Ashes of Rage: Act 1

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/48512806.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: Gen, Multi, Other
Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, DC Extended Universe
Relationships: Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Sabine
Cheng/Tom Dupain, Luka Couffaine & Marinette Dupain-Cheng |
Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Kagami Tsurugi
Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Gabriel
Agreste, Nathalie Sancoeur, Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug), Plagg
(Miraculous Ladybug), Red Lantern Corps, Luka Couffaine, Kagami
Tsurugi, Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marc Anciel, Chloé Bourgeois, Roger
Raincomprix, Nadja Chamack, Penny Rolling, Jagged Stone (Miraculous
Ladybug), Clara Nightingale, Lila Rossi, Caline Bustier, Lê Chiến Kim,
Ondine (Miraculous Ladybug), Aurore Beauréal, Mireille Caquet, Juleka
Couffaine, Rose Lavillant, Théo Barbot, Fei Wu (Miraculous Ladybug),
Manon Chamack, Atrocitus (DCU), Justice League (DCU)
Language: English
Series: Part 1 of Ashes of Rage
Stats: Published: 2023-07-12 Updated: 2024-01-25 Words: 19,335 Chapters:
5/?
 Ashes of Rage: Act 1
by Goggles_McGee

Summary

[Inspired by Wish Me Away] Chat Noir betrayed her. It wasn’t something Marinette ever
expected, they were partners, friends, so this betrayal hurt more than she could have ever put
in words. Finding out he was Adrien only added to that pain, to that betrayal. Watching him
give Hawkmoth, his father, her earrings was like something out of a nightmare. Gabriel now
had the power to make The Wish and Marinette wanted to hold out hope he could be
reasoned with or that her team would realize something was wrong but there was no hope in
her heart. Not anymore.
All there was, was rage.

Notes

I hope you all enjoy this story! This chapter itself does contain graphic description of the
transformation into a Red Lantern. If you would rather skip that stop reading at the line "The
ring slid on her finger perfectly.." and resume reading at "The pain was gone and in it's
place..." Besides that description there are minor acts of violence in this chapter.

See the end of the work for more notes

 Prologue

They say that in times of near death experiences or even death itself, a person’s life flashes
before their eyes. Marinette had never dwelled on that before, she didn’t like to think about it,
that your life could truly play out in front of you in a flash and then boom...you were gone.
Yet here she was, her life playing out like some sad teen movie as the light engulfed her.
Why? Why did this happen? She knew how it happened, but she still couldn’t wrap her head
around the why? Why did Chat betray her like this? They had a plan, they knew Hawkmoth
was Gabriel Agreste and that his assistant Nathalie was Mayura. It was going to be an
ambush. Chat’s kwami Plagg had found his lair and had told them how to get there. It was
perfect. Next akuma they would have Viperion (Luka), Donryu (Kagami), Fox-Tail
(Nathaniel), Noc-Turtle (Marc) and Bee-Witch (Chloe) distract the akuma while Chat and
her went to the Agreste Mansion to break into the lair then ambush Hawkmoth aka Gabriel.
Ideally they were hoping to catch Nathalie off guard and deal with her before they entered the
lair but when they had arrived she wasn’t at her desk in front of Gabriel’s office which meant
she was most likely in the lair with him, but they knew it was a possibility so they proceeded
down as planned. Then...then her own hell manifested. She hadn’t realized it, not at first, she
had been battling Mayura, she had managed to pin her and had turned to see how Chat was
faring against Hawkmoth and was shocked to see they weren’t even fighting, they were
staring at her.

Before she could ask what Chat was doing, or rather what he was not doing he darted toward
her and she thought with relief, he was going to help her. Why was that not what happened?
Chat grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away from Mayura, Marinette tried to
struggle against him and she would have won if Mayura hadn’t started to help restrain her. It
was a blur, but she knew she got some hits in, she did everything she could, she kicked, she
threw punches wildly, she bit, she threw her head in every direction hoping it would strike
and smiling viciously when it did. They took her yoyo as she felt herself forced onto a chair,
it creaked from the pressure, she still tried to fight. They tied her to the chair using everything
at their disposal it seemed, rope, cables, duct tape, she still tried to fight. Hawkmoth was
yelling, Chat was trying to soothe her, looking at her like he didn’t just fight her and restrain
her onto a chair, she reared her head back and headbutted him, she was still fighting.

“What the fuck My Lady!? Here I am trying to help you and you go and break my nose! Me-
ouch!” Chat spit out from behind his hand a bit of blood followed the words.

“Help me?” Marinette screeched indignantly. “How is fighting me and helping the enemy tie
me to a chair helping me!?”

“I’m helping all of us! Why don’t you see that?”

“We don’t have time to waste. The earrings.” Hawkmoth commanded and Marinette had this
sick feeling in her gut as she looked from the villain she had been fighting since she was 13,
back to her partner, was he even my partner to begin with? , and saw how he nodded and
smiled before looking back at her with his wide, wild toxic green eyes. She leaned back as
much as she could scowling and baring her teeth, she would do whatever she had to if it
meant keeping the earrings safe, when Chat reached towards her she turned her face as
quickly bit his hand. The answering yowl made her want to smirk in vindication, even as he
shook his hand she still held on with her teeth till she felt someone yank on her hair, hard .
She didn’t immediately let go even if the pain was great, her teeth scraped the leather of
Chat’s suit the whole time she was pulled away but she didn’t care. What she did care about
was the fact that the hand in her hair didn’t let go, she briefly glanced back to see the
unmistakable blue of Mayura. Before she could even think to try and struggle still she felt
another hand grab her jaw to keep her in place, seeing as Chat had both hands visible she had
to assume Mayura was holding her with both her hands since she could also see Hawkmoth
standing in the back. Not being able to do much other than growl, she opted to growl out her
frustration.

“Growling isn’t very lady like Ladybug.” Chat of course put emphasis on the ‘lady’ in
ladylike as he went for her earring on her left ear first. Marinette did her best to keep her tears
at bay. She would not cry in front of them, she would not allow them that satisfaction.

It was like a rip when he removed the first earring. It made her gasp, it wasn’t exactly pain,
not at first, it was more this overwhelming sense of discomfort, like having a popcorn kernel
stuck between every single tooth and gum. Why does it feel like this? It’s never felt like this
before? Then the pain hit and Marinette had to grind her teeth in order to not make a sound,
she wouldn’t give them that pleasure, but God , it hurt so much. She could feel parts of her
transformation bubbling, almost sizzling and falling off. It was bizarre, never had a
transformation falling felt like this, but then again, never had she had her earrings forcibly
removed. There was barely any time to brace herself when she felt Chat go for the other
earrings and this time, this time she couldn’t hold back the scream that clawed its way out.
The pain was too much, it was so different that the first one, this time it was a burning
sensation coupled with her muscles feeling like every single one of them had been pulled.
She could distantly hear voices, but ultimately they were muffled by her screaming.

“Stop being dramatic Bugaboo.” She could hear Chat laughing, when she opened her eyes it
was to see him looking down at the earrings in his hand. There was a soft gasp coming from
somewhat behind her so she willed herself with the small amount of strength she had to look
back and saw Nathalie Sancoeur staring back at her with big eyes. It almost made her snort,
the older woman may have been surprised to see that Ladybug was none other than her, plain
Marinette, but Marinette had guessed Nathalie was Mayura. Who, by the way, did not look so
great. Her transformation had been dropped and she was pale, there were bags under her eyes
and her breathing was labored. Even though she had just helped to take her earrings,
Marinette still felt pity for the woman, she knew she was going to die if she continued to use
the peacock, but seeing as Hawkmoth, no Gabriel seemed to have won, maybe there was
hope for her to get better. Marinette knew better though. She had read the Grimoire pages
about damaged Miraculi, she knew the damage they dealt stayed unless the broken
Miraculous was fixed and the kwami of the Miraculous was feeling merciful.

“Marinette? It’s...Oh my God...You’re you!” Her head snapped back to Chat fast enough she
felt a slight strain. The look in his eyes made her want to puke, he looked in awe and almost
in love. There was no way she would say it was actual love, more like obsession that he in his
deluded mind convinced himself was love.
“We don’t have time for this. The earrings and the ring, now.” Gabriel growled, his
transformation was also dropped, Marinette saw Nooroo for the first time and wished she
could comfort the kwami. He looked so drained.

“Chat. I’m begging you. Don’t give him my earrings or your ring! You don’t understand what
will happen!” Marinette was desperate as she pleaded.

“Plagg, claws in.” There was a loud gasp, it took a second for her to realize it was her who
had made the sound. Standing where Chat had been was her ex-crush, ex-friend, Adrien
Agreste and gone was the lovesick look he had been giving her as he walked over to his
father. His father! “No. You don’t understand, Marinette! This! All of this is for my mother.
Don’t you...Don’t you want me to have my mother back?”

“Listen to me Chat-Adrien...even you Gabriel. You don’t want to make this wish! It might
bring your wife back, yes. But every wish comes at a price!”

“I think you’re lying to save your own skin Mlle Dupain-Cheng.” Gabriel replied as he took
the earrings and ring from Adrien and put them on himself carefully.

“What would I gain from lying? Nothing! If you make this wish there is going to be a price
you aren’t going to be able to handle!”

“Adrien. Quiet her. Now.” Gabriel gritted out. Marinette could tell he was experiencing the
clash of power between good and bad luck. Creation and Destruction. He wasn’t even
transformed yet and Marinette could tell the power was overwhelming him. When she had
read the Grimoire about the “Balanced Yet Always Fighting” Power, or that was the closest
translation anyways, Marinette liked to call it the Ambivalence Power, the book spoke how
many could not handle the Power and themselves would decay on the spot. It was considered
an instant action of the Power, instant Karma, to bring the two Miraculi together was
considered an evil act, so to counterbalance it, the Power would take the life of the user if
they could not bear it and make a wish quickly.

“Yes Father!” Adrien hastily agreed and all Marinette could do was glare at him, and when he
approached with a piece of duct tape she did her best to lean away even if her energy was all
but gone. He was anything but gentle as he slapped the duct tape over her mouth.

“Now I can begin. It’s finally happening Adrien, we’re going to get her back.” Gabriel gave
his son a smile and Marinette pitied the joy on Adrien’s face, knowing that was probably the
first real smile his father had given him since his mother had gone missing. “Tell me your
names Kwamis.”

“T-Tikki…” Tikki grit out, the look in her eyes promised harm.

“Plagg.” The black cat Kwami spat out with disgust as he hovered as close to Tikki as he
could.

No.
No this couldn’t be happening. Not after everything she and her team had gone through, not
after everything Paris had gone through. She couldn’t lose to her former partner, to betrayal.
A betrayal she should have seen coming, it felt so obvious the more she thought about it and
the more she thought about it the more the dread turned into a blinding white-hot rage that
was consuming her alive. Adrien as a friend had ultimately been lackluster but she had
wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, since he was a sheltered kid and all, granted he
was rich, but being rich did nothing for neglect and sheltering. It hid it a little better but it
was like a layer of wallpaper slowly stripping away. But there was only so much you could
ignore and excuse. Then there was Chat Noir. Where to start with Chat Noir? She had wanted
to make excuses for him for so long but the longer they remained partners, the more annoyed
and uncomfortable she got.

