A/N: I'm so sorry to have taken so long to update! What can I say? I'm terrible.

The concern in his voice stirs something in her, as if she can hear someone other than Cat Noir in it—a voice she knows just as well at Cat's, if not better.

"Marinette!"

But there's no time to ponder it. He crouches in front of her, and rests a hand on her shoulder, taking in her colorless look. "She got you too?" It's phrased as a question, but the tone speaks of regret. "I'm sorry."

She shakes her head determinedly. It's not your fault. "I'll stop her, Marinette. I've just got to corner her." The second sentence is more for his own benefit than hers. He looks off into the distance, thinking.

Static suddenly sounds out of a screen in the square showing the news. Their eyes flit up to it, and the Silencer's alluring form greets them, walking calmly up to the reporters in the newsroom, taking their voices one by one, and leaving them drained of their color. The TV is on mute, so they don't hear the reporters' screams, but they see them. Then, she turns and looks straight at the camera. The scene starts shaking, presumably as the cameraman tries to abandon his post and escape. The screen goes black.

Cat Noir and Marinette, who were watching helplessly, now turn to look at each other.

"Well, now we know where she is," says Cat, at the same time as Mari thinks, 'She's in the TV studio!'

She nods and points down the street, in the direction that would take them there. "I'm on it," he replies. "You should go somewhere indoors. These streets are abandoned for a reason." With that he sets off, vaulting on his baton.

Marinette rolls her eyes. What's she going to do? Take my voice a second time? Her eyes quickly scan the square, settling on a bike abandoned when someone ran away. She knocks on the van, and Tikki comes out. Not wasting another moment, she "borrows" the bike, and sets off, her kwami safely in her purse this time.

Once at the studio, Marinette heads straight for the newsroom. But it's empty. Of course she wouldn't hang around. Mari weaves in and out of the nearby studio rooms, her search getting frantic. A bang makes her jump, and she turns and runs toward the sound. Sure enough, the hero and the villain are battling it out on the sizeable set of a sports show. Marinette stays by the door on the outside and opens her purse for Tikki. Then she fishes her notepad out and points at where she had written the plan.

"Yes, I'm ready," assures the kwami. "You stay here. I'll go in, and tell him your plan. Then if releasing the akuma turns things back to normal, I'll come right back out, and you can transform and cleanse it." With that, she flies in, a red blur against the blur of the fight. After a few moments, Marinette peeks inside again, and she smiles. It looks like Cat Noir finally has the upper hand. The Silencer is not a fighter, and she's visibly tired. Her movements are getting sloppier. Pretty soon, she won't be able to dodge him anymore. Unfortunately for her, one slip up is all it takes. She falls for the oldest trick in the book. Cat comes up behind her, and lunges to the right with his baton. She tries to block, and he deftly plucks the headphones from her with his left hand. She makes a blind, desperate grab behind her, but he's too fast, scurrying out of her reach. She grunts in frustration, and manages a "NOO!" before Cat snaps the headphone wire.

Marinette watches the akuma fly out, watches Cat Noir trap it between his hands. She opens the door a crack further to see the Silencer on her hands and knees, only she isn't the SIlencer anymore. This is it. There is a pause. And nothing happens. Her hand on the door in front of her remains gray. She tries calling out to Tikki, but nothing. Still silent. She turns around and rests her back against the door. No, no, no. Why didn't that work?

Tikki zooms out and rushes over her words. "It's like I feared. It worked for Stoneheart because it was you who broke the akumatized object. It didn't work when Cat Noir broke it. Only Ladybug can undo the akuma's damage; Cat Noir doesn't have any restorative powers."

"TIKKI!" Cat yells from inside, clearly panicking.

"Quick! Take off your earrings!" Marinette gives Tikki a bewildered look, asking for an explanation. "We have no other choice. Cat Noir will have to become Ladybug."

Did I hear you right? I couldn't have, because I thought you said Cat Noir needs to become Ladybug.

Marinette tries to convey this with wildly gesticulating hands, and indignation plain on her face.

"Look, I don't like it either. But someone has to be Ladybug right now. And it can't be you. So who better than your miraculous-holder partner?"

