roi Singe. "Want to race?"

"Your timer is about to run out," Ryuko answered. "Besides, Ladybug said to rest."

"Racing is how I rest," Roi Singe replied. "Oh, but I should feed Xuppu. See you later!"

"Later."

Bustier opened the door to her classroom, ready for another exciting day teaching her class.

Only to find two students in the room.

Bustier faltered. "Where is everyone?"

"Akuma last night kept them up," Mylene said.

"Yeah, that one was rough," Ivan agreed.

"Okay." Bustier took a second to collect herself as she pretended to sort through the books on her desk. "Well then, no point in doing a full lesson. Anything you two would like more help with?"

"I did have questions about last night's reading," Ivan chimed.

"Well, let's go over that, instead."

As Bustier settled into the rhythm of the class, she couldn't help but envy the day akumas were no longer a problem.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: A Very Important Meeting

Fluff floated behind Alix nervously as she knocked on Fu's door.

"Come in," Fu called.

Alix herself refused to be nervous, as this was an important conversation, so she swung open the door and walked in confidently.

Fu was alone, having walked in from another room with a cup of steaming team.

"Ah, Bunnyx," he greeted. "What a surprise."

Alix shut the door behind her for privacy. "I have an important question."

"Yes?"

Two days after Sandboy, Marinette called an all-hands meeting. Chloe had suggested using her room again, so they'd have privacy, and Lacy came over early to help her "prepare".

"So what do you think the meeting is about?" Lacy asked, eating expensive snacks while lounging on Chloe's bed.

"I bet she's found something super smart about the miraculous," Chloe suggested. She was setting out snacks on the floor, leaving room for the treats Marinette was sure to bring. "Or maybe it's about Alix telling Nathaniel."

"I vote for the first option," Pollen chimed in, before diving for one of the chocolates.

"You're going to eat all the snacks before everyone gets here!" Chloe complained.

"Marinette will bring more," Lacy commented.

"You are not being helpful," Chloe replied.

Alix was the next one to arrive.

"Wanted to have some chocolate before Pollen ate it all," she said, picking up a bowl of candy and joining Lacy on the bed.

Chloe huffed.

Eventually, everyone else arrived. Mylene and Sadie joined Lacy on the bed, Fu pulled up a chair, and the rest sat down on the ground.

"I bet you're all wondering why I've gathered you today," Marinette said.

Alya gave her a high five.

"I actually have something I need to say," Adrien said. "After you, of course."

"And I and Fu have something we wish to discuss," Alix added.

"Yes," Fu confirmed. "But first, can you pass me that bag of chips?"

Alix nodded and tossed him the bag.

"Is this about recruiting new heroes?" Rose asked.

"No. Maybe?" Marinette answered. "Alya and I have talked about something, and I guess this is a good place to bring it up, but first there's something you should know."

Marinette took a shaky breath in, and then again. She tapped her fingers against her knees, and scrunched her face up.

"Is something wrong?" Lacy asked. "Whatever you tell us, we probably won't be mad."

"Probably?" Alya questioned.

"I mean, if she killed someone-"

"If Marinette killed someone, they'd deserve it," Alya argued.

"That is probably true," Marinette agreed. "But that's not it."

"Are you sure?" Sadie asked. "I'm pretty good at hiding bodies."

"No, it's - wait, what?"

"I think she's joking," Lacy said.

"Think?" Marinette repeated. "Never mind, I don't want to know. Back to the topic at hand-"

"We had a topic?" Kim asked.

"Yes."

"Marinette is very stressed about this," Tikki chimed in. "It would be nice if you could pay attention."

"Right," Alya said. "Marinette, you have our full attention."

"Thank you." Marinette took a deep breath. "I - um, kinda told my parents? About me? Being Ladybug?"

"Oh," Alya said, chuckling.

"Oh good," Luka added.

"Here I thought it was something bad," Alix said. "Like the killing people thing."

"I am very curious as to why that keeps coming up," Fu said.

"You're not mad?" Marinette asked.

"Mad? No," Alya said. "Why would we be mad?"

"I'm relieved," Luka added. "Now your parents can be the ones making sure you sleep."

"Your parents are wonderful," Adrien added. "I'd trust them."

"But I kept telling all of you to keep your identities secret, and then I was the one to fold and tell mine-"

"Of course you were," Lacy interjected. "You've been under so much stress, no one blames you. And especially if this is related to Sandboy-"

"AKA the akuma we are not talking about," Sadie added.

"Yes, that, and knowing what your fear is, it's understandable," Lacy continued.

"I would have preferred you kept it a secret," Fu said. "But secrets are hard to keep, especially when under such stress."

"Besides, you've been doing this longer than us," Alya added. "Except Adrien, but that's another story."

"Even before I knew he was Hawkmoth, I wasn't going to tell father," Adrien said. "But your parents are different, Marinette. Actually, did you tell your parents anyone else's identity?"

"No," Marinette said. "Knowing mine is risky enough."

"Right," Adrien agreed.

"But telling them has been extremely helpful," Marinette continued. "I wouldn't trust all of your parents, but if you think you can, and it'll help, you can tell yours as well. It's only fair."

"And I am no longer on sleep patrol," Luka said. He leaned back in relief.

"Don't get your hopes up," Sass said. "Not everyone has said they will."

"I definitely will," Lacy said.

"Me too," Mylene agreed.

"And me," Rose added.

"I would like to tell my dad," Max said. "Probably not safe to tell my mom until we're face to face."

"I'd have to decide if I want to tell my parents," Alya said. "But I'm definitely not telling Nora."

"Yeah I'd have to think about it," Kim said.

"Take as much time as you want," Marinette said. "But I would like to keep track of who knows. Okay, next topic of conversation."

"Adrien should go first, mine's pretty heavy," Alix said.

Adrien sighed. "Okay. So, um, this is awkward."

Chloe frowned. "Did you kill someone?"

Fu sighed.

"Don't worry," Max told him. "Most kids our age are like this."

"That does not help me not worry," Fu replied.

"What were you going to say?" Marinette asked.

"I, um, wanted to apologize," Adrien stuttered.

Lacy frowned. "For killing someone?"

"No," Adrien replied.

"Did Plagg kill someone?" Sadie asked.

"No," Adrien replied. "No one killed anyone. At least that I'm aware of."

"So what did you want to apologize about?" Lacy asked.

"I - uh, I don't think many people noticed, but I - uh, well." Adrien awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "When my dad went to jail, I reacted badly."

Marinette frowned. "That's not something you need to apologize about."

"Yeah, if it turned out to be one of my parents, I would have reacted horribly," Alya said.

"As someone who went through something similar, I think you handled it well," Kagami added.

"That's not what I'm apologizing for," Adrien said. "The thing is, I - I wanted to grab onto anything that wasn't changing, but everything was - so I - I guess I didn't want any permanent heroes, because - well, you know - and I may have taken it out on all of you."

"I didn't notice," Rose chimed.

"I did," Nino admitted.

"I also did," Sadie added. "But only because I've had my life change abruptly."

"I was suspicious something like that was going on," Kagami added. "Though I couldn't understand why."

"Well, I'm sorry," Adrien said. "Whatever was going on in my life, I shouldn't have taken it out on you, and I definitely shouldn't let it get in the way of fighting Mayfly."

"This isn't the first time you've let your feelings impact your fighting," Marinette pointed out.

"I know, I know," Adrien said. "I'll try to be a better partner from now on."

"Trying to improve is all you can do," Chloe said. "But if I can improve, you can too."

"What brought on the apology?" Kagami asked. "How did you overcome this - this feeling?"

"Sandboy," Adrien said. "I got stuck, and if we hadn't had you all, Ladybug would have been by herself. Never mind that without Bunnyx, we never would have found the akuma."

"That's right," Alix said. "You can thank me by buying food."

Marinette threw one of her pastries at Alix.

"Look, Adrien, you've been through a lot," Alya said.

Lacy nodded. "You're allowed to feel whatever you feel about it. And it's hard to not take that out on others."

"As I'm sure some people here can attest too," Alya said, giving Chloe a pointed look.

"But that doesn't give me the right to take it out on you," Adrien finished. "I - yeah. I know I need to do better, it's just - it's hard."

"We know," Alya said. "We don't expect you to be okay with what happened."

"Thank you," Adrien said.

"Okay, Alix?" Marinette prompted.

"Okay, so," Alix started out. "Has anyone noticed that kwamis have to do everything we tell them?"

"Wait, what?" Marinette said.

"They're magically bound to obey us," Alix clarified.

Lacy frowned. "That doesn't sound right. Orikko doesn't do half of what I ask him."

Orikko reappeared, landing on Lacy's shoulder. "That's because you never intend to make me do something."

Fu nodded. "Miraculous magic is intention based. As long as you didn't intend to control your kwamis, you wouldn't. This is why I didn't tell any of you."

"But I figured that it would be better if we knew this, so we could avoid it," Alix added.

"Yes," Fu agreed. "When I originally gave out the miraculouses, I could only hope I found good holders. I had no way - no time - to make sure they wouldn't abuse the power. But you all have proven to be kind, and it's less likely you'll abuse that power purposely than accidentally."

"And if you do abuse it," Sadie added. "I will fight you."

"So how do we change that?" Marinette asked. "There must be a spell or something that can release the kwamis."

"There is," Fu said. "The problem is, all the miraculouses must be return to the miracle box for it to work."

"This is the part where you'll want to throw things," Orikko said.

"What?" Marinette asked. "Why?"

"You remember why the miraculouses were formed, correct?" Fu asked.

Marinette nodded. "The kwamis have a lot of magical energy, but they can't control it. So they made a way for humans-"

"Or human-like creatures," Longg interjected.

"Right," Marinette continued. "For those who could control that power to be able to use it."

"Which is why the miraculouses' magic is intention based," Fu added. "Originally, it was meant to be a partnership."

"But then the human side screwed it up?" Adrien guessed.

"Not everyone holder we've had has agreed with it," Tikki said.

"But none have tried to stop it?" Adrien asked.

"My last holder did," Trixx said.

"Kesiah, right?" Alya asked.

Fu nodded.

"Kes was very outspoken about her dislike of the situation," Trixx commented. "It was one of the ways she was manipulated."

"You mean, this Circle - the bad group of people, wanted to free the kwamis?"

Lacy was officially lost. It was like Alya and Fu were having a conversation on their own. The rest of the group looked equally lost, which made Lacy feel better.

"No," Sass said. "They lied. The Circle treated us worse than the guardians at the time."

"And most of the guardians did not treat their kwamis well," Fu added. "There was Kes, of course, and the current ladybug and black cat holders."

"And you," Nino said.

"Ah, I was not officially a guardian at that point," Fu said. "Nor was I trusted with a miraculous. When I was given this miracle box to protect, I chose the turtle for myself."

"Back to the issue at hand," Marinette said. "Why do we need all the miraculous?"

"Grab something to throw," Orikko said.

Fu ignored him. "The guardians made it so that all the current guardians have to agree to release the kwamis."

Marinette shot straight up. "What? That's ridiculous!"

"Agreed," Alya said.

"And there's no way to circumvent that?" Max asked.

"I'm finding a way," Alix said.

"I've looked," Fu said. "But you're all welcome to look as well."

"Oh, I will," Alya promised. "I will-"

Everyone's phones buzzed with an akuma alert.

"But I guess we should deal with that first," Alya said.

"Well, we're all here," Marinette said. "Want to ambush this akuma?"

"Sounds like a plan," Alya agreed.

Lacy hesitated at the door to her apartment.

"Well?" Orikko asked, impatiently floating next to her.

"Maybe I shouldn't," Lacy said.

"Why not?" Orikko questioned. "Do you think they'll be mad?"

"Well, no."

"Would you rather keep it a secret?"

"Not really."

"Then why not tell them?"

Lacy sighed. "I don't know."

She had already told Marinette that she was going to tell her parents, and Marinette had approved. Orikko had also agreed it was a good idea, saying that things would be easier once he no longer needed to hide. Lacy was suspicious that meant he would be screaming louder in the morning, which would not make things easier, but he did have a point.

But staring at the door, Lacy was suddenly questioning her decision.

"Come on," Orikko urged. "You're not the wielder of the chicken miraculous now, are you?"

"But... roosters are chickens?"

"No they're not," Orikko argued.

"Yes they are?

"No," Orikko repeated. "I am not a chicken." He crossed his wings, and turned his head.

Lacy chuckled. "Well, no, you're not a rooster either. You're a kwami."

"Yes, the rooster kwami," Orikko said. "Not the chicken kwami."

"Sure, okay." Lacy sighed. "Well, I guess I should get this over with."

She reached to open the door, before remembering to dig her keys out of her bag.

Her father and Elisabeth were in the kitchen, cooking and joking around. Her father spotted Lacy first.

"Welcome back," he said, putting down the bowl in his hands. "I hope you didn't get caught in that akuma attack."

He walked over, giving Lacy a welcome home hug.

"Um, well," Lacy replied. "I guess I did?"

"Are you alright?" Her father's forehead wrinkled in concern.

"I'm fine!" Lacy replied. "I just - I have something to tell you."

And then she told them.

Her father handled it about how Lacy had expected him to: with lots of questions in regards to her safety. Elisabeth was initially shocked, which Lacy had expected as well.

But Lacy was caught off guard when Elisabeth burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry," she said between giggles. "It's just, we moved here, to - to- but, but you still - it's - I'm sorry, it's not funny."

Lacy chuckled.

"Okay I'm calm," Elisabeth said. And then burst out laughing again.

"I do have to ask," her father said. "Does this have anything to do with the screaming we've been hearing in the mornings?"

"I, uh-"

"Yes!" Orikko replied, choosing that moment to phase out of Lacy's bag and into full view of her parents. "That would be me!"

Elisabeth managed to get enough control of her laughing to look Orikko over. "Who are you?"

"I am Orikko, the kwami for the rooster miraculous. I'm what gives the miraculous it's powers."

"And you scream every morning?" Lacy's dad asked.

"Yep! For I am a rooster!"

"I'm sorry, I've been trying to keep the noise down," Lacy said. "But it's not like I can force him to stop."

"It's fine," her father said. "As long as you're still getting enough sleep."

"Yep," Lacy said. "I've been sleeping better, actually, recently."

"We've noticed," Elisabeth said. "You know we're proud of you, right?"

Lacy felt her cheeks heat up.

"That was true before the hero thing," her dad added. "You don't have to fight supervillains for us to be proud of you, squabbie."

"I know."

"But we are proud of you for that, too," Elisabeth added.

Her father nodded. "It is pretty cool. Now, I still have some questions-"

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: Zoe

Stompp floated worriedly behind Sadie.

