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lexdrabbles · 1 year

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Thought You Should Know

Hi! Happy New Year! I promise I didn’t abandon this fic, life just got REALLY in the way. Alternatively: Yes There Is A Third Chapter To This Fic. Remember how I said it’s built around a dream? No? Well, it is. Here you go. Please enjoy: Son Boy Comfort Ultimate.

Word count: 3,684 (Chapter 3)

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Ship: Love Square (Mainly Adrinette)

Warnings: None

Read on AO3

(Chapter 1) (Chapter 2)

Chapter 3: A Consideration of Everything that is Right and Wrong in The World

Chat Noir’s first akuma after making the discovery was… well. To say it was harsh would be an understatement.

It was the end of the day, but they had still been at school. Adrien would not have known what to do with himself if he had been home. He felt like a bit of a delinquent: Nino, Alya and Marinette had talked him into skipping fencing to go to the cinema with them and watch the first showing of a movie Nino had been raving about for months. He got Kagami to cover for him and everything had been going to plan until that point, but then again why should he ever get to have nice things? He was pretty sure that was not allowed.

As soon as the first ball of slime splashed and stuck to the courtyard floor, the group exchanged looks and a quick “meet back at the theater” before running to hide separately. Nino bolted upstairs to the classrooms, Alya and Marinette ran into a bathroom; he quickly ducked into a broom closet and transformed, ready to get the whole thing over with as soon as he could. He was trying really, really hard not to think.

The akuma’s… suit? Whatever they were wearing— it was really ugly. It looked like a crafts store had thrown up on them: they were covered in the same indescribable-colored slime (purple? Orange? Blue? Brown? All of the above?) their projectiles seemed to be made of, embedded with every imaginable shade of little balls and beads and glitter, and what looked like random bits of plastic. They also had a pair of huge, chunky, bright hot pink headphones. They had leaped into the middle of the courtyard almost right as Chat Noir emerged from his hiding spot, and their voice was a loud, grating whisper.

“Come on out, children! Don’t you want to look at all the pretty slime mixing together?”

“Has anyone ever told you you have a terrible fashion sense?” He clocked the figure in the back with his baton and sent them flying off like a weird, lumpy baseball straight into the locker rooms, leaving a thin strand of purple-green goo stuck to the end that made contact.

They kicked out the double doors and exited looking even more scrambled than before, the slime over their body shifting and writhing.

“It’s not about fashion, street cat, it’s about the feeling!" They shot a ball of slime out of their extended palm and Chat jumped out of the way just a fraction of a second too late; it caught on his right hand and dragged him back fully before sticking (hand included) to the wall behind him with a gross squelch.

“You’d think a fashion designer would have better judgment” he muttered, using all the anger stirring within him to struggle against the sticky, glittery substance (why on earth was it warm? Actually, scratch that. He did not want to know). The villain approached him at a stalking pace, absolutely convinced they had Chat right where they wanted him.

“One down, one to—” A loud creak rang out from behind them and they stopped in their tracks. Chat Noir could not resist looking at the wall across the courtyard and saw Alya peeking out of the bathroom. As his friend’s eyes widened, the villain followed Chat Noir’s line of sight: they turned around just in time to catch the slightest glimpse of her head popping back in before shutting the door again. The akumatized pile of slime turned back to him and contorted its face in what could only be described as a smooshed smirk.

“Be right back, kitty cat”. They seemed to eye him up and down before taking off in the opposite direction, running toward the bathroom door with slime projectiles at the ready.

The bathroom where Marinette was hiding.

“You kids should subscribe to The Whisperer!”

… And Alya— where Marinette and Alya were hiding. Both of them.

He was barely using his brain when he finally yelled “Cataclysm!” —perhaps louder than he may have wanted to—, immediately dissolving the goo on his right hand into a foul-smelling pile of ash. He saw the Whisperer flinch halfway through the courtyard as the tips of a butterfly-shaped mask lit up at the front of their face —where eyes should have been— and peeked out at the sides of their head. That gave Chat the moment he needed to leap after them and trip them with his extended baton; using it once again like a golf club to swing the slimy form the other way and entirely out of the gates of Collège Françoise Dupont.

He gave the bathroom door a knowing smile and a nod, partly wishing Marinette knew - knew that her help and her kindness and her friendship did not go uncompensated. That he planned on making her feel as safe as he did with her. Him and Ladybug would make sure she was protected.

He stopped in his tracks at the school door, watching as the Whisperer still struggled to get a hold of their slimy form. Where was Ladybug, anyway? As used as he had gotten to villains being dealt with in minutes, with new heroes popping up seemingly out of thin air before he could even get to the team, he had been fighting alone for several minutes now, with no signs of backup to be seen.

Had she found out somehow?

This was no moment to get in his own head, but after the humanoid slime being reformed, every attack got harder and harder to dodge or counter. What if she had? It was ridiculous. It was not as if she could just know (about his horrible, awful, selfish choice to keep quiet) and have decided to leave him to fend for himself. How would she? And even if she somehow had, how would she know it had anything to do with Chat Noir? His mind offered terrible excuses, each one worse than the last, for why the worst-case scenarios were not so far-fetched— Maybe she has known it was me all along, maybe she just hates me that much . The longer she was not there, the more difficult it got for him to keep the Whisperer in check. He had no idea how much time went by, but when he noticed, he had just barely dragged the villain out on the rooftops and was dodging slime projectiles by the skin of his teeth. He had been feeling better, he had started to actually let himself go through this, reassured himself it was only temporary, that he was doing his best with the situation. Where had it gone all of a sudden?

Before he even had time to begin formulating a hurtful answer to his own questions, he felt himself be lightly lifted and whisked up into the air.

He had not let himself realize how much he was looking forward to seeing her until she was zipping him masterfully away from the fight.

Ladybug put him down on solid ground- what looked like the back of a store with enough going on to hide out for a moment. He must have been staring, because her expression went from concentration to worry in a second.

“Are you okay?” She grabbed his right hand and looked at his ring as the second paw pad blinked off (had he missed the first one?).

He quickly tried to fall back on their established dynamic. It was easy, it was familiar, it was what worked . “All good. Thanks for that, my Lady, that one was a whisker away from getting me” except that the pun was as dry as sandpaper in his mouth and sounded all wrong; his least practiced smile felt off and did not reach his eyes, as much as he tried (he had never had to try before. Not for her).

She looked him up and down with concern and clocked a bruised cheek and a still-slime-stained arm. “I am so sorry Chat, I got held up transforming and then I had to track you down, and—”

“Bugaboo” he interrupted, planting both hands on her shoulders (like Marinette had done to him when he had started spiraling). She was there and she was worried, and she was apologizing for some wild, unfathomable reason. “I’m okay. Really”.

It was true that it had been a while since he had to fight one of those things alone. The same little voice in his head that kept pushing for him to actually think instead of just playing video games all day demanded that he take the apology; just this once. He had recently begun teaching himself to listen to it.

Ladybug breathed in and sighed in an attempt to relax into Chat’s reassuring gesture, but their regrouping session was cut short by loud, approaching splats .

“Let’s just do this, okay?” She spoke looking in his direction but did not once look into his eyes. “You and me, like it’s always been.” She smiled and it was one of the saddest he had ever seen on her. He wanted to ask, but knew there was no time.

He held his baton like one would a sword and they settled into a hurried fighting stance. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

The fight was unusually quiet —On the heroes’ side, at least. The Whisperer would not shut up and their voice felt like it was just short of sanding their eardrums down to dust—. They communicated only in short phrases, looks and the occasional hand gesture. You could have cut the tension with a knife, and the living slime’s irritating remarks (“you just need to relax and listen to my voice”, “feeling the tingles yet?”, “maybe some slime will help you calm down!”) did nothing but add insult to injury. Chat was trying so hard to be in sync with Ladybug, to fall into the usual lull of battle, and he could see she was trying, too, but it just did not come. Everything about the fight was off— every move was mechanical; every tactic, strained. When she called her Lucky Charm, he had to keep himself from physically flinching.

They were done with the akuma faster than expected, but it took everything out of them— The fight was over, and nothing was fine.

The victim (some poor failed YouTuber named Ethan) insisted he could get home by himself and left the heroes alone to part ways. After a fist bump that felt as routine and hollow as everything else in the past few minutes, Chat extended his baton and began to turn around to leave before feeling a hand wrap around his wrist.