And yet, even to the end, she made excuses for him. She told herself he was just going
through some things, that’s why he had been acting weird about the plan. Why he had looked
so hesitant to bring the tormentor of Paris down, she thought it was just because they thought
they had eliminated him as a suspect before. Obviously she had been wrong but the hurt she
had felt over the realization turned into slow flames licking at her heels. The heat grew more
intense the more Gabriel and Adrien spoke, the more she looked at Emilie Agreste in that
stupid coffin and the more she felt the presence of Nathalie behind her, quiet as could be. It
was suffocating and she knew she was trembling and she hated to think these jerks believed
for one second that it was out of fear, because it wasn’t, it was out of pure unadulterated rage.
Things seemed to be happening in slow motion around her as she tried to rein in the
overpowering waves of rage that seemed to want nothing more than for her to drown in
them.

Her heart was pounding in her ears, she couldn’t stop crying, the trembling increased and she
couldn’t help but curl her fingers into her palms as much as she could while being tied to the
chair and all. The nails cut into her palm and she felt multiple sharp stings and a feeling of
wet warmth and yet she couldn’t find it within herself to care. All she could focus on was the
way her ears buzzed as she tried to focus on Gabriel, she couldn’t even make herself look at
Adrien, if she was doomed she would face this head on even if everything sounded like it was
underwater. She had no clue what Gabriel was spouting, Marinette had no interest in his self-
important monologue, but she did care about the way Tikki and Plagg looked at Gabriel.
Looked at her. They were just as hurt and betrayed as she was and that only made the fury
inside her boil more. She had never felt so angry, she had never felt such hatred but she had
felt fear and she hated how she felt it at that moment. She didn’t want to be afraid. But
emotions were rarely logical even if they were predictable.

Marinette couldn’t tear her eyes away from Gabriel, apparently he was done monologuing
because she watched as he got into a stance, one that suggested he was going to transform
and all she could feel was an overwhelming desperation in combination with her rage. Maybe
it was pointless, maybe it was stupid, but she struggled against her restraints with all the
energy she had left as she saw Gabriel open his mouth, no doubt to transform and unify Tikki
and Plagg. She could hear a cruel laugh or two when she fell on her face due to her efforts,
but it didn’t matter, none of them mattered. If her fall distracted Gabriel, even if just for a few
precious seconds it would have been worth it. She growled as she used the adrenaline
coursing through her to somehow get herself onto her side, she was still tied to the chair but it
was better than being on her face. Her nose was bleeding, her wrists and ankles were raw
from struggling and yet she couldn’t and wouldn’t focus on those. She had to do something,
anything!

Before she could yell in the hopes it would distract Gabriel enough to stall for time, so that
maybe, just maybe, her team would realize something was wrong, she heard a whistle. Not a
human whistle, more like the whistle of an object traveling at a great speed, it distracted her
and thankfully everyone else. Its pitch got higher, which meant it was most likely getting
closer and though Marinette wanted to hope it was her team, she just couldn’t feel any hope
at the moment. Then there was the sound of impact… multiple impacts actually, like the
thing, whatever it was, was penetrating the house from the roof. She could hear the panic
from the others, someone yelled something about a bomb but somehow Marinette knew it
wasn’t. Whatever it was though called to her rage that painted a red film over her eyes, to the
destruction she wanted to wreck upon all those around, to the betrayal that had poisoned her
heart. Before it even broke through into the room they were in, Marinette knew this thing was
there for her and her struggling efforts tripled until she managed to get one hand free. She
ignored the dislocated thumb and possibly broken finger.

Finally the thing broke into the room and washed it in a brilliant red light, a red light that
seemed to only shine on and around Marinette. It was a ring. A simple red ring but it sizzled
with power, Marinette could practically smell the burning metal, though it could have just
been the blood that had dried under her nose. She was transfixed, this ring was meant for her,
she knew it, so she reached out her hand towards it, not minding the pleading scream she
could vaguely hear and recognize as Tikki’s voice. The ring slid on her finger perfectly,
snugly, and that’s when the pain and her own screaming started. Her heart hurt more than she
could explain before the pain was just suddenly gone and all she felt, all she could feel was
rage. Pure rage and nothing else. She couldn’t even dwell on that because as the pain from
her heart faded, the pain in her veins began. It was a hot burning pain that felt never-ending.

Everything burned. Her eyes burned. Her throat is burned. Her skin burned. Her very blood,
BURNED . Nausea came as quickly to her as her rage had. It built and built and built till she
couldn’t hold it anymore and vomited. It was anything but normal. It was violent and messy
and RED and she couldn’t stop. It was like something from a horror movie, the amount was
as worrisome as the color and once it finally stopped Marinette recognized the contents of the
vomit. It wasn’t vomit at all, it was blood. Her blood. Honestly, what looked like all of it,
maybe if she had been in her right mind she would have questioned that, she would have
freaked out about that, but the fact of the matter was Marinette wasn’t in her right mind. Or
more like, she wasn’t in her same mind, she felt different and was but it wasn’t something she
consciously recognized. The pain was gone and in its place was power, power like she had
never felt before but she knew it wasn’t at its strongest due to her not being at her strongest.
She needed to heal, she needed to get better, she needed to go home.

Without much thought at all, Marinette pushed off the ground. There were no thoughts spared
for how she got out of her binds, none for how she had this newfound ability to fly, none to
the destruction her transformation left in its wake. The only thought on her mind was
following the tugging from the ring, the call of home,

Wherever that was.

 Picking Through The Rubble
Chapter Summary

Luka is having a very terrible, horrible, no good, time.

He had a bad feeling in his gut and to his utter dismay, it was right. Luka had
encountered many disappointments in his life and many hurt, but this was his first time
encountering heartbreak.

Chapter Notes

I'm sorry about the late update! I got sick and a lot of things happened but I'm back and
with an update! I hope you enjoy.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Luka couldn’t explain the way his heart had been beating in his chest ever since Ladybug left
the team in order for their plan to start. It was like listening to a drummer in a rock band
having a solo at a concert next to the speakers. Loud. Overwhelming. All-consuming. All
those things, but on a day where all your senses felt overwhelmed and too big for your body.
Again, it was hard to explain and maybe that’s why he didn’t mention it to Donryu, or anyone
else on the team. He knew they would never look down on him if his words made no sense or
if he had a hard time using his words, but this was such an important moment for them all so
he bit his tongue. Maybe if he hadn’t he wouldn’t have been too late. As it were, they had
been in their own locations surrounding the Agreste Mansion, Luka, i.e Viperion was
stationed closest in case he was called on by Ladybug and in need of Second Chance. The
second closest to the target was Bee-Witch who they all knew was having a hard time
keeping her emotions calm. They all understood of course, to think a man you saw as an
Uncle had been using you and your emotions more than most in Paris, was not something
easily accepted.

Honestly it had been a shock and yet at the same time perfectly reasonable when Ladybug,
Donryu and Noc-Turtle had announced to the group their belief that Hawkmoth and Mayura
were none other than Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur. A shock because you never
want to believe that a parent of one of your friends could possibly be the madman terrorizing
Paris, and yet a reasonably sound idea when you thought about it. And the more you thought
about it, the more sound it was. He was a notorious hermit, that meant he had the time to pull
off causing akumas. He had a motive, a missing wife that went missing months before the
attacks started happening. He was rich, which meant he had the funds. He had a plausible
partner in one Mlle Sancoer, someone who did everything for him and would arguably do
anything for him. It didn’t take a genius nor a psychic to notice just how in love Mlle
Sancoeur was with M Agreste and with what the team had seen from Mayura, how devoted
she was, it was the most believable theory.

So they planned. Ladybug and Chat Noir would take the plunge and hope to catch Agreste off
guard by breaking into his secret lair to confront the man. Luka would be positioned on a
building facing the back of the Agreste Mansion, where the lair was highly suspected to be
while Bee-Witch was on a neighboring roof near the front in case someone tried to run, her
Venom already poised and ready to strike. Donryu was further down the road on a roof with
Noc-Turtle in case an akuma or senti-monster was let out, or even both. The two were going
to hold them off or distract them for as long as the main battle went on. Fox-Tail was
positioned near the back of the mansion, ready to lend a Mirage if it was needed. He already
had plans on what illusions would work best on M Agreste and Mlle Sancoeur. They were
ready. They were prepared. Everything should have flowed as smooth as a symphony, but one
missed note had made Luka feel off-center and on edge. Chat’s expression when the team had
briefed him on the plan and overall who they thought was Hawkmoth had worried Luka.

It was a blink and you miss it, but Luka hadn’t missed it, he hadn’t missed the anger nor the
fear. The shock the hero used to mask it was believable enough but something about it all left
a bad taste in Luka’s mouth.

The more time that passed, the louder Luka’s heart seemed to beat and the drier his mouth
became, he longed to do something, anything, but the fear of ruining the plan made him
freeze in his place. He wished he wasn’t transformed, that way he could fidget with his rings
like he tended to do when he was anxious, but he had to be at the ready. They all did. That
didn’t make waiting any easier and Luka was usually a patient guy. “It’s quiet.” He
murmured.

“Indeed.” Donryu’s voice made him jump, he forgot they had their comms on, everyone
beside Ladybug and Chat Noir that is. They would turn their’s on, only if they were in danger
or needed backup.

“Do you think something’s…wrong?” Noc-Turtle asked softly. His voice was laced with
worry.

“Our plan is solid. Ladybug always plans for the unexpected.” Bee-Witch pitched in
confidently, but Luka could hear the slight hesitation in her voice. He didn't know if it was
due to finding out who was likely Hawkmoth and basically admitting her identity with her
reaction to news or if it was just nerves because of how big this fight was and all that
depended on it going well. Either was a valid excuse. Luka could admit, he too, was nervous.
More so for Ladybug and Chat Noir than himself and the others but the way the nerves pulled
at his stomach were anything but pleasant and were more than a little distracting. He tried not
to linger on the 'what could go wrongs' and did his best to think how they would be coming
forward from this, but even he had to admit defeat eventually as it had not been working.

Luka licked his lips as his thoughts flooded with various way things could go wrong. They
brought a cacophony of sour notes with him that made him wince to himself. "Maybe…"
"You have a thought Viperion?" Donryu asked, though her questions almost always came
across as statements, so did this one.

"It's been a long time," Luka began, "we haven't reached the time limit yet but…Maybe we
should enter the mansion and check on Ladybug and Chat Noir. If something is wrong I'll use
Second Chance, if not then we return to our positions unless it looks like they need our help."

"A solid plan." Donryu commented. "Though perhaps we should not all go. It would do no
good to completely abandon Ladybug's plan."

"So what? We split up even more?" Bee-Witch huffed.

"Yes." Donryu confirmed.

"It makes sense." Luka agreed. "Okay, Donryu, you and I will go check on them while Bee-
Witch, Noc-Turtle and Fox-Tail stay in position."

Before Bee-Witch could even protest, Donryu was fast with placating the girl. "It's the most
logical split. If an akuma or sentimonster is formed to fight Foxtail can distract them with
their illusions and if Hawkmoth or Mayura try to run, Bee-Witch, you will be ready to sting
them."

