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Chapter Text

It was your average recess period in the schoolyard at Françoise Dupont. A girl with two raven ponytails sat on a bench conversing with a girl with long brown locks. By the stairs to the second floor sat a very famous face, laughing in conversation with a boy wearing headphones around his neck.

And in the corner, lounging in the shade, sat a tall boy with black hair, in a blue hoodie. With earbuds in his ears, eyes trained on his phone screen, and a frown on his face, he looked quite satisfied with never talking to anyone ever again. This was working out well so far, as no one had so much as looked at him for the entirety of the period.

Suddenly, he jolted upright, staring at his screen with alarm. He leapt to his feet in a flash, then, stopping as if to catch himself, made his way to the stairs considerably more slowly. He needn't have bothered - no one had noticed him anyway.

“So, are you going to tell him?” Alya smirked.

“Are you crazy? No way!” Marinette winced, worriedly hiding the notebook behind her back.

“You’re telling me you’d rather sneak Adrien’s lost notebook back into his locker than take credit for finding it?” Alya teased. “Girl, this would score you so many brownie points with him!”

Marinette gulped, glancing over to the steps where Adrien sat laughing with Nino. “I know, I know,” she said, “but didn’t you hear that rumor? About – “

“How he’s got a secret girlfriend? Do you seriously believe that?” Alya rolled her eyes. “Mari, I was all over him when I found about that, and I couldn’t get him to admit to anything. Nothing from Nino either, and that boy’s a terrible liar.”

“But what if it’s true?” Marinette sighed, her grip on the book slipping. “Adrien has been looking really happy lately…” She looked over to him again and smiled. “I’d hate to take that away from him.”

Alya blinked. “Okay, returning somebody’s property is not the same as flirting with them.”

“But it’ll look like I like him!”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Yes… I MEAN NO! I mean… ugh!” Marinette slumped down in her seat. “It’s not a good thing when he already loves somebody!”

“Which you’re just assuming is true.”

“You don’t know it isn’t!”

“You won’t know it is unless you ask him about it!”

Marinette growled. Her friend had a point. She felt a small warmth from the bag at her hip – Tikki showing her support. She sighed resignedly.

“All right, all right,” she relented, “I’ll give this to him.”

But as Alya did a little victory dance, saying something about how she’d better ask him something, Marinette’s attention was swiftly diverted. Something was perched on the nearest corner of the roof. A butterfly.

“…r-right after I use the bathroom!” Marinette stuttered, pushing the book hastily into Alya’s hands.

“What?!” Alya yelled, more than a little confused. “Girl, you can NOT just escape this like that!”

“I’m not! I’ll be back soon, I promise!” Marinette called back, already racing towards the stairs to the roof. “Hold onto the book for me!”

Alya crossed her arms, but smiled. “That’s not even the way to the bathroom.”

Neither girl noticed Adrien run off, making a similarly bad excuse to Nino.

Marinette made it to the roof in record time. Taking cover behind an air duct, she poked her head around to confirm the butterfly hadn’t moved. It still sat there, fluttering its wings lazily.

“Tikki, spots on!” Marinette whispered, closing her eyes as her costume formed around her. Not a moment later, Ladybug rose to her feet, and approached the butterfly slowly. “Hi, little butterfly,” she said softly.

At the sound of her voice, the butterfly rose, and flapped slowly towards her. She grabbed her yo-yo from her hip and held it out in front of her, in her palm, arm outstretched. The butterfly alighted on the yo-yo, and with a flash, merged with it. Ladybug’s arm became suffused in a bright light, and the purple symbol of a butterfly appeared in front of her mask.

Ladybug! There you are, said a friendly voice in her head. I am consistently impressed by how quickly my akumas find you.

“Well, you know me, Monarch,” said Ladybug, smiling, “I’m always on the lookout for them.”

I should really expect that by now, the voice laughed. Now where’s our friend, the cat?

Present and accounted for, piped up a third voice. For what do I owe the purr-leasure of this meeting?

Ooh, breaking out the puns already? We must be feeling generous today.