“Wait. Can we talk for a bit?” Ladybug looked up at him, and he was reminded why he could never say no to those wide, honest blue eyes. Even if she looked worried and he did not think going there was a good idea.

She pulled both of them into an empty backstreet between two nearby buildings, secluded enough that it guaranteed privacy. And she asked the question he had been fearing that entire time.

“What’s wrong?”

He could not even bring himself to say it was nothing. He just looked at the ground and fiddled with the tail end of his belt. He knew he had to say something, anything, to explain himself and his pathetic performance, but his throat stayed locked shut as he did his best to fight back the incipient prickling at the back of his eyes.

“That bad?” Her voice was not mocking or admonishing as he had expected. It was soft. There was something there that knew, on some level, what he was going through. She took a step closer to him and he tried to look up at her, but got no further than her shoulders; the tips of her pigtails messily falling over them.

“We could recharge and talk about it, if you want.” He watched as she raised a hand and placed it, gently, over his shoulder. He wanted to step back, to keep her at a distance, but he could not react fast enough, and it was too late.

He melted right then and there.

“I’m sorry, Ladybug, I am so sorry!” All his defenses broke and tears flowed down his face all at once, like they had been accumulating behind a dam.

“Chat, you don’t—”

“I failed you, I basically lied to you! I can’t even— I—” He could not have stopped himself from letting everything out for her to see if he had wanted to (he did not, and perhaps that was the worst part of it all).

The tears stung at his eyes and nose, and he felt her hands on his shoulders, grabbing at him desperately. “What do you mean? Chat? Are you okay? Chat, your miraculous, it’s—!”

He could not pay attention to a word she was saying as his legs gave out under him and he fell on the rough cement ground, barely registering the fuzz of magic washing over his body, leaving him exposed to her sight. He squeezed his eyes shut and wiped them furiously with his hands, maybe even trying, on some level, to conceal his face. He looked at the ground, the tears giving way to a wave of dry, exhausted anger.

“I could have ended this days ago. I— I should have done it,” he sobbed, “and I didn’t.”

Ladybug made no sound as she continued to tower over him, feet frozen as if nailed to the floor.

Adrien rubbed at his eyes again and made sure they could stay open. They did not sting anymore; instead, they just felt heavy. He used all the strength he had left in him to look up at her, to look directly into her eyes.

“I know who he is, Ladybug. I found out Shadow Moth’s identity.”

In her expression, he could see nothing but deep pain. He could not hold her gaze.

He did not know why she remained quiet. She did not yell at him, she did not leave. She stayed as he laid kneeling on the ground, looking at the gray cement under his knees, and spoke. He told her his story. He fidgeted with the ring on his right hand as he talked about the study, and the glint of the peacock miraculous and the book and how it had made his chest hurt. He began crying when he recounted how big of an idiot he had been the first time his father became the Collector. He had been so close, they had been so close, and if he had just used his brain instead of letting his affection-starved little dumbass heart fool him into thinking that maybe his father actually loved him, maybe, just maybe… he could have… he…

His throat locked up again and he wanted to tear his hair out, to compress himself into a minuscule marble and be launched onto the surface of the sun. He wanted to melt into the ground and rip the streets of Paris apart and swing his father into the Eiffel tower like a baseball and scream until the farthest reaches of the universe could feel his pain. All he managed was for the tears to burn their way down his cheeks again.

He did not see so much as feel Ladybug throwing herself on the ground in front of him, and through the stinging salt in his eyes he managed to see her.

She was crying, too. Shaking her head and grabbing at his shoulders again.

“Stop it. Adrien, stop that right now. This isn’t— you’re not—”

She cupped his face in her hands and wiped his tears away, even though they kept flowing and flowing out of his eyes. “Just… stop it, okay?” He did not understand why she was crying, why she insisted. He shook his head and tried to remove her hands, but they were so soft, and the tears hurt so much, he ended up holding them instead. He looked at her, concerned, empathetic, painfully kind, and let himself fantasize about a world where he was not so selfish; where he deserved her. She just kept him close. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”

And she hugged him. It seemed like something impossible and wrong and like everything that was right with this messed up world they were living in when Ladybug hugged Adrien Agreste and held him tight like he was the most precious thing she had ever laid hands on. He closed his eyes and let himself melt into her arms— and he did not need to feel the electric fuzz of magic or see the soft pink glow of her detransformation behind closed eyelids to recognize her and kick himself for not figuring it out sooner. He held onto her because she still felt like a towering shield around him and like no harm would ever come to him as long as he had her, and she was just as precious to him in that moment as he felt he was for her. He loved her as much as he ever had— maybe even more.

This was it. The safest place on earth. Right here, in Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s arms.

After they separated, silence settled between them. Adrien and Marinette were sitting on the ground of the alleyway cast in half-shadows from the tall buildings on either side; thin beams of sunlight striped the windowless walls that hid them from the rest of the world for the time being. They fed their kwamis, who shared an uncertain glance, and remained looking wordlessly at each other for what felt like hours, but was probably only a minute.

“I’m sorry.” It was Marinette who broke the silence first, at last averting her eyes to the ground.

This startled him more than anything else she could have said.

“About what?” His voice felt coarse after crying for so long. She seemed to think for a moment, as if going through a rolodex of instances to be sorry for in her head.

“I don’t know. About everything. About your dad, about not being able to help you, about not just… telling you?” She gestured to her earrings and to Tikki, who was digging into her second macaron and pretending to not hear them. “Maybe if I had just dealt with it as soon as you told me…”

“You were there for me, Marinette. I am so thankful for that.” Her name was sweet in his mouth, almost drowning out the bitter taste left behind by the past week. “It was all I asked for, and you went above and beyond, like you always do.”

“But you’re still not okay. We don’t know if…” He thought he saw something painful flash in her eyes, but she shook her head and it was gone. “I just wanted to make things okay for you.”

“I don’t think there’s anything you could do to make things okay.” It hurt, but it was true. “This is beyond even the best superhero Paris has ever seen.” He gave her a small smile. Seeing her look back up to meet his gaze, he could still barely believe his eyes. One of his closest friends, the one he had always been able to trust and confide in, who gave the best advice and had the most amazing ideas, was the person he loved and admired most in the world. The mix of feelings was a bit overwhelming— His chest and throat still ached from everything; from knowing too much, from not being able to do what was right for the greater good, to fulfill his duty. However, at the same time, he was sure his heart would burst out of the sheer love he felt for Marinette in that moment.

She smiled back at him. “Yeah, but you’ve kinda got a lot going on right now anyway.”

He rolled his eyes playfully at her. “I thought my job was being the clown of the team?”

She chuckled lightly at that. “Well, I always knew you were a versatile guy.” They both laughed and Marinette relaxed visibly, letting go of the strap of her purse she had been fidgeting with. Adrien noticed how much he had also needed this shared moment of levity.

He scooched forward and turned so that he was sitting next to her and leaned his head on hers, feeling her let her cheek rest on his shoulder. He reached out his hand for her to take, and after hesitating for a moment, she did. After a while of tracing over each other’s fingers with their own, it was Adrien who spoke up.

“Your hugs are firm,” he said, “it’s nice.” It was all he could do not to spurt out everything he felt when she was next to him; how safe, calm and at home she made him feel.

She let the sentence hang between them for a moment, as if she was examining it, and squeezed his hand lightly.

“Your hugs are gentle,” she squeezed his hand lightly, “I never want to let go.”

He squeezed her hand right back, brought it up to his lips and kissed it. He felt her cheek heat up through his t-shirt and a smile escaped onto his face.

“So, what now?” Marinette asked. Her voice was uncertain, but there was an unmistakable determination to it.

Adrien pulled back to look at her, but did not let go of her hand. He would never get tired of seeing her like this, fully and vehemently herself.

“I think we’ll have to figure it out together,” he said. “That’s what teams are for, isn’t it?”

She offered him her other hand and it made his heart grow at least thrice its own size.

“It’s you and me against the world, after all,”she said, a small smile painting her face a lovely shade of hope.