"It's not that late," Sadie replied, brushing off the kwami's concern. "I've stayed up later doing research."

"Yes, but there's no need to," Stompp repeated. "It's a school night, and you need to be well rested in case there is another akuma."

"I am well rested," Sadie said. "There's nothing Mayfly can send at me that I can't handle."

Sadie replaced the book back on the shelf. The Paris House of Life's librarian was very particular about her books, and everything needed to put back in the right location.

"Sadie, my stot," Stompp continued. "There are multiple people researching this. You do not need to carry the weight of all of this."

Sadie picked up a different book and scanned through it. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But I'm here, so I might as well help out."

Stompp floated in front of the book, hands on his hips. "Sadie."

Sadie sighed, closing the book. "Fine." She replaced the book, and sighed.

So, now she just needed to go and sleep. Her homework was done, her book bag packed. Should be easy, right?

"Sadie?" Stompp prodded.

"But what if something happens tonight?" Sadie said. "What if something happened and I could've stopped it if I just read that one more thing?"

Sadie pressed her forehead against the bookshelf. This was exactly why she left Brooklyn in the first place. She constantly felt like she had to be doing something, working on something, and if she didn't, the world would end.

But even then, when given the opportunity to go to Paris, explore the world like she had always wanted to, always envied Carter and her dad for, she had to bribed by the opportunity to help.

"It's good that you want to help," Stompp said. "But you don't have to push yourself like this. Not anymore."

Sadie nodded. "I know, I know, it's just - I guess it's a hard habit to break."

She turned so her back was against the bookshelf, and looked up at the ceiling above. For the first time that evening, she realized how tired she was.

"Ugh, I hate it when Carter is right," she muttered. She smacked the back of her head against the books.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sadie could see a butterfly coming her way.

It fluttered in front of her for a moment, and Sadie glared it at. The butterfly turned the other way, as if tired and wishing she could just go to sleep was not a good emotion for a super villain.

"We should probably do something about that," Sadie muttered.

"Just text Marinette, she can handle it," Stompp said. "You need to sleep."

"Okay," Sadie said. "Let's go home."

The next morning, Sadie still felt tired, but she refused to give in and oversleep.

She was the third person in class that day - Max and Lacy being the only other two there.

Lacy, being Lacy, noticed Sadie's mood immediately.

"You okay?" She asked, sliding into the seat next to Sadie.

"Hm? Yeah, just tired," Sadie replied. "Nothing to worry about."

"Uh-huh."

Lacy gave Sadie a look and Sadie replied with a look of her own.

"I'm fine," Sadie repeated.

"You don't look fine," Lacy said.

"Well, thanks."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Lacy grunted, rubbing her hand down her face. "You're being difficult."

"Further proof I'm perfectly myself," Sadie replied.

The classroom door opened as Chloe and Mylene walked in.

"Fair enough," Lacy said. "Let me know if-"

"Yes, of course, now stop worrying so much."

Lacy rolled her eyes. "I only worry cause I care."

"Lacy," Chloe said. "If you want my opinion-"

"Yes, yes, I know," Lacy said, waving her off. "We've had this conversation before."

"Are you two still planning to join us for practice today?" Mylene asked.

"Yep," Sadie replied. "I'm looking forward to it!"

"Wait, that's today?" Lacy asked.

"Tech week starts today," Mylene confirmed.

"It's been too long since I've experienced a good tech week," Sadie said. She hadn't been in the BAG play this year due to a... disagreement with the play chosen, but she missed being involved in theater. Being a stage hand wasn't the same as being on stage, but it was something.

"It won't be too stressful this year," Mylene said. "We don't want any akumas!"

"I don't know, a stressful tech week could keep everyone too tired to be akumatized," Sadie said.

"A good point," Max piped up from the other side of the classroom. "Mayfly hasn't akumatized many on exhaustion-based emotions, unlike Hawkmoth."

"There was Sandboy," Lacy pointed out.

"Who were still not talking about," Sadie added.

"That was fear, not exhaustion," Max replied.

"Either way, no theater akumas would be good!" Mylene said. "Especially since that leaves more time for actual practice! And we definitely need it." Mylene smiled like it hurt to do so, and she and Chloe took their seats.

The door opened with a dramatic bang, and Adrien and Nino walked in, excitably talking to each other. When they reached the middle of the classroom, Adrien stopped to address the room.

"I have an announcement to make," Adrien announced.

Alix slipped in through the door, closing it softly behind her.

"I'm going to dye my hair," Adrien continued.

"Ooh, let me do it!" Sadie said. "What we need to do is find the cheapest, lowest quality hair dye possible-"

"And risk getting green hair like yours?" Chloe asked.

"Yes," Sadie said. "You're not trying to look good with hair dye."

"I dye my hair to look cool," Alix commented.

"I agree with Sadie," Adrien said. "I want to do something that would annoy my father if he saw."

"Cheap it is," Chloe commented.

"Anyone else in for a hair dyeing party?" Sadie asked. "Lacy, you're coming, right?"

"Yes!" Lacy agreed. "I loved the pink highlights you did last year!"

"Max? Mylene?" Sadie asked. "Chloe I assume-"

"That I won't let you touch my hair?" Chloe finished.

"Exactly."

"I'm in," Mylene said. "If I can, but this is tech week."

"I don't do hair stuff," Max said. "But you all enjoy."

"I need to redo my roots, so I'm in," Alix said.

Marinette and Alya walked in, discussing something on Alya's phone.

"Nino?" Adrien asked.

"Dude, I don't have enough hair," Nino replied.

"Enough hair for what?" Alya asked.

"We're dying Adrien's hair," Sadie said.

"Oh, I'm so in for this," Alya said. "We're getting the cheapest hair dye we can find, right?"

"Is it today?" Marinette asked.

"No, probably not for a few more days," Adrien said. "We still have to get all the hair dye."

"Maybe next Monday, after all the theater stuff is over with?" Sadie suggested.

"Works for me," Adrien said.

"I'll mark it down," Marinette agreed.

"Ooh, you should do your hair red," Lacy said. "Like, just the tips."

"No, you should do pink," Mylene said.

"So where are we doing this?" Lacy asked. "Sadie's place?"

"We could talk Kagami into doing this!" Alya said.

"I'm sure Tidir wouldn't mind," Sadie replied. In fact, she might enjoy seeing me hanging out with friends and doing regular stuff.

Juleka, Rose, and Ivan entered, pausing when they saw Adrien and Nino in the front of the class.

"Are you three in for hair dyeing?" Sadie asked.

"Yes!" Rose chirped. Juleka gave a less enthusiastic yes as well.

Ivan ran his fingers through his hair, and then shrugged. "Not sure if I have enough hair."

"It's enough," Juleka said.

"I'm going to go ahead and assume Kim is in as well," Sadie said, because Kim was Kim and Kim was always in.

"I'm volunteering Nath," Alix added.

"I'll work out the schedule," Marinette said. "I know the practice times for tech week already, and fencing practice, and everything else."

"Tech week?" Adrien asked. "That sounds fun."

"Totally," Mylene said, chuckling nervously.

Sadie glanced back at Mylene and gave her a thumbs up, and when she looked back she saw Stompp floating in front of her.

"Your phones ringing," he said.

Sadie frowned, reaching for her phone in her pocket before remembering she didn't have pant pockets today. Her phone was in her book bag, where she wouldn't have noticed it ringing.

"Thanks," Sadie said, reaching for her bag to grab the phone.

It was ringing, and a quick glance at the caller ID told her it was important.

"It's my brother," Sadie said. "Watch my stuff?"

Lacy nodded, and Sadie slid out to the hallway to take the call.

"Hullo?"

The voice on the other end was not Carter's.

"I need to - you keep the-"

"Cleo? What's wrong?"

Something very loud clattered in the background.

"Alissa - and I-"

"Cleo, calm down and start from the beginning."

Cleo took two audible breaths before continuing.

It was hard to make out what she was saying, due to the commotion in the background, but from what Sadie could figure out, a magical project went wrong and now they were being attacked by statues.

By the time Cleo was explaining why Carter wasn't handling this himself, most of the class had arrived and Sadie could clearly here someone chasing after penguins in the background of the call.

"Okay, here's what you need to do," Sadie said.

Someone cleared their throat, and Sadie turned to see Bustier watching her.

Sadie gestured to her phone a mouthed "family". Bustier nodded and continued in.

Sadie returned to giving her instructions.

It took about ten minutes, but Sadie talked Cleo through fixing the problem. And once Cleo confirmed that all was well, Sadie snuck back in class.

The first thing Sadie did at lunch was call Carter.

"I'm supposed to be on vacation!"

"I didn't tell her to call you," Carter argued. "I was busy."

"I am trying to destress, as you asked me too," Sadie continued.

"You don't sound destressed," Carter said.

Sadie rubbed her forehead. "Look, I'm trying. But there's a terrorist on the loose, another person portalled to Las Vegas instead of Cairo this morning, and Walt is being no help with the anti sleep things."

"It's not-"

"Our sole responsibility to save the world anymore, I know," Sadie said. "But - this isn't even what I was calling you about!"

Sadie sighed, sitting down on the stairs. Behind her, students were still leaving school in packs, on their way to wherever they were having lunch that day.

"I don't know, I'm just tired," Sadie said. "It's like - it's like my brain was wired a certain way while we were dealing with the whole end-up-the-world stuff, and now I can't rewire it."

"Technically speaking, I think that is what happened," Carter replied. "And I'm going through the same thing here."

"I don't know why you want to stay there," Sadie admitted. "Getting out, even if it's just for a little while, is helping."

"I've spent my life traveling, I'm fine staying here for now," Carter replied. "But I might drop by Paris in a few days, I think I found something to help with the portal problems."

"Cool," Sadie said, trying to hide the jolt of excitement that ran through her. She missed her brother - but she would never tell him that.

Lacy announced her presence by nudging Sadie with her foot.

"Eat," she said.

"Anyways, got to go!" Sadie said. "Lacy wants attention."

"I want food," Lacy corrected. "Let's go."

She nudged Sadie again with her foot.

"Alright, alright," Sadie said, standing up. "Where to?"

As planned, Lacy and Sadie met with Mylene after class. Chloe also ended up tagging along, out of boredom.

As they walked to the practice, Mylene explained what they would be doing as stagehands, occasionally getting distracted by other random details.

"- oh and she's so nice," Mylene was saying. "So pleasant to work with. Much better than the lead last semester."

"Wasn't he akumatized over something?" Chloe recalled.

Mylene shrugged. "I try not to pay attention to who's been akumatized. Especially after Ivan's experience."

"That's right, he was the first victim, wasn't he?" Lacy recalled.

Mylene nodded. "And here we are!" She opened the door, waving the three of them in.

Inside, students were already scrambling. In one corner, a teacher was explaining something to a group of students - all male, Sadie noticed, so it was likely about stage makeup - and in another, a group of students were running through vocal warm ups.

"So where do you want us?" Lacy asked.

"Over here!" Mylene led them up to the makeshift stage, where a teacher was talking with a student.

"Mr Monlataing," Mylene said.

The teacher broke off his conversation and broke into a smile. "Oh, good, you did come. We'll walk you through what you need to do as we practice, sound good?"

Lacy and Sadie both nodded.

"Oh, and this is our lead, Zoe," Mr Monlataing said, gesturing to the student.

"So you're the Zoe Mylene's been talking about nonstop?" Chloe questioned, giving Zoe a look over.

"And you must be Chloe?" Zoe replied, mirroring Chloe's stance. "Mylene's talked about you too."

"You're American," Sadie noted, recognizing the accent.

"Kumer Boomer?" Lacy guessed.

Zoe nodded. "We just moved here last fall."

"Zoe's mom teaches mythology," Mr Monlataing said. "Something you're all interested in?"

Lacy bounced on the balls of her feet. "Really? That's so cool! What type?"

"She teaches several," Zoe replied, shifting her weight forward. "But my favorite is Celtic mythology."

"Ooh, I don't know anything about that," Lacy said. "I really only know Greek mythology."

"Maybe sometime you two can compare notes?" Monlataing suggested.

"Sounds fun!" Lacy said.

"Anyways, Mylene and Zoe need to get changed, I'll show the two - three? - of you backstage and explain," the teacher continued.

Lacy and Sadie nodded, and Mr Monlataing began showing them (and Chloe) backstage, but was cut off by everyone's phones going off.

Sadie was the first to check her phone. "Oh, it isn't near us, it shouldn't be a problem."

"We still need to keep track of it," Mr Monlataing said.

"I can do that!" Chloe volunteered. "Since I'm not doing anything else."

"Great!" Mr Monlataing said. "Thank you. The rest of you, let's get this show on the road!"

"Which akuma is it this time?" Adrien asked, already looking around for a place to transform.

Adrien and Nino were almost to their apartment, after stopping by the bakery on their way home from school, when the akuma alert went off.

"Looks like it's Mr Pigeon again," Nino replied. "They can probably handle it without you, with your allergies and all."

"True," Adrien said. "I don't feel like being attacked by pigeons today. I should tell her I'm sitting it out."

Adrien fished his phone out of his backpack and sent a text to Marinette.

not pigeons, was the response. rats.

"Looks like I'm good to go," Adrien said, showing Nino the text.

"Oh good. Rats don't fly."

They ducked into the apartment building and into the empty staircase to transform.

Chat Noir met Ladybug in the street in front of the bakery, Carapace right behind him.

"Don't worry kitty, no feathers this time," Ladybug teased.

Pigmy and Lis Tigre landed behind Ladybug, and Ryuko next to Chat Noir.

"Giant rats," Lis Tigre said.

Pigmy bounced on the balls of her feet. "They're so cute!"

"I thought Mr Pigeon used pigeons," Ryuko said.

"Nope, no pigeons," Ladybug confirmed. "Giant rats."

"Like ROUSes?" Carapace asked.

"Rodents of unusual size?" Chat Noir asked, leaning on his staff. "I don't believe they exist."

And then, true to the reference, a giant rat slammed into Chat Noir.

Chapter Text

Chapter 14: Masquerade

Alix raised an eyebrow.

"You're spending lunch in the library again?" She asked.

"Yes," Lacy replied. "Why is that a surprise?"

"You're almost never in the library," Alix replied. "But this is the third time this week."

Sadie walked up to the two girls, slinging an arm around Lacy. "It's because we're meeting a cute girl there."

Lacy could feel the blush spread through her cheeks. "What? No we're n- I mean, Zoe's pretty, but it's not - Sadie."

Sadie laughed. "You know I'm right."

Alix rolled her eyes. "Oh, it's that type of thing."

"We're comparing notes between Greek and Celtic mythology," Lacy argued.

