Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

My life didn't flash before my eyes, I didn't see a slideshow of my most memorable moments... there was just fear. A horrible, all consuming fear that held my heart in its clammy grip, paralysing my body as the trucks headlights grew closer. I wish my final thoughts were profound or meaningful but I was too scared to even think. Pretty pathetic, huh? 

You never actually think you're going to die. Like, obviously it lingers in the back of our minds when we hear stories of tragic accidents or when we attend funerals, but it's always "oh, I hope that doesn't happen to me" rather than "that's going to happen to me one day". Whether we like it or not, death is so permanent and consuming that we would all much rather pretend we're immortal. That we all have decades left before the grim reaper can add us to his list. 

But it did happen to me - I had become the untimely death, the statistic. It's so bizarre how fast life can be taken away from you; one moment you're binge watching a cartoon about superhero's unknowingly in love with each other, and the next you're plastered to the hood of a truck, your spine shattered. Honestly, I just hoped I didn't become a ghost so I didn't have to watch my mom cry at my funeral. 

Maybe someone heard that wish and decided to take pity. Or maybe someone thought it would be funny to play a cruel joke on me. Because when I woke up, the cruel blue eyes of Chloe Bourgeois greeted me. 

My mouth - or, more fittingly, Chloe's mouth - fell agape as a squeal of disbelief echoed through the lavishly decorated room. 

This was utterly ridiculous. 

Chapter Text

The most spiteful girl in Paris, that’s how Hawk Moth once described Chloé Bourgeois and I had been inclined to agree. She was the catalyst for at least a third of all Akumas and barley ever felt remorse for it. As far I was concerned, Chloé was a spoilt, narcissistic brat that only served as a plot device to move the show along.

And I was her.

It’s a special kind of torture, being inside someone else’s body; my very skin was unfamiliar and uncomfortable, the body I possess an unknown territory I didn’t feel comfortable being forced into.

I tried everything to fix this, to convince myself it was nothing but a bizarre dream. I forced my eyes shut trying to fall back into sleep, I practically drowned myself when I splashed water on my face - hell, I even contemplated jumping off the balcony.

In the midst of my crisis, someone knocked on the door. “Miss Chloé,” a masculine voice called out in a thick French accent. “You will be late for school if you don’t start getting ready.”

Shit , school. The school where Chloé was hated by everyone. Not that she didn’t deserve it.

“Miss Chloé?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m getting ready…” Shoot , what was his name again? “I’ll be out soon!”

I sighed in relief when I heard his footsteps walk away from the door, glad I didn’t arouse any suspicion. Granted, I said one sentence, how was I supposed to manage an entire day?

Wait… why was I worried about playing a convincing Chloé? Surely this was all some strange dream that I would eventually wake up from.

That’s what I told myself, at least, comforting myself with these pretty lies as I forced myself to get ready.

Chloé’s closet was large, to say the least, the girl having an extensive collection of clothes. Seriously, she could fill a mall. I just threw on whatever I found, avoiding her classic outfit like the plague. Regardless of if I was in her body, I really didn’t want to associate myself with her any more than I had to.

The anxiety clawing away at my insides told me I should have just stayed home, sleep all day until I woke up in my body. Really, that’s what I should have done, I had absolutely no interest in being Chloé Bourgeois… but I did have interest in seeing my favorite characters in action. So, as stupid as it may have been, I went down the elevator to the limo waiting for me.

I had never been in a limo - my pockets in the real version of me being painfully empty - so it was an almost otherworldly experience sitting in one.

The leather of seats was slick, black as night, and doubtlessly the best money could buy. I wasn’t sure how old the limo was, but it still had that new car smell.

“You must be very excited, miss Chloé,” Jean… something said from the drivers seat (I really needed to learn what his name was). “Mister Adrien will be in your class this year!”

My eyebrow raised in interest as I realised it was the first day of school - I had been brought to the very start of the series, right when Hawk Moth starts Akumatising people and Marinette and Adrien get their miraculouses! I had to admit, that would be cool to watch in person.

The traffic was heavy, the limo stuck a street or two from the school, but I could still it. It was certainly a lot nicer than any public school I had ever been to in real life. To be fair, it had to be fairly prestigious if the mayor’s daughter was attending.

(Although that did make me wonder just how profitable Marinette’s parents’ bakery was.)

Jean *insert name* sighed from the drivers seat. “I am so sorry, miss Chloé, you might be late with all this traffic.”

“It’s alright, Jean… sir, I can walk from here.” Heating Chloé’s voice come from my mouth was a terrifying experience, to say the least. Thankfully, it was a lot less pitchy and snobby when if I didn’t use it to yell at people. Which she was always doing.

I had to hold back a laugh as I slid out of the car, watching Jean man’s mouth fall agape in shock.

I had never been to Paris in real life, but I had been told it was one of the dirtiest cities in the world. Maybe it was because the show romanticised it but the air was fresh, crisp… the embodiment of a summer’s breeze.

My pace was rather slow as I walked to the school, taking a moment or two to enjoy being in Paris. Even if it all was just a dream, it was awfully realistic… perhaps there was a silver lining.

I had almost made my way to the street crossing when my heart jumped in my throat at the sound of a speeding motorbike, right about to hit an old man who had fallen on the road.

Damn you, Murphy’s law!

I dropped my (Chloé’s) bag, running to the old man as fast as I could. He had gotten up, a loose grip on his cane as he struggled to get across the road. But the biker was going way too fast, there was no way he’d break in time!

I was able to grab the old man’s hand, both dragging and pushing him to the safety of the footpath.

I almost breathed in relief when… I tripped on my own feet and I feel right on the road.

Damn you, Murphy’s law!

Maybe this will get me home , I thought to myself as I shut my eyes tightly, bracing to once again feel the pain of being hit by a vehicle.

…

Okay, death was taking an awful long time.

I opened my eyes to see the motorbike, discarded on the road, a man in a helmet above me apologising profusely.

The motorbike had stopped barley an inch from my face. Talk about good timing.

“I’m fine,” I said to the man, accepting his hand  as he helped me up. “Just take this a lesson to not drive recklessly, you could’ve killed someone!”

I ignored the man, rushing to old man who was still struggling to get a grip on his cane.

“Are you alright, sir?” I asked as gently as I possibly could, which proved to be difficult with Chloé’s voice.

“Yes, thank you, young lady.”

I gave him a kind smile before continuing my walk to school, making it just in time for the bell to ring.

It was time to watch my favourite character’s interact.

——

This wasn’t right. Actually, it couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s like if you tried to bake a cake but decided to add the eggs after you baked it and got everyone sick.

Why in god’s name was Tikki in front of me?!

Tikki, Kwami of the ladybug miraculous, keeper of creation… Kwami of Marinette. Why was she in front of me?

“I know this seems very strange, Chloé…”

No.

“But my name is Tikki, Kwami of the ladybug miraculous…”

No. No. No.

“You are now the holder of the ladybug miraculous and the only one who can save Paris from evil.”

“No!”

Tikki’s innocent eyes widened, confusion gracing her adorable features.

“This is impossible,” I murmured to myself.

“What’s impossible?”

“Marinette is supposed to be Ladybug!”

“Uh… who’s Marinette?”

“The holder of the ladybug miraculous!”

Tikki looked at me for a moment. “I’m pretty sure that’s you.”

I groaned, putting my hands in my head as I tried to figure out what went wrong. All I did was go to school, how could that possibly interfere with Marinette becoming Ladybug?

It hit me like a bullet in the gut, blood like shock filling my mouth with bile as a I remembered; the old man - that was the exact same test he gave Marinette and Adrien before he gave them the Miraculous.

What had I done?

“Chloé, I know this might be overwhelming, but you’re the only one who can stop Stoneheart!”

I groaned again, looking up at her with a gaze I hoped didn’t reveal my guilt. “Tikki, I’m sorry but I can’t, I’m not the hero of this story.” Actually, I was quite literally the opposite.

“You were chosen for a reason, Chloé!”

Stoneheart wasn’t going to stop causing destruction, not until his Akuma was captured. I reasoned with myself that I could always give Marinette the miraculous after this one time and… I couldn’t deny how fun it would be to be a superhero, even if it was just for a little bit.

“Alright, I’ll do it!”

Tikki smiled in a way that could probably melt hearts. “It’s time for your spots on, Chloé!”

“Tikki, spots on!”

Chapter Text

“This is insane,” I muttered to myself as I stood on the balcony… the balcony I planned to jump off.

In the series, Ladybug was able to swift move about Paris by using her yo-yo as a grappling hook, like Batman. I knew it was unbreakable but, did I really trust it?

Eh, you only live once, right?

I threw my yo-yo up into the air, hoping it would do something (I was always more of a hula hoop kinda kid). I was amazed how far it went up, but it just went right back down.

Confusion ate at me; how was I supposed to navigate this thing? Was it simple cartoon logic that Ladybug was able to control it so well, or was I missing something?

Maybe I need to aim, I thought to myself, spying a building a few yards in front of me.

I threw the yo-yo directly in front of me, honestly not expecting anything to happen. But it went a lot further this time, and the wind was knocked from my lungs when I was pulled by the unstoppable force.

A scream caught it my throat as a I propelled through the air, wind ruffling my hair as the ground below me moved at the speed of light.

I shut my eyes just as I stopped, hanging oddly in the air as the yo-yo stayed stuck into the building. Jeez, how did Ladybug not get vertigo?

My eyes widened as I looked down, my body hanging dauntingly a few feet from the hard cement. How did I get down?

I gave the yo-yo string an experimental tug… but my heart leaped in my throat as the string retracted back into the yo-yo, leaving me to plummet to the ground.

This was going to hurt.

…

“Ow!”

I opened my eyes at the sound of the groan, realising I hadn’t hit hard cement at all rather, a person.

“I am so sorry!” I exclaimed, jumping up and offering my hand to the person I probably just gave a concussion.

“No stress,” a familiar voice said. “People often fall for me.”

The green eyes, the blonde hair, the leather cat suit…

“Cat Noir?!” I called out, voice acting against my will. I grimaced for a moment; Chloé often spoke without thinking and I was worried I was following that habit.

“Hey, that’s a cool superhero name,” he said, thoughtfully. “Cat Noir, I like it!”

I smiled awkwardly.

“You must be the partner my Kwami was telling me about, right?”

No, that would be Marinette.

“What’s your name?”

Honestly, that was a good question.

I knew from the moment I opened my eyes that this world wasn’t mine, that I lived an entirely different life void of superheroes. I had memories and I was mostly aware of who I was… but the majority was blurry. For example, I had absolutely no idea what my real name was.

Honestly, the clearest thing about my real life was the Miraculous Ladybug series. I know I had a job and a personality and friends but… to actually grasp specific details was nearly impossible.

The only name I knew for certain was Chloé’s, but it certainly wasn’t one I was ready to accept.

“Uh, Ladyb-“

Hold a on a minute, I thought to myself, if I’m planning on giving Marinette this miraculous, should I really be tainting her reputation as Ladybug?

There was no doubt in my mind that I would be a terrible superhero. Maybe it was from experiences of my real life or maybe it was because I was in Chloé’s body, but something in my bones told me I would be the worst superhero ever. Yeah, no, I couldn’t give Marinette such a horrible reputation.

“Lady Luck.” Original.

“Pleasure to meet you, m’lady,” he said, grasping my hand to plant a kiss on it.

No! I’m not your lady, Marinette is!

I pulled my hand away from him, glaring slightly. How dare he cheat on her like this.

He looked at me with shock for a moment, before his eyes narrowed, as if examining me. “Do I know you from somewhere?” He asked, voice skeptical. “You seem oddly familiar.”

Oh shit, I thought, remembering Chloé and Adrien were childhood friends. No way he wouldn’t recognise her just because she has a mask on!

“Mmm, nope, I don’t recall ever meeting someone in a cat suit before,” I said, avoiding his eyes.

Thankfully, that seemed to take attention away from me as he laughed at my poor attempt at humour. “You’re pretty funny. Anyways, don’t we have a stone guy to take care of?”

“Right! He should be at the stadium!”

Cat Noir’s forehead furrowed as he looked at me strangely. “The what?”

“The football stadium? You know, the big place where sports are played and people watch?”

“You mean Princes’ Park?”

“Yeah, that one.” Hopefully. So I didn’t know the names of thing in Paris, sue me!

“Alright then!” He exclaimed, using his stick as he navigated towards the stadium.

“Wait!” I yelled, realising I had no idea where it was. “Guess I’ll just have to follow him,” I muttered, dread in my veins at having to use the yo-yo again.

There was a little bit of envy welling up inside me when I saw that he had so easily learned to use his weapon when I could barley even comprehend mine. Maybe it’s cause he is Adrien Agreste and is therefore perfect at everything.

I sighed as I threw my yo-yo again, heart in my throat once again at being flung through the air at record speed. Honestly, I worried it would shake up my brain and give me some sort of damage.

Thankfully, Cat Noir was in no way subtle, so it was easy to follow him to the stadium. But any relief at finding it was soon snuffed out of me like a candle being blown out. Stoneheart was a lot less threatening in the cartoon.

He was huge, my full height probably barely meeting his knee. One single hit from him would be far worse than a concussion… it would be lights out. But no one ever died in a kids cartoon, right? Right?

“Well, he’s looking pretty,” Cat Noir said. How he could possibly remain lighthearted in such a situation was beyond me.

Maybe I should have just immediately given the miraculous to Marinette because this was way above my pay grade.

Stoneheart roared - literally roared - upon seeing us, the sounds like teeth grating against a chalk board. I winced at the sound, stomach nauseous at the thought of approaching him.

“Cataclysm!” Cat Noir called out, destructive energy covering his hand.

Oh god, how could I have forgotten that he goes and wastes his power?

“No!” I called out as he touched the railing of the goal.

“Okay, this is too cool!” He exclaimed before running towards Stoneheart. “Get a load of this, rubble!” He practically slapped his hand against the monster’s foot but, of course, it didn’t work.

Stoneheart and Cat Noir looked at each other for a moment, a deadly tension filling the stadium. The monster roared dangerously, clenching one of his fists and preparing to pummel Cat Noir.

“Please work,” I murmured with panic, throwing my yo-yo to Cat Noir’s form, envisioning the string wrapping around him and pulling to me.

Just as the fist collided into the ground, Cat Noir was thankfully pulled away. I would’ve cheered… if I didn’t use too much force and the cat ran right me.

“Ow.” I got up from the ground, accepting Cat Noir’s hand. I tried not to think about how vivid the pain was, how realistic it felt. Far too realistic to be a dream.

“What went wrong?” He asked, more to himself than me.

I sighed. “You can only use your power once every time you transform, now you only have five minutes before you turn back.”

“Well we better make this quick,” he said. “Care to have a go?”

I’ve always wanted to do this, I thought to myself, trying to contain my excitement.

I threw my yo-yo up into the air. “Lucky charm!” God, that sounded weird coming from Chloé’s voice.

Confusion etched my features when a remote controlled airplane fell into my hands.

“Think we can bribe him with that?” Cat Noir joked.

This was strange. Didn’t they use, like, a hose or something to defeat him in the show? Why would the lucky charm change if the objective was the same?

Come to think of it, Alya and Kim and a few other students should’ve been at the stadium, so where…

My heart dropped it my stomach when I noticed the gleaming red stains on Stoneheart’s fists. No way.

Hesitantly, my eyes scanned the stadium, bitter salvia preparing me to vomit guts up when I saw the mangled body crushed into the ground. Nothing of him was recognisable aside from the signature red track shirt he always wore.

There was no way this was happening.

“Watch out!”  Cat Noir called, pushing me out of the way as Stoneheart’s fists reined terror on the ground around us. When had he gotten so close. He was able to block the attack from hitting him, using his stick, but his face was strained from the effort and pressure. “If you’ve got any bright ideas, now would be the time!”

My eyes were still stuck wide open, like a deer in the headlights. No one ever died in the series, it was a kids show for god’s sake! But Kim’s disfigured body lay in front of me, moulded into the ground with his blood staining around him. These weren’t light hearted stakes anymore.

I looked at the toy in front of me, sweat dripping from my brow. Marinette would be able to figure out how to use it no problem, but I was no where near as smart as her. I’d always wondered if part of her power was actually been shown how to use the object, or if that was her own initiative… I really begged it to be the latter as I searched around the stadium.

Ivan’s Akuma was in the note in his clenched fist, which meant I had to get him to release it but how?

I racked my brain for a second… one of the episodes had a similar lucky charm to a toy plane, right? When Adrien’s driver was Akumatised and Cat Noir wasn’t there. Ladybug was able to get him to let Adrien go by using the airplane to annoy him.

“Cat Noir!” I called. “Let him catch you!”

“Are you crazy?” He questioned, still dodging the attacks.

“He can’t hurt you, not until he gets your miraculous! Let him catch you, trust me!”

Cat Noir eased up for a moment, doubt filling his features as he looked at me. Stoneheart took that as a perfect opportunity to lock him in a tight grasp with his unclenched hand.

Hopefully, I could control the airplane well

Cat Noir struggled for a while, trying his hardest to get out of his grasp. I flew the plane right at Stoneheart’s face, making him swoop his fists around with a groan.

Eventually, he roared with frustration, unclenching both his fists and dropping both the paper and Cat Noir. Stoneheart gripped the toy plane, clenching it in his fist until there was nothing left but debris.

“Cat Noir, the paper!”

Cat Noir threw the paper to me and I caught it, ripping it in half and watching in amazement as the black butterfly broke free.

I gazed at it for a moment, but snapped myself out ouf it when I remembered I had “de-evilize” it or whatever. Hopefully I’d didn’t actually have to say that.

“Come here, little guy,” I say, doing the familiar motion on the yo-yo to capture the dark butterfly. It got caught in the yo-yo before I was able to realise it from the void of pink, a pure white butterfly flying out.

I looked over the Kim’s body with a shudder, praying to whoever would listen that the magical Ladybugs would bring him back.

“Miraculous Lady Luck!” I called out, throwing the airplane controller into the sky.

The cartoon really didn’t do it justice, gleams of red and pink flying throughout the sky, as if healing the world of its problems.

I could’ve sobbed in relief when I saw Kim sitting there, not a clue in the world what happened.

“Honestly, that was insane,” Cat Noir said beside me, making me jump from my thoughts.

“Yeah, sorry for just throwing you into that.”

“No sweat, Lady Luck. We make a pretty good team,” he said, putting his fist out for a fist bump. Honestly, it was really tempting but it would feel like I was stealing that from the real Ladybug. I just couldn’t.

Thankfully, my earrings gleamed, warning me I had to go before I transformed.

“We sure do,” I said to him, giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder before swinging my yo-yo around hoping it would catch something. “Bye!”

If this battle made anything clear, the timeline of the show had been altered and I needed to fix it. Before magical ladybugs could no longer bring people back from the dead.

——

“Chloé, you did amazingly, I don’t know why you think you can’t be a hero,” Tikki said that night, floating in front of me I sat on my bed, hugging my knees to my chest.

“Tikki, someone died. I don’t want to see that again.”

She shut her eyes briefly, making a sympathetic sound. “The path of a superhero is hard and it can be very scary,” she explained kindly. “I can understand your fear. But you have to remember, that boy is alive and safe because of you.”

But there’s a chance he wouldn’t have died in the first place if it weren’t me, I thought. No one ever died while Marinette was Ladybug.

“But how can he ever move on from that? He was dead!”

“Although I know it doesn’t fix everything, he won’t remember that. It will be just like he was asleep.”

But what about everyone else? The people who saw him die. Ivan who was manipulated into killing him. Me, who was the last hope to save him. How would they move on from that?

Miraculous, although sprinkled with a few darker moments, was overall a kids show about superhero’s saving the day and being trapped in a frustrating love square. It was funny, charming, and at times, didn’t make a lot of sense. It didn’t follow real life logic and avoided death being an actual stake but now… now it seemed like reality was becoming a factor, that my very existence had interfered so much that a life could be taken.

“I know a girl who is much more suited to the job,” I said to Tikki, not letting her adorable features eat into my resolve. “She’s kind, smart, brave, and would put saving Paris above anything.” Except maybe Adrien Agreste.

Tikki only smiled gently. “You’re all those things too, Chloé.”

“No I’m not!” I exclaimed. “You don’t know the real me. I’m actually mean, selfish, and spoiled and… I would definitely use the miraculous for my own selfish reasons!”

“You were chosen for a reason,” she said again. “Even if you don’t believe in yourself, I certainly do.”

“You’re not gonna give up on me, are you?”

“Nope!”

I slumped back on the mattress, sighing. I wished I knew where Master Fu lived so I could forcefully return Tikki to him and direct him to Marinette.

But I could barely navigate my way to the Eiffel Tower let alone find a random old man. And if I asked Tikki to take me to him, that would cause way too many suspicions. How was I supposed to explain that this was all just a tv show?

Unless…. I forced Tikki to give up on me!

I succeeded once but there was no guarantee I would again, it wouldn’t take long to convince Tikki that I was the absolute worst superhero ever. And then master Fu would have no choice to take the miraculous back and give it to someone suitable (Marinette, duh).

I allowed an almost evil smirk to form on my face I turned the lamp off; it was time for operation worst superhero ever.

Chapter Text

"This is... not good."

It didn't take long for the news of superheroes saving Paris from certain doom to spread like wild fire, Lady Luck and Cat Noir's masked faces plastered over every single news channel. Thankfully, there was no mention of Kim literally dying - that could've caused some problems... and trauma.  Just how powerful was the ladybug miraculous if it could bring people back from the dead? No wonder Hawk Moth wanted it so badly. 

Something caused my eyebrows to raise, though, as my eyes stuck to the TV - why was my suit different from Ladybug's? 

From grappling across Paris, seeing a dead body, and coming face to face with Stoneheart... it seemed I wasn't focused enough to really look at my suit. It wasn't the classic skin tight, red suit with black polka dots. The bottom remained primarily red with black spots, but additional black armoured leg guards covered from below my knees to my feet. The upper body was mainly black (or was it a dark red? I couldn't tell from the pictures), an armoured piece covering my torso with the classic polka dot pattern forming shoulder guards. The rest of my upper body seemed to be that similar latex material, remaining the classic ladybug red at the top, bleeding into black at my hands. How had I not noticed such a drastic change? 

An unease formed in my veins, a pit eating away at my stomach like some starved worm that would never be satiated. What if my costume was more protective because the world was more dangerous? What if I could actually die? 

"Are you okay, Chloé?"

I looked at the kwami in front of me, my mouth as dry as cotton. "Tikki... why would Stoneheart kill Kim?" He never did that before. 

Tikki's face morphed with a resigned sadness, as if she had had a similar conversation many times in her life. "With the way the Akuma is being used, a person becomes consumed by their most negative emotions," she explained grimly. "For most people, reason and rationality is no longer a factor. Ivan was irrationally angry, to the point of his Akuma being able to manipulate him into violence."

"So, you're saying not everyone will be like that?"

Tikki nodded. "That's my suspicion, at least. Truth be told, the moth miraculous has never been used this way."

Guilt took a strong grip of my heart when I watched Tikki's face fall in sorrow; she must have been so worried about Nooroo, now a slave to Hawk Moth, AKA Gabriel Agreste. I longed to just tell her who Hawk Moth was, to let her know that her friend could be saved. But how many questions would be asked? How would I explain how I knew that Gabriel Agreste was Hawk Moth? Besides, was I even strong enough to fight him? Master Fu, as wise as he was, was ancient and there was no way Cat Noir would fight along side me if he knew he was fighting his father. 

I will tell her, I promised myself, trying hard not too look at Tikki's sad face for too long. As soon as Marinette gets her miraculous back. She can defeat Hawk Moth, not me. Besides, Cat Noir would fall in love with Ladybug and she could convince him to take down Hawk Moth, regardless of if he was his father. 

I went to bed that night with a heavy heart, doing my best to avoid nightmares of blood splattered against grass. 

As soon as I walked through the entrance of the school, Ivan caught my eye. He was absolutely smothered in students asking questions about becoming a monster. Kim's red track hoodie caught my eye and the bile rose in my throat again - he just stood there, smiling and laughing in front of the very person who accidentally killed him. Granted, neither of them had any recollection of it. 

Could the magic ladybugs manipulate memory too? 

"Hey Chloé!"

I looked over my shoulder at the sound of the familiar voice and saw him; Adrien Agreste, in the flesh. He wore his classic outfit with his stripy shirt, white jacket, and jeans. The cartoon really didn't do him justice... he was beautiful. 

When I woke up, I thought Chloé was flawless, insanely so. In the show, she was depicted with blue eye shadow and lipstick that definitely didn't match her skin tone but when that was taken away and she was matched to realistic standards, she was gorgeous. Adrien dwarfed her beauty though, walking in with a face sculptured by the gods. Honestly, were they really prepared to part with such a creation?

"You okay?" He asked playfully, now a lot closer. 

"Adrien," I said suddenly, correcting my composure. "I can't believe your dad let you come."

"Yeah..." He trailed off, avoiding my eyes. I completely forgot he snuck out the first few times. 

I heard a loud yell from where the group of students were before and saw Ivan running to the locker rooms out of the corner of my eye. He was probably upset again but I had purified his akuma so everything would be fine. The anxious worm in my stomach told me otherwise but I ignored it. 

It wasn't long before Adrien was swarmed with fans wanting autographs, excitement filling the room like a gas. Honestly, I couldn't blame them; if I saw a famous model, I'd probably ask for their autograph too. Might be worth money. 

Apprehension ate away at my insides, disrupting my intestines and organs, screaming at me that something was very wrong. I ignored them. How often does someone get to meet their favourite character? Granted, I did meet him the day before but he didn't know that. I took Adrien to classroom just as the bell rang. I didn't interfere in the order of the seating, letting Marinette sit behind him with no problem. 

"So, you're friends with Chloé, huh?" I heard Nino ask from across the seats, his voice filled with distaste. I winced; just because I now inhabited Chloé’s body didn't mean she hadn't done horrible things before I took control. I resigned to a fate of being hated. 

As Miss Bustier walked into the room, I spied Nino introducing Adrien to Alya and Marinette. It was odd, watching the two of them interact without the girl stuttering over her words. But it was nice that they didn't have such a terrible start to their friendship like in the series. Miss Bustier droned on about the assigned reading we had to complete. Hopefully, I would get back to my real body soon, it wasn't fair to have to do work when I'd already finished high school. 

Are you sure?

Pain. White, hot, blinding pain. 

I couldn't back my yelp, not when a heated knife had gone through my eye, pricking at my brain and crushing my skull. Everything was on fire and all I could do was helplessly grasp my eye, chest heaving with laboured breaths. 

"Are you alright, Chloé?" Sabrina asked beside me. 

Chloé . 

"Chloé?"

I pushed myself up from my seat, storming out of my room and to the girl's bathroom. I collapsed beside one of the sinks, holding my head in both hands. How could something hurt this much?

"Chloé, are you hurt?" Tikki asked. 

"Stop saying that name!" I screamed. "That's not my name!" 

There was only rubble around me, the bathroom now covered in debris, smelling of smoke and burnt flesh. Tikki remained in front of me, her usual happy features fallen into a depressing resignation. As if all hope had been lost. 

A warm liquid covered my hands, removing them from my head to see the crimson blood they were drowning in. My blood. The wound in my stomach was gaping, as if someone had just punched their fist through me, taking my flesh and life with them. 

"I'm so sorry, Chloé,” Tikki said, her voice more empty than it ever had been. 

...

"Chloé!”

I jumped up in my seat, chest heaving as my heart raced, beating against my rib cage powerfully enough to run a steam train. I looked around the class room; everything was fine, well, except for the mocking whispers of my peers. Miss Bustier looked at me with a concerned gaze. 

"Sorry, what was the question?"

"What are the themes in Phantom of the Opera." Right, our summer reading. 

"Mystery, obsession, redemption, probably love." 

"Very good, Chloé," Miss Bustier said. "Do try to stay awake." The rest of the class laughed. 

That's odd, I thought, leaning my head on my palm. I don't ever remember reading Phantom of the Opera.  

I wasn't given time to prod at that thought any more, when the roof caved in, a familiar roar filling the chaotic space as Stoneheart rose from the rubble. Miss Bustier barley missed the collide, the side of head sporting a nasty gash as she stumbled to the floor, eyes widening in fear. The rest of the students screamed in terror, rushing to the back of the room for safety. 

"Mylene!" Stoneheart yelled out, his voice nearly impossible to understand. The girl in question was scrambling to get to the back of the room with the others, tripping over some fallen debris and landing face first on the hard floor. Her groan alerted Stoneheart, his giant fist grabbing her trembling. He roared again before climbing out of the destroyed classroom, causing the roof to cave in even more. 

"Everyone needs to get out of the room, now!" Marinette called, standing up from under her desk and directing the students to safety. She didn't even need a miraculous to be a hero, but she was sure as hell getting one. 

Wait...

"Chloé?" Sabrina asked wearily, her voice shaking. Would she really not do anything without Chloé’s go-ahead? Guilt nipped at my heart but I pushed it away. It wasn't my fault. 

"Go Sabrina, I have to take care of," I told her as gently as I could. The red head nodded and rushed to the door. The room seemed to be empty aside from Marinette and I, now was the perfect opportunity. I got out from under my desk, trying to carefully navigate my way towards her. "Marinette, I need to talk to you!"

"Now is not the time, Chloé," she scolded sternly, voice filled with irritation. 

"No, it's really important, I promise." I reached to my ears, fingers brushing against the earrings preparing to remove them and give them to their rightful owner. "You-" My eye was stabbed again, partnered with the hole in my gut. I shut my eyes on reflex, the pain too bright and powerful. 

Marinette. Blood. Pain. Tears dripping down my face. 

"It's up to you now."

"What?" The girl asked, crossing her arms in annoyance. 

The earrings burned but what they were burning for was something I did not know. Were they demanding I give them back to their rightful owner, or were they warning me to keep them? 

"Nothing," I replied, voice stuck in my throat. Marinette just rolled her eyes, running out of the room in the same direction as the others. 

Something wet fell on my face as she walked away and only when I wiped away a tear did I realise I was crying. I wish I could pinpoint the all consuming sorrow that sunk my heart, but I truly had no idea what I was sad for. 

"Chloé?" I only just remembered Tikki, looking at the flying kwami with glassy eyes. Honestly, I was just glad she no longer looked so empty. 

"How could Ivan be Stoneheart again?" I asked, trying to ignore the horrible feelings in my stomach. Hopefully the worm would eat them. "I purified his Akuma, didn't I?"

"But did you help him overcome his problems?" Tikki asked pointedly, as if she knew I ignored the anxiety telling me to check on Ivan. 

"Why do I have to do that?" 

"Chloé..." 

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Don't we have a villain to defeat?"

"We're talking about this later," she warned sternly.

"Yeah, yeah," I brushed her off. "Tikki, spots on!" 

"Impeccable timing, Lady Luck," Cat Noir praised, tone far too casual for someone who was almost beat to death. If I had been any later, I wouldn't have been able to pull him out of the way before Stoneheart punched him right into the ground. 

"He's heading towards the Eiffel Tower," I told him as Stoneheart practically ran from us, ground shaking with his every step. How was he bigger than last time? 

"And how do you know that, exactly?"

"I'm a psychic," I said before throwing my yo-yo towards one of the buildings, stomach still uneasy as was flung through the air. Cat Noir followed, seemingly having no fear at being so high up. 

From recollection, Stoneheart was going to Eiffel Tower to bring attention to Hawk Moth's announcement. Honestly, it sounded a little bit foolish; wouldn't it have been easier to work as anonymous villain in the shadows. Although maybe he was trying to instil more fear into citizens, easier akuma prey that way. 

A scream ripped me from my thoughts, Stoneheart's large form stopping a few streets away. My stomach dropped, hands going clammy under my suit. I couldn't see another person die. I jumped to the building in front of me, trying to ignore the butterflies in my legs as jumping so far. I let the yo-yo latch onto Stoneheart's rocky fist, giving time for the civilian to scramble. 

He groaned deeply in his throat, pulling me forward with his strength. I yelped, my feet losing any leverage and body flung to the street below. I groaned in pain as my head collided with the asphalt, scraping skin from bone. He tugged me forward again, pulling his fist back to smash me into the hard ground. I shut my eyes, bracing myself for pain. My hand let go of yo-yo as someone carried me away, both of us barley missing the stone fist. I looked up at Cat Noir, arms instinctively wrapped around his neck. 

"Someone's cranky," Cat Noir mocked with a smirk at the monster. 

Stoneheart roared, unknowingly shaking around the petrified Mylene he still held in his guarded fist. He raced towards us with a speed that should have been impossible with his size, preparing once again to punch us with the force of a building. But he stopped suddenly, as if... someone was telling him not to. Was that Hawk Moth communicating with him? 

Stoneheart gave one final growl before turning around and continuing his trek to the Eiffel Tower, as if Cat Noir and I were nothing but annoying little bugs. Well... I kinda was. 

"That was odd," he said as he gently put me down. "He just left us."

"Almost like he was taking orders," I mused, trying my best to sound clueless. Just because I couldn't outright tell him about Hawk Moth didn't mean I couldn't give a hint or two. With a pained groan, I walked over to my discarded yo-yo and picked it up. 

"That was so cool!" A familiar voice exclaimed, running out from behind a tipped over car. Why wasn't I surprised it was Alya who was almost killed by Stoneheart? She ran over to me, an excited smile on her face. "That was insane! He almost crushed me, but you stopped him, and, just wow!"

I could only glare at her. How stupid could she be? 

"Can I get a photo?!"

"No," I snapped. Her smile dropped. "This isn't a joke, you were almost killed."

"Yeah, but you-"

"I might not be there in time to save you next time," I scorned, voice far too similar to the original Chloe. "Stop being an idiot and get to safety before you get yourself or someone else killed." 

I swung my yo-yo  to the tall building in front of me, my anger shielding me from the fear. Luckily, I could get to the Eiffel Tower by running on buildings now, no more swinging. Honestly, it might have looked fun in the series, but that string did not feel stable at all. 

"Weren't you a bit too harsh on her?" Cat Noir asked, following my lead in the running and jumping across buildings. It wasn't long until we reached the Eiffel Tower, and then the real fight began. 

Maybe I was harsh on her, considering how much she loved superheroes. She was, without a doubt, Ladybug's number one fan in the show - going so far as to have an entire blog dedicated to her. Because of this, Alya constantly was put in the eye of the storm; held as a hostage, threatened, even almost sacrificed once. Maybe it was alright when it was a kid's show but now the stakes were high, death was a imminent threat. I refused to let her get hurt just because she was a fan. I wasn't even confident I could protect myself, so how would I protect her? 

"We have bigger problems," I replied, brushing off whatever icky feelings tried to take hold of me. Crushing her love of superheroes was better than her ending up dead. To be fair, we did have bigger problems and one of them was the swarm of black butterflies gathering around the Eiffel Tower. 

With a swoop of a yo-yo, Cat Noir and I ended up in front of the Eiffel Tower, right where the police were building there waist height barricades. Like that would be effective. There were a few protests to our sudden appearances, complaining that we shouldn't have been there because "we were just like every other civilian". Yeah. I wished. 

Stoneheart roared loudly from the top of the Eiffel Tower, so loud I briefly covered my ears as I winced. Every camera and eye in Paris was on him, and the ever growing swarm of butterflies forming Hawk Moth's face. You'd think being outdoors would be refreshing, but the fear induced silence of the city caused a thick, nearly tangible tension that choked my breathing, claustrophobia encasing me. 

"People of Paris, listen carefully." Yep, that was definitely the voice of the notorious villain. "I am Hawk Moth."

"Hawk Moth?" Cat Noir muttered beside me. I think he was the only one in the entire city who didn't look slightly afraid. Confused, maybe, but certainly not afraid. 

"Lady Luck, Cat Noir, give me the Ladybug Earrings and the Cat Ring now," he demanded. "You won't be able to save anyone this time"

I stood there for a moment, mouth half agape. At this point, Ladybug gave a speech assuring that Hawk Moth would be defeated and that Paris could rely on her Cat Noir, that they would always be there to save the day. But could I even make that promise? Chloe was no hero, I was no hero. It would have been best to fail now and force Master Fu to give Marinette the miraculous. 

I shut my eyes briefly, flashes of white pain poking at my skull, drilling into my brain with a relentless burning. In incurable wound in my stomach, flesh and bone torn apart as if my insides were made of marshmallow. A pain deep enough to end a life. 

"I'm sorry, Chloé."

"It's up to you now." 

I opened my eyes, blinking back the mysterious tears but holding onto the determination that welled inside of me. Maybe Marinette should have been the one to be there, but that didn't mean I could feign ignorance and just allow these people to suffer. 

"Shut up, butterfly man!" I yelled back, an audacity and anger awakening inside me. There were a few surprised gasps, but I stepped forward nonetheless. "The only thing I won't be able to save is that embarrassment of a speech you just made. You think you can win this, but I'm two steps ahead of you."