It was logical. Maybe that was why they got nothing more than an irritated sigh in response
from Bee-Witch. Luka had honestly just suggested Donryu because he trusted her to keep her
cool no matter what they came across. Well, no matter. He jumped from his spot and landed
in the backyard of the Agreste Mansion, it had never seemed more foreboding. There was just
this eerie air that squeezed at his lungs and made his heart pound like before. It was not a new
feeling whatsoever but it was one that Luka rarely felt as he was not one to panic easily. With
one more swallow of his built up saliva - why was his mouth somehow dry yet watering at the
same time ? - Luka made his way to the front of the mansion so he could meet Donryu. He
made sure to stay on the opposite side of the road as to not be caught on the front cameras of
the mansion. The security should have also been a clue, though , Luka thought, it did just
help the rich recluse vibe that Gabriel Agreste had been selling.

Footsteps to his left signaled Donryu's arrival. Now that she was here, Luka's heart felt like a
jackhammer or that of a hummingbird. "Ready?" He asked even though he was decidedly
not.

Donryu gave him a firm single nod and it was all the answer he needed before they both
turned towards the mansion and what happened next seemed to happen in slow-motion. Luka
hadn't even set his foot down in a step before the ground shook and a brilliant red light
blinded him and Donryu. Right when it reached it's brightest moment all Hell broke loose.
The mansion exploded and the force of it sent Luka and Donryu flying into the nearest
building. The pain was instantaneous. The taste of copper danced on his tongue and the smell
of smoke nearly drowned him if the pain wasn't doing a good job of that already. His ears
rung and when he tried to open his eyes his vision was slightly blurry. Luka hated to think
what his fate would have been if it weren't for his magical suit.
The ringing and accompanied dizziness started to drift away slowly but when it did he could
hear the frantic voices of Foxtail and Bee-Witch. He wanted to tell them he was fine, that he
and Donryu were fine but as soon as the thought came to him he immediately looked for his
teammate who had been blasted back by the explosion. His eyes were unfocused, blurry, and
his ears were still ringing but he had to find Donryu. They were too close to the explosion,
who knows what happened, sure they had magical suits that could protect them but they
could still feel pain no matter how diluted.

"Don….ryu…." He called out as best he could, he had no idea if it was loud or not.

He stumbled. There was rubble everywhere, smoke stained the sky and everything was
overwhelming. But he pushed on, he had to find his teammate, Ladybug asked him to make
sure everyone was okay. He had to make sure everyone was okay, that they were safe. So he
ignored everything around him, he ignored the pain, the ringing in his ears and he steadfastly
ignored the blurriness of his vision, it was clearing up anyways, no need to sit and wait for it
to do so. Luka called out as much as he was able to, his panic rising each time his call went
unanswered, but finally he heard a weak response.

"Vip…Viperion…..over here…" It was Donryu and she was walking towards him. It looked
like they both had the same idea. Once they reached each other they just stood there with
Luka's hands on her shoulders and her hands on his elbows. They took the time to look each
other over and just breathe.

"Are you okay?" It felt like a stupid question to ask seeing as he felt like his entire body was
bruised so surely she felt the same but still, he had to know.

"About as okay as you I imagine." Came her wry reply.

“You feeling up to a search?”

Donryu nodded firmly, “Yes. We need to find Ladybug and find out what went wrong. Have
you heard from the others? Are they injured?”

Luka licked his lips as he looked over all the debris around them and over to the surrounding
buildings that were affected by the explosion. “Looking at the damage…I think they were far
away enough not to get blasted like us but probably did get slightly hit by something. We
should make sure before we do anything else. We need someone to look for…for survivors
and any one injured.”

Donryu’s lips became a thin line at the word ‘survivors’ but they both knew it was true. The
violence of the explosion wouldn’t have been merciful enough not to hurt any passersby and
unlike the heroes, those people didn’t have magically enhanced suits. He prayed that no one
had been hurt, he had never been one to be an optimist but meeting and being around
Marinette had made him want to see the good in people, the good in bad situations like she
did, but this was a situation where his prayers seemed silly and redundant. He was also
someone who rarely, if ever, prayed, so he hoped it counted for something. He prayed to
every higher being he could think of as his head swiveled this way and that as he took in all
the damage.
Luka took in a deep breath before he took out his communicator, “Bee, Fox, you guys okay?”

“Are we okay!? You idiot! We weren’t the ones so ridiculously close to that stupid house!”
Bee-Witch’s voice cut in right away, loud and shrill as always but so full of worry that Luka
felt bad for the wince he made at the sound of her voice. Donryu looked like she felt the same
if the scrunching of her nose and the guilty look that followed were anything to go by.

“I’m okay, a little shaken and maybe mild bruising from a fall but Bee is right, are you guys
okay?” Noc-Turtle asked.

“That’s not what I meant!” Bee grumbled but they all knew that’s exactly what she meant.

“I got blasted back a bit but I managed not to be hit by debris or anything.” Fox-Tail
groaned.

“So overall we could be better but we’re not bad.” Donryu concluded. “Plan is somewhat the
same. Viperion and I shall go and look in the…what is left of The Agreste Mansion, Bee,
Fox, Noc, you three check for anyone injured and ....”

“Survivors. That was a bad explosion. I know it’s not something we want to hear nor consider
but it’s best we all brace ourselves now.” Luka said. He hoped his voice came out stronger
and more sure than he felt.

Nods were given in response and they all went their assigned ways. Luka’s heart was
performing it’s very own drum solo, it was roaring in his ears and it muffled all other sounds,
including their footsteps. He kept biting at his lips, a habit of his when things were getting to
be too much, it was better than him picking at his cuticles which was also a habit of his.
Thankfully he had a magical suit that came with gloves so that was something he couldn’t do,
thus he resorted to biting the skin of his lips. It felt like he was simultaneously moving
through molasses and yet somehow walking faster that he normally could in the suit. It was
like how five minutes in class seemed to go so slow yet five minutes out with friends went by
so fast, but both happening at the same time. No words were said between Donryu and him, it
was a blessing as he felt like he had run out of his daily quota of words already. At the same
time though, he could have used a distraction. Eventually though the two reached what
seemed to be the inside of Gabriel’s study but shockingly the floor was caved in.

The more Luka looked around, the more he noticed that it wasn’t just the study. Parts of the
flooring were completely caved in, like there was room for it to fall, a lot of room by the
looks of it. They weren’t aware of a basement, Ladybug had somehow gotten the house’s
floor plans and they had all studied it thoroughly, so the sight of just how deep the floors had
caved in was staggering. “Do you think…?” Donryu didn’t finish her question but Luka
guessed it all the same.

“It’s possible. They were supposed to be in the top room though, the one with the glass dome
looking design. It used to be a garden.” Luka mechanically replied.

“Getting hit by the explosion from there would have…”

“It…” Luka didn’t want to think about it. “It depends where, the uh…the explosion
originated. They could be down there or….”

“Further away.” Donryu concluded for him. He just gave a weak nod.

It felt like years went by as they climbed up and down the debris to look for their teammates,
Hawkmoth and Mayura. It felt like years left him when he and Donryu realized they hadn’t
checked the caved in flooring yet and that’s where they made their way to. Down they went
and the more it seemed to go on and on and on. It was shocking to think the mansion hid this
large amount of underground rooming. It felt like something out of a movie, whether it be
horror or superhero, both fit in Luka’s opinion. It felt wrong to talk or even breathe too loudly
so the silence was expected yet suffocating. It felt like the moment in a horror film where the
music was swelling with the tell-tale sign of a jump-scare or when the superhero finds or sees
something they didn’t want to but it happened anyway. Something settled in his heart then,
whatever they were going to see was something horrid and something he never wanted to. It
was a sad conclusion to come to, but when all the signs are pointing that way there really was
no other way to conclude what was going to happen even if he wasn’t sure of the specifics.

They had to grapple down because that is how far the ground actually was in this
underground room that surprisingly had foliage in it, but it was when they had their feet
firmly planted that Luka saw the thing he never wanted to. His vision seemed to skip over the
coffin with a blonde woman in it, it skipped right over the three bodies on the floor that
looked…well to put it lightly, it looked like they had been hit by a car or two and then some.
No those sights didn’t catch his attention, though maybe they should have, no, it was the lone
pair of pink flats with black bows on them. A very familiar pair of pink flats that he had seen
many times, especially when their owner visited his family’s houseboat. No.

No.

No, please.

Please not her.

Not. Her .

Luka didn’t blink, he didn’t think, he screamed and his hand immediately went to his wrist.
He pushed the snake head on his bracelet back harshly as he continued screaming and all he
wished, all he could think of was going back and saving her. Going back and preventing
whatever happened. He knew that too much time had passed but he didn’t care, he would
push his Miraculous to its limits if he had to. He would push himself to his limits if it meant
she was safe. It worked but it left him disoriented, it took a couple seconds for his eyes to
adjust but even then he staggered as he got up on his feet, he could taste the metallic tang of
blood. All of it was ignored as his head was full of thoughts all centered around her and the
explosion. He ran as fast as he could, he didn’t even warn his team, he just ran. As he ran he
heard a high pitched whistle and something in him told him it was the cause of the explosion.
His lungs hurt as though he hadn’t taken a breath in ages but it didn’t matter. Nothing else
mattered but her so he looked around for the source of the whistle and saw something red
plummeting towards the mansion.
He cried when he realized he wouldn’t reach the mansion before the object, whatever it was,
would hit. He never hated being right so much, though he was closer to the explosion this
time so he had to act fast and reset time before he ended up a stain on the street or something.
Luka failed again, though he did try and warn his team the second go around. They had all
been too confused by his yelling to really do anything. They all watched the mansion
explode. The third go around went the same way but this time Luka got a closer look at the
red thing hurling towards the mansion, it was small, deceptively so. Fourth round he
managed to record the object, when he zoomed in on it he saw that it was a ring. How could a
ring bring such destruction ? Many resets passed and all of them failed. Luka was exhausted
but he had to keep trying, he needed to, but he had lost count of how many times he reset and
moving felt like his blood had been replaced by molasses. He could feel it in his bones that
this would be the last reset, his body couldn’t handle anymore and yet he cursed himself for
not being stronger, for being too weak to continue.

This reset started eerily the same as the original timeline had, though this time he put more
urgency in his demands that the team stick to the plan, he hoped they started early enough but
the familiar whistle was getting closer and Luka just knew it wasn’t enough. They wouldn’t
be successful and that tore Luka apart, even if he knew they didn’t have a chance to save her ,
he still tried to push his body to be faster. It was all for naught, the ring made violent contact
with the mansion once more and triggered the explosion. He was closer to the explosion this
time, along with Donryu and they were thrown farther than they had been the first time and
the pain was so much worse but it didn’t matter. He had to get to her , or what remained but
he hated himself for thinking that. Instead of thinking, Luka just ran.