"Uh huh," Sadie said.

"That's all this is!"

"We spent lunch with her yesterday," Sadie said. "And the day before. And rehearsal these last three days. And again tonight!"

"We can't talk much during a rehearsal," Lacy argued. "We're just hanging out and talking. That's all."

"Well, have fun with just hanging out," Alix replied. "I'll be in the art room with Nath."

"Enjoy," Sadie said. "Come on, Chicken Little-"

"Excuse me," Lacy cut off, finally knocking Sadie's arm off her shoulder. "What did you just call me?"

"Chicken little," Sadie repeated. "Because you're the chicken hero."

Lacy opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off by Orikko.

"Rooster," he yelled, loud enough to be heard from inside Lacy's school bag. "Not chicken."

Alix frowned. "But a rooster is-"

"You don't want to start," Lacy warned. "Anyways, we need to go."

She tugged Sadie's sleeve to get her to leave, and the two headed for the library.

"How come you-"

"We're not having this conversation," Lacy interrupted.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" Sadie argued.

"Yes I do!" Lacy said. "You do this every time I - every time you think I have a crush on someone."

"You had a crush on my brother," Sadie argued. "That gives me infinite teasing rights."

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

"Does not!"

The conversation was thankfully interrupted by Zoe waving them down.

The more Lacy enjoyed lunch, the more she feared interruption by an akuma.

Mylene joined them halfway through. She didn't know much about mythology, but didn't mind Zoe and Lacy explaining in depth. Sadie mostly sat back and watched, seemingly entertained.

The akuma never came, but as the three of them packed up to head back to class, Chloe appeared.

"Ugh, I've been so bored all lunch," she complained, leaning dramatically on Lacy's chair. "Where has everyone been?"

"Here," Lacy said, turning her neck at a strange ankle to look up at Chloe's

"Why?" Chloe asked. "You don't like libraries."

"What? I - why does everyone keep saying that?"

Zoe chuckled.

"Oh, you again," Chloe said. "Talking theater?"

"No, mythology," Zoe replied.

"Oh, I didn't know Mylene was in to that," Chloe admitted.

"I'm not really," Mylene replied. "But I had some time after meeting with my club, and Zoe explains it really well."

Adrien appeared behind Chloe, nearly startling Lacy out of her chair.

"I thought the two of you would be sick of each other by now," Chloe continued. "With all the time you've been spending together."

"That's not a very nice thing to say," Adrien scolded.

Chloe flinched. "Adrien. Didn't see you there."

"Chloe, if you want my opinion-" Lacy started.

"Shush it," Chloe replied, before turning back to Adrien. "I didn't mean it that way. Sorry."

"It's fine, I understood what you meant," Mylene said. "But honestly, Zoe and I don't get to talk much during rehearsal anymore. So lunches like this are nice!"

"Maybe tomorrow you can join us!" Mylene suggested.

"You've already planned to meet again tomorrow?" Chloe questioned.

Lacy glanced up again, a little concerned about the jealousy bleeding through Chloe's voice.

"We should be getting back," Zoe said, standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Good idea," Lacy agreed, also standing up. "We shouldn't keep class waiting."

"We still have a few minutes," Chloe said, as if she had any concept of time.

"It's good to be early," Lacy said, tugging at Chloe's arm to get her to go.

"Ugh," Sadie groaned, pushing her remaining books in her bag. "Yeah, probably."

Chloe brushed her hand off. "I am perfectly capable of arriving to class on time without your help."

"Well, I'm going to go," Zoe said. "See you all later."

"Yeah, bye," Chloe replied.

"See you tonight?" Mylene asked. "Before rehearsal?"

"Ugh," Chloe complained. "Why do you spend so much time with her?"

"Wh - she's my friend?" Mylene replied.

"That's not any of your business," Sadie snapped.

"So am I? Right?" Chloe asked.

"You're not acting like it right now," Mylene muttered.

Chloe snarled. "Well she's not much better! Do you even know her? Every time I've talked to her, she's been acting! Haven't you noticed she just copied everyone's mannerisms? She's a fraud!"

Zoe made a sound, and darted in one direction. Chloe huffed, and walked off in another.

Lacy and Sadie exchanged looks, and Sadie chased after Zoe and Lacy after Chloe.

Potential akuma. Near library.

Marinette showed the text to Alya, who passed it to Nino.

When her phone made it back to Marinette, another text appeared.

Chloe's fault.

"Someone should check on Mylene," Marinette said, reading the text again.

"Text Ivan," Alya suggested. "We have more important problems."

"We don't know there's an Akuma ye-" Nino was cut off by a scream.

Marinette's phone buzzed again, this time with a text from Sadie.

akuma. near library. some sort of shapeshifter. dont count on chloe.

"That's going to be a fun story," Marinette said.

"Shapeshifter?" Alya said, grabbing Marinette's phone.

"Yeah," Marinette said. "If it's anything like Chameleon, we'd need Lacy. Let me text her real quick-"

"Maybe one of us should find her?" Nino suggested. "Since she doesn't always check her phone?"

"She will when the akuma alert goes off," Marinette said, sending the text. "Shapeshifter - not having the bee will be a pain, but invisibility is going to be useful. Let me text Juleka real quick."

When Marinette finished texting everyone and could transform, a team of heroes had already begun forming on the rooftop.

"No Kota yet?" Ladybug noted, when she landed. "And no Chat either."

"They're chasing Chloe down," Stampede said. "Long story."

Ladybug did a mental check of who had arrived. Lis Tigre and Viperion had both come, as requested, and Stampede and Pigmy had also transformed. And, of course, Rena Rouge and Carapace.

"So what's the power set?" Rena Rouge asked.

"Sounds a lot like Chamelion, from what Sa - sorry, Stampede was telling us," Pigmy said. "The akuma, Masquerade, looks people in the eye and then transforms into them."

"And she can transform back, too," Stampede said.

"Does she knock out the person she transforms into?" Ladybug asked.

"No," Stampede said. "I would know, I was the first person she transformed into."

"Should we have some type of code?" Rena Rouge asked. "So we know who's Masquerade and who's themselves?"

"Well, Kota would know," Ladybug said. "But she's not here."

"Did you text her?" Pigmy asked.

"Yeah," Ladybug replied.

"It's La - right, sorry, Kota - she doesn't always check her phone," Stampede supplied usefully.

"What about the mouse?" Viperion asked. "Hard to make eyes contact with someone that small."

"The last mouse was Mylene, right?" Stampede asked. "She's not in a good mood right now."

"You could always use it again," Viperion suggested.

"That's true," Ladybug said.

"I thought you said we can't double wield?" Pigmy asked.

"We're not supposed to," Ladybug said. "But I can for brief periods of time. Still, I don't-"

"What if you don't?" Rena Rouge interrupted. "Someone - maybe Carapace - could hold onto your earrings while you transform, and then we could - oh, we could cast a shelter around the akuma while you change back."

Lis Tigre cleared her throat. "Or I could turn invisible."

"That works too," Rena Rouge said.

"I was thinking numbers," Viperion said.

"What about a mirage?" Carapace suggested.

"How about you let me tell you what I've already planned, than you can make suggestions?" Ladybug asked.

"Right, go ahead."

"Lis, on my signal, turn invisible and sneak up on - what was the name? Masquerade? When that happens, Viperion I want you to activate your second chance. Until then, we need to distract Masquerade and get her someplace where there's a lot of visibility."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Stampede said, nodding behind Ladybug.

Ladybug turned to see Pegasus and Roi Singe arrive.

"Yes, great," Ladybug said. "Pegasus, we need to send the akuma someplace with lots of open space and not a lot of hiding options."

"The stadium?" Pegasus asked.

"Good idea," Ladybug agreed. "Roi Singe, Stampede, go with him. Stampede will catch you up on Masquerade's powers-"

"Mylene already has," Pegasus replied. "Though we have yet to see if she has an additional, more offensive power. I calculate a 90% chance she does."

"That's something to watch out for," Ladybug said. "Roi, if you can, hit her with your powers, but our priority right now is getting her out of the school and somewhere where we can maintain sight of her. The rest of us will head to the stadium. Now, any additional suggestions?"

"No mirage?" Rena Rouge asked.

"No," Ladybug said. "We don't want to obscure our vision of her."

"Makes sense," Rena Rouge agreed. "Alright, let's do this!"

Lacy followed Chloe into an empty classroom, Adrien right behind her.

"I don't want to hear it," Chloe said, not looking at either of them.

"Chloe," Adrien said.

"I said I don't want to hear it."

"What happened?" Lacy asked.

Chloe huffed. "You were there."

"Chloe-"

"Don't Chloe me!" Chloe turned on her heels so she was facing Lacy and Adrien. "I don't want to hear it!"

"I don't even know what it is!" Lacy replied.

"You know!" Chloe responded. "Chloe, be nice. Chloe, why are you like this? Chloe, I thought you were doing better!"

"You are doing better," Lacy said. "One relapse isn't going to change that. Just help us understand why."

"Lacy's right," Adrien agreed. "You've been working really hard at getting better, we know that. This doesn't change that."

"Obviously, something about Zoe was pushing your buttons today," Lacy said. "Or maybe it was just the last straw and you've been upset about something else?"

"I just don't like her," Chloe replied, crossing her arms.

"Why?" Adrien asked.

"I don't know. Her name is too similar to mine?"

Lacy mentally facepalmed. "You can't - I mean, you can, but you realize - peoples names sound similar sometimes? Like at camp, there's four Casey's, two Tracy's, a Stacy, and a Macy. People mix up our names all the time. And of course, all the Casey's spell it differently - as if having four Casey's wasn't confusing enough in the first place. Especially considering-"

"Lacy, does this have a point?" Chloe interrupted.

"Uh, no, not really."

"There's something else behind this," Adrien said. "I know you well enough by now."

"Probably," Chloe said, crossing her arms again. "How should I know?"

"Look, maybe this is something you should talk to your therapist about, and not us," Lacy said. "I just need to make sure you're alright."

"I'm not going to get akumatized, if that's what you're worried about," Chloe deflected. "Oh, and speaking of therapy, did you ever find a therapist?"

"Well, no, but there's someone in - don't dodge the question!"

"You're in therapy?" Adrien asked.

Lacy blinked. "Yeah, of course, for all of that - we're not talking about me."

Chloe huffed. "Why not?"

"Wh - you just -"

"Chloe," Adrien stepped in. "We do need to talk about this."

"Ugh, fine," Chloe replied. "I was jealous. Happy?"

"Jealous? Of Zoe?" Lacy said. "Why?"

"Cause she was taking up so much of Mylene's time," Chloe said. "I - she's been a really good friend, especially since Sabrina left, and I know that people have multiple friends but I - I just - I don't know."

"Jealousy isn't rational," Lacy said. "I've gotten jealous over friends before."

"Me too," Adrien agreed.

"So?" Chloe asked. "How did you deal with it?"

"Uh," Adrien answered.

"Um, talk to you therapist?" Lacy suggested.

Chloe sighed and rubbed her nose. "You two aren't very helpful."

Lacy opened her mouth to respond, but no response came.

Jealousy was a complicated emotion, and honestly? It was hard to deal with.

Adrien also looked like he was trying to come up with a solution, but his efforts were interrupted when the wall behind Chloe crashed.

Hero reflexes kicked in, and all of three of them ducked in time to not be hit by the flying debris.

"What was that!" Chloe screeched.

Lacy inched closer to inspect, surprised to find a figure on the floor.

"Roi?" She asked.

Roi Singe gave her a grin. "There you are. There's an akuma if you would like to join us."

Lacy and Adrien exchanged looks.

"Zoe."

"Okay."Ladybug's voice clearly sounded through the comms. "That plan didn't work. With Pegasus out of the commission, it will be difficult to get Masquerade out of the school. We need a new plan.

"Cataclysm the floor out from under her?" Chat Noir suggested.

"And into a trap," Queen Bee finished.

"Oh, have you two decided to join us?" Ladybug asked.

"And me," Kota chimed in.

She was perched on the railing overlooking the courtyard, eyes on the door to the library. Chat Noir and Queen Bee stood ready behind her.

"Great!" Ladybug replied. "Masquerade's powers work by eyesight! If you use your powers to blind her-"

"I can sneak up on her," Chat Noir finished.

"Wait for my signal," Ladybug said. "Lis, I want you there as backup in case this goes wrong. Viperion, on my signal, start up your powers. Everyone in position."

Kota and Chat Noir leaped to the other side of the courtyard, landing silently in front of the classroom. Chat Noir headed to the back door, while Kota stayed near the front.

She peaked her head in. "All I see is Mylene."

"That's Masquerade," Ladybug replied. "Stampede made sure Mylene got out fine."

"And I made sure it was Mylene too," Stampede answered.

"So Masquerade can shapeshift?" Queen Bee asked. "That should have been the first thing you told us!"

"If y- never mind," Ladybug said. "If she makes eye contact with you, she can transform into your double, throw you through walls-"

"Which hurts," Roi Singe complained.

"And even freeze you where you're standing," Ladybug finished.

"Why eye contact?" Chat Noir asked.

Kota opened her mouth to answer, but caught herself. Zoe probably didn't want her discussing that suspicion.

Viperion hummed and Lis Tigre muttered something.

"Doesn't matter," Ladybug said. "We still don't have any idea where her akuma is-"

"Her shoes," Kota answered. "Zoe was telling me about them yesterday."

"Oh, was she?" Stampede asked in a sing-song voice.

"Yes," Kota said. "Moving on, how do we destroy someone's shoes?"

"We freeze her," Queen Bee said. "Duh."

"Yes, that is the plan," Ladybug said. "Alright, on my signal. Three, two, one, go!"

Kota twirled around, stopping in the doorway to the library.

"Hey Masquerade!" She yelled.

Not-Mylene turned.

Right before they would have made eye contact, Kota yelled. "Sun beam!"

The library lit up with a bright light. Kota had no problem seeing through it, since it was her own power, but Masquerade screamed and covered her eyes.

Kota winced at the sound of the scream.

"Cataclysm!"

"Venom!"

"We've got her," Chat Noir reported.

"On my way," Ladybug replied.

"Hey, chicken little," Queen Bee said. "Mind turning down the light?"

"Oh, sorry," Kota replied. She willed her light to dim.

She jumped down to the floor below, where Queen Bee and Chat Noir waited for Ladybug, next to a frozen not-Mylene.

Ladybug landed in the room a second later.

"Lucky charm!"

A pair of fabric scissors landed in Ladybug's hands, and she cut through Masquerade's shoes.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

"P-"

"Wait for us!" Roi Singe said.

"We took the brunt of the battle, after all," Pegasus added.