I opened my yo-yo, revealing the pink glow as I raced towards the butterfly swarm, jumping with a force I didn't know I was capable of. "Time to purify these ugly moths!" I launched the yo-yo at Hawk Moth's ugly face, allowing the butterflies to be vacuumed into the void. He groaned in discomfort and anger, but was silenced as every butterfly was soaked up. 

Do I really have to say something now?

Everyone looked up at me expectantly. It seemed my audacity was disappearing as I realised just how many people were watching, scrutinizing my every move. My eyes fell to Cat Noir and he gave me an encouraging nod. 

"People of Paris," I beginning, once again summoning the unstoppable confidence I knew lay dormant in my body. "Hawk Moth is dangerous, but remember, his only weapon is your fear. You have no reason to fear someone who hides in the shadows, especially when Cat Noir and I are here to take him down."

Not my best but it'll do. 

I opened my mouth to say something else, but my yo-yo shook uncontrollably, reminding me of the swarm of butterflies waiting to be released. I opened the yo-yo, nearly jumping back when thousands of butterflies flew out, dispersing around Paris in a beautiful display. 

Why did I feel like I was missing something? Where did-

"Lady Luck!" Cat Noir yelled from below, only a scrape too late for me to register the stone fist coming down on me. 

My eyes widened as I looked over my shoulder, life practically going in slow motion as I watched the fist approach, the stone fist that would doubtlessly paint the Eiffel Tower red with my blood and brains. Would I really die this time? Would this be the true end? Which was worse, I wondered, to die in a rainy street by a careless driver or to be labelled as a failed hero in front of everyone. 

Once again, I hoped I didn't come back as a ghost but simply because I didn't want to watch myself be mocked as a short-lived, over confident hero. Granted, I didn't think there was anyone to cry at my funeral this time. 

Tears. Not someone else's, mine. My tears. Why was I crying?  

This can't be where it ends, Chloé.

There was the pain again but this time it was a warning, and I knew just how to use it. I jumped off the Eiffel Tower, right as Stoneheart's fist reigned down. I envisioned what I wanted my yo-yo to do, wrapping around a pillar of Eiffel tower and landing safely on the ground. 

"I think we might need some luck!" Cat Noir called as he approached, watching with worry as Stoneheart climbed even higher. 

Please don't be super elaborate, I begged.

"Lucky Charm!" The pink energy filled my body as I thought about the predicament. A gun would have been useful but, of course, I got a magnifying glass. "Okay, this is just mocking me."

"Shall we play detective?" 

I looked around but, just like last time, there were no bright red ladybugs telling me what to do. Maybe it was a demonstration on how smart Marinette was, she really was bright. Bright...

The sun was at its peak and, with Stoneheart climbing up to the very top of Eiffel Tower, how hard would it be to blind him. The problem? I didn't know how to position a magnifying glass perfectly, I was no genius. My eyebrow raised as I looked at the boy in front of me. 

"Cat Noir," I said, shoving the magnifying glass into his hands. "I need you to position this to reflect the sun right at the top of the Eiffel Tower."

"Uh, how am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know, just figure it out!" I snapped, racing back towards the Eiffel Tower. "Figure it out!" 

He was Adrien Agreste beneath that Cat Suit - perfect, genius Adrien Agreste. He would figure it out. 

I climbed back up the Eiffel Tower, swallowing my fear as the space lessened the higher I went. How exactly was Stoneheart planning to stay atop? I groaned in annoyance as I ran out of leverage for my yo-yo, Stonheart taking up the entire tippy top. How would I get to him and Mylene? Unless...

With a shaky, deep breath, I released my yo-yo from the tower, letting myself fall back into the air. I threw my yo-yo up to Stoneheart, nearly crying in success as it wrapped around his arm, providing me with enough leverage to swing up. 

He roared in annoyance as I hung from him, trying to shake me off. Having Mylene in his grasp, he couldn't hit me with that hand. Still, it was a struggle to stay on with all his shaking, all I could do was hope Cat Noir figured it out soon. 

Like the speak of the devil, Stoneheart groaned, moving the arm I was swinging off to shield his eyes from the blinding light. I could fight back a smirk as stood on his shoulder, wrapping my yo-yo around his neck and forcing him to pull his arm back. He howled weakly, no doubt filled with even more anger at my antics. 

"Cat Noir, the tower!" I called out, hoping he could hear me.

"Are you sure?" He yelled back, I just nodded. He called his Cataclysm as he ran towards the Eiffel Tower, hitting it with his destructive power just as I hoped. 

There was a terrible creak of rusted metal scraping against itself, the entire base below us giving in against itself and crumbling down. In his panic to grasp hold of something, Stoneheart lost his grip on Mylene and the paper inside his fist. With another self satisfied smile, I undid my yo-yo from his arm, swinging it towards a near by lamp post. My smile was wiped off my face when I hit my face against the post. Too much momentum. 

The paper blew towards me and I tore it, much like before - the black butterfly flapping out. "Let's purify you." I opened my yo-yo, allowing it to suck in the moth. When it flew out again, it was a pristine white. Cat Noir threw me the magnifying glass, letting me throw it up into the air and fix all the problems of the world. 

"Miraculous Lady Luck!" 

I watched again in amazement as the city was covered in a beautiful pink glow, everything being restored to what it once was. I wondered if it hurt Hawk Moth to know that, whatever he did, he couldn't leave a permanent, tangible mark on the city. He was nothing but a shadow man. 

"We really do make a good team." Cat Noir stood in front of me again, his fist waiting expectantly for a bump. Still... I couldn't take that from the real Ladybug. 

"I'm more of a high five person," I reply with my hand up. He didn't put up a fight, letting our hands collide in a crisp high five. "Thanks for trusting me." 

"Always, we're-" the ringing of my earrings interrupted me, reminding me that I was on borrowed. 

"Ah, sorry, gotta go!"

Okay, so maybe it was a little bit cool to be a superhero. 

Chapter Text

Hawk Moth worked fast - it had been two weeks and he had already akumatized three more people. Thankfully, none of them were quite as terrifying as Stoneheart, none quite as violent either. 

There was Mister Pigeon, who seemed to be slightly upset at not being allowed to feed pigeons anymore... well, that was what happened in the show. Upon further investigation, apparently one of his pigeon friends was killed by a few teens throwing rocks, filling Mr. Ramier with enough sadness and anger to be akumatized. It seemed in this version of the world, even the reasons for being akumatized were a lot darker. 

The second was a girl in the class below us, Ashley, I think her name was. She was akumatized into Phobus Ash, intent on tormenting her bullies the same way they did her. Most of what she did was harmless pranks but then she nearly drowned someone in a toilet. I didn't know her very well, and she wasn't in the show so I had no idea what her bullies did that caused an akuma take hold of her. 

"There's more to it than just purifying the akuma!" Tikki had said after we defeated Phobus Ash and Ashley was back to normal. "You should be comforting her now, as Chloé, and trying to help her." 

I ignored Tikki; that wasn't my job. I was no Marinette, hell, I wasn't even actually Chloé. I wasn't of this world and the people in it were not my responsibility. 

Foreign Judgement was the third villain - a tourist who had been scammed out of all his money and identification. The name was laughable but I suppose the fear and hopelessness would have been a perfect environment for an akuma. 

As a villain, Foreign Judgement was pretty easy to defeat but it did make me wonder about the financial stability of Paris. In the real world, Paris was one of the most popular cities to visit across the globe, and that seemed to be the case in this world too. So how would all these acts of terror affect the tourist industry? Would the French economy collapse because of Hawk Moth? 

Maybe I was overthinking it. 

"Chloé, I am really worried about this," Tikki said as soon as we got home from school. "The only way to permanently stop someone from being akumatized is to help them overcome their problems."

"Do I look like a therapist?" I asked, slumping on the couch. Rich people really could afford the best. 

She gave me a stern look. "I'm serious. The only way to save these people is to help that at their core."

"Why can't the government do that? I'm doing all the hard work."

Maybe it was Chloé’s body but it was easy to whine, to complain. My patience was sometimes very thin, I often felt like a frayed rubber band ready to snap. I didn't exactly want to be mean to people but it was hard not to when I was dealing with an endless supply of my own problems. Still, I think I was worlds away from being as bad as the original Chloé. 

"Your an amazing Lady Luck," Tikki told me, her voice now rather solemn. "You can save Paris under pressure and you've never failed a task given to you. But you need to become a better Chloé if you want to keep your miraculous."

My eyes widened at that, throat falling into my gut and swirling around in a stew of shock, guilt, and loss. Tikki flew away to other side of the room before I could say anything. Why was I sad, isn't this what I wanted? From the moment I found the miraculous, I made it my goal to ensure it gets back to Marinette. So what was this grief that unsettled my insides? 

Wait, why was Tikki scolding me for being a bad person? I hadn't done anything really bad like the original Chloé. Except when I called Mr. Ramier over sensitive for getting akumatized over a pigeon, that probably wasn't very nice. Or when I mocked Mylene for being afraid of public speaking and said she should just "get over it", that probably wasn't great. And maybe that time I told Adrien he was naïve for thinking everyone will want to be friends with him. Or maybe how I kept ignoring Sabrina and avoiding my father. And maybe...

Okay, so maybe I was being a bitch, just like Chloé. And, maybe, just like Chloé, I was blind to see it and thought I was in the right. And maybe I could understand where Tikki was coming from because I wasn't exactly being hero like.  

I sighed, turning over shoulder, an apology on my lips. But the screams from below interrupted me, the sounds of cars crashing and rubble plummeting warning me that chaos was afoot. 

"That doesn't sound good," I mused. 

"It sounds like a job for Lady Luck."

There was an uncomfortable prick at my heart when I thought about how Tikki probably preferred Lady Luck to me. 

"Tikki, spots on!" 

The ever growing hurricane was an immediate clue as to what I'd be dealing with. I swung from the balcony into the streets below where the screams of the citizens would lead me to the villain. Cat Noir was already there, dodging shards of ice being propelled at him. Stormy Weather had to show up eventually, huh?

"Need a hand, kitty?" I asked him, swinging my yo-yo around like a propeller to avoid the glass like ice from digging into my skin. 

"I was doing fine on my own, but it's always nice to see you." 

Stormy Weather groaned in frustration after a while of us simply dodging her attacks. "You fools, just give me your miraculous!"

"Only if you say pretty please," Cat Noir joked, running forward to start attacking from the offense. Stormy Weather summoned a powerful gust of wind, launching both Cat Noir and I far into the street, giving her time to fly away. 

Stormy Weather was one of the first and most iconic villains Ladybug and Cat Noir ever fought, making several appearances in the show. Originally, she was akumatized because she wasn't voted to become a weather girl and got upset enough to bring terrible weather across Paris. But if Mr. Ramier's reason for akumatization had changed, I wondered if hers did too. After all, this world seemed to enjoy screwing with me. 

"Where do you think she's headed?" He asked, offering me his hand to help me off the road. 

"The news station," I replied, brushing any debris from my suit. 

"What makes you say that?"

"Call it a hunch."

We headed to the news station but, of course, I had forgotten one crucial detail; this whole thing was a trap. As soon as we entered the building, the lights were immediately shut off and the room was filled with a disgustingly evil cackle. With a laugh like that, I wouldn't hire her either. 

"Watch out!" Cat Noir yelled, dragging me into his arms right before a glacier of ice hit me. 

"Bugs can't see in the dark!" I exclaimed back, the room growing colder with each passing moment. 

"Luckily, cats can. Follow my lead!" 

I gave no protest as he took my hand and pulled towards the doors, doubtlessly following Stormy Weather and whatever scheme she was planning. There were a few times when he had to grab my head to pull me down, the sound of ice colliding into the wall following not a second later. I had to hold back a jealous pout at the fact that I didn't get the cat miraculous... I wanted to see in the dark. 

Granted, maybe a leather cat suit would look a bit odd. 

My eyes narrowed at the sudden light when we burst out into the roof, the formation of a giant tornado surrounding Stormy Weather. 

"You should just give up now if you don't want to end up as storm fodder!" 

I pulled my hand from Cat Noir's and placed my hands on my hips. "That was literally the most ridiculous threat I've ever heard."

She sneered, launching daggers of ice towards Cat Noir and I. We both dodged in separate ways, my body forming a barrel roll to avoid the spikes. I really had to ask Tikki how the transformation turned me into an acrobat because there was no way I could do this in normal form. 

"Hey, sunshine, now might be time to use that charm!" Cat Noir said nearly breathlessly, clearly starting to struggle from taking the majority of her rage. 

Please, just be a Glock.

"Lucky Charm!" My yo-yo released the pick energy briefly before spewing a rope into my hands. 

Okay, I know the situation is dire but isn't this a little bit dramatic? 

 What was I supposed to do, lasso her like a cowboy? My eyes scanned the roof rapidly, acutely aware of the growing tornado around us. My eyes widened at the thought. 

"Hurry, Lady Luck!" Cat Noir called out, also probably worried at how the tornado nearly surrounded us. 

"Cat Noir, hand me your stick!" 

"What?" He asked with confusion, briefly looking at me with disbelief. 

"We're going to let the tornado get bigger."

Concern remained on his features, but he still threw me his stick. I ran to the door, extending the stick just enough to ensure it stayed wedged in the entrance before trying the rope around it. "I hope this holds up," I muttered, tying another loop just for good measure. 

By now, the tornado was practically eating us, so I grabbed Cat Noir's hand, warning him to hang onto me as I tied the rope around my waist. Again, I was just praying it would hold up. 

Water and debris hit my face, rocks and rubble and glass causing streaks of blood to drip down my face as the tornado tried to gobble us up, pulling us into its gravitational field of pressure and lifting us from the ground. I couldn't see anything but neither could stormy and that's all that mattered. 

My guts twisted in my stomach like a whirlpool, every part of my body disagreeing with the whirl winding pressure the tornado was forcing upon it. I was worried my body would break before my plan would succeed but, just as I hoped, Stormy Weather's umbrella started poking through the rubble of the tornado like a blind man's cane. As much as I'm sure she would've loved to leave us swirling in her storm, she needed our miraculous... but she actually had to find that first.

"Cat Noir, now!" 

"Cataclysm!" He called out, summoning his destructive power and taking a hold of the umbrella before Stormy Weather could pull it back. 

The tornado spew us out like it had had a bad breakfast, concrete, metal, and other debris falling around us. I groaned in pain as I hit the roof, wanting nothing more to wallow in my sudden hurt for a moment longer. Unfortunately, I had a butterfly to catch. 

 "Let's purify this nasty bug." I opened my yo-yo, swinging it up to the escaping moth, its pink glow encasing the creature. "See ya later, little guy."

Cat Noir had untied the rope, throwing it to me for me to throw it into the air and set everything back to normal. He went and helped the girl up, explaining what had happened while I just watched from side lines. Was I supposed to comfort and help her? I was already saving Paris from various monsters, why was I also supposed to be the city's therapist?

"Excellent, as usual, sunshine," Cat Noir said with a satisfied smile. Seriously, he moved quickly and silently. Slightly scary. 

"Why do you keep calling me that?" I questioned, placing my hands on my hips.

"Because you're the sun on a stormy day." He had the audacity to take one of my hands and place a kiss on it. 

"Disgusting," I replied drily, taking my hand from his. He only smiled and forced me to give him another high five. It really was no where near as iconic as the fist bump. 

"I really don't see how this is my fault."

Three days had barley passed before we had to fight Stormy Weather once more, Aurore somehow getting herself akumatized again.

"I purified the akuma!" I explained at the stern looking Tikki. "I did everything right, how is it my fault that she got re-akumatized?"

Tikki sighed in frustration. "I'm guessing you didn't try to help her?"

My lips formed an indignant pout. "Well, no. But I did everything else!"

"Chloé," she said in exasperation. "Being a superhero isn't just putting on a costume and fighting bad guys, it's caring for others around you."

Yeah because Batman is always running group therapy sessions. 

The internet had made Aurore its new victim, slandering and mocking her at every possible turn. There memes and hate accounts made, entire YouTube channels dedicated to hating on this girl. No one else had this kind of backlash after being akumatized, but if I had to guess, it would be the result of her being in the public eye before her escapades as Stormy Weather. Regardless, such relentless hate would bring anyone into a vulnerable mental state, let alone a teenage girl. Three full days of being slandered on the internet had made her a perfect victim for an akuma. 

It was a horrible situation, I knew that, but it was still hard to be sympathetic. Not just to Aurore but everyone. Maybe it was because I knew this world as something fictional with fictional characters but I found it difficult to find a shred of empathy inside of me. The only time I felt anything real towards the people around me was when I saw Kim dead. 

"Why should I care about them, Marinette? None of them would give a shit if anything happened to me!"

There was that pain again, sharp and hot digging into my skull. It lasted for barley more than a second this time, thankfully. 

Underneath all of my indignation, I knew Tikki was right. Marinette was the perfect Ladybug because she also constantly helped people when she wasn't being a superhero. Maybe I thought I could also do that because I wasn't actually Chloé but... maybe I had a lot more in common with the most spiteful girl in Paris than I thought. Master Fu gave her the miraculous for a reason and I was the one who interfered with that. 

I had to set things right, for real this time. 

Chapter Text

The worst thing was knowing I would never see Tikki again. Maybe she had treated me a little bit different than Marinette, often chastising me for not being the best version of myself. Still, I would miss her a lot. She was one of the only friends I had in this world. 

I he earrings off early in the morning, before she had woken up; I couldn't bare to see her sad and disappointed face, even if it was just for a second. 

The hungry worm was back, eating up my insides to make room for the all-consuming guilt and unease that mixed in my stomach. Everything just felt wrong. Which was stupid because the only wrong thing in this world was me and my interference of the main storyline. The ladybug miraculous was supposed to go to Marinette and now it finally would. 

I arrived at the school late, as I planned, the locker room entirely empty. Marinette often left her locker unlocked, her clumsiness and forgetfulness following her even in this world. Thankfully, today was one of those days and I was able to simply open it. With a sigh, I pulled the brown box out of my bag - it was light in my hand, as if it weighed almost nothing, but it held an almost suffocating weight on my heart. 

This is how it should be, I thought to myself as I placed the box on the locker shelf. 

"Goodbye, Tikki," I whispered. Goodbye, Lady Luck. 

I blinked away the tears in my eyes; what right did I have to mourn something that was never mine? Being a superhero was fun but it wasn't my destiny. Hell, my apparent destiny was to terrorize half of Paris into being akumatized. The most spiteful girl in Paris. 

"You're nothing but a spiteful little brat, why would I even bother trying to kill you?"

My hand clenched the metal locker, a groan of my pain leaving my mouth as that same boiling drill pricked into my skull. My eyes slammed shut, head banging into the metal shelf in Marinette's locker - I barley even felt it in comparison to the relentless pain behind my eye. 

It felt like hell.

"What are you doing?"

I gasped, the pain snapping away from me like a sticky band-aid being ripped off. I saw Marinette not three feet away from me, crossing her arms with an irritated expression etched onto her pretty face. 

"What are you doing in my locker, Chloé?" 

My eyes widened as I slammed the locker shut. "Uh, nothing."

"Hmm mm, sure," she pushed me out of the way, albeit rather gently. "How did you even get in?"

"You always forget to lock your locker," I shot back, rubbing my arm regardless of the fact it didn't hurt. "If you don't want people getting into your stuff, lock the damn thing!"

Marinette's eyes widened in shock for a moment before her face pulled into a sneer. "Normal people don't go through people's private belongings!" 

"Whatever."

I heard Marinette practically growl in annoyance as I left the locker room, I silent hope in my heart that she wouldn't realise I was the one who put the earrings in her locker. 

Blood covered my hands, staining my shirt a dark colour as the gash leaked the crimson liquid like a fountain. I tried using the wall to help me to my feet but immediately yelped in pain and fell back down, the cuts in my leg too deep and painful to make use of my leg. 

Why did this feel like my fault? 

Aurore had been akumatized again - maybe there was more internet hate or maybe there was something else but, either way, she had become Stormy Weather once more but she was stronger than ever, taking down citizens five at a time with a rain of ice daggers. I don't think I had ever seen such a massacre, bleeding out bodies littering the streets, some live and some dead. I had tripped over one trying to escape, the body was still warm but there had been no breath in their lungs. 

That's when she summoned another clutch of her ice daggers, the shards digging into my skin everywhere, one particularly large one lodging into my gut, stabbing me right where it hurt. Adrenaline ran through my veins like a liquid life support, allowing me to find refuge in a nearby alley way. But then I collapsed to the dirty ground, the fatality of my wounds finally registering. 

If I didn't get help soon, I would bleed out. 

But Marinette would put everything back to normal, right? Even if I died, she would bring me back to life with her power after she saved the day. After she stopped Stormy Weather and made sure Aurore was never akumatized again. 

Then... why was it taking so long? Why was the street covered in bodies if the ladybug miraculous was back to its rightful owner? 

Questions ran through my head like a marathon but I no longer had the energy to think too hard, my eyes struggling to stay open as my breathing became slower. Alarm bells rang at the back of head, warning me that if I shut my eyes I probably wouldn't ever open them again. I was dying. But it was so much energy to care and I was already so tired, besides, Ladybug would fix it. 

I would just close my eyes for a second. 

Just a second. 

Just...

...

"This can't be where it ends, Chloé."

...

"Chloé..."

...

"Chloé..."

...

"Chloé!"

My eyes shot open, the metallic taste of blood stuck in my throat. The ache in my stomach was searing and inescapable, tormenting my flesh as my heartbeat slowed, barley enough to keep me alive. 

Marinette, or rather, Ladybug was in front of me, her classic costume covered in dirt and cuts, her blood seeping through. She looked worried, why was she worried? She was too pretty to have such an ugly expression on her face. 

My eyelids wanted to shut again and I was happy to oblige, every bone in my body exhausted from the pain in my stomach. It sounded much better to just sleep and not feel it anymore but Ladybug shook me awake, muttering my name once again with panic and worry. 

"What?" I whined. 

"Chloé, you have to take the earrings back, I can't do this!" 

Tough luck, buttercup.

I think I was falling back asleep because Marinette slapped me across the face, shocking me enough for eyes to widen. I looked at her indignantly, my hand moving to comfort my hurt cheek. 

"Listen, I don't know why you thought I would be a good superhero but I need you to-" Marinette made a pained sound, interrupting her own sentence. I looked at her then, realising one of the wounds at her stomach was a lot larger and deeper than I thought. Worse than mine, even, as if someone had just taken a knife and stabbed it into her before running it along half her torso. 

There were tears in her eyes as she saw the amount of blood on her hand. She looked afraid. There weren't many moments of actual fear in the show because it was for kids because the worst thing that ever happened was being turned to stone or being trapped in goo... but now death was the biggest threat and Marinette was only a child. We were all children, why would Master Fu think it okay to give us this responsibility? 

But I had an advantage; even if things had changed slightly, I knew what to expect. Marinette did not. How could I, in good conscience, place this burden onto Marinette without even asking her? How was I any better than Master Fu? 

I grit my teeth, ignoring the pain as best I could as I leaned towards Marinette and placed my hand on her shaking one. 

"Let me handle this."

She looked at me with her watery eyes and nodded after a moment, the transformation around her falling out as Tikki appeared. Tikki looked at Marinette with worry before her eyes fell to me. There was no anger or disappointment, only concern. I tried to reassure her with a smile. 

Marinette removed the earrings and handed them to me with a cold hand. With a heavy heart, I put them back on and once again took the mantle of the city's saviour. Everything in my body was weak and exhausted but Marinette looked at me with her hopeful and afraid eyes, so I had to stand on my own two feet. She was, after all, a citizen of Paris and relying on me to save her. 

I practically dug my nails into the concrete wall, clenching my jaw to restrain the scream of agony that wanted to be known to the world. Marinette was watching, I couldn't let her see me fail. 

"Tikki, spots on!" 

Being back in the suit was like a comforting embrace, offering me protection from all the dangers of the world. There was still a dull ache in my stomach but the transformation had mostly subdued it, thankfully.

Marinette was as white as a ghost, as if she would fade from this world within a moment. The guilt ate at my stomach, reminding me that it was my fault she was in such pain. 

"I'll fix this," I told her gently. And that was a promise I intended to keep. 

Cat Noir was in better shape than Marinette but he still wasn't looking great, his own suit taking damage as Stormy Weather relentlessly attacked him. He slipped on some of the ice, losing his footing and falling to the ground. Stormy took that as an opportunity to throw a giant iceberg at him, the glacier would doubtlessly crush him. 

I swung my yoyo towards him, the string wrapping around him for me to drag him out of the way and towards me. Cat Noir looked at me with a widened gaze as I gave him my hand to help him up. He didn't let go of my hand. 

"Lady Luck... I thought you were-"

I pushed him out of the way before another iceberg hit him, Stormy Weather looking at us both with a sneer. A little bit of pride welled up in my stomach at her being angrier at my appearance. 

"We'll talk later," I told him. "Seems we need to deal with ice queen again."

She made an angry noise, summoning another storm of ice daggers to cut us. I used my yo-yo as a propeller, blocking any shards that came my way. I heard Cat Noir's ring beep behind me. 

"I had to use my cataclysm," he said breathlessly. "I don't have a lot of time."

"Cover me," I told him as I ran behind him. Using my Luck Charm made me vulnerable to any attacks around me. "Lucky Charm!" A small, hand held fan fell into my arms. 

"That's our last hope?!" 

"Shut up, I'm thinking!" 

Ideas ran through my brain; what was a tiny fan going to do? Maybe if it were bigger, we could- 

"Cat Noir, we need to go to the roof of the news station!"

"You feel like doing a news report right now?"

"Shut up, and just trust me!" 

We waited for an opening to make our move, leading Stormy Weather across the rooftops of Paris. I hoped the storm following her didn't cause harm to too many civilians but it would all be fixed soon. Just as I hoped, the industrial sized fan remained on the roof. I couldn't hold back an almost evil looking smirk. 

"There's no where to run now!" She cackled, beginning to summon an exceptionally large storm of ice daggers. 

"Who says we're running?" I mocked. She made another enraged sound, throwing her ice daggers at us. I used that moment to switch the fan on, the sharp ice daggers flying right at Stormy Weather. Maybe they were sharp, but they were still only as light as shards of ice. 

As she shut her eyes to avoid ice digging into them, I grappled my yo-yo to her umbrella, dragging it down to me and destroying the ugly accessory. Honestly, I think I was doing her a favour in destroying it. 

"Let's purify this little guy." 

The pink energy swallowed up the black butterfly, now cleansed a pure white as it flew it. I smiled at it gently before throwing the fan into the sky. 

"Miraculous Lady Luck!" 

Aurore's trembling body sat helplessly on the ground, one of her beautifully long pigtails chopped right to her ear. I looked at her guiltily; was it actually my fault she had been akumatized so many times? How did it affect the girl to know she had harmed so many people against her will?

I knelt beside her awkwardly, not really knowing how to approach her. Was I supposed to hug her or grab her shoulder? 

"They're all right!" She sobbed suddenly, her arms wrapping around herself as tears fell down her face. "I'm a monster." 

The bad haircut had to be another act of bullying, after all, nothing stayed online these days. The harassment must have spread from behind a screen to real life. This poor girl had her body used by Hawk Moth, her emotions manipulated to force her to harm others, and now she was being crucified by the entirety of Paris. No one should have to suffer like that. 

"You're not a monster," I said gently, placing one of my hands on her shoulder. "The things you did were not your own actions." 

She looked up at me with wide, red eyes. "But why do they keep... why do they keep doing this?" I think my heart broke a little bit when I heard the crack in her voice. 

"People are cruel, very cruel." That was truer than ever; she was a young girl who probably needed therapy after being akumatized three times but instead she was being bullied. "You don't deserve any of this but I don't think it'll stop for a little while. My advice would stay off the internet for a while, until it dies down."

I cringed at the advice, feeling like a parent trying to help a girl being cyberbullied. 

"I'm guessing this wasn't a willing a haircut?" I questioned, gesturing to her hair. She shook her head as she sniffled. "Okay, that's just plain assault, you need to report this to the police."

"But they don't listen to me, I-"

I held my hand up to stop her protests. "Let me finish," I interrupted, voice only slightly snappy. "I have a... an acquaintance who will go with you to the police station after school tomorrow. They'll listen to her." 

"She won't... she won't be mean to me?"

I shrugged. "She's mean to everyone an equal amount." She laughed a little at that and I couldn't help the small smile on my face. Maybe I couldn't help everyone but this girl was suffering a great deal and it was in my power to help her. 

 Aurore was quite shocked to see that Lady Luck's "acquaintance" was none other than Chloé Bourgeois. So shocked in fact that when I snapped at her to get into the limo, she just stood in a dazed confusion. That was really annoying to deal with. 

I was not impressed with the man at the police station, claiming that having your hair chopped off was nothing but "a harmless prank". He muttered something under his breath about Aurore being a monster working with Hawk Moth and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. 

I demanded he file a report immediately, he didn't take me seriously at first, but I prepared a speech just for this. "Hmm, I don't think my daddy, Mayor Bourgeois, will agree that his darling daughter's friend being hurt is just a harmless prank." I got my phone out at that, making a big deal to show a picture on my home screen of my father and I. The man had no trouble filing something at that.  

"Thank you, Chloé," Aurore had said weakly when we left. 

I rolled my eyes a little bit. "Ya know, if you keep acting so meek, people are going to see you as an easy target."

"But I-"

I groaned in annoyance. "Fine, if you're too meek to stand up for yourself, you can follow me around for a bit. God, can't anyone do anything around here?" I walked to the limo after that but I made sure I didn't get in until she did. 

Maybe I was imagining things but I think I saw a small smile on her face after we dropped her off home. 

I was exhausted when I got home that afternoon. I had spent the entire night before tossing and turning in my bed, nightmares of a world covered in flames and debris, bodies littering the streets. I didn't want to do anything but slump on my bed when I got home and that's what I did. 

"That girl seemed happy," Tikki said with a small smile, sitting at my pillow. 

"Really? She seemed kind of miserable to me."

Tikki only sighed and shook her head with an exasperated smile. But it slowly fell before she said her next sentence. "Why did you give the miraculous away?"

I looked away from her guiltily. "You were right, I'm a bad person."

"I never said you were a bad person, Chloé, I only said you could be a better version of yourself."

"But what if I can't?"

"You helped that girl today, didn't you?" She asked, the smile forming again. "I know you are a good person, Chloé, I can feel it. I think you just need a little help to show it."

I was about to respond but there was a knock on my door. Was it Jean man? No one else really spoke to me. I groaned in annoyance as I got off the bed, stomping to door dramatically before opening it. My stomach dropped to my heart when I saw Marinette. 

Chapter Text

"Occupied!" I screamed, slamming the door in Marinette's face. I immediately ran over to the lounge, panickily hiding behind it as she started knocking again.  

"Chloé!" Tikki whisper yelled. "You can't just ignore her."

"Uh, yes I can, actually." 

Marinette continued her frantic knocking, yelling out how she just wanted to talk with me. I guess throughout all the chaos and my own self-crisis, I had somehow completely forgotten that she knew I was Lady Luck. I think a part of me was foolishly hoping the magic ladybugs would just make her forget but that would just be too easy, wouldn't it? My life was never easy. 

Still, that most likely meant that the Ladybug Miraculous couldn't affect memory... so why was I getting all these weird flashes of things that definitely weren't in the show? I had thought the magic ladybugs were trying to get my own mind in sync with the body I now inhabited, perhaps to restore balance to the world. Then again, if I really thought about it, that was an impossible conclusion; I was experiencing visions and flashes of events that looked to be way in the future, with Marinette appearing to be a lot older. So, then why was I seeing these things, what were these voices that constantly haunted my mind? 

"Chloé, please, I just wanna talk!" Thankfully, Marinette's relentless knocking ripped me away from my grim musings, reminding me of the problem at hand. 

I sighed before standing. It was selfish to just ignore her, especially when she was on death's doorstep when she brought my miraculous back to me. Just because I was able to reset everything physically didn't mean Marinette wouldn't be haunted by those memories forever. The pain and fear would stay with her forever, a phantom that would linger on her skin for the rest of her life. 

And I was the one who did that to her. 

I opened the door, eyes glued to ground, not yet prepared to meet Marinette's honest gaze. Would the pain still be raw in those eyes, I wondered, if I could still see that unquenchable fear that I would remember forever. 

Stepping aside, I let her in my room before closing the door, lingering at the handle for a moment longer. My body longed to run away, to avoid this inevitable confrontation before I was overcome with guilt. Guilt wasn't something I did well with, apologies weren't something I did well with. I wasn't designed to own up to my actions, it seemed, even if I knew remorse would hold my tainted soul in her clutches for eternity. 

I gestured for her to sit on the couch before I joined her on the opposite end, arms crossed tight to my body in some pathetic form of comfort. As if I was the one who needed comfort. 

There was a suffocating silence, a tangible tension that sucked up all oxygen in the room, my lungs caving in on themselves at the very thought of staying a moment longer. But who would I be if I just left? Not even Chloé ran away from a problem. 

"I'm not gonna tell anyone," Marinette said suddenly, the silence shattering like fragile porcelain. "I promise."

"I know you wouldn't," I replied quietly, my voice coming across more harsh than I would have liked. It was true, though; Marinette didn't have a bad bone in her body, she would never spread such a harmful secret. 

After a moment, she sighed, as if not knowing how to navigate such a conversation. "Chloé, why did you... why did you give me the earrings?"

I finally looked up at her then, her eyes as genuine and deep as the ocean. "Because you'd make a better superhero than I ever could."

As much as I hated to admit it, those words hurt, really hurt, cutting deeper than even the shards of ice that almost killed me. Not living up to Marinette's Ladybug was a raw, weeping wound - a constant reminder that I was Chloé Bourgeois, the most spiteful girl in Paris, destined to be the most hated character. I would never be anything close to Marinette, the perfect girl who effortlessly succeeded at being a good person both in costume and out. She was supposed to be the best superhero ever seen, I was just a plot device used to reaffirm how perfect she was.  

But how could I hate her when, regardless of her dislike, was one of the only people who ever tried to help me? Chloé, me... fuck, it was all so confusing. I didn't even know who I was anymore. 

Surprisingly, Marinette only scoffed. "Yeah, right. You've been able to defeat every supervillain thrown your way and I nearly got myself killed. I don't think Cat Noir cared much for me either." 

Please, the boy's madly in love with you. 

"No, that's, uh, that's not what I mean," I countered, voice snapping unintentionally. "You, you're kind. You've always been good at helping people, you don't even need super powers to do it." 

"Chloé," she began, looking at me with some mixture of amusement and disbelief. "Just because someone's kind doesn't mean they're cut out to be a superhero." 

"You're-"

"Sure, I'm kind, and so are many other people," she continued, interrupting me. "But Chloé, you have the strongest will I've ever seen. I honestly feel pretty safe knowing you're Lady Luck because Hawk Moth has no idea what he's got coming." 

I looked at her for a moment, eyes watering - even in such a situation, she was reassuring me. It only made me feel worse, the plaguing thoughts of inadequacy only towering higher. I couldn't help the tear that ran down my cheek. I put my face in my hands, hoping it would cover my vulnerable state. 

"Chloé?"

 I peeked at her from out of my hands then, revealing my red, blotchy face and leaking eyes. "Marinette, I'm not a good person." I almost winced at that the crack in my voice, throat raw from the tears building in my eyes. Raw from the sobs I restrained. 

"If you really believe that, the only person who can fix that is you, Chloé." 

I'd heard something similar somewhere, in a time of vulnerability and rawness. There had been feelings of jealousy, bitter admiration, and rampant fears of inadequacy. As if I'd never compare to the person who told me those words. 

"How?"

She smiled gently, sliding closer and resting a comforting hand on my shoulder. "If you want to be kind to others, you need to be kind to yourself first." 

God, how was it possible for a person to be so perfect?  

I scoffed at her cruelly. "We wouldn't even be having this conversation if I wasn't Lady Luck, you'd just continue hating me like everyone else." 

Marinette removed her hand then, her gentle expression becoming firmer. "Chloé, the only reason everyone treats you like that is because you can be horrible to everyone else." 

"So I just need to expect my fate of being hated, then?" I all but yelled, rising from the couch and crossing my arms. "Why should I constantly strive for their approval and forgiveness when they've already decided they hate me!" 

Marinette stood to, matching my anger and frustration. "You're the one who's asking me how to be kind!" 

I groaned in frustration. "You don't get it, you never did! Kindness may come easy to someone like you, but to me... it doesn't work that way. Sometimes being cruel is just taught from birth, impossible to escape."

Her face fell. "Chloé-"

"When you screw up, everyone forgives you because you're Marinette, a mistake is just a mistake!" My voice rose louder. "But I'm Chloé, everything - even the smallest mistake - is unforgivable. It's easier to hate me than ever understand why I am the way I am." 