He took her hand and held it tight in a half-silent promise. “Just like it always has been, my Lady”.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #ml #ml fanfic #and that’s it!! hope you liked it because i put my whole heart into it<3 #sorry for taking three million years to get it done #promised myself i'd finish this fic before new years and i DID im scream #the akuma was an asmr youtuber whose channel flopped so they became a sticky slime monster with the power to put people to sleep with ✨soot #I’ve always been shit at coming up w akumas but this one made me giggle #no beta we die like fuckin uh. gabe in adrien’s fantasies lmao yeet #fanfic #lex wrote a thing??

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sassyduckqueen · 2 years

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Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 73

Hi! I'm alive! Sorry for not posting much at the moment. It's the summer holidays over here so I'm working a lot at the moment and I'm also in the process of getting a new laptop. Currently this one is been held alive by a hair tie. I tried glue but the hair tie works better. Anyway, here's a new chapter for you. I am putting a trigger warning because there is hints of racism in this regarding the character Rolland. I've tried to write it to a minimum but the reason why is because I hate that he's so petty in this episode over bread so I've hinted that the real issue he had was with Sabine. The reason for the ending is because Tom has a big heart but I didn't want Rolland's actions to go unpunished either. Anyway, hope you enjoy and keep reading. For those who like to ask the next chapter is Party Crasher! I'm looking very forward to writing that one.

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Chapter Seventy-Three: Bakerix

Anatis closed his eyes as he sat at the very top of the Eiffel tower, waiting for Lady Noir. He had sent out a message for her to meet him there but he didn't know how he was going to talk to her. He was planning to tell her about Lady Blanche as he knew it was time to talk to her but the thought terrified him on so many levels. What if she became her because he told her? What if she didn't believe him? Or even laughed at him? He frowned and moved so he was hugging his legs as he waited. Recently he felt more alone then ever. Sure, he had his family, Lady Noir and his past lives but he also couldn't be fully open with any of them. His past lives were exactly that... the past. His family couldn't know he was Anatis and he could only tell Lady Noir so much. He wouldn't be able to tell her that Lady Blanche knew his real name. In fact, he really couldn't tell her anything. The worst part about this was he hated keeping secrets and lying to people. He had to pretend that he wasn't Anatis to his family and to Marinette. Marinette was particularly hard because he wished to tell her but he couldn't because that was the trigger. The only thing that seemed to have settled his mind recently was that one day he would tell someone and that one day, Hawkmoth would be defeated and he would finally be honest with the people he loved. Though whether that was before the first or second Hawkmoth he didn't know. He didn't want the second Hawkmoth to come into existence but he hoped that if and when they did, he had built enough trust to tell his family and team who he was without fearing that they would be akumatized. He let out a sigh and rested his chin against his arms as he saw Lady Noir bouncing towards him. She landed on the tower and frowned as she looked at him.

"Annie, you ok?" She asked, concern in her voice. He didn't answer. She frowned and moved to sit next to him. "I got your message... whatever it is, I'm here and I'm listening..."

He remained silence for a second, not trusting his voice or himself as he feared he might cry but her words were reassuring.

"... I need to tell you something..." He replied, his voice slightly rough. She gave him a worried look but patiently waited for him to speak. "About what happened on the day I gave you the anti-akuma charm,"

"I did wonder when you were going to tell me about it," She replied, looking at him. "Annie, just what exactly happened?"

"You know we have the different codes for the different level of threat," He muttered, making her nod. "I found a new code... Code White..."

"Code White?"

"Yeah, it's on the same level as a Code Black," He replied, making her frown at how serious it was. "As you know Code Black is if I get akumatized and you know I've made plans in case that ever happens but I was an idiot,"

"Hey, don't say that," She scolded, frowning but he gave her a look as if to say 'I am'. "You're not an idiot,"

"I am, Lady Noir," He replied, looking towards the sky. "Because I should have thought about it but it never occurred to me to make a back up plan for if you got akumatized,"

"Me?" She questioned, frowning. "But I haven't... or at least not recently and I wasn't even Lady Noir then and-"

"I don't mean then, Kitten," He stated, looking over at her. "Code White is you akumatized as Lady Noir. Like I said, I should have a plan for it but I never thought that you would ever get akumatized so I never really made a back up plan for if you did,"

"Can I ask why you thought that I wouldn't get akumatized?" She asked, not in an insulted way. She wasn't insulted but she was curious. She knew Anatis made plans. He was smart and after heroes day, he had been working on plans in case the team was ever comprised again. She had believed she was part of that but if what he was saying then he might not have included her. "Did you not include a plan for me?"

"I did but not as detailed," He replied, reassuring her a little. "The reason why it never occurred to me is because you're the strongest person I know. You never give up. Your faith in me has never faltered, even when it should and you carry this team. There's been so many times where I would have lost or given up but haven't because you were there and caught me so to speak so somewhere in the back of my mind, I came to believe that you would never be akumatized because you would never break... but I was wrong. I forgot that you're human under the mask and I... I'm so sorry, Lady Noir. I f-failed to protect you and I drove you to be akumatized. It's m-my f-fault-"

Tears began to roll down his cheeks as he began to cry. He curled up in on himself, hugging his knees as he shook, breaking Lady Noir's heart. She didn't say anything but simply wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close to her.

"Let it out, Anatis," She whispered in a gentle tone, running her fingers through her as he wrapped his arms around her torso and cried for all the pain he had witnessed and losses that had been suffered. That timeline may have gone but he still felt the pain of loss that his other self had experienced. Gradually, he calmed down and simply rested his head against her collarbone as she watched the skies. By some miracle, no akumas had come but she would destroy any that would. Glancing down, she continued to run her fingers through his hair as he hugged her. "You know I'm flattered that you think of me so highly,"

"B-But I forgot-"

"No buts, Mister," She stated, causing him to go quiet. "You say you forgot I'm human underneath the mask right? Well, I don't believe that for one second. I don't think you ever thought I was some super human because you have always made sure I was ok. You've never once made me feel like I'm carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders or that I'm overwhelmed. You treat me as your equal and have always made me feel important. You respect me and my words so trust me when I say, if I ever got akumatized, it wasn't because you drove me to it. I can guarantee that the only reason why I would ever become an akuma is to protect you,"

"L-Lady Noir..." He whispered.

"Well, you and my boyfriend because I would obviously protect him too," She replied as he carefully sat up and wiped his eyes. "My point, Annie, is you would never be the cause... but I gotta ask. Why are you acting like I've been akumatized? As far as I know I haven't... well, expect that one time before I was Lady Noir but other then that..."

"It's complicated," He replied, frowning. "Remember the day I gave you that charm?"

"Yeah," She replied, tapping it. "I always carry it with me but... how did you get it? You explained how you made them through your power up but we never faced an akuma that day..."

"... I did..." He replied, making her frown. "I faced you as an akuma,"

"Me? As... an akuma?" She asked a little shocked. "B-But I don't remember-"

"It was a different timeline," He replied, making her blink before she went quiet and waited for him to tell the story. "It was the day that I was going to tell someone who I was. I was on my way to tell them and Bunnyx turned up, panicked. She explained that something really bad in the near future had happened and that she had tracked it's origins to that day. We went into her burrow to talk and worked out that it must be my plan to tell someone but we weren't sure if it was because I told them or because I didn't so she took me to the future where the event had occurred and told me to defeat the akuma while she tried to find out exactly what had caused it. That future... it was... awful..."

"What had happened?"

"Paris had been wiped out by the akuma,"

"By me..." Lady Noir answered, causing Anatis to nod. "How-"

"I don't know exactly how but from what I gathered and remembered, that version of you tried to resist been akumatized and when she couldn't, she tried to use her new abilities on herself but it... it didn't work," He explained, making her frown. "The power backfired and killed everyone in Paris before destroying the moon and flooding the city. I don't know if the rest of the world was affected but judging by the fact that only she was around... I think it was..."

"The end of the world..." Lady Noir replied, making him nod. "..How did I get akumatized?"