Hey, I can’t help it if I spy the purr-fect opportunity!

I’m curious… would it kill the cat to add a little variety to his jokes?

“Girls, girls, you’re both pretty,” Ladybug laughed. “Can you answer Chat’s question, papillon?”

Right, right, right. Monarch cleared his throat. There’s been a report of a robbery of the bank on Rue Lord Byron.

I know that place! Byblos, right?

Yes. There was only one witness, the bank teller, but she said she was coerced into opening the vault by two men with blue feathers in their hats.

“Kujaku,” Ladybug whispered, hearing Chat Noir hiss the same name.

Seems that way.

How long ago was this?

About twenty minutes ago. Knowing him, their trail will still be fresh.

“Seriously? How do you find out about this stuff so fast?”

My sources are simply the best. Ladybug could practically feel Monarch’s smirk on the other end of the psychic link.

Well, what are we waiting for? Chat Noir grinned too. Time for this cat to go catch a bird.

“Whatever you do, Chat, please don’t give him to me as a gift,” Ladybug teased.

Hey, I only did that once! I learned my lesson!

“I don’t know, you’re still a silly kitty,” Ladybug snickered.

All right, lovebirds, I’m sending you coordinates now. Don’t be late!

Ladybug tutted, but said nothing as a location entered her head.

“On my way,” she declared, and took off swinging.

It didn’t take long for them to track the robbers down. The bank’s front door had been blown wide open, and a telltale trail of 20-euro notes crossed the crime scene, so far untouched by the police. Ladybug and Chat Noir only had to pause there for a moment, note the direction of the trail, wave hello to the police and a few star-struck onlookers, and leap off down the avenue.

“See anything, Chat?” Ladybug called, mid-leap.

“Nothing so far,” Chat replied, effortlessly retracting his baton and preparing for landing. “My vision isn’t particularly special in the daylight.”

Seems that part’s up to me, Monarch chimed in, purple outlines appearing around the heroes’ faces. Charlie’s got a read on Kujaku’s Miraculous. Follow the butterfly.

Right on cue, Ladybug spied a flutter of wings turning down a side street.

“Chat! There!” she cried.

“On it!” The pair rounded the corner with no loss in momentum, running after the white butterfly as it gracefully swooped around corner after corner, until it finally came to rest upon a fire escape, neighboring a tiny, dark alleyway.

“He’s in there?” Ladybug asked, as she and Chat stopped on the roof of the building.

Trust me, my signal’s never been wrong. The Peafowl Miraculous is in this alley.

Ladybug looked at Chat pointedly. “Ready, kitty?”

“As I’ll ever be, my lady,” Chat winked, but there was a hint of steel in his eyes. “Et tu, Monarch?”

Right here with you, came the reply. Shall I count you down?

“Please,” Ladybug grinned.

3…

2…

1…

Go!

The heroes swung around the corner of the alley and landed back to back, weapons drawn and glowing fiercely, to find… nothing.

“Pssh, did we scare them away already?” Chat quipped.

“Careful, Chat. Keep your guard up.”

“My baton’s still out, Ladybug.”

I’m still getting the signal, Monarch said, no trace of worry in his voice. They must be hiding somewhere. Check for trapdoors.

Keeping their backs together, Ladybug and Chat Noir slowly shuffled further into the shadows, never looking down but probing the street with their feet. It wasn’t long before Chat’s shoe hit something with a clank.

Chat jumped. “Ladybug! I’ve got something.” He looked down to see a small metal handle bolted to the ground. As Chat looked closer, he could see a seam in the asphalt around the handle, large enough for someone to stand in.

“Bingo,” Chat grinned. “I’m going to open it. Stand back, my lady.”

“But Chat, shouldn’t I?” Ladybug’s eyes shot to her partner, concerned. “I mean, you don’t have the best luck with this kind of thing.”

Chat’s grin faltered, but he tried his best to hold it. "My lady, I've got nine lives, and you've only got one. Please, allow me."

Before Ladybug could argue, Chat knelt down and, with a quick tug, pulled open the hatch...

And stared down the barrel of a gun.