A/N: Well would you look at this! The start of a new AU. The thing that's been bubbling in my mind for a few weeks is now on paper… computer screen. I'll be honest. I have no idea how long this will be. Part of my goal is to get the world establishing stuff down (such as origins and whatnot) and maybe write oneshots or short stories that all fall on a single plot. Updates will be a little more sporadic than Holding Out for a Hero. We'll see but I'm really excited about this! Oh side note! Straight up Marichat/Adrienette AU pairing with a side of Alya/Nino.

"Hey there Kit Cat Pattywhack!" Ladybug grinned as she dropped beside her partner Cat Noir. Cat Noir jumped about five feet in the air in surprise.

"Don't do that!" he gasped, clutching his chest and glaring daggers at Ladybug. Ladybug laughed and poked him on the shoulder. Cat Noir rolled his eyes before brushing her hand away lightly. Ladybug relented. She sat down beside him on the rooftop ledge.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that peeping into other people's windows is kinda frowned upon?" teased Ladybug as she flipped her thick brown and auburn braid back over her shoulder. "It can be seen as stalking."

Cat Noir removed his hood and ran his hand over his close cut dark hair. "I was just really worried about Adrien dude."

"You know people who turn into akuma don't remember what happened." Ladybug reminded him. She squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. Cat Noir wrapped his own hand around hers and squeezed back.

"I know but seeing him that angry today… it messed me up man. He would've gotten away had he not stopped to save Marinette. You realize that, right?"

"Don't remind me please." Ladybug grimaced. She could still see her best friend's terrified face as the upper railing from the floor above had snapped and fallen. Had Chat Blanc not pushed her out of the way, it would've meant a lot more than just him getting away. "It messed me up too." she admitted quietly.

"You're right though. Everything is going to be fine now. Chat Blanc was difficult to take down but nobody got hurt." Cat Noir reminded her pointedly. The look on his face was tentative and reassuring. Most likely because he'd accidentally dredged up the horrible mental image now running through Ladybug's mind. She raised her eyebrow at him. Cat Noir gave her a pretty convincing smile in return.

Ladybug laughed a little, "I'm just glad Chat Blanc is out of our hair! He was a little annoying."

Cat Noir groaned and buried his face in his hands. "I didn't realize that Adrien knew so many terrible puns! I'm almost ashamed to call him my best friend."

"They were pretty bad. Feline generous? Catastrophe? Your boy needs to get off the internet and into the real world. It's a good thing Marinette didn't realize Chat Blanc was Adrien. That would've killed her romantic dreams."

"I don't know. Him shoving her out of the way like some shojo manga bishonen hero would've won him some major points I think." Cat Noir smirked. "I think your girl would easily overlook some awful puns for that kind of treatment."

"Marinette, if anything, is a forgiving person." Ladybug smirked back. "Ugh! Those two just need to get over whatever weirdness is going on between them and just date already."

"They're getting there… even without your constant 'help.'" Cat Noir shrugged.

Ladybug's only response was a broad grin.

They fell silent and looked through the massive window on the mansion in front of them. The blond teenaged boy sitting at his desk had his head bent over his book. Adrien Agreste was completely oblivious to the pandemonium he'd caused and was concentrating on his homework. He also didn't realize that out of all of Hawkmoth's akumas, he'd become the one that had come the closest to stealing their Miraculous. That was a scary thought. Cat Noir had a lot of difficulty contending with Chat Blanc's fencing skills. Ladybug hadn't really been able to pin him down either because of how fast he was. It was a good thing that it was all over.

"We really should get going." he said as he pushed himself to his feet. Cat Noir pulled his hood back up before offering his hand to Ladybug. Ladybug took it.

"Yeah, before someone sees us and wonders if you have a thing for Adrien Agreste." she joked with him.

Cat Noir rolled his eyes, "Or how about before Plagg and Tikki decide they can't hold a transformation any longer and we're stuck up here in our civilian identities."

"Oh but that was so much fun the last time." Ladybug grinned mischievously.

"This is why you and Plagg get along so well." he muttered under his breath. "Can I walk you home?"

"I don't know." sighed Ladybug. "My significant other might not like it."