"Y-You took the akuma for me..." He admitted, making her look at him. "Hawkmoth was aiming for me. Somehow he had found my identity... you knew it too in that world but Su Han and him. I think they tried to use it against us but when the akuma came for me, you... you took it instead... I should have-"

"Hey, Annie, listen to me?" She stated as his tears began to fall again. She carefully cupped his face so he was looking at her. "This wasn't your fault. I know in this other timeline you would have fought to save me and to save everyone so whatever happened was beyond our control,"

"B-But I-"

"The only ones to blame are Hawkmoth and Su Han," She declared, making him look at her. For a moment, he studied her features, looking for something. A lie maybe? Or traces of blame? But he found nothing but reassurance and love in her eyes. "So please... don't blame yourself,"

"I'll try not to," He replied, reaching to wipe his eyes. Lady Noir gently let him of his face before opening her arms again. He settled against her in a hug as he wrapped his arms around her as she began to stroke his hair again. He closed his eyes as she began to hum a tune he recognized as one of Kitty Section's songs, causing him to relax. For a good few peaceful moments, they stayed like that til his brain decided to remind him that right now they were extremely close and more importantly, she had a boyfriend. Sure, he had a girlfriend but one, he generally saw Lady Noir as his best friend, two she didn't know as it would cause her to work out his identity and three, he would never cheat on Marinette. He loved her way too much but he also happened to be what you might call a contact kind of person. He always had been. He loved hugs and often would place his hand on people's shoulders or pat people's head. It was how he showed affection but right now, his brain decided to make him worry. What if he unintentionally made Lady Noir uncomfortable? What if she got upset? Or her boyfriend got upset with her because of it? Which was impossible since she hadn't told him her identity or at least, he thought she hadn't but what if she had and simply kept it from him? What if she thought that he liked her as more then friends now and he had unintentionally lead her on? Would she be mad at him? A blush came on his face as he held up his hands, trying to think what to say. "I- um-"

"Annie, you ok?"

"I'm so sorry!" He gasped, making her raise an eyebrow. "I didn't mean to just dump this all on you and hug you! Please don't hate me!"

"Whoa, Annie, calm down!" She gasped as he put his hands together and bowed to her as he apologized.

"B-But I probably made you uncomfortable and then there's your boyfriend. What if he gets jealous?" He gasped, looking at her with a serious expression but she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips.

"Firstly, you didn't make me uncomfortable. You were upset and needed hugs. Besides, we're best friends right? I'm allowed to hug you," She replied, mentally reassuring him that he hadn't caused her to think he was romantically into her. "Secondly, my boyfriend doesn't know I'm Lady Noir. We have to keep it a secret remember? But even if he did, I can assure you he is not the jealous type. Anyway, I offered the hug. If I didn't feel comfortable with that, I wouldn't do it. I know my boundaries,"

"Good," He nodded as he swallowed. Now he felt embarrassed about freaking out on her. "I'm sorry. I guess my mind isn't exactly in a good place right now,"

"Nothing to be sorry about," She reassured, making him look at her. "You're allowed to feel and have bad days. I know it's hard in this city but I will destroy any akuma that tries to get to you,"

I will destroy your despair so your hope can shine bright...

"Huh?" He asked, glancing around. Lady Noir rose an eyebrow as he frowned. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Lady Noir asked, a little confused as Anatis frowned. "Annie?"

"It sounded like you," He replied, looking at her. "But it sounded like an echo,"

"How strange?" She muttered, pulling a thinking face. "Maybe it's an akuma?"

"There's no akuma alert," He answered, making her nod. That was true. "Besides, it wasn't threatening. It just said 'I will destroy your despair so your hope shines bright'..."

"Maybe it's another riddle from Feng?" She suggested, making him pull a face. She giggled a little. "You really don't like them do you?"

"It's not that I don't enjoy riddles," He sighed, making her raise an eyebrow. "It's that he uses them at the worst time. I know he can't just tell me and has to leave clues but could he not leave clues in the form of riddles?"

"He just loves teasing you," She replied, leaning against him. "Besides, puzzles and riddles keep your mind sharp. After all, your lucky charm is a puzzle,"

"I guess that's true," He replied, resting his head on top of hers. "Thank you for listening to me today. I feel a lot better then I did,"

"I'm always going to be here when you need me," She replied, smiling. "... Thank you for sharing it with me,"

~Marinette's Room, The Next Day~

"Don't be bemused, it's just the news," Nadja Chamuck stated as she looked at the camera from Marinette's computer. She usually had the news on in the background when she was creating just in case of any akumas or if her phone was unavailable. Currently, it was on the other side of the room on charge. She was sat in her chair knitting away as she made her papa a new sweater. It was something she did for him every year and those she wished she could do more, she knew he would like it. "The Mayor of Paris will be unveiling the latest model of the Startrain today right here at the Gard Du Nord train station. Not only does this ultramodern train beat it's predecessor's speeds by travelling at record speed between Paris and the UK but it also has the latest technology built into it including an advanced air cooling and heating system and anti-akuma technology. The system will capture any butterflies that find their way on top the train before scanning it to determine if it's a true akuma. If it isn't the butterfly will be released and if it is, it will be placed in a secure and isolated location on the train before alerting the akuma app. It also has impenetrable panic rooms in case of the unlikely event of an akuma attacking the train itself,"

"Huh, that's impressive," Plagg stated before bursting into laughter. Marinette looked up at him. "I'm sorry but anti-akuma technology. Oh, this could go so wrong. We all know that it's only Anatis' charms that are able to repel them,"

"To be fair, Plagg, this says that it captures them," She points out, making him laugh more. "What now?"

"Akumas can go through anything!" He replied, making her frown. "That's part of the reason that makes them so dangerous,"

"Well, at least they're trying to make it easier on us," She replied as he flew over to his bed. "Annie needs a break after what he went through... even though I know it doesn't work like that,"

"Yeah but don't worry," Plagg replied, rolling onto his back. "Tikki looks after her bugs as I look after my kittens,"

"Maybe we could bake them some more cookies?" She suggested, thinking as she continued to knit. She smiled a little as Plagg purred and continued to watch the new reporter but her mind did drift to Anatis. Sure, he was strong but to see him that way last night actually scared her. What if he got akumatized? How was she suppose to fight against her best friend? She frowned as she continued knitting and decided the best thing to do was to get the earrings off him. If she got them, she could transform into Ladybug and have a chance to save him. She would save him if it came down to it. She would never give up. However before she could think more of the subject, a loud thump got her attention. It sounded like it came from her balcony but it was too heavy to be Anatis. Also it was the middle of the day. Anatis only turned up in the evenings so who was this and why were they here? The sound of heavy footsteps recaptured her attention, causing her to panic as they moved towards the skylight. A shadow appeared there, causing her to jump up. Plagg quickly hid, glaring at the newcomer as the skylight was yanked open. A strange person jumped into her room, causing her to stare as he blocked the exit to the rest of the apartment and blocked off Plagg. The person in front of her looked like a terrible mix up between Megamind, some poor surfer dude and David Bowie. He wore a green shirt that seemed to had abs drawn into it and had an extremely low v-neck. As if that wasn't bad enough, it had a cape attached to it with some Dracula collar and a couple of cheap looking spikes on the shoulder pads. Yes, shoulder pads. His pants were similar to David Bowie with the stripes but they were green and yellow in color. For some reason, this fashion disaster decided to wear bright yellow platform boots. His mask was green in design with two yellow 'fangs' and his eyes were framed in the thickest eyeliner she had ever seen. For some reason, his lips were painted black and he wore gloves that looked like they were made out of crocodile skin. His eyes also resembled crocodile's. The only thing that seemed remotely alright was his hair which was styled like a surfer but it just looked wrong with the whole outfit.

"Um... what- I mean who are you?" She asked, glancing up and down. Around his neck and hanging out in full view was a necklace that resembled a fang. It was divided in five section, similar to the fox miraculous. The weirdo flicked his hair and glared down at her.

"I'm the supervillain Killer Croc!" He declared, sticking out his tongue and holding out his hand in a horns sign. Clearly, he was trying to look cool but it did not work. "And you're gonna take me to your pathetic boyfriend,"

So he had beef with Luka huh?

"And why would I do that?"

"So I can punish him for putting dad... I mean Mr Roth... in prison,"

"You do know it was a jury who decided his sentence right?" She replied, making him frown for a second but a second was all she needed. Before he could even react, she had shoved him down and raced up the stairs and out of the skylight. She hid behind the brick wall and held her breathe as she hoped he was as dumb as he seemed. He had already given away his identity to her but there was a chance he might not be that dumb. She held her breathe as he came back out but seemed to glance around.

"Damn it!" He growled before rushing over to the edge. "How did she get away so quickly?!"

