Chapter 1

"Chat Noir!"

"Can we get a comment from you on your heroic efforts today? How is it that you manage to save Paris day after day?"

"Chat Noir!"

Chat Noir almost chuckled to himself. Of course the reporters would already be on the scene, only minutes after Ladybug had freed the latest Akuma from evil. They operated like clockwork, reporting on the supervillains from behind the scenes and then rushing in to get any follow-up footage of the duo as soon as the danger cleared. Chat Noir had quickly come to realize that the reporters were the only certain thing about this job.

At least they have enough common sense to stay out of our way.

As a model and the son of Mr. Agreste, a popular fashion designer and one of the wealthiest people in Paris, Adrien knew better than most how persistent reporters could be. The last thing he and Ladybug needed were any further distractions while trying to save the city.

"Oops! Looks like I'd better bug out," Ladybug announced. Sure enough, Chat Noir heart the faint blinking of her earrings - the tell tale sign that she was going to transform back in only a few moments. "See you later, kitty cat." She threw her yoyo and hooked it onto the roof of the nearest building. Before Chat Noir finished saying, "Later, Ladybug," she had already zoomed out of earshot.

"Chat Noir!"

"Can you tell us anything about Ladybug's secret identity?"

"Who's behind all of these attacks?"

"Chat Noir!"

"Where did you two get your super powers from?"

The stream of the reporters' questions snatched Chat Noir's attention away from the rooftop where Ladybug had leapt onto and back to the reporters that surrounded him.

"Chat Noir!"

"Chat Noir!"

"Chat Noir, how are you handling all the pressure of being a superhero?"

They were the same questions he was always asked and they were the same reporters who always asked them. He took his baton off of his back, preparing for his usual remark on how he and Ladybug were just trying their best to keep Paris safe, before leaping onto the rooftops to make his escape.

But before he could say a word, a question grabbed his attention.

"Chat Noir, how does it make you feel that Ladybug is more popular than you?" A new face among the crowd of reporters stared back at him. "Are you jealous? Angry? Do you have a plan to steal her spotlight? Do you hate that you're not good enough, compared to her?" The new reporter thrust a microphone at him.

For once, Chat Noir could not think of a witty retort. All he could do was stare blankly into the camera.

"You have the power of destruction and Ladybug has the power of creation. Does your power ever get in the way of hers? Do you ever feel like you're holding her back?"

Chat Noir took a step backward. "I… um… we're a team," he stuttered, thinking of no better way to respond and then somersaulted onto the roofs before he heard any more of that reporter's questions.

"Why are you still on that Ladyblog?" Plagg said as he flew across Adrien's bedroom to peer over the boy's shoulder at the open laptop on his desk.

At the sound of his voice, Adrien started and slammed the lid shut. "What Ladyblog?"

Plagg rolled his eyes and flew on top of the desk. "Uh huh… Right. So what were you just looking at on that computer thing of yours?" He tapped twice on the lid.

"Homework."

"Oh, so you now call staring at photos of Ladybug 'homework'? Gotcha."

"I… What… No! I wasn't staring at photos, I was just reading the blog!"

Plagg grinned. "So you were reading the blog."

"No, I just… ugh.. Why do you even care so much anyway?"

"Because I'm out of Camembert and you're staring at pictures of your girlfriend instead of feeding me."

"She's not my girlfriend," Adrien automatically responded. He looked over to the now-empty plate which he had filled with cheese only a few minutes ago. "You're still hungry?"

"When am I not hungry?"

Adrien sighed. "Fine. I'll get you more cheese, but only if you promise to leave me alone while you eat it."

"Deal."

Adrien reached into his pocket and pulled out a chunk of Camembert. He tossed it at Plagg, who caught it and immediately stuffed it into his mouth.

"So why do you keep staring at that Ladyblog?"

"I thought you promised to leave me alone?"

"I promised to leave you alone while I was eating. I said nothing about before or after."

Loopholes. Why did Plagg always have to find the loopholes?

"So why the Ladyblog?" Plagg prompted, circling around Adrien's head.

"It's just… Why does Ladybug get an entire blog dedicated to her and I don't?"

"Why do you even care?"

Adrien dropped his gaze to his lap. "Plagg, am I holding Ladybug back?"

"What? Of course not! What makes you think that?'

"That one reporter said…."

"Who cares about what a reporter said? All they're trying to do is to stir up gossip. Just relax and eat some more Camembert. Don't let it get to you."

For once, Adrien didn't laugh at Plagg's cheese remark. "But what if the reporter was right?" he said and cradled his head in his hands. "What if I am getting in the way of Ladybug? What if she is better off without me? It's always her who captures the Akuma. It's always her that releases everything from evil. And what am I doing? Nothing. I'm just someone else that she has to look out for. She'd get along just fine without me."

