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The news had spread around like wildfire– starting out as a lengthy article in the Ladyblog, mainly speculation at that point, to smaller news outlets, and finally making it onto TVi as a full out manhunt for the once-beloved hero Chat Noir.
Marinette still didn’t understand what had happened to him: at the beginning of the week he’d been joking around with her during their patrols, then he’d stopped showing up, and then he’d appeared, standing by Hawk Moth’s side, barely sparing her a glance like they hadn’t been partners for three years. Like he didn’t even know her.
She was going to be sick.
“Tikki, what am I supposed to do?” She swallowed thickly while holding back the flood of tears, looking at the photo of Chat Noir on the TV screen, ‘Paris’s Most Wanted’ blazed across the top. “It’s just me against Hawk Moth, Mayura, and Chat. I can’t fight Hawk Moth without him. I can’t fight him . He’s– he was my partner.”
“Oh, Marinette,” Tikki said softly, her hands reaching up to touch Marinette’s cheeks, “You’re the Guardian now, it’s up to you to recruit new superheroes to help you.”
Glancing at the hidden compartment of her desk where the Miracle Box was hidden, Marinette pursed her lips. She’d had to enlist temporary heroes to fight akumas– a faceoff with Hawk Moth and Mayura once or twice even– but this felt more final. The people she gave a Miraculous to would be in a final fight with Hawk Moth within the next few days . She had days to find and train people who would stand by her side where everyone knew her chaton was supposed to be. Tears welled up in her eyes and she didn’t bother trying to stop them. Chat, her partner , had joined Hawk Moth.
Marinette had never felt more hopeless. She’s always known battling Hawk Moth would be difficult, but she’d never once considered she’d have to do it without Chat. Or that she’d have to fight him, too.
Quick, shallow, gasps escaped her as panic overtook her, her body shaking as she listened to the news.
“No one knows Chat Noir’s whereabouts, but the police are searching across the whole city. There have been no comments from Ladybug so far, but she has agreed to make a statement at the press meeting this Friday–”
“This can’t be real,”
“There have been speculations as to him being a spy for Hawk Moth the entire time–”
“This can’t be happening, I–”
A sob left Marinette’s lips as she gasped for air, and why wasn’t there enough air –
“Deep breaths,” Tikki instructed gently, “Take nice deep breaths, Marinette. Focus on my voice. That’s it…”
Marinette’s breathing slowed as she began to calm down, “I don’t think I can do this,”
“Yes, you can. You’ve been so brave. You just have to be strong for a little bit longer.” Tikki whispered, her wide eyes brimming with tears, “I’m so proud of you. Just hold on for a little bit longer,”
She sat up straight, unlocking the drawer with the Miracle Box and pulling it out, a wave of determination crashing over her, “I can do this.”
The Miracle Box opened, and Marinette carefully studied the Miraculous in front of her.
“Do you know what Miraculous you’re going to use?”
Marinette’s brow furrowed, “We’ll need the Turtle for defense, someone to cover the team in case things go sideways. I think the Bee would be wise, too. That way, we can just incapacitate Chat instead of fighting him. And we’ll need the Fox for distractions. That’ll give us a chance to use Venom on Chat,”
Tikki nodded, “Very smart. And the holders?”
“Same as they’ve been before,” Marinette said confidently, “Wayzz goes to Nino, Trixx to Alya, and Pollen to Chloé,”
“Are you sure Chloé’s the right choice?”
Of course she wasn’t. But this was the beginning of a war . Marinette didn’t have time to be sure. She had to take a leap of faith and pray she wasn’t wrong.
Marinette shook her head, “She might not be the right one, but she won’t betray us and she’s worked with us before. She knows how to use her powers and I don’t have time to find and train someone new.”
No, Marinette didn’t have any time at all.
The day after Marinette handed out the Miraculous to her classmates, Hawk Moth struck. And he hadn’t even sent an akuma, or an amok. He’d sent Chat , and she had nearly screamed in frustration as leaned casually against the wall across from her.
“Wow,” He whistled, “You’ve already gotten around to replacing me, M’Lady?”
She glanced back to her newly formed team, all of them staring at Chat in horror.
Narrowing her eyes, she stepped forward, “I am not your lady,”
Chat Noir smiled sadly, but the words coming out of his mouth were merciless, “Well obviously not, LB. You’ve made that clear enough in the past years. Nothing much has really changed, has it?”