My chest heaved with the restrained wails, the tears still flowing down my face as I looked at her. Truth be told, I had no idea where this rage - this pain - had come from. I'd never been passionate about Chloé, maybe the treatment from my peers wasn't ideal but I hadn't been there long enough for it have a huge affect on me. So why was I crying? Where was this sorrow coming from? 

"I get it, Dupain-Cheng, you and everyone else think I was pure evil. But did you ever wonder if maybe I was just a teenage girl?" 

The coldness of my pain and phantom memories evaporated when Marinette wrapped her arms around me, holding me in a warm hug rather than the angry reaction I expected from her. Huh. It felt nice... when was the last time someone hugged me? 

"I'm sorry, Chloé," she whispered. 

Why did that sound so familiar? 

Blood flowed in my mouth, the lingering metallic taste enough to make me want to vomit again. "That really is a terrible outfit," I told him, my voice more of a pained groan than anything.

He sneered down at me, as if I was nothing more than a bug on his shoe. Honestly, I felt like one; when was the last time I had seen water, let alone taken a shower? Maybe I shouldn't have been such a bitch, stomach protesting against the withholding of food. The slop I was feed was by no means edible but I learnt from days of endless hunger that it was better than nothing. 

"You're friends don't seem to care enough to rescue you," he said, so cruel yet so indifferent. I think it was how unbothered he was that made it hurt so much, as if I wasn't even a person.

"Friends is a stretch," I replied, somehow pulling a snarky comment out of my sleeve in the most dreary situation. "Are you really so stupid to kidnap the weakest link?" His eyes told me my comments were unappreciated. 

He reached to me, gripping my chin painfully. "I should cut off that tongue for that." 

I couldn't help myself, spit landing on his pristine cheek. "Do your worst, bitch." 

The glint in his eyes told me he definitely would. 

I coughed frantically, desperately flailing in the bathtub as my body attempted to clear my lungs of the soapy water. Half my body rested over the edge when I'd finally ceased the forceful coughing, listening to the spilled water rhythmically drip to the white marble floor. My throat savoured its unrestricted access to air, easing my lungs, assuring them they were safe from drowning. 

What was that?

I couldn't recall having a flash that graphic since the one of the destroyed bathroom and Tikki's empty eyes, a gaping hole in my stomach. But this was different, it was a full memory, a real conversation. I had spoken. And it had felt eerily familiar, as if I'd lived through it before. But that couldn't be possible, could it? 

This was driving me insane, trying to differentiate between Chloé's memories and my memories. But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if I even had memories. I didn't know my name, or age, or even what I looked like. The only thing I remembered for certain was the Miraculous TV show and getting hit by a truck... but, as my life as Chloé progressed, I began to wonder if I could even trust those memories. 

Where did Chloé end and where did I begin? Was there even a difference anymore? Had there ever been a difference? 

What if-

"Chloé, are you alright?" Tikki asked from the other side of the door, most likely concerned from my coughing. 

"Yeah, I'm fine Tikki," I replied, completely forgetting my previous train of thought. 

I dressed in my silk pyjamas before going back to my bedroom, joining Tikki as I rested on the bed. Honestly, it was no surprise I had fallen asleep in the bathtub - between everything that had gone on in my life, I was exhausted. 

"Chloé," Tikki said quietly, as if anxious. 

"Yeah?"

"I... I'm sorry, for putting so much pressure on you. You've just had the responsibilities of saving Paris thrust upon you and I'm constantly asking more of you," she said gently, guilt in the kwami's wondering eyes. "It is my fault you tried to give up your miraculous, I should reassured you. You're a very good Lady Luck but your first priority should be being Chloé and if being a superhero is conflicting with that..." she trailed off for a moment, shutting her eyes as if she couldn't bare to speak again. "I can take back the miraculous and tell the guardian to choose someone else." 

"Is that what you want, Tikki? To have a new holder?"

"No!" She exclaimed suddenly. "You're one of the best holders I have ever met, someone capable of amazing feats in such a short time. I truly don't believe anyone is more suited to being Lady Luck than you, Chloé, but you were never asked if this is what you want. If you would like, I will free you of this burden." 

Perhaps Master Fu would finally give the miraculous to Marinette then, and put the world back to the way it should have been. This was what I had wanted from the beginning, right?

But, as much as I wanted to deny it, this world was not the same as the one in my unreliable memories; the battles were harder, akumas out for blood rather than just mild chaos, with Hawk Moth more than willing to kill in order to get what he wanted. Perhaps, in this world, Chloé Bourgeois' endless confidence and boldness was more suited to dealing with supervillains than Marinette's kindness. 

Perhaps there was a reason for all of this, a reason why I was Chloé, a reason I had the miraculous. 

"If you don't mind, Tikki, I think I'll hold onto Lady Luck for a little longer." 

She smiled brightly then, flying into me to give me her version of a hug. 

I wasn't sure of a lot of things in this world but I knew for a fact that nothing was as it seemed.  

Chapter Text

Mayor Bourgeois played the role of a minor, sometimes antagonistic, character whose main motivation stemmed from making his daughter. So how had he become such a powerful villain?

When I woke up as Chloé, I made a promise not to get attached to this world because I thought I'd be back in reality in just a matter of time. But then my understanding of reality changed and my life was consumed by being Lady Luck that I had entirely forgotten that Chloé herself had made a mark on this world and the people in it. Most were negative, like how the treatment of her classmates made the majority of them hate her. A very small amount were good, like her childhood friendship with Adrien, or how she "let" Sabrina follow her around. 

But Mayor Bourgeois' opinion on Chloé was different than anyone else's, his unconditional love for his daughter practically the centre of his universe. His character was foolish and sometimes annoying, and a part of me feared he'd realise I wasn't the real Chloé, so I had avoided him. My behaviour wouldn't affect him that much, right? 

Wrong. 

After his wife left him, what did he have other than Chloé? His daughter's cold, abnormal behaviour would be enough for any parent to worry but, stupidly, I had barley said two words to him since I became Chloé - avoiding him at every possible turn. I took dinner in my room and skipped breakfast, keeping to myself locked in my room and ignoring anyone who tried to enter. 

How had I been so stupid? 

The worry for his daughter's wellbeing and the fear of losing her must have built up inside of him, walls crashing like a dam as his vulnerable emotions tempted the akuma to him. Hawk Moth now holding the strings to a fearful father. 

Andre Bourgeois - the foolish father from a silly kids show - was gone, Tyrant Pere now standing in front of me, a villain willing to anything if it kept his daughter with him. The ironic part? I wasn't even her. 

"Give me my daughter, Lady Luck, before I lose my patience."

Luckily, I saw the mayor's rampage on the news, locking people in chains as he made his way back to the hotel. He'd chain them to objects, or even people (he seemed to favour chaining parents and children together. Yikes), sometimes even just chaining their wrists together. Maybe not a very creative power but it could certainly cause some problems if he was able get me. Fortunately, the news report gave me time to transform before he got to me. As far as he was concerned, Chloé was long gone. 

"Sure, I'll tell you where she is, as soon as you give me your akuma."

"Over your dead body," he sneered, pulling a chain from his belt and throwing it at me. This one had sharp spikes on it, gleaming dangerously in the light as I jumped over it. 

He seemed to have never ending supply of chains, varying in sizes and danger level; some were just simple chains, others embedded with sharp edges, some even made of a metallic looking material that would certainly cut flesh if it wrapped around me. How could the akuma be in the chains if there were so many of them? 

I yelped in pain as one of the spiky chains dug into my leg, causing me to tumble to the ground; I'd been so distracted looking for his akuma that I didn't dodge properly. 

Tyrant Pere swiftly walked towards me, his stature impossibly imposing as he glared at me. He kneeled down slowly before reaching for my earrings - my hands were busy trying to pull the chain out of my leg, so I did the only thing I could think of; I bit down on his hand. 

"Ah!" He exclaimed in pain, immediately pulling his hand back. I was oddly proud to see crimson blood drip down his hand. 

Ripping the chain from my skin, I used the wall near me to stumble up to my feet. I winced when I looked down at my wound, bits of flesh hanging down with the tatters of my suit. I was fairly sure the miraculous increased my pain tolerance because I would be fainting from agony under normal circumstances. 

Tyrant Pere rose to his feet, charging towards me with his spike encased hand raised. I lowered myself with just a scrape of time, his fist demolishing part of the wall behind me. My leg protested in pain at the sudden movement, nerves flashing a deep red to remind me of my fragile state. 

Where is that cat when you need him? 

"Lucky Charm!" It was probably way too early to use it, seeing as I had no idea where his akuma was, but desperate times called for desperate measures. I had to restrain a roll of my eyes when sunglasses fell into my hands. How helpful. 

As useless as they may have been, they struck a cord of familiarity, the exact shape and style of the designer pair Chloé’s mother sent her for her fourteenth birthday. Chloé was so elated to get a birthday present from her, especially when she always forgot... well, dad said she didn't forget, it was just that she was too busy to wish me a happy birthday. She wore those sunglasses every day, cherishing them like a gift from the gods. They were proof she cared for her, right? 

Wait, how do I-

Tyrant Pere had broken free from the wall, charging at me like an enraged bull. He was out for blood, I could see it in his eyes. "Give me back my daughter!" That wasn't rage, it was desperation hidden behind a falsity of anger. My eyes softened as I made move to leave the hotel; I knew what to do.

"Tikki, spots off." 

Tikki's small form fell into my palms, a concerned look in her eyes realising we were hidden just a little ways away from the hotel entrance. Not very far from Tyrant Pere, at all. 

"Chloé, it's dangerous for you to be here!" 

"I couldn't locate his akuma, and it's suicide to fight him alone," I explained. "I think this might be something I have to do as Chloé." 

Tikki gave me a worried look but caved, knowing she wouldn't be able to change my mind and went back in my jacket. I took a deep breath and walked towards the hotel entrance. I barley made it through the doors before he found me. 

"Dad," I acknowledged, crossing my arms. 

"Where have you been, young lady?" He demanded, walking towards me with fast strides. "I've been looking for you everywhere." 

"I know, dad. I... I'm sorry."

He crossed his arms, akumatized faced etched with sternness. "Hmm, I have half a mind to ground you. You-"

"No, dad, I'm sorry," I said, surprised by the sincerity in my voice. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you and I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you in weeks. It's my fault you're like this now." It's my fault your real daughter isn't here. 

He faltered for a moment, his aggressive gaze faltering momentarily before it gleamed with anger again. "Chloé, stop being ridiculous and go to your room."

"I'm not gonna lock myself up in my room anymore."

His eyes really softened then, firm shoulders sinking as his defence of anger seemed to dissipate. There was that guilt again, reminding me that, even if I hadn't directly done it, he was being manipulated by Hawk Moth because of me. 

But it wasn't just that. There was something else, another unexplainable causation for this uncontainable guilt, a guilt that made me avoid him for weeks. It wasn't from being an imposter Chloé either... no, this guilt was old, older than this body. It begged to me to right wrongs I didn't even remember committing. 

"Chloé, darling-"

"Shut up, I don't wanna hear it! If it wasn't for you, mama would have taken me to New York with her."

"I'm sorry-"

"Go away! Your nothing but a pathetic man and an even worse father!" 

My legs moved on their own, until I was right in front of my dad. I wrapped him in a hug, a few tears dribbling down my cheeks. "I'm sorry, daddy," I found myself whispering. 

As he hugged me back, Tyrant Pere had disappeared and my dad was back. 

A breathed a sigh of relief as everything went back to normal, glad to know the yo-yo could revert everything back to normal in the case I didn't have my lucky charm. Granted, it probably wouldn't erase the lame excuse I gave for bolting out of the hotel as soon as I realized the akuma had been released. It was a miracle I found it at all. 

"Seems I missed all the fun." 

I turned my head over my shoulder to see Cat Noir now joining me on the roof, leaning on the stick with a mocking pout. "Fun isn't the word I would use." 

He only chuckled, retracting his stick and walking towards me before planting a playful kiss on my hand. "Should I be worried that you can save the city without me, sunshine?"

"Actually, I don't think I saved the day at all," I said with a secret amusement, crossing my arms as I took my hand away from him. "Chloé Bourgeois was the one who stopped the mayor's rampage." 

"Chloé?" He asked with slight disbelief. "Chloé, as in the mayor's daughter Chloé? She saved the day?" 

"No need to sound so surprised," I muttered indignantly. Wasn't Adrien supposed to be her friend?

"I just mean, she doesn't have a miraculous, how did she stop a supervillain?" 

I sighed, sitting on the edge of the rooftop, watching as the blue sky melted into gentle pinks and oranges. As Cat Noir sat next to me, I silently debated how much I should tell him. Ladybug and he often had fights about her not telling him anything, he felt that she didn't trust him - but Cat Noir was my partner, the only person I could completely rely on as Lady Luck, I owed my trust to him. 

But could I afford to place suspicion on Chloé Bourgeois? 

My eyes met his green ones as I turned my head to look at him. His eyes held such genuine trust and honesty, maybe they were a bit more mischievous than Marinette's but they reminded me a lot of hers. He gave me a gentle smile and I knew then that if I couldn't trust Cat Noir, I couldn't trust anyone. 

"Truth be told, I'm not even sure how she did it," I admitted, the event still rolling in my mind as I watched the sunset paint over Paris. 

"What do you mean, sunshine?"

"She just... she just hugged him and the akuma was released." Honestly, the explanation really did sound ridiculous. 

"Of course, hugging is the way to defeat Hawk Moth," he joked. I shot him a look of mock annoyance. "That's seriously all she did?"

"I mean, she spoke to him a little bit too but I don't see how that could cause the akuma to just... leave." 

"Yeah, that is strange," he mused, leaning back on his hands as he pondered. "Wait, the akuma can only affect those with negative emotions, right?"

"Yeah." Where was he going with this? 

"Maybe his negative emotions just disappeared when Chloé comforted him." 

My eyes narrowed in thought; could that be possible? The akuma was supposed to, not only thrive in the negative energy, but also enhance it to the point of almost eradicating all rationality. How could a few words and a hug just make that all disappear? 

Because that's how much he loves Chloé.

I shook off the painful thought, hiding my guilt with a smile. "You have some silly thoughts, kitty."

"I like to think of them as profound." 

The next morning, I made an effort to say goodbye to my - Chloé’s - dad before leaving for school. And I made even more of an effort to not think about the awful nightmare I had.

(A nightmare filled with ashy skies and bloody streets, dismay and hopelessness polluting the air like a smog. But I totally wasn’t thinking about it.)

I sat at my desk in the empty class room before the bell rang, much preferring the solitude to the obvious disgust at my very presence. Often times, someone verbally told me they didn’t want me there but it was usually just a silent tension that told me I was unwelcome. I get Chloé had done some bad things but this was just hurtful.

“Hey, Chlo,” Adrien greeted with a calm smile, joining me in the empty classroom as he stood in front of my desk. “I heard about your dad, is he alright?”

Don’t act like you don’t know everything, I thought with amusement. Sometimes it really was hard to remind myself that Adrien and Cat Noir were the same person because they acted so different. Did the Black Cat miraculous really have that much of an effect on his personality, or was Adrien just good at pretending to be something he wasn’t?

Honestly, with how he was locked up for most of his life and his father’s negligence, it was almost unbelievable that Adrien had turned out to be such a kind and well-adjusted person.

“Yeah, he’s fine now. Lady Luck saved the day, as usual.”

“And Cat Noir?”

Wow, you’re so subtle.

“He wasn’t there, actually. Must’ve been busy.”

He laughed a little. “I guess even superhero’s have social lives.”

Do you, Adrien? Do you?

“Speaking of, my birthday’s next Friday and, obviously, my dad said I couldn’t have a party,” he explained, voice turning a little bitter. “But he said I could invite a few friends over in the afternoon. Would you like to come?”

My eyes widened in shock. “Your dad‘s letting you have friends over?”

“I know, right?” He replied with a delightfully bewildered smile. “I guess people can change.”

The bell rang and my classmates forded through the door, sitting in their seats and preparing for day.

“Morning, Chloé,” Marinette offered with a smile and a wave as she entered the room. I gave her a small smile back.

“I thought you and Marinette weren’t friends,” Adrien whispered to me as he leaned over to my seat.

“I guess people can change.”

Chapter Text

"Hey, watch it!" I snapped, a tall form colliding with me as I walked out of the locker rooms, books spilling all over the floor. 

In the dead of the night Hawk Moth had akumatized another citizen, one that took on the role of the Pied Piper, luring children out of their beds and planning to drown them in the Seine. The victim had been a recently divorced man whose wife had moved across the world with their children, denying him all custody rights. I advised the man seek a lawyer and possibly a therapist. 

I think it may have been one of the most stressful akuma attacks, knowing that if I was too late, those children would have drowned. It seemed I was constantly reminding myself that the magical ladybugs didn't heal trauma. 

Needless to say, the night had been exhausting and I barely got a blink of a sleep. I dozed off in biology, of all classed. Ms. Mendeleiev yelled at me in front of the entire class and gave me after class detention. The rewards of saving Paris, it seemed. Which was why this jackass who was apparently too tall to see had just rammed into me.

 Spitting out a annoyed mumble, I crouched down to pick up my books. My hand rested on a larger one, causing me to look up to see the tall jackass on his knees helping me gather my books. Okay, maybe he wasn't a complete jackass but he should have been looking where he was going. 

I pulled my hand back as if I had been burned, a sneer forming its way on my face as my eyes met his river blue ones. Instead of reacting like a normal person and taking a hint, he gave me a gentle smirk and offered me the textbook. I snatched it out of his hand and put it atop the pile in my arms. 

"I could have done that myself," I bit out before standing up. 

"I'm sure could have," he replied with an infuriating calmness, his voice almost as deep as his eyes. "You should probably look where you're going next time."

My eye twitched in irritation, blood boiling. "You're the one who needs to do that! You literally ran into me."

He smirked again. "No, I was minding my own business before you nearly assaulted me with that door."

"The don't walk so close to the door, idiot!" I all but yelled at him, tiredness from the previous night mixing with frustration from the day as I blew up at him. "Who are you anyways? Do you even go here, or are you just a stalker?" 

Really, I should have known who he was was - what with the dark hair tipped with blue and the effortlessly attractive, cool vibe. But I was so tired and my brain just wouldn't, you know, brain. 

"Couffaine," he said in that calm voice. "Luka Couffaine." He put his ridiculously large hand out for me to shake. I just looked at it. 

Was Luka always an annoyingly handsome jackass? 

"What kind of person says their last name first?" I questioned with a half sneer. My insults and snide remarks did nothing to break his calm exterior, only serving to fuel that irritating smirk. 

"You're-"

My phone rang, interrupting him. "Sorry, this is more important than you," I told him with an obviously fake smile before answering the phone. "Yes, Jean Claude?"

I walked towards the doors of the school, expecting the limo to be outside. My eyes caught up to my ears as he explained the car had ran over something sharp on the way to school and it had to be fixed, meaning I'd have to wait a while for it to be fixed. I did my best to supress a groan of frustration but it slipped out a bit; I was just so tired, I wanted to collapse on my bed and not think about anything. Would Tikki kill me if I used Lady Luck to get home quickly? 

"What's up?" The jackass asked as I hung up the phone, doubtlessly wondering why I looked so defeated. 

"The limo's out of commission," I whined quietly, a small pout forming on my lips. 

"I can give you a ride home," he said easily, walking down the steps. 

"Uhh, what?" Isn't he, like, fifteen? 

My brow furrowed more when I saw him stand in front of a black motorbike, pulling a helmet out of his bag. "I was supposed to drive my sister home today but she went somewhere with her friends, so I have a spare helmet."

"You expect me to get on that thing?" 

Luka just shrugged. "You can stay here if you want." 

The options rolled around in my mind; stay at school for maybe an hour and risk getting even less sleep or go on a death machine with a jackass but get home quicker. Hmm, a tough decision, to be sure. But... every bone in my body was exhausted, the Pied Piper throwing me around a lot the previous night, every joint aching from the constant leaping and dodging. 

I walked towards Luka begrudgingly, the boy giving me an almost smug smile as I practically ripped the helmet from his hands. "By no means does this mean I like you." 

"Wouldn't dream of it," he shot back before his brow furrowed slightly. "You're putting that on wrong." 

I struggled with my helmet, the heavy thing seemingly too large for my head. Luka effortlessly took it off my head before turning it around and adjusting the straps under my chin so it snuggly fit, his warm skin brushing against my cheek as he did so. I only realised then how close we were standing to each other. 

He got on the bike then, sliding the other helmet off the handle and placing it over his head. His was different from mine - it covered his entire face, where as mind seemed more like a bicycle helmet than anything. 

"You know how to get on?" He asked, voice muffled by his helmet. I only rolled my eyes at him, getting onto the bike was a piece of cake compared to not getting crushed by a giant stone monster. 

You know what wasn't a piece of cake, though? Wrapping my arms around Luka. He made a remark that I would fall off when I hesitated, only making me groan in annoyance before I tentatively encircled my arms around his waist. I kept a reasonable distance between the two of us as he started driving but as soon as he got into the road and sped up, my body collided right into his back, leaving not even an inch of room between. I narrowed my eyes in annoyance when I heard him chuckle. 

I would never admit it to the jackass I was wrapped around like a koala, but riding on a motorbike was unreasonably fun. The wind ran through my hair like an old friend, a similar feeling of freedom that calmed and excited me when I swung across buildings as Lady Luck. Luka's warmth was comforting against the chilly breeze that nipped at my skin, so much so that I fought the urge to rest my cheek on his back. Over my dead body. 

We were in front of the hotel all too soon, the loud roaring of the bike quieting down some as he stopped at the entrance. "Thanks," I said, handing him the helmet after I climbed off the bike. 

"Anytime," he said casually, his small smile now more charming than that irritating smirk that seemed stuck on his face. "Try not assault anyone else with a door."

The gentleness was wiped off my face as I glared at him. "Yeah, well, try not to be so annoying."

"Will do, princess," he mused, placing his helmet back on his head before giving me a two finger wave and driving off. 

Seriously, wasn't he like fifteen? How was he driving a motorbike?

"How annoying," I murmured under my breath as I walked into the hotel. How could someone be so inconsiderate as to run into someone and then blame them? 

"Are you sure you don't like him a little bit?" Tikki teased as she flew from my jacket when we got into the elevator. 

I scoffed as I crossed my arms. "Like him? As if. I've never met someone so irritating in my entire life."

Tikki gave me a teasing smile. "That blush says otherwise." 

"Don't test me, I will give these earrings to a meth addict." 

"What are you doing here?" 

The rest of the week passed with ease on account of Hawk Mouth only akumatizing one person, granted I hadn't expected to see Lady WIFI so soon. Originally, it had been my - Chloé’s - fault that Alya had been akumatized; she was desperate to find out who Ladybug really was and, for some ungodly reason, thought she was Chloé. As always, she took it too far and ended up taking a picture of Chloé’s locker which led her to get suspended. 

I think Alya may have not became such an obsessed fan of Lady Luck as a result of my harsh treatment during the Stoneheart, which honestly was a relief. I'm sure her intentions were pure but I really could not afford to be constantly worrying about Alya's safety if she decided to stalk my every move. The Lady Blog wasn't a thing in this timeline but neither was the constant risk of Alya being in danger and that seemed like a fair trade to me. 

Thankfully, I wasn't the reason she was akumatized in this timeline but Mr. Damocles was still involved. Apparently, Alya had started her own personal blog which, in more than one incident, she complained about the school on. Long story short, Mr. Damocles found out about it and suspended her, threatening expulsion if she didn't take it down. The frustration of her "silenced voice" was enough for the akuma to take hold of her. 

It was a long night, and there were a few close calls, but Cat Noir and I were able to purify her akuma (you know, because he actually showed up this time). I could just imagine Hawk Moth stomping his feet like a child at another failure. 

A part from that, school was actually going pretty well now that Marinette were friends... well, I don't know how else to describe what we were. I didn't spend every waking moment with her but we greeted each other, and would often study in the library together during our free period. And, because Marinette liked me, it seemed everyone else in the class were less mean with their words. Maybe I was still a little hesitant to be around her but not being treated worse than Hawk Moth was certainly a perk. 

I spent most of my time with Aurore and Sabrina, the latter following me around like second nature and the former terrified to part from me, lest she be the subject of more bullying. Honestly, Aurore was actually a very nice girl and I was in utter disbelief that these people would bully her so mercilessly. Well, unlike Aurore, I really had no reputation to lose and I was more than happy to throw daggers at anyone who tried to bully her. 

Adrien's birthday party came very quickly and I already had an idea of how to prove Gabriel was Hawk Moth but those plans got stuck in my brain like gum on a shoe when I saw him in front of the Agreste estate. 

The jackass shrugged. "Agreste and I play chess together."

"You play chess?" 

"He's really good too." My heart jumped into my throat at Adrien's voice, the electronic gate opening as he stood behind it, beckoning us in. "I'm glad you both could make it!" 

"Sure thing, Agreste," Luka replied casually, giving him one of those bro hug-handshake things that men always did. I didn't miss that annoying smirk he shot me. 

Adrien then pulled me to a hug, his arms encircling around my torso as mine awkwardly pat his back. Was he always so openly affectionate with Chloé? Either way, it didn't stop me from glaring at Luke from over Adrien's shoulder, wanting nothing more than to sock him in the jaw and wipe that smirk off his face. 

He explained "the others" were already there as he led us into the mansion, the interior just as cold and grand as I'd imagined. Sometimes, when you entered a place riddled with grief, you could still feel the memories of happiness, the ghost of what once was. That wasn't something I felt in the Agreste mansion - there wasn't so much as a breath of life or a speck of dust. It was just a cold embrace of apathy. 

Still, there was a feeling of Deja-vu, as if I'd been there before. Not as if I'd just seen it through a screen either but physically walked through the halls of white and black, playing hiding and seek, giggling when Adrien failed to find me. He'd often cry when he couldn't, terrified his only friend had left him. I always knew I had to stop those tears before Emilie heard. 

Adrien took us to his bedroom which was built like an amusement park. Nino, Alya, and Marinette were already there, looking around in what seemed to be amazement. Adrien Agreste truly was the boy who had everything, right? Something told me I knew better. 

"They built you a... skatepark?" 

"I just wanted to go to school. You know, like a normal kid?" 

"Even your mom said no?"

"She can be worse than dad sometimes." 

Nino's smile fell when he saw me. "Uh, why is Chloé here?" Marinette hit him in the stomach. 

I only rolled my eyes, keeping my snide remark to myself. This was the first in ever that Adrien got to invite a group of friends to his house and I wouldn't be the one to ruin it for him. Even if my whole body was begging me to tell Nino how stupid his shirt was. 

Adrien introduced Alya to Luka, remembering that she was also new this year. I took notice through that conversation of the balloon near Adrien's bed that, to my surprise, said "Happy Sixteenth" rather than fourteenth which... you know, was supposed to be his age? 

"Adrien," I asked suddenly. "You're sixteen today?" 

He smiled at me. "Yeah, time goes quickly, huh?" 

Sure does, considering you're supposed to be fourteen! 

I joined the others on the couch as Adrien went to get his other game controllers, pondering silently as they engaged in laughter. How was I supposed to trust anything if even our ages were different? Just how badly had my memories morphed reality? It seemed I either knew things I definitely shouldn't have or my memories of the show were completely unreliable. So how was it that I had all this extra information? 

There was a knock on the door as Adrien finished plugging in all the controllers, the door opening to reveal Nathalie with a shorter girl who had black hair. 

"Kagami, I'm surprised you could make it," he said with a smile, getting up to greet her with... a handshake? I shook my head, trying not to overthink it. Perhaps Kagami didn't like hugs, I was sure Adrien also greeted Alya and Marinette with really long, overly affectionate hugs. There was nothing strange about it, right? "Guys, this is Kagami Tsurugi, my favourite fencing partner."

"Wow, you do a lot of extracurriculars," Alya mused. Adrien only smiled. 

Alright, this was really odd; Kagami and Luka weren't introduced until season two. Granted, if this world was now playing by reality's rules then it made a lot of since for them - especially Luka - to be around. That didn't mean she would be in the class soon, did it? 

Adrien only had four controllers so he, Nino, Alya, Marinette played first. Obviously, Marinette was kicking all of their asses. I tried to look like I was having a good time, I really did, but it was near impossible when all I could think about was dealing with Lila Rossi, the worst character in the entire show. If Chloe was hated, then Lila was utterly despised. 

"You know, if you glare at the tv like that, it might explode," Luka whispered into my ear, breaking me from my anxious thoughts. 

He stood behind me from where I was sitting on the couch, looking at me with amusement whilst my eyes were wide. I crossed my arms and scoffed quiet before turning back to the game. "Mind your business, blue." By no means my most creative insult but my mind was elsewhere. 

"Blue?" He sounded entertained. 

"Yeah, shut up." 

My eyes fell to Kagami, who was staring at me. Staring, not glaring, surprisingly. Did she still have a huge crush on Adrien or had that changed too? Kagami gave me an awkward, slightly forced smile that looked as though she had never smiled in her life. I shot her one back. 

The match came to an end, the screen announcing Marinette's victory while Nino wallowed in despair. He had come dead last after Adrien and Alya, which I took just the slightest amount of satisfaction. 

"Oh, I should probably check on the snack," Adrien remembered, making move to stand up. 

I shot up from my seat - now was a perfect time to get some evidence. "I'll do it! You're the birthday boy, you should stay here with your guests."

"Are you sure, Chlo?" He asked, even though I was already half way to the door. 

"Yeah," I replied lightly, brushing off his concerns. "I've already been here before so I know we're I'm going."

I thought I had succeeded when Adrien murmured a gentle "thanks" but my life was never that easy. Fate always had to throw some kind of balder in front of my peaceful path. 

"I'll go with you," Kagami stated, already walking towards me. "I would like to get to know you better." 

I stifled a groan. "Great." 

I practically dragged my feet out of Adrien's room, Kagami's stick straight posture joining me as I made way to the staircase. It was literally perfect; I would go in Gabriel's office, find that secret safe thingy beside the painting, and take the book. I knew it was a big risk, considering the cameras and how much trouble Adrien would get into - I doubted he'd ever be able to have friends over again - but it would be worth the price if it meant I could reveal Hawk Moth's identity without arousing suspicion. 

Granted, I couldn't shake the foreboding feeling that I was forgetting something important. Something that would greatly interfere with my plans. 

"So, you're Chloé?" Kagami asked suddenly as we walked down the staircase. 

"Yep." 

"Adrien talks about you a lot."

"Oh, goody." 

We got to the dining room but Nathalie was not in site, so we continued on to the kitchen. The chef mentioned it being about five or ten minutes. I said I'd wait and that Kagami could go upstairs to the others, but she insisted on staying, following me as I sat on one of the dining room lounges. 

Kagami sat in front of me and I couldn't help but feel like she was examining me - picking apart my every flaw, digging through my flesh with nothing but her eyes to see what I was made of. I wanted to squirm around in my seat to hide my vulnerabilities but that would've just made things worse. 

"You should take a picture, it'll last longer," I remarked, really not appreciating her staring. 

Her eyes narrowed slightly, seemingly still dissecting me like I was a lab experiment she didn't understand. "Are you in love with Adrien?"

I choked on the very air in front of me. "What?"

"Are you in love with Adrien?" She questioned again, as if it was a normal. 

"No, god no. He's like a brother to me." Surprisingly, those words felt honest, as if I really had known Adrien for a lifetime. Like we grew up together, raised as brother's in arms with nothing but nannies and cold money to comfort us. 

Kagami exhaled, as if relief had entered her lungs. "I don't believe Adrien feels the same." That was the first time she didn't sound like a total robot, vulnerability seeping into her tone. So she did like Adrien. 

Right, well, this conversation is becoming extremely awkward and I have a butterfly man to catch. 

I practically shot up from my seat, eager to leave the room and its suffocating tension. "Hey, I really have to pee. Do you mind waiting for the food while I go?"

Kagami only nodded slowly. I bit my tongue and ignored the sorrow in her eyes; whatever going on between her and Adrien was none of my business, I had reassured her that I had no feelings for him and that was all I could do. As I left the dining room, I could've sworn I heard the shuffle of shoes behind the staircase but I shrugged it off when I saw nothing. 

I knocked on Gabriel's office door loudly, waiting for an answer or a grunt of annoyance. When I heard nothing, I held my breath and prayed the door would be unlocked. 

BINGO! 

I could have cried in relief that something, finally, went right in my life. I peered my head through the gap in the door, happy to see the office empty. Quietly, I made my way inside and shut the door. Though, I supposed there was really no use being quiet because Gabriel would have it all on tape anyways but I still didn't want my plan messed with before I could even put it into action. 

The painting really was beautiful, like some sort of abstract art mixed with renaissance inspiration - truly something you would see in the Louvre. My hands didn't want to touch it, worried I'd somehow damage or taint it, but I forced them to regardless. I felt and pressed around randomly, the painting opening up to a shelf filled with all different kind of artefacts that would have been close to Gabriel's heart. 

But I was only interested in the leather-bound brown and red book that looked older than time itself. I gently took it from the shelf when something else caught my eye, gleaming at me as it sat in front of a framed picture of Emilie; was that the peacock miraculous? 

I could take it, I thought. I should take it. It certainly caused a lot of problems, aiding in Gabriel's rise to power. I knew there was no other option but to take it and yet that feeling was back, this thing that warned me I was forgetting something. Something dangerous. 

"I'm not even human!" 

I doubled over in pain, my stomach in absolute agony, that phantom wound making a reappearance as that worm ate at my eye again. It only lasted for a moment but a moment was all that was all that was needed when it was excruciating. 

Taking a deep breath, I shoved those stupid false memories away with that feeling and wrapped my hand around the Peacock miraculous. Maybe Gabriel would be furious enough to forbid Adrien from leaving the house ever again but, unfortunately, that was collateral damage when dealing with a supervillain terrorising a city. 

I shoved the miraculous in my pocket and ignored my guilt. Sometimes sacrifices had to be made. 

Chapter Text

They say the flap of a butterfly's wings can set of a cataclysm... so which butterfly caused so much blood?

"Adrien is mine, Chloé Bourgeois!" 

The voice loomed closer like a giant, malicious clock, reminding me that my time was almost up. Still, I didn't take much notice when blood poured on my hands from the wound in my torso. Some people say that adrenaline kicks in so you can't feel anything, or you go into shock and just become numb - those people had obviously never been stabbed through the stomach before. Everything hurt. 

The voice taunted me again, promising it would find me... like nails on a chalkboard. It only fuelled the thumping in my head, like my survival instincts knocking at my brain. Warning me that if I shut my eyes, I would never wake up again. 

My mind told me I needed to keep moving, that I had to stumble, or even crawl, my way to survival so I had even a slither of a chance to see the light of day. My body answered the brain tiredly, slumping against a wall before collapsing against the floor. No matter how much the brain demanded, my body simply could not go on. 

"I'll find you, Chloé!"

The cool wall against my back was nice contrast to the sweat that dripped down my temple, a result of my heart pumping like a steam train. The ground was hard and dirty but I couldn't find myself to care, not when my body was giving out an a maniacal villain was trying to kill me. The worst thing was that I had no one to blame but myself. 

Maybe if I hadn't run into Master Fu, he would have given Marinette the miraculous. 

Maybe if I had been meaner, Adrien wouldn't have invited me to his house. 

Maybe if I had comforted Kagami instead of leaving when she was upset, she wouldn't have been akumatized. 

Maybe if I hadn't been in such a rush to get out of there with my stolen goods, I wouldn't have left Tikki in Adrien's room. 

Maybe if I had lived life instead of letting unreliable memories dictate me, I wouldn't have been bleeding out in an abandoned workshop. 

I shut my eyes briefly, dully aware that I would probably never open them again, but the shame of the 'what ifs' haunted me and I almost preferred death. Would it stick this time, I found myself wondering, I would I really just be dead? Was my life as Chloe over before it even began? 

There were a lot of things I didn't get to do - I should have gotten macrons from Marinette's parents' bakery, or taken Adrien to an amusement park so he could feel like a normal teenager. I should have tried harder in school so I could get a good career, or I should have told my dad I loved him one last time. 

Honestly, it was a little funny how I had been stabbed in the exact same spot three times. Wait... no, that wasn't right, it was only the second time. But I had a specific memory of having a terrible, gruesome wound in my torso, much worse than that of Stormy Weather's ice blades. Maybe it was a nightmare or... a repressed memory. 

Or maybe-

"Found you, Chloé!" 

Ah, I forgot about her. 

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die but the life I saw wasn't mine, or it shouldn't have been, at least. 

Mama getting on a plane when I was two, daddy holding me in his arms so I didn't chase after her. Screaming at him six months later when he said she wouldn't be coming home for a long time. 

Playing hide and seek with Adrien. Emilie stroking my hair gently, humming as she soothed me after she found me crying over my mother. Trying to comfort Adrien when he told me his uncle hit him. Félix pushing Adrien down the stairs. Adrien pushing back. Telling Adrien he could marry me when he was older, Félix sulking when I said that. 