Kagami was running on adrenaline after being blasted back by the force of what seemed to be
an explosion. She had turned to ask Viperion what that was, as she had a feeling he knew by
the urgency he had had while getting the team to act. Whatever happened that had him acting
like that could never be good so the team just followed his commands no questions asked.
The questions seemed more than justified now and all she wanted was answers, but as she
searched for her teammate she saw him running towards the remains of the mansion. Her
heart stopped beating for a moment when it dawned on her that Ladybug had been in that
house, so had Chat Noir, so she followed after Viperion as best she could. Despite them both
being blasted into buildings Viperion was moving like it hadn't happened which worried
Kagami even more than she already was. He moved like he had one thing on his mind and
Kagami was reluctant to find out what it was, because whatever it was, wasn’t good and she
knew it.

She tried not to think of how she had followed him down in the mansion of her former crush,
how it just kept going down , she may not be thinking about it but it did alarm her for the few
seconds she let herself realize where they were going. She tried to ignore the feeling of doom
that twisted in her gut, but the more they went down and seemed to still keep going, the more
the feeling of doom overcame her. After what felt like a lifetime, they slowed down and
Kagami felt a small bit of relief before it was completely squashed by the scream Viperion let
out and the way he fell to his knees. It was awful, like something described in books and the
 one her own mother let out when her father had died. It was a scream born and full of grief.
She wasn’t the best “people” person but her teammate was in pain and she wanted to help
however she could but when she got closer she saw him cradling something familiar. Scarily
familiar. She didn’t even register herself falling to her knees at the sight. Her eyes were too
busy staring at the pink purse lying innocently in Viperion's hands.

It was Marinette’s.

Why was it there?

Where was Marinette?

Questions zoomed around her head so fast it left her feeling dizzy. Then she spotted a pair of
familiar shoes next to what had to be blood, charred blood. After that, there was no holding
back a scream just as pain-filled as Viperion’s. She didn’t even notice her other teammates
approaching the two of them. All she could do was scream as tears fell from her eyes, her
eyes that were locked on the pink flats speckled with blood.

Chapter End Notes

Comments and Kudos are very much appreciated.

 A Win...And A Lose
Chapter Summary

Nadja was prepared for a story, but not this one.

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

Nadja barely had time to buckle her seat belt before the station van took off, if they had been
in a cartoon, Nadja was sure they would have left a cloud of smoke in the shape of the van.
Usually she would be annoyed at the driver, Adam, for his horrid driving and lack of
consideration for her and her cameraman, Laurent, but at the moment it was a passing
thought. They had the potential to get a big story before everyone else. One of their
informants had notified the station of a big explosion, the location being the Agreste
Mansion. The informant also told them that the local heroes were also there so there was a
good chance this was the work of an akuma or sentimonster. Something in Nadja’s gut
though felt like that was wrong, or not wrong but not the complete truth. Nadja was never a
superstitious person but if her gut was telling her something, she was going to listen. It never
steered her wrong, the only times things went wrong were when she ignored her gut, like that
disastrous interview with Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Her gut had told her it was not a good idea to listen to her producers and director but in her
fear to please them she ignored her gut. She had always been a people pleaser growing up so
it should have been no surprise that she folded to their demands but Nadja still felt like the
worst person in the world when she saw how Ladybug reacted to all her questions. Then, of
course, Nadja broke under all the pressure and got akumatized, she had never been more
ashamed. Especially when she got home and Manon told her Prime Time had been scary, she
swore to never let it happen again. Manon was still dealing with her time as an akuma, more
so since Hawkmoth used her once more. Nadja had to take her daughter out of the city just to
get some therapy, though she didn’t have time to get her own therapist, Nadja would take that
time to just have a good cry and curse the man who gave her daughter horrid nightmares.

Akumas were the number one cause of damage nowadays and boy could they cause some
damage, but this…this was worse. This was something more and somehow Nadja just knew
this was going to change Paris as a whole. She just hoped it would be for the better, they
needed better, they deserved better after the long tirade of Hawkmoth. She fully believed in
the heroes that protected Paris but it was hard to live in the shadow that was Hawkmoth and
she could tell it had been wearing on the heroes after each battle with an akuma or
sentimonster. Ladybug had stopped doing interviews after her battles and just gave a promise
to the people of Paris that she would do everything in her power to protect them. Perhaps it
had been the tone of her voice, or the look in her eyes or the way she held herself but after
that day many news stations stopped badgering for interviews. Some of course still bothered
the heroine but for the most part it was like they all saw how serious Ladybug had grown.
Oh, she had always been serious but there was just something different that time.

Nadja had put her foot down after that, she refused to stalk the hero and it had almost been at
the cost of her job but something miraculous had happened, her producers and director
listened to her. She, of course, still covered the akum and sentimonster battles but instead of
trying to question the heroes she instead interviewed the victims and those who were affected
by the chaos. It turned out to be a great idea of hers and their station got more popular since
others seemed to only try and interview the heroes about what happened. Sometimes they’d
interview the victim but never as gently nor as in depth as Nadja did. It painted Bemused
News in a new positive light and they got more traffic on their site. Nadja had even been
given a raise for all her work. It was wonderful, it was great, but most of all, it was all
because of Ladybug and Marinette.

Thinking of her goddaughter always brought a soft smile to Nadja’s face. Marinette had
always been a kind kid and as she grew, so did her kindness. It was a wonderful thing to
witness, Marinette was very special and Nadja thanked God that she was able to have the girl
in her life, especially when Manon came along. Nadja still made mistakes as a single mom
but Marinette helped her so much, she offered to watch Manon whenever she could and even
when Nadja brought her at the last minute. It wasn’t fair to Marinette but the teen always
took it in stride and Nadja made sure to pay her extra. Manon adored her god-sister and
always ranted for hours after she spent the day with Marinette about everything they did and
just how cool Marinette was. Manon loved the teen so much, it was clear to see, that’s why
Nadja hadn’t found another sitter. Well, actually, that was a lie. She had tried to find another
sitter to take some of the responsibility off of Marinette but none of them meshed well with
Manon. Or Manon didn’t like them.

One quit before their shift was up and cited that her daughter was too difficult, okay that was
not their original wording but if Nadja thought of what they had originally said she would
feel compelled to find them and fight them. One was nice enough to quit after the first day
with Manon, they just said they had thought they could handle being a babysitter since their
mom thought they’d be good at it, but after watching Manon they didn’t think it was the job
for them. One had been a lady who was a ‘professional’ nanny and it had seemed to go well
until Manon had come home with a bruise on her backside. Apparently the nanny had been
forced to punish Manon with a ‘good’ spanking after her daughter had acted out. Needless to
say, Nadja stopped employing the woman and may or may not have found out the other
customers the woman had and told them what she had done. It was one thing to put the child
in timeout or take away treats, but she thought it was absolutely not necessary for a nanny to
put their hands on the children in their care.

It was a lot, it still was a lot if Marinette wasn’t available but she would never fault the teen
for…well, being a teen. The girl always had so much going on, what with being Class
President, an upcoming designer, a helper at her parent’s shop and much and much more. The
girl was like a professional multi-tasker if she focused, but she tended to have trouble with
keeping time and being on time. It was part of her charm though. Though they were still
working on the girl not falling for Manon’s puppy eyes, they were good but Nadja had built
up a resistance to it. Marinette….not so much, it was funny but the teen swore she would get
better and Nadja had nothing but faith in her. Thinking of the teen reminded her she wanted
to commission her to make a birthday gift for Manon. The little one had been in a Barbie
hyperfixation lately, but especially Island Princess and she had been wanting the fancy dress.
She had begged her mom for one and Nadja said she might get it for her birthday, she tried to
look for one but none were what she knew her daughter wanted so she had the idea to ask
Marinette. Anything the teen made was fantastic and good quality.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the van screeched to a halt and Nadja felt the seatbelt dig
into her body uncomfortably. She heard Laurent’s breath forced out of them and Nadja had
been ready to yell at Adam until the doors to the van opened by none other than Adam, how
he got out and to the door so fast Nadja would never know, the sight that greeted them was
like nothing she had ever seen. A thin layer of dust was swirling and coating the air, rubble
was everywhere and there was this… suppressive air that clung to everything it seemed. It
was quiet. No one said a word nor breathed too loudly, this was more destruction than they
were used to, than they ever hoped to see. The Agreste Mansion was no more, it looked like
an abandoned sand castle on a beach that was left behind when the builder went home and the
waves and other things destroyed the sand structure. It was surreal. Laurent was already
filming but no words were said as they all took in the damage, Nadja sincerely hoped that no
one had been in the mansion when the explosion happened but the dread she felt in her heart
was not very convincing.

Everyone in Paris and maybe the whole world knew how much of a hermit Gabriel Agreste
was, the times he actually left his home were rare and Adrien, everyone knew how packed his
schedule was but they also knew he actually wasn’t away from his home a lot even with how
busy he was. Nathalie, Nadja had only met her briefly, but where M Agreste was, there she
was. Plus it was night, which didn’t exactly paint a hopeful picture, but Nadja still hoped, she
still prayed that no one had been home. The silence started to feel oppressive and Nadja knew
she had to start reporting so she took in a deep breath and turned towards Laurent who
nodded at her signal. She opened her mouth to give her usual opening but closed it just as
fast. It felt wrong to use the word ‘bemused’ in this context and this wasn’t a plan segment.

“This is Nadja Chamack. I am standing before the Agreste Mansion that, as you can see, has
suffered great damage.” Nadja began a little stiltedly. She felt wrong-footed but knew she had
to push on. “A source called the station to inform us of the…’explosion.’ No words can
explain just how… haunting the scene is, how terrifying. There is no known sign pointing to
the origin of said explosion but according to the eye witness, it wasn’t an akuma. They claim
that the explosion came from the house itself.”

It felt wrong to speak so clinically but that was the job and if she even, for one moment,
thought about the possibility that they would find a body or more as they filmed she would
break down and possibly throw up. The dark, morbid thoughts made her stomach twist.
“What happened to the famous Agreste Mansion if it was not the work of an akuma? Was it
an accident? Perhaps a gas leak that wasn’t noticed until it was too late. Or was this a direct
attack of the remaining Agreste’s?”

Nadja really hoped not. She knew Marinette and the boy, Adrien, were friends and she just
knew if it was a direct attack or not, the girl would be very upset. She was fiercely protective
of her friends and family. “Could it have been an upset competitor? Or maybe even an
obsessed fan? We have yet to know but hopefully we’ll get more answers as we look
around-”

The reporter was cut off when they heard a young voice squeal. They all looked up and saw
as Noc-Turtle carried a child away from the scene. That’s when Nadja finally noticed that the
scene had been a bit too quiet. People were nosy, especially Parisians who hoped to catch
glimpses of the town’s heroes. But the scene they came upon had no observers which should
have clearly been a sign that the heroes had gotten there first and did what they did best,
protect. There were always some heroes who helped evacuate the masses when an akuma or
sentimonster were on a rampage. That was one of the reasons that the media took a step back
from hounding the heroes with personal questions and such. It was easy to see how seriously
they took each attack and it made you feel shameful if you jeopardized the safety of yourself
and others just to get a scoop or a half-answer. “It would appear that we are not the first to
arrive at the scene but that is to be expected of Team Miraculous.”