"I'm your significant other."

"No, you're Alya's significant other. I'm Ladybug."

"You and you're infallible ways of keeping our identities safe. Well can Nino walk Alya home then?"

"Alya would probably be okay with that." she nodded.

X X X

Adrien's hands were shaking. His homework was forgotten and still open textbooks were pushed off to the side of his desk. His entire attention was on his rapt on the computer screen in front of him. An overwhelming urge to be sick was choking him. He'd lost three hours that afternoon. Three hours! One minute he'd been livid that his father was going to miss another one of his exhibitions, a fencing match this time, and the next he was coming to in the destroyed school courtyard literally three hours later. He'd still been dressed in his fencing gear for Heaven's sake! That didn't just happen! "Nino lied." he whispered. "Nino lied to me."

He had asked Nino if he'd turned into Chat Blanc. Nino had told him no, of course not. The entire thing had made Nino laughed. Even then Adrien hadn't been convinced. Nino's laugh had been too forced. The situation had been way too coincidental. Adrien had woken up with Ladybug and Cat Noir high fiving each other a few feet away from him. However, he'd been so desperate for reassurement that he'd listened to Nino. Now, though, as he looked at the white leather and mask wearing teen in the photos on the Ladyblog… there was no way that Adrien could deny it.

Somebody had gotten video. He didn't know who because Alya had also told him that she hadn't been around for the akuma attack either. Probably because she'd been making googly eyes with Nino in a janitor's closet somewhere, Adrien thought bitterly. He watched every second of the video, three times almost. Each time it made him more and more queasy. That was his voice coming from Chat Blanc's mouth. That was him making all those jokes and puns. That was Adrien Agreste ducking and darting past Cat Noir and Ladybug's attacks. He was wielding that fencing foil! He groaned and buried his head in his arms. "I don't remember any of this! How could Nino just lie to me about this?"

Then Adrien stopped. Maybe Nino hadn't lied. Nino hadn't even been there during the Chat Blanc fiasco. He'd said something about being in the Audio-Visual room so maybe Nino really hadn't known. Maybe he'd just been basing his answer off of what he knew about Adrien's personality. It was possible. He should've called someone else to for reassurance.

Adrien sighed and rubbed his face. "How am I going to go to school tomorrow? I can't face everyone knowing that I nearly took out half the school." he mumbled.

He pushed himself out of his chair and wandered to his window. His head hit the glass with a thunk. It wasn't his fault and yet at the same time it was his fault. Adrien had worked so hard to be the model student and perfect son. He was a well mannered boy and a raised gentleman. Or at least he was supposed to be. People like that didn't just snap and turn into monsters. Adrien had though…

He knew he wasn't perfect. That he struggled to fit into the role that had been assigned to him since before he could remember. Heaven knew that he failed miserably at times to be the perfect kid he was expected to be but he didn't think that made him a bad person. So why had he become an akuma then? He wasn't a bad person… was he? Maybe he was. Why else had he just gone off the deep end so easily and went on a rage fuelled rampage? Adrien buried his head in his hands and slid down the length of the windows.

Pat pat pat. The sound of something fluttering against the glass made him look up. A butterfly was caught in his blinds above his head. Adrien stood up and reached for the butterfly gently. "Huh, how'd you get stuck up there little guy?" he asked it quietly as his fingers wrapped around it delicately.

"I am Papilion," whispered a voice in Adrien's ear. "You have worked so hard and been ignored so much by those around you. Every moment of your life has been regimented and for what? To live life in isolation, caged, and miserable. They don't even see how stifled you are because they don't even pay attention to you."

"They don't… not at all."

"I can give you your freedom. I can make you stand out. You can force everyone to pay attention."

"You can?"

"Yes and all I want in return is for you to claim Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous. Does that sound fair to you?"

"It does."

"Then go, Chat Blanc!"

Adrien screamed. The butterfly went hurtling across his bedroom as Adrien threw it as hard as he possibly could. He knew that voice. It had been as soft and delicate as the butterfly he'd been holding. Everything that voice had said had felt like silk and tasted sweet to his hurt feelings. "Stay away from me!" he snapped angrily.