Marinette had to hold back laughter as he climbed over the edge and jumped off, heading into the city to find her. Seriously, he thought she had jumped off and left. Shaking her head, she moved out of her hiding place and headed back down into her room. Plagg flew over to her.

"Are you ok?" He asked, causing her to nod. "Should we transform and go after him?"

"Let's just get out of here first. In case, he comes back," She replied, getting a nod of him before he hid in her purse. She wasn't sure if Killer Croc would realize that she had given him the slip and she didn't want him to catch her transforming. There was no way to know if he was working with Hawkmoth. She headed downstairs and past her mother who was on the phone and none the less wiser of what just occurred.

"Oh, come now," She sighed, making Marinette stop and frown. "It really is a shame, Roland. It's your son's 40th birthday and I know- hello?"

She sighed and put down the phone, turning around.

"Oh, Marinette. Are you off out?" She asked but her eyes were glazed with tears. Marinette frowned and hesitated to leave. Killer Croc hadn't returned but she needed to track him down. However, her mother was upset but it was clear who she had been on the phone with. Roland was Marinette's paternal grandfather but she had never met him. He wanted nothing to do with the family but she wasn't sure why. Sometimes, she wandered why her mother and father even tried with him.

"Yeah, I need to get some more yarn for Papa's jumper," She smiled, making her mother nod and smile in return before she turned and headed to the door. She stopped and looked at her mother. "Don't worry too much about Roland, Mama. He's just a bitter old man who has made his choices,"

"I know, sweetheart," She smiled sadly. "But I just thought I'd try. He matters to your father,"

"Yeah..." Marinette replied before shaking her head and leaving. She took out her phone and went on the news sites but nothing on Killer Croc other then the odd sighting. For someone who claims to be a 'supervillain', he sure as hell wasn't acting like it. Still, she had to do something. He might not be destroying anything right now but that doesn't mean he'll keep to that plus she knew who he was after. Ducking down into an alleyway, she transformed into Lady Noir and took to the rooftops. It didn't take her long to get to the Seine but it seemed Killer Croc wasn't there yet. She let out a sigh of relief and bounced towards the Liberty. Luka was sat outside, playing his guitar when she got there but she caused him to jump when she landed on the deck.

"Lady Noir?" He questioned, glancing at her. "Is everything ok?"

"I need you to come with me," She stated, making him frown but he walked over to her never the less. "There's an- are you ok?"

Looking closely at him, she could see that his eyes were redder then usual and he looked more tired then usual too. She frowned and stepped closer, taking in his features more. A small blush appeared on his cheeks but he looked pale and his eyes also had some dark circles around them.

"Are you ill?" She asked, concern in her voice but he shook his head. "Luka?"

"Not ill, Lady Noir," He mumbled, glancing down. "Just tired and not sleeping well again,"

"It is because of the trial?" She asked without thinking. Panic quickly rushed over her but he didn't question it.

"I guess," He replied, frowning. "It was... weird seeing Issac again and then Mr Roth tried to kill me. I know he was an akuma but I'm seriously getting tired of people trying to kill me, Lady Noir. Is that why you're here? Someone is out to get me again?"

"Well... yes..." She admitted, feeling bad for him. "But he's not the brightest spark in the darkness so I doubt he'll actually succeed,"

"That's weirdly-"

"Ah, there you are!" The annoying voice of Killer Croc stated, making Lady Noir groan as he pointed to them. "Finally, I have found you, Couffaine! I can finally have my vengeance against you!"

"... who are you?" Luka asked, glancing at the villain. "And why do you look like a radioactive David Bowie?"

"I'm Killer Croc, yo!" He declared, sticking out his tongue and holding up the horns symbol with his hands again. "And you're dead!"

"... Isn't Killer Croc owned by DC comics?" Luka asked, crossing his arms. Lady Noir took the chance to move behind the villain, who didn't seem to even pay her attention. It cost him though because she used her baton to hit him then jumped down and scoped up Luka, jumping off with him. He held onto her as she brought him across the rooftops before she landed on the ground, near a number of houses. She gently put him down and glanced around. "Lady Noir?"

"Ok, it looks like we've lost him for now but we need to find a place to hide you that he would never suspect to look in," She replied, glancing around. She noticed a smaller looking house with a metal fence around it. She frowned as she watched a sales man walk up to it and ring a bell. A small pipe suddenly opened up, making the sales man jump a little.

"What do you want?!" An unfriendly voice stated, making her and the sales man frown.

"Hi, I'm here on behalf of-"

"No!" The voice declared. "Go away!"

"But sir-" The sales man started but the pipe's little door closed, showing the conversation had ended. The sales man sighed and walked away, heading to the next house. Lady Noir, on the other hand, smirked. There was no way that Killer Croc would think to even look there. It looked unfriendly and even better, the owner was unfriendly. She walked over and ran the bell, causing the little pipe to open again.

"What do you want?!" The unfriendly voice declared.

"Hello, sir. I'm Lady Noir and I need you to-"

"No," It declared, making her frown. "Go away!"

"But sir, I need your help!" She gasped before the little pipe closed. "I know it's really odd but I have a civilian here who is in danger but I can't fight the villain while I'm trying to protect him. If you could just shelter him until I've dealt with the villain-"

"A superhero asking for help from a civilian?! That is not how it's done!" The unfriendly voice declared, making Lady Noir frown. "Do your job properly and go away!"

"But-" She gasped but the little door closed, making her frown. "What a rude... person!"

She turned to Luka, who gave her a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry. We'll jus- watch out!" She gasped, pushing him out of the way as Killer Croc tried hit Luka. Luka landed against the gate, which opened as Lady Noir bounced back and began to fight Killer Croc, who was giving it as good as he got. Surprisingly, he was giving her a run for her money. "Luka! Run!"

Luka quickly got up as Killer Croc slammed her into the ground and activated his power, causing her to be trapped in the ground. He turned on his heel and stalked over to Luka, who backed up against the door, causing it to open and him to fall into the house and over a bag of flour. He wasn't sure why it was there but he quickly ripped it open and grabbed a handful as Killer Croc stalked over before throwing it in his eyes, causing the villain to yell out. Apparently, that got the attention of the owner because he rushed out and began to hit Killer Croc with his rolling pin. Seeing his chance, Luka got up and rushed past them, heading towards Lady Noir.

"Don't!" She gasped, sinking a little deeper as he stopped. "His power has turned the ground around me into quicksand!"

"I'll get help!" He declared, getting a nod of her before he jumped up and ran as fast as he could. He took a turn into the alleyway, causing Tikki to fly out. "Lady Noir needs our help, Tikki,"

"That villain isn't an akuma," She stated, making him look at her. "He's wearing a miraculous. I'm pretty certain of it,"

"Alright," He nodded before swiping his earrings. "Tikki! Spots on!!"

He transformed and jumped up, swing to the scene. Lady Noir was almost submerged completely but Killer Croc was still getting beaten by the owner of the house. Seeing his chance, Anatis threw his yoyo and wrapped it around the villain, pulling him from the pin before slamming him into the ground, dazing him. He jumped down and threw up his yoyo.

"Lucky charm!" He called but before he could catch it, Killer Croc suddenly tackled him. The two of them fell into the wall of the old man's house, breaking it before Anatis kicked him off. Killer Croc swung at him again but Anatis grabbed his arm and twisted it before throwing him over his shoulder and into the house, breaking a wall. The old man gasped in shock as Killer Croc got up.

"Oh you're so dead, bugboy!" He declared as Anatis raced towards the lucky charm, which was a net gun. "Quagmire!"

He jumped up, holding his club up as Anatis pointed the net gun at him and fired it, causing Killer Croc to be pulled backwards and land on the ground. His club also landed next to him, activating his power on the ground. He gasped as he began to sink, causing him to panic.

"Hey! Get me out of this!!" He declared as Anatis threw up the lucky charm and called on the cure, fixing everything and freeing both Lady Noir and Killer Croc. Seeing his chance, Killer Croc tried to escape but Anatis was faster. He threw his yoyo and trapped him before pulling him over to him. "Hey you can't do this!"

"Killer Croc, I, Anatis, hereby strip you of your miraculous," He declared before grabbing the fang necklace and taking it off. Killer Croc turned back into XY as Lady Noir walked over.

"Hey! That's mine!" He declared, making Anatis narrow his eyes but he placed the miraculous in his yoyo before turning to Lady Noir. "You ok, Kitten?"