“If the heroes got here so fast, it begs the question, where are the police?” All the media
lately had been questioning the police, not so much the BSPP as they still did their jobs and
did it well, but it seemed like the police were doing the bare minimum. Usually they pulled
up to a scene later than most even if the problem wasn’t an akuma. Officer Raincomprix was
the only one who seemed genuinely mad about not being to a scene faster, the man looked
more and more stressed the longer it went on, but never resigned. It smelt of corruption,
whether it be rookies or higher-ups and not for the first time, nor the last, did Nadja believe
they were being bribed by Hawkmoth. As per the usual, the BSPP arrived to help manage the
small fires that surrounded the destroyed mansion and the debris. She assumed they had
already been called by eye-witnesses and therefore knew as much as she did. She just hoped
they questioned her and her crew after they were done filming.

Another look around made Nadja aware of not just Noc-Turtle but also Bee-Witch and Fox-
Tail clearing out civilians, they did so so swiftly it was like second nature for them. The
thought hurt, that these heroes were so used to trying to keep everyone safe no matter the
situation. It didn’t matter if the akuma was M Pidgeon levels of harm or worse…like Syren.
Not many spoke of that akuma and that’s because not many had worked through the trauma it
brought. No news reported on it because most news reporters were stuck somewhere high up,
the water took out their power lines, thus their internet and the fact many people had died that
day, news employees as well. No one wanted to talk about dying and being revived by the
magical power of the ladybugs that washed over Paris, it became known as the Miraculous
Cure. One of Nadja’s coworkers had been one of those many who had fallen victim to the
water, the poor man was still afraid to go near any water. When they had a segment near the
Seine who refused to go anywhere near it. No one could argue with him, not that they wanted
to but still. It was hard to argue in the face of the outright terror the man had.

Looking at all the destruction though, Nadja just hoped that the Miraculous Cure came
swiftly. There was no way that the people in the surrounding buildings or just in the area had
not been hurt at the least. No the least would be leaving the area with no wounds or bruises,
the most would be death and that was never an easy thing to swallow when in the face of
such destruction. Nadja looked over everything once again and noted that Laurant was as
well, though with the camera. It was definitely something to see, especially for those who
knew how protected the mansion seemed to be. They had all seen pieces of the system when
Jackady had taken over the TVi Station when they were filming The Challenge . It was as
impressive as it was insane, the shutters on the windows, the amount of cameras, it was
another thing many did not speak about publicly, but behind closed doors it was major gossip.
The recluse Gabriel Agreste fashioned his house with military levels of security? It was odd.
More than even. Of course there were some who argued for the man, he was famous, plus his
wife was missing and it felt awful to call him crazy if he simply did it to protect his son and
himself. But that was the thing, what if all that security was for something more?

Sabine and Nadja were no better than most when it came to gossip and it was one of the
things they often spoke of. Nadja was always the one to bring up the outlandish theories, drug
ring, trafficking, maybe even the corpse of Emilie Agreste hidden somewhere but Sabine was
the one who argued for the man, well not really him but for Adrien. Sabine thought all the
security was for Adrien’s safety even if it was over-the-top and worrisome. Sabine wanted to
see the good while Nadja saw the odd, she saw the potential story. Looking at how far down
the house went, Nadja would bet her entire salary that Gabriel Agreste had skeletons in his
closet. She wasn’t the only one to notice how odd it was that the house went further down,
way past a basement level. The BSPP members were all looking down too and were shouting
if anyone was down there but Nadja could see the apprehension and confusion at the large
hole in the mansion. Thankfully she wasn’t the only one weirded out by it.

“ Nadja .” Laurant whispered harshly which pulled Nadja’s attention back to the camera.

She quickly schooled her face into her ‘reporter’ face as Manon called it. “As you can see,
myself and the BSPP have been caught off guard by a massive…er, hole in the Agreste
Mansion. It suggests that the mansion itself had more levels than the public knew. Could this
be why it is in such a state now? Was this an attack on Gabriel Agreste for whatever was
going on in the house? Hopefully we’ll have answers soon.”

The sound of things moving within the hole had everyone near it step back in alarm but the
BSPP acted fast after that and threw down some rope into the hole and yelled for whoever
was in there that they would get them out and if they couldn’t move to tie the rope to
themselves and tug. It was silent for a couple of seconds and everyone was straining their
ears to hear anything. Then a tug of the rope and a pull later and out came Viperion and
Donryu, but they weren’t alone, no, they had carried up three bodies with them. Three
extremely broken bodies, it took all of Nadja’s willpower not to puke or cry at the sight.
Donryu softly told them all that the three, Gabriel Agreste, Adrien Agreste and Nathalie
Sancoeur were alive but very injured. The BSPP grabbed the three from the heroes in order to
help and find out exactly just how injured all parties were. Nadja was going to continue
talking about the new development but something stopped her. Well, more someone, it was
Viperion.

The hero was normally one of the softer spoken members so it wasn’t out of the norm not to
hear him speak but something about how quiet he was now rubbed Nadja the wrong way. It
made her maternal instincts rear up. She was even going to go up to the boy and ask what
was wrong but stopped short when she saw what he was cradling in his arms. She didn’t even
realize her breath was coming out shorter and faster nor the fact she had pulled her phone
from her pocket and dialed the number she needed. It was like she was on autopilot. She
 hadn't even noticed that she had started crying, but it was obvious she was when the person
finally answered the phone and Nadja tearfully said,” Sabine?”

“Nadja?” Sabine’s voice was clearly drowsy, like she had just woken up, which considering
the time she most likely did just wake up. “Nadja, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Is it
Manon?”

Nadja’s heart broke further. “Sabine…Sabine I need you to tell me where Marinette is.”

“Marinette? Nadja, what?” It sounded like Sabine was still half-asleep.

“Sabine, please , is Marinette at home?”

“Of course she is! Nadja what is this about?” She was more awake now it seemed.

“Can you…Can you check?”

There was some shuffling and grumbling from the other side of the phone but it was muffled
as Nadja could only hear the pounding of her heart. “I swear if this child snuck out again..”

Nadja tried not to sob when she heard Sabine mutter that sentence. She hoped, she hoped that
what she saw was an illusion or just a coincidence or something other than the supposed
truth. The shuffling on the other end turned to creaking and Nadja could see it in her mind
how Sabine opened the trapdoor up to Marinette’s room. She could hear her friend calling out
for her daughter and with each call of the name the panic in Sabine’s voice rose. “Nadja!
Nadja, she left…Marinette left a note. Why would she leave a note?”

Her friend was in a deep panic but as much as Nadja wanted to reassure her it just confirmed
the worst for her, because there, in Viperion’s arms was Marinette’s signature flats, the first
shoes she ever made and had ranted about to Nadja before she started her college days. They
had even had a celebration picnic after the girl’s successful craftsmanship. She had been so
proud of herself and Manon had begged the girl to make her some shoes too and Marinette
had laughed fondly and promised Manon she would. And she did, Manon had a matching
pair of flats in her closet that she wore with her princess dresses or her ‘fancy’ dresses if they
had to go to an event or something important. Those flats and her small little shoulder bag
were in Viperion's arms and even from her distance she could spot the dried blood on the
items. It covered some of her signature polka-dots and that finally made Nadja release the sob
she had tried to hold in. Sabine was yelling on the other line and all Nadja could choke out as
she fell to her knees was, “Something happened. Something bad.”

Chapter End Notes

*BSPP - The Paris Fire Brigade ( Brigade des sapeurs-pompiers de Paris): a French
Army unit which serves as the primary fire and rescue service for Paris, the city's inner
suburbs and certain sites of national strategic importance.
* Jackady - Simon Says akuma
Comments and Kudos are very much appreciated.
 It Would Take A Miracle
Chapter Summary

Luka's heart had never felt so broken, his world so dark and his music so static. He
hasn't had any motivation to do anything besides stay in bed. It would take a miracle to
make him do so...or a sympathetic and determined kwami.

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

Static.

All he could hear was static.

There were no melodies, there were no solos, there were no symphonies. All it was was
disheartening static and Luka didn’t know what to do. His life three days ago had been so
loud and comforting but now it was silent, muddled and so dark. He felt listless and refused
to get out of bed. It was a good thing that he and Juleka got their own rooms finally, it had
taken a lot of convincing for his mom to let them clean out one of the storage rooms and turn
it into his new bedroom. It had actually been Marinette who had convinced his stubborn mom
and it had made Marinette all the more wonderful. She was always incredible, but seeing her
out stubborn the most stubborn person in Luka’s life had only made him love and value her
more. A fresh wave of tears washed over the forlorn teen at the thought of his crush and
friend. His heart twinged with a twisted pain he was slowly getting used to. Pain. He was in
so much pain. He wanted it gone. He wanted her back. But like every time before, his pleas
and wishes were ignored and just led to more heartbreak.

His appetite was all but gone and he barely ate what his mom made or bought him, he still
drank though and maybe that was why she wasn’t pushing. He hadn’t showered in three days
but with the way he was feeling he knew it would be longer. It was hard to get out of bed
even if it was to use the restroom, taking a shower just felt like too much work. He would see
the shower and a barrage of thoughts would crash into him, reminding him all he would have
to do to feel clean again and it was like he was tranquilized or something because he would
just feel this bone-deep tiredness that wouldn’t go away no matter what he did so it would
just lead to him laying in his bed and starting the twisted routine all over again. It was like he
was in one of those groundhog day movies or like his own power Second Chance, was
glitching and not letting him out of the situation.

Luka’s emotions felt too big for his body, his skin itched with his frustration and the days
passed without a shower, his teeth ached in his longing, his muscles screamed in his sadness,
his heart clenched in its breaking and his lungs drowned in his guilt. As much as he craved to
do something, anything he also couldn’t help the thoughts of ‘why?’ Why do anything at all
when his world had crashed and burned around him? Why plead for things to be different
when his prayers fell on deaf ears? Why get up when nothing he did would bring back
Marinette? It was a lot and there was never a break form the never-ending torture. Not even
his dreams were safe. Dreaming of Marinette led to more heartache even if the dream was
normal to past ones he had had that had previously brought him endless joy. The nightmares
were the worst but he would take them over the bittersweet ones that just made his longing
deeper and his hope stronger. But reality would hit him once his eyes opened and he would
cry for many minutes, maybe even hours. Time didn’t register to him really.

The only reason he knew how long it had been since he had showered was because of his
mom and Juleka. He knew they were trying to help but he had been angrier than he honestly
expected after Paris learned of Team Miraculous’ Finale Fight, he hated it but that was what
everyone had now dubbed it. It hadn’t been a fight, at least not from his and the rest of the
team’s point of view. No one knew what exactly happened in the underground chamber since
the only ones who could tell them were two comatose Kwamis and three villains who would
probably twist the events. It was hard to come to the realization that Chat Noir was Adrien
Agreste, even for Luka who had the unique skill of ‘reading someone’s heart.’ That’s what
others referred to it as but according to his long talks with Sass, Luka seemed to be someone
who could read a person’s aura which mixed with his Synesthesia. He had Chromesthesia,
specifically, but his was more along the lines of seeing color and the color had a sound. He
saw colors in a lot of things but it was constantly people, their auras and tones of voice would
bring color and the color would bring the music.