"You got frozen in two seconds!" Ladybug replied. "That is not taking the brunt of the battle."

Still, they waited for the rest of the team to join before doing their fist bump.

"Pound it!"

Chapter Text

Chapter 15: Apology

Marinette furiously paced around her room.

Tikki and Wayzz watched her nervously from the desk, as Trixx and Plagg curled up on her computer. Nino and Adrien also watched her go back and forth, and Alya just patiently waited her out.

Eventually, Marinette stopped in the middle of her room. "She caused another akuma!"

"We've established that," Alya replied. "What do you want to do about it?"

"I don't know," Marinette said. "I'm not going to - I don't want to overreact. But I can't not react."

"Chloe knows what she did was wrong," Adrien said. "This isn't like before. She has changed."

"I know," Marinette said. "But - why now? What made her snap now?"

"Jealousy," Adrien answered. "Mylene was spending more time with Zoe than Chloe, and Chloe got jealous."

"Don't tell me you've never gotten jealous before," Alya teased. "Remember Lila?"

"Humans get jealous too easily," Plagg complained. "As long as there is cheese, I'm happy."

"Do I need to remind you-" Wayzz started.

"No you do not," Plagg interrupted.

Marinette gave Adrien a questioning look, and he just shrugged.

"I know I've gotten jealous," Alya said. "When Lila was talking about being close to Ladybug, and I believed her for some reason-"

"Because you are a decent person who trusts people at their word," Trixx muttered.

"I got really jealous," Alya continued.

"Yeah but you never acted out," Marinette replied. "Not like I did with her."

"Yeah, but that's the reason I jumped to do the interview," Alya continued. "And you acted out because you knew for a fact she was lying, but you couldn't tell us, because identities."

"That must have been super frustrating," Nino added.

"Yes, but - she and you were so close, and I couldn't hang out with you as much as I wanted because of akumas - I got jealous, too."

"Aww, you had no reason to be jealous," Alya replied. "You're always going to be my best friend."

"Blegh," Plagg complained.

"Oh shush," Tikki said. "This is good."

"So I've done stupid things out of jealousy," Alya said. "You've done stupid things out of jealousy, we all know Adrien has done stupid things out of jealousy, Nino - Nino, have you ever done something stupid out of jealousy?"

"Not that I remember, no," Nino replied.

"Okay, well Nino is an outlier and shouldn't be counted," Alya continued. "And I'm sure if you asked the rest of the team, they'd give similar answers. Jealousy is a stupid emotion that makes us do stupid stuff."

"So we should just forgive Chloe?" Marinette asked.

"We don't forgive Chloe," Nino corrected. "That's up to Zoe."

"And Mylene," Adrien added. "What Chloe needs right now from us is reassurance than one bad slip up isn't going to cascade into her becoming who she used to be."

"But we need assurance from Chloe that she isn't going to become who she used to be," Marinette argued. "Ugh, this leadership thing is hard."

"What if we see how Chloe currently feels about what happened, and go from there?" Nino suggested. "If she feels bad, or if she doesn't think she did anything bad, or if she does feel bad but can't admit it."

"That's a good idea," Alya said. "The ball is in her court now."

"Okay, you're right," Marinette agreed. "I'll text the rest of the team, tell them to hold back any accusations. And let's see how school goes tomorrow."

Chloe and Mylene had both gone home after yesterday's akuma attack, so they saw each other again for the first time the following morning.

Mylene arrived to class before Chloe, but after everyone else. She and Ivan exchanged a few words before she put her head on the desk and acted asleep.

Chloe arrived a few minutes later, hesitating in the doorway. Eventually, she made it into the room.

"Look," she started. "I messed up. I - I didn't know how to handle my feelings of jealousy, and took that out on Zoe. I'm sorry, especially to you, Mylene."

Mylene lifted her head up. "Thank you, Chloe." And she promptly put her head back down.

"Tech week," Sadie said, nodding.

"I've managed to talk to my therapist," Chloe continued. "And I will apologize to Zoe later. This isn't - this isn't who I want to be anymore. I'm trying to be better. So, I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize to us," Marinette said. "Mylene's the one who you hurt, it's up to her."

Mylene gave a thumbs up.

"I think she needs a nap," Ivan stated.

Mylene said something that might have been a "yes".

"As I was telling Marinette," Alya continued. "Jealousy is a stupid emotion that makes us do stupid things."

Lacy nodded. "It's a hard emotion to handle."

"So, we're good?" Chloe asked.

Mylene gave her another thumbs up.

"Does someone need to get you coffee?" Alya asked.

"Yes," Mylene said.

"Alright," Mr Monlataing said, clapping his hands together. "That's our last rehearsal before we perform tomorrow. And can I just say I feel super prepared! Now, as a little reminder, call time is immediately after classes end - Zoe, Stephen, if you two can come a little earlier to prepare that would be nice. You can leave things here overnight or drop them off in the morning. Get good sleep tonight and see you tomorrow!"

"I'm so excited for tomorrow," Zoe said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "My dad's coming to all three showings, believe it or not!"

"That's super cool!" Lacy replied. "I'm sure he'll love it."

"Of course he will, he also does," Zoe said.

"My dad will be here for the Saturday night showing," Mylene said. "He's even volunteered to help tear down after."

"Tear down is always fun," Sadie commented dryly.

"I thought you like destroying things?" Lacy asked.

"The only thing I like doing after a performance is going to Denny's and taking a nap," Sadie replied. "Anyways, I have stuff to do, so I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Bye!"

"We all should be heading out," Mylene said. "Mr Monlataing was right - we need sleep."

"But if I go home now I'll have to do homework," Lacy complained.

"I did have something I wanted to ask you two about," Zoe said.

"Go ahead," Lacy said. "Unless it's about the homework. I don't know anything."

"No, it's about Chloe," Zoe said. "She - she apologized to me about what happened, but - I don't know. Do you think she had a point?"

"By default, Chloe never has a point," Lacy said. "But in regards to what she actually said - no. Everyone fakes it a little, you know? It's not something to worry about."

"I just hope one day we make you comfortable enough to be your full self around us!" Mylene added.

Zoe smiled. "Thanks. See you tomorrow?"

"Yep!"

Kota landed on the roof of her school, taking a moment to pause.

She loved her morning patrols. While she noticed an increase in hunger since starting them, there was also an increase in energy. Part of that was the effects of the miraculous - since she started wearing her ring, the nightmares had gone down and her time asleep each night had gone up - but there was something refreshing and energizing about being up this early too.

But she was getting hungry, and with the bakery within her sights, Kota debated stopping in for treats.

That's when she noticed the light on in Marinette's room.

Kota frowned. Marinette usually wasn't up this early - unless she was still up.

She leaped over to the bakery, landing silently on the roof, and knocked on the trap door.

Tikki peaked her eyes through the door, before floating back down. A few seconds later, and Marinette opened the trap door.

"What's up?" Kota asked.

"You're up la - it's morning, isn't it?"

Kota nodded. "It's been morning. Have you slept at all?"

"No," Marinette complained. "I've been working on - well, actually, do you have any experience making potions?"

"Yeah, actually," Kota replied. "Want to show me what you're working on?"

Marinette nodded, and invited her in. Once inside, Kota detransformed.

"I'm helping Fu with this old recipe," Marinette explained. "It's something Alya found the other day - not necessarily miraculous-related, but Fu thinks we may be able to use it."

Lacy scanned over the text, noticing that the original was in Old Greek.

"Ooh, this is interesting," Lacy agreed. "It's a disguise spell, right? Manipulate the mist so that people can't recognize you?"

"Yeah, basically," Marinette agreed. "I was thinking it would be good if someone's ever forced to detransform mid-battle, or if we have to talk to someone else about the miraculous."

"Gives is that extra layer of protection," Lacy said. "Brilliant. Oh, and I recognize some of these ingredients - we use them sometimes at camp!"

"I didn't know you ever made potions," Orikko said.

"Oh, I, um, had a crush on a guy who worked in the infirmary?"

Marinette laughed. "Well, it seems like you learned from the experience."

"I did," Lacy said. "Let's see, this recipe doesn't use ambrosia or nectar, which is good, I've already used most of my stash. That - hair of empousa? - that I've never seen in a potion before, but there does seem to be a lot of empousa in Paris. The rest looks like standard potion stuff, I've kept some of it in my supplies and I know a few other people in the city who would have some - oh, except that, that I can get at the drugstore."

"I guess I'll leave this in your capable hands then," Marinette said.

"If Lacy has more experience making potions, maybe she should be in charge of the transformation potions too?" Orikko suggested.

"I could do that," Lacy agreed. "I mean, Fu already has all the ingredients, right?"

Marinette nodded. "I'll ask him about it. It would be nice to have someone else handling the potions."

"And that means you can sleep more!" Tikki added.

"Speaking of which, I should probably go to bed," Marinette said. "Fortunately, I have the day off."

"Don't say that," Lacy whined. "There'll be an-"

Marinette's phone buzzed.

"An akuma?" Marinette finished.

"Yeah," Lacy agreed. "Ugh, if it's another theater akuma, I'm going to scream."

"I never understood the point of hair dye," Kagami admitted, watching Sadie set up the supplies. "What's wrong with natural hair color?"

"It's not colorful enough," Sadie admitted. "So, are you in?"

Kagami nodded.

"Great!" Sadie said. "Everyone should be here soon."

Sadie's phone chimed, and she checked it to see a text from Lacy, announcing her presence.

"That's them," Sadie said, standing up. "Perfect timing. Can you get that food plate out of the fridge please?"

Kagami nodded.

Nearly everyone coming had showed up - Marinette and Alya were bringing food and would be there in a few minutes.

As the kwamis gathered around the food Sadie had bought for them, Sadie went over the basics of hair dying.

"So I got bright pink for Adrien, pink for Alix, a slightly less bright pink for Lacy and Marinette, red for Alya - don't worry, I got the brand you asked me too - pink for Juleka and purple for Rose. Blue for Kim, black for Nathaniel, green for Mylene, and red for Kagami and Ivan. Oh, and I still need to text you all what you owe me. Alright, who's first!"

"Adrien," Alix said. "This was your idea."

"Alright," Adrien agreed. "Let's do this."

Chapter Text

Chapter 16: Best Laid Plans

Miss Bustier was the last person to class that following morning, so she was in for quite a surprise.

"I see we all had some fun yesterday," she said, scanning the new hair colors in the class. "You all look lovely. Now, let's start with our usual exercise-"

Everyone's phone beeped.

"Akuma alert?" Marinette asked, slipping her notebook back into her backpack.

"Checking," Alya replied. "Unconfirmed, but it looks like a section of Paris is suddenly experiencing a blackout. Not close to us though."

Lacy raised her hand. "Ms Bustier, can I use the restroom please?"

"Yes, go ahead," Bustier said. "You still have a few minutes before the lesson begins."

"Oh, I'm so forgetful!" Marinette complained. "I forgot my notebook in my locker!"

"Go grab it," Ms Bustier said.

Marinette nodded, and she and Lacy slipped out of class.

"Definitely not a normal blackout," Ladybug deduced, waving her yo-yo's flashlight through the darkness. The light only made it about a foot before vanishing completely.

She took a step back from the darkness, to where Kota, Ryuko and Viperion were watching.

"I'm texting Alya to update the Ladyblog, get the news out there," Ladybug decided.

"Chat and Rena have night vision, right?" Ryuko asked.

"Last couple of times with akumas like this, that hasn't worked," Ladybug said.

"I have some ambrosia in my bag if you need me to power up," Kota suggested. "But I am running low."

Ladybug nodded. "Hold off on that for now. Did you finish that potion?"

"Yeah, I have that on hand if things go wrong. But only one dose at the moment."

"Alright," Ladybug said. "I told Chat to follow me after a few minutes so he should be here s- there he is."

Chat Noir landed on the rooftop, giving the other heroes a grin. "What are we facing today?"

"Another darkness akuma," Ladybug said. "I'm sending my drone out to find the akuma, then we'll attack. Me and you will aid Kota while Viperion does his thing. Simple plan."

Ladybug activated her drone, and Tikki the Second flew into the darkness.

"Now, we can't get video, but we should be able to detect the heat coming off from the akuma," Ladybug continued. "Let's just give it a moment..."

Tikki the Second continued on the path, picking up small bits of heat. After a few seconds, it picked up on a human-shaped figure.

And then the feed vanished.

"They destroyed my drone!" Ladybug complained.

"Not Tikki the Second?" Chat Noir asked.

"Looks like this akuma might have more than just darkness powers," Viperion noted.

"Yeah, it would take a lot of power to destroy my drone like that," Ladybug agreed. "No akuma should be able to do that."

"What about Simon Says?" Chat Noir questioned. "He affected your yo-yo."

"Yes, but my connection to the miraculous has gotten stronger," Ladybug answered. "Just like I wouldn't have been able to summon the drone at all back then."

"So are we dealing with something like Heartstringer?" Viperion asked. "Whoever was akumatized already had powers, that were boosted with the akuma?"

Ladybug nodded. "We need more information. I'll see what else the drone -"

"It has a name," Chat Noir interrupted.

Ryuko nodded. "It is illogical, but treating it as 'just a drone' feels wrong."

Kota shrugged. "People make weird emotional connections to things."

"Okay," Ladybug agreed. "Well, it did pick up audio, I just wasn't playing it. Let's see-"

Kota reached out suddenly, grabbing Ladybugs arm. "Wait! What if the powers are sound-based?"

Ladybug nodded. "I wasn't going to play it - but good catch anyways. Vipe, can you show me that thing you were showing me-"

Viperion nodded, and moved in to help Ladybug with her yo-yo.

"Yeah, see," Ladybug said, not showing her yo-yo for the other superheroes to see. "There was some kind of noise before the - before Tikki The Second went down."

"Noise - like a scream?" Rena Rouge's voice came through the comms.

"Rena?" Ladybug questioned.

"You guys were taking too long," Rena Rouge replied.

She landed on the rooftop, Stampede and Carapace right behind her.

"If this is a magical person," Stampede said.

"Or thing," Rena Rouge added. "Don't forget Robustus."

"Ro - what?"

"Not important," Ladybug said. "We need to figure out how to get close without being impacted by this noise."

"Wait, no, go back to the Robustus thing," Stampede said. "Because that sounds a lot like robot. Can non-humans be akumatized?"

"Markov was," Chat Noir said.

"Markov the robot," Stampede said. "That begs the question - what about magical creatures?"

"That's - not a question I want to think about," Kota replied.

"If it has emotions and logical thought, it can be" Ladybug answered. "That's what Tikki said."

"So, yes and no," Kota said. "Depending on the creature."

"Not a pleasant thought."