"I'm fine," She smiled, making him smile back. "The police are on their way. Is Luka ok?"

"He is," He replied as they heard the sirens in the background. He turned to the old man who was staring at the scene. "Sorry for the disturbance, Sir,"

For a second, the man was silent before he turned to Anatis.

"Sorry for the disturbance?!" He declared, angrily. "You're suppose to be a hero but you cause ruckus and break my fence and house then have the nerve to fix it with that witchcraft and only say 'sorry'! Well, that's not how it's done! You're suppose to do your job properly! Not break anything and if you do, you're meant to fix it yourself! Not rely on some weird voodoo to do so for you!"

"Um... that's my power?" Anatis replied as the police finally came to the scene. The old man left out an annoyed huff as Anatis glanced away. "Sorry, Sir but I have to talk to the police. Besides, at least you don't have to pay for a new wall or repairs on your house right?"

"That is not how it's done!" The old man screamed, making Anatis frown and cross his arms. "Things are meant to be fixed by builders! That's the proper way-"

"If you say so," Anatis replied, turning on his heel and walk away but apparently that's not the reaction the old man wanted.

"Don't you dare walk away from me when I am not done talking to you!" He replied, grabbing Anatis' arm.

"Let go of my arm, sir,"

"You disrespectful youth!" He shouted, rising his voice and tightening his grip. "That's not how-"

"I don't care how it's done to you! You don't get to put your hands on me without my permission!" Anatis shouted, surprising everyone and yanking his arm free. "If you can't accept that I do things differently to how it 'should' be done then that's on you! Now excuse me while I go and bring the police up to date,"

He turned and walked on his heel but the old man tutted.

"Clearly, you've never been taught manners," He muttered, rolling his eyes. "If you were my lad, you would have been beaten for talking to me like that-"

"That explains why you're a lonely old man with no family then," Anatis stated, making everyone look at him. "If I was your kid, I would have cut you off without hesitation,"

"Why you!" The old man declared as Anatis turned on his heel and took out his yoyo, throwing it up and swinging off, followed by Lady Noir as XY was loaded into a police car. That didn't stop him shouting about how he will get his vengeance but given how incompetent he was with a miraculous, Anatis and Lady Noir weren't too worried about him. Landing on the roof, Anatis let out a sigh as Lady Noir landed next to him.

"Are you ok?" She asked, walking over to him. He turned to her and nodded.

"I'm alright," He replied but he looked like he hadn't slept much recently. However, she decided not to push it.

"Well, you know I'm here for you and you can talk to me right?"

"I know, Kitten," He smiled in a genuine way. "I'm just lacking on sleep at the moment but I'll try and get some rest in. I have no prior commitments this afternoon,"

"Nap time then?" She asked, grinning. He smiled back and nodded. "What about the miraculous we claimed?"

"Well, currently it's safe in my yoyo but I'll need to question it's kwami," He replied, frowning. "I hope they can tell us how they got into XY's hands,"

"Right," She nodded, stretching. "Well, I'm gonna go check on Luka and make sure he's ok. You go get some much earnt rest,"

"Sounds good to me," He replied, swinging off. Lady Noir smiled before bouncing off to the Seine. It didn't take her long to get there but when she did, she found the deck empty. Feeling a little bit worried, she made her way down to the inner boat and looked around until she came to Luka's room. She lightly knocked on the door but got no reply.

"Luka? It's Lady Noir," She stated, carefully opening the door. "Are you-"

She cut off mid sentence as she looked over at Luka. He was curled up on his bed, breathing in lightly as he slept. She carefully moved in and grabbed a blanket before putting it over him and smiling then she turned on her heel and left, happy that he was ok. She left the Liberty, closing the door behind her and bounced back into the city before returning to her balcony and headed back into her room, detransforming. She took out her phone and quickly sent him a text but didn't expect anything back as she settled down to work on her papa's jumper again.

~Hawkmoth's Lair~

"Hmm, I can smell the bread that's been baked with flames of fury!" Hawkmoth declared as his window opened and the butterflies fluttered around him. "Dealing with changes and new things is scary but it's the perfect recipe for my akumas,"

He held out his hand, causing one of the butterflies to land it before he covered it and charged it up with his dark energy.

"Fly away my little akuma and evilize him!" He declared as he let it go. It fluttered up and through the window before heading towards the old man's house as he roughly kneed some bread.

"Stupid heroes fixing things with magic!" He muttered, shaking his head. "That's not how it's done! Just like with bread, you don't change the recipe!"

He growled as he kneed it again.

"Just like my stupid son!" He growled again, adding some flour to the dough from his little tin. He failed to notice the akuma as it edged closer to him. "Had to insist on changing the family recipe just to please his new wife! Well, that's not how it's done by the Dupains! We are the proud descendants of Loafamix and we do things properly!"

"I couldn't agree more," Hawkmoth stated in his mind as the akuma possessed the tin. "Bakerix, I am Hawkmoth and I see you're hungry for power. Well, I'm giving you the ability to serve punishments to anyone who doesn't do things like they should be done!"

"Oh but of course, Hawkmoth!" He declared, smirking. "Would you like a butter croissant or a baguette with that?"

"Ah, I will politely decline," Hawkmoth replied before smirking. "But in return, I would like the miraculous of Anatis and Lady Noir. Two offenders who don't know how it's done so show them,"

"You can count on me, Hawkmoth!" He replied, allowing the purple smog to overtake him.

~Meanwhile at The Dupain-Cheng Home~

"Happy birthday, Papa," Marinette smiled, giving Tom the finished sweater. He smiled as he took it from her and went to thank her but a knock on the door interrupted them. Sabine frowned as they weren't expecting anyone else. Gina was already there but hope swelled in her chest a little as maybe Rolland had decided to come by but before anyone could answer the door, it was broken down and a weird bread like monster stormed in. Tom jumped up in front of his family but the bread monster hit him aside with ease. Marinette rushed over. "Papa!"

"A child speaking without permission!" The bread monster growled, glaring at her. "That's not how it's done! Children should be seen and not heard!"

"Don't you dare talk to my daughter like that, Rolland!" Sabine called out, stopping him from advancing on Marinette as she tried to help up her father.

"There is no Rolland!" He declared, stalking towards her. "I am Bakerix and anyone who doesn't do things the way they should be done will be served my indomitable Wrath! Soon Paris will look like it did before the modern world took over but as tradition, I will first deal with you, Sabine!"

"And what do you have against me?!" Sabine demanded, hoping to keep his attention on her. Marinette realized what she was do so she helped up her father and they made their way carefully to the door as Marinette quickly took out her phone and accessed the akuma app, sending out an alarm. "Are you still mad about my rice flour suggestion?!"

"Rice flour does not belong in bread!" He growled, taking out a flask and drinking from it. It caused him to balloon out, making him stronger. "But that wasn't just the case! You seduced and poisoned my son's mind, making him do things that he would never normally do!"

"I encouraged him to stand up to you!" Sabine shouted back, making Bakerix growl. "You were the problem, Rolland! Constantly belittling Tom and Gina! That's why they left you! Yes, I got him to change the recipe but we all know that's not even why you're mad! I know about the talk you had with him before our wedding! Tom told me everything. About how you called me degrading names and threatened to disown him if he married me and all because I'm Chinese! Well, I'm not apologizing for who I am or for loving Tom! So what if we what you call an interracial marriage? I l-"

"But that's not how it's done!" Bakerix growled, slamming his fists down on the counter before pointing at Sabine. "My son was not suppose to marry a ch-"

Before he could continue, a yoyo hit him square in the face.

"And that's enough racism for the day!" Anatis declared, spinning his yoyo round. Bakerix glared at him then towards the rest of the family. Tom was glaring at him while holding Marinette and Sabine looked ready to fight him. He huffed his chest out and jumped out of the window, causing Anatis to turn to the family. "Is everyone ok?"

"We're fine, Anatis," Sabine replied, turning to him. "I'm just sorry you have to deal with him,"

"You know him?" He asked, frowning. "Actually, why was he targeting you?"