Seeing Marinette with her parents in the park. Sticking gum in her hair so she had to get it cut, crying when her parents loved her just the same. Telling dad he was a terrible father when mama forgot my birthday. Spitting on Marinette. 

Holding Adrien's hand at his mom's memorial. Watching Gabriel detach from real life. Helping Adrien get into public school. 

Being saved by Ladybug. Hawk Moth terrorisations. Getting a miraculous. Hating Ladybug and being akumatized again. Losing my miraculous forever. Being sent to London. Adrien hating  me. 

They began to go blurry after that, as if Chloé had locked them away. As if I had locked them away. 

The sword was just barley an inch away from my flesh, the very dust stuck in the air, as if time itself had passed for my regrets to truly sink in. For the memories to flow through. At some point, Queen Bee was in front of me, crossing her arms with a sneer on her face. 

"We said we'd be better in this life." 

"I know," I replied, a tear falling down my cheek. 

I wanted to continue to deny, to believe in the false memories I had given myself. But that was nothing more than a defence put in place by my subconscious, the shock and fear and grief too much for any one person to handle. 

"You know who you are, Chloé," she said firmly, but not unkindly. 

I only nodded at her, remembering vaguely of the promise I had made but not quite certain why I had made it. Either way, I knew I had to get out of this battle alive no matter the cost. 

For better or for worse, I was and always had been Chloé Bourgeois. And I had a job to do. 

"Duusu, spread my feathers!" 

The bright blue flash was enough to catch the akumatized Kagami off guard, missing my entirely and stabbing into the ground below. I kicked her sword away from her, the wound in my stomach less of a inescapable agony and more of a dull ache. It was still there but I could fight with it. I would fight with it. 

She rammed at me with her sword once she had retrieved it, her eyes raging and fiery like a bull. I dodged just in time, her sword now imbedded to the cement wall. I took this as my opportunity to jump from the window and run towards Agreste Manor - I needed Tikki. 

My lungs burned, body still doing its best to ease the fatal wound even whilst in transformation. I was just near Agreste manor when I stopped, shielded by trees and shrubbery to de-transform without being seen. Not that it mattered when Hawk Moth already knew who I was.  

"Duusu, fall my feathers."

The little, sapphire blue peacock kwami fell into my palms, gently nestled in the palms of my hands as we both caught our breaths. I was sure she had lots of questions but I didn't have time to answer them, not when the maniacal villain was still out for my head. 

"Chloé!" Tikki's voiced called out with concern as she suddenly flew towards me, ramming right into my shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"I will be as soon as-"

"Tikki!" Duusu exclaimed with excitement. "I haven't seen you since... oh, how long's it been?" 

"Duusu?" Tikki questioned. "Where have you-"

"Guys!" I interrupted. "Can we please do this later? There's an akuma on the loose."

"Right!" Tikki replied. 

"Tikki, spots on!" 

The pink glow was more comfortable to the sapphire, like a familiar friend that was always willing to support me. To protect me. An intangible ally that would assist me in saving the city and the future itself. 

I kept the peacock brooch pinned to my suit, Duusu quietly resting inside. It felt odd to have two miraculous, like my body was heavy but my veins tingled with power. It was the perfect adrenaline boost to combat the pain of my wound. 

My yo-yo wrapped around Cat Noir's torso, moving him out of the way just in time before the sword bit at his flesh. 

"Impeccable timing, sunshine," he mused with a dopey smile as I released him. 

Wish I could say the same when I was being stabbed. 

Alright, maybe I was a little bitter. But why did it always feel like I was saving him in the nick of time? Was he just constantly fawning over pictures of Marinette? 

"Let's end this quickly," I told him, acutely aware of the pain in my stomach. Even with the transformation and the extra miraculous it still hurt, like a constant reminder I had been an inch away from death. I summoned my lucky charm - fate seemed to agree with my hastiness, putting a sword right in my hands. 

"You care for fencing, lucky?" Cat Noir asked, still cracking comments as if this wasn't life or death. I really had to talk to him about that. 

"No way," I replied, handing it to him. He looked at me with confusion for a moment. "I know that girl, honour and pride is a big thing. Ask for a duel." 

Cat Noir did what I said with little complaint. She wiped the floor with him, Cat Noir ending on his back as she prepared to stab his guts out. I wrapped my yo-yo around her sword, pulling it towards Cat Noir. 

"Cataclysm!" He called out, the black butterfly flying from the broken weapon.

I purified the little creature before setting everything back to normal, relieved to have all my flesh back in one piece. I couldn't help the little "fuck yeah" that slipped out when I high fived Cat Noir, but I certainly didn't expect him to say it back to me. 

I was fairly sure Cat Noir took Kagami home, but I didn't really care to ask, I just wanted to go home and sleep. 

Of course, sleep was impossible with two curious kwamis, shooting constant questions at each and at me.

The reunion was sweet, even I had to admit. I was fairly sure there were tears in Tikki’s eyes, overwhelmed with emotion at seeing her friend after so long.

Duusu was forbidden to tell Tikki anything of her passed owner, so, naturally Tikki turned her questions to me.

“Where did you find the peacock miraculous, Chloé?” Tikki asked, still sticking close to Duusu, as if terrified she would lose her again.

“In-“ My voice caught in my throat as I really thought it over, my memories now rushing back. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t fight Hawk Moth yet, not when my powers were still growing. Furthermore, I didn’t have any allies apart from Cat Noir and I couldn’t be certain he’d be willing to go against his father.

So that begged the question, was it a good idea to tell Tikki? Could I tell her everything I had learned? That I had been apart of a terrible, terrible future and my soul had been sent back as a last result.

I took a deep breath. “Duusu, could we have a little privacy?”

She made an offended noise and crossed her little arms. “Hmph, you don’t want me here? How rude!”

“Duusu,” Tikki said firmly, needing no other words for the kwami to fly into the bathroom and explore that.

Now was the hard part. Yay.

“Tikki, there’s a miraculous that can control time, right?” She nodded. “I… is it possible to send a person back in time, to their past body?”

She seemed to think for a moment, as if turning the wheels of her memories. “I wouldn’t say it’s impossible but I don’t believe it’s ever happened.”

“I think it has. I know it has.”

Tikki tilted her head, as if trying to grasp what I was saying. “Chloé, are you…”

“I’m from the future,” I told her, the words coming out of my mouth sounding utterly ridiculous. “I’m only just starting to remember but I’ve already lived this life before. Except, everything’s different now.”

“This is insane,” Tikki said. “Wait, what’s different?”

“Well, for one, Marinette has the ladybug miraculous.”

Her eyes seemed to glint in understanding then, as if putting a final puzzle piece in place. “Ah, so that’s why you tried to give the miraculous to her.”

“Right.”

Tikki went quiet then, real quiet, her face turning somber. “Chloé, what happened in that future? What was so bad that you had to go back in time?”

“I don’t remember,” I admitted. “Not completely, at least, everything’s been coming back in small flashes. But it was gruesome.”

“Sometimes, when all the kwamis are together, we have the power to perform a miracle,” she explained.

“Like combing the cat and ladybug miraculous and being granted a wish?”

Her eyes widened then. “Wow, you really do know a lot.” I laughed a little. “Not quite, it’s different; the wish can be anything, even the impossible, but it has a price. When all of us kwamis combine our magic, it can only be used when all of us as a collective believe the situation to be hopeless. Even then there are conditions involved that can greatly affect what happens. It hasn’t happened before so none of us know how it works properly.”

“Would the guardian of the miraculous know?”

“Possibly, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to him, Chloé, at least not yet.”

“Uh, why? He can help us.”

“It could be extremely dangerous for anyone aside from you to know what happens in that future timeline. Like I said, there are a lot of conditions that come with it and we don’t know what those are yet.”

“So, to clarify, I shouldn’t tell you who Hawk Moth is?”

“No, you need to let things run their natural course without interfering too much.”

“Ugh, that’s so stupid!” I complained. “I was literally sent back to interfere, to make sure that future doesn’t happen!”

“I know,” Tikki sighed. “But this is a delicate path to walk and you shouldn’t tell anyone, including me, anything of that future unless it is absolutely detrimental. For example, was Hawk Moth the one who caused that future?”

I thought the obvious answer would be yes but I knew Gabriel Agreste was Hawk Moth because Ladybug and Cat Noir had defeated him, because Marinette specifically told me that he had died because of his actions. And the man in my nightmares wasn’t Gabriel Agreste, I knew that to be certain from the way he carried himself. So, then who could this malicious villain be?

“No. Truth be told, I don’t even remember who it was.”

“There’s probably a reason for that.”

Tikki and Duusu continued talking, excitedly catching up on everything. I was sure Duusu was just itching to tell Tikki about Emilie and Gabriel and Nathalie and Nooroo but she was bound by magic to keep her lips shut. It seemed I was too.

I curled up into my bed as the night sky covered Paris, Tikki and Duusu lightly snoring from the couch. Every bone in my body whined in exhaustion but my mind was running a mile a minute, still coming to terms with the fact that I was Chloé, for real. That I had been turned back into my teenage self in order to stop a terrible future I didn’t have nearly enough information about.

It was a little bit ironic, how when I was actually sixteen I would have done anything to be Ladybug. But that was before I knew Marinette, before I witnessed her sacrifices and scars. By the end of it all, I was relieved I didn’t have her responsibility. But now it had been shouldered to me.

Still, as overwhelming as it was, a part of me was happy Marinette finally got to be normal. That she didn’t have to live her life jumping around secrets and saving lives.

Perhaps this was my penance for being so awful in my past life.

Chapter Text

“Can you shut up for five fucking minutes, Chloé?” 

Marinette didn’t swear often, usually taking a gentle or calm approach rather than being consumed by anger. But she had really snapped this time, something that shook even me to my very core. 

“Every time you open your mouth, I just want to strangle you.” Her words cut deep, especially when they were so raw and vulnerable. Her unbridled anger directed entirely at me. “ God , I wish it had been you.” 

Ouch - that hurt. 

Cat Noir’s - Adrien’s - body was never found, and neither was his miraculous, but it was clear from the absolute destruction of the building that he had been crushed. His body no more recognisable than rubble and debris. 

Technically, it hadn’t been my fault but I wasn’t exactly doing anything to help the situation either. I wanted to bite back at her but even I had enough awareness to know that she was absolutely devastated, her hopes and dreams turned to dust along with Adrien’s corpse.  

—

I’d thought Adrien would just give me my bag on Monday morning during school, I certainly hadn’t expected he would personally come to the hotel and loiter around as if he had nothing better to do. 

“I haven’t been over in a while,” he mused, looking around the penthouse common area. It was basically used as a living room for my dad and I but we didn’t spend much time in it. 

“Your dad’s really been keeping you on a tight leash these days,” I said back, awfully casual for such a loaded statement. Considering his father was the man terrorizing Paris, I think I was being generous. 

Adrien stiffened at that. “He’s just protective of me, that’s all.”

I rolled my eyes and leaned my head back on the couch lazily. “You’re sixteen, you need to have some freedom.” 

“He lets me go to school!”

“Adrien,” I sighed, looking at him blankly. “Literally every teenager goes to school - it isn’t something you should have to beg for.” 

He went quiet then and averted his eyes from mine, as if he was thinking deeply. Maybe I was being harsh but all I could wonder was why I had never had this conversation with him before. What exactly was Gabriel’s plan when Adrien turned eighteen? He couldn’t keep him locked up forever. 

Maybe if Gabriel had actually given Adrien freedom from the beginning, he wouldn’t have become Cat Noir and… no, best not to think of that. 

Honestly, I was majorly confused on how Adrien was even visiting me; Gabriel should have been furious, locking Adrien up, and forbidding him from ever seeing me again. Why was Adrien just acting like everything was normal? Why would Gabriel let Adrien near me if he suspected I had knowledge of the miraculous? 

“My dad he… he just doesn’t know what to do, you know, since my mom died. I think he’s just scared of losing me.” 

I restrained another eye roll, instead placing what I hoped was a comforting hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “You and I both know he did the same when Emilie was alive.” 

I thought he’d get angry again, defensive - like he always did whenever someone criticized his father’s parenting. Instead, he placed his hand on mine, as if scared I would remove it from his shoulder, and gave me a gentle look. 

“I know, Chlo, I’m just,” he sighed. “I’m just trying to pick my battles. He’s very stubborn.” 

“I’m aware.” 

He smiled at me with a terribly tender look in eyes. “I’m glad I have you.” 

As his friend, he means, I told myself, trying to push down any panic. Adrien has always thought of me as his friend, sometimes even less than that. There was nothing between us and there never would be, I had to learn that the hard way in my past life. 

So, why did I feel so uneasy? And why did Adrien keep his hand tightly wrapped around mine? 

—

Marinette choked on her laughter, as if it was uncontainable. I sat there awkwardly, posture stiff as the girl giggled uncontrollably. I hadn’t even said anything that funny. 

“I do not have a crush on Adrien,” she said breathlessly, laughter still bubbling up. 

“But…” You’re supposed to, I wanted to say. I stopped myself, though, knowing it would only open a can of worms I couldn’t answer for. Besides, hadn’t I promised myself I would stop relying entirely on my blurry memories? 

Still, Marinette and Adrien had loved each other to the point of sacrificing their lives. The two of them not being in love left a sour taste in my mouth. Did that also mean Adrien wasn’t in love with Ladybug? Well… there wasn’t a Ladybug so was he just not in love with anyone? Perhaps Kagami actually had a chance. 

“Why would you even think that?” She asked, more serious now but still wearing a ghost of a smile on her lips. 

“Uh, you two just look really good together.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, they did look together when they had been dating. Not that I would have ever admitted that. 

She hummed thoughtfully. “Blondes are my type.” 

I tried to ignore the blush that painted my cheeks and went back to my geometry homework. 

She’s not talking about you, I scolded myself. She’s talking about… Zoe! She hasn’t met Zoe… Rose! She must be talking about Rose, or-

“Aurore!” Marinette exclaimed, taking the words right out of my mouth. My brow furrowed in confusion for a moment but relaxed when I saw Aurore standing near our table. 

“Hey guys,” she said. “Do you mind if I study with you?” 

“Sure thing,” Marinette replied, gesturing for the seat next to her. Aurore took it gratefully. 

“You never get here this early,” I said as she pulled out some of her books. It was odd for Aurore to be at school so early, the girl preferring to arrive as close to bell time as possible to avoid running into people. Any opportunity for bullying was avoided, even if it had died down quite a bit as more and more people got akumatized. 

“Yeah, my mom had to get to work earlier,” she explained before her eyes widened and she began to stand up. “Is it alright that I’m here? If I’m bothering you, I can-”

“Stop being stupid,” I snapped, interrupting her. “You’re not bothering anyone. Sit down.” 

Aurore sat down and went back to her homework but I didn’t miss the small smile she gave me. As subtle as possible, I returned it. 

“Oh yeah,” Marinette began. I held back a sigh at being interrupted from my homework yet again. “You didn’t come back to Adrien’s on Saturday, where did you go?”

“Catching butterflies.” The glint in her eyes told me she got the message. 

The bell for homeroom rang not long after that and Marinette and I had to split from Aurore. I gave the girl the most reassuring smile I possibly could, silently letting her know I was there for her. I wasn’t afraid to crush anyone who hurt my friends and Aurore had very quickly become someone I considered a friend. 

I took my regular seat next to Sabrina but Marinette lingered near my desk for a moment as her eyes glanced at hers, empty of Alya’s presence. 

“Alya might be absent today,” she said. “You could come sit with me, if you wanted.” 

It was almost a tempting offer but my eyes glanced at Sabrina. “Nah, I like the view from the front.” Marinette only nodded and went to her seat. 

Sabrina didn’t have any friends other than me, both out of pure shyness and because she was friends with me that people disliked her. I had been avoiding her quite a lot, the guilt a heavy weight on my heart when I thought of how I treated her. How I never spoke to her after I left Paris. 

“Hey, are you busy Friday afternoon?” I asked her. 

Her eyes widened in surprise. “I don’t think so.” 

“Shopping? On me?” Well, on daddy.

She smiled and nodded excitedly and then Miss Bustier walked in, taking the roll and informing us of the endless assignments that were due. I really did try to pay attention but my skin seared, instincts warning me that someone was watching me. 

It stayed that way for the whole class. 

—

I had hoped I would be able to get through a school day without sneaking off to be a superhero but, of course, that didn’t happen. 

Nathaniel had been sketching in class, one of the teachers scolding him in front of everyone to the point of practically bringing him to tears. I didn’t even need to mock him because Kim did - the jock making jokes about Nathaniel’s crush on Marinette. 

Not much time later, Kim was terrorized in the courtyard by a giant soccer ball. I ran to the girls’ bathrooms and transformed, yanking the ball away from Kim before he was crushed. It disappeared in the blink of an eye, however, a giant plane propeller crashed down upon me. I was able to dodge it, blades spilling across the cement as they tried to eat at students’ flesh. I was able to save a few and, thankfully, Cat Noir saved the others. 

At that point, the Evillustrator had made his escape and Cat Noir and I were left to plan. 

“The victim’s real name is Nathaniel, and he attends this school,” I explained, even if he already knew that. “There are two people he might go after, so we have to split up.”

“Are you sure you aren’t a fortune teller?” He joked as I sent him over the picture of Marinette. As much as I loathed spending that much time with Kim, I thought it might’ve been possible for Marinette to fall in love with Cat Noir rather than Adrien. It certainly didn’t hurt to experiment.

“Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the Evillustrator has a crush on her,” I told him. “Her address is-”

“Her parents own that really good bakery, right?”

“Yep.” 

“Got it,” he replied, all too happy at the chance of getting baked goods. “Where are you going?”

“To another student’s house, Kim Chein Le Ature.”

“Does the Evillistrator have a crush on him too?” 

I rolled my eyes at him. “Just make sure Marinette is safe!” I left quickly after that. 

Instead of actually speaking to Kim, I just watched his house from above, unsurprised when the Evillustrator never even made an appearance. He must have gone straight to Marinette’s house. I was really hoping Cat Noir took the same tactic as I did and just observed, but I seriously doubted it. 

Unfortunately for me, I was so convinced that he had gone to Marinette’s house that I hadn’t even considered I’d been tailed. I didn’t even see the giant blade fall down upon me. 

Chapter Text

The blade collided with the rapid swinging of my yo-yo, instincts moving barely a breath before the blade slid down on my skull and signed my death certificate.

“Don’t you have better things to do than stalk bugs?” I questioned the Evillustrator with a groan as the blade pushed against my yo-yo, no less than an inch from my face.

“This bug needs to be crushed!” He exclaimed, the blade splitting in two to attack me from different angles.

“Wow, original.” I jumped up into the air just as the blades crashed into together, the scraping sound of metal against metal enough for my face to crinkle. “Let’s end this - Lucky Charm!”

I could’ve rolled my eyes when a key fell into my hands, engraved with the numbers ‘912’. What kind of stupid riddle was this?

“You think you can defeat me with that?” Evillustrator mocked, drawing up a large anvil to crush me.

“Would you shut up, sketchy? I’m thinking.” The anvils kept forming and I briefly wondered how large Nathaniel’s rage had been if the best he could do was cartoon tricks.

912, 912… ugh, what does it mean?

I landed on one of the roofs in a crouch position as I pondered over the lucky charm. Evillustrator had followed me, though, drawing up a large spear launcher to, you know, launch a spear at me. My eyes widened as I saw it, wondering if I could even dodge it in time.

Fortunately, someone pushed me out of the way just in time - Cat Noir’s pure black suit filling my view. It was true he had saved me, but I couldn’t stop the glare forming on my face as his body fell onto mine. He just gave a nervous chuckle as he helped me up.

“He didn’t pay a visit to Marinette’s house, sunshine - seems like you got to have all the fun,” he remarked as we dodged the projectiles aimed at us.

“I shiver to think what you do on your weekends if you think this is fun, kitty.”

Swinging my yo-yo, it wrapped around one of his legs, bringing him down to the ground with Cat Noir and I. He drew a giant pair of scissors that attempted to cut through the string but came my way when that failed, blades snipping furiously as it charged at me.

“Cataclysm!” Cat Noir called out, the scissors disintegrating into a pile of ash before they had a chance to nip my flesh.

As the Evillustrator tried to draw something new, Cat Noir had already swooped in and kicked the pencil in my direction. “For you, dear lady,” he joked with a bow.

“Thank you, kind sir,” I replied, crushing the pencil with my foot before the black butterfly flew out. “Let’s purify this little guy.”

Cat Noir helped Nathaniel up from the ground, briefly explaining what had happened before advising him to go home. “Aren’t you gonna fix everything?” Cat Noir asked, noticing my gaze lingering on the key in my hand.

“It’s odd,” I mused. “I didn’t even need to use it this time.”

He shrugged. “Maybe you just need it to set everything back?”

“No, I can use my yo-yo for that.”

Sometimes, there would be a case when Marinette needed her lucky charm later, when she thought the battle was over. Was that happening? Was there another villain I didn’t know about?

My eyes widened as it hit me; 912, the warehouse! The grimoire! I had dropped the grimoire in the warehouse when Kagami was trying to kill me!

I figured Hawk Moth had somehow gotten it back but… was the lucky charm trying to tell me that he hadn’t? That he was just as clueless as I?

It wouldn’t hurt to check.

Cat Noir gently grabbed my wrist as my yo-yo grappled on a building, stopping me before I took off. “Where are you going?”

“There’s something I have to do,” I told him.

“I can help you,” he said, voice almost desperate. “We’re a team, remember?”

I rolled my eyes at him and shrugged his hand off. “Just because we’re a team doesn’t mean we have to be stuck together like glue, catnip.”

Some secrets were better kept, anyways.

I was surprised to see the ancient grimoire in my hand once again, leather bound and old as time. Secrets hidden in its eggshell pages that could change the outcome of the future itself. If Adrien wasn’t in trouble for the book going missing, did that mean I didn’t have to return it to Gabriel? It certainly would do no good in his hands but was that trailing too far from the future I knew.

I groaned in pain, the worm eating the inside of my eye again; blood, smoke, flames, destruction. It wasn’t like the future I knew was a good future.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” I finally called out, throwing the key into the air and clutching the book tightly.

The trek back to the hotel was a nervous one, constantly watching from the corner of my eye as I swung across buildings. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Hawk Moth would send akumatized victims to my home now, considering he definitely knew I had the peacock miraculous and probably had suspicions I was Lady Luck.

It was time to put my fail safe in motion.

“You want me to do what?” Tikki questioned after we got home and explained the plan.

“You have to take me to the guardian of the miraculous, Tikki, for the safety of my identity and Duusu.”

Tikki had an anxious look on her little face. “I don’t know, Chloé, technically I’m not allowed to bring you to the guardian.”

“And, technically, I’m not even supposed to be here.” She avoided my eyes, the decision weighing heavily on her heart. I sighed. “You wanna fix Duusu’s miraculous, don’t you?”

Tikki sighed back at me. “Yeah.”

“And we can give him the grimoire, which might be essential to defeat Hawk Moth.”

In the end, I won our little moral debate and Tikki led me to the Guardian’s house, Duusu’s brooch safely tucked away in my pocket.

It was a small place, barely a hole in the wall, but very calming - the scent of green tea and old parchment filling my nostrils, nostalgia for memories I had never even experienced.

There was a short old man sat crossed legged on a mat, his eyes shut in serenity. I tried to be as quiet as I could so I didn’t disturb him but one of eyes peaked open and a small smile slipped onto his face.

“Hello, Lady Luck.”

Tikki advised me not to let Master Fu know of knowledge of the future, explaining that the results could be catastrophic (as if the entire future hadn’t been catastrophic but whatever). Still, I couldn’t even bring myself to pretend to be surprised because that would have just been stupid.

“I know it’s forbidden for us to bring our holders to you but it’s urgent!” Tikki explained as she flew towards him. I followed into the room, shutting the door behind me.

I handed him the grimoire, his eyes widening as his hands roamed over it. He opened the book, skimming over every page as if he couldn’t believe he was seeing it.

“The grimoire… I thought it was lost forever,” he looked up to me with widened eyes. “Where did you find this?”

“That’s not all,” I told him, pulling the peacock brooch from my pocket and handing that to him.

His mouth fell agape, hands shaking slightly. “Duusu… how did you…”

“I’m just that good,” I replied, restraining the urge to flip my hair. I didn’t miss the little glare Tikki gave me but I just smiled at her.

Tikki was still deciding if it was safe for her to know who Hawk Moth was, worried she may not be able to restrain her anger and longing to see her friend again. However, we both agreed Hawk Moth’s identity and any information regarding the future would be kept secret from Master Fu. Like Tikki said, dealing with the seams of time could be dangerous.

Besides, I already knew that Hawk Moth - at least, Gabriel Agreste’s Hawk Moth - was not the threat that destroyed the future I came from. It was someone else, someone willing to burn down Paris to reach their goals. When I knew who they were, well, that wouldn’t be kept a secret. Perhaps time alteration was dangerous, but whoever I had been killed by in that alternate future was far more deadly.

“Where did you… how did you retrieve the grimoire and Duusu?” He asked again, somewhat regaining his composure.

I’d never actually met Master Fu in my previous life but Marinette often told stories about him, recalling bittersweet memories of the guardian who gave his life to fix his mistakes.

“How stupid do you have to be to lose two miraculous?” I scoffed when I first heard of him. Marinette had only glared at me, too tired and old to deal with my antics at this point in her life. Alya, however, hadn’t restrained from giving me a mouthful of a lecture, making it clear that I was easily replaceable.

I could understand why Marinette remembered him so fondly now though, the old man was just a breath of fresh air in a world of chaos and confusion. Tikki really did try to be a mentor but she didn’t understand what it meant to be a human - a lot of issues must have been trivial to a god-like immortal being. But Master Fu was human and he would understand the crushing responsibilities better than anyone.

Even if he was the one who cast those burdens onto me. Onto Marinette, who had to give up her childhood, freedom, and in the end, her life.

Would I be able to do the same? Did I even want to?

“I ran into a trash can and it fell out,” I lied with absolute confidence. I could almost feel Tikki restrain a face palm. Seriously, what was I supposed to say? Master, I had a vision and it appeared to me outside the butterfly man’s residence but he had already fluttered away.

He raised a grey eyebrow and looked at Tikki but she avoided his tired eyes. “Very well,” he said after a moment, accepting my lame excuse. “You know, whoever was in possession of Duusu and the grimoire is more than likely Hawk Moth.”

It would be stupid to think a guardian almost as old as time wouldn’t see through my lie but I was willing to bet he also knew I wasn’t lying without cause. All would be revealed in time, when my powers had grown and my allies were established.

“Unless the trash can is Hawk Moth, I have no leads.”

He only nodded in response.

“Oh, do you mind if I borrow the Bee Miraculous for a little bit?”

“Whatever for?”

I gave him a smile. “To cover my identity, of course.”

When I’d first stumbled upon Pollen, everything in my life felt like it was falling apart. My parents didn’t love each other, I had no friends, Ladybug would never care for me, and my own mother felt indifferent towards me. So indifferent that she didn’t know my name and decided she would whisk away with Marinette - a girl she’d never even met - rather than her own daughter.

So, when Pollen appeared out of thin air and gave me the opportunity to be extraordinary - to be someone both Ladybug and my mother would have to pay attention to - I was ecstatic. But, just like everything, I screwed it up and it was just more ammunition for those around me.

But Ladybug gave me another chance - she gave me so many chances. And I still allowed Hawk Moth to manipulate me - no, by the end, he didn’t even have to try, I wanted to hurt Ladybug. I wanted her to regret discarding me.

And then someone else was given the Bee Miraculous and it was like my mother leaving me all over again. Ladybug didn’t care about me and neither did Pollen. No one did. Hell, even my own father ended up liking Zoe better than me. Not that I blamed him.

In London, no one gave a damn that my daddy was mayor of Paris or that my mother was a fashion inspiration in America. Those snobby girls who had been raised on ballroom dancing and fine whiskeys found it easy to break me down to the bone, easily hitting every one of my vulnerabilities and insecurities. It was hard to act like an audacious, spoiled brat when no one cared about you. When you were far from home and rich little girls could put rats in your bed.

I’d wished for an Akuma on those days, wished that Hawk Moth would feel my anger and sorrow and betrayal and guilt and give me the means to take it out on those around me. But he never did, no black butterfly ever came and I realized with ice in my veins that not even Hawk Moth cared what happened to his most useful pawn.

All this to say, seeing Pollen floating near me was very bittersweet and, for a moment, I was just the depressed and angry little girl who was abandoned in a boarding school.

While Tikki wrapped the little bee in a hug and the two shared a sweet reunion, my mind was consumed by the memories of the life that broke me, a single tear falling down my face.

“Chloé?” Tikki asked, her mood sombering as she looked at me. “Are you alright?”

I sniffled and wiped the tear from my face, as if eradicating any evidence of the weak girl I was once. “I’m fine. Shall we get to business?”

Tikki didn’t look convinced but she dropped the issue and explained the plan to Pollen.

It had taken a while to convince Master Fu, who understandably had a few concerns. Using the Bee Miraculous publicly would mean Hawk Moth knowing there were more miraculous in Paris, causing him to covet the guardian’s knowledge and the miracle box.

However, without revealing too much, I explained my identity was in jeopardy and Hawk Moth probably had his suspicions I was Lady Luck. And the best way to solve that was to make him believe I was too stupid to be such a superhero. Which required both Duusu and Pollen.

Still, it wouldn’t fix everything. Gabriel would have watched the footage of me stealing the miraculous and the grimoire, not even hesitating to open his secret safe and take the only two miraculous related items. Not only that, but he watched me use Duusu’s miraculous without the slightest bit of hesitation.

The original plan was to transform into Queen Bee in front of everyone, just as I did in the original timeline, and then create a sentimonster of Lady Luck to confront me and take the Bee Miraculous back. But, as I thought it over, I wondered if that was even a good plan. Maybe it would alleviate Hawk Moth’s suspicions on me being Lady Luck, but I’m sure my horrible personality could do that for me.

At the end of the day, Hawk Moth would keep a firm eye on me due to my suspicious behaviour, regardless of if he thought I was Lady Luck or not. All this plan would do is give Hawk Moth the knowledge of there being more miraculous in the city… although, he would be aware of that when I started gaining allies, regardless.

My head felt like it was about to explode; I shouldn’t have taken the grimoire at all! Just because he didn’t think I was Lady Luck didn’t mean he wouldn’t be suspicious. Ugh, I just wanted to collapse in the bathtub and drown.

“Chloé?” Tikki questioned again.

I sat up. “Right, this plan isn’t happening.”

“Wha-”

“Pollen, go back to Master Fu, I only need Duusu!”

“Umm…” Pollen nervously looked over to Tikki. “Is that safe?” The ladybug shrugged.

I didn’t need to publicly use a miraculous to separate Chloé from Lady Luck, I only needed Lady Luck and Chloé in the same place at the same time.

—

“Pollen, buzz on!”

A collective gasp echoed from the sea of people in the ballroom as I transformed, a familiar yellow light covering me.

I couldn’t create a sentimonster, not with everything I knew. To create life and destroy it was just… cruel, too cruel for me even. Master Fu was capable of guarding the miracle box from Hawk Moth but I was not capable of making a clone of myself and killing her.

I’d sacrifice my dignity if it meant I didn’t have to play god.

“See, daddy?” I said, loud enough for nearly the whole room to see, hoping people were getting their cameras out. “I am the most extraordinary thing here! In this whole city even!”

There were whispers and yells and questions, but my heart was racing a mile a minute, flight and fight kicking in at the memory of being ridiculed in my original timeline. To really sell the part, I should have stayed around, basking in the “glory” but all I could do was glide over party goers and race out the hotel doors.

“You’re not a superhero, you’re a super bully!”

“Half of the city has been akumatized because of her!”

“I wish she’d just go to New York and stay there!”

The tears streamed down my face as I curled in my knees, sitting on the highest rooftop I could find to watch the moonlight. It wouldn’t be long before my humiliation would start all over again but the night sky did something to ease my anxiety.

“Chloé?”

I didn’t need to turn around to know it was Cat Noir - Adrien - he had, after all, attended my father’s little party and saw the entire thing. The event that was no doubt live streamed to Gabriel Agreste, plotting his next move.

Cat Noir crouched down next to me, movements slow as if I was a bird that would be spooked by a swift movement.

“How did you get a miraculous?”

“I found it,” I said, one of many lies of the day. Somehow I figured it wouldn’t be my last.

“Could I please have it back? It could be dangerous for you.”

Adrien had always left a gaping hole of guilt in my heart, green eyes always reminding me how I took advantage of our friendship. I used him for status and fame when he genuinely cared about me. I did care about him too - he was one of my only friends growing up - but I never put any effort into our friendship and, in the end, even his saint-like patience ran out on me.

I should have just been a friend to him instead of constantly throwing myself at him.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Can we do it down there?”

He looked confused but didn’t ask any questions, gently wrapping his arm around my waist to secure me as he brought me down to the paparazzi covered roads.

I shut my eyes and took off the comb, handing the yellow and black headpiece to Cat Noir’s open paw. By tomorrow morning, my display would be littered all over Paris but tonight, Adrien’s gently green eyes may just soothe my worries.

“Thank you, Chloé,” he said gently before leaving. I had a strong feeling Hawk Moth was thinking the same thing.

All I could hope was that Hawk Moth would not suspect me to be Lady Luck and would write off my stealing his stuff as Chloé Bourgeois being Chloé Bourgeois.

The pit in my stomach told me otherwise, however. But tomorrow was a new day and I just wanted to sleep.

Chapter Text

Going to school wasn’t something I could stomach for the rest of the week, preferring to rot in my silk sheets rather than face the consequences of my actions. I still wondered if what I did was the right decision at all, if alerting Hawk Moth of the existence of there being more miraculous was a wise decision. 

Honestly, it felt like nothing I did was wise, like I was bound to screw everything up. 

I’d gotten texts and calls from  Adrien, Marinette, and Sabrina but I ignored all of them - it was easier to stay in my self-made limbo, to briefly forget about the world around me. 

Perhaps Hawk Moth was waiting for the right time to strike, patiently waiting for my humiliation to bubble and akumatized me, a perfect opportunity to retrieve the Bee Miraculous. That was another reason I stayed locked in the prison of my own making; I didn’t think I was strong enough to resist the akuma. My biggest fear was that I’d go back to school and my shame and rage would consume me, giving Hawk Moth immediate access to my miraculous. What if I really was just the same spiteful little girl who terrorized Paris? 

But, come Friday, I had to put on my big girl pants and suck it up because I’d made a promise to Sabrina. 

Dad seemed happy I was finally going back to school, his eyes having been stuck with worry for the entirety of the week. He must have been itching with questions, wondering how his daughter had found such a thing. I think he was scared I’d blow up at him and go back to thinking of him as the “worst dad in the world”, though, because he didn’t ask me anything. Keeping his concerns quietly to himself and just going along with everything I demanded, as usual. 

There were stares and whispers as I did the walk of shame from the limo to the school building. I only glared back, ego all but refusing to keep my head down and stay quiet. 

“Chloé!” A cheerful voice called out as I walked into the courtyard, Sabrina’s arms wrapping around my neck. “I was so worried about you! Are you okay?” 

I pushed her off as gently as I could. “Watch it, this top is worth more than your kidney.” It wasn’t quite the usual snappiness I usually spoke in but still snide enough to let her know not to worry. “I’m fine, I was just feeling under the weather.” 

I could practically feel Tikki shaking her head in disapproval at my lie but what was I supposed to do? Tell Sabrina the entire future rested on my shoulders? That would go well. 

Judgmental eyes followed me as Sabrina and I walked into the class. We sat in our normal seats, giving everyone a perfect opportunity to literally whisper about me behind my back. 

It’s for the greater good, I told myself, even if the whole situation made me question how far I was willing to go for the “greater good”.

When Marinette walked into class, she wiped off the look of shock as quickly as she could and gave me a small smile instead. I tried to do the same. I think Adrien tried to whisper something to me as the roll was being marked but I ignored him. 

The school day passed in a blur of toxic whispers and violent glares, an evil little voice in my ear telling me that nothing had changed. I ignored it, just as I tried to ignore the gossip, the growing feelings of helplessness, and my friends who incessantly asked if I was okay. 

Wait… friends? Were they my friends? Did I have friends? 

Well, Sabrina seemed to think they were my friends because, somehow, she got the ridiculous idea in her head to invite Marinette, Adrien, Aurore, Alya, Nino, and - worst of all - Luka. Seriously, I invited Sabrina - just Sabrina - and now all these other people were tagging along!

It truly was an icy surprise when I saw all six of them waiting outside the school when Sabrina and I left the building. I shot her a glare as we walked down the stairs towards them. She just smiled awkwardly. 

“Why are they here?” I gritted out, barely more than a whisper. 

“They’re your friends, Chloé,” she said hurriedly. “I thought it might cheer you up a little if they all came. The more the merrier!”