It fluttered off to his bed, hovering right above his practice foil. Adrien snatched a book from a table. "Oh no you don't! Get back here you… Not again!" growled Adrien as he raised the book over his head.

The butterfly didn't seem to particularly phased however. It dodged Adrien's swing lazily and flew around his head. His heart stopped when it landed on his head. Images flooded his brain.

"Is that the best you got Ladybug?" Chat Blanc asked as he sidestepped an attack. He raised his foil and lunged for her. "You don't even bug me at all."

"C'mon Adrien! This isn't you!" Cat Noir implored as he stepped in to counter a strike with his staff. Chat Blanc easily recovered. Cat Noir jumped back. The power flowed through through him. With his foil in hand, Chat Blanc knew he could take on the world. Everyone would be looking at him. No one could cage him. He was free. He smiled at the joy of it.

"Why would I go back to being him? I'm free now and this is who I am! I won't let you take this from me."

"Stop!" Adrien begged. "I get it! I messed up. I hurt people because I was selfish! I'm sorry. I didn't mean it!"

"Marinette!" Ladybug's scream cut through the air as the sound of metal breaking shrieked in his ears.

Chat Blanc looked over. The tiny black haired girl stared up at the platform above her head with panicked wide blue eyes. The railing from the platform was coming down on top of her. She wasn't going to be able to get out of the way. Marinette would be crushed.

Chat Blanc lips pulled tight over his teeth. His grin died and a hiss replaced it. He sprinted towards Marinette. Ladybug and Cat Noir both screamed and started forward to save their friend. They weren't fast enough… but he was. Marinette went flying sideways as Chat Blanc shoved her as hard as he could. She landed safely on the other of the fallen railing. Chat Blanc couldn't see her as the fallen railing blocked his view but the shocked and relieved looks on Ladybug and Cat Noir's faces told him that he'd been successful. He paid for the act though… with his power.

Adrien hit the ground, knees shaking. He'd saved Marinette. He'd been an akuma but he'd risked his life to save someone.

Ladybug cast her yoyo out and snatched his foil from his hand.

"No!" yelled Chat Blanc but Ladybug had already broken the foil over her knee. A black butterfly flew out of the pieces. Defeated… by a freaking yoyo. How stupid was that!

The butterfly untangled itself from his hair. Adrien looked up at it as it danced through the air. It's wings were snow white. The butterfly that Ladybug had cleansed had been black. Tentatively, he reached up for it once more. "Y… you aren't an akuma are you?" he murmured.

The little white butterfly fluttered its wings. Adrien couldn't figure out if it was an irritated flutter or an affirmative flutter. Maybe it was both. He didn't know. Adrien wasn't exactly an expert in interpreting butterfly. However, he hadn't transformed into some monstrous version of himself so he felt pretty safe in saying that it wasn't an akuma. "Not an akuma, at least not anymore. You're still special though." Adrien said as he brought the butterfly closer to his face. "Why did you come back?

An image, clear and sharp, flashed in his mind. A dark room inside some tall building with a large circular window that overlooked the expanse of the city. Butterflies, hundreds of them, were scattered along the floor. Their white wings moved gently as they waited for something to happen. It was the man standing right in the middle of the room and butterflies that stood out in his mind. A cruel, harsh smile marred his face and his grey-blue were hard and cold. Adrien felt ice fill his veins as he looked at him. 'Fly, my little akuma.' the man's voice whispered.

"Papillon," shuddered Adrien. Then another realization ripped through him. "That voice! I know that voice."

Adrien ran to his desk. The butterfly flew out of his hands and out of his way. It allowed him to rifle through the contents on his desk better. He found what he was looking for, his cell phone that had been buried underneath his papers. Adrien's fingers slipped and fumbled with the buttons as he opened up his voice mail. "Adrien, my business trip is taking longer than I anticipated. I will unfortunately be unable to attend your fencing match on Thursday." his father's curt and clipped tone filled Adrien's bedroom as he played it as loud as the phone could go.

Adrien played it again. And again. And again.