"He's my father," Tom stated, standing up. "We fell out over a decade ago because he didn't agree with me marrying Sabine. He always blamed the fact that we changed the family recipe for bread but we all knew deep down it wasn't really that,"

"I'm sorry that you have to deal with that," Anatis replied, frowning a little more. "But I also think it's his loss. If he can't get past his own views then that's on him,"

"Thank you, Anatis,"

"No worries, Mrs Cheng," He smiled, saluting them. "If you excuse me, I have a grumpy akuma to deal with,"

He turned to the hole in the wall that Bakerix made and swung out of there. Marinette slowly got up and cleared her throat.

"Mama, Papa, can I be excused?" She asked, playing with her hands. The two of them looked at her. "It's just... I need to..."

"it's ok, darling," Sabine replied, looking down. "We should have told you why Rolland wants nothing to do with us but we understand it's a lot to take in so we'll talk about it later,"

"R-Right," She nodded, heading upstairs and into her room. She let out a sigh as Plagg flew out.

"So your grandpa is kind of nasty?"

"It seems so," She replied before holding out her hand. "But that doesn't mean I'm gonna let Anatis deal with him alone! Plagg, claws out!"

With that, she transformed into Lady Noir and headed into the city.

~Meanwhile~

Bakerix jumped through the air and slammed into the ground, causing a bus that was heading towards him to hit it's breaks as he turned around. Anatis wasn't far behind but he was more distracted by the fact that the bus didn't make a single noise. Last time he had rode the bus it had been noisy. It was one of the reasons why he didn't like it but in his eyes, that's how it was meant to be. He stormed up to it and glared at the terrified driver.

"Why isn't this bus making any noise?!" He demanded. It should be noisy.

"W-well, it's a modern bus," The driver answered, making Bakerix growl deeply. He really hated the modern world. "It runs on electricity,"

"An electric bus?!" He gasped, shocked and annoyed. "That's not how it's done! Buses make noise! They run on gas and spew out stinky black smoke! Away with modern buses!!"

He grabbed the bus and lifted it in the air, throwing it away as Anatis swung towards the scene. He threw his yoyo and created a net that caught the bus, saving everyone on there. Bakerix glared at him as he landed on the rooftops.

"Modern buses are much better then the previous ones," He stated, crossing his arms. "They lower our carbon footprints and run much smoother,"

"But that's not how it's done!"

"That's too bad!" Lady Noir replied, jumping down and landing next to Anatis. Bakerix stared at her in shock. "What's the matter, bread man?! Cat got your tongue?!"

"What's with this?!" He declared, glaring at her. "There's a super cat girl in Paris now?!"

"Yep!" Lady Noir declared, grinning. "Girl and superhero! You've gotta get with the times, old man!"

"That's not how it's done!" He declared, waving his arms. "It's down to the police or the army to carry out law enforcement! Not you!"

"And how do you propose the army or the police deal with people like you?" Anatis pointed out but apparently that was the wrong thing to say as Bakerix jumped up and brought his arms down. The two heroes jumped out of the way and charged at him, causing him to try and block them as they fought. Getting annoyed, he picked up a car.

"I'm going to rid Paris of all of this modern nonsense!" He declared, lifting it over his head. "Starting with you!"

He threw it towards Anatis and Lady Noir, causing the two of them to jump out of the way again.

"Funny because I'm not actually that modern!" Anatis declared, charging at him and kicking at him. "My miraculous comes from ancient time for one thing!"

"Not to mention how old your soul is, Annie!" Lady Noir added in as she swiped her leg against Bakerix's, causing him to fall. However he jumped back up and charged at her.

"Well, we didn't have superheroes in my youth!" He declared, trying to punch Lady Noir as she blocked and fought back. Seeing his chance, Anatis threw his yoyo but Bakerix blocked it with his arm. "There will be no superheroes in my Paris!!"

He yanked his arm and swung round, causing Anatis to be pulled off his feet before he threw him farther into the city. Lady Noir instantly jumped onto the roof and ran after him, sighing in relief as she saw he had landed in a tree. She jumped down and stretched out her baton for him to grab. He took it and she helped him down.

"Are you ok?" She asked, concerned as Anatis dusted leaves off himself.

"I'm fine," He replied, taking a couple out of his hair.

"He really doesn't like the modern world,"

"It doesn't just seem to be the modern world," Anatis replied, taking out his yoyo. "It's anything that doesn't align with his viewpoint,"

He typed something and opened the ladyblog, clicking on the video that Alya was live streaming.

"What are you doing?!" Bakerix's voice echoed.

"Um filming you,"

"Ah! Telephones are for telephoning people! Not for filming! That is not how it's done!" He declared, snatching Alya's phone. Lady Noir frowned as they heard Alya shout about censorship before Bakerix muttered something about the good old days but then they heard him gasp in shock again. "Oh?! Oh! An Egyptian Pyramid in the King's Court?!"

"He's at the Louvre!" Lady Noir gasped, causing Anatis to nod before he closed his yoyo and threw it. The two of them raced across the rooftops and jumped down as Bakerix charged towards the Louvre with his fist in the air.

"That's not how it's done!" He screamed, ready to smash it but Anatis and Lady Noir blocked his attack, causing him to fall. "You two again?!"

"Are you done with your tantrum yet?!" Anatis declared, clearly annoyed.

"Oh I'm just beginning!" Bakerix growled in reply, taking out his flask and drink a green liquid from it. His muscles blew up again, making Lady Noir and Anatis look at him in shock.

"We need to destroy that flask!" Lady Noir gasped as she got into a fighting stance.

"Agreed," Anatis replied. "That's probably where his akuma is too!"

"You're out of your league!" He declared, ripping the glass pyramid. They both gasped as he lifted it over his head. "You don't have enough experience!"

He slammed it over them, trapping them into there before laughing and jumping away.

"Oh no, we're trapped," Lady Noir replied sarcastically, causing Anatis to snigger before she looked at him. "He's probably gonna go after that new startrain. It's the most modern thing in Paris right now,"

"Makes sense," Anatis replied, frowning. "We better go stop him,"

"Oh but how are we going to get out?" She asked, making him smirk again and glance at the manhole. "Ah our trusty escape route,"

"Gotta love the sewers," He replied, opening it and climbing in. Lady Noir followed. The two of them walked through the sewers as Anatis fully got her to speed about Bakerix and how he went after the Dupain-Cheng family. "So not only does he hate modern life but-"

"He's racist too," She frowned. Even though she had experienced it firsthand, it still hurt. "I don't get it. Mrs Cheng is one of the loveliest people there is. How can he hate her just because she's from a different country?"

"I don't know, Kitten," He sighed, shaking his head. "I can't comprehend my mind around it,"

"Me neither, Annie," Lady Noir sighed. "Poor Marinette though. She's never known her grandpa because of his own ignorance,"

"Honestly, I think it's probably better that way," He replied as they came to an area with a fan and an air current. Anatis nodded to it as it was too loud to speak or hear each other but Lady Noir got what he meant. They both dived into the air current and rode it up to a metal grate. They clinged onto it and crawled across it likes spiders before breaking through the exit, bringing them right outside of the train station as people screamed and ran out. They ran inside just as Bakerix began to lift the train. Anatis jumped up and landed on the train as Lady Noir rushed to get the passengers off. "Be reasonable now, Bakerix. There are innocent people on this train,"

"Well then they better get off as it's on it's way to the wrecking yard!" Bakerix declared, lifting it up but still struggling. He let out and drunk his elixir, making him stronger before throwing the train into the wall. Anatis jumped off and landed next to Lady Noir as Bakerix ripped off a metal pole and charged at them. Lady Noir blocked it with her baton as Anatis threw up his yoyo.

"Prosperity!" He declared, hoping to get a shield or a sword as the yoyo glowed and transformed. However, it turned into two cheering pompoms. Anatis rose an eyebrow as he caught them. "... not what I was hoping for to be honest,"

"Gah! A boy doing cheer-leading!" Bakerix growled, pushing Lady Noir back as she tried her best to hold him back with her baton but her feet were slowly sliding. It was clear he was too strong for her. However, his comment resonated with Anatis, causing him to realize why he got the pompoms. Just like the lucky charm, this was a hint. "That's not how it's done!"

"Actually," Anatis grinned as he looked at the pompoms. "This is exactly how it's done,"

"Eh?!" Bakerix replied as Anatis held up the pompoms, causing the spots on his outfit to glow as well as the actual pompoms themselves. "Stop that!"