She bites back a retort, busying her lip between her teeth instead as she considers, weighs her options. It doesn't look like she has very many of those at the moment. She has two, to be precise, and one of them is too shitty to count.

Finally she nods, deciding to trust Tikki's wisdom, but she does it with a look that says 'I don't have to like it.'

Mari takes the earrings off—her hands moving perhaps a bit slower than they could have—and holds them out. Tikki picks them up, and they look huge in her tiny arms. "Trust me, Marinette. This will work."

Cat Noir stares at the earrings then at Tikki. They're both within the same viewing space, really, so he stares at them both simultaneously.

"Cat!" Tikki scolds urgently. The girl— young woman—who was once the Silencer sits back on her knees, watching the hesitant superhero with wary gray eyes. Not even her color is back.

"I don't have… My ears aren't pierced," he sputters.

"Just take off your ring, and we'll figure out where to put the earrings." Tikki manages to find her soothing voice. Millennia of dealing with panicky teenagers has made her something of an expert. After some more back and forth in which Tikki assures Cat that he is indeed capable of doing this, and no she won't tell Ladybug of his civilian identity, in fact she'll even close her eyes while he's de-transformed, Adrien finally sticks the Ladybug miraculous into his shirt sleeves like cufflinks (as deferentially as one may do such a thing) and says out loud, "Spots on."

Once an identity reveal is not an immediate possibility, Marinette opens her eyes just in time to feast Ladybug, complete with yo-yo at his hip and black spots running down skintight spandex. The suit is exactly the same as when she wears it. But there's something else off. Cat's (Ladybug's?) hair is different, shorter. Familiar... She racks her brain, and images start to blink into place like puzzle pieces. Her ears barely register the voice saying her line, "Time to de-evilize," then what sounds like multiple attempts to snag the akuma with the yo-yo, and "Bye-bye little butterfly." She's too focused on the hair and the face that goes with it to listen to the voice. But if she did, it would be yet another piece of the puzzle. The highly stylized yet endearing blond mop she would know anywhere, from years of seeing it on the seat in front of her and on magazine covers. Adrien Agreste.

She is jolted back into the present moment as a pink glow trails her body, and she can see her hands return to their normal color. She glances down, and her clothes and shoes are back to vibrancy as well. She sighs in relief, and hears the sound of her own voice.

The second Tikki appears before her, Marinette is dashing toward the stairs, headed for the exit. She just needs some time to process this, that's all. Then everything will be ok. She ignores Tikki calling out to her. Cat Noir is Adrien. Adrien Agreste is Cat Noir. Who is she kidding. How can this be okay.

"You're okay." Adrien is back in costume to talk to the civilian, Irene it turns out she's called. Her tears are barely contained. If he feels weird comforting someone about ten years older than him, he doesn't show it. "Just try to forget this day. It wasn't your fault. None of it was. You were a victim. Hawkmoth preys on innocent people."

She nods, still a bit dazed. Manages a genuinely grateful "Thanks," before awkwardly making her exit, leaving Cat standing alone.

"Wow," he breathes to himself once he's had a moment. "I was Ladybug." A giddy laugh escapes him, for lack of a better reaction. Trying to memorize every detail he can about those few minutes, he heads towards the studio exit, his thoughts straying to the actual Ladybug and hoping she's okay. He's only able to take one step outdoors though, because as soon as he does, his eyes catch on a girl sprinting away, her blue-black pigtails bouncing and her pink purse flying out behind her. He recognizes Marinette immediately, and also recognizes the red dot zooming after her. Tikki. The sight is too much even for his oblivious brain. Marinette is Ladybug. Ladybug is Marinette. If he thought he was feeling giddy earlier, he is downright freaking out now. He needs to take a seat.

A/N: So this is how what started as a one-shot has turned into a double identity reveal! I am really a one-shot writer though, so I have no real ideas on where to take this from here. I am open to hearing from you guys, so please drop me a comment (or hop on over to my tumblr sleapygazelle) to let me know what you want to see happen next. Seriously, give me some direction here ;)