Author's Note: Okay the story is technically complete, but HiddenEye and I have decided to do a bonus chapter together! Kudos to those who can guess who wrote what :)

Second Chances

Chapter 7

(Four years later)

"Who's the weakling now, huh? I am Brute Force, and I will crush you all!"

A mighty clap sent shockwaves rippling through the air, tearing into buildings and shattering the windows. Some began to crumble to the ground, and even the earth trembled slightly as people on the streets screamed and ran for cover amidst the hail of glass shards and debris raining down on them.

The supervillain drew his hands back for another attack, but there was a flash of red and suddenly he found his arms pinned to the sides of his body, wrapped tightly in thin wire.

"We need to move NOW! There's not much time left, the building's going to collapse any second!"

"Chat, grab his belt!" Ladybug yelled, digging her heels in as she struggled to keep their target restrained. If one clap could cause so much destruction to the city, he had to be stopped before he did any more damage. Chat Noir wasted no time in lunging for the thick strap around the weightlifter's waist, the eerie purple glow surrounding it a telltale sign of the akuma's presence.

"Foolish Ladybug! No one is strong enough to defeat me!" With a sharp heave, Brute Force used his body weight to yank her off her feet, swinging her around and sending her on a collision course with her partner, knocking them both down. With a flex of his arms, he easily freed himself from his bindings.

"Help me, I'm stuck!"

"Nino, I'll lift the beam, you pull her out! On the count of three: one, two, three!"

The akumatized weightlifter was practically a hulk. His torso was disproportionately oversized compared to the rest of his body, and pulsing veins could be seen running down his enlarged arms. A familiar purple outline appeared in front of his face for a brief moment and he smirked, letting out a loud war cry before charging towards the two superheroines like a bull.

Quickly untangling themselves from each other, they leapt apart just in time to avoid getting plowed through. They fought back valiantly, but none of their usual attacks were working; Ladybug's yoyo couldn't hold him and Chat's baton didn't even leave a scratch. It was all they could do to avoid his fists as he swung his arms wildly. Even with their suits' protection, one hit was sure to knock them out of the game.

"Keep going, don't look back! I'll be right behind you, just get her to safety!"

"Hold on tight Alya, we're almost there!"

"Any bright ideas, LB? This guy isn't kitten around!" Chat yelped, narrowly dodging a mean right hook to her face.

"Slow him down and buy me some time!"

"You got it!"

Cartwheeling away to put some distance between them, Chat Noir called upon her signature move and slammed her right palm on the ground. Wide cracks began to appear on the road, radiating towards Brute Force. The earth beneath his feet abruptly gave way and swallowed him up to his hips, leaving him temporarily incapacitated. It would have been a golden opportunity to snatch his belt then, but his arms were still free to attack anyone who came close.

"Watch out!"

"ADRIEN, NO!"

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug threw her yoyo into the air, making a face when a large reel of cable wire fell into her hands. "What the heck am I supposed to do with this?"

"We need to find a way to use his strength against him somehow," Chat said, watching Brute Force warily as he slowly pulled himself out.

Scanning her surroundings, Ladybug's eyes landed on the Eiffel Tower in the distance. It took a moment for an idea to form, and then she began to grin.

Chat followed her gaze, frowning. "You're not planning to cut the Eiffel Tower in half, are you?" she asked suspiciously. "As clawsome as that sounds, once is quite enough."

"Chill out, I know what I'm doing! Now, help me get his attention."

"Shit, he's not waking up!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir led Brute Force on a merry chase, luring him towards the base of the national monument. As much as they tried to distract the akumatized weightlifter in the process, they were unable to stop him from unleashing a few more claps, resulting in a trail of destruction along the way.

"Whatever you're planning, you better hurry! He's almost on our tail!"

"Not yet! Keep him busy for a while longer!"

"Oh god, there's so much blood… I'll call an ambulance!"

Another shockwave sent Chat Noir flying backwards, but she was able to roll back to her feet. Spinning her staff, she growled and prepared to engage the supervillain again, but a hand on her shoulder held her back.

"Hey, Brute Force!" Ladybug yelled at him, winking at her partner. "How about a challenge?"

That got his attention.

"Ha! A challenge? Don't make me laugh!" he sneered at them. "No one can beat me!"

"We'll see about that." Ladybug smirked confidently before tossing him one end of the cable wire, which had been removed from the reel and uncoiled. "Tug-of-war, you against me and Chat. Winner gets to keep our Miraculous."

"You're on!" Brute Force roared, picking up his half of the makeshift rope and winding it around his arms for better leverage.

On the other side, Ladybug and Chat Noir simply held on to their end. "Ready, set, go!"