“ You’re my friend, I wanted to spend time with you.” 

“I-”

“Are you sure it’s alright if we come, Chloé?” Marinette asked, unknowingly interrupting Sabrina. Marinette looked hopeful, but Alya and Nino seemed to examine me with guarded gazes, as if I was a wild animal that couldn’t be trusted. 

Adrien was away from the group, most likely on the phone with Nathalie or his father. I eased up a little; Adrien wouldn’t be allowed to go, meaning none of the others would either. Marinette and Aurore I could tolerate but the rest I’d rather not be exposed to for an indefinite amount of time. 

My perfect plan fluttered away however when Adrien came back with a bright smile on his face. “My father said I can go!” That even made Nino and Alya perk up, happy that their friend was allowed to go out for once.

It seemed all eyes were on me and now I’d just be an asshole if I said I didn’t want them to come. 

I sighed. “Fine, let’s go.”

—-

The Love Lock bridge really was beautiful, especially when the sleepy afternoon sun hit it at just the right angle and the water was painted gold. Normally, it would be romantic but when I was surrounded by people who hated me in my past life, well, I couldn’t think of anything worse. 

Oh, no, Andre the ice cream maker appearing with his cart certainly was just the cherry on top. 

“We should get ice cream!” Alya called out with excitement. 

“Nah,” Nino scoffed. “Andre’s ice cream is totally overrated.”

Marinette shook her head with a laugh and crossed her arms. “Have you even tried it?” He grew quiet after that. She turned to Alya to explain. “Andre’s ice cream cart is super popular because there’s a legend that you’ll be with the person you eat it with forever.” 

“He’s also really good at match making,” Aurore added. “Like, scary good!” 

This only elevated Alya’s excitement. “Let’s get some!” 

I remained leaning on the bridge, idly picking at my nails. “You guys can, I’m not hungry.” My voice was just harsh enough to make them leave me alone - Nino, Alya, and Aurore going off to get their ice cream. Annoyingly, the other four hovered around me like flies. 

“Come on, Chlo, it could be fun,’ Adrien said. “You know, I’ve never had ice cream from a cart before.” 

“Probably because it’s wildly unhygienic,” I replied, not even bothering to look up. 

I heard Sabrina sigh. “You guys should go get your ice cream, I’ll… sort this out.”

With what seemed to be a lot of hesitance, Marinette and Adrien joined the others at Andre’s cart. Sabrina leaned on the bridge next to me. 

“Are you mad at me, Chloé?” Her voice was a mix of quiet guilt and apprehension. 

I sighed, crossing my arms and finally looking into Sabrina’s eyes. “I’m not mad, I just… ugh, I wanted to spend time with you. Like, just you.” 

“Oh,” she replied simply, looking at the ground. “I thought-”

“Yeah, I know you thought you were doing something nice but you didn’t even ask me,” I explained, surprised at the vulnerability in my voice. “I just wanted to have some… BFF time, or whatever.” 

I thought I’d hurt her feelings when she went quiet, but then she squealed and wrapped her arms around me. 

“Oh, Chloé, I’m so sorry!” She practically squealed. “I promise I’ll ask you next time.”

“Next time?” I questioned dryly. It went ignored. 

“Do you wanna come get ice cream?” 

“Nah,” I replied with a gentle smile, reassuring her I really wasn’t angry. “I’m really not hungry. You should go get some with Aurore, though.” I didn’t miss the blush that dusted her cheeks before she excitedly ran off.

I crossed my arms again as I watched the cart from the bridge, my (apparent) friends lining up to get a taste of the famous ice cream. Nino and Alya, Marinette and Adrien, Aurore and Sabrina (that was a surprising one) - everything was as it should’ve been. 

Wait, I thought to myself with a furrowed brow. Where’s- 

“Paris really is a beautiful city.”

My heart jumped into my throat at the sudden voice from beside me, Luka leaning his forearms on the Love Lock bridge as he watched the sunset, pure serenity on his features. 

“How long have you been there?” I questioned, trying to calm my pounding heart by placing a hand over it. 

“The whole time,” he replied easily, giving me a smirk as his gaze landed on me. “You aren’t very observant.” 

“It’s hard to be observant when you move like a ghost,” I bit out, copying his pose and leaning  on my forearms. “You’re not getting ice cream?”

Luka shrugged. “Numbers will be odd if I go. Seems like something that should be shared with someone.” 

“Yeah,” I breathed out, mind wandering. I’d never gotten a chance to share Andre’s ice cream with anyone in my past life, not that I’d ever admit that I wanted to. I hid my desires with complaints of it being “dirty” or “for peasants”. In truth, I had a feeling no one would want to share with me. It was easier to wrap myself in barbed wire than pretend to be a pretty flower that no one wanted. 

I heard Luka exhale, as if there was a war going on in his own mind. He stood to his full height before putting his hand out to me. “Come on.”

“Uh, what?”

“I’m not gonna let you mope here when you could be enjoying ice cream.” 

I looked up at him with a sneer. “If this is your idea of a confession, it sucks.” 

He exhaled again in what seemed to be exasperation, so I figured I had won and went back to looking at the river. But then I shrieked in shock. 

“Put me down!” I practically screamed, Luka having thrown me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing - his grip on my waist far too intimate. “Luka!” 

The jackass ignored me, easily striding over to the cart with the others as if my fists banging against his back had absolutely no effect on him. 

“I’m gonna sue you for this!” He only chuckled at my high pitched complaints, refusing to put me down even as he stood in line with the others. 

“Uhh… is she okay?” Aurore asked, leaning over to look at my angry red face. 

“I’m forcing her to have fun,” Luka replied simply. 

When it was our turn, Luka finally put me down. Blood had rushed to my head so when I was upright again, dizziness overtook me and fell right into his tall frame. His hands came up to my upper arms, gently holding them as he allowed me to lean on him. It was his fault so it really was the least he could do. 

Nino and Alya awkwardly shuffled up to Andre first, the two of them currently unaware that they were practically made for each other. 

“Hmm, new faces, I see,” Andre observed with a smile as he looked at all of us. “Two young love birds, hmm?” 

Nino awkwardly put his hands out. “No, no… we’re a… not a couple.” 

“Definitely not a couple,” Alya agreed, awkwardly looking at the ground. 

Andre only smiled at them kindly and made the combination. “Clementine and lime, for the two who will become one in time.” At that, Nino and Alya looked at each other awkwardly before taking the ice cream with a murmured gratefulness. 

Sabrina and Aurore were next, hands nervously wrapped together as Andre made their concoction. “Vanilla and lemon, for the blossoming love that will soon feel like heaven.” Sabrina looked to the ground shyly as Aurore giggled and took the ice cream from Andre, planting a small kiss on Sabrina’s cheek before leading the girl to where Nino and Alya stood. 

By the time it was for the next couple, Marinette, Adrien, Luka, and I had formed one group rather than two pairs, leaving Andre to examine us with confusion. 

“Hmm, mint and blackberry, blackberry and banana, banana and blueberry…. Even mint and banana! So many combinations and only two to be made!” 

I figured Adrien and Marinette would go, and I’d share with Luka because that’s the order we came in, but, for some reason, three pairs of eyes were on me. Why were they all waiting for me to make a decision? I wasn’t even the one who had wanted ice cream, I didn’t care who I shared it with. 

“I don’t even like banana ice cream,” I said with a shrug to Andre when no one said anything. 

Andre looked at me with wide eyes for a moment before chuckling lightly. “Your friends here may disagree… but, perhaps you need an ice cream for yourself to understand your range of flavors.” 

I went to question him, but he’d already started his humming as he built the ice cream. 

“Mint, like the eyes that look at you with an enamored tint.” He piled on a scoop of mint ice cream - plain, and safe but it definitely wasn’t my favourite. “Black cherry, like the soul whose love for you is out of the ordinary.” I’d never tried black cherry before - frankly, I’d never been a fan of cherries - but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try. “Finally, black coffee for the one who thinks you are as sweet as toffee.”

“You really struggled with the rhyming there, huh?” 

“Hush now and take your ice cream.” 

Maybe Andre thought he was doing something to spark romance in my life but I think he was just trying to load me up with as much ice cream as possible to take my money. 

I stood with the other four, awkwardly watching as they shared their ice cream. Thankfully, the others came back shortly. Adrien had some sort of combination of red and yellow, while Marinette had yellow and blue. Luka, however, had nothing. 

“I thought you wanted ice cream,” I questioned him with a raised eyebrow. 

He shrugged. “Nah, I just wanted you to stop moping. Besides, like I said, it feels pointless if I’m sharing it with someone.” 

I rolled my eyes at him. “Well, now you look awkward being the only one not eating any. Just share with me, I have too much anyways.” 

I offered him the second spoon I had and, after a moment of hesitation, he took the spoon and took a scoop of the ice cream. Smiling at me with a look in his eyes that turned my insides into butterflies. 

“Oh, no!” Marinette said loudly. “I dropped my ice cream, what will I do now?” 

Adrien then came next to Luka, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You know, I really don’t like this flavour. Why don’t you have mine?” 

For what felt like the millionth time that night, I rolled my eyes before shoving my ice cream to the three of them and taking Adrien’s from him. “You three can share that and I’ll have… whatever this flavour is.” 

I swore I heard the three of them grumble as they shared but I was too busy discovering how good banana ice cream actually tasted. Who knew people could change? 

“Hey, watch it!” Aurore snapped as someone ran into Sabrina, causing the ginger to get ice cream on her shirt. 

The bulky man turned around with a sneer on his face, eyes widening when he saw Aurore. “Hey, you’re that freak that got akumatized, what was it, three times!” He exclaimed, menacing laughter in his voice. “Oh, I’m so sorry for running into your little girlfriend, please don’t freeze me.” His cackles were malicious, Aurore’s face turning sour at his very presence. “Seriously, you’re nothing but an attention seeking bitch. No wonder you didn’t get that job, you’re ugly too.” 

Aurore’s eyes were watering, fists turning white as they clenched. With this explosive mixture of anger and sadness from his bullying, Aurore was a perfect victim for an akuma. And I swore I would protect her from that. 

“You’re one to talk,” I scoffed from behind him, directing his attention to me.

“Excuse me?” He demanded, face reddening. 

“Well, you might just be the ugliest person I’ve seen, so I don’t understand how you could judge anyone.” 

The man stepped forward, fists clenched in indignation as he approached me. “Listen here, you little cun-” 

Luka stepped right in front of me, his hand gripping the man’s arm before he could even touch me. “I strongly advise you not to finish that sentence.” 

I saw the man’s eyes widen momentarily but he put back his mask of intimidation as quickly as he could. “Or what, you emo prick?” 

The man suddenly groaned in pain before Luka could open his mouth, knees bending as his hands moved to sooth his privates. Marinette stood behind him with a glare, putting leg down from kicking in between his thighs. 

“I don’t think you want to find out,” she said firmly. “Come on, guys, let’s go.” She walked up to Sabrina and Aurore then, wrapping her arm around the girl’s shoulder as they walked away. Nino and Alya had stood in shock for most of the encounter but walked with the three of them anyway. 

Luka gently grabbed my hand, leading me to the others. As we walked away, though, I watched Adrien lean down to the man and whisper something into his ear. The man’s eyes widened with, what seemed to be, fear, body practically trembling. 

“Adrien,” I said, warily. “Are you coming?”

Adrien gave me a kind smile then, joining Luka and I without so much as a glance back to the man.

Chapter Text

He growled in frustration as his vision was cut off, pain igniting in his eyes as a flash of white consumed him. The first time, he’d worried the butterfly brooch was also broken, fearing he’d meet the same fate as Emilie. But now anger consumed him, blood boiling at yet another loss.

Gabriel’s constant defeats were humiliating, especially when losing at the hands of children. How was it possible? Was it the power of the ladybug and black cat miraculous, or were his abilities just lacking? He was almost relieved Emilie wasn’t around, for the humiliation of her watching his losses would be far too much to bear.

Stormy Weather’s familiar shame and anger had beckoned him, practically summoning her akuma to her. She had caused delicious havoc, Paris askew in the devastation of extreme snow and deadly ice. Gabriel would have preferred to not akumatize the same person multiple times, as his enemies would quickly figure the key to their defeat but Stormy Weather was unique, having been the closest to ushering Lady Luck to her demise.

An unknown girl - still barely more than a child - had taken the mantle of the ladybug earrings, utterly failing at battling the icy rage that was Gabriel’s Stormy Weather. This “Ladybug” had been so close to defeat, the miraculous practically in his hands, but she had gotten away and Lady Luck had returned to claim another victory.

After failing on three separate occasions, Gabriel thought he would retire Stormy Weather, but changed his mind when he felt that delicious cry for vengeance.

Of course, regret seeped into his veins when he realised Adrien had been near her, very nearly becoming a victim to her ice daggers. But he escaped and those annoying superheroes relished in Hawk Moth’s defeat.

He threw his cane across the room, butterflies erupting in a storm of panic at the sudden movement. Getting those miraculous should have been like stealing candy from a baby!
“Dark wings fall,” he gritted out, an anxious looking Nooroo floating near him. The silence was thick with tension, danger bells echoing loud enough for the kwami to tremble.

“Master?” The small kwami asked with a hesitant voice.

Gabriel just sighed, slowly walking to the exit. “I’m fine, Nooroo, I just need to think.” It was like a walk of shame every time he was defeated, going back to his office with the weight of his humiliation on his shoulders.

He sat down on the armchair near the window, cradling his nose between his thumb and pointer finger as he breathed through the growing migraine. The migraine that incessant Lady Luck always seemed to give him.

Nathalie had quietly walked into the room, placing a glass of water and an aspirin on the table in front of him, standing idly beside him like a soldier waiting for a command.

“I could help you, you know,” she said, hope in her voice.

Gabriel groaned. “I’m not having this argument again.” Especially not when the peacock miraculous had been stolen. He still had to tell Nathalie, body recoiling at the thought of such a conversation.

“I won’t overdo it,” she suddenly said, ignoring him. “Just enough for you to win against Lady Luck.”

Gabriel could have chuckled at that, had he been in the right mood; Cat Noir was barely a threat without Lady Luck. Perhaps if he was a grown adult and was more aware of how destructive his powers could be but, as a naive child, he was the least of Gabriel’s worries. Lady Luck, however, often took the lead and was the only one who could reverse the damage he caused. The one who “purified” his precious akumas.

“Please, Gabriel,” Nathalie continued, her voice filled with vulnerability. “Let me help you. I won’t… I’ll stay safe, I promise, just let me-”

Gabriel’s fist suddenly slammed against the armrest. “The miraculous was stolen!” He exclaimed with frustration. “You can’t help me because there is no peacock miraculous.”

Nathalie’s face was shock ridden, eyes wide as his words sunk in. “Stolen? Why didn’t you tell me? By who?”

“Chloé Bourgeois,” he gritted out between clenched teeth. That girl was becoming an absolute menace, far more trouble than she was worth.

That was the main reason Gabriel didn’t tell Nathalie about the stolen miraculous and grimoire; the fear coursing through his veins was too humiliating to admit. He had kept the footage private, watching it over a million times, desperately scanning the screen to find anything he may have missed - any possible explanation as to how Chloé Bourgeois had discovered his secrets. God willing, she didn’t know all of his secrets.

For weeks he had agonized over it, thinking over every rational possibility as to how she would know to steal the only items related to the miraculous. For a moment, he thought she may have been Lady Luck (not that that explained how she had known about the safe) but then there was that… display at her father’s party.  Lady Luck would never be stupid enough to reveal the existence of more miraculous items in Paris.

Of course, that only gave Gabriel’s mind more cannon fodder to torture himself over. There were more miraculous right there in Paris, practically within his grasp. All he had to do was find them.

Well, he also had to defeat Lady Luck and find out how Chloé Bourgeois, not only knew to steal the peacock miraculous, but had access to another miraculous. At least he understood Lady Luck - a young girl, burdened with the responsibility of protecting the city, far too guilty to reject the duty of being the city’s savior. She was just a child, after all, and it would be easy to manipulate her when Gabriel got the chance.

However, Miss Bourgeois was a different story altogether. She was Gabriel’s least favourite thing; unpredictable. A wild card in a deck he previously thought he was the dealer of. There were many things Chloé Bourgeois could have been - some far too grim for Gabriel to even suggest - but he knew he had to observe her further if he wanted to understand the true nature of what she was.

If left unchecked, Chloé Bourgeois could destroy everything he had worked for.

“Oh, sir, I forgot to remind you.”

Unfortunately, Miss Bourgeois was not the only radical he would have to deal with.

“Your family is visiting tomorrow.”

“I’d hardly call them family.”

Perhaps a worse threat than Lady Luck and Chloé combined.

“I know you aren’t his biggest fan, but try to be nice. He is your nephew, after all.”

Félix.

Chapter Text

I opened the yo-yo, the beautiful white butterfly fluttering away as if dancing to a beautiful melody.

“Bye, little guy,” I muttered to him, not able to restrain the smile that graced my face.

My smile dropped when I heard the quiet sobs behind me, Aurore’s knees digging into the dirt as her arms hugged her trembling body. Cat Noir crouched warily beside her, as if not quite knowing how to approach the situation. His eyes were desperate, as if begging for help.

“Aurore,” he began quietly, as gently as he could. “You know, it’s not your fault-”

“Why me?” She sobbed out, voice hoarse from her crying. “Why does he keep targeting me? Am I just an awful person? Am I just evil?”

Her voice and body trembled, as if all the sorrow in the world had filled her heart and she could no longer contain it. Cat Noir didn’t know what to do - usually, he was better with the words, but I think I knew what to do this time.

I walked to her slowly, crouching down to lean on one of my knees and gently resting my hand on her shaking shoulder.

“This isn’t a reflection of you, Aurore,” I told her. “Hawk Moth is the one forcing you to do these things, just like everyone else.”

“But this is the fourth time,” she cried. “I tried to kill someone.”

I grit my teeth in anger, all of which directed at the pathetic man who tormented innocent people from the safety of his home. Aurore wasn’t just a civilian any more, she was my friend, someone I had laughed with, someone who had told me her secrets and fears and joys. And the fact that Hawk Moth was able to hurt and manipulate her so easily made me feel like a pretty shitty friend. I just wanted to erase all her pain.

“I wish we could just prevent people from being akumatized,” Cat Noir muttered gently, as frustrated and sympathetic as I was.

My eyes widened, my mind flashing with memory at the sentence.

“I can’t do it!” I yelled, practically throwing the yellow and black comb across the room.

Marinette sighed as I stomped to the chair like a toddler, taking a seat next to me with a furrowed brow. “The only one stopping you from gaining more power is yourself.”

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Who are you? The Riddler?”

“Chloe, the only limits on the power of the miraculous are the ones you put on yourself,” she said vaguely. “If you will yourself to do it, it will happen.”

A grin formed on my face at the very thought; I could stop Aurore from being akumatized.

I stood up suddenly, gaining Cat Noir and Aurore’s attention. I removed my yo-yo from my waist and grasped it firmly with my hand, visualizing exactly what I wanted. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, the warm tingles of creation erupting in my veins and moving to the yo-yo, a pink glow lighting from the inside.

I opened it, just as I would when releasing a butterfly, I pulled a yellow and blue umbrella charm from the inside. It was different from what Marinette used to create, but I supposed each holder had their own unique taste.

“Uh… what is that?” Cat Noir asked.

I crouched down to Aurore with a smile, gently grasping her hand and placing the charm in her palm. “Aurore, this is your own personal lucky charm. Keep it with you and it will stop you from being akumatized.”

She looked down at the little umbrella charm with a wide gaze before looking up at me. In a flash, she had her arms wrapped around my neck and was sobbing into my shoulder.

“Thank you so much, Lady Luck,” she said, voice muffled.

With a smile, I hugged her back. “Not a problem.”

—

I got to school late that morning, dark bags under my eyes and practically running into walls. By the time Stormy Weather had been defeated and I had given Aurore her lucky charm, it was already past midnight. To make matters worse, I was plagued with nightmares all night, constantly waking up in a cold sweat and my heart in my throat. Suffice to say, I felt like a zombie and I probably looked like one too.

Strangely enough, Adrien seemed fine. His posture was perfect, skin glowy as usual, not a strand of hair out of place. Seriously, how did he look flawless after dodging icicles all night?

Understandably, Aurore had stayed home, probably still processing the things Hawk Moth had made her do. Even with the assurance of the lucky charm, being turned into a villain by a grown man would have a terrible effect on anyone, especially when it had been done four times. To a teenager. 

“Chloé,” Sabrina whispered to me suddenly, gently shaking my arm. I only realised then that my eyes had fallen shut and Miss Bustier was looking at me with a pointed gaze, the classroom mostly silent as everyone looked at me.

“Nice to see you back in the land of the living, Chloé,” Miss Bustier joked, the class sharing a small chuckle. “Can you answer my question now?”

“I’d rather not,” I shrugged, placing my head back in the palm of my hand and closing my eyes. Surprisingly, the class shared another laugh and Marinette saved my ass from detention by answering the question.

The period flew by pretty quickly (mostly because I dozed off) and, before I knew it, the lunch bell rang. I sluggishly dragged my feet to my locker, briefly resting my head against the metal and shutting my eyes.

“Rough night?” Marinette asked gently as everyone was leaving.

“Was it that obvious?” I groaned. “We were fighting Stormy Weather all night.”

“Why don’t you go home early?” She suggested.

I looked at her with a pout. “‘Cause my dad will start asking questions and I just… I hate lying to him.”

She gave me a sympathetic look, gently placing her hand on my shoulder. “You could go to the nurse’s office and take a nap there?”

I scrunched up my face at the thought. “Ugh, I don’t even think they clean those beds.”

Marinette gave me a playful eye roll as she laughed. “I’ve given you all the solutions, Chloé, your only other option is to stay at school and tough it out.”

“Marinette, I don’t want solutions, I just want to vent.”

“Well, I’m sorry, if you complain about something I’m gonna try to help you.”

“Ugh, so annoying,” I muttered, but we still left the locker room smiling at each other.

I stayed at school for lunch, fearing I would just fall asleep if I went home. Instead of just sitting with Sabrina and Aurore like I always did, we had migrated to sit with Adrien, Marinette, Nino, and Alya. Somehow it felt like this merging would become a permanent thing and I wasn’t exactly sure how to feel about it.

Hopefully-

Oh my god. Where is Adrien’s ring!?

Any thoughts I had were immediately cut off like an abrupt record scratch, eyes widening with panic as they fell to Adrien’s hand. There was no ring - his miraculous was gone!

Had Gabriel found out Adrien was Cat Noir and took it? No… he wouldn’t have let Adrien back at school. Did Adrien lose it? No, no way he would do something so stupid.

Adrien had to know the extreme importance of his miraculous; there was no way he’d take it off. So why…

“Are you alright, Chloé?” Adrien asked, gently placing his ringless finger over mine.

His voice, as gentle and kind as it always was, somehow felt… off. Hollow, almost, just like his eyes when I looked into them; they appeared to show concern and kindness, but it was just a false appearance, a masquerade of the genuine thing. In truth, there was no kindness in sight, only malice.

And I only knew one person capable of such.

“I’m fine,” I snapped, pulling my hand away and crossing my arms as I glared at him.

The blond boy in front of me faked confusion and hurt, as if I had just shot a puppy. I restrained an eye roll; he was a good performer but he was doing too much. Adrien would never read so deeply into something.

Félix may have been an excellent actor, capable of fooling almost anyone, but I knew him. I knew who he was and what he was capable of. And one thing he was not capable of was kindness.

I wasn’t certain what his goal was in pretending to be Adrien - most likely just to cause mischief - but I couldn’t accuse him of anything in that moment, not when none of the people sitting with me knew that Adrien had a cousin who looked identical to him. Not when Félix was skilled in manipulation, able to twist my words around and throw daggers of accusation towards me instead.

But I wanted him to know I knew.

“Hey, Adrien?” I asked, fighting off the smirk that grew on my face. “How’s your cousin? You know, the one who lives in London. Félix.” 

His eyes didn’t widen and his mouth didn’t fall agape - like I said, Félix was a very skilled actor and would never let something so simple ruin his performance. But I did notice his jaw tense, a slight clench of his fingers. You tend to learn how to read someone when you grow up with them.

“You have a cousin?” Nino asked “Adrien”.

I rolled my eyes at his stupidity. “Most people have cousins, genius.” He glared at me but I ignored him.

My bickering with Nino had, apparently, given Félix enough time to fix the small crack in his mask as he gave me a pleasant smile. “Félix is great, Chloé, thanks for asking.”

I gave him a fake smile. “I’m sure he is.”

It wasn’t the anniversary of Emilie’s death, why was Félix and his mother visiting? Perhaps normal families paid each other regular visits, but Amilie and Gabriel hated each other. And, as much as Adrien hated to admit it, Félix hated Adrien too.

Unless… was it possible Amilie wanted the miraculous? I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Graham de Vanily family had a deep history with the miraculous, if my past life was anything to go off at least. So, I couldn’t entirely erase the idea that Amilie also took an interest in the miraculous.

Ugh, everything was so confusing and I just wanted to go to sleep.

Lunch was over quickly and we all made our way back to our lockers. Mine was being stubborn and everyone was already leaving the locker room by the time I had gotten it open. I dug around to find my chemistry textbook.

“You know, you might actually be smarter than you look.” The deep, annoyingly smug voice hadn’t startled me; I expected Félix to make his dramatic entrance.

I only sighed, continuing in my locker and not even looking at him. “You’re not six anymore, Félix, it’s not cute when you pretend to be Adrien.”

“I’m not surprised my cousin goes to a public school, considering how he’s always whining about how he wants to be normal,” he mused, ignoring what I had said. “But, I’ve got to say, I am disappointed in you, Chloé Bourgeois. To think you’d surround yourself with these people.”

“You mean people who are actually pleasant? Very different from you, I must say.” I piled my books in my arms and went to shut my locker, but Félix beat me to it, resting his arm right near my face and trapping me. My back barely inches away from his chest, occasionally brushing against him as we both breathed deeply.

“You should be more careful with what you say to me,” he murmured into my ear, his body uncomfortably close to mine. “Your luck may just run out.”

My eyes widened and my body tensed, paralyzed even as I heard him walk out the locker rooms. My legs practically collapsed beneath me as what he said ran through my mind.

Did Félix know I was Lady Luck?

Chapter Text

“So, Adrien has a cousin named Félix who looks exactly like him?” 

“Yep.”

“And he hates Adrien?”

“Yep.”

“And he was at school today?” 

“Yep.” 

Tikki gave me a weird look, as if trying to understand my thinking. “I’m sorry, Chloé, but I just don’t understand why this is such a big problem.”

“Because he’s evil!”

She gave an awkward smile. “Right.”

 “And because I think he knows I’m Lady Luck!” 

Tikki sighed, coming to rest on my shoulder. “I think you’re reading too much into what he said,” she said, trying to calm me. “How would he possibly know your identity?” 

“You don’t know him like I do, Tikki,” I explained, slumping on the couch as I crossed my arms. “He is smart - scarily smart.” 

“Smarter than Hawk Moth?” She asked, starting to edge the line of worrying. Tikki knew that I knew who Hawk Moth was, so she could only really trust my judgment on the question. Did I think Félix was smarter than Gabriel? 

“I think he could be.” I had to constantly remind myself that I didn’t know everything - my memories weren’t entirely reliable. Still, I knew that Félix was a force to be reckoned with; he may have looked like Adrien but that was where the similarities ended. 

One thing I remembered for certain was Hawk Moth getting hold of all the miraculous, causing Marinette to almost break mentally. And the person who gave them to Hawk Moth was Félix. So, yeah, I had to be wary around that pest. Hopefully, it would just be a quick visit. 

Our conversation ended when I heard the buzzing of my phone, Adrien’s face fitting the screen. Hopefully, it was actually him this time. 

“Hello?”

“Chloé?” Adrien’s voice was softer, far less harsh than Félix’s. Still, he was a very good actor and I would have to keep my guard up. “I’m so sorry for anything terrible I said to you today, I just…” he hesitated, as if not knowing what to say. “...I was having a really bad day. I’m sorry.”

I rolled my eyes; it was just like Adrien to take the blame if it meant sparing his cousin. Seriously, the boy was too nice for his own good. “I know Félix was pretending to be you, Adrien.” 

He made a surprised noise on the other side of the phone. “Uh… I don’t know what you’re talking about? That was me, I… uh… who’s Félix, anyway? You know, I was just, uh-”

“Adrien, stop, this is just painful.” 

Thankfully, he stopped his rambling. “How did you know?” He sighed. 

“Félix was sneering at the cafeteria food.” 

He sighed again. “Of course he would. Did you, uh, tell anyone else?” 

“Nah,” I said simply. “That’s up to you, not me.” Adrien would have hated it if I talked about Felix badly, even if he deserved it. 

“Thanks, Chlo. I’m really sorry if Félix caused any trouble.” 

“Eh, it’s alright,” I reassured boredly. “Where were you, anyways?” 

“Photoshoot. I guess he got bored and decided to pretend to be, like the old days.” I heard the smile in his voice and decided to stay silent instead of crushing his dreams. 

Yeah, definitely not because he wanted to be mean to your friends and destroy your social life.

In reality, the only reason Félix played nice all day instead of completely destroying Adrien’s reputation was probably because I was there. There weren’t many things I gave half a damn about but Adrien was one of them, and Félix knew that. And I was willing to bet he also knew I wouldn’t hesitate to cause a scene if he tried to do something unsavory with Adrien’s name, like destroying his friendships for example. 

“Why are they visiting, anyways?” 

“You’re never gonna believe this!” He exclaimed, suddenly very excited. I felt a pit form in my stomach. “Aunt Amilie and Félix are thinking of moving to Paris!” 

Why does God hate me?  

“They came to check out the area,” he explained. “Oh, now that I think about it, maybe that’s why Félix was pretending to be me today!” 

“Adrien-”

“Of course, he just wanted to see what the school was like!” 

“Adrien, no-”

“He would never do anything to hurt me.”

“Honey, no-”

“I feel so bad for accusing him. Were you saying something, Chloé?” 

My eye twitched as Tikki gave me a calming pat - I couldn’t act rashly, so I took a deep breath instead of yelling at him. “No. I wasn’t saying anything at all.” Hopefully he couldn’t hear the restrained frustration in my voice. 

“Oh, Félix just came back. I’ll talk to you later, Chlo!” 

“Yeah, see ya.” 

“Hey, Félix just suggested you come over. You should, that would be so much fun!”

Oh, sweet summer child. 

 “Sorry, I have a lot of homework. Besides, I don’t think your dad would be okay with it.” Especially considering I stole from him last time. 

“I’ll ask him and text you back.”

“No, Adrien, it’s- And he hung up on me. Great.”  

I flopped back on the couch, looking at the high ceiling with a bored gaze. Félix moving to Paris could prove to complicate my life a lot, so I hoped it didn’t work out. But, if my theory was correct, and he or Amilie had interest in the miraculous then they would definitely move to Paris. 

“Maybe you should go.”

I shot up. “Are you crazy?” 

“Think about it - this is a way to find out if Félix really knows you’re Lady Luck.”

“And how would I do that?” I asked blankly. 

Tikki shrugged. “You’re smart, you’ll figure it out.”

I laid back down. “Whatever. I doubt Gabriel would let me back after last time.”

My phone chimed with, what I guess, was a text from Adrien saying his dad said no, but I was too lazy to sit up and read it. 

“Think again,” Tikki chimed happily. “Apparently, Gabriel would be more than happy to have you over.” 

I made a groaning sound but I couldn’t help but think about how weird that was. Gabriel knew I stole from him, why would he invite me back? 

Still, Tikki was right; unfortunately, it seemed I would have to spend more time with Félix to figure out exactly what he knew. 

Maybe that’s what Gabriel was doing with me. 

Nathalie let me inside, the mansion just as cold and unwelcoming as it always had been. She eyed me warily as I walked in, failing to keep in place her mask of indifference. Gabriel must have told her what I had done and she was doubtlessly wondering why he would let me back inside his house. I found myself wondering the same. 

“Adrien’s in his room,” she told me, giving me a firm glare that said ‘don’t even think about going anywhere else’. 

I gave her a smile, like a wolf baring its teeth, before walking up the stairs. I felt her gaze on me the entire trek, right up until I was shielded by a wall and was knocking on Adrien’s door. 

“Come in!” 

I opened the door with a sigh and a prayer to get through such a painful situation. Adrien and Félix were sitting on the couch, remotes in hand as some type of video game was on screen. I repressed a laugh, the thought of Félix playing a video game somehow hilarious to me. 

The small sound made Adrien glance over his shoulder, practically throwing his controller away and standing up as soon as he saw me. 

“You came!” He exclaimed, rushing over to me and wrapping me in a very tight hug. Like last time, I awkwardly patted his back. 

“Yeah, my kw…. Kind papa said it would be a good idea.” I could practically feel Tikki’s glare at my slip up.

“Do you wanna play Super Smash Pals with me and Félix?” He asked, keeping his hand on my shoulder as he led me to the couch. 

“I’d rather not,” I said, sitting as far away from Felix as Adrien sat on the other side of him. 

“Wow, you’re just as fun as I remember, Bourgeois.” 

“And you’re just as irritating, Fathom.” 

Adrien sighed from the other side of Felix. “Guys, can you not fight?” 

I folded my arms and continued glaring at the rat in front of me. “Depends, has he apologised for pretending to be you yet?” 

“As a matter of fact, Bourgeois, I have,” he said, face annoyingly smug. “Like my dear cousin said, I just wanted to know if his school would be a good fit for me.”

“Normal people don’t pretend to be their cousins, you know that, right?” 

“Why don’t we shoot some hoops!” Adrien suggested suddenly, trying to break up whatever fight was simmering between Félix and I. 

“No thanks, I just got a manicure,” I replied, boredly. 

“As if you’re even competent enough to get the ball in the hoop.”

“Do you even have balls?” 

“Guys!” Adrien yelled again, although not unkindly. Félix and I both looked over to the exasperated boy, looking as though he was hanging on by a thread. “Why don’t I invite the others over, you know, so Félix can get to know them?”

Oh, I was sure Félix just loved the sound of that. 

“Would your father even let you?” Félix questioned. 

“I’ll go ask him. Can I trust you guys not to rip each other's throats out?”

Felix smiled kindly, like the deceptor he was. “Of course, dear cousin.” 

“I make no promises.” 

Adrien shook his head, but I saw a little ghost of a smile as he left the room. Leaving me and the spawn of Satan alone. As much as I loathed the very thought of it, it was probably the only way to find out what he knew. 

“You know, I’ve been wracking my brain for ages and, for the life of me, I just can’t figure out what you meant earlier.” Subtly was not my strong suit but I would receive no benefit from rushing into this integration. 

“You know exactly what I meant,” he replied, any pretense of civility gone as he looked at me, somehow feeling big and problematic even as we both sat down. 

Panic threatened to corrupt my plan but I breathed through it. I couldn’t let him see through me. 

Just play dumb, Chloé. That shouldn’t be too hard for you.

“I really don’t,” I told him. “You know, you should make it more clear when you threaten someone. The confusion can overpower the fear.”

Félix came very close all of a sudden, his face inches away from mine as he gave me a smug smirk, much crueler than Luka’s. 

“You can pretend as much as you’d like, Chloé Bourgeois, but I’ve been studying the miraculous for as long as I can remember and I can make your life very difficult if you don’t cooperate with me.” 

“What are you-”

Suddenly, the door opened, Adrien telling us what his dad had said. But even more suddenly, Félix’s lips were on mine, his arm wrapped around my waist, his skin pressing against mine. 

My eyes widened as Felix’s shut - as if we were sharing a tender kiss between lovers rather than a stolen one between enemies - my gaze locked to Adrien, who stood paralyzed with shock, fists clenched at his sides. 

I pushed Félix away from me - or tried, he was surprisingly very strong, his grip on my waist tightening, holding me even as he slowly lifted his lips from mine, his gaze one of tenderness rather than malice. I still sat there awestruck, trying to figure out what had just happened. 

“Oh, Adrien,” Félix said, feigning surprise as if he hadn’t orchestrated the whole thing. “I didn’t hear you come in.” 

Adrien just stood there, an unreadable expression on his face as his fists clenched and jaw tensed. Was he… angry? Whatever it was, the silence was terrifying. 

“Adrien-”

“Chloé, I think you should go.” His voice was harsh, colder than I had ever heard it. He didn’t even look at me, his piercing stare directed entirely at Félix who still had his hand on my waist.  

Somehow, this felt bigger than me, as if I was somehow intruding on a family affair. I stood up, relieved to have Félix’s skin off mine as I grabbed my bag, swiftly walking to the door. I tried to catch Adrien’s eye but he didn’t even look at me. 

Even if my survival instincts protested, I gently placed my hand on his arm, his entire body tense. Maybe it was my head, but I thought I felt him relax slightly at my touch, his green eyes finally looking at me. Thankfully, they had softened. 