It did get overwhelming sometimes and it had been a big factor in him doing his schooling
online for a while which turned into permanently. He just enjoyed it more than when he did
go to school and his former teachers told him they saw remarkable improvement in his
grades. He still met up with his friends, they still hung out and had study sessions, so he was
still a social teen but he didn’t have to worry about migraines or coming across weird to other
people who weren’t his friends. His former bandmates in Kitty Section had also been really
understanding and never treated him differently and helped him when some days were just
too much. But they changed, their music’s changed and it had been jarring, when he
eventually left the band he knew it had been inevitable. There was no doubt in Luka’s mind
that if he hadn’t quit he would have been ‘politely’ fired and he had strong feelings about
that. The one constant had been Marinette, when the others changed she didn’t. She remained
strong and melodious.

Even if she was going through something her melody was still recognizable. He was still
coming to terms with the fact he would never hear her song any time soon or ever. She had
been there when he left the band, she had been there when he begun fighting with Juleka
more than normal and she had been there when he decided to get to know his dad more. She
had been such a strong light guiding him through some of the roughest seas he had ever
experienced. Kagami had also been a constant presence before everything happened. She was
a calming presence and often kept him and Marinette from getting lost in their projects. Both
he and Marinette tended to get distracted easily and they both fed off each other’s energy and
Kagami would be the one to keep them grounded and focused. Kagami’s music was a new
sound he had gotten used to hearing and it was easily in his list of top ten songs from people
he heard. When Marinette, Kagami and he would get together he would hear such wonderful
melodies.
Marinette had often joked that they were the Three Musketeers with how often they would
hang out together when they could. Without Marinette it felt like a knife to the heart to use
the group chat between the three that was titled as such so he and Kagami never touched it
when they spoke. Phone calls were still too much for Luka at the moment so the two just
texted each other but it still brought him comfort all the same. That was probably another
reason why his mother wasn’t pushing too much, it probably would have been a different
story if he had cut off all his friends but especially Kagami since his mom knew how close
they along with Marinette were. But he still overheard his mom talking on the phone over
how worried she was and how she didn’t know what to do. Luka always felt like telling her
she was doing all she could and just comfort her but he didn’t have the energy. He suspected
she was talking to his dad or Penny, most likely both. He knew from the sounds of it his dad
wasn’t doing so well either with the news.

“Snakelet…”

The voice of his Kwami cut through the current haze Luka found himself in but he couldn’t
bring himself to look at his friend but he did manage to hum as a response.

“I have thought about what I could say that would make you feel better for ages. I came to
the conclusion that no words I could offer would make you happy. Nor satisfied. But I don’t
want to leave you with no words from me. I…I am lost. I have been through this situation
more times than I’d like to admit and yet all those instances have left me with no answers.”
Sass admitted in his soft voice as he flew to sit in front of Luka’s face on his pillow. Luka
couldn’t look away, he wouldn’t look away, he knew it would hurt his small friend if he did
so.

“Though there are few words I can give you that express my condolences and support, I
simply will say, I am here for you.” Sass said and did his best to give Luka a hug, though it
was more like he laid himself on Luka’s nose. “I am here for you and I will continue to be
here if ever you need me.”

Luka felt himself begin to cry again, which astounded him as he felt like he was all out of
tears. “Sass…” He choked out, he tried his best not to sound like he was going to sob but he
knew he failed when he felt Sass try to hug him harder.

“What do I do?” He asked in a small voice once his small cry ended. Sass was no longer on
his nose but instead sat in his hands as he finally sat up after what felt like ages.

“ We do our best to move forward.”

“We?”

“I did say I will be with you. I mean it, every step of the way, I will be here.” Sass didn’t say
he promised but Luka could hear it in his tone of voice. It was a promise but it felt like more.
It felt like a lifeline.

Luka couldn’t really think of an appropriate response without risk of crying again and he
already had a cry-headache settling in. “What…What do we do?”
“We need to go to…Ladybug’s house, her room specifically.” Luka was about to protest that
suggestion, because he was absolutely not ready to do that. He didn’t think he would ever be
ready. “I know that is probably the last thing you want to do Snakelet, but I can’t
communicate with the other Kwami to see if one of their holders can do it. The Miracle Box
is sitting in…Ladybug’s room unknown and unprotected. If someone with ill intentions were
to find it there would be great difficulties and more tragedy.”

“More?” Luka felt his anger rise at an alarming speed. “Hasn’t there been enough?”

“Luka…I understand you are in pain and worried. I…I am also going through the same. My
friends are unconscious and unresponsive…I…I can barely feel them even if they are in the
same room.” At Sass’s words Luka’s anger all but left him in an instant. “Besides obtaining
the Miracle Box and keeping it safe, I feel something telling me that Tikki and Plagg need the
Miracle Box. I can’t explain and I know you are hurting, but-”

“Okay.”

“-it is…Wait. Okay? You…You will do it?” Sass asked and the wide-eyed hopeful look on
his face broke Luka’s heart a little bit more. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he
wasn’t the only one hurting even if it felt like it at times.

“You and me, Sass, you…you said you were here for me and I’ll be here for you. We’re
friends.” Luka said softly as he brought the Kwami to his chest in the best hug he could give,
it was somewhat like the hug Sass gave Luka earlier. He wanted to make Sass feel as safe and
loved as the Kwami had made him feel despite their size difference. After their hug Luka
forced himself to get out of bed and ignored how weak his legs felt and softly said his
transformation phrase. It felt weird being Viperion even though it really hadn’t been that long
since he had last transformed but there was this odd feeling like being in his hero form was
wrong without…Ladybug there to lead. Ladybug, it was easier to think of her as Ladybug, it
didn’t lessen the pain but it made it just a bit more bearable. But now he was going to her
house, to her room and he knew what it looked like, smelled like and there would be no way
to think of her as Ladybug when he was in there.

He had to do this though. For Sass and for Ladybug, he would rather die than let the rest of
the Miraculi fall into the wrong hands. He'd be damned if he didn’t protect the city that
Ladybug loved with her whole heart and soul. So he made his way to her home, to her tower.
He and Kagami often joked about Marinette being the princess in the tower and Mari-
Ladybug only laughed. She loved her tower. Kagami once joked when it was the two of them
that Kagami was M-Ladybug’s knight while he was her minstrel. He had laughed and agreed
but later he would think about it and decided he would be a knight if she needed him to be.
Though she had needed him and he hadn’t been there. Nope! No! He would not fall down that
line of thinking as he was jumping across rooftops and using his lyre to help him along the
way. It was a weird day when they found out his lyre could turn into a crossbow, the end of
his “arrows” could also change into a grappling gun.

Apparently he and Sass had been bonding pretty well and slowly harmonizing which is why
his lyre upgraded to one of its forms. The arrows of the crossbow themselves were weird as
he didn’t carry a quiver or anything but an arrow would be equipped if he needed it. Some
had no arrowheads, some had normal arrowheads, others had barbed arrowheads, and
sometimes the arrows had string attached to them. Whatever kind of arrow he needed, it
would show up on the crossbow already loaded. Sass had told him that that showed just how
in tune the two were becoming and that soon they would probably be able to communicate
with one another while Luka was transformed. It was something he had been looking forward
to. He was sure it would come in handy and besides, he already talked out loud when
transformed, it may have looked weird but he had been talking to his kwami even if he didn’t
think he could hear him at the time. He hadn’t but now he would, hopefully soon.

Finally, Luka touched down on the roof of Ma-Ladybug’s tower and looked around in
sadness as he noticed the plants up there had wilted. Before he could talk himself out of it he
opened the hatch of the roof and jumped through and onto the floor of the bedroom. Some
dust had begun to settle and it broke Luka’s heart more but he willed himself to take deep
breaths before he dropped his transformation. He and Sass needed to be able to talk and they
weren’t quite at that stage of being able to communicate with one another. As the
transformation dropped he looked down at the dirty pink bag that he had taken to looking
after and opened it to look at the kwamis who slept inside. Tikki and Plagg, as he had learned
from Sass, were normally darker in their colors but looking at them they seemed shades or
tones paler, well according to Sass.

“So what are we looking for?” Luka asked as he refused to look anywhere else but his
kwami.

Sass had opened his mouth, probably to respond but both of them froze when they heard
thumps coming from the roof and the unmistakable murmur of voices. Luka scooped his
kwami out of the air and quickly hid behind M- Ladybug’s .( Ladybug. Goddammit .) chaise.
The light in the room was off and he himself had been wearing some of his darker clothes…
er well, pajamas. Both kwami and teen held their breath as the hatch to the roof was opened
and down came two? No, three, actually make it four, people. It took a minute for Luka to
recognize them as his teammates. He didn’t know whether or not to greet them but that
choice disappeared when a purple kwami and blue kwami flew out from somewhere and
floated in the middle of the room.

“Please don’t be scared!” The purple one pleaded. “I am Nooroo and this is Duusuu. I am the
kwami of the Butterfly Miraculous while Duusuu is the kwami for the Peacock. I know that
alarms you but please listen. I called my friends here and they probably don’t know why or
just had a feeling they had to come here so you followed.”

Barely after speaking, the kwami - Nooroo, was sped into by Sass who flew so fast the two
kwami shot off into the air. Luka figured there was no point in hiding anymore and stepped
out from his hiding place and awkwardly waved at his teammates. They seemed to be in
shock before Noc-Turtle mumbled something and their transformation dropped revealing
Marc Anciel. Fox-Tail’s jaw dropped before he hastily said his detransformation phrase and
there stood Nathaniel Kurtzberg who hurried over Marc and hugged him. Donryu had been
looking at Luka the whole time and quietly made her way over to him, once she was in front
of him she too dropped her transformation and there was Kagami. It shouldn’t have shocked
him as much as it did but the two just stood there staring at each other before they heard an
odd wheeze come from Bee-Witch who was staring at everyone with wide eyes. She too
dropped her transformation and only to the shock of Marc and Nathaniel, she turned out to be
Chloe Bourgeois.

“I don’t know how to handle all these revelations at the moment but I can work through them
later with my cat.” Marc said, clearly still in some shock. “Er-Nooroo right? Can you explain
more?”

Nooroo who was in the middle of a kwami group hug along with Duusuu nodded and
reluctantly left the hug. “Like I said, I was able to call you all here to meet, I had to borrow
power from the other kwami in the Miracle Box though. I’m not at full power and even then
my messages would have been more feeling than anything. Sorry, I’m rambling. It’s been a
while since I’ve been able to talk so freely.”

“You are fine, Our Friend.” Pollen reassured while glaring at everyone else like she was
daring them to argue.

“Take your time.” Sass murmured from his spot next to his friend. Luka wanted to comfort
the little kwami but he didn’t think it would help given how Luka could imagine he was
treated by his former user. If Luka were him, he would be wary of humans no matter how
well intentioned.

Nooroo took a deep breath and nodded. “I…I don’t really know where to start. What I have
to say is…shocking to say the least. I know all of us here have been through a lot…have lost
a lot…but I felt like if I stayed quiet I would be betraying Ladybug just…just like Chat Noir
did.”

It was quiet. So quiet. Until Nathaniel choked out a small, “What?”