“Except for the fact that you’re working with Hawk Moth,”
“He made some…” Chat shrugged, biting his lip, “Unusual points.”
“Why are you making me do this?” She cried, willing her tears away, “I don’t want to fight you, Chat,”
He rolled his eyes, “I’m not here to fight you. I’m just here to offer you Hawk Moth’s deal. If you don’t accept it by the deadline, then you’ll have to fight me.”
“Alright, then tell us and then go the hell away,” Rena Rouge hissed, her fist tightening around her flute.
“ Meouch , kitten’s got claws.” Chat smirked, “Hawk Moth wants Ladybug’s Miraculous and a formal surrender. You’ve got 48 hours to decide, and if you haven’t notified him by then, you guys are in for a catfight,”
He saluted to Ladybug with a smirk before launching himself off the roof, quickly disappearing from sight.
She turned back to Rena, Carapace, and Queen Bee, brushing the tears off her cheeks.
“What’s the plan, LB?” Rena asked softly.
“We can’t give in,” She said, “We’ll stay quiet, no more patrols after tonight. Don’t transform at all if you can help it. Get ready, because after our time’s up, Hawk Moth won’t have any mercy for us. And remember during the fight, Hawk Moth and Mayura are our targets, not Chat. Rena will use her Mirage to distract him, and then Queen Bee can use Venom to keep him out of the fight. Good?”
The team nodded and she smiled slightly.
“I’ll see you all in 48 hours then,”
When Marinette showed up at school the next day, she was immediately taken aback by how upset everyone was. The normally joyful and boisterous class was tired, everyone sitting and talking in hushed whispers.
“I can’t believe Chat would do that to Ladybug,” Alya whispered to Nino.
He looked at her with sorrowful eyes, “I know. They always seemed so close– I can’t understand why Chat did this,”
She looked around the room again, surprised when Adrien wasn’t there. He was always earlier than she was.
“Nino, where’s Adrien?”
Nino raised an eyebrow, “You haven’t heard yet? His dad pulled him out. Said something about personal family business or something. Poor dude,”
“Oh,” Marinette said softly, “I hope he’s okay,”
“I’d seriously doubt it,” Chloé said, “It’s his mom’s birthday in two days. That’s probably why he got pulled,”
Marinette sighed, practically falling into her seat from exhaustion. She hadn’t slept well since Chat left her. She couldn’t help but think of excuses for why he was doing this– surely he had a good reason, but for the life of her, Marinette couldn’t find it. And now Adrien was at home, mourning his mother. Two blonde boys she loved more than life itself, and she was unable to help either of them.
She couldn’t help but feel like the last couple weeks had been a nightmare, something she could wake up from. That she would see Chat at their next patrol and he’d laugh at her and a say she was ‘ paws itively crazy to think I’d ever leave you, M’lady’ while kissing her hand.
There was no reason to believe Chat would ever leave her.
They were partners, and she loved him and he loved her and he couldn’t have just pushed all that aside.
“Of course I’d never leave you,” He’d laughed one day as they skipped rocks along the Seine. “What a ridiculous question, M’Lady.”
Then why had he?
Marinette spent the rest of the day blinking back tears, thinking of roses and ice cream and fist bumps, and the black cat who was never supposed to go anywhere she couldn’t follow.
It had officially been 48 hours, and Marinette knew what was coming next. She’d braced herself as a flurry of akumas swarmed the Eiffel Tower, waiting and watching until Hawk Moth showed up. As soon as the purple and silver-clad figure appeared, she rushed into action, quickly followed by Nino, Alya, and Chloé– already transformed, of course.
She quickly swung up to the platform Hawk Moth was waiting on, Chat Noir standing behind him, baton still secured on his back.
“I really had hoped you’d see reason,” Hawk Moth began, “After all, you’re only children, fighting a war too big for you to even understand.”
“Clearly you don’t understand, either. All Miraculous are supposed to be used for good. For pure, unselfish purposes. You’ve betrayed those ideals and expect everyone to obey you when you’ve done nothing to prove you’re even remotely trustworthy. You’ve constantly tried to hurt people to further your own goals with absolutely no regard for any human life other than yours.”
“You insolent girl,” He growled, tapping his cane against the floor once as the orb on it began glowing purple, “I have tried to be reasonable. I’ve given you multiple opportunities to see reason, to join me, but you’ve refused me at every turn. I’m giving you a final warning. Stand down. ”
“No,” Marinette said simply.