“Call me later, okay?” I whispered gently to him, he only nodded. 

I raced down the stairs quickly, feeling like I had just left the beginnings of nuclear warfare. I thought I’d get away hastily, but, of course, my life wasn’t easy. Just as I reached the front door, Gabriel’s office door opened, the stoic man staring at me. 

“Miss Bourgeois, if you don’t mind, I’d like to have a word with you.”

Gabriel took me into his atelier/office thing - whatever it was. There were two chairs and a coffee table near Nathalie’s desk by the front window. Sitting across from him, knowing everything I did, was an odd experience. I found myself idly wondering if the steaming coffee in front of me was poisoned. 

“I do believe there has been quite a large misunderstanding between the two of us, miss Bourgeois,” he began, taking a sip from his black coffee. 

As not to seem rude, I gently picked up the ceramic cup, cradling it in my trembling hands. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

Honestly, I was exhausted. After playing mind games with Félix, I really just wanted to go home and not think about anything but, there I was, playing the exact same games with Hawk Moth himself. Then again, he couldn’t exactly akumatize anyone while he was distracted with me - which was definitely for the best considering Adrien’s anger made for perfect akuma prey. 

Would Gabriel akumatize his own son? I didn’t even want to think about what it would mean if he would, how far he had strayed from humanity. 

“Adrien said you were worried I wouldn’t allow you into my home,” he said, voice bordering on remorseful. Honestly, it would make more sense for Félix to be Gabriel’s son with how much acting they both did. Adrien never put on a facade. “Haven’t I always made you feel welcome?” 

“You can be my Queen Bee - side with me rather than Ladybug.” 

 A flinch of pain ran through my brain, the memory spinning through my mind like a too-full washing machine. “Yes, sir.” 

“You wound me with your formality; I was once like an uncle to you.” 

Where is he going with this? 

He stood, then, moving over to Nathalie’s desk and picking up his tablet. “You know, I’ve been planning a new release for my company - focusing on women’s clothing as well as men’s. You and Adrien would look very good together.” 

My eyes widened as I realised what he was doing; he was trying to manipulate me, trying to play on my desires and selfish tendencies in order to gain my trust. A million different thoughts ran in my head but the only thing that really stuck was that I had greatly underestimated Gabriel Agreste. He was much smarter than to just act impulsively and interrogate me as Hawk Moth; he wanted to get close to me, to earn my trust and learn how and why and I had taken the grimoire and miraculous. 

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. 

Two can play at that game, Gabriel. You want a stupid little girl? I’ll give you a stupid little girl. 

I gasped in excitement. “Oh, we so would! Adrikins would look way better with me than any random girl you could find on the street.”

I didn’t miss the growing smile on Gabriel’s face, but it certainly wasn’t one of kindness. “If you’re interested, I would love for you to model beside Adrien as the new face of the Gabriel brand.” 

This was dangerous terrain; being in a closer situation to the enemy. But I knew who he was whilst I didn’t know about me, I still held the advantage. I’d let Gabriel think he has me and all my secrets in the palm of his hand, all the while making my own moves to defeat him. 

Let the games begin.  

Chapter Text

Desire; something that everyone has felt in their life. A longing. A craving. A yearning. It could be argued that the human kind's ability to desire is what keeps the world running: ‘ I want this house, so I’ll go into debt for it.’ ‘I wish for this car, so I’ll work extra hours.’ ‘We yearn to keep living, so we’ll start giving a shit about the environment’. 

But not everyone had experienced desire the same way Adrien Agreste felt it. The object of his desire wasn’t just a simple want, it was as necessary as breathing. At some point, it had become one of the only things that kept him going - perhaps the oxygen in the air was what kept him alive, but the one he desired was what fuelled his will to live. 

So, imagine the ice cold rage that washed over him when he saw his cousin kissing the only person Adrien was certain he loved. 

Adrien couldn’t move, he couldn’t think - blood rushed to his head, pumping his heart with liquid rage as his fists clenched, nails digging into his skin so deeply he was certain flesh would tear. He watched the scene in front of him with a clenched jaw and wide eyes, wishing he could just look away. 

Félix had his hand on Chloé’s side, dangerously close to hem, where he would be able to touch her warm skin with his snake-like flesh - touching her where no one should. Adrien wasn’t stupid, often spending time observing Chloé allowing him to read her body language. Her eyes were wide, as if the kiss had caught her off guard. It was a small concession but Adrien allowed his anger to simmer down slightly, somewhat calmed to know Chloé didn’t want his cousin. That Félix only did this to get a rise out of Adrien. 

But that means he did this to her unwillingly, the dangerous thought crossed his mind, the weight of resentment crushing him even more, practically commanding him to hurt Felix. 

“Oh, Adrien,” Félix said nonchalantly when the infernal kiss ended. “I didn’t hear you come in.” 

Like hell you didn’t. 

Adrien could tolerate Felix pretending to be him, but this? This was crossing the line that Adrien didn’t even think he’d have to draw. 

“Adrien-” 

“Chloé, I think you should go.” Only when she flinched slightly did Adrien realise how harsh his voice had been. Guilt nipped at his steaming heart; he hadn’t meant to direct his anger at her. Still, she had to leave - Adrien was dangerously close to showing Chloé a side of himself that was best left locked up. To her, at least.

He continued glaring at Felix, surprised when Chloé gently placed her hand on his arm, his body relaxing into her touch. Like an angry cat that had been begrudgingly soothed into gentle purrs. She often had that effect on him. 

“Call me later, okay?” She said gently, to which he nodded. As if he wouldn’t. 

“Well,” Félix said as he stood, just after Chloé had shut the door behind her. “You made that sufficiently awkward, cousin.”

Adrien didn’t think, striding towards Felix with a silent stare. 

“What? Cat got your tongue? You know, she-”  

BAM!  

Félix was on the floor in an instant, toppled over from Adrien’s fist meeting his cheek. Blood ran down from his lip, skin already swelling from the sheer force he had been hit with. 

How far could he take it before someone realised what was happening? Could he pummel Félix until he was nothing but a mess of black and blue bruises? He couldn’t exactly pretend to be Adrien if he looked like a bruised banana. 

As he stood over his cousin with that same silently deadly glare, Félix looked up at Adrien with a look he’d never seen from his cousin; fear. It only occurred to him then that Félix hadn’t seen this side of him either, not since they were kids, at least. 

Adrien kneeled down, yanking Félix by his expensive collar, close enough to get his threat across. 

“If you ever touch Chloé again, you’ll be picking your teeth up off the floor.” 

He practically threw him back on the ground then, wiping his hand on his pants as if he had touched something disgusting. By this point, Félix’s initial shock had evaporated, examining Adrien with that skeptical glance like he always did. 

And then the bastard laughed.  

Félix laughed, still on the ground, as if he had just been told the funniest joke in the world. Of course, this laughter held no joy - only malice and amusement. 

“What’s so funny?” Adrien questioned, crossing his arms as he looked down at his cousin. 

He only spoke when his laughter finally died down, picking himself up from the floor as if Adrien hadn’t punched him with all his strength. 

“I just wasn’t expecting such a reaction,” Félix explained, breathless from his laughter. His face was more expressive than Adrien had seen it be in a while. “I knew this would get a rise out of you but… to punch me? To threaten me? I never thought I’d penetrate your golden boy persona.” 

A sneer grew on Adrien’s face, everything around him feeling as though it was covered in a dirty, sticky substance at the thought of Chloé being used in one of his cousin’s schemes. 

“So that’s it then, you forced yourself on Chloé just to make me angry?” Adrien’s voice was heavy, filled with resentment. 

Félix smirked then and Adrien had the distinct feeling he was not going to like what his cousin said next. “Perhaps. She is an extremely good kisser though.” 

There was that white, hot rage again, pushing Adrien forward with his fist clenched as he raced towards Félix. His cousin was prepared this time, though, easily grasping Adrien’s fist and twisting it behind his back. 

This only fuelled Adrien’s rage, the boy moving to kick Félix’s legs out from underneath him. Felix let go of him, though, pushing Adrien away so he remained upright and Adrien nearly toppled to the ground.

“Your movements are sloppy, cousin. I’m disappointed.” 

As much as Adrien wanted to beat Félix into the ground, he knew his cousin was far more skilled when it came to fighting. Perhaps he didn’t look it, but Félix was strong. Adrien was too, he knew that, but when it came down to skill, Félix would win and only leave Adrien angrier. 

“Are you done then?” Adrien gritted out, trying to contain his impulses. “You’ve seen me angry, so you’ll go home and leave Chloé alone? You got what you wanted.” 

Félix chuckled, a dry, harsh thing lacking any humor. “Oh, cousin dearest, we haven’t even started yet.”

Adrien wanted to demand what Félix meant, to interrogate him until he knew why his cousin was doing this to him, but Felix was already by the door. 

“You know,” he began idly. “I think I will stay in Paris, after all. We’ll have so much fun together.” The door shut quietly, leaving Adrien alone with his rage. 

Adrien’s fist hit the wall then, cracks forming in the sturdy infrastructure. Blood dripped down his knuckles, and there was an idea of pain but it wasn’t enough to distract him from his anger. I pushed his fist towards the wall, but something pushed back. 

“Woah, woah, kid, calm down!” Plagg’s usually indifferent voice rang out with urgency. “No need to get your cat suit in a bunch.” 

“Sorry, Plagg,” Adrien muttered, but his voice was still low and held anger. 

Plagg led the boy over to the couch, sitting him down before he destroyed the whole mansion. 

“So, your cousin’s pleasant,” the cat began, doubtlessly trying to get Adrien to talk about his feelings. 

“I’ll kill him,” he growled out. 

“No murder, please!” Plagg exclaimed. “I know you’ve got a thing for blondie but your reaction was a bit extreme.” 

“He kissed her, Plagg, right in front of me!” 

Honestly, Adrien wasn’t even certain how Félix knew that kissing Chloé would make the model angry. Had he made his feelings for her that obvious? Sure, he tried to give her a few hnts but she never seemed to get it. But that didn’t explain how Félix knew. The only person Adrien had really told was Plagg, so how did he-

Oh, god.

The realisation hit him like freezing cold water, remembering he had accidentally left his phone by his bed during the photoshoot. The phone in which he had saved countless photos of Chloé - hell, his wallpaper was a photo of them together. 

If Félix told Chloé, Adrien might have actually jumped off a bridge. After killing Félix, of course. 

“This is humiliating, Plagg,” Adrien mumbled into his pillow after dragging his feet to his bed and collapsing. 

“You know, kid, sometimes there’s a cheese you really want - it looks really good, and smells even better. But it’s actually all moldy on the inside, to the point that it will do you more harm than good if you eat it.” 

Adrien picked his head up from his pillow then, offering Plagg a glare. “Is that your way of saying you think Chloé’s a bad person?” 

“I never said that!” Plagg backtracked, having never seen this side of Adrien before. Who had seen it, he thought to himself, aside from very few people? He did his very best to keep it locked away. 

But he was letting it out far too much, to the point that even his kwami was questioning him. Adrien had to rein his anger back in, tightening the leash once more. He took a deep breath, slipping the mask back over his mind. 

“Chloé’s not a bad person, Plagg, she never has been.” 

“Right,” Plagg replied. “And everyone at school calls her a bully, what, just for the fun of it?” 

“I’m not saying she’s perfect,” Adrien replied - even if he did actually think she was perfect. “But they don’t know her. Not like I do.” 

That was true, who knew Chloé better than Adrien, the boy who had grown up with her? 

Chloé was temperamental, and moody a lot of the time. She didn’t have a lot of tolerance for people saying or doing stupid things, and she probably had one of the shortest tempers Adrien had ever seen. She could also be spoiled, sometimes even entitled and rude. It was like she was raised to not have a filter. Honestly, a lot of the time Adrien didn’t blame people for misjudging her because she could be all of the things she was accused of being. 

But she could also be so kind, offering genuine words of comfort when everyone else only offered him pretty lies. 

“Your mom will come back, I’m sure she just needed some time to herself.” 

“The police will find her, I’m sure!” 

“Emilie would never leave you and Gabriel.”

“You’ll see her soon.” 

Adrien hated those words, hated how easily these people could lie to him without a thought of how hope could destroy a young boy. Chloé was different, though, never offering anyone a sweet lie - her oldest friend included. 

“If she really did leave you, you’re better off without her.” 

He had been furious when she had said that, yelling at her that his mother would never do such a thing. But Chloé was right - if Adrien’s mother really had left him and his father, why should he spend a moment mourning her? 

Chloé was everything the rest of the world wasn’t; honest, fearless, bold. Adrien had never seen her afraid of anything, not even his own father. He often wished he had the presence she commanded, the power to demand freedom and will. 

He used to wish that the rest of the world would see her the way he did but, selfishly, he no longer wanted that. It didn’t matter if the rest of the world didn’t love Chloé Bourgeois, that just meant Adrien had her all to himself. 

Chapter Text

Valentine’s day - a day of love and romance and affection. A day I had been dreading all week. 

Kim wasn’t exactly subtle about the little crush he had on me - I don’t think he could have been any less subtle, actually - but I only realised how destructive it could turn out to be when I remembered the last time he had had a crush on me. I physically cringed at the thought. 

“No offense, Kim, but my heart’s saved for someone way more awesome than you,” I had taunted with a mocking laugh. “Don’t you just hate how harsh love can be?”  

That had been right at the peak of my crush on “Adrikins”, when I was starstruck and blinded by the idea of dating a billionaire’s son. Honestly, how stupid had I been? Adrien didn’t feel that way for me at all, he probably even barely tolerated me. 

But now… Despite myself, my thoughts went back to a few days ago, when Adrien had been paralyzed with his anger. I told myself that I was reading too much into it, that Adrien was just upset that his cousin had practically forced himself on me. He wasn’t jealous , just upset on my behalf. 

Back to the matter at hand, even if I didn’t react so harshly to Kim’s confession, I still had no plans to accept it… which had every possibility of leading to an akumatization. In any other circumstance, I wouldn’t have been so worried but, if Cat Noir got hit by a hate arrow, he wasn’t in love with me, meaning I couldn’t just kiss him to break the spell. 

Honestly, when I really thought about it, it was slightly concerning how a person couldn’t say ‘no’ without the risk of someone being akumatized and coming after them. Boundaries really needed to be reestablished in the city - I’d have to get my dad to offer, like, discounted therapy or something. 

It was the last period and I was prepared to bolt to the limo, barely even stopping at my locker so Kim didn’t have time to talk to me. 

Now that I think about it, I mused to myself, drowning out the boring literature class. Why was I walking home that day? 

“Chloé, I do hope you’re listening.” Once again, Miss Bustier noticed me zoning out and directed the entire class to look at me. Did she have some vendetta against me or something? Why did she always target me? “Care to summarize what I just said?” 

“Uhh… you were, ahh…” 

“Sorry, miss, I was distracting her,” Adrien said from the other side of me. “The prince kisses the princess, breaking the spell because only love can conquer hate.” 

“Very good, Adrien. You’d do well not to distract Chloé anymore.” 

I shot Adrien a smile, although I’m not sure how Miss Bustier believed his lie when we hadn’t even been talking. 

The bell rang and I shot out of my seat, racing to lockers and out of the school before anyone else. But, as Murphy’s law loved to remind me, anything that can go wrong will go wrong - I got a phone call from Jean Murphy man. The limo was in for repairs. 

That’s why I was walking home last time. 

Kim and I had crossed paths on the Love Lock bridge, meaning all I had to was not go there, right? Easier said than done when every single other path to the hotel was blocked off. How was that even possible?!

I winced as Kim approached me, panting heavily from his running. 

“Can I help you?” I asked, as usual, my voice was a lot harsher than I intended it to be. Well, I really didn’t want to deal with him but I didn’t need him to know that. It seemed my voice was just incapable of having a filter. 

“I… uh…” He stuttered over his words - well, they were less of words and more just strange noises. He bent down on one knee, as if coming to a conclusion in his mind. A few people who passed us had wide eyes, probably thinking he was proposing. “Chloé… will you be my valentine?”

I sighed, trying to restrain my exasperation. “Kim, I’m sure you’re a great guy but I’m just not interested. Sorry.” 

I made a move to walk around him then but he quickly stood up, grabbing my wrist to stop me. I looked down at his hand with a sneer, his grip awfully tight. I didn’t appreciate being manhandled, especially after what Felix had done. 

“I really like you, Chloé. I think you’re the most beautiful girl in the world!” 

“Naturally,” I said dryly, wondering how many girls he had met aside from his mom. 

“ Please be my girlfriend, I’d treat you so well!” 

I didn’t even bother restraining my eye roll. “I’m sure you would but, like I said, I’m not interested. You can let me go now.” 

He didn’t. 

Okay, this is getting annoying, I thought to myself, flashbacks of Félix stealing my first kiss against my will running through my mind. I really had enough of being mandhandled.

His eyes weren’t angry or forceful, like I had expected, only filled with sadness and desperation. “Chloé, you don’t understand. I love-”

“No, you don’t,” I cut him off swiftly. “Seriously, how many conversations have we had where I haven’t been a total bitch?” 

“Uhh…”

“Exactly. Now let me go.”

Again, he didn’t, so I shot him a glare before prying his hand off mine with my free hand, practically stomping away from him. I tried to be nice but he was being too pushy - if he got akumatized, that was his own fault. The boy really needed to learn to take no for an answer. 

I was nearly home, practically inside the hotel, so I had thought I was out of the woods. But the Cat Noir landed in front of me out of nowhere.  

“Uh, Cat Noir?” 

“No time to explain, seems like a pretty cranky admirer is after you,” he explained. “Sorry about this.” He wrapped his arm around my waist then, holding me close to him so he could elevate his stick to the rooftops. 

“Where are we going, exactly?” I questioned, keeping my arms wrapped around his neck as he raced across rooftops with me in his arms. I had to admit, it was a lot more daunting when I wasn’t in a suit that granted me invulnerability. 

“The first place he’ll look for you is the hotel, so, anywhere but there really.” 

“Thanks, that really narrows it down.” 

I tightened my arms around him when there was a particularly lengthy jump, shutting my eyes and practically burying my face in his chest. I really tried my hardest to not think about how this was Adrien, as in my childhood friend. Awkward. To be fair, maybe it would have been more awkward if he was a stranger. 

“Are you always this catty with people who try to help you?” 

“You’re just special.” 

I don’t know what in god’s name compelled him but he brought to the Eiffel Tower, of all places. Where it was packed with people, innocent civilians who could get hurt. 

He only shrugged when she expressed her concerns. “He’s less likely to hurt you.” 

Maybe it was the words themselves, or how nonchalantly he had said them, but that made my blood go could. Was Cat Noir - Adrien - insinuating that he was willing to risk the lives of others if it meant I didn’t get hurt? 

I shook my thoughts off. You’re reading too much into it, Chloé. He’s just being smart. Even so, the lingering anxiety stuck like glue in the back of my mind. 

“Chloé!” An angry voice called out from the skies, doubtlessly Dark Cupid, who wanted nothing more than to turn my heart black. 

“That’s my cue,” Cat Noir said idly, readying his stick before turning to me with an oddly serious look in his eyes. “Promise me you’ll stay safe?” I only nodded, knowing damn well I wouldn’t keep such a promise. 

As soon as he jumped away to fight Dark Cupid, I dashed away to a private area, allowing Tikki to escape my purse. 

“Kim really needs to handle rejection better!” Tikki said as soon as she flew out. 

“I know, right?” I exclaimed back, glad I would be able to rant to her later. “Still, we have to help him. Tikki, spots on!” 

I didn’t know awkwardness until I had to shuffle out of the storage closet as Lady Luck, sheepishly offering people strained smiles and waves as I walked to the edge. Many wanted my autograph but I had other things to do. 

“Care for some help, my dear cat?” I asked as I landed, easily using my yo-yo as a shield from the arrows.

“I was handling myself but it’s always pleasant to see you, sunshine.” 

I did a barrel roll as an arrow was shot my way, dodging a few more times before realizing there was no way we were getting close to him without being shot. 

“The akuma should be in his brooch,” I told Cat Noir, deflecting arrows as I tried to get closer to Dark Cupid. 

“How are we supposed to get close to him?”

“Cover me!” I told him, racing behind one of the larger street poles to summon my Lucky Charm, a bow falling into my arms. 

“I think those would be more effective if we had some arrows!” Cat Noir yelled, still dodging Dark Cupid’s never ending influx of arrows. 

“Shut up, I’m thinking!” 

Ideas raced through my mind - none of them useful, though. Even if I was given arrows, I wasn’t very good at archery regardless.

Not to self, learn archery.

“Chloé?” My heart stopped as I heard the name spoken in front of me, fear beating through my heart.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Marinette in front of me. I would have to speak to her about not using my name when in costume.

My relief was short lived, however, realising just how dangerous this situation could have been for her.

“What are you doing here?” I asked urgently. “You have to get to a safe place.”

“What’s going on?”

“There’s an akuma attack.”

Cat Noir collided with the ground next to us, an arrow narrowly missing my shoulder as my gaze shot up to see Dark Cupid.

“Tell me where Chloé is, you mangy cat!” He demanded, preparing another arrow.

He stood with a dark chuckle in his voice. “As if. I’d let you kill me first.”

Dark Cupid had a smirk on his face then. “I don’t think I’ll need to do that.” In a flash, two arrows were released at once, flying towards me and Cat Noir. I narrowly dodged it, the terrible thing almost grazing my shoulder.

But I heard Marinette groan in pain.

My eyes widened in panic, realising both Marinette and Cat Noir had been shot with the hate arrows. Cat Noir remained doubled over, groaning in pain, where as Marinette’s head shot up. Her lips black as night. 

She cackled evilly. “You really think you can be a hero, Lady Luck? Or should I call you-“

I panicked, my hand flinging upwards and hitting her in the face with my yo-yo. She fell over from the force, remorse nipping at my heart.

“Sorry,” I murmured. Suddenly, another arrow was flung at me, Dark Cupid seemingly done with his waiting. “This is getting old.”

“Give me your miraculous!” He demanded, shooting three arrows at once.

“Nope,” I replied easily, dodging another flurry of arrows and thinking of what to do with my lucky charm. I could have switched out his bow with the charm but, in order to that, I would need to destroy the bow. And Cat Noir… was out of commission.

“Kitty I need you,” I whispered to him when Dark Cupid had been temporarily distracted by a few happy civilians.

In a flash, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me down to him. I fought against his grip, worried he had been turned. His face looked pained, as if he was still struggling.

“Chloé’s on the Eiffel Tower…” he muttered, voice strained. “You have to get her to safety before I… before…”

I hushed him gently. “She’s already safe, I promise.”

She’s actually right in the middle of danger. But whatever makes you feel better, Adrien.

“You have to protect her…”

I opened my mouth to speak but a menacing laugh interrupted me before I could. “ I know where Chloé is. Wouldn’t you like to know, Cat Noir?”

“Marinette-“ I began.

“Hmm, maybe I should just tell Dark Cupid. That would make Hawk Moth’s life a lot easier,” she mused cruelly. “I’ll give you a hint, fleabag, she’s-“

Cat Noir hit his stick harshly against the ground, my eyes widening in surprise as I saw him standing, albeit clutching his stomach.

“You shut your damn mouth,” he grumbled dangerously, the same tone he used with Félix.

Marinette raised her eyebrows with interest, glancing at me with a knowing look on her face. “Should we tell him?”

“I said shut up!” He yelled, racing towards her with his stick raised. For a split second, the evil turned to fear.

Marinette backed up and, before he reached her, I wrapped my yo-yo around his waist and pulled him to me.

“Hold your horses, kitty, that’s still a civilian in there.”

Marinette’s fear was gone, cackling again. “Oh, so noble. If only he knew who you really are. If only he knew how awful you are.”

I sighed. “Marinette, I’m really, really sorry about this.”

She gave me a questioning look before I practically flung myself at her, my hands holding her cheeks as my lips brushed hers.

Technically, Ladybug didn’t love Cat Noir romantically… so, this should work if I love Marinette as a friend, right?

Marinette struggled for a bit before easing into it, one of her hands resting on mine as her eyes shut. I pulled from her then, relieved to see the black lipstick had gone. 

“What happened?” She asked breathlessly, still holding one of my hands as both of mine remained on her cheeks.

“You got hit by one of Dark Cupid’s arrows.”

“I didn’t… do or say anything, right?” She asked hesitantly.”

“No,” I replied with a gentle smile, the girl sighing with relief.

“Hurry up and turn already, fleabag!” An angry voice yelled from above, ruining the moment.

I gasped as another arrow was hit my way, glaring in annoyance at Dark Cupid.

“Seriously, all this cause a girl said no to you?” I questioned harshly, throwing my yo-yo. “Literally grow up!”

I took his bow from him, Dark Cupid growing in rage. “Cat Noir, if you would please.” Cat Noir cataclysmed Dark Cupid’s bow. “Oh, no, not my lucky charm! You destroyed my lucky charm, how will I ever save the day?

Dark Cupid landed on the ground with an mean laugh then. “Wow, you guys suck!” He surged forward, snatching “his” bow from my grasp.

I had to hold back a laugh.

Of course, he was surprised when the string didn’t pull back very far at all. I only recently realised it was a toy bow myself. Honestly, I didn’t really need the lucky charm this time, but it was extremely fun just to see his face.

I used my yo-yo to pull the pin from his quiver, smashing it on the ground and purifying the little black butterfly.

Throwing the bow into the air, I was able to fix everything and helped Kim off the floor.

“You know,” I said, handing him the pin. “Whoever gets this pin really is very lucky. But you have to make sure they’re willing to accept it.”

Kim clutched the pin in his hand then, looking up at me. “I think I have an apology to make.” 

Damn right you do.

I was going to say something to Cat Noir and Marinette as Kim left but my earrings rang in warning, alerting me I only had a minute. And I had an Eiffel Tower to get back to.

— 

The Eiffel Tower was surprisingly fairly secluded as the sun went down, allowing me to rest my elbows on the rail and just watch as the sky went from blue to orange.

I heard footsteps behind me, turning around to see Cat Noir approaching. 

“Thank you for-“

I was cut off as he suddenly wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

I couldn’t help the smile that made its way onto my face - Adrien never cared this much about me in my past life, at least not from memory. Hell, I don’t think anyone did.

Slowly, I wrapped my arms around him. 

“Thanks for saving me, Cat Noir.”

Chapter Text

I was late returning to school, my little rendezvous going far longer than the lunch period. Adrien stumbled in not long behind me, pulling a random excuse from his magic hat filled with terrible lies - seriously, this boy could not do subtlety.

Just to top off my day, we had biology last period - yay. All I knew was that the mitochondria was the powerhouse of the cell and hoped that was on the exam.

Do we even have an exam for biology?

Even if I hated biology, it made it harder to focus when I could feel eyes staring at me the whole time. Seriously, I know I’m beautiful, but didn’t they have anything better to do?

“Your next assessment will be a group project,” Mrs Mendeleiev explained. As if a rehearsed instrumental band, the class broke out in a series of groans and cheers. I wasn’t planning on doing the assessment anyways so it didn’t really affect me.

Because Mrs Mendeleiev took great pleasure in her students’ dispair, she chose the groups. I tuned everything out until I heard my name.

“…and finally Marinette, Chloé, and Kim.” 

Oh, fuck my life.

My head immediately whipped around, Kim looking absolutely ecstatic. Meanwhile I dropped my head on the desk, resisting the urge to bang it until I couldn’t feel anything. The only silver lining was that I had Marinette… who I kissed. Totally not awkward at all.

“What is it, Adrien?” 

“Not to be a bother, Mrs Mendeleiev, but I was wondering if I could switch into Chloé’s group. My father doesn’t like me going over to houses of people he doesn’t know and I’d hate to be an inconvenience.”

I propped my head up on my hand, looking at Adrien. It was true his father wouldn’t let him go to a stranger’s house - not normally, at least - but Adrien had never been the argumentative type.

Mrs Mendeleiev only sighed. “Alright. Kim, you’ll switch with Adrien.” 

Oh, thank god… or Adrien, I thought to myself with a sigh of relief.

I heard a groan of annoyance before Max muttered something that sounded like “it’s alright”. Seriously, Kim really had to let this go because I was not interested at all.

Mrs Mendeleiev told us we could spend the remainder of the period discussing the project with our group. I looked over to Adrien to ask him what our project actually was (I hadn’t been listening the whole time) but he was scribbling into his notebook, eyes almost angry with focus.

“Kim still seems pretty upset.” I jumped in my seat when I heard Marinette’s voice, the girl suddenly standing behind me. She chuckled and gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

I put a hand over my chest to soothe my racing heart. “That sounds like a him problem.”

Or a Kim problem. Ha ha!

…

I’ve been spending way too much time with Cat Noir.

“Did you at least try to reject him gently?”

“Yes!”

She gave me a look of disbelief.

“I did! It’s him who kept pushing me.”

She sighed. “Alright, it is his problem then.”

Adrien must have gotten tired of whatever he had been writing, making his way to the front of my desk.

“So, any plans for the project?” He asked us with a smile… Well, mostly me.

“Uhh… What is the project?” 

Adrien laughed gently, as if I had said the most amusing thing he’d ever heard. “We have to do a presentation on a disease that affects the human immune system.”

“Oh, okay.” Thankfully, I had two of the smartest people in my group. Granted, I didn’t want  to leech off of them but adjusting to being back in the past and Lady Luck was taking a toll on me. Conveniently, Adrien and Marinette were also two of the most compassionate people I knew so, as long as I didn’t act like a total brat, they probably wouldn’t mind if I didn’t contribute much.

“Should we meet up this afternoon?” Adrien asked, still looking at me with a gentle and tender gaze. Weirdo.

I had to hold back a groan at the mere thought of it; I was so tired , the kind of exhaustion that runs bone deep, sinks inside you and leaves you forever feeling half charged. I just wanted to go home and collapse.

“How ‘bout tomorrow? I have to help my parents in the bakery,” Marinette said, offering me a small smile as she did so. I offered her one in return, thankful for her covering for me. 

“Alright, you guys can come over to mine,” I replied. Did I want my weekend to myself? Yes, but that seemed impossible with Hawk Moth anyways so it didn’t really matter. How Adrien looked amazing and refreshed constantly baffled me. Maybe it was the model in him.

Thankfully, Adrien didn’t look too bothered. He just looked at me again with a gentle smile. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

RING!

Saved by the bell, I thought with relief, standing immediately to escape whatever that was - avoiding yet another awkward situation Adrien seemed determined to stumble into. 

“Thanks for covering for me,” I whispered to Marinette as we walked to the locker room.

“Anytime,” she replied. “It can’t be easy doing science projects and fighting Hawk Moth.”

“I’d take Hawk Moth any day.”

I offered Marinette a lift home as we got out of the school building, but she politely declined, saying it was a two minute walk. The limo was running a bit late which meant something had to go wrong - and, low and behold, who tapped me on the shoulder but Kim. Wearing an awkward grin on his face.

“Can I help you?” I asked, crossing my arms in case he decided to get all grabby again.

He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, looking towards the ground. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so forceful, but-“

“There is no but,” I interrupted. “You shouldn’t have been so forceful and you should have taken no for an answer.”

“I know, I just… I like you so much, Chloé.”

“That isn’t an excuse to grab me,” I replied, voice snappy. I’d had a long day - hell, a long life considering I was restarting - and it was not my job to parent him. “Besides, what do you even know about me?” 

“I…uhh…”

“Exactly. I’m rich and I’m pretty and you flew to me like a moth to a flame - it happens.” My tone was harsh, harsher than I would have liked. But I had to get rid of this crush and, even if I needed to degrade myself, I would. “But keep in mind that I’m not a nice person, Kim. I’ll chew you up and spit you out if I get the chance.”

His eyes became sterner then. “I don’t think that’s true, Chloé,” he said with the utmost confidence. “Maybe I don’t know much about you but I don’t think you’re a bad person. I just think you’re-“

“Oh, this is a fun little gathering,” someone interrupted, mock cheerfulness in their voice. An arm was slung around my shoulder and I looked up to see Adrien practically glaring at Kim, a fake smile plastered on his lips. “What are we talking about?”

“Uhh… just stuff,” Kim said, losing all confidence at Adrien’s presence.

“Nothing important? You wouldn’t mind if I stole her back, would you?”

“Actually-“

“Great.” He turned us around then, easily moving me as if I was made of stuffing. Maybe I imagined it because it was only briefly, but I could’ve sworn Adrien’s hand tightened around my shoulder as he looked back at Kim. I was probably just imagining it.

“Uhh, what was that about?” I asked him as he walked us closer to the street, his arm still tightly wrapped around my shoulder.

“I heard what happened earlier and I was worried you were uncomfortable. Sorry, if I overstepped.”

I shrugged his arm off me, crossing mine as I glared at him. “Yeah, you kinda did. I was handling it.” Not well, mind you, but I didn’t need Adrien to constantly swoop in and save me.

Adrien sighed, looking almost regretful. “I’m sorry, Chlo, I just don’t like the idea of that guy around you. Especially after what he did.”

“You know your cousin did worse, right?”

Again, maybe I was imagining it but I swore I saw Adrien’s jaw lock - his usually gentle green eyes flashing with anger.

“I had… a talk with Félix. He won’t do that again.” His tone was final, no room for argument or compromise. Somehow, I didn’t quite believe that talking was all they did but it wasn’t like Adrien to fight. “Still, I am really sorry for what he did, Chloé. I’ll do my best to keep him away from you.”

I sighed - he really wasn’t getting the point. “It’s alright, Adrien, I’m not mad. Not at you, at least. I just need you to know that I can fight my own battles, I don’t need you to interfere.”

“I know, I just worry about you-“

“Well stop . I don’t need you fluttering about like a mother hen.”

He went quiet then, his eyes avoiding mine. I winced a little bit, a quiet guilt nipping at my heart; my tone had been too snappy, words too harsh. Maybe it didn’t sound so bad to me - not compared to what my mother would say - but to others, my words could be a lethal venom, turning their hearts sour towards me. Whatever “suspicions” I had about Adrien were just caused by imagination, he was only looking out for me.

Hey, Chloé, how ‘bout we don’t blow one of our only friendships!

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I-“

“Then why’d you say it?”

Oh, right, I’d almost forgotten how argumentative Adrien could be when he was feeling particularly stubborn. Great.

It made sense, in a way; he physically could not argue with his father - the one person he held actual anger towards - so he argued with everyone else when he got the chance.

Wait… why can’t he argue with his father, again? Somehow, I felt like I was missing something really important.

“I’m sorry, Adrien. I’m just really, really tired.”

He looked at me for a moment, almost angry, before a gentle smile made its way onto his lips. “It’s alright, Chlo, sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

The limo pulled up then, so I waved Adrien goodbye and walked towards it. But I heard screams as I opened the door.

“Chloé, watch out!”

I turned, barely even registering Dark Cupid flying in the air - my entire body jolting in pain as I looked down at my chest, a hate arrow spreading liquid bitterness into my veins.

Oh. I didn’t give Kim a charm.

Fear is one of the most dangerous and overwhelming emotions a person can feel; it can make you erratic, foolish… hell, it can even make you kill another person.

Adrien hadn’t felt soul crushing, blood freezing fear too many times in his life, but there were a few occurrences to note.

Falling down the stairs when he was a child. The news of his mother going missing. The time he pretended to be Félix for a weekend and his uncle… no, best not to think about that.

But seeing Chloé - his Chloé - with an arrow through her chest was almost enough to bring Adrien to his knees. Hell, he completely forgot they couldn’t actually kill a person, images of living in a world without Chloé racing through his mind.

However, when there was no blood and she was still stood upright, Adrien calmed himself and assessed the situation.

Somehow, Kim had been akumatized again and became Dark Cupid - targeting Chloé again just because she wouldn’t return his stupid crush. 

Seriously, the fact that Kim thought he knew Chloé enough to claim to be in love with her was laughable on its own - let alone the idea that he would be good enough for her.

In truth, it was probably Adrien’s jealous actions that got Kim re-akumatized but, seriously, the stupid jock needed to learn to mind his manners.

Chloé was doubled over, her hand clutching her chest as she tried to resist the hate arrow. Adrien knew first hand just how difficult they were to resist, to not give in to the evil voices that ran through your head. The only reason Adrien hadn’t given is because he was terrified of Chloé being hurt for his weakness.

Thankfully, Lady Luck had saved everyone including Chloé. He just hoped she could do it again.

“If you don’t want me, Chloé, then you can’t love anyone,” Dark Cupid said menacingly, a cackle at the end of his voice. 

Adrien wanted to run to Chloé immediately when she fell to her knees, still desperately trying to resist the effects of the arrow, but Dark Cupid started projecting arrows relentlessly in all directions. Adrien was far too focused on dodging.

By the time Dark Cupid had started chasing people into the school building, Chloé was already standing with a hateful glare, her lips stained black.

“Adrien, Adrien, Adrien - everyone you love will leave you, just like your mother.”