"Hasn't happened yet," Rena Rouge said.

"But if it was going to happen," Chat Noir replied. "Would it be powerful enough to, I don't know, destroy Tikki The Second?"

"Chat has a point," Viperion agreed.

"Wait," Rena Rouge said. "I was already thinking about something banshee-themed, but-"

"That is a terrifying thought," Kota said. "Banshee aren't inherently malicious-"

"They're not?" Chat Noir asked. "I've always heard differently."

"They're not," Kota agreed. "They sense death, not bring it. Unless you make them angry. But they do bring curses."

"I don't want to see an akuma-powered curse," Stampede said.

"Rena, update the Ladyblog and tell everyone to stay indoors," Ladybug said. "And maybe plug their ears."

Rena Rouge nodded.

"We should move somewhere safer," Viperion said.

"I know a safe place," Stampede said.

"I'll have Bunnyx confirm our suspicions and meet us there," Ladybug said. "Let's go."

The safe place Sadie knew was the library at the Paris Nome. Within seconds, she had set up a kind of magical safeguard around them, allowing them time to plan and do some research.

Marinette and Alya took over the planning and research, with Luka, Adrien, and Kagami helping, and Sadie pacing the border nervously. That left Lacy watching, not sure what to do.

Stompp noticed her confusion and floated up to her.

"You don't have any ideas?" He asked.

Lacy shook her head. "I've never been good at researching."

Stompp hmmed.

The other kwamis were looking over their holders' shoulders, helping, with the exception of Plagg who was sleeping somewhere and Orikko who was scaring off a cricket.

But Stompp was just patiently staring at Lacy.

"What?" Lacy asked.

"I heard you make good potions," Stompp said.

"Well, yeah, but that's - that's not research, Alya did the research."

Stompp hmmed again.

"What?"

"I think you're underselling yourself," Stompp said.

"I'm just not good with books," Lacy said. "Or long pages of writing. Recipes are easier to read."

"Well," Stompp said. "I do believe there's some recipe books in here."

"Yes, but where?" There were so many books, the idea of even beginning to look was overwhelming.

Someone dropped a book next to Lacy.

"Protection potions," Sadie explained. "Good place to start."

"Ooh more potions!" Orikko said, swooping down to join them.

Lacy turned to a random page, scanning it briefly. It was very Egyptian-specific magic, so she turned to the next page.

Potion of Magic Avoidance

Lacy looked up, about to call out to Marinette, but was cut off by Alya.

"Found something!"

But the thought stayed. Kota knew she was acting distracted throughout the fight, but she couldn't help it.

She didn't even realize the fight was over until the rest of the team yelled "pound it!"

Belatedly, Kota added her fist to the group fist bump.

"You okay girl?" Rena Rouge asked.

"Hmm?"

"You seem distracted," Rena Rouge explained.

"I think she found something cool while researching," Stampede said. "Do tell."

"I - uh, well," Kota stammered. "I don't know for definite yet. I'll tell you later if my kwami thinks it's viable."

"Or maybe run it by me?" Ladybug suggested. "I love all the kwamis, but Orikko is..."

"Hyper?" Kota suggested.

"Yes, very much so," Ladybug answered. "Come by my place after school?"

"Will there be treats?"

"Always."

"Sounds like a plan."

"If there are treats-"

"Not tonight, kitty," Ladybug interrupted. "We don't need the distraction. Rena and Stampede can come, but that's it. We will be working."

"Awww."

"Okay, so magic avoidance potion," Lacy started. "Lets you avoid being tracked by magic, right?"

"I see where you're going with this," Marinette replied, macaroon in hand. "If we can hide ourselves from the butterfly miraculous-"

"We can keep ourselves from being akumatized," Alya finished.

"If it works for miraculous magic," Lacy added. "I think it was supposed to be for scrying or something-"

"It'll work!" Tikki piped up. "I've seen others use this before."

"And knowing how stressed some people are about being akumatized," Alya added, "this would be a big relief."

"But it'll be up to you," Sadie added. "I can make like two potions. Well, one and half. One and three quarters?"

"Did you save the recipe somewhere?" Marinette asked.

"Yeah, it's on my phone," Lacy replied.

"Well, then, let's get started."

Everything was going well until the potion blew up.

"Well, there goes that plan," Sadie commented helpfully.

"It was a good try," Alya offered, patting Lacy's shoulder.

"Easy for you to say," Lacy said. "Your face isn't covered in goop!"

Both her and Marinette had been close to the pot, so they got most of the... whatever it was on them. Alya was still holding her camera up, pointing it towards the ruined pot. Sadie was standing in the back of the room, watching with amusement.

"It's fine," Marinette said, wiping goop out of her face. "It's fine. All of this will clean up nicely. And then we can try again - at your place."

"That's fair," Lacy replied. "What do you think went wrong?"

"I don't know," Marinette admitted, turning back to the recipe. "Sadie-"

"I'm not good at potions," Sadie said. "But I can ask around."

A knock on the trap door, and Marinette's mom poked her head up.

"Diners ready," she said. "Are you three staying?"

"Oh, I can't," Sadie said. "Family stuff."

"Family stuff?" Lacy asked.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you? Carter and Walt are visiting."

Chapter Text

Chapter 17: Pharaoh

Carter looked up from his book, finger on an important passage, to find Sadie scrolling through her phone.

"You're not helping."

Sadie rolled her eyes. "I've been doing research on this since I got here, it's your turn." She turned her attention back to her phone.

Carter had only been in Paris for the one night, but it already felt like they had never separated. It wasn't like the long periods of time they had went without seeing each other before - well, before everything.

They were inseparable, even when separated.

"So Zia was telling me Cleo is dating someone?" Sadie asked.

Carter frowned. "How am I supposed to know?"

"You live in the same building as her?"

"I don't get involved in other people's love life," Carter argued. "Unlike some people."

"Pfft. When have I ever gotten involved in someone else's love life?"

"I've heard stories."

"Oh, so you do gossip?"

Carter rolled his eyes, a small smile creeping at the corner of his lips.

Sadie smiled. "I missed you too."

Alix scoffed. "Sadie's right. You always fall for the nerd."

Lacy's cheeks heated up without her permission. So what if she did?

"First Zoe, the queen of the theater nerds," Alix continued, swinging her bag off her shoulder and sliding into her seat. "Then I finally meet Carter, and he's an even bigger nerd, and now it's the schools chess champion! Can you get any nerdier than chess?"

In front of them, Marinette snorted. "Have you met Chat?"

"Fair point," Alix conceded. "But still. Chess guy?"

"He has a name," Lacy argued.

"Right, Devon," Alix remembered. "The name doesn't stick very well because I keep expecting a nerdier name, like Max."

"Didn't you have a crush on Max?" Marinette asked. "Or Pegasus, at least?"

"What? No," Lacy lied.

"That's four," Alix said. "That's definitely a pattern."

"Oh shush," Lacy said. "You know, I don't think this is fair since I can't tease you about your crushes."

"He he," Alix teased.

Nathaniel, who had been passing by their desks at that moment, paused.

"You know, if you want to tease her-"

Alix slammed her hand down on the table. "Nathaniel Kurtzberg, if you finished that sentence I will-"

"Good morning class!" Bustier chimed as she walked in.

Alix deflated and sat back down.

"I see we're all here on time," Bustier continued.

"Sadie's not here," Mylene said.

"She's asked for a day off since she has family in town," Bustier said. "Now, picking up from yesterday's lesson-"

Lacy leaned to Alix, intending to ask what yesterday's lesson had been - after all, she had been distracted by the Akuma and then later by the potion - but Alix already looked distracted. And worried.

Lacy nudged her with her elbow. "What's up?"

"Huh?" Alix said.

"You seem distracted."

"Oh, just thinking," Alix lied.

"Everything okay?" Lacy asked.

"Yes," Alix said. "Just... annoyed at Jalil. That's all."

"If you say so," Lacy replied. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help?"

Alix nodded. "Yeah, of course."

As class dismissed for lunch, Alya slid into the spot next to Alix.

"So, I was rewatching some videos on the Ladyblog," Alya began. "And I came across the video of the ladybug painting found in the Louvre. And it occurred to me I never followed that up, right?"

"Why are you telling me this?" Alix asked.

"Well your dad works at the Louvre!" Alya said. "I was hoping you would be able to help. We've collaborated on things like this before."

"Maybe not today," Alix said. "I promised Lacy I'd spend lunch with her."

"You did?" Lacy asked. "But I told Sadie-"

"And I'm going with you," Alix said, nudging Lacy. "So I won't be at the Louvre today."

"Yes but-"

"Maybe tomorrow," Alix said.

"Tomorrow's fine with me," Alya said. "I think Marinette owes me a lunch anyways. See you later."

Alya walked away, rejoining Adrien, Nino, and Marinette at the door.

Lacy turned to Alix. "You know we're meeting Sadie and Carter at the Louvre, right?"

"I never said I was coming with," Alix argued.

"That's what you told Alya. And if Alya drags Marinette with her to the Louvre, and notices Sadie and I but not you-"

"Ugh!" Alix slammed her forehead down on the desk. "Why do I have to put up with this?"

"Sorry?"

Alix was pretty grumpy as she dragged Nathaniel, who dragged Marc, along with her and Lacy to meet with Sadie.

"Okay, but if we see Jalil, we pretend we don't," Alix declared. "And then we hide."

"Is there a reason you're avoiding your brother?" Lacy asked.

Alix grumbled something. The only word Lacy caught was "idiot."

"I'd leave her alone when she gets like this," Nathaniel advised.

"Yeah, but what if - I don't want to see her akumatized."

"I'm not going to get akumatized," Alix said, having stopped at the front of Louvre. "I'm fine, but thanks."

Alix led them through a back door, briefly stopping to talk to someone at security, and onto the exhibit Sadie and Carter were at.

The area was empty except for them and some magical protection placed to keep it empty. Sadie, who had been crouched next to an object and was dramatically gesturing, noticed their approach first.

"Did you come to bring me food?" She asked.

"Um, no?" Lacy asked. "Are you hungry?"

"You can't have food inside a museum anyways," Alix muttered. "I'm avoiding Alya. What are you working on anyways?"

Sadie explained, only remembering halfway through to actually introduce them to Carter.

"And you, of course, remember Lacy," she finished.

Lacy waved, and Carter waved back. Sadie rolled her eyes, as if a wave was some type of hopeless flirtation.

Sadie could be over dramatic like that.

She was about to continue her explanation when Alix's ear twitched.

"Oh no," she muttered. "He's coming. If anyone asks, I'm going to the restroom."

Alix turned and headed to the bathroom just as Jalil and their dad appeared around the corner.

"Does she know they can't see us?" Sadie asked.

"She's - acting weird," Lacy replied. "I'm gonna go-"

With a blare, the purple akuma sirens went off.

"- or not," Lacy finished.

"That means it's local, right?" Sadie asked.

"Either in the museum, or just outside," Nathaniel said. "We should hide."

Lacy nodded. With Marc there, the chances of slipping away to transform were low. Still, Orikko was going to complain about that later.

"I know a back way out," Nathaniel said. "This way!"

Walt had only gone to the bathroom for a few minutes, but somehow everything had devolved into chaos.

An akuma attack - exactly as Sadie and the other Paris magicians had described. He could see the violent swirls of magic, interacting with the artifacts on display. It was dangerous, but more than that, it was unprecedented.

If only they could figure out why-

"Lucky Charm!"

A pair of red spotted sunglasses fell into Ladybug's hand.

"Why sunglasses? There's no sun inside?" Chat Noir said, looking over Ladybug's shoulder.

"I don't know," Ladybug admitted. "Viperion?"

"This is the first time you've called your lucky charm," Viperion reported.

"Right," Ladybug said. She knew that, but her mind was drawing a blank.

There wasn't any reason why she needed to wear sunglasses.

Unless -

"Of course," Ladybug muttered. "We need to break the akumas earrings at exactly the same time, or else they'll respawn. The sunglasses are the perfect shape! Alright, so here's the plan-"

The akuma was a pain. Her goal was like Darkblade or Bakerix, but her powers were like a more explosive Robustus. Everything electric exploded around her.

Oh, and she could turn people into trees, which was fun.

The akumatized item was a pair of earrings. According to Viperion, they needed to be destroyed together, or one could respawn from the other. The earrings were fancy, and Ladybug adjusted the sunglasses so they would be capable of breaking them before handing them to Ryuko.

"My timers about to go off," Viperion reported.

"I think we've got it from here," Ladybug replied. "Go treat your kwami to something nice."

The first part of the plan required getting the akuma outside, which Chat Nour handled easily. The ground outside was already wet from destroyed pipes, so Ryuko, now water, was completely hidden.

Two trees - formerly Pigmy and Lis Tigris - sprouted from the concrete on the edges of the puddle.

Once the akuma was outside, it was an easy win. Ryuko easily broke the earrings with the sunglasses, and the butterfly flew out.

"So that's an akuma attack," Sadie summarized. "Why does it make the magic so weird? I don't know! How do we stop it? I also don't know!"

"Have you seen anything like it before?" Carter asked, looking at Walt.

"I'm a little familiar with it," Walt said. "But I've never seen it."

"What I don't understand is if these miraculouses have been around for so long, why are there only problem happening now?" Carter asked.

"That I do know," Sadie replied. "The miraculouses haven't been used since like early 1800s."

"Still, there's no records of this happening even back then," Carter said.

"Maybe it's our side of the magic," Walt suggested. "We did just almost have an apocalypse."

Sadie snapped at him. "Yes! Yes, that. And - and didn't Annabeth say something about a Greek apocalypse?"

"Plus whatever that plague was," Walt said.

"And Annabeth mentioned a cousin once," Carter added. "That also had a world ending thing?"

"And wasn't there some kind of Indian mythology thing in Georgia?" Sadie added. "What if all of the magic was just, energized or something?"

"But then why is it only the miraculous magic causing this?" Carter asked

"Maybe it has something to do with the unpredictability of the magic?"

Sadie flinched, realizing belatedly that she never reset the protection spell. Their conversation had been interrupted by someone else - someone who worked at the museum, it looked like.

"Hi?" Carter greeted.

"Hi, sorry, I just overheard and I know someone who knows about this type of thing," she clarified. "She says that there's something about the unpredictability of the miraculous magic?"

"Someone who - unpredictability - oh, you know Rachel?" Sadie guessed.

The other person nodded. "Yeah, she's my roommate."

"That makes sense," Carter said. "I think. It's something to look into, at least."

"I mean, if something works on a system," the person continued, "and something unexpected enters the system, weird things happen, right?"

"So if the magic is overloaded, there's more magic to react to unexpected magic," Carter said. "But why is the magic overloaded? Can we fix it? Should we fix it?"