Chat Noir winced as Hawk Moth snarled, butterflies fluttering around him frantically, what Marinette recognized as his Sentimonster rising above him.
“Shit,” She muttered.
“Oh that’s not good,” Nino said faintly.
She watched as Hawk Moth stepped forward, Mayura appearing from the shadows. Chat Noir stayed back, his gaze flickering between her and Hawk Moth nervously.
Hawk Moth grinned, “Have it your way then,”
He lunged rapidly towards her, and she barely managed to block his swipe with her yo-yo before it hit her.
“Carapace!” She called out, “Stay alert, look out after Rena and Queen! You two, you know what you have to do!”
The girls nodded at her, smiles forming on their faces.
Marinette swung her yo-yo towards Hawk Moth, which he managed to dodge at the last moment, throwing her slightly off balance. She bent over backward to avoid getting hit in the face by his cane, snapping back up as he retreated.
She spared a glance at the rest of her team– Carapace was holding his own against Mayura while Rena and Queen Bee were having less luck with Chat. He wasn’t being violent, in fact he was mainly on defense, but the two were having trouble sneaking up on him.
“Give up, Ladybug. You can’t defeat me!”
“Maybe not,” Marinette grimaced, “But I can sure as hell try,”
Whipping her yo-yo towards him, she managed to capture his arm, tugging on it until he fell to the floor. He quickly got up and Marinette realized she’d only managed to make him angrier.
She watched in horror as his cane grew barbed as he lunged towards her, managing to slice open her cheek. Gritting her teeth, she attacked with more force, determined to keep him down long enough to grab his Miraculous.
Hearing Nino whoop with joy, she turned to see that he had managed to knock off Mayura’s brooch, revealing… was that Gabriel Agreste’s assistant?
Her momentary confusion ended as Hawk Moth kicked her in the stomach. She backed up, gasping for air before Carapace slid in front of her.
“Shell-ter!”
“Thanks,” She said, clutching her stomach as pain blossomed across it, “How’d you managed to get the brooch?”
He shrugged, “I threw the shield at her with enough force that it dislodged the broach and made it fall off.”
She watched as Hawk Moth progressed toward Rena Rouge and Queen Bee, hitting Carapace on the shoulder, “Break the Shell-ter, now!”
He did as she said, and Ladybug leaped toward Hawk Moth, landing on his back as her arms went around his neck in a chokehold. The man immediately stumbled, his hands clawing at her arms. Knowing she couldn’t hold on much longer, she swung forward, flipping off his back to stand in front of him.
“Hand over your Miraculous, Hawk Moth,”
He gave her a wicked grin, and just as Marinette was expecting a response, the purple energy that had been harboring in the orb on his cane exploded, blasting her away.
She coughed as she landed a few feet away, struggling to regain her footing.
“Lucky Charm!”
Marinette glanced down in her hands, hoping to find something that would help with her injuries, but instead seeing a replica of Chat Noir’s Miraculous. She looked up at the sky, because surely some force up there was having a grand old time mocking her. “That’s not funny,”
As black spots floated across her vision, she saw Chat leap towards Hawk Moth, managing to rip off his brooch before landing a few feet from her and immediately rushing to her side.
Through her blurry vision she could just make out the platinum blonde hair of Hawk Moth, but not his identity.
She let out a groan of pain as he wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning into his side.
He gently pressed the Miraculous into her palm, “There you go, My Lady.”
“Chat?”
Her vision was swimming and all she could make out were his vivid green eyes, staring at her in concern.
“Ladybug?” He responded,
Everything went dark as she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her.
“So let me get this straight,” Marinette sighed from her hospital bed, staring at Adrien, who was standing rather sheepishly in front of her, “You found out who Hawk Moth was and he found out who you were, so instead of contacting me or anyone else you decided to play a double agent, letting everyone think you’d joined Hawk Moth?”
Adrien shifted nervously on his feet, “Yes,”
Despite the pure idiocy of his plan– it was so Chat Noir it hurt– Marinette was so relieved she could cry. She grabbed his hand, pulled him down to hug her, “Oh, I’m so glad you didn’t leave me.”
He smiled down at her, pressing a kiss to her forehead, “M’Lady, you’d be paws itively crazy to think I ever could.”
“Next time,” She muttered, “Leave a note,”
He nearly choked on his laugher as he sat down on the bed next to her, “Let’s make sure there’s not a ‘next time’ okay?”
“Yeah, that’s probably a better idea.”