Ouch.

He only sighed, a bitter smile forming on his lips. “I know you’re in there somewhere, Chloé. I will save you.” 

She cackled. “Yeah, go put on that ugly cat suit and be a second rate sidekick. That’s all you’ll ever be.”

His heart dropped to his stomach.

“ What? ”

“You heard me, you- AHHH!” Chloé was cut off by her own screams, pulled up into the air by a yo-yo. Lady Luck? Why would she kidnap Chloé?

How did Chloé… how did Chloé know?

Adrien shook his head, calming all the thoughts in his head - his main priority was helping Lady Luck as saving Chloé and he couldn’t do that as Adrien.

“Chloé, for the love of god, please shut up,” an exasperated, frustrated voice said. Familiar, but certainly not the one he was used to.

The girl turned as she heard his footsteps on the roof, Chloè’s gaze also falling to him. Granted, she was tied up in a yo-yo.

“Oh, it’s you.” He couldn’t help the distaste in his voice, remembering the girl - what had her name been? Ladybug? - from the third encounter with Stormy Weather. Not only had he been terrified his partner abandoned him but she also added more work for him as he had to protect her.

Lady Luck had returned, thankfully, and said they would talk about it later. They never did.

Ladybug sighed. “Listen, I know you’re not my biggest fan but Lady Luck is preoccupied right now.”

“With what?”

“ Private things.”

Chloé rolled her eyes then. “You know-“

“Shut up, Chloé!”

Adrien’s brow furrowed with the budding of anger. “Don’t talk to her like that.”

Ladybug sighed, shutting her eyes and furrowing her brow. “This is a nightmare.”

Cat Noir crossed his arms. “Yeah, it’s no picnic for me either.”

She exhaled deeply before looking at him. “Listen, I know this isn’t ideal for either of this, but let’s just defeat Dark Cupid so we can end this.”

His eyes widened. “Was Lady Luck hit? Is she alright?” After the thought marinated in his mind for a moment, he realised something. “Do you know her identity?”

“Actually-“

“Chloé!” 

Odd. It seemed Chloé knew something Ladybug really didn’t want shared.

Adrien would think that over later, for now, he had a job to do. “Got any bright ideas on how to find him?”

Almost immediately after he had said that, nearly half a dozen arrows flew at them.

“I don’t think we’ll have to go looking.”

“Give me your miraculous!” Dark Cupid demanded, relentlessly shooting arrow after arrow.

An arrow grazed Cat Noir’s cheek, panic racing through his veins; without him, Ladybug would fail. As much as he disliked the situation, he had to get his head in the game and deal with it. 

“Wouldn’t hurt to use that Lucky Charm right about now!” He called, jumping in front of her to cover her from the arrows.

“Right,” she replied breathlessly. “Lucky Charm!”

He took a split second to glance over his shoulder at what had fallen into her arms, nearly groaning when he saw Macbeth - the play. That wasn’t even luck anymore, it was just mockery.

Chloé cackled. “Good luck with that, loser bug.”

Adrien’s eyes widened as he thought of one of the key themes in Macbeth; deceit.

He dropped his stick, doubling over dramatically and groaning in pain.

“No!” Ladybug yelled desperately.

“See, I told you, he’s pathetic,” Chloé mocked.

He stood up right then, an evil smile on his lips as he looked at Dark Cupid.

“Alright, I’ll give you my miraculous, just so I can watch this city burn.”

Dark Cupid smiled triumphantly then - the idiot - flying down to the roof and putting his hand out. 

Cat Noir moved as slowly as he possibly good, putting his hands out in front of him and beginning to remove his ring.

In a flash, he had pulled Dark Cupid to him and summoned his Cataclysm.

“That’s your cue.”

Thankfully, she was competent enough to purify the akuma.

Ladybug decided to take Chloé home, leaving Cat Noir alone with his thoughts as he made the trip back home.

This Valentine’s Day was supposed to be filled with poems and confessions - finally telling Chloé how he felt. But there had been interruption after interruption and, somehow, there was a high possibility Chloé knew he was Cat Noir.

This wasn’t as simple as poems and roses - something else was going on, something weird. But maybe, maybe, he could use it to his advantage. It wouldn’t hurt to miss one Valentine’s Day, not when he planned to spend the rest of his Valentines days with Chloé.

“I’m so sorry for springing that on you!” I exclaimed, practically throwing myself into my bed, Tikki tiredly falling next to me as Marinette sat on the edge.

“It’s alright. You had no other choice.”

I practically smothered myself with my pillow. “I just really, really hope I didn’t say anything to Adrien.”

“You can’t remember anything?” She asked, concern evident in her voice.

“Nope, only subconsciously biting my tongue so I didn’t talk too much.”

She giggled then, somehow finding my humour amusing. “You know Chloé, you’re one of the only people who can make me laugh so hard.”

I have a dry chuckle. “Thanks. You’re one of the only people I actually feel comfortable around.”

It was true - ever since she found out I was Lady Luck, being around Marinette was a breath of fresh air. Tikki and I had gotten a lot closer but she wasn’t human, she didn’t understand. But Marinette did, she always understood. She always listened too.

“I really enjoy being around you, Chloé,” she said gently, a calm smile on her face.

“Yeah, yeah, I enjoy being around you too. Don’t make a big deal of it.”

“I like you, Chloé.”

For a moment, confusion etched itself in my brain, but then I remembered there were two meanings for like and she definitely wasn’t thinking the same as me.

“Well, I should hope so since you’re constantly around me.”

She laughed again. “No, Chloé, I like you.”

Oh.

Chapter Text

Marinette and Chloé had been friends, once upon a time, but that felt like an eternity ago. Maybe Chloé didn’t remember but Marinette certainly did. She remembered it well, actually. 

Marinette remembered going into the seventh grade, practically paralyzed with anxiety. Everyone already had seemed to make friends, talking together as if they’d known each other for years. Marinette wanted to gasp for air like a fish out of water, tears welling in her eyes with panic. But then a blonde girl, who was also alone, smiled at her, offering Marinette the seat next to her. 

It was a little awkward at first - as were all first introductions - but this girl was funny, confident , and so pretty. Marinette silently hoped they would have a long friendship. 

It only lasted about a month; one day, Chloé just started ignoring Marinette, glaring at her as she had killed a puppy. Marinette was riddled with confusion, clueless as to why Chloé was acting like this, paranoid she had said or done something painful. 

But petty ignoring quickly morphed into cruel bullying after Marinette’s parents did a presentation for the class. Chloé would mock Marinette, chewing out snide comments every chance she got. Sometimes, there would be things on Marinette’s seat (paint, gum, ect) and she knew exactly who had done it. 

Chloé’s mindless, hurtful harassment continued relentlessly for nearly four years, until the end of the tenth grade, where even she admitted she took things too far. 

Up until then, putting a horde of cockroaches in Marinette’s locker was one of the worst things Chloé did, but the mayor’s daughter took it a step further when she dragged Kim into it. 

Kim was new to the school, only arriving around the end of the tenth grade. Marinette thought he was a funny, genuine and attractive guy who wasn’t afraid of Chloé. They went to the swimming pool together where Marinette confessed, but as she went to hold his hand, a swarm of spiders crawled up her arm. 

She wasn’t expecting such a thing and, from that height, it had been easy to lose her balance. She slipped and tumbled into the pool, noticing Chloé’s cruel glare as she fell. But it hadn’t been harmless at all; Marinette hit her head on the way down, the impact giving her a concussion and leaving her in hospital for nearly three days. 

For those days, Marinette had been groggy, confused, and infused with pain killers. It was possible she had been hallucinating, but she swore to god Chloé had visited her, the blonde sitting as far away as possible, head hung with shame. 

Chloé had spoken a little bit, barely loud enough for Marinette to hear though - she thought she heard something along the lines of “I’m sorry” and “I was stupid” and even “it won’t happen again”. But Marinette fell back asleep before she could reply. 

When she was conscious and finally aware of her surroundings, there was an extremely large bouquet of white orchids, bought from one of the most expensive flower shops in Paris. 

Chloé didn’t show up for the rest of the tenth year and by the first day of eleventh grade, she was practically a different person. Still dry, perhaps even rude, but quieter - she never gave the first blow of words, only finishing the battle. Considering how easily Chloé could bring a teenage boy (one of the most scary things, in Marinette’s opinion) to tears, Marinette felt safe knowing she was Lady Luck. Hawk Moth really had no idea what he was dealing with. 

It was true that no amount of expensive flowers would heal the wounds Chloé had inflicted, nor any apology would take back the things she had done. But Marinette believed in forgiveness and second chances and Chloé really had seemed to be struggling with being a superhero. Struggling so much that she thought Marinette would do a better job. So, Marinette decided to offer her a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand, and a little bit of kindness. It had to be stressful being the city’s super hero. 

Of course, Marinette had never planned to catch feelings for Chloé. 

Chloé trusted Marinette, enough to be vulnerable around her in a way she couldn’t with anyone else. Trust breeds trust, and it didn’t take long for Marinette to be vulnerable around Chloé too. 

It didn’t take her long to start imagining what it would feel like to have their lips brushed against each other, to run her fingers through silky golden hair, to always be able to hold her soft hand. Marinette was attracted to Chloé and, now, she had the feelings to match. Super.

Obviously, she had no plans to act on it; Chloé already had too much on her plate with being Lady Luck, and Marinette didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, not when she was the only person who knew her secret. Besides, Marinette still had her own bad memories surrounding Chloé to heal. 

But then there was Adrien and Luka and it seemed everyone in Paris also had feelings for Chloé Bourgeois. And then there was Kim and the Dark Cupid incident where Marinette nearly outed Chloe’s secret and to save her… they had kissed. Marinette didn’t remember most of it but she remembered enough - the tenderness, the strawberry on her lips, the warmth of Chloé through her skin. 

Marinette hadn’t planned to act on it but confidence overtook her - maybe it was the miraculous, or the kiss, or the fear of losing Chloé. But it just slipped out.

“I like you, Chloé.” 

Her heart was like a steam train and Marinette wondered if Chloé could hear it. 

“Well, I should hope so since you're constantly around me.”

Okay… that calmed her down a bit. Seriously, Marinette had to restrain an eye roll at Chloé’s absolute obliviousness. At least she didn’t have to worry about the others making subtle moves on her; Chloé would never get them. 

“No, Chloé, I like you.” 

Chloé’s  blue eyes widened as the realization sunk in, her face turning towards Marinette. Marinette wanted to throw her eyes to the ground, ignore all eye contact, but she held strong and gave Chloé a small smile instead. 

The blonde sat up, hugging her knees to her chest as she silently looked at Marinette - not in a way that made Marinette want to squirm in discomfort, she was just… looking, as if considering something. As much as the silence killed her, Marinette wanted to give Chloé enough time to process after the bomb she just dropped. 

“I didn’t know you liked girls,” Chloé finally said, not cruelly, just in an observational tone. 

Marinette couldn’t help the blush that dusted her cheeks as she looked at her hands. “I never really thought about it until, well, you.” Honestly, aside from her brief crush on Kim, romance and love had never really been on Marinette’s mind. But she was drawn to Chloé like a moth to a flame. “Do you… like girls?” 

Chloé threw herself to lie back on her bed, head hitting her silk pillow as she shrugged. “I don’t have a preference,” she said casually. “Girls, boys - if I’m attracted to someone, I’m attracted to them.” 

So, there’s a chance? 

Marinette was worried her confidence would die quickly, as it usually did, but Chloé’s casual tone was easing her. “So… what do you think of me? Do you, uhh, feel the same as me?”

In a flash, Chloé sat up again, looking deeply into Marinette’s eyes before tilting her head. “Mmm, I’ve never really thought of you in that way.” 

The flame of hope in Marinette died. 

“But you are beautiful.”

Oh!

It perked up again, as if gasoline had been added.

Chloé sighed, slouching back into the headboard. “But I just don’t think I’m ready for romance right now, Marinette,” she explained. “I’m dealing with a lot of stuff on top of being Lady Luck.”

Marinette’s head dropped. 

“I understand. I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Chloé.” 

As Marinette began to stand, Chloé had her hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back down to the bed. 

“No, you didn’t! Don’t be sorry.” 

“But I-” 

“Marinette, you didn’t do anything wrong,” she said, hand wrapping around Marinette’s. “I’m flattered you feel that way about me, and I think you’re one of the most amazing people I know.” 

“So, we can still be friends? And hang out?” 

Chloé laughed a little bit, wrapping her arms around Marinette and pulling her into a hug, causing Marinette’s heart to beat like a butterfly. “Of course, you dummy! What would I do without you?” 

Marinette shut her eyes and relaxed into the hug as her arms wrapped around Chloé, wishing they could stay like this forever. 

When they finally parted, Marinette pressed a kiss to Chloé’s cheek. “Let me know when you’re ready for romance,” she whispered. 

Chapter Text

There are times in a person’s life where they are caught so off guard by a horrible, terrible situation that they wish to just crawl back into bed and never wake up. Such a thing happened to me, when I walked into class and saw Félix fucking Fathom sitting in my seat. 

Seriously, the one day I was late and it all went to shit!

“This is some kinda joke, right?” I said to Adrien quietly, the boy already glaring at his cousin with something ferocious. 

Félix heard me. “No, Bourgeois, it’s no joke at all. I’ve enrolled at College Francoise Dupont and I am so very excited to be in all of your classes.” 

“Didn’t you, like, already graduate?” I questioned, crossing my arms. “You’re supposed to be one of the world’s geniuses, what are you doing here?” 

He smirked, annoyingly. “I’ll take any opportunity to spend time with my dearest cousin.” 

“Right,” I replied, unconvinced. “Whatever. Get out of my seat.” 

“I don’t see your name on it.” 

“Look harder.” 

Funnily enough, I actually carved my name out on the seat when I had been bored in history class. My father could buy them a new chair.

“Oh, Chloé, it was so very kind of you to give up your seat for Félix,” Miss Bustier exclaimed, heels clacking against the hardwood floors as she walked into the room. “A dreadful thing, to start losing your eyesight at such a young age.” 

Jesus Christ, he’s as bad as Lila. 

I looked over at him with a side-eye – he was just sitting smugly. I’d forgotten that he didn’t have to be as convincing as Lila, people were inclined to believe him due to the money and status he had. Smug bastard. I wasn’t having it. 

“Miss Bustier, you and I both know I’ve never done anything kind for anyone. I’d appreciate it if this rat was out of my seat.” 

The teacher looked absolutely baffled. “Chloé, it is Félix’s first day and we should all do what we can to make him feel welcome and safe.” 

“Yeah, I don’t really care about that, get him out of my seat or I’m calling my father.” 

Miss Bustier sighed, looking at Felix with apology. “Félix, I am so sorry, would you mind moving?” 

I had to restrain a smirk of my own as I watched his jaw clench, the only indication of his irritation. Still, any reaction from someone who wore such a perfect mask of indifference was an achievement. 

Just as Félix was moving and I was finally getting my way, Sabrina raised her hand. 

“Miss, Félix could have my seat, I can see just fine from the back.” 

You literally need glasses!
“Sabrina!” I protested. 

Miss Bustier smiled, seemingly having no problem with seating two students who clearly hated each other together. “That’s very kind of you, Sabrina. We could all learn something from you.” Of course, she only looked at me when she said that. 

Still, I had bigger issues; I didn’t want to sit next to Felix every lesson of every day for the rest of the school year. That sounded like my own personal hell! 

“Actually Miss–” 

“Miss Bustier–”

Marinette and Adrien both spoke up at the same time, interrupting each other. They both looked at each other when their sentences died and, maybe I imagined it, but I could’ve sworn they glared at each maybe. I was probably just seeing things, though. 

Adrien spoke again first. 

“I actually wanted to spend some time with my cousin, would I be able to switch seats with Chloé?” 

“That sounds lovely, Adrien, but Chloé seemed adamant on keeping her seat. I’m sorry.” 

Marinette shot her hand up. “I’d be more than willing to give Félix my seat.” 

There it was again – that silent glare between Adrien and Marinette. Weren’t they friends? Weren’t they supposed to fall in love with each other? 

Dumb ass, Marinette has feelings for you. 

Right, I momentarily forgot about that. It was strange, to say the least, that the girl I was constantly fighting with in my past life now had romantic feelings for me. 

Miss Bustier looked positively touched, eyes practically watering (seriously overkill). “You are all being so kind to our new friend,” she said with a smile. “But I think we’ve all gotten a little too comfortable with our seats, I think we should switch it up a bit.”

Oh, no.

“It’s come to my attention that some of you don’t get along as well as others, so why don’t we do a randomized seating plan to ensure those bonds are properly made?” 

Oh, fuck no.

“With Félix up at the front, of course.”

Oh, this couldn’t be worse. 

–

Even in a completely randomized situation, it felt like Félix had won. 

Somehow, I still ended up sitting alone at the back! Honestly, how was my superpower a lucky charm and fate was still against me. 

Félix literally got his way – he got to sit in my seat at the front while I was alone at the back, listening to Nathaniel fail at flirting with Sabrina. Seriously, his future boyfriend needed to hurry up and awaken him already. Even worse, Alya and Nino were in front of me, meaning when they started dating, I’d be stuck looking at that. 

Honestly, this was just the worst. 

“Miss Bustier,” Adrien said, raising his hand. “There’s gum stuck to the bottom of my desk, would I be able to sit in the spare seat next to Chloé?”

The teacher smiled. “Certainly, Adrien.” 

“Uh, Adrien, I would be more than happy to give you my seat and sit in the back instead. I know how fragile your hearing is!” Marinette piped up, already standing. 

Adrien gave her an almost chillingly calm smile. “No thanks, Marinette. You must have gotten me confused with someone else.” 

Seriously, what was up with these two? Eh, at least I wasn’t alone anymore. And, even if I wasn’t sitting next to Sabrina anymore, I was still sat next to one of the smartest people in school. Meaning I could copy his work, yay!

“What is Félix doing in Paris?” I whispered to Adrien when Miss Bustier finally started to do her actual job instead of playing musical chairs. 

“I don’t know,” he replied. “He won’t give me a straight answer. It’s like he’s hiding something.” 

Like he seeks the power of the miraculous… which we have. 

Sometimes, I really wished I could just tell Adrien that I knew he was Cat Noir and I was Lady Luck, it would have certainly made our jobs easier. But I knew that would cause a world of problems, including explaining how I knew all that. How I knew his father was Hawk Moth. 

Something inside me screamed that I knew why Félix wanted the miraculous so badly, why he was interested in them – but, for the life of me, I just could not remember what the reason was. Why he coveted them so badly, to the point of handing all of the miraculous to Hawk Moth… in exchange for the peacock. 

Why did he want the peacock miraculous so badly? 

I groaned in pain – the burning was there again, that relentless electric drill that carved its way through my skull into the softness of my brain. Dizzying, sickening, and all-consuming. Making me want to vomit my guts up just to escape the agony. 

“Chlo, you alright?” Adrien gently asked as he placed his hand on my shoulder. 

A crushing grip on my chin, looking up to manic and cold eyes. 

“You really are a pathetic girl.” 

Adrien looked at me with wide eyes, the class falling into silence as they stared at me. I had stood up at one point, body trembling as tears formed in my eyes. Adrien had a crisp, redding welt on his cheek. 

“Chloé-” His voice was hoarse, as if I’d just carved out his heart and trampled on it. 

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, voice breaking as I backed away, running out the door, ignoring Miss Bustier’s protests. I couldn’t deal with her then, I couldn’t even deal with myself. 

My hands hit against the bathroom door, practically tripping over my own feet as I stumbled to one of the stalls. I fell to my knees, throat burning bile as I spewed all the contents in my stomach into the toilet bowl, body exhausted when it just did not stop. 

I basically fell backwards on my butt when it finally did, back slumped against the stall door as I held my knees to my chest, sweat and tears streaming down my face. 

“Chloé… are you alright?” Tikki asked, voice soft. 

“Of course I’m not alright!” I yelled, tears practically falling into my mouth. “I’m so fucking confused! I have no idea what’s real and what isn’t and I… god, what if it happens again?” 

I didn’t remember everything of what caused the downfall of Ladybug, Cat Noir, and the rest of the miraculous holders, but I knew it was bad – the kind of bad that leaves you with thick, gunky mud in your stomach and any optimism dead. I couldn’t live through that again, I wouldn’t. I was sent back to stop it but how could I do that when I couldn’t even remember what had truly happened? 

I was doubting my memories, myself, even my childhood best friend. I had just slapped him, for god’s sake! So, no, no I was not alright.

“I’m sorry, Tikki,” I whispered, seeing her hurt face. “I’m not mad at you, I just… I’m sorry.”

The little kwami hugged me gently, then. “You’re entitled to your feelings, Chloé. I’m sorry if I haven’t been there for you.” 

I smiled at her and did my best to pull myself together; taking a mint from my pocket, splashing my face with cold water. I nearly felt human and alright enough to continue with my day. 

Until I saw Félix leaned against one of the walls, arms crossed as he looked at me. 

“Well, that was certainly dramatic.” 

I rolled my eyes, shooting him a glare. “Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, pissing off somewhere?” 

I turned away, beginning to walk back to class when he said something that shattered my world. 

“You’re getting them, aren’t you, the memories?” 

My entire body stilled, eyes widening as I looked at him. “What?”  

His eyes were almost sympathetic, but I didn’t trust that one bit. “You know, everything in this world was the same, painstakingly so,” he mused, as if he was casually telling a story. “Except you and the holder of the Ladybug miraculous.”

“What are you talking about?”

He’d come closer to me, barely a foot away as he leaned in, voice quiet and cool. “You aren’t the only one who came back, Chloé.” 

Chapter Text

“You aren’t the only one who came back, Chloé.”

The words haunted me, he haunted me – how could I think of anything else than him and his smirk and his words, as crushing and confusing as him. The worst part was that he left me immediately after that, barely even looking my way for the rest of the day, as if he hadn’t destroyed my perception of everything I thought I knew. 

Maybe that was the point, maybe he wanted to haunt me.

Of course, I immediately thought he was lying, that he just wanted to get under my skin and crawl around all the way to my brain. But the only person (thing?) I told was Tikki and, not only would she never tell Félix, but she had absolutely no contact with him. Meaning he had to be telling the truth – the painful and impossible truth. 

So, where did that leave me? How was I supposed to navigate a situation that seemed infinitely bigger than I was? For all I knew, Félix could have been the very person who destroyed that future, how could I ever be expected to trust him? 

If it had been anyone else, I would have jumped for joy. But Félix was cruel, cold, and calculating, only concerned with his own agenda. It didn’t matter who he had to crush, manipulate, or hurt if it meant getting his way. Hell, he probably only told me because I was a pawn that could be used to help him gain victory in his twisted game of chess. 

God, this would be so much easier if I could just remember.

“Are you alright, Chloé?” Tikki asked gently, just hovering near where my head was resting on my pillow. She seemed hesitant, probably still worried half to death after what had happened earlier. Not only because of my breakdown, but the new given Félix information too. Tikki heard everything he had said, and he probably knew that too. 

I sighed deeply. “I don’t know what to do, Tikki.” 

“Maybe you can try to talk to Felix about it. Maybe he’s not as bad as you think.” 

I looked at her with a look of disbelief. “Yeah, you have no clue how evil he can be.” 

“No one is pure evil, Chloé.” 

“I disagree strongly but whatever.” 

Maybe Félix wasn’t pure evil, he did have a reason for being the way he was. I didn’t know his father well, as my mother often warned I didn’t linger around the senior Fathom. However, I’d interacted with him to know he was pure evil – an angry and greedy man who often took out his aggressions on his wife and son. The monster had beaten any hope or kindness out of Felix, breaking him into an emotionless and cold boy. 

There was something else though, something that had driven Félix’s motivations. It was important but, for the life of me, I could not remember. 

I heard screams from the streets, the blood orange sunset falling upon Paris’ sky in an ominous warning. Was death ahead? 

With a pit in my stomach, I ran to the balcony, heart dropping as I witnessed the Eiffel Tower rapidly rust and decay… just as it would with Cat Noir’s cataclysm. 

“What is Cat Noir doing?” I asked aloud, eyes widening as I watched the citizens run from the monument, panic and terror in their screams. 

“I don’t think that’s Cat Noir,” Tikki replied, her voice sticky with hesitance and, dare I say, fear. 

The worm was back, wriggling its way into my guts as I watched the chaos down below; cars, lampposts, bridges, people … tens, if not hundreds, had that metallic rust from Cat Noir’s power. The same destructive finality that his power caused but… this couldn’t be Cat Noir. It couldn’t be Adrien.  

My heart beat rapidly against my chest like a steam train; had Hawk Moth taken Cat Noir’s miraculous? Did Gabriel finally discover his son was Cat Noir? Worse yet, was it Félix? A thousand terrible thoughts ran through my mind as my body stood paralyzed, gripping the railing until my knuckles turned white. 

The chaos, the destruction, the fear – it all seemed so familiar. Too familiar. 

My phone rang, cutting through the horrified silence I had been stuck in. An unknown number – somehow, I found it unlikely that it was a telemarketer or scammer telling me they were my uncle who was a Nigerian prince. Still, against my better judgment, I answered. 

“Give me a miraculous.” The voice was familiar, curt, and almost urgent. Only one person came to mind. 

“Félix?” I questioned sharply. “Is this your doing?” 

He scoffed, harsh as ice. “You think I’m that reckless? Honestly, I’m a little offended.” 

“I don’t have time for this–”

“You can’t do this alone, it’s beyond you,” he interrupted, voice surprisingly grave. “Give me a miraculous and I’ll help you.” 

“Let me guess, you want the peacock?” 

But why did he want the peacock?

“I’ll take anything, just let me help you, Chloé. Please .” 

Maybe it was the way my name sounded on his tongue, or the desperation in his voice, or how sincere he sounded, but my heart skipped a beat. It felt genuine, safe… familiar. 

But I couldn’t afford to be a fool. 

“Goodbye, Félix.”

“Chloé, no–”

I hung up before he could get his sentence out but he did have some good advice, it wouldn’t have hurt to have some help. 

“Tikki, take me to Master Fu.”

“I do not know if this is such a good idea.” 

My eye practically twitched as I sat in front of the old man; citizens were dying as the city all but burned and he refused to lend me any help. 

“And?” I asked, incredulously. “Whoever this is has Cat Noir’s power and we’ll need help. Surely you, of all people, can attest to how dangerous the power of destruction is.” 

He nodded sorrowfully. “Indeed, Chloé, but… do you really believe it is a wise decision to involve other people in this?” 

What. 

The. 

Fuck.

This man, without saying a word, dragged two teenagers into a world of constant fighting and secrets and lies. He did not ask if it was alright with me, or if it was a “wide decision” – he thrust the responsibility upon me without so much of a regard for my own wellbeing but used the excuse of “involving other people” to refuse me any help. 

This wasn’t my war, he selfishly dragged me into it. He dragged Marinette into it and it got her killed – she spent her entire adolescence paranoid and facing villains who wanted to rip her apart. In the end, it killed her while he got to live  a peaceful life painting. 

“How can you say that to me?” I demanded sharply. “You threw me this responsibility without so much as asking but now you’re scared to ‘involve other people’? Bullshit.” 

His eyes widened, as if surprised I would criticize him. He was Marinette’s master, not mine. 

“I… I thought you were the best fit for the role.” 

I scoffed. “Seriously, of all the people in Paris – in the world – you thought a child would be best fit?” 

“Well-”

“I don’t have time for this. Give me a miraculous so I can do the job you gave me.” 

He shut his agape mouth then, eyes morphing from surprised to a hardened acceptance before nodding. He went to the gramophone, typing in the code and pulling out the miracle box. 

“Chloé Bourgeois, choose an ally you can trust to aid you in this mission. Choose wisely.” 

…let me help you, Chloé. Please.  

I scrunched my eyes shut and shook my head; I couldn’t trust Félix, it didn’t matter how sincere his plea sounded. I had to remember what he did to Marinette the moment he got the chance. 

My hand shifted to miraculous of the mouse, gently grasping the coin-like pendant. Just as I made a move, however, Master Fu gently grabbed my wrist. 

“I already took a great risk in putting two miraculous into circulation.” 

I looked at him for what he was then; a man who had been running all his life, terrified of the decisions he had made and the harm he had caused. The harm he was causing even then. From memory, he had been younger than me when he was training to be a guardian, so perhaps he thought it normal to give it to children. That didn’t excuse his mistakes, but perhaps I could be kind enough to ease his worries. 

I nodded. “I’ll be careful.” More careful than you, that’s for sure. 

The little brown box stayed in my clenched fist as I made my way into the little alleyway outside Master Fu’s apartment, heart heavy with… something. 

“You were awfully quiet,” I told Tikki. 

“You didn’t exactly say anything wrong,” she confessed, although there was a little bit of guilt in her voice. Whether that was from not standing up with me or because she felt bad for Master Fu, I did not know. “You’re not going to give the miraculous to Félixc, are you?” 

“Absolutely not,” I hurriedly answered. “But we will need to pay Marinette a visit.” 

Tikki smiled brightly at the girl’s name. 

“Tikki, spots on!” 

Marinette was in her room. Her parents, unsure of how to navigate such a chaotic situation, listened to the news and stayed locked in their home. Hopefully, I would be able to fix the situation before they were put in danger. 

“Chlo- Uh, Lady Luck, what’s wrong? Why are you here?” 

It’s not forever, it’s only temporary, I thought to myself, trying to ease away the pinch of guilt. My stomach grumbled with a sickening stampede at the thought of doing the same as Master Fu, at putting Marinette in danger. 

I held out the wooden box to her. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, this is the miraculous of the mouse, it grants the power of multiplication. You will use it for the greater good and return it to me when we are done with our mission.” 

Her eyes widened. “Are you sure?” 

I smiled gently. “I couldn’t ask for a better or more trusted ally.” I didn’t miss the pink blush that bloomed on her cheeks. 

She took the box with shaking hands, opening the lid gently for the small mouse kwami to fly out. 

“Hi, I’m Mullo. I’m so excited to have a new holder!” 

“Uh.. hi,” Marinette smiled warily, giving a small wave to the kwami. “How does this, uh ha, work?” 

“You only need to say one thing; Mullo, get squeaky!” 

She shot me an unsure look but I gave her an encouraging nod. 

“Mullo, get squeaky!” 

Marinette’s suit was mostly grey with accents of black and pink, two space buns on top of her head. If I was honest, she looked absolutely adorable. 

“So, will I be really good at my times tables now?” 

For the first time in a while, I genuinely laughed. 

“But, seriously, what akuma could be so bad that you and Cat Noir need help?” 

Truth be told, I had no idea, but it couldn’t be good. 

The guts of Paris, where the most people frequented and was always bustling with activity, resembled ruins. The Eiffel Tower was no longer silver, but a rusted red, the kind when a deep wound had just scabbed over and it pained you to even look at it. 

But the surroundings were even worse – looks of pure horror frozen in place as these people’s existence was snatched from them. Cars, street lamps, telephone booths… They all looked like ancient relics from the past. 

“Little kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady…” 

Singing… quiet, ominous, and digging a pit in my stomach. Somehow, I had heard this before. 

I gestured to Marinette to stay quiet as we followed the singing. We made our way up to a roof facing the Eiffel Tower, a white leather clad back facing us. 

“Little kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady… Little kitty on a roof, saying someone come and save me…”

It wasn’t just fear anymore, it was just an icy cold realization – tears building in my eyes at the thought of my partner and lifelong friend becoming such a thing. Just sitting, looking at the damage as he sang. Was it sorrow and regret, or indifference? 

“Cat Noir?” I asked gently, slowly stepping towards him. I gestured for Multimouse to stay behind me. 

His ears perked up, turning his head to look at me. “Sunshine!” He exclaimed, jumping up with a manic smile. “You’re here!” 

“Cat Noir… what happened?” 

“Mmm, I may have gotten into some mischief,” he said with a small smile, blue eyes blown wide as he practically bounced towards me. “But now you’re here! Just give me your miraculous, and I can fix everything.” 

I shook my head as I looked at him. “You know I can’t do that, kitty.” 

His smile turned dark. “Well, I guess I’ll have to–” His words cut off abruptly as his eyes flew over the top of my head, his own head tilting with narrowed pupils. “Sunshine, what’s that?” 

“Cat Noir–”
His eyes flew back to mine, looking at me like I was prey. “You wouldn’t be trying to replace me, would you, sunshine?” 

“No, kitty, she’s here to help you. Like me.” 

He laughed, unhinged and bordering on psychotic. “You’re just like them, aren’t you? Trying to replace me… my spot filled so easily.” 

“Cat Noir–”

“ I’m your partner.” 

“I know that–” I slammed my eyes shut at the bright light, arms covering my face from the intense glow. My heart had already fallen into my stomach before I saw it but, god, I wished I hadn’t looked. 

Marinette, with her face morphed in confusion in fear, stuck as a decaying statue. Cat Noir’s – no – Cat Blanc’s destructive power killed everything she was, leaving only perished debris in her place. 

I screamed — something unbridled and horrified in my voice, hand covering my mouth as my legs trembled beneath me. Marinette… Marinette who was good and kind and perfect was gone, dead. And maybe she would never remember it but I would. That is… if I could save the day. 

“It’s better this way,” Cat Blanc said, indifferent and emotionless. “She spent too much time hanging around my Chloé, anyways.” 

Hearing my name come out of his mouth really was the horrific cherry on top, my guts threatening the spill on the cement roof. The smile that lifted his features left me in dread. 

“Hey, maybe I don’t need your miraculous at all, sunshine,” he mused, sickeningly cheerfully. “Why do I need to wish for her to love me when I can just take her? There’s too much danger in Paris, it’s safer for her this way.” 

I barely registered anything he had said other than my name. Had this been my fault? Had I hurt him? My eyes widened as I thought about the slap… he’d been quiet all day after that. And I, selfishly, hadn’t apologized. 

“Kitty, whatever Chloé Bourgeois did to hurt you… I… I’m sure she’s sorry.” 

“Hurt me?” He asked with a laugh. “Hmm, now that you mention it, I guess she has hurt me a bit. The heart hurts so much when in love.” 

What?

“You’re in love with Chloé Bourgeois?” 

“Of course!” He exclaimed. “I’d better go get her, actually.” 

He got to nearly the edge of the roof before I threw my yo-yo string, dragging him back by his wrist. 

“I can’t let you do that.” 

The smile he gave me was toothless, calm, and so very chilling. As if he wouldn’t even hesitate to kill me. 

“Sunshine, I like you a lot – you’ve been a very good friend and partner.” His smile dropped, his glare something ferocious. “But I’ll destroy you and this entire city if you don’t let me go.” 

“And Chloé?”

“If you won’t let me have her, no one can.” 

Possessive much? 

“Let me purify your akuma, Cat Noir.” 

“It’s Cat Blanc now.” And that’s all he said before he merely touched the yo-yo, the indestructible weapon disintegrating in my grasp. 

“No!” I yelled but he had jumped off the roof before I could grab him, cascading towards the hotel where he thought I’d be. The one comfort was that he would never find me but what if that only made him do more damage? 

I tried not to look at Marinette’s corpse-like statue as I jumped off the roof, racing to the only person who could help me. I just hoped I could trust him. 

I had called Félix once I de-transformed. It was short and brief but we agreed to meet at the hotel he was staying at, far enough away from mine that it was safe. It wasn’t far from Master Fu’s either, giving me a chance to make a stop beforehand. 

“Well, this is a mess,” Félix observed blankly as he looked out the floor length windows. 

I rolled my eyes. “Are you gonna keep stating the obvious or are you actually gonna help me?” 

He turned, a small smirk on his face. “You should’ve just trusted me from the beginning.” 

“I still don’t trust you – this is a last resort.” 

He ignored my chide, pacing back and forth with his arms behind his back as he thought. 

“Have you given Adrien anything recently? A gift, perhaps?” 

“What?” 

“Just answer the question,” he said in exasperation. I shook my head. “The akuma is probably in his ring, belt, bell, or stick.”

“Thanks so much, Félix, that really narrows it down.” 

He glared at me. “I don’t have to help you.” 

“Whatever.” 

We both knew it would be impossible to just simply take Cat Blanc’s things until we finally got to the akumatized item, especially when he could simply destroy my yo-yo. Our best bet was to use Chloé, not Lady Luck, and destroy them one by one through the power of second chance. 

I couldn’t trust Félix with the peacock miraculous — technically I couldn’t trust him at all. Regardless, I felt especially unsettled with the idea of giving him the very thing he wanted so easily. Second chance was dangerous too, but I didn’t have many options. 

“Don’t make me regret this,” I practically begged Félix, sternly looking into his eyes before I let go of the box. 

His hand may have lingered on mine a moment too long, but I couldn’t focus on that with the look he was giving me. “I won’t let you down, Bourgeois.” 

It was worse when we went back out, more of the city slowly decaying from the apocalyptic power Cat Blanc held. 