Duusuu merely nodded in response along with Nooroo. “It was awful. Chat Noir and his
father planned the entire thing. Chat Noir planned to be suspicious of Gabriel Agreste once
more and had you guys purposefully find out he was guilty of being Hawkmoth. Ladybug
was the big target and you guys would have been just…collateral. So when Ladybug
proposed the ambush…”

“Uncle Gabe already knew.” Chloe stated in a voice full of disgust even if her eyes were
filled with tears.

“He did.” Nooroo confirmed. “Chat Noir played his role well and the ambush was happening
so fast. Ladybug could barely try and fight back before she was secured to the chair. She was
so angry…so heartbroken…she did all she could to fight against Gabriel and his son…”

There were some gasps among the humans at the information but Luka merely took a much
needed breath in. He had guessed as much since the only ones in the house after the
explosion had been Adrien, Gabriel, Nathalie and the body of Emilie Agreste. It just clicked.
Sure Chat Noir could have disappeared like Marin-Ladybug did but that didn’t feel right.
Chat had already been acting off before the ambush and confirming he was in fact Adrien
was like the final nail in the coffin. Luka had had suspicions of who the Chat was and just
whose side he was on but after everything, the confirmation was bitter. According to Sass,
Luka had known who he and Ladybug were but the memories of their identities faded as a
safety measure to keep the team’s identities safe. Luka would only have kept the memories if
both heroes had accepted he knew and trusted him. It was weird but Luka just chalked it up
to Miraculous Magic.

He wished he had been able to remember, if he had then maybe all of this wouldn’t have
happened. He wouldn’t be standing in M-Lady…no. He had to stop. It didn't matter how
much he told himself, Ladybug was Marinette. Marinette was Ladybug. They were one and
the same and denying it to himself was more likely to hurt him than bring him healing. He
couldn’t delude himself anymore. It hurt, it hurt so much, but he had to acknowledge the truth
because that was the only way he’d be able to move forward and help protect the city that
Marinette adored. He missed her. He missed her so much, but he had to do the healthy thing
and not try and separate her from herself. It would be like he wasn’t giving her, her due credit
and Marinette deserved so much credit. “If Adrien and his dad got the earrings…then why
did the mansion explode like it did?” Luka asked so they could continue. They could all
mourn and scream and cry after, but right now they needed information.

“I’m not sure.” Nooroo admitted. “Everything was happening so fast. Gabriel was so close to
making his wish and magic was everywhere in preparation. But I felt it, it was this enormous
feeling of betrayal and anger that washed over all of us. Tikki looked so scared and worried
and Plagg looked shocked. I had turned to where I felt the emotions and it was no surprise
they were coming from Ladybug…but just as I looked at her, there was this awful cracking
and whistling. Like something was breaking through the roof and flooring at high speed. I
panicked as did the other kwami but Tikki looked…she looked like she recognized what was
happening.”

“She looked like her heart broke.” Duusuu mumbled, their voice was soft and scratchy. They
seemed to be in pain.

“The room filled with this bright, bright red light and then next thing I know…the mansion
exploded. Ladybug was nowhere to be seen.” Nooroo flew over to Luka and pointed at the
open pink bag in his hands. “Tikki and Plagg know what happened, but because of all the
ambient magic, plus the overwhelming emotions swirling in the air, and their own merging
being interrupted, they were hurt.”

“Something like this hasn’t happened in a long time.” Wayzz admitted.

“So there is a way to help them?” Kagami asked.

Wayzz nodded. “Yes. But it will take time…a lot of time. I’ve never seen them so bad. The
best we can do is return them to the Miracle Box. It will heal them, but the damage is great
and as I said, it will take time. Nooroo, I imagine you called us here, not only to tell us the
truth but also because of the Miracle Box.”

“That’s right. The Miracle Box will be vulnerable if there is no one to watch over it as it heals
our friends. I sensed the box here and that’s only because Duusuu and I are both still being
affected by the interrupted magic. We’re more sensitive right now.”

“One of our holders will definitely protect the box.” Pollen declared. “They are all brave
heroes.”
 All the humans looked at one another in disbelief. Marinette had been guarding this box all
while being Ladybug? They knew she was amazing but this was something else entirely.
Luka sadly guessed that this is why she was always so stressed. If they had to watch this box
and protect it then so be it. He’d do it for Marinette, no matter the cost. Now all that they
needed to decide was who to send the box with.

Chapter End Notes

Comments and Kudos are very much appreciated

 Pick Me Up As I Fall
Chapter Summary

Roger rarely had to take himself off of a case he so fiercely wanted to solve, but there
was only so much he could handle. All he ever wanted to stand for was justice, but when
justice came at the price of a child? That's something he never expected, nor wanted.

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

Roger had always wanted to be a cop ever since he was a little boy. It had surprised his
parents that his interest hadn’t waned over the years but they had been overall very
supportive of him. They celebrated when he got accepted into EOGN and they celebrated
when he graduated. Roger had loved every minute of training and after training, working. It
was tough, he would admit that, but it was something he loved and that kept him running on
his most difficult days. Then he had Sabrina and his focus shifted for a while. No longer was
his entire world his wife and work, his entire world became his daughter. He took time off
work to help his wife after Sabrina’s birth and he loved it. He loved holding her in his arms,
he loved the little gummy smile she would give him when she saw him, he loved the smell of
her baby lotion and detergent that filled the house, hell he even loved how her little nose
would get red when she had soiled a diaper. He loved everything about her.

Then his wife passed and it felt like his world would forever be darker and broken with no
means of repair. He felt like the rug had been pulled from under his feet over and over again
with that sickening sensation of a big drop ride accompanying it. But from that darkness and
falling sensation, he found his footing in his baby girl. His baby girl who really hadn’t
understood what was happening but knew her Papa was sad, so with her chubby little hands
wrapped around his fingers she would pull him from his worst thoughts. She was his little
light, she was his purpose and she was his world. Roger couldn’t let the grief suffocate him,
for his baby girl he had to mourn and grieve and pick himself up again. His mother and
mother-in-law had both been pillars of support he had desperately needed. He worked as hard
as he could to make money and when he was home he spent all his time looking after his
daughter.

Things got easier as Sabrina grew, but time had passed by fast, too fast for Roger. In the blink
of an eye his little girl had grown, it seemed like forever ago when he first heard her say
Papa, since he saw her first steps, from the first day of school. It made him misty-eyed to
think about it too long. She was so close to graduating, that also made him misty-eyed if he
thought about it. She was such a smart girl but she had a habit of being a follower and that
scared him. How would he protect her if she moved so far away? But at the same time he
didn’t want to be a helicopter parent and restrict her or hold her back. Ultimately all he could
do was be there for her, but he knew the fear would never go away. After seeing how her
friendship, if you can even call it that, with the Mayor’s daughter had gone and how she had
latched onto another powerful classmate, the thought of her leaving out of his reach made
him uneasy. He had nothing against the Rossi girl, she sounded nice despite all the influence
she had, but he hated how all the kids in her class followed her.

It was more than a little disturbing and reminded him of some very unpleasant cases he had
read about, heard about, or even seen, where a close group like that is susceptible to the
‘mob’ mentality. But despite his worry, the group was as close knit as they had been in
collège and hadn’t gotten in any type of trouble. Sometimes he felt like he worried too much
but with Hawkmoth still around and his helper Mayura he felt like he was entitled to worry.
Especially about his daughter, she had already been akumatized about 4 times now and he
just could not stand seeing her go through another. He just didn’t want her friendship taken
advantage of again so maybe that’s why he always asked about her and her classmates. So he
wasn’t all that surprised about a call coming for something happening at the Agreste
Mansion. Though he would be completely transparent and say he thought maybe Adrien
snapped and hurt his father or Adrien ran away or something like that. Sabrina had really
worried about her model classmate and constantly told him how Adrien slipped some info
about his home life to the class and how it worried her.

So when the call came, Roger hadn’t been surprised, but as more details came in and when he
and many others arrived, the surprise kicked in. Where the once impressive Agreste Mansion
stood there, in its place, looked like what could only be described as a crater. No one really
spoke for a bit and honestly if they had been Roger wasn’t sure if he would have been able to
hear them. All he could think about was the fact he was most likely going to have to see more
dead bodies and one of them would be a kid his daughter’s age. Cases that involved kids
always hit him the hardest and he didn’t know if he would be able to do it. Miraculously no
one had died…or at least that is what he thought in the beginning. The days seemed to pass
incredibly slow yet somehow simultaneously in some kind of hyper speed. It was
disorienting.

The Agreste men and Mlle Sancoeur were in and out of consciousness but Roger had
overheard some doctors discussing the merit of inducing comas. The winning side seemed to
be no since there was surprisingly no traumatic brain injuries. Though the actual amount of
injuries each received was staggering and nearly made him lose his lunch when he also
overheard the surgeries and possible surgeries that were on the table. It was because of that,
and the fact the heroes of Paris had been really quiet since that night, that Roger vowed to
find the answers to this awful situation. The people of Paris were rallying in support of a
speedy recovery for the Agreste men and Mlle Sancoeur. Some of Roger’s colleagues ended
up being assigned as bodyguards for the three given how many times they had to escort fans
of Adrien off the property. Somehow they always found ways to slip past the hospital’s own
security.

It was more than a rough time, those folks deserved their time to heal and recuperate and
Roger thought that by solving what happened the night of the tragedy, he would at least be
able to bring them some slight relief. Though he would be lying if he said he wasn’t also
motivated to see what happened just to find out for the sake of finding out. It was a mystery,
one that had everyone in a chokehold, not just the station, it was all of Paris. The Miraculous
Team was all but missing, they hadn’t said anything about that night, not even on their
official blog. Ladybug hadn’t been seen since, there was talk of some news segment that had
happened that night but Roger had yet to see it. He had been so focused on the family that
Nadja’s report had slipped his mind but it was placed in a folder on his computer to view later
as it was considered evidence. The crime scene hadn’t been touched since but the fact that
there had been so many people there that night that had no idea what they disturbed and what
they hadn’t. So Nadja’s report was very important and Roger was going to start his
investigation by watching that.

“Lieutenant!” Or maybe it would have to wait.

“Officer Allard.” Roger said in greeting.

“Sorry to interrupt but we got something big.” That had Roger’s attention immediately.

“Is this for the Agreste case?” He had to know.

Officer Allard nodded immediately, he looked breathless but excited. “We were able to
recover video footage from the Agreste Mansion security cameras. We’re lucky that all
footage was backed up.”

“We have footage?” Roger asked, he felt his hope rise.

“We have footage.” Allard confirmed.

It wasn’t long till they got everyone on the case in one of the meeting rooms in order to watch
the footage. It was a mix of Roger’s department and the judicial police, who had let them
work with them given all that had happened in Paris. They had the authority and definitely
could have kept them out of the investigation but this had shook Paris to its core. This wasn’t
an akuma attack, that they knew of anyway, this was an unknown attack and it scared
everybody. They were so used to being terrorized by Hawkmoth and Mayura that they forgot
that non-magical crime existed for a while. Though, there was no saying if this was magical
or not, this just seemed so different than what they were used to. It wasn’t just the attack that
had everyone on edge, Hawkmoth had been quiet, even before the attack he had been quiet. It
was like the calm before the storm and it raised the people’s anxiety.