"Ovation!" He declared, causing the pompoms to burst into a swamp of ladybugs similar to his miraculous cure before they swarmed around Lady Noir as Anatis caught his yoyo. To Bakerix's surprise, not only did she stop sliding but she was able to actual push him back, causing him to stumble before she punched him sending him flying.

"Whoa!" She grinned, flexing her muscles a little. "Looks like your cheer worked wonders on me,"

"But it won't last forever," Anatis replied, holding out his yoyo. "I think it's time for a lucky charm!"

He threw his yoyo up into the air and summoned a bottle of ketchup as he transformed into his power up outfit, causing Lady Noir to raise an eyebrow.

"I don't think our friend is going take too kindly to that,"

"Just what I'm counting on," He grinned, looking around as several things lit up. "Care to entertain him while I make him the least traditional sandwich ever,"

"Oh no! A boy making a sandwich? That's not how it's done!" Lady Noir mocked, making Anatis grin before jumping up and punch the ground, causing Bakerix to jump back as she charged at him. Meanwhile, Anatis rushed over to the cafe store and grabbed a bunch of random ingredients.

"Some super sour gummies, a bag of sweet onion crisps and some processed cheese," He declared, getting Bakerix's attention. "All put inbetween two factory made slices of white bread. Yummy,"

"I'm not falling for your tricks!"

"Really? Better use my secret ingredient then," He grinned, taking out the ketchup and putting it in the sandwich. "Tomatoes in a bottle. Convince and modern. What's even better is now my sandwich will taste like pizza,"

He went to go take a bite but apparently that was enough for Bakerix.

"That's not how transitional sandwiches are done!" He declared, running towards him. Anatis turned on his heel and made a break for outside, causing Bakerix and Lady Noir to follow. Lady Noir easily over took Bakerix and caught up to Anatis. Seeing the grate they came through, he pointed to it.

"Lady Noir, do your thing!" He declared as they both dived over it.

"Cataclysm!" She declared, slamming her hand down and jumping towards Anatis as the metal rushed. Bakerix jumped towards them and landed on the grate but his weight and the rust caused it to break, sending him plummeting downwards. He was only kept afloat by the air current.

"That's not how it's done!" He declared as the two heroes looked in. He growled and took out his flask but the liquid was blown away from the air. Lady Noir extended her baton and used it to hit the flask out of his hand, causing Anatis to catch it and slam it into the ground, breaking it and releasing the akuma. He caught it in his yoyo then freed it once it was purified before picking up the ketchup bottle.

"Miraculous Ladybugs!" He declared, throwing it up into the air and releasing the cure as Lady Noir felt her strength go back to normal. The cure fixed everything and transported Bakerix in front of them before he turned back to the old man they had met earlier in the day. "You!"

"Huh?" He asked, looking around. "Where am I?"

"You were akumatized but-"

"Akumatized?!" He declared, getting up. "Well, maybe that wouldn't have happened if you had listened to me in the first place! That's not-"

"Who cares if that's not how it's done?!" Lady Noir declared, shocking both of them before she stormed right up to Rolland. "You are a stupid ignorant old man who is so stuck in his own way that you can't even see what you've lost or what you're losing! Did you even know you have a granddaughter?! Did you ever think about your son's feelings when you decided to disown him because he decided to try something new? Or how about when you called his wife degrading names huh?! Did you even see Mrs Cheng as a human being? Or did you just decide that your way was the only way?!"

"How dare you-"

"No! How dare you!" She declared as Anatis crossed his arms. "You are ignorant and racist and that has no place in the modern world! So what if your son married someone from a different country?! He is happy and so what if he changed the recipe?! That's how people learn and evolve! We change and grow! It's our nature as humans and it's the way of the world! There is nothing wrong with tradition but if you can't move with the times then you're gonna be left behind so do us all a favor and take your head out of your ass because if you don't, it will be too late!"

"The cat is right, Rolland," Anatis replied, making him look at him. "Your future is a bleak and lonely one. Come on, Kitten. Let's go,"

"Right!" She declared, turning on her heel.

"Wait!" Rolland called out, causing them to stop. "Do I really have a granddaughter?"

"Yes," Anatis replied. "And she's a wonderful person,"

"But... how do I even try to make things right?"

"I don't know but I think a good place is to start by apologizing to your son," Anatis stated. "But don't expect him to accept it. You've hurt him a lot and he has every right to be angry with you,"

"Yes... I know," He replied, looking down. Anatis frowned but held out his yoyo and tapped it, causing it to open before he pulled out a charm. This one looked like a cinnamon roll with cream colored dots on it. He walked over and knelt down.

"Here," He replied, placing it in his hand. "This is a magic charm that will protect you from Hawkmoth and his akumas. Not very traditional but it works. Think you can accept that?"

"Yes, I can,"

~Later that Day~

"Happy birthday, Papa!" Marinette declared as they brought out a cake for him. However, the door bell rang, causing them all to look towards it. Rolland stood there, holding a box in his hands as he looked down nervously. Sabine had a cold look on her face and Gina was surprised. Marinette crossed her arm as Tom looked at him like he had seen a ghost.

"Dad?" He asked in a quiet voice. "I... I didn't think I'd see you again..."

"I... I know..." Rolland replied, looking down. "Let's just say I had a much needed wake up call and I'm here... not just to give you this but also to give you an apology. Both you and Sabine. I was horrible towards both of you and I was... racist... I know back in my day it was the way of the world but that doesn't excuse my behaviour... I am so sorry, Tommy. You don't have to forgive me or accept me back in your life-"

"Dad," Tom replied, walking over to him before pulling him into a bear hug before letting go. "I can't say I forgive you straight away but I am willing to give you a second chance if you really mean it,"

"I do, Tommy," He gasped before turning to Sabine. "I am so sorry for judging you, Sabine and Gina... I did you wrong too,"

"You damn right you did!" Gina declared, crossing her arms. "But I'm glad someone knocked some sense into you,"

"I am the same as Tom, Rolland," Sabine replied. "I can't forgive you. Not now but if you really have changed then prove it to me,"

"Of course," Rolland replied, smiling properly for the first time in a long time before his eyes settled on Marinette. "This must be my granddaughter,"

"Yes, this is Marinette," Tom replied proudly. "Marinette, this is your grandfather Rolland,"

"It's nice to finally meet you," Marinette smiled but there was something hidden beneath her smile. A warning saying if Rolland hurt her family ever again, no one would ever find the body. Rolland gulped but nodded. In an odd way, she reminded him of the cat hero he had met early but he shrugged it off. There was no way that Lady Noir and Marinette were one in the same person. Marinette, however, couldn't help but smile as she saw Anatis' charm attached to his belt. Maybe he could learn to be better then he was.

~La Santé Prison~

"Anatis, thank you for coming," The warden stated, causing Anatis to frown but nod as they walked through. "We had him in a secure cell with no other cellmates so we have no idea how it happened,"

"What happened?" Anatis asked as they passed through another door way. As far as he knew, XY was been held here as he awaited charges of terrorism. The warder however remained quiet. "Warder? Did something happen?"

"I think it's best for me to show you the footage," He replied as they came into the office. Anatis rose an eyebrow but sat down in front of the screen. It showed XY in his cell with a clear attitude but then the footage flickered and suddenly he was pinned up against the wall by one of the guards, screaming like there was no tomorrow as a number of guards and inmates walked in. Anatis frowned as he watched as someone dressed as a monk came in, causing XY to scream even more then the screen flicked again, returning it to an almost empty cell as only XY was in it but he was staring into space. "None of the guards or inmates remember going in or out of the cell,"

"... is he still here?" Anatis asked, getting up. The warden nodded. "I wish to see him,"

"Right this way," He replied, walking out. Anatis followed him to the cell where XY was held. The warden unlocked it, allowing Anatis to step in but XY didn't react. He didn't even blink or look towards Anatis. He just stared at the wall.

"XY?" He asked. Nothing. "Xavier? Can you hear me?"

Nothing again. Frowning even more, Anatis stepped over and knelt in front of him. He should have reacted by now but the only thing he seemed to be doing was breathing. Frowning, Anatis carefully listened but to his horror, he was only met with white noise instead of a song, causing him to step back in shock.

"Anatis?" The Warder asked. "Is he?"

"He's alive," Anatis declared, looking over. "But his soul is gone,"

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Next Chapter: Coming Soon

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