"Come on bro, don't do this to us! Just hang on, Emma's going to use the cure soon!"

The moment Brute Force pulled with all his might, the two leapt away, revealing the other end of the cable wire which had been secured around one of the Eiffel Tower's legs. There was a loud groan, sounds of metal creaking, and then the monument began to topple.

For all his strength and power, even Brute Force seemed to have a hard time holding up thousands of tons of metal. His arms strained with the effort as he tried to stop himself from getting flattened like a pancake, and it was the perfect chance for Chat Noir to snag his belt while he was occupied.

"Nononono Adrien BREATHE GODDAMMIT!"

"Not bad," she commented as she watched the akuma being purified. "You had me worried for a second there."

"Thanks! At least I kept the Eiffel Tower in one piece." Ladybug grinned as she threw the reel into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

A cloud of red and black descended upon the city, streaking through the streets and converging upon the monument as it reversed all the damage done by Brute Force. The Eiffel Tower was back on its feet, the weightlifter freed from Hawk Moth's control, and everything was okay again.

"Pound it!" They cheered, fist bumping each other in celebration of yet another victory.

Then Ladybug's compact began to ring.

"Emma!" Nino's frantic voice came through when she answered the call. "You need to get to the hospital immediately! Your father's in the ICU."

Adrien felt something waking him up.

A hand maybe, running them softly through his hair as nails scrapped through his skull lightly, something soft was under his cheek from where he laid onto it. There was something distinctively familiar about his current situation as the surroundings around him began to sharpen, the towel under him grazed his arm as he began to shift, and finally, he fluttered his eyes open to have a look at where he was.

Surprisingly, he found himself at the Agreste garden, where all kinds of flowers stood around him as he trailed his eyes from one end of the space to the other end, varying from the vibrant red roses to the soft hue of purple lavenders that dotted against the wall of the garden, and he remembered it was one of the sacred places that he and his mother would go back when he was only a boy, and then, it became his wife's favourite place.

"Looks like the cat finally woke up from his nap."

Startled, he snapped his head towards the voice, his heart beating frantically against his chest like a caged bird when his eyes landed on bright blue ones, where they laughed at his expression he donned at the moment, a frozen combination of disbelief and yearning. She giggled, bopping his nose with a finger like she used to long ago. "Hello, kitty."

He quickly scrambled up, sitting on his knees as he grabbed her hands with his and brought them to his chest.

"Marinette," he breathed, letting his eyes rake across her face as he drank in the sight hungrily. After years of losing her, here she was in front of him again, and like hell was he going to forget about this moment. "Marinette."

Smiling softly, she cupped a hand on his cheek that he immediately melted at the touch, turning his head to the side to press a kiss onto her palm as he covered her small hands with his own. "I missed you," She whispered.

He pulled her towards his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist as he buried his head into her neck, taking a shaky breath. "Oh god, Mari," He whispered hoarsely, blinking away the tears as he felt the way she hugged him just as tightly. "I can't believe you're here, after all these years, you're here. And I can't," He choked, stopping the next of his words. "I don't want you to leave me again."

She leaned back slightly, softly pressing her lips onto his forehead, his mind reeling with thoughts of oh god she's here she's real I can feel her. "I'm here," She rested her forehead on his, the same smile lingered. "I'm here."

He leaned forward and gingerly kissed her, where his hands were now cupping her cheeks as he looked into her eyes, as bright as he remembered. "I love you," he declared quietly. "I love you, and I will never forget about you."

She grinned, capturing his lips with hers as she winded her arms around his neck, and he responded just as eagerly as he tasted her lips yet again. "I'm so proud of you," She mumbled past the kiss, her hands playing with the hair on his nape. "You and Emma."

Breaking the kiss, he took a deep breath, nuzzling into her shoulder. "She's so grown now," He whispered, feeling the way her hands rubbed his back soothingly. "And she's just like you, like us, fighting akuma," He let out a broken chuckle. "And I couldn't be her partner."

Marinette hummed. "Silly cat, maybe you had your share of power when you were with me already," She planted a kiss on the side of his head. "Maybe it's time you move on."

As if electrified, he froze, before slowly leaning back to look at his wife in the eye, where she avoided his gaze and instead stared at their wringed fingers. "Marinette?" He enquired quietly. "What are you saying?"

She gave him a sad smile. "I know you've been mourning, Adrien, mourning for me. But it's been years, I can't see you hurt and alone when I know you've always wanted more children, and I can't give you that anymore," She cupped his face. "You need someone to love you again, like I did when I was still alive."

He shook his head. "I can't do that, Mari," He croaked. "I can't just forget you like that, you've been a part of me for years, and no one will be the same like you," He took her hands in his again. "I have been in love with you for years, and now, we have a daughter to prove how much I appreciate all those years with you, where she's literally a carbon copy of you," He gave a wry smile. "I'm sorry, but can't do that, I can't move on."