"Is it just more or were things more clear cut when we were in the apocalypse?" Sadie muttered.

"Oh, don't go wishing for an apocalypse," the person said. "This is Paris. You might get one."

"Yeah, one apocalypse per lifetime, please," Carter added. "We need to research this a little more-"

"Ugh, not more reading," Sadie complained. "Besides, if this has been caused by an unprecedented amount of apocalypses, there wouldn't be anything to research."

"Because it's unprecedented," the other person said.

"Exactly."

"Reading isn't the only way to research something," Carter said.

"Well, what do you suggest?" Sadie asked.

"I - haven't figured that out yet," Carter said. "But we're going to -"

Whatever they were going to, it was cut off by akuma sirens.

Sadie's stomach rolled.

"Again?" The other person complained.

"I have a bad feeling about this one," Sadie admitted. "I'm going to go check on something."

The akuma sirens went off approximately one mili-second before Lacy and Alix walked into the akuma.

Alix saw him first, grabbing Lacy and backpedaling back around the corner.

"Again?" Lacy asked. "Already?"

Alix ignored her, peering around the corner.

"Are we going to actually fight this time?" Orikko asked.

"I think that's Jalil," Alix muttered.

"Oh," Lacy said. "I'm sorry."

Alix shook her head. "It was going to happen eventually. Let's -"

"What do you mean, happen eventually?"

"That's not important," Alix said. "He's just - he lost someone, and - sometimes he gets obsessed with this idea that he can bring her back, and - that's not important, we should just transform. Fluff, clockwise!"

"But-"

"Burrow!"

"Alix-"

"Come on, let's get out of the akuma's range and regroup."

"Pharaoh again?" Rena Rouge asked, her voice coming through loudly over the comms. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Is there a reason you hate this particular akuma?" Queen Bee replied.

"You guys know our lunch break ended ten minutes ago, right?" Carapace added.

"We'll just say the akuma attacks got in the way," Ladybug said, recharged and landing on the pavement outside the Louvre. "Same powers?"

"No," Bunnyx reported, her voice choppy with emotion. "His is more like m- like Timebreaker, he's stealing people's energy in order to br- to do something."

"Does he have to touch you?" Ladybug asked.

"Yes," Bunnyx said. "Same as m- as timebreaker."

"There's no zombies this time either," Rena Rouge reported.

"Zombies?" Kota repeated.

"I think the energy stealing is his only power this time," Rena Rouge replied.

"That can't be right," Ladybug said, as Chat Noir landed next to her. "Mayfly has been upgrading akuma powers, not decreasing them."

"So what's the plan?" Chat Noir asked.

"Viperion, Rena, stay back," Ladybug said. "Wait and watch. Something doesn't feel right."

"Agreed," Stampede added. "I've got bad vibes."

"But at least we won't get turned into trees this time!" Pigmy added.

"You wouldn't have turned into trees if you'd dodged when I told you to," Ryuko said.

"Sorry!"

Ladybug checked her yo-yo to see who had transformed. "Ryuko, go join Stampede and Kota and keep Pharoah from hurting any more civilians. Chat, Lis, if something goes wrong I'll need you to step in. Viperion, Rena, Bunnyx, stay back and watch. Pigmy - I don't need you right now, so focus on getting the civilians out of here."

The other superheroes gave a quick understood, before moving where they were needed. Ladybug sent her drone in to watch the fight.

Stampede and Kota were doing a good job holding off Pharoah, one moving in to attack when the other had to dodge. When Ryuko joined them, the trio became unstoppable.

Maybe this will be easier than I thought.

"No!" Pharoah barked, raising his staff. "I will not-"

Kota hit him across the face with her kite.

"Any idea what the akumatized object is?" Ladybug asked.

"I got it," Bunnyx reported. "Photograph in his pocket."

"What pocket?" Stampede asked.

"It was tucked in his jacket, near his chest," Bunnyx said.

"Chat, we might need you then," Ladybug said. "It doesn't sound easy to get to."

"Especially if we can't get close to him," Kota added. "If he touches us-"

"I will not be defeated again!" Pharoah roared. He barely dodged a strike from Ryuko, forcing him to back up into the corner. "Mummies, to me!"

"What now?" Kota squeaked.

"Mummies," Stampede muttered. "Great."

"Mummies are no match for us," Ryuko said as the first began appearing. She easily slashed through one.

"No, but they are annoying," Stampede muttered.

"So Longg has mentioned," Ryuko said. "Shouldn't they be susceptible to water damage?"

"Ugh you can smell them," Kota complained.

"Focus," Ladybug said. "Ryuko, the water thing sounds like a good idea, can you get them all?"

"Where are they all?" Ryuko asked.

"Everywhere," Bunnyx said.

"Everywhere as in? Paris? The museum? The whole world?"

"All of the Louvre and the area outside," Bunnyx clarified.

"I should be able to handle that."

With a whoosh, Ryuko transformed into a water current, knocking over the mummies.

Pharoah attacked, Kota blocking and knocking him backward with her kite. Stampede grabbed a piece of a museum exhibit and smashed it into him, throwing him further back and destroying the object.

"What the - Sadie!" Bunnyx exclaimed.

"What? The cure will bring it back," Stampede said.

"But that was - do you know what that was?"

"Focus on the fight," Ladybug interrupted.

Kota smacked into Pharoah, pinning him against the ground with her kite.

"Got him!" She yelled.

"I think not," Pharoah said. "Seth, give me a storm!"

The Louvre shook with thunder as lightning threw Kota back. She hit the wall with a thump.

Stampede moved in, giving Kota time to recover and give a few choice Greek curse words.

Pharoah attempted to hit Stampede with a lightning blast, but the ox miraculous was more resistant to electricity and she just shrugged it off.

Kota cursed again as she stood up.

"The mummies have been disposed," Ryuko reported. "Would you like me to handle this new power?"

Stampede grabbed her cornucopia and smashed it into Pharoah, knocking him back onto the ground.

"Hmm," Ladybug thought aloud. "Ryuko, Chat, I have a pl-"

Pharoah shot a gust of dust at Stampede, blinding her.

Kota moved to intervene as Stampede cursed out the existence of sand.

Pharoah was quicker.

He lurched upwards, pushing his hand into Stampede chest.

And Sadie screamed.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18: At Ease

"Sun beam!"

Kota's powers blinded Pharoah just in time to keep him from seeing Stampede destransform.

She didn't know how Chat Noir got to the fight quick enough, but the ground beneath them crumpled, sending them safely to the next floor.

Sadie looked cold, like all of Pharoah's victims so far. Despite being destransformed, her kwami was no where to be found.

Kota took a deep breath. Then another. It was fine, really. The butterfly miraculous had protections in it - whatever damage an akuma did, Ladybug could undo.

So it was fine.

The next breath was harder. Shakier.

Kota cursed.

Footsteps echoed, and a second later Bunnyx was by her side, rubbing her back.

"It's fine, it's fine, breathe, breathe," she said. "In, hold, out. In, hold, out."

With effort, Kota forced her breathing back into control. It was fine.

Her miraculous beeped, reminding her that she was now on a timer. Three minutes remained.

It was only then that she registered Carter in front of her.

Of course. Sadie hadn't wanted to tell him - just for the sake of having a secret - but that didn't mean he wouldn't find out. And Kota had seen him near the battle - not in Pharoah's site, no, there was an unspoken agreement that Mayfly does not need to know about Egyptian magic, but helping fight off the mummies when he could.

Bunnyx was talking to him, probably saying that it was fine, the miraculous cure would fix it. Carter was nodding, looking concerned but not panicked like Kota was.

"Kota, Bunnyx, go recharge," Ladybug said. "We might need you again soon."

"Understood," Kota said. "You've got her?"

Carter nodded.

It was safer for Sadie anyways, without the heroes nearby. Kota had complete faith that her brother would protect her, but if someone did see her, there wouldn't be anything weird to notice. But if Kota and Bunnyx sticked around, and someone saw them - that wouldn't be good.

With most of the Louvre destroyed, they ended up having to detransform in a janitors closet on the first floor.

"Good reflexes, by the way," Alix said as she sat down, Fluff munching loudly on a carrot next to her.

"Thanks," Lacy said, sitting besides her. "I didn't expect Pharoah to be such a problem. What causes him to be akumatized anyways?"

Alix sighed. "It's... it's an ongoing thing. I've told you Jalil has some magic blood that I don't, from his mom's side of the family. And he, well, he lost somebody. A girlfriend."

"And he wants to bring her back?" Lacy asked.

Alix nodded.

"That's no good," Orriko said. "You don't want to mess with the dead dead."

"There's been a few people who've come back from the dead," Lacy said. "But - but that was under different conditions. And those people wanted to come back. And - and even then, someone mortal messing with it won't turn out well."

"That's what I keep saying!" Alix complained. "But - but he won't listen. I guess he's in love or something."

"Love is not an excuse." The words came out harsher than Lacy expected, but she meant them. "Just because you had a crush on some guy - or a girl - doesn't give you a right to ignore everything else!"

Shoot. Lacy had thought she moved past this.

Alice blinked. "You okay?"

"I - uh, yeah," Lacy said. "Just - just tired of people doing stupid things for crushes, I guess."

"Hm. Fair enough."

"Alright, I am recharged!" Orikko said. "Let's get back to this!" He swooped down and landed on Lacy's shoulder. "Let's go!"

"Orriko, sun up!"

Ladybug watched Kota's icon pop up on her yo-yo, followed a second later by Bunnyx's. Her lucky charm, a screwdriver, was in her other.

"Good, you're back," she said. "I think I have a plan. I just need someone's wallet."

"How are you - a wallet?" Chat Noir asked. "And a screwdriver?"

"You'll see," Ladybug said. "Now, here's what I need you to do-"

It almost worked.

The lightning rod Ladybug fashioned worked amazing. The makeshift screwdriver weapon did its job. The trap had been sprung, and Pharoah was caught.

And then, at the last moment, everything went wrong.

"Serqet, send me your scorpions!"

Scorpions crawled out from the walls, heading to the heroes.

"Watch out," Viperion said. "One bite will knock you unconscious, even through your suits."

"Great," Ladybug replied. "That's just great."

"How are we supposed to not be bitten by all these bugs?" Ryuko asked, whacking away some with her sword.

Ladybug used her wings to keep her off the ground, but the other heroes had no such advantage.

Pharoah grabbed a handful of scorpions and hurled them at Ladybug.

Ladybug changed her yo-yo to a shield to knock away the scorpions, but they stuck to her shield and started scurrying towards her. Ladybug had to chuck the shield away from her.

And then a scorpion fell on her.

Bunnyx pursed her lips.

The scorpions were a problem. From her place in the burrow, she could see the countless failed second chances. Bunnyx couldn't figure out a way to stop the scorpions - and who knew what other powers Pharoah had?

Carter had been helping, but now he was next to Sadie, looking over her until the cure came.

Bunnyx growled. This akuma was frustrating. Even without thinking about how it was her brother under all of it, her brother and his ridiculous stubbornness and his grief.

If she could just knock some sense into him-

Ugh. Why did he have to be so difficult?

"- and watch above you!"

Viperion's voice was beginning to be strained.

Ladybug wondered how many second chances they were on now. Too many, no doubt.

She deflected a handful of scorpions, but they stuck to her shield and started scampering towards her. She tossed it away from her, just for a scorpion to drop down from the ceiling and land on her.

"Jalil, stop!"

Alix - not Bunnyx, Alix - skidded in between Ladybug and Pharaoh.

"Alix," Pharaoh said. "Get out of the way."

"No!" Alix said. "I am tired of this. Of you. Get your act together."

"Alix," Ladybug said. "Civilians are supposed to stay out of the way."

Alix gave her a glare before returning her attention on Pharaoh.

"Jalil-"

"It's Pharaoh."

"I am not calling you that," Alix growled.

What was Alix doing? Maybe she was taking this too personally, since it was her brother, but-

Alix wasn't a very emotional person. Maybe there was a reason behind this. At the moment, at least, the scorpions seemed to have frozen.

"Pigmy, we might need you after all," Ladybug said.

"You can't bring her back!" Alix said. "It can't happen."

"Yes it can!" Pharaoh responded. "I have waited until I could find a magic powerful until to bring her back and this is it!"

"It doesn't work like that!"

"Says who?"

"I did!" Alix stomped her foot. "If you bothered to learn about the miraculous-"

"I know more than you!"

"You think the pyramids were left by aliens!"

Pharaoh spluttered. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It makes me doubt that you know anything you say you do," Alix said.

"Alix!"

Lacy had destransformed, running up behind Alix with wide eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Stopping this!" Alix replied.

Lacy, at first, look like she wanted to argue. But then she stopped, and studied Pharaoh.

"Jalil, look," Alix said. "I get that your sad. I get it - I do. But this has to stop."

"You get nothing," Pharaoh answered. "You've never lost someone like this."

"I have," Lacy said. "I lost my sister, and it hurt. I understand that it's hard to move on, especially when we're surrounded by so much magic, anything seems possible."

Out of the corner of her eye, Ladybug spotted Pigmy.

"But this magic is dangerous," Lacy continued, slowly creeping towards Pharaoh. "You don't know what might happen if you continue this path. A lot of magic works on the concept of a life for a life. Or you might rip a hole, let more than just one person come back to life. These would all be very, very bad things."

Pigmy took a step closer, out of sight of Pharaoh but where Lacy could see her.

"You don't have to let her go yet," Lacy said. "Wounds take time to heal. But you have to stop this. This is wrong."

Lacy's eyes met Pigmy, and Pigmy waved her wand.

"At ease."

Pharaoh's whole body relaxed, and from there, it was easy for Ladybug to walk up and grab the akumatized object.

And somewhere far away, but not too far to be out of her range, Mayfly detransformed after another unsuccessful battle.

And Nathalie burst into tears.

"So who made the floor collapse?" Marinette asked, as the now detransformed heroes collected outside of the school.

"Oh that was Walt," Sadie said confidently.

"I'm going to buy him and Carter some macaroons," Marinette decided. "They helped a bunch, and they didn't get caught!"

"Do we get macaroons too?" Adrien asked. "We did fight two akumas today."

"Hmm," Marinette thought. "Rose gets some, that's for sure."

Rose grinned. "Yay!"

"Is strawberry still your favorite?" Marinette asked.

Rose nodded. "But if there's something easier for you-"

"Nonsense," Marinette replied. "Strawberry it is. The rest of you - well, I think you all have homework to catch up on."

"So mean," Nino complained.

"So I'll see you tomorrow." Marinette hooked one arm around Sadie, another around Rose, and headed off to her family's bakery.