“I got it connected to the projector, I’m going to play the day of the attack and if needed, I’m
ready to view footage from other days if we need them.” One of the judicial police personnel
announced. Roger felt a bit ashamed that he didn’t know all their names yet.

“Sounds good!” Allard, ever the friendly one, said with a thumbs up. It had Roger huff out a
quiet laugh.

Everyone watched the screen in anticipation as the video started. It was odd to see all the
different rooms at once but as soon as they saw someone enter the frame, the man who was at
the computer made it so they only saw the one screen of the room. Everything looked fairly
normal for the family, though no one really knew what normal was like for them but overall,
it looked like a normal day one could imagine the little family had. They watched who they
found out to be, the Agreste Family’s personal chef’s. The two, a husband and wife, were
seen entering the house and quickly making the familiar path to the kitchen. It was honestly
kind of boring so all those in attendance voted to rush through until more people came up.
From there they saw the family eat, Adrien leave for school and the chef’s leave until they
were required for lunch. More fast forwarding to lunch when Adrien arrived back home,
Adrien, Nathalie and Gabriel seemed to request lunch in Gabriel’s office.

Maybe that wouldn’t have been so weird if the chefs hadn’t looked so shocked. It wasn’t hard
to guess that that wasn’t something that normally happened, or happened at all before that
day. With no sound they could only guess at why this was so weird as they saw the chefs
talking about it. Body language at least made up for the lack of audio. Lunch was served and
it was obvious that the chefs had been dismissed, but they looked a little shocked to be
dismissed so hurriedly. Roger made a mental note to invite the two into the station for an
interview. They had a list of employees that the Agreste family knew and those who had been
seen going in and out of the house, but with how hectic everything had been, they hadn’t
gotten around to interviewing everyone. Time in the video went on and it seemed like the
Agreste Family, and yes Mlle Sancoeur was included in that, had had a meeting of sorts that
day in M Agreste’s office. It seemed to be about something serious.

It also looked incredibly suspicious. Now, there was nothing wrong with having family
meetings, but this felt wrong, their body language was odd and the way they kept looking at
the portrait of Emilie Agreste was weird. “Why are they looking at the portrait so much?”
Allard murmured, most likely he thought the comment wouldn’t have been loud but given
how everyone present had been silent, the words had seemed like a shout.

“I would say perhaps they were grieving her disappearance anniversary, but it is nowhere
near the anniversary.” One of Roger’s oldest friends in the force, Agent Martin Darcy,
pointed out.

“Is that something that is public knowledge?” One of the judicial team members asked in
confusion.

“Oh yeah,” Agent Durand sighed. “It was a big thing. The investigation had been overall
short but felt like years. It’s still an open case and M Agreste calls for any new info every
month like clockwork.”

“Hm…” Was all that was said as they all focused on the screen once more.

Things passed and Roger had started to grow bored but he persisted in watching, it didn’t
matter if it was mind-numbing to watch M Agreste take an hour just to decide which shade of
yellow he liked for a design, Roger vowed to get them answers and answers he would get!
More time passed as they watched and…they got answers, but it wasn’t anything they had
expected. It left everyone speechless. Roger himself felt like his chair had been pulled right
out from under him and he just kept falling and falling. He didn’t want to believe it yet the
evidence was right in front of him. Gabriel Agreste had been Hawkmoth, Nathalie Sancoeur
was Mayura and…Adrien Agreste had been Chat Noir and he had betrayed their beloved
spotted hero, Ladybug.

And Ladybug…

Ladybug had been a child.

Ladybug had been as old as his daughter when she…

Ladybug had been one of his daughter’s classmates.

Ladybug was Marinette Dupain-Cheng and she had saved them all at the cost of herself.
There had to be something in the now destroyed Agreste Mansion that would point to what
happened to her. She couldn’t just be gone. There had been that bright red light and then she
was just gone and the camera’s shorted out. Roger had to…he needed to…he would find her
justice. He had thought the Agreste’s needed his help, he had given them his sympathy and
his time. Roger was enraged, he had barked out orders to get a squad together so they could
all go investigate the Agreste Mansion. Everyone had acted swiftly and sooner than he had
thought, they had arrived at the crime scene. It felt like forever before they were able to
secure a safe way down. And down, down they went. It was eerie, no one spoke much as they
investigated the place but then there had been that awful scream from Agent Fontaine. He
would never forget her scream.

There was a rush of activity, they all rushed toward her, weapons drawn. There was no
danger…well physically but the moment Roger realized what she had screamed at it felt like
he had had years of his life ripped away harshly. He had seen enough crime scenes to know
what blood looked like, even in its charred state. And there next to the charred body of blood,
it really couldn’t even be called a puddle with how much there was, there was a piece of what
looked like a cuff of a jacket. It was white with pink polka-dots…or at least it had been at one
point. Flashes of the surveillance video abruptly crashed into the forefront of Roger’s mind
and all he could see was a struggling Marinette who had been wearing her signature jacket.
Oh god…her jacket. That was a piece of her jacket . It hit Roger like a freight train. He knew
that jacket and he knew that little girl who had been struggling and fighting till her last
moments.

His legs gave out and he found himself on the ground, distantly he could hear panicked
voices and felt hands try and help him up or check him over. “I can’t…”

“Lieutenant!”

“I…I can’t be on this case. I take myself off the case.” Roger blurted out in a rush, almost as
fast as the tears that fell from his face. “I knew her. Oh god…I knew her.”

Officer Lucas Allard didn’t know what to do with himself. His colleague and superior
Lieutenant Roger Raincomprix, someone he looked up to had taken himself off the biggest
case they had ever had and it wasn’t like he didn’t understand why, but he found himself
feeling lost. They had, all those who had gone back to the Agreste Mansion, had found one
comatose Emilie Agreste in a hidden basement level no one had known about. They all had
thought that the, what could only be described as a lair, in the videos had been the only
hidden room but it felt foolish to believe that now that the evidence had been shown to them.
Now, instead of them trying to find justice for the Agreste’s, it turned into a case against
them. Someone had to go through all the available footage and Lucas had been the first to
volunteer.
It was tedious and menial like all other video footage they had to comb through but with the
context of what they could find it became so much more important. It was important to his
Lieutenant, to the police force, to all of Paris and Lucas was determined to slap any and all
charges he could uncover on the Agreste Family. There were many moments of watching
Gabriel Agreste monologue to himself in his lair or talking to his victims and there were
many moments of Adrien Agreste sneaking out as Chat Noir but it was noted that the times
he left were considerably later than when he was needed or contacted. It just added more
credit to the ongoing theory that Chat Noir had always been meant to betray Ladybug and the
rest of Team Miraculous. It made Lucas unbelievably angry.

Ladybug had done her best to protect them, then the team she put together did the same. They
were all so dedicated and determined, it made it hard not to be motivated to be the same way
in his work. He may not have been a hero in the magical sense, but Lucas had vowed to be
his own kind of hero. So yeah, his eyes were stinging from his infrequent blinking, he was
probably getting a headache from staring at the screens for so long and so intensely, but he
refused to give in. He felt almost manic searching through each video they had and trying to
find anything that could be important. He was so close to giving in to his fatigue when he
saw it. A girl walked in and from what Lucas could remember, she had been in Adrien’s
class.

They were going to eventually talk to the rest of the class to see if they noticed anything off
about Adrien but hadn’t gotten around to it but they all knew who was in his class. That’s
why Lucas recognized her as someone from Adrien’s class, he paused the videos to grab the
file next to him that had people of interest and there she was, Lila Rossi. Why was she visiting
the Agreste Mansion when Adrien wasn’t there? It was strange, more than actually so he
watched as the girl greeted Mlle Sancoeur and then waited to be escorted to Gabriel’s office.
From there it seemed they were having some sort of meeting and Lucas had been ready to
dismiss it as a meeting about her modeling but paused when he saw Gabriel pull up a picture
of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Ladybug. His heart dropped at the way Lila Rossi’s face twisted
into a sneer before she schooled it into a look of resignation.

When Mlle Rossi finally left Lucas saw Gabriel save what had to have been a video of his
meeting with the teen into a folder on his computer. Lucas burst into action, they had the
computer with them, they were able to save some of the files and Lucas needed to know what
it was. He heard some people shout in shock at him but he paid no attention. He sprinted out
of the room he had been working in, the room the team had been in before, and grabbed the
flash drive that held the contents of Gabriel Agreste’s computer. Lucas knew others from the
team were following him now but he did not stop. He connected the drive and did his best to
rush to the folder he had seen on Gabriel’s computer. Thankfully the laptop he was using was
connected to the projector still so everyone who followed him saw what he was doing.

Once the seemingly innocuous folder was opened they all saw documents on top of
documents, videos on top of videos and voice recordings on top of voice recordings instead
of design ideas meant for Lila Rossi. Lucas clicked on the top file which happened to be a
voice recording. “ Hello? ” The room was filled by the voice of who could only be Lila
Rossi.
 “ Miss Rossi .” Gabriel’s voice came out of the speakers, but it sounded deeper. Lucas did not
fail to notice how some of those around him flinched at the sound, they had all been
akumatized at one point he noted.

“ Hawkmoth .” Lila greeted in barely restrained glee. It made Lucas’s stomach drop. “ Do you
need my help again? Do you need me to be an akuma again?”

“What the fuck…?” One of the judicial police, Carmen Fortin, murmured in her shock.

“Did she just say, again?” Agent Darcy growled.

“ Eager as always, Miss Rossi. ” Gabriel stated like it was the most normal thing he had
heard. “ But no, no akuma this time. While I am aware you are…skilled in projecting your
anger when the time needs, I am calling to see what progress you have made on Miss
Dupain-Cheng .”

Everyone was quiet.

“ I’m doing my best .” Lila gritted out in false cheeriness. “ I’ve isolated her in class, I’ve
spread rumors, I’ve had her pathetic friends wrapped around my finger and had them
denounce their friendship to her. I don’t know what more I can do. Why do you even want her
to be akumatized? What do you and Gabriel Agreste see in her? She has no potential! She’s a
lame goody-teo-shoes and- ”

“ Rossi .” Gabriel barked and everyone in the room flinched. “ Leave your inferiority complex
at the door. I have explained time and time again why Miss Dupain-Cheng is imperative to
our success. ”

“ Well then what do I do? ” Lila asked, obviously irritated.

“ Do I have to have ideas for you too? Get creative Miss Rossi, if you can spin a web as…
well as you do, this should be child’s play. I want Dupain-Cheng broken…I want her angry, I
want her to be so impossibly lost that she won’t even think of denying Hawkmoth’s hand for
help. ”

“... I understand. I won’t fail you. ” It sounded like every word brought Lila pain.

“ No. You won’t .”

The call ended then and still no one knew what to say. Hawkmoth had another accomplice
and it was a teenage girl, and by the look of the absolute depth of the possible blackmail
folder had, she had been an accomplice for a long time. Lucas didn’t call people evil lightly,
but looking at the size of the folder he couldn’t help but think Lila Rossi was evil. How could
one teen hate someone so much? How deep did this go? Just how many other people were
involved in the attack on one Marinette Dupain-Cheng? On Paris? Lucas was scared to find
out, but first, they needed to track down Lila Rossi and her mother.

Chapter End Notes

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End Notes

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