She blinked away her tears, before launching herself to him as she gripped onto his chest. "Stupid cat," She murmured. "Making me cry again."

He chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "Emma loves you."

There was a silent jerk of her shoulders as she cried, clutching onto his shirt more. "I wish I could hold her," She whispered. "I wish I could just see her face to face and just tell her how proud I am to have her as a daughter, how sorry I am to leave the both of you alone," She looked up to him. "Leaving you alone to take care of her without help."

He grinned crookedly. "There was one point of time when potty training was my least favourite thing to do, Emma had constipation when she was two and cried almost everyday about it."

Marinette let out a burst of giggles. "Poor girl, if I was there I'd probably film you as you clean her up."

He scowled playfully. "How cruel, My Lady," Then, he sobered up quickly. "I want to stay with you."

She searched his face, before a soft sigh escaped from her lips. "You can't, I won't allow it," When he was about to protest, she kissed his lips. "You can't, Adrien."

"Why?" He croaked out, holding her to his chest. "Why can't I be with you?"

She planted another kiss on his cheek, before staring into his eyes that he saw the determination he had always adored in those blue orbs. "Emma needs you more."

He didn't dare close own his eyes as he continued to stare at her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I love you."

She kissed his nose. "I love you too."

"Wait for me." He breathed, clutching onto her waist as he desperately tried to hold onto this memory of them together, to engrave it into his mind.

She smiled.

"I'll see you soon."

With that, he felt his eyelids flutter open.

The first thing he saw was blue eyes, his heart lifted at the sight when he thought that she actually came back. But then, blond hair obscured his vision as a pair of thin arms wrapped around his shoulders firmly, avoiding his injuries when a sob filled his ears as the body shook with silent tears.

"You're okay," Emma whispered. "Thank god you're okay," She leaned back, pressing her lips onto his forehead that he closed his eyes, relishing at how achingly similar it was to Marinette's kiss. "I can't lose you too, Dad, I don't know what I'll do with myself if you're gone too."

"Look at the bright side," He managed to whisper as he summoned a mischievous smirk. "You'll be like Spiderman, the bug that saved the world."

Emma looked as if she wanted to hit him, but instead hugged him again tightly. "Don't joke about your death like that," She grumbled as he chuckled. "It's not funny."

When she backed off, a small blur of black latched onto his face, and Adrien was surprised to hear a rumble of purrs that started to vibrate from the small body. "Don't ever do that again, kid," Plagg huffed as he let go, a scowl on his lips. "You're not the cat anymore, stop being so heroic if you want to commit suicide."

Adrien snorted, before a fit of coughs racked through his body that he felt Emma rubbed his back soothingly. "Glad to know you care about me, Plagg."

The kwami narrowed his eyes. "Don't push your luck."

"Adrien!"

There was a gentle clasp of a hand on his shoulder, and Nino gave him a grin. "I thought I lost you there, man."

"Never do that again," Alya huffed as she stood beside her husband, crossing her arms to look peeved off but Adrien saw how red her eyes were, bags hanging under them that they were pure signs at how distressed she actually was. "I'll never forgive myself if you died, Adrien, good god you almost gave me a heart attack."

Squashing down the grin that threatened to spread across his face, he opened his arms towards her. "Come here."

She held onto her hard demeanour with her lips pursed, before a sigh broke out of her lips while her shoulders sagged, walking forward as she wrapped her friend in her arms while she gave him a light squeeze. "Idiot."

He chuckled, patting her back in reassurance. "I know."

Then, as he sank on the bed, hearing the way his friends and family talked and laughed within themselves, he stole a glance towards the window, where the sun was shining brightly outside that he saw how blue the sky was. Suddenly, at the corner of the window, was an all too familiar bug sticking on the glass, it's red and black wings spread behind it as it was ready to take off. He smiled softly at it, almost imagining Marinette there with him.

"Thank you, My Lady."

With that, the ladybug flew away, and Adrien didn't take his eyes of it until it became nothing but a speck, before it vanished entirely into the sky.

He felt a hand over his and looked up to where Emma was smiling down at him tearfully, her unruly hair tied into a crude version of her alter ego's hair style. "She's probably waiting for you," Emma whispered, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she curled towards him, just like when she was younger as he read story books for her. "I miss her."

He kissed the top of her head, noticing how quiet it became around the room. "She loves you," He assured her quietly. "And she'll always be proud of what you are."

She nodded jerkingly, a hiccup passed her body that made him kiss her hair again.

"Never forget that."

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Let us know what you think :)