"Woah, chill out! You two work as a team. She creates, you destroy - it's the perfect balance. Without you, Ladybug wouldn't be able to get close to any of the Akumas. You don't have to worry about anything." Plagg flipped onto his back and flew around Adrien, still circling. "Like I said, just relax and eat some Camembert. Why are you even getting worked up about this at all?"

"But how can Ladybug and I really be a team when she's the superhero and I'm clearly just the sidekick?"

"Are you sure that you're not just being a jealous little kitty?" Plagg remarked and then sniffed around Adrien's pockets. "Got any more Camembert in here?"

Adrien let out an exasperated sigh. "You know where the kitchen is. Just be careful to stay out of sight."

"Yeah, yeah, I always am," Plagg said off-handedly as he raced out of the bedroom.

As soon as Plagg flew out of sight, Adrien flipped up the cover of his laptop and resumed scrolling through Ladyblog entries. Picture after picture showed Ladybug, smiling and alone. Always alone. Ladybug releasing Lady Wifi's Akuma. Ladybug watching as Manon ran to reunite with her mother. It was just like the hero to always be at the center of all the action while the sidekick waited on the edge of it all. And she looked so good on her own, as if that's how she was meant to be all along. As if Chat Noir was just some unnecessary part of her life.

And then a picture of Ladybug with half of Chat Noir's cropped-out face.

Not even Alya wanted him on her Ladyblog. He was just an extra piece to an already finished puzzle. Perhaps Ladybug would be better off without him.

Do you ever feel like you're holding her back?

The reporter's words flew around his head with dizzying speed. Adrien couldn't understand why he had ever thought that she needed him. She obviously didn't. Ladybug could handle herself. He was just one extra person for her to watch out for. And that's all he was - a liability. A worthless liability.

But maybe Plagg had been right. Maybe he was overreacting. If Ladybug had really wanted to, she could have tried to get rid of him long ago. She hadn't, so she must want him around.

Who was he kidding? Ladybug had never liked having him around. Adrien thought back to all their victories. Ladybug was all business, arriving only when she was needed and never staying around for much longer after their job was over. Right then, he would have bet anything that Ladybug didn't want to be seen with him for any longer than she had to. She had never wanted him as her partner in the first place.

You're holding her back.

Ladybug had seen it and she had wanted him gone, but was too polite to let him know. Adrian let out a long sigh and let his head fall onto the top of his desk. He had spent hundreds of hours over the course of the last year trying to save Paris. Maybe he could use a little time to himself for wallowing. He was worthless. He was just a liability. And Ladybug was so much better off without him.

From his darkened penthouse, Hawk Moth stirred. The city was ripe with discontentment, but one outshone all the rest. Vulnerable, this one was the perfect host for one of Hawk Moth's Akumas. With a whir, the cover over a large circular window opened like an iris and light flooded into the room. A swarm of butterflies took off from the ground at Hawk Moth's feet and swirled around him.

"Ah, the bitter feeling of being unwanted. How it bites away at one's self esteem. Isn't that right," Hawk Moth grinned, "Chat Noir?" He held out his hand and a cream colored butterfly landed on his palm. He covered it with the other hand, coloring it black. "Fly to him, my little Akuma, and draw him into our evil ways."

The Akuma flew from his palm and out of the room through a small opening in the center of the window.

"I've waited a long time for this," Hawk Moth muttered under his breath.

The Akuma flew over the rooftops of Paris and between the bars on the Agrestes' front gate. It flew up to an open window on the third floor and into Adrien's bedroom. Before the boy could react, it collided with Plagg's ring, tarnishing it black. Adrien looked up from his laptop. His face grew dark and a glowing purple outline of a butterfly surrounded his eyes.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the infamous Chat Noir. I never thought this day would come, but I've got you under my control now." Hawk Moth's gravelly laugh rang inside Adrien's head. "Are you tired of always being second to Ladybug? Coeur Noir, I'm giving you the chance to prove to Ladybug that she does need your power of destruction after all. All you have to do is defeat her by handing me both of your Miraculouses."

Adrien smirked. "Sounds like a purr-fect plan."

Black bubbles poured out of his ring and covered his body. Chat Noir's usual black ears appeared on the top of Adrien's head and he grew a long black tail. Black and purple shimmering armor climbed up his arms, covering him from his neck down. A pair of razor-sharp incisors grew in his mouth and instead of his usual pole, a longsword appeared in a sheath on his back.

In the doorway, Plagg dropped a pile of Camembert. His mouth hung open.

"Oh no. This is not good. I have to warn Ladybug."