With mumbling about the lack of macaroons, most of the heroes left as well.

"Well, no one yelled at me, so success?" Alix said, when just she and Lacy were left.

"I'm pretty close to yelling at you," Lacy replied. "What were you thinking? You can't reason with akumas!"

"Nothing else was working," Alix replied. She sat down on the steps with a huff. "Besides, this was Jalil. I just - I thought it would be different."

Lacy sat beside her. "Older siblings are difficult."

Alix huffed. "Yeah, no kidding." She laid back, leaning her head against the edge of a different step. "Today was exhausting."

"Agreed."

Chapter Text

Chapter 19: Progress Report

Trixx snored.

Alya would have never guessed that a kwami could snore. Usually, Trixx slept in her bag at school and stayed up at night, but the day had been tiring with multiple akumas. While Alya finished up a few things on the Ladyblog, Trixx was out cold.

If kwamis could be recorded, Alya would be taking a video to share with the other heroes.

With her post to the Ladyblog finished, Alya only had to save her progress on her research progress before she herself could go to bed -

Alya froze, cursor on the close button. Her eyes drifted over a few of the charts she had made, made to be easier and more expansive than those in the book. Wait a moment.

She almost turned to call out to Trixx, but Trixx was not the most helpful when confirming suspicious, so instead she reached for her phone.

Adrien was not used to seeing adults argue.

It never happened in his home. Adults were far too mature to argue, after all. Unless it was with him, but they always said it was his fault, for being so emotional.

And the argument Nino's parents were having wasn't very emotional. Neither of them had raised their voice, or accused each other of being unreasonable, or anything other than just disagreeing. It was weird.

"Oh, yeah, Chris's teachers are being idiots again," Nino said, not even looking up from his computer. "Don't worry, they may argue but they never fight."

"I didn't think adults argued," Adrien admitted.

"Everyone argues, dude."

"Do you think they've blown up Brooklyn yet?" Sadie asked, picking up another macaroon.

She and Carter were at the park behind the bakery, enjoying the bakery's treats and the warm weather.

"Either that or it's been overwhelmed by penguins," Carter said. "Remind me why I agreed to stay and let you have all the traveling fun."

"Because you spent your life traveling and just wanted to stay in one place," Sadie replied.

"Right." Carter leaned his head back. "I do like it. But I miss you."

"I miss you too," Sadie replied, without thinking. "You need to visit more."

"Maybe, but that brings us back to the original point about the Brooklyn house being destroyed."

"True," Sadie agreed. "But Paris gets destroyed every other day, and it's fine."

"I hope you know I have so many questions about that. Also, what's with all the cat ears?"

"Hm?" Sadie asked.

"The cat ears," Carter repeated. "I swear every other person I see is wearing them."

"Oh, that's just the current style," Sadie answered. "You wouldn't know, you've never been stylish."

Sadie's phone beeped - akuma alert.

"Should we go?" Carter asked, peering over her shoulder as a text popped up.

Alya: mari is in an important school meeting dont bug her nino and i got this

"They'll let me know if they need me," Sadie said. "It's nice, you know, not being the person in charge."

Carter nodded. "I can imagine."

Sadie's phone was continuing to buzz.

Alya: chloe we need you

Luka: ill meet you there

Alya: great

Alya: this akuma seems mild i think weve got it

"They've got it," Sadie reported. "What we're we talking about again?"

Chloe: I'm also in an important meeting?

Alya: too bad

Alya: mari has missed many meetings for akumas so its your turn

"Cat ears," Carter recalled.

"Oh, right, I was saying you're not stylish."

"Right. Remind me why I miss you so much when you're away?"

Sadie chuckled and bumped her shoulder against him. "Because I make life interesting. You'd be bored without me."

Ms Mendeliev turned away from the white board, with their new assignment, and looked back over the class.

"This will be your last lab of the year," she continued. "Mylene, Adrien, since your partners have decided not to show up today, you can work together."

Sadie had taken the day off to spend with her brother, and Chloe was helping with the akuma.

Adrien turned to Mylene and gave her a smile before moving his stuff back to her table.

"Where is everyone?" Mylene whispered.

"Akuma," Adrien replied.

"Now," Ms Mendeliev continued. "I know there's an akuma, but it's far from us, so I will be watching the updates and you all need to put your phones away and focus on the assignment. The instructions are on the board-"

All the phones beeped.

"Oh, the akuma was defeated, don't check your phones in class-"

Adrien snuck a glance at his phone to confirm, before slipping it back in his pocket and turning his attention to the board.

He had gotten used to Sadie as his lab partner. Both of them were in school for the same reason - a want to be around people - and it was easy for them to get distracted during class talking. Before Sadie, Nino had been his lab partner - back when Adrien still pretended to care about his grades, and Nino had always cared about his own grades, but they still struggled to pay attention instead of talking. But Mylene had laser-focus, and it was weird.

"Again with the lack of lab safety Lacy," Mendeliev scolded as she walked the other side of the class. "If I catch you again, I'll give you extra homework. Alix, I know you can measure that correctly, try again-"

"She's scary," Mylene muttered.

"Yep," Adrien agreed. "But we're doing fine. She won't yell at us."

"Kim, put that down. Chemistry is not a joke."

"And hey, it's our last lab," Adrien said. "And she only teaches this grade."

Mylene smiled. "That's true. Next year will be better."

"Next year will be much better."

True to Adrien's prediction, Mendeliev barely glanced at their table, preferring to hover over Lacy's and Kim's.

Marinette returned just as class was over. She had spent the morning at some super important meeting, something about university, so her absence was excused today. Alya, Nino, and Chloe filtered in after her.

"We need to talk about this," Marinette whispered as Adrien joined her, Alya, and Nino as they walked back to the regular classroom. "What Alya pulled of was amazing-"

"Only because we've been discussing this," Alya argued.

"And I want everyone to know we have something to fall back on if something happens to me."

"Or if you need a break," Alya added.

"That too."

"What happened?" Adrien asked. "How did you defeat the akuma without Marinette?"

Alya delved into an explanation - it had a lot to do with the bee's and turtle's powers, and the power hierarchy between the miraculous, and some other research Adrien hadn't kept up with.

"We'll explain in more detail later," Marinette said, catching the look on Adrien's face.

"Nope," Adrien said. "I still don't understand it."

"Oh good," Kim said. "I thought I was the only one."

The team was once again gathered in Chloe's room, discussing the latest akuma attack. Well, some of them were. Chloe had demanded that Lacy fix her hair, and Alix was busy bugging the two of them while that happened. But the rest of them were on Chloe's couch or the floor around it, talking about the akuma attack.

"It's complicated if you haven't been following all the research I've been doing," Alya explained. She was sitting on the floor, arms between her feet with her knees bent, like a fox.

"Which is hard to follow," Nino said. "Alya moves at the speed of light when it comes to research."

"I've been following," Max said. He was one of the few actually on the couch, sitting as proper as he did at school.

"So what's next?" Kagami asked. "Now that we have this figured out, what will we be researching next?"

"Lacy says she's made progress with the akuma potions," Sadie said.

"That is true!" Orriko said, swooping down from the top of the cabinet the kwamis had retreated to. "She is doing amazing! She's figured out the ingredient that was wrong - just a small mistranslation going from Egyptian magic to Greek magic - and it shouldn't be long until we have a few potions!"

"That's great news!" Rose said, clasping her hands together.

"The potions will be nice," Marinette agreed. "Unfortunately, we don't have enough ingredients to make one for everyone in Mayura's range, but we should each be able to carry one with us. We'd have to take it before being akumatized, and the effects last about a day? I believe? But it will prevent Mayura from being able to target us."

"What about parents?" Nino asked.

"Or siblings?" Alya added.

"We'll see how much Lacy can make," Marinette said. "Either way, it will be a great stress relief for us."

"What else is there to work on?" Alya asked. "I feel like we're on a roll here."

"Alix is continuing to look into ways to bypass the kwami enchantment," Marinette said. "Sadie and Carter made more progress with the weird magic... things."

"I am working on an algorithm to see if there's any patterns to the akumas," Max said. "If we can identify a pattern with Hawkmoth's akumas that might also apply to Mayfly's akumas, it might help us find her quicker."

"Good, keep at that."

"And we're still looking into what happened with Mrs Agreste," Alya said, briefly looking at Adrien. "Not a lot of luck with that."

"I'm sure you'll find something," Adrien replied. "And the doctors say she isn't getting worse, so, it's not like you can't take your time."

"We're working hard on that," Marinette said. "We'll find a cure."

"I believe you," Adrien replied. "I know this will work."

Chapter Text

Chapter 20: Vesperia

Lacy stared at Zoe like she grew another head.

"What?" Zoe asked. "Haven't heard that song?"

"Old McDonald Had A Farm?" Lacy asked.

"No, no, the parody on YouTube-"

Mr Montalaing cleared his throat, pulling the girls attention back to the meeting on hand.

It was the theater club's last meeting of the year, and Mr Montalaing was leading a discussion on what changes to make for the next year. Zoe and Mylene had both decided to stay in next year, and Sadie was talking about joining. Adrien had also stopped by, hanging in the back just to check out the club, and Chloe had tagged along out of boredom.

"I'll show you after class," Zoe whispered.

Sadie shot Lacy a teasing look, and Lacy stuck her tongue out at her.

"I definitely think the schedule this semester worked better," one of the other students said, pulling the club back on track.

"I agree!" Mylene chirped. "It was great being able to do this and the gardening club!"

Phones buzzed - akuma alert.

Lacy glanced down at her phone. The akuma was close by, but not evacuate close.

Adrien excused himself quietly. Lacy slipped her phone onto her lap to watch for notifications.

"Any ideas for the play next semester?" Mr Montalaing asked.

Lacy's phone beeped.

"Akumas moving fast, we need to get to shelter," Sadie read.

"Alright, you know what to do," Mr Montalaing said. "Nice and c-"

The ceiling cracked. Pieces of ceiling sprinkled down.

Lacy grabbed Zoe and pulled her out of the way as the ceiling collapsed.

They hit the ground hard. The ceiling missed them, but now they both were covered with white dust.

Zoe coughed.

Lacy pushed herself up, glancing back into the rubble. Sadie was fine, it looked like the ceiling had fallen around her - a perfect circle, in fact - and Mylene was tucked next to her. Chloe had rolled out of the way, and Adrien had a cut on his arm but otherwise seemed a few other students were stuck under the rubble, and Mr Montalaing wasn't to be seen.

"Are you okay?" Lacy asked Zoe.

"I'm fine, thanks," Zoe said. "Let's get out of here."

"Go," Lacy said, standing up. "I'm going to check on Mr Montalaing."

"Wait, Lacy-"

Lacy tiptoed through the rubble, towards the spot where Mr Montalaing had been.

"Careful," Zoe called.

"I'm fine," Lacy said. "It's not like the ceiling can fall twice-"

A snap was her only warning. Lacy was tugged to the side as a block of - of something - plummeted towards the floor.

The tug knocked her off balance, and Lacy collided with Zoe.

"You were saying?" Sadie asked.

Chloe was not happy with this development.

"- and now she's saving people?" She asked, rubbing her forehead. "It's like she's trying to show me up!"

It was just her, Lacy, and Max so far in class that morning. Max was preoccupied with a programming project on his phone, with Kaalki and Martok hovering over his shoulders, while Chloe and Lacy talked about the akuma attack the previous night.

"Chloe," Lacy replied. "You're literally a superhero."

"And a good one at that!" Pollen added, her voice muffled by the bag she was hiding in.

"I know, I know," Chloe said. "But - but what if Marinette decides she likes Zoe better than me?"

"She does," Max muttered.

"I didn't ask you," Chloe replied.

"Are you talking as Queen Bee?" Lacy asked. "Because you have a lot of experience now, and that's valuable. As long as Marinette knows she can trust you, I don't think she's going to want another bee."

"Besides," Max added. "There are other miraculouses she could give Zoe, such as the-"

The classroom door opened, and Kaalki ducked as Ms Bustier walked in.

"Good morning," she greeted. "Mr Montalaing wanted me to tell you that the theater meeting has been rescheduled for this afternoon."

"Thank you," Lacy said.

"What happened?" Max asked.

"Akuma," Lacy replied. "Nearly killed me."

"Ah, that explains the discussion on Zoe's heroism."

Mr Montalaing had time to clear his throat and say, "Let's try this again," before the akuma alert went off.

Lacy glanced down at her phone,

"The Ladybl-"

The back wall exploded. Lacy pulled Zoe down as debris scattered across the room.

"- says that the akuma is in the school," the student finished.

"Alright, everybody out!"

Lacy glanced over her shoulder, scanning the room to make sure her friends were alright, before grabbing Zoe and pulling her towards the door.

They stumbled out into the hall with the rest of the students.

As Mr Montalaing ushered students to safety, Adrien slipped out, followed by Sadie. Lacy watched them out of the corner of her eye, waiting for her own chance to slip away.

Zoe let go, distracted by another boom echoing from behind them, and Lacy slipped into a classroom.

"Orikko, sun up!"

Chloe was nearly knocked over by a mannequin, but thankfully she moved out of the way in time and instead got hit by falling pieces of the ceiling.

"Great," she huffed. "Just great."

"Don't worry!" Pollen said. "I'm sure Ladybug will have this fixed in an instance."

"I'm sure," Chloe said. "Grab me my phone?"

Pollen obliged, easily moving the phone the same size as she was out of the bag and to Chloe.

"Thanks," Chloe said.

The Ladyblog was already filming the akuma attack - or, part of the akuma attack. It was hard to pick out the actual akuma-

The video was interrupted with a text from Marinette.

Queen Bee we need you

im stuck, Chloe replied.

Get unstuck. We need you.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Get unstuck? I can't just get unstuck. That's utterly ridiculous."

Footsteps. Chloe gestured for Pollen to hide, and the kwami darted out of sight just as another student rounded the corner.
Zoe. Of course.

"La - Chloe?" Zoe rushed over, kneeling down in front of her. "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?" Chloe asked. "Ugh, I'm fine, I just have to wait it out at this point."

"Are you sure?" Zoe asked. "I can go get Mr M-"

"I said I'm fine," Chloe repeated. "You should get to safety, don't worry about me."

"I can't just leave you," Zoe said.

"You don't even like me," Chloe argued.

"I like you, you don't like me," Zoe said. "And it doesn't matter, you're injured!"

"I'm fine," Chloe repeated, again. "Go. Scram. Go!"

Zoe was still hesitating. Chloe sighed.

"Don't make me throw my phone at you. Go!"

Zoe nodded, and finally left.

"Ugh," Chloe said. "Such a good goody-two-shoes."