He sunk into the chair behind his desk. Good thing it was there too because Adrien's knees practically gave out on him. His hand was shaking as he held his phone. He could listen to the message a hundred times more and at double the volume but it wouldn't make a difference. It was difficult to tell. He could be in denial. He could want it to be true. One thing was certain though. Adrien swallowed the lump in his throat. "That… that voice, Papillon's voice, sounds a lot like my father's… but I can't be sure."

The butterfly landed on his knee lightly. It almost felt like it was staring right at him. "Is that why you came back? Because my dad might be the one doing this? What am I supposed to do about this? It's not like I can just go up to my dad and say, 'hey Father! Are you terrorizing Paris with a bunch of black, people-possessing butterflies? If you are, do you think you could stop please?' That would go over well!"

A giant knot twisted into his stomach. Now that the thought, the potential, was there he couldn't just ignore it. Adrien groaned, "I need evidence. I need leads. I need tangible proof to get anywhere. I've got to know but there's nothing that I can actually do."

The butterfly flapped its wings. Chat Blanc, his dark alterego, flashed in his mind. Adrien blinked. "You are not suggesting what I think you're suggesting… are you?"

The butterfly took off from his knee and flew once more to his practice foil. Adrien got up as it landed on the blade. "Could you turn me into Chat Blanc again?"

Of course the butterfly didn't say anything. It was a butterfly after all. It did, although, crawl up and down the practice foil as if it were trying to emphasize something. Adrien made his way over to it and carefully picked the foil up. A warm light rose off of the foil. The rush of power he felt was familiar, and yet different to him.

The light disappeared. Adrien could feel his hair laying in a shaggy mess over his ears and the touch of a protective mask over his eyes. White clawed gloves ran into a white leather suit which ran into a pair of white combat boots with silver toes and heels. Adrien's vision was sharper. His hearing was sharper. His sense of smell was sharper. A white belt hung from his waist like a tail and golden bell was at his throat. Adrien looked up at his reflection across the room in his window. Slit pupils, white ears, and gleaming silver foil were all there in the reflection. "I guess the answer is yes. You can turn me into Chat Blanc."

As if in answer, the white butterfly emerged again from his foil. The rush of power and freedom ebbed away and Adrien was once more in his civilian clothes. "I need evidence." he mumbled as he looked at his practice foil. "I can be Chat Blanc and gather it myself."

The butterfly landed on his head. Adrien felt it walk through his hair, tickling him. "You can't possess my practice foil every time I need to transform." he said as he scooped the butterfly up in his hand. "I can't carry it around with me wherever I go. Hold on! I've got an idea!"

Adrien dropped the practice foil on his bed before racing to the closet. The poor butterfly was probably hanging on for dear life and regretting its decision to come back. He shoved his various clothes aside, kicked his shoes around, and dug one handed through the mess to find what he was looking for. It was an old jewelry box made out of cherry wood. His father had had it made custom for his mother. After she'd died, he hadn't been able to look at it so he'd given the jewelry box and all its contents to Adrien. Adrien had buried it too.

Now, though, he needed to unearth it. Adrien opened the lid and pulled out a pendant necklace that he hadn't looked at in a long time. It was an ornate and delicate wire wrapped silver star with a pearl in its center. "Can you possess this? It was my Mom's and wearing it would be a lot easier than toting around a practice foil all day."

The butterfly turned itself towards the necklace. It's little antenna twitched as if it were scrutinizing the pendant. The butterfly flitted from his hand. It landed right on the pearl in the center. For a moment, the butterfly's wings waved gently. Then the same warm light from before rose from his mother's necklace. When it was gone again, so was the butterfly. However, as Adrien ran his fingers over the pendant he got the unshakeable sensation that there was something living, something magical, just underneath his fingertips. The necklace was warm like he'd been wearing it close to his heart.

"You need a name buddy." whispered Adrien as he undid the chain and fastened the necklace around his neck. He held his palm over the pendant. The sharp edges pressed into his skin and left slight indentations. "How do you feel about Mari? Short for Mariposa. Y'know, Spanish for butterfly. It's a good name."

The pendant under his hand felt just a tiny bit warmer. "This is going to be the start of a good partnership. Whatever happens, we'll figure out who Papillon is… and stop him."