“He’s probably lurking near the hotel,” Félix said. 

“What are you doing?” I questioned as his arms tried to wrap around me. 

“Don’t flatter yourself, Bourgeois, it’ll be faster if I carry you. Would you prefer he destroy the whole city?” 

“Ugh.” I groaned, but begrudgingly allowed him to pick me up. His arm slid around my waste, the other throwing my legs into the crook of his forearm. I wouldn’t admit how I latched onto him when he took off, jumping up and across buildings. 

“Stay out of sight,” I whispered to him after he set me down not far from the hotel’s entrance. The hotel that had been torn mostly to rubble. I tried not to think of my father. 

Félix grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. “I’ll stay close,” he said, unusually softly. “Don’t do anything stupid.” 

Somehow, they felt like words of encouragement. 

Honestly, my entire trembling as I walked towards the destroyed hotel entrance, flashes of my father being crushed to death running through my mind. What if Cat Blanc did the same to me? What if I ended up like Marinette and didn’t get a chance to fix anything? 

No — Félix would save me. He was cold and calculating but he didn’t want the city to die. He wouldn’t abandon Adrien. 

“Chloé!” The sickeningly cheerful voice left dead moths in my stomach. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” 

With a stiff body, I turned to face him. Just as before, there was a manic smile plastered on his face. 

“Where have you been?” He asked sweetly.

There was cotton in my mouth. “Cat Noir… what’s happened to you?”

He chuckled lowly, barely an inch away from me now, bodies grazing against each other with every breath. “You ripped my heart out, that’s what.”

I wasn’t supposed to know who he was, so I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Cat Noir, I really don’t understand what you mean.” 

My shoulders stiffened as he suddenly rested his head on one of them, breath against my neck. “I know you don’t. This must be so confusing for you.” 

I took the opportunity to grab his belt and throw it behind me. In a flash, Félix grabbed the belt and tore it in two. Nothing happened. 

“What–”

“Second chance.” 

“Stay out of sight,” I whispered to him after he set me down not far from the hotel’s entrance. The hotel that had been torn mostly to rubble. I tried not to think of my father. 

Félix grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. “It’s not in his belt.” 

“Got it.” 

Honestly, my entire trembling as I walked towards the destroyed hotel entrance, flashes of my father being crushed to death running through my mind. What if Cat Blanc did the same to me? What if I ended up like Marinette and didn’t get a chance to fix anything? 

No — Félix would save me. He was cold and calculating but he didn’t want the city to die. He wouldn’t abandon Adrien. 

“Chloé!” The sickeningly cheerful voice left dead moths in my stomach. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” 

With a stiff body, I turned to face him. Just as before, there was a manic smile plastered on his face. 

“Where have you been?” He asked sweetly.

There was cotton in my mouth. “Cat Noir… what’s happened to you?”

He chuckled lowly, barely an inch away from me now, bodies grazing against each other with every breath. “You ripped my heart out, that’s what.”

I wasn’t supposed to know who he was, so I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Cat Noir, I really don’t understand what you mean.” 

My shoulders stiffened as he suddenly rested his head on one of them, breath against my neck. “I know you don’t. This must be so confusing for you.” 

I grabbed his stick from the grasp of his belt and threw it behind me. Félix was already there, grabbing the metal pole and racing to Cat Blanc. 

The white cat already had his hand out prepared to cataclysm Félix. Félix dodged the attack, allowing the stick to take the blow instead. Nothing came out. 

“Second chance!” 

“Stay out of sight,” I whispered to him after he set me down not far from the hotel’s entrance. The hotel that had been torn mostly to rubble. I tried not to think of my father. 

Félix grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. “It’s not in his belt or stick. Try to go for his bell this time.” 

“What if it’s in his ring?” I asked. 

“If it is, we’ll deal with it but, for now, try to go for the bell.”

“Got it.” 

Honestly, my entire trembling as I walked towards the destroyed hotel entrance, flashes of my father being crushed to death running through my mind. What if Cat Blanc did the same to me? What if I ended up like Marinette and didn’t get a chance to fix anything? 

No — Félix would save me. He was cold and calculating but he didn’t want the city to die. He wouldn’t abandon Adrien. 

“Chloé!” The sickeningly cheerful voice left dead moths in my stomach. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” 

With a stiff body, I turned to face him. Just as before, there was a manic smile plastered on his face. 

“Where have you been?” He asked sweetly.

There was cotton in my mouth. “Cat Noir… what’s happened to you?”

He chuckled lowly, barely an inch away from me now, bodies grazing against each other with every breath. “You ripped my heart out, that’s what.”

I wasn’t supposed to know who he was, so I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Cat Noir, I really don’t understand what you mean.” 

My shoulders stiffened as he suddenly rested his head on one of them, breath against my neck. “I know you don’t. This must be so confusing for you.” 

I slowly slid my hand up to rest on his chest. His body tensed for a moment but he relaxed into my touch, sighing like a feral kitten who had just gotten a pat for the first time. 

“Can you tell me what happened, kitty?” I asked, trying to distract him so I could grab his bell. 

“I just care for you so much, Chloe, and I feel like you don’t want me at all.”

Almost.  

“Why? Am I not good enough?” 

Keep talking, kitty. 

My hands had just grasped his bell when he pulled away from me, looking at me with widened eyes. “What did you just call me?” 

I ripped the bell from the collar. 

“Félix, now!” I called, throwing the bell behind me and allowing Félix to drop it to the ground and stomp on it. 

Nothing. 

“Chloe, you-”

“Second chance!” 

“Stay out of sight,” I whispered to him after he set me down not far from the hotel’s entrance. The hotel that had been torn mostly to rubble. I tried not to think of my father. 

Félix grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. He looked exasperated. “It has to be in his ring.” 

“How do we destroy that?” I asked with widened eyes. 

“We’re going to have to trick him into using his cataclysm.”

“What if he gets you? Then we’re screwed.” 

“Just make sure to fix it.” 

“Got it.” 

Honestly, my entire trembling as I walked towards the destroyed hotel entrance, flashes of my father being crushed to death running through my mind. What if Cat Blanc did the same to me? What if I ended up like Marinette and didn’t get a chance to fix anything? 

No — Félix would save me. He was cold and calculating but he didn’t want the city to die. He wouldn’t abandon Adrien. 

“Chloé!” The sickeningly cheerful voice left dead moths in my stomach. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” 

With a stiff body, I turned to face him. Just as before, there was a manic smile plastered on his face. 

“Where have you been?” He asked sweetly.

There was cotton in my mouth. “Cat Noir… what’s happened to you?”

He chuckled lowly, barely an inch away from me now, bodies grazing against each other with every breath. “You ripped my heart out, that’s what.”

I wasn’t supposed to know who he was, so I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Cat Noir, I really don’t understand what you mean.” 

My shoulders stiffened as he suddenly rested his head on one of them, breath against my neck. “I know you don’t. This must be so confusing for you.” 

I held his hand, then, gently cradling his with mine. Our fingers interlocked. 

“Can’t you always hold my hand?” He sighed. 

My eyes widened; maybe we didn’t need to destroy anything. Maybe I could help him reject the akuma all on his own. After the akuma was purified, he wouldn’t remember it anyways. 

“You know I care about you, Adrien.” 

His head shot up, hands gripping my upper arms. “How did you—”

“I can’t tell you that,” I said, honestly. “But I am sorry for hurting you. And I’m sorry for making you feel like I don’t care about you. You’re my best friend, Adrien.” 

A tear fell down his cheek. “I want to be more than friends, Chlo.”

I sighed, grabbing his wrists and removing his hands from my arms. “We can’t, Adrien. I can’t.”

“Chloé–”

“Second chance!” 

“Stay out of sight,” I whispered to him after he set me down not far from the hotel’s entrance. The hotel that had been torn mostly to rubble. I tried not to think of my father. 

Félix grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. He practically glared at me. “Just get his ring. Don’t even try to do anything funny.” 

“Got it.” 

Honestly, my entire trembling as I walked towards the destroyed hotel entrance, flashes of my father being crushed to death running through my mind. What if Cat Blanc did the same to me? What if I ended up like Marinette and didn’t get a chance to fix anything? 

No — Félix would save me. He was cold and calculating but he didn’t want the city to die. He wouldn’t abandon Adrien. 

“Chloé!” The sickeningly cheerful voice left dead moths in my stomach. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” 

With a stiff body, I turned to face him. Just as before, there was a manic smile plastered on his face. 

“Where have you been?” He asked sweetly.

There was cotton in my mouth. “Cat Noir… what’s happened to you?”

He chuckled lowly, barely an inch away from me now, bodies grazing against each other with every breath. “You ripped my heart out, that’s what.”

I wasn’t supposed to know who he was, so I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Cat Noir, I really don’t understand what you mean.” 

My shoulders stiffened as he suddenly rested his head on one of them, breath against my neck. “I know you don’t. This must be so confusing for you.” 

I held his hand, then, gently cradling his with mine. Our fingers interlocked. 

“Can’t you always hold my hand?” He sighed. 

A thought crossed my mind; perhaps I could have convinced Adrien to give up his akuma without having to destroy anything. But Félix made it clear… Perhaps I had already tried something and it didn’t work. 

“I’m sorry, kitty,” I whispered, fingers clutching around his ring. 

That was the last thing I said before a white glow engulfed me. 

“Stay out of sight,” I whispered to him after he set me down not far from the hotel’s entrance. The hotel that had been torn mostly to rubble. I tried not to think of my father. 

Félix grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. He looked exasperated. 

“How many times have we tried?” 

“Five, I think,” he replied. “It’s in his ring, but… you’re going to have to be smart to get it.”

“Like how?” 

“I don’t know. Just try a few things and we’ll do something else if they don’t work.” 

“Got it.” 

Honestly, my entire trembling as I walked towards the destroyed hotel entrance, flashes of my father being crushed to death running through my mind. What if Cat Blanc did the same to me? What if I ended up like Marinette and didn’t get a chance to fix anything? 

No — Félix would save me. He was cold and calculating but he didn’t want the city to die. He wouldn’t abandon Adrien. 

“Chloé!” The sickeningly cheerful voice left dead moths in my stomach. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” 

With a stiff body, I turned to face him. Just as before, there was a manic smile plastered on his face. 

“Where have you been?” He asked sweetly.

There was cotton in my mouth. “Cat Noir… what’s happened to you?”

He chuckled lowly, barely an inch away from me now, bodies grazing against each other with every breath. “You ripped my heart out, that’s what.”

I wasn’t supposed to know who he was, so I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Cat Noir, I really don’t understand what you mean.” 

My shoulders stiffened as he suddenly rested his head on one of them, breath against my neck. “I know you don’t. This must be so confusing for you.” 

I held his hand, then, gently cradling his with mine. Our fingers interlocked. 

“Can’t you always hold my hand?” He sighed. 

Félix said I had to be smart – would it have been too obvious if I just simply grabbed his ring then? Well… it had been my first instinct so I must have done it before. What could I–

I didn’t think it through very much, cradling Cat Blanc’s face and bringing him to me, our lips pressed together. He seemed to stop breathing, so that seemed a good enough sign that he was distracted. 

I slowly slipped the ring off his finger, but—

“Stay out of sight,” I whispered to him after he set me down not far from the hotel’s entrance. The hotel that had been torn mostly to rubble. I tried not to think of my father. 

Félix grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. “Give me your earrings.”

“Excuse me?” 

“The only way for the ring to be cataclysmed is when it’s held with you.”

“Uh, why do I have to be the sacrificial lamb?” 

“Because you’re the only one who can get close to him,” he exclaimed. “Chloé, please, just trust me.” 

“Oh, yeah, because you’ve been so trustworthy so far.”

“I have actually,” he replied, calmly. “I’ve constantly saved you through this all. If I was going to betray you, I would have already.” 

“What’s stopping you from just taking the earrings and leaving?” 

He looked at me with someone I couldn’t quite place. “A lot of things. Our past life, in particular.” 

“You’re saying I trusted you in my past life?” I asked incredulously. 

“Very much so.” 

I sighed. What other option did I have? I gave him the earrings. 

Honestly, my entire trembling as I walked towards the destroyed hotel entrance, flashes of my father being crushed to death running through my mind. What if Cat Blanc did the same to me? What if I ended up like Marinette and didn’t get a chance to fix anything? 

No — Félix would save me. He was cold and calculating but he didn’t want the city to die. He wouldn’t abandon Adrien. 

“Chloé!” The sickeningly cheerful voice left dead moths in my stomach. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” 

With a stiff body, I turned to face him. Just as before, there was a manic smile plastered on his face. 

“Where have you been?” He asked sweetly.

There was cotton in my mouth. “Cat Noir… what’s happened to you?”

He chuckled lowly, barely an inch away from me now, bodies grazing against each other with every breath. “You ripped my heart out, that’s what.”

I wasn’t supposed to know who he was, so I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Cat Noir, I really don’t understand what you mean.” 

My shoulders stiffened as he suddenly rested his head on one of them, breath against my neck. “I know you don’t. This must be so confusing for you.” 

I held his hand, then, gently cradling his with mine. Our fingers interlocked. 

“Can’t you always hold my hand?” He sighed. 

Félix said I had to be smart – would it have been too obvious if I just simply grabbed his ring then? Well… it had been my first instinct so I must have done it before. What could I–

I didn’t think it through very much, cradling Cat Blanc’s face and bringing him to me, our lips pressed together. He seemed to stop breathing, so that seemed a good enough sign that he was distracted. 

I slowly slipped the ring off his finger, but—

…

The moon shone brightly, reflecting in the windows of the pristine hotel. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower glimmered at its full glory. I could hear people talking, cars driving. I took a sigh of relief. 

“What happened?” Cat Noir asked, rising from his knees. “Who are you?” 

“Lady Luck’s stand in,” a deep voice said next to me. Félix - clad in a ladybug themed costume - stood beside me. “You must have just had a bad day, Cat Noir.” 

He glared at the boy next me. “Seems it’s only becoming worse.”

Félix only smiled. “Excuse me, I should escort miss Bourgeois to her room.” 

“I can do that!” Cat Noir protested. 

“Sorry, I don’t think she’s feeling particularly trusting of you right now.” 

I needed to speak with Félix still, so I allowed him to carry me to the penthouse, dropping me on the balcony. 

“Tikki, spots off.”

Without any hesitance at all, he handed me both of the miraculous. He turned to head towards the door, doubtlessly leaving, but I stopped him. 

“Thank you, Félix. I… I couldn’t have done this without you.” 

He turned his head to look at me, something in his eyes I never saw before. Not from him, at least. “I’ll always be there for you, Chloé.” 

And then he left. 

Chapter Text

Fèlix was dreaming of her again. Her with her soft skin grazing against his, her cheek resting on his bare as he buried his hand in her silky blonde hair. 

He’d often dream of her, to the point where he was haunted by her and their memories. He had lost count of the times he’d been ripped from bliss and happiness, awakening instead to an empty bed, her nowhere to be found. It drove him crazy, wishing he could just go to sleep and never wake up, dying peacefully with the memory of her in his arms. 

But the dreams weren’t always sunshine and bliss — sometimes they terrorized him, nightmares built from the ashes of his worst memories. 

Finding her with that horrifying hole in her stomach, blood seeping out of her mouth as she tried to talk. The bastard’s hand on her throat, slowly choking her tan skin to a ghastly white. 

However, the worst was when he remembered their last conversation, the last conversation before she… He didn’t even want to think of it. 

“You are not the person who will teach me how to love, Bourgeois, you aren’t special enough for that. You’re nothing but a bit of fun – a distraction.”

Fèlix’s heart wanted to rip in two at the very recollection of it, her betrayed blue eyes burning themselves into his memory. There hadn’t been a chance for apology or any kind of ‘making up’ because the next time he saw her, she was already on death’s doorstep. And if he had to bend the universe to get her back, he would. 

He did. 

“This is too dangerous!” Bunnix had exclaimed, barely able to stand on her own two feet. Fèlix had wanted to scoff at her; the world was literally falling apart at the seams and she was still concerned with “preserving the timeline”. “Doing this could kill you or worse!”  

Death had always been a concerning topic for Fèlix — where did his kind go when they died? Perhaps humans could spend their days dreaming of heaven or reincarnation, but would the same rules apply for him? The pessimist in him doubted it. 

But there were things more important than his own life, she was more important. 

He ignored Bunnix’s warning, ripping the pocket watch from her. She attempted to take it back from him, but slumped against the wall and slid to her knees — it seemed her time was almost up. 

Honestly, it was a desperate last resort from a man whose whole world had just been shattered, he didn’t really believe it would work. But then he woke up as his sixteen year old self, curled up in the bedroom in his mother’s London penthouse apartment. 

It had been an impulsive and reckless move he hadn’t even believed would work, therefore he had no plan. Nothing other than to stop—

Félix’s world shattered once more when he realised, with a sickening feeling in his stomach, that he couldn’t remember who he was trying to stop. He couldn’t remember who had easily slaughtered Ladybug, Cat Noir… the entire superhero team with barely any effort. He couldn’t remember who had taken Chloè from him. 

He had to change his target; Paris. Everything was in Paris, even if it was too early for Ladybug and Cat Noir, he would be able to aid them against Hawk Moth from the shadows and ensure Chloè was safe. Even if he couldn’t be a part of her life, not in the way he wanted, at least.

It was an extremely bitter thought, realising he would be able to see Chloè again — to hear and smell and touch her in the flesh, before any of the horrors of the world scarred her. She’d be right in his grasp… but she wanted Adrien. For those few years before she was sent to London, she had always wanted Adrien. She hadn’t even looked Fèlix’s way, not until he was the only option in front of her. 

But her safety was all that mattered. All Fèlix had to do was ensure she never got involved with the miraculous at all, perhaps then she would be saved from the terrible fate that awaited her. Even if that meant he would never have her in his arms again. 

But things were different, different in a way they shouldn’t have been. 

Perhaps Cat Noir and Hawk Moth had made their appearances, but there was no Ladybug at all in this new time — no determined little girl with midnight hair and a fire red suit to save the day. Instead, there was Lady Luck. Lady Luck with her golden blonde hair, and, from what Fèlix had heard, a spiky personality. 

Everyone else in the world was entirely baffled by the true identities of these self-proclaimed superheroes, but Fèlix knew — he knew from her movements, from the glare in her eyes, and the very breaths she took. He’d know her by the way her feet hit the ground and how her breaths landed on the Earth. For better or worse, Chloé Bourgeois was embedded into his soul and he’d always be aware of her. Painfully aware.

 How long had it taken him to convince his mother that they had to go to Paris? That he wanted to grow closer with his dear uncle and precious cousin? Not long, considering she gave him everything he wanted. Félix knew his mother loved him, but he often believed her extravagant gift giving and constantly bending to his every whim was to ease her own guilt, regret doubtlessly seeping into her every pore when she remembered what her husband did to her son. 

Fèlix tried not to blame her too much but sometimes his anger ran away from him. He refused to ever act on it, of course; he would never end up like the bastard he called a father. 

Chloé, from the moment he spoke with her at the school, was different — quieter, tamer, as if the savage cub inside of her had matured into something she actively restrained. Not only that, but she almost immediately recognised he was Félix rather than Adrien from the moment he opened his mouth. In his previous timeline, Chloé never acted as such at sixteen. Not to mention, she was associating with Marinette, of all people… Definitely not the Chloé he remembered. 

At first, a part of him feared that the cost of his successful ritual was a twisted switch, Chloé being inhabited by someone entirely different. Stupidly, he was hostile, aggressive towards that who would take over her body. But she was definitely Chloé — his Chloé. The same Chloé who risked her life to help Ladybug and Cat Noir save the world. The same Chloé who gently ran her fingers through his hair as he rested his head on her chest. Chloé, who was blunt and rude and reckless, but gentle and funny and lovely . 

His Chloé had come back with him… But she didn’t remember him the way he remembered her. 

There was jealousy and anger and that led Félix to do stupid and reckless things, things that hurt Chloé… He never wanted to hurt Chloé. 

But he was desperate for her to see just who Adrien was — the aggression and anger and possessive tendencies he hid under a perfect boy persona. Félix forced a kiss upon Chloé, touching her in an intimate way without her permission and, he wondered then, if he was any better than Adrien. 

At least Félix proved to himself that Adrien hadn’t changed — his cousin immediately tried to beat Félix to a pulp and threatened him with pure malice in his voice. 

He’d been that way towards Marinette and Ladybug for a while in the previous timeline, but to see Adrien so possessive over Chloé unnerved Félix, an instinct inside of Félix urging him to get Chloé as far away from Adrien as possible. Apart from that, Adrien seemed the same… Had it been Chloé’s change in personality that made the boy obsessed with her? 

It didn’t matter the reason, either way, Félix hated it. He hated how Adrien looked at Chloé, how his eyes just never seemed to leave her. He hated how Adrien was constantly trying to touch her; grabbing her hand, an arm around her waist, slung around her shoulders… it seemed his hands were always desperately grabbing at Chloé and it made Félix sick to his stomach. 

Fèlix knew he was slowly being consumed by jealousy, and that he had absolutely no right to Chloé because she did not remember him. But he also knew that it wasn’t just jealousy — there was a protective urge to, remembering how crazy Adrien could become when he was in love, the objects of his admiration often getting caught in the crossfire. Fèlix was there to keep Chloé safe, and that meant far away from Adrien and his obsession with possessing. The model was a lot like his father in that regard, always coveting things, wanting to keep and hoard them. 

Adrien could have Marinette or Ladybug, hell, he could have Kagami. But not Chloe. Chloé was to be kept far away from the oppressive force that was Adrien Agreste. Even if that meant she wasn’t with Felix either. 

Fèlix hadn’t expected the Cat Blanc situation, terrifying in all regards. Fortunately, Cat Blanc had Cataclysmed the entire Agreste mansion, including Hawk Moth, meaning he wasn’t able to control him. But that gave Cat Blanc full, unhinged freedom of his devastating power and, of course, his target was Chloé. Honestly, Félix was lucky she had trusted him. 

Well, if Félix was truly honest, he was lucky Chloé was oblivious to the fact she had him wrapped around her finger. 

An abrupt tap on the balcony door was enough to rip Félix from his musings, head whipping towards the ceiling high glass windows. The hotel was nice, but his mother — against his will, mind you — was trying to convince Gabriel to host Félix in his mansion. Fèlix would have rather slammed his tongue in a car door. 

He sat up from his bed immediately when he saw Lady Luck, adorned in her skin tight black and red costume, very different from Ladybug’s. Subconsciously, he ran a hand through his doubtlessly messy hair, doing his best to look as composed as possible.

“It’s late,” he said, as indifferently as possible, when he unlocked the door for her, hair damp from the light patter of rain. 

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” she mused back, voice exasperated. Fèlix let himself smile at that, her back turned to him as she walked in. 

“What brings you here, my dear Lady Luck?” He questioned easily, hands behind his back as he approached her. 

She turned to him, but her eyes stayed darting around the room. He actually tried to hide his fond smile this time; she always did such a thing when about to say something genuine or embarrassing or admitting her own faults. 

He remembered one of the first times she did it, what she had said. “I… I don’t think you’re a bad person.” Fèlix brushed the thought off as Chloé spoke, crossing her arms. 

“You…” She sighed, looking up at him. “You didn’t let me down yesterday. I thought I’d regret trusting you, but I didn’t.” 

“I said you wouldn’t,” he replied, crossing his own arms. “You should’ve listened to me sooner, you know, before your friend was turned to rubble.”

She glared up at him, an adorable thing, really. “Shut up before I take everything back.” He nodded in concession. “Would you make me regret it if I trusted you some more?” 

Never. You could trust me to defend you if the whole world wished to see you hung. 

“Perhaps.”

Chloé shut her eyes briefly and took a large breath, as if trying to convince herself that this was a good idea. Felix wasn’t expecting her to outstretch her palm to him, a wooden brown box in her hand. 

“Fèlix Fathom, this is the Miraculous of the Black Cat, it grants the power of destruction. You will use it for the greater good and to aid me as my partner.” 

“Chloé—”

“Will you accept it or not?” 

“Adrien destroyed the mansion, including Hawk Moth, he probably didn’t find out he was Adrien.”

“It’s still too risky,” she explained. “Not just with the chance of Gabriel knowing Adrien is Cat Noir, but Adrien in general — he’s too unstable. I can’t trust him.” 

Does that mean you think you can trust me? 

Fèlix raised his eyebrows. “Are you saying that, out of all the people in Paris, you think I’m your best option?” 

She glared at him again, beginning to walk past him and to the balcony. “Fine! If you don’t want it, I’ll give it to a homeless person!” 

Fèlix didn’t even bother hiding his chuckle, gently grabbing her by her upper arm to stop her, taking the box from her hand. 

“Lady Luck, I will greatly accept this honour.” 

“Please, don’t make me regret this, Fathom.” 

“Wouldn’t dream of it, love.” 

Chapter Text

Thick, murky water ran knee deep, beckoning me below its dark surface. The cruel mistress of suffocation inviting me to her depths, to her embrace.

“It hurts when you rip out someone’s heart, Chloé.”

Cat Blanc was below me, somehow staring at me through the water as if it wasn’t water at all. 

His clawed hand yanked at my leg, nails digging into soft flesh. I was pulled under with the murky water and the rest of his victims, gasping for air I would never feel.

My lungs ached when I woke up, choking on nothing but the air in my throat. Foundering around like a fish that had been cruelly misplaced from its home. Sweat dripped down from my forehead, as if a bucket of water had just been poured on me. 

I sat up, my heart still thundering in my chest, warning me of a danger that was no longer real. Tikki was sound on her little bed, resting easily on my bedside table. I was relieved; I really didn’t want to talk about what had woken me.

As quietly as I could, I padded to the bathroom, moon glinting in my eyes as I did so. The cold water from the tap was welcomed against my burning skin, inflamed by adrenaline.

Three days had passed since the Cat Blanc incident. Two since I confiscated his miraculous. Still, the memories burned in my mind, terrorising me even as I slept. 

I wish I could say that taking Adrien’s miraculous was a hard decision, but it wasn’t. I never really believed in a greater power or the universe but, somehow, the world just felt out of balance if Marinette was no longer Ladybug… but Adrien was still Cat Noir. There was just something wrong about it — as if I was Marinette’s replacement. Selfishly, I knew having a different Cat Noir would ease me of this imposter syndrome.

Maybe it was the miraculous’ themselves warning me that the world was out of balance. That the powers were unbalanced. In the original timeline, Cat Noir was impulsive and reckless and oftentimes didn’t think before he acted. Ladybug was the perfect partner for him because she was resourceful and intuitive and smart. But she also had the tendency to overthink. They were yin and yang, each ensuring they did not fall into their own vices.

As indignant as I was to admit it, I was much more like Cat Noir than Ladybug. I didn’t like to think and plan and strategize — I quite simply couldn’t. I needed someone who could, someone calculated and smart.

Perhaps someone who shared the same predicament I did.

I hated to admit it, but Félix was perfect. He was smart and skilled, and, even better, we could communicate. We would know each other’s identities and Hawk Moth’s. I wouldn’t have to lie to him. 

And, despite everything, he did seem trustworthy. He could have let me die — let Adrien destroy Paris — but he didn’t. I prayed it wouldn’t come back to bite me, but I was beginning to really trust him.

There was just the teeny, tiny problem of getting the miraculous.

Frankly, my stomach was eating itself at the thought of facing Adrien. My nerves standing to attention, pure anxiety leaking off me. But it had to be done.

He seemed surprised to see me there; understandable considering we weren’t supposed to know each others identities. But then a kind of… resignation set over his eyes. As if he understood what was about to transpire.

“Adrien Agreste, you have been a wonderful partner… Usually.” Listen, he did threaten to kill me and there were several times where he didn’t show up. At least I’d have Félix on speed dial. “But the powers of the Black Cat miraculous have taken a toll on you and now I must ask you to relinquish your miraculous.”

“No.”

His response was blank, automatic… unnerving.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry, Lady Luck, but I can’t give up my miraculous,” he said after a deep breath, as if his emotions had only just seeped into his veins. “Cat Noir is the only freedom I have.”

I couldn’t restrain an eyebrow from raising. “You nearly destroyed Paris.”

His resolve faltered then, green eyes filling with regret. Something sorrowful nipped at my heart then, remembering exactly who I was talking to. For better or worse, Cat Noir really was the only freedom Adrien had, and I intended to take it from him. Yes, I felt guilty and my heart ached for what he had to endure, but it had to be done. He had to deal with it. He was too unstable.

“Until, I know you are mentally well, I cannot allow you to have the miraculous.”

His head ripped to look at the black kwami floating next to him. “Plagg?”

“She’s, ah, she’s got a point, kid,” Plagg replied, barely able to look Adrien in the eye. “What you did was dangerous. I’m worried about you.”

“But I didn’t mean to do it,” Adrien protested, voice raising. Near cracking. “Hawk Moth akumatized me? Doesn’t that mean anything? I would never do that on purpose!”

My fist clenched at his words, wanting nothing more than to feel my nails dig into my palm. The pain would ground me. 

His words hit too close to home; I knew better than most how easy it was to succumb to Hawk Moth’s manipulations. To obey his honey sweet words and be nothing more than a pawn on his chessboard. I was one of his most useful pawns, after all, one of his favourite toys to play with. Honestly, I’d failed so many times to retrieve the the miraculous that I honestly believed he began to do it for fun. That he enjoyed the malicious things he could pump into my brain until I was barely my own person.

“I understand, Adrien,” I told him, smoothing out the bumps and spikes of my voice. “I… It wasn’t your fault. Hawk Moth made you do that but until we know it won’t happen again, you can’t have the miraculous. Not to mention him possibly knowing your identity. It’s too risky, I’m sorry.”

Adrien’s eyes fell to his ring, his fist clenching until his knuckles were white. I waited with bated breath, body tense with anxiety and dread.

But then he slipped off the ring and passed it to me.

“I understand, Lady Luck. I’m sorry for the things I did.”

…

Huh. Alright then.

I cleared my throat, still choking on shock. “It’s alright, Adrien. Thank you for being so understanding.”

I tried to ignore the suspicions lingering in the back of my mind as I flung across the city to place the miraculous in Félix’s waiting hand. 

Try as I might, I couldn’t forget Cat Blanc. The manic look in his eyes, the aggressive confession of being in love with me. Not of it made sense and all of it unsettled me; Adrien wasn’t supposed to be in love with me. Well… technically Marinette wasn’t either but Adrien was far more concerning.

Just the thought of Marinette made my heart still in my chest. I couldn’t even make eye contact with her when I took the mouse miraculous back from her, guilt eating at my heart until there was nothing left but regret. It was my fault that she ended up like that — I was barely any better than Fu, getting her involved and hurt. At least Félix knew what was about to be thrown his way.

It wasn’t the first time I had put her in danger either, the memory of her bloodied and bruised body after I had given her the Ladybug miraculous still staining my mind. Again, that was my fault. 

I hadn’t seen her since then but I had to see her in mere hours. And Adrien. And Félix. And everyone else who had fucking died in the last timeline. 

A part of me just wanted to cry; I didn’t ask to be involved with the miraculous. Actually… Wait, I did, technically. In the past timeline I would’ve died to be Ladybug. Unfortunately, that was exactly what had happened.

There was a weird air in the school when I walked in but I ignored it, hesitantly approaching Adrien. He was alone by his locker, body tense and cheeks gaunt as if he hadn’t eaten or slept all weekend. He was probably feeling exactly how I was, considering he hadn’t called or texted me at all. A hesitant guilt, dragging us both down to the pits of self hatred.

“Hey,” I said as I approached. Quietly. Hesitantly. 

His head shot up to look at me, eyes wide as if he’d just been woken up. “Chloé, hi.”

Then that surprise made way for another emotion. Sorrow, regret, resignation? Perhaps it was some kind of soup of them.

“I’m so sorry, Adrien.” 

Apologies weren’t something I was good at, they hurt my pride like nothing else. I hurt people a lot in my past life and, a lot of the time, I was aware of how hurtful I was. How a lot of that hurt could be healed with a simple apology. But my pride had always burned brighter than my self perseverance and words such as “I’m sorry” ever left my lips.

But this was far from my first rodeo and even my pride told me I had wronged Adrien. It wasn’t my fault I didn’t know about his feelings for me, or that I didn’t quite return them the way he’d like me to… But I did hit him and that wasn’t okay. Besides, I hadn’t been a very good friend to him lately.

His eyes widened. “What are you sorry for? I should—“ He cut himself off then, the words dying in his throat. Ah… it seemed he nearly let his tongue loose of him being Cat Black. 

“I’m sorry for hitting you last Friday, Adrien. I think I was having some kind of nightmare but that doesn’t excuse it. I’m really sorry.”

He was quiet for a moment… calculating almost. As if thinking something over. But then he smiled gently.

“It’s alright, Chlo.”

A weight lifted off my shoulders at his gentle smile. It seemed like he wanted a hug but… Cat Blanc’s blue eyes were still imprinted in my mind and I could not. I wasn’t quite ready to touch Adrien.

Still, I went into class with a gentle smile and a laugh in my voice. Until I saw Lila fucking Rossi next to Ivan, a crowd surrounding her as if she god’s gift to earth.

“…and that’s when I told Taylor Swift I had to go to Harry Style’s concert instead. She was so upset.”

Seriously? Taylor Swift and Harry Styles? At least attempt to make it believable.

Marinette was the only person who wasn’t utterly enamored with Lila’s tall tales, sitting at her desk and scribbling on a piece of paper. I walked up to her, letting Adrien talk to Nino.

“Whatch’a drawing?” I asked casually as I leaned next to her.

She immediately jolted up, like a bird flapping its wing rapidly the moment a human neared them.

“Oh, Chloé, hey!” Marinette greeted when she finally collected herself. “How was your weekend?”

I spent 48 hours in a limbo of depression and dread, wanting nothing more than to be struck down from this cruel fate.

“Great. How was yours?”

“So busy. Literally everyone wanted pastries.”

“Damn.”

Lila then decided to kill the vibes by laughing obnoxiously loudly. Like one of those fake giggles a girl gave when she wanted a guy’s attention.

“You’re not interested in what’s-her-face’s stories?” I asked Marinette, disgust in my voice.

She scoffed. “I don’t believe a thing she’s saying. She said she’s best friends with Lady Luck.”

A sneer made its way onto my face. “Ew.”

Unfortunately, our conversation was cut short when Miss Bustier walked through the door and demanded we all get in our new assigned seats. Yuck. Still, it was a little bit funny that Lila was next to Ivan and he had absolutely no interest in listening to her stories.

Félix arrived late. He cared a lot less about punctuality than his cousin, especially when the event was unimportant to him. His father had always tried to, quite literally, beat the importance of punctuality to Félix. Every time he was late for something, it was a big middle finger in father’s face and he relished it.

Umm… How do I know all this? I questioned myself as my brow furrowed. Félix had told me none of it. Perhaps it was some left over memory from the original timeline; just how close were we that he’d tell me such intimate details of his childhood? He hated being weak in front of anyone.

“Students, I'd like to introduce our new student, Lila Rossi. She’s just returned from traveling the world, look after her!”

A rolled my eyes as she so clearly basked in the attention.

Lunch would have been fine if a certain blonde boy didn’t corner me in the locker room. Seriously, I just wanted to eat lunch but no.

“Try not to make an enemy of Lila. At least not when your Lady Luck… that’s what caused her to meddle so much with Hawk Moth’s plans.”

“Oh dear, is that great and brilliant Félix Fathom scared of her?”

“I’d just rather not deal with unnecessary problems. Not when we have a real threat to face.”

I knew he wasn’t talking about Hawk Moth. Félix had never been afraid of Gabriel, never had seen him as a real threat. He was just a desperately pathetic man, running on the sole goal to see his wife again. 

But that thing that wiped out every miraculous holder? Who killed me and Marinette and Adrien? That thing was dangerous — even more so that I could not remember who it was.

“Speaking of such,” Félix continued, crossing his arms. “I say we get rid of Hawk Moth.”

“You mean, like, now?”

“We both know his identity. I see no reason to skirt around the issue — let’s go on the offense.” 

If it had been anyone else who suggested the idea, I would’ve thought them entirely reckless and stupid. But this was Félix and he never did anything if it did not serve him.

“No… You’ll need to get control of the miracle box first.”

“Excuse me?”

Ah, the miracle box. The box that held all of the miraculous. The last one that had not been eaten by a sentimonster. Marinette became the guardian of it after Fu was forced to renounce it. How could I possibly do the same?

“I’m willing to get that neither of us have any memory of who destroyed our previous timeline, correct?” 

I gestured in agreement. Reluctantly.

“We can’t trust the old man not to screw something up or be a liability. Before we take Gabriel down, you need to become guardian of the miracle box.”

“And how, exactly, am I gonna do that?”

The smile that grew on Félix’s face reminded me all too well of the merciless strategist he really was.

“Seems I’ll have to let uncle dearest know there are more miraculous right under his nose.”