"But what are you going to do about the akuma?" Pollen asked, re-emerging. "Ladybug needs you!"

"I don't know," Chloe admitted. "Even if I could get out of here, my legs too injured to do anything - but then again, Ladybug doesn't need me, she needs my miraculous."

"But you're the best bee there can be!" Pollen argued.

"I'm stuck," Chloe repeated. "Is Mylene close by?"

"I don't know, I don't think I could find her," Pollen replied. "The only person we've seen since the akuma strike is Zoe."

Oh.

"Then Zoe it is," Chloe decided. "If you're okay with that?"

"I think she'd make a good hero," Pollen said. "But not a good bee."

"She's what we have," Chloe said.

It was a struggle to get her comb out of her hair in her position, but with effort Chloe did manage to shake it loose.

"I hope Ladybug won't be too mad about this," she muttered as she handed it to Pollen.

"She'll understand," Pollen said. "I'll be back, my Queen."

Carapace's shield hit empty air.

"This isn't working, my dudes," Carapace said, retrieving his shield off the street.

"Ugh," Ladybug said. "We need Chloe, where is she? Regroup for now, same rooftop."

Carapace scanned the street one last time before rejoining the rooftop.

Ladybug was kneeling, watching her yo-yo as her drone scanned the city. She grimaced when Carapace returned.

"This isn't working," Ladybug said. "We need Queen Bee, but I-"

"Did someone ask for a bee?"

Ladybug and Carapace whirled towards the voice.

The new person definitely was a bee. She had black high-tops outlined in yellow and black pants with yellow stripes curving around her thighs. Her undershirt was black, padded around her elbow, and she had a yellow, short-sleeve leather jacket over it. Her hair was black, pulled back in a ponytail, with a yellow stripe across the left side, and her mask with solid black. Unlike Queen Bee, she didn't have wings, but she was posed like Queen Bee with her hands on her hips and head held up high.

Ladybug closed her yo-yo and stood up. "Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm, uhhh - Vesperia, yeah. Vesperia. Queen Bee was sick, so I'm here."

Queen Bee was not sick. Chloe had been fully annoying all day.

Carapace shifted his shield on his arm.

"How do we know you're not an akuma?" Ladybug questioned. Their lie detector, Kota, was halfway across the city with Chat Noir.

"My kwami told me to tell you that she liked your shirt today," Vesperia responded.

That was at least something - Marinette had been wearing a save the bees shirt at school.

Mayfly only had the one miraculous, the peacock was safe with Fu, and the first akuma was still rampaging. For now, Vesperia seemed legit.

"So what's the plan?" Vesperia asked.

"The akuma is called Rush Hour," Ladybug replied. "He has superspeed, and he can use it to destroy buildings. We need to get him to stop moving, and the best way to do that is your venom."

Vesperia nodded. "So how do I find him?"

"We need to set a trap," Ladybug replied. "Lucky charm!"

Vesperia readied herself. Ladybug said she'd have half a second to hit Rush Hour, before he recovered from the trap and the moment was over.

"Viperion," Ladybug said. "Set your second chance. Rena-"

"Mirage!"

Vesperia watched the illusion appear, only a few feet from the disguised skateboard.

"Be quick," Ladybug said. "When we were trying to catch him with shell-ter, he recovered too quickly. But your venom is made for this, it should work. Just trust yourself."

Trust yourself.

Vesperia took a deep breath. She was an actor, someone who could get into other people's mindset, and she tried to get into Queen Bee's mindset. Chloe's replacement seemed as confident as the original, as sure that everything she did was right.

I am the bee. I do not make mistakes.

She never saw Rush Hour, just a blur followed by the skateboard moving, but she was ready. Her top shot out as she lunged towards the movement.

"Venom!"

Rush Hour froze mid-air, arms out bracing for impact.

"Good job Vesperia!" Ladybug cheered.

"First try," Viperion added. "Good job."

Ladybug landed next to the akuma, searching for the akumatized object. A second later, the purified butterfly flew away and the cure swept the city.

"Let's regroup on the rooftop," Ladybug said.

"Pound it!"

"Good job team," Ladybug said.

"More like good job new-bee and you," Chat Noir said.

"You almost caught him," Ladybug said.

The teasing between the heroes felt natural, like a bunch of teenagers hanging out, but Vesperia was still struggling to believe she was here. Not every hero had joined them on the rooftop, but just being near the ones that were - Carapace, Rena Rouge, Kota, Ladybug, Viperion, and Chat Noir - was exhilarating.

She wasn't totally sure, but every time Kota looked at her, it looked like she blushed.

"Alright, I need to collect Vesperia's miraculous and return it to Queen," Ladybug said. "The rest of you recharge."

"Vesperia?" Kota asked. "What does Venus have to do with bees?"

"I think it's supposed to be a play on Vespa," Rena Rouge said. "Like the wasp."

"Oh," Kota replied. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"Ves, let's meet in the alley below," Ladybug said, gesturing to her right.

Vesperia nodded, following Ladybug down off the roof.

Checking the coast was clear, Vesperia detransformed. Pollen floated out, landing on her shoulder.

"Oh, you're Zoe, right?" Ladybug asked.

"You know me?" Zoe asked.

Ladybug nodded. "There's been a lot of akumas at your school. I'm starting to know the students well."

Zoe nodded. "Well, you know where to find me if you need me."

"She did good," Pollen said. "But I like my queen better."

"Of course," Ladybug agreed. "But I'll keep in you mind, I might want you for something else."

Chloe was mid-sentence, hands raised up to emphasize her point, when Marinette approached her.

Lacy looked between the two girls before excusing herself.

"I can explain," Chloe said.

"Pollen already did," Marinette replied. "You got stuck, so you prioritized the needs of the mission over your personal feelings for Zoe. I'm impressed."

"Oh." Chloe had thought she'd be mad, or that she'd think Zoe was better, or -

"Zoe was a good choice," Marinette continued. "Her acting skills let her pick up your technique well. Just... next time, text me or something? We have had akumas fake being heroes before."

Oh, right.

"Let's not do a next time," Chloe decided.

Marinette chuckled. "Agreed."

Chapter Text

Chapter 21: The Cat in the Bag

Marinette called a meeting the following afternoon after school.

Chloe’s room wasn’t available, for some reason, so Max offered his apartment for the meeting. He had yet to tell his family, but his father was still at work and his grandfather was at some community event for retirees. 

Fu seemed very happy to meet somewhere chosen with older people in mind.

Alix, Lacy, and Kim claimed the couch while Max pulled up a desk chair, Marinette and Alya claimed a foot stool for themselves, and Chloe grabbed a chair from the kitchen for her and one for Fu. Nino, Adrien, and Kagami sat on the floor on one side, Rose and Juleka curled up on the other side.  Sadie sat on the armrest of the couch, next to Lacy, and Luka sat cross-legged next to the footstool.

Marinette brought snacks from her parent’s bakery to pass around as they talked.

“What did you think of Zoe?” Marinette asked. 

“Vesperia, I’m assuming?” Kagami replied. “She did okay. But I’m unfamiliar with her as a civilian.” 

“I don’t really know her either,” Marinette admitted. “Lacy has probably spent the most time with her.”

Sadie snorted. Lacy elbowed her. 

“She’s nice,” Lacy said. “She doesn’t really have the confidence needed for a hero - but then again, neither did I.”

“Or I,” Marinette agreed.

“Speak for yourselves,” Chloe said.

“Were you thinking of giving her a miraculous?” Max asked. “We still haven’t found anyone for the mouse, goat, or dog miraculous.”

“The goat miraculous needs to be given to someone fearless, at least around heights,” Marinette said. “It’s why Alix was such a natural pick.”

Alix grinned. 

“And the mouse needs to be strategic,” Marinette continued.

“Which is why you use it so well,” Adrien added.

“I don’t know if Zoe fits either of them,” Marinette said. “And the dog… I’m not sure that would be as useful against Mayfly.”

“So no Zoe?” Chloe asked, sounding hopeful.

Marinette bit into a macaroon and chewed it for a moment.

“Did you have something else in mind?” Adrien asked.

“Zoe’s a good actor,” Marinette said. “And it sounds like she can mimic other people well.”

“Hm,” Fu said. “I think I know where you are going with this. It’s unorthodox, and it could be risky.”

“What are you thinking?” Alya asked. 

“Well,” Marinette said. “We’ve all been trapped by akumas, where we can’t escape - but our kwamis can. If we had someone on standby, that could fill in when we can’t-“

“Sending the miraculouses back and forward is dangerous,” Wayzz, who was on Nino’s knee, said. “But not as dangerous as letting an akuma run wild.”

“If I’m knocked out of battle,” Marinette said, “I’d rather Alya come get my earrings. And I don’t to risk it with the black cat or rabbit. But the rest - I’d like you to consider it.”

“I’ll volunteer Nino for cat retrieval,” Adrien said.

Marinette made a face. “I don’t know. Nino’s not always good with the destroying aspect of things.”

“Alix would be my second choice,” Fu said. “She’s shown good restraint as Bunnyx, not abusing her powers, which is important as a black cat. And, as Bunnyx, she has a greater chance of being able to find Adrien if needed.” 

“Good point,” Marinette agreed. “If Alix isn’t available, then we just don’t have the rabbit. I don’t even trust myself with that miraculous.”

“I agree,” Fu agreed. “It’s a complicated miraculous.”

“But the rest of you can think about it,” Marinette continued. “Try to talk to Zoe.”

“Are you thinking of telling her identities?” Alix asked.

“Not yet,” Marinette said.  “Let’s see how often we use her.”

Everyone wanted to meet Zoe after that.

Alya and Nino approached her, pretending to be interested in doing theater next semester. It ended with Nino actually being interested in theater tech. Marinette asked her about costume designing, and Juleka and Rose found a band that they liked that Zoe also listened to. Kagami said she trusted everyone else’s opinion. 

“She’s nice,” Alya decided. “But she’s not very, I don’t know. Opinionated?”

“She’s shy,” Mylene said. “That’s all.”

It was the end of the school week, and everyone was packing up to head home.  

“A lot of you were shy, or nervous, when you first received your miraculous,” Tikki said. “And look how far all of you have come!”

“It’s a good point,” Marinette said. “Let’s not forget where we all started from.” 

Alya, Marinette, Nino, and Adrien left the classroom together, their kwamis ducking into hiding. 

“Oh, Adrien, have you played Max’s game since his last update?” Marinette asked. 

“Yeah, I stayed late after our meeting the other day, and Max showed me all the new updates. It’s great, being able to be so spontaneous.”

“Alya!” 

The four stopped, still at the top of the staircase, as Lacy waved them down. 

“Alya,” she repeated. “Hey, I need to talk to Nora. About - about American things.” 

“Uh, sure,” Alya replied. “You can come home with me if you want. She should be home before her boxing class.”

Lacy nodded. 

It was a quick walk to Alya’s apartment. Alya talked the whole way there, filling Lacy in on some of the research she’d be doing. She had just started talking about an old text she and Alix had discovered when they reached her apartment. 

“Nora!” Alya called. “Lacy wants to speak to you.”

Nora appeared, and Alya went to put her stuff down.

“What do you need?” Nora asked.

“I was hoping you’d have some more ambrosia?” Lacy asked. 

Nora raised an eyebrow.

“What have you been up to that you’ve gone through all your ambrosia?” She asked. “I know Piper made you bring some.”

Lacy had hoped that Nora wouldn’t ask. After all, with all the potion-making and superheroing, the answer felt a little disappointing. And embarrassing.

“I, uh, fell down the stairs at school,” Lacy admitted. “I was trying to take a picture, and wasn’t watching where I was going… and then I fell.”

“Aren’t you the record holder for the climbing wall at camp?” Nora asked.

“Yeah,” Lacy said. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Nothing,” Nora replied. “Let me grab that ambrosia for you.”

Nora opened one of the drawers in her dresser and pulled a pack of ambrosia out of a sock. It was a good hiding place - Lacy doubted anyone wanted to go through Nora’s socks.

“Be careful with it,” Nora said. “I don’t have a lot left, either.” 

“I will,” Lacy replied. 

Alya had already disappeared, so Lacy guessed she wasn’t expecting a goodbye. Placing the ambrosia in a safe place in her backpack, she started heading towards the door. 

But hesitated.

“I know you don’t want my advice,” Lacy said, turning back to Nora. “But you should tell Alya soon.”

Nora frowned. “What makes you say that?”

“Just a gut feeling,” Lacy replied. “But she’s going to find out. And she should hear from you, or your mom, instead of a truth akuma or something.”

Or Trixx, Lacy thought. The kwamis had a knack for sniffing out magic.

“Let me worry about that,” Nora said. “But… I’ll talk to my mom.” 

Nino paused at the door to the apartment.

“I think I’m going to tell them,” he said.

Adrien was right beside him, frozen mid-sentence from where Nino interrupted one of his jokes. Wayzz floated on the other side of Nino, Plagg still hiding somewhere.

“Tell them what?” Adrien asked. 

“You know,” Nino replied. “Tell them. About, you know. Being a superhero.”

“Oh,” Adrien said. “Okay. That’s good.”

“You think so?” Nino asked. 

“Yeah, dude, your parents are great,” Adrien replied. 

“If you think it’s wise,” Wayzz added, “then I will support you.”

“But do you think it’s wise?” Nino asked. 

“There are risks,” Wayzz said. “There are always risks. But there are risks in continuing to keep it a secret as well. I cannot tell you what the right choice is.”

“So no advice?” Nino said. 

“My advice is to do what you think is best,” Wayzz said. 

Nino sighed. “I think this is best.” 

At least his parents were still at work, and wouldn’t be home yet. He didn’t have to do anything quite yet.

Nino pushed through the (still) broken door and into the apartment, Adrien following right behind him, to find his parents already home.

“Hi.”

His mom turned and smiled at him. “Hey. Both of our jobs let us out early, so we were thinking of having a family night once Chris gets home.”

“That sounds fun,” Nino replied. He could wait until after the family night - but then Chris would be home, and that could make things harder.

“You guys have fun,” Adrien said. “I’ve got practice at the Liberty tonight.”

“Actually,” Nino said, pushing the words out of his mouth. “Can we talk first? Before Chris gets home?”

“Sure,” his mom said. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, everything’s fine. Just something I wanted to talk about.”

“Okay,” she replied. “Why don’t you put your stuff down and then we can talk?”

Nino nodded. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”

His mom turned back to say something to his dad, and Nino turned to head to his room. 

And then everyone’s phones beeped.

“Akuma alert,” Nino’s father said. “Looks like it’s by the Seine.”

Nino sighed, turning back to his parents. 

 “I guess we’re doing this now.”