Author's Notes: Hi. Again. I didn't just disappear into the shadows, I promise. I'm really going to try to update more regularly so I can be done with this story pretty soon and move on to other things. Thank you again for all your undying love and support, and more specifically, your unconditional forgiveness and patience as I struggle through this disaster area.

Wow. What can I say? How about...new episodes and a leak of Mayura's transformation? I can't believe season 3 is already more than half over! It feels like just a month or two ago, I was watching the trailer of Chameleon and getting hyped for a new season to start, but we've already hit six months since Oblivio was released, and it has been quite a wild ride.

After the whole Changeling shebang, I didn't really know what to do, so I'm going to spice things up by adding more characters (real ones, not OCs) just for drama and angsty fluffy stuff. This didn't really go according to the original plan I had for the story, so now I'm just winging it. Woo-hoo. So that'll be fun, I guess (yay?), and there will be more villains, but I promise nothing like Changeling. Oh, also… SPOILERS!

The fight was a swift one, the only difficulty being the large number of Ladybug duplicates swarming across Paris, but the superheroes were determined to end the whole ordeal once and for all.

"M'lady, we can beat her. We've done this all before."

Ladybug looked over at her partner, curious. 'What do you mean? We haven't beat her before."

Chat smiled. "Well, we've beaten Stoneheart, whose Akuma multiplied as well, we beat Copycat, who was a double, we beat the Sapotis, who were a bunch of creatures who looked exactly alike, and we beat Volpina, who was Lila and she dealt with illusions. This shouldn't be much trouble at all then, right?"

"I...suppose so, but do you think we'll need any help?"

"Why don't we find out?"

Ladybug quickly leapt up to where her partner was, summoning her special power. "Lucky Charm!" In return, she received a familiar object. "A painting! I know this one."

"Bringing in the recruits?"

Ladybug smiled. "Yup! No time like the present."

…

Marinette quickly detransformed close to Master Fu's building, where he ran a massage parlor and a tea shop. She held up her hand to knock on the door, but she was interrupted before she could.

"Come in Marinette. It's good to see you've made it back safely." The voice was Master Fu's, coming from somewhere behind the door.

Marinette opened the door and walked in as usual, glancing back at it to see if there was a camera or a mirror or something. "How...how do you do that?"

Master Fu only smiled in return. "I'm assuming you need some help." He stood up and went over to his gramophone. Pressing some buttons on the base of the gramophone, the top part of it opened up to reveal a secret compartment, inside which was the Miracle Box. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, choose an ally you can trust to fight alongside you on this mission. Choose wisely; such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once this mission is complete, you must return the Miraculous to me. Do you have someone in mind, Marinette?"

Marinette nodded, picking up the Fox and the Bee Miraculous. "May I, Master?" She gestured to the bracelet he was wearing - the Turtle Miraculous.

"Of course." He slid the bracelet off of his wrist and held it out for Wayzz to inhabit it. "Are you sure you want to take the Bee again?" he asked skeptically.

"I think we'll need it. I'll bring them all back, as usual." she sighed, standing up and heading towards the door. "Thanks again."

"If you're sure. Just be careful."

"I will."

…

Ladybug headed back to where her partner was still surveying the scene from a distance. He turned around as she got close, his heightened hearing kicking in.

"Hey," he greeted, a half-smile on his face. Ladybug could tell something was bothering him. "Where are the others?"

She sighed. "Look. I know we said we wouldn't use Queen Bee anymore, but I think we might need her."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Chat asked nervously.

"Yes. But it's just this once. We won't use her after this."

He looked up at Ladybug with pleading eyes. "If you really think it's necessary." He held out his hand and she placed the Bee Miraculous on his palm. Suddenly, Chat's eyes gleamed mischievously. "You know, I guess you could call the Miraculous a...honeycomb."

If it wasn't for the fact that she hadn't seen him in days, Ladybug would have chastised him for not taking it seriously. However, although she wouldn't admit it, she had missed him, and decided to laugh at his joke, giving him a secret ego boost.

Chat placed a gloved hand dramatically over his heart. "Oh, m'lady laughed at my pun! What more joy can this day bring?"

Ladybug walked over and swiftly flicked his bell. "Just go get Queen Bee, okay? I'll grab the other two and meet you back here, minou."

"You can count on me, Bugaboo!" With a two-fingered salute and a wink, he was off in the general direction of Le Grand Paris, Ladybug watching him until he was out of sight. Luckily for her, Alya was live-streaming the Akuma attack on the Ladyblog, so Ladybug was able to locate her fairly quickly. The only thing unusual was Alya. She barely said a word while recording the attack and didn't show her face at all, using only the rear camera to film. Her voice wasn't cheerful, either, wavering somewhere between anxiety-ridden fear and desolation.

Ladybug arrived at her location within minutes and flagged her down, signaling her to pause the video in progress. Alya obliged, sliding her phone into her pocket, because she obviously knew what was coming.

"Where's Nino?" Ladybug asked, figuring Alya of all people would know.

"Babysitting," she mumbled in response, crossing her arms.

Ladybug furrowed her brow. "Are...you alright, Alya?"

"I'm okay, but I don't know about Marinette."

"Marinette?"

"Yeah. You know, dark hair, blue eyes, pigtails, kinda short."

Ladybug wanted to protest the short part, but she couldn't reveal her identity or make a very good argument for not being short, so she bit her tongue. "We've met a couple of times. What about her?" In the long run, she figured playing dumb was the way to go, since the real Ladybug shouldn't have known about Marinette's disappearance.

Alya looked shocked. "What do you mean, 'what about her?' You've been looking for her for a couple days now! What the hell kind of superhero-"

"Alya." Ladybug lowered her voice. "That wasn't me the last couple of days. I was kidnapped by a villain - my double - and she posed as me. I saw Marinette recently, though. I can go get her after we defeat the villain."

"So she's okay?" Alya asked, voice full of hope. Ladybug smiled and nodded the affirmative. "Do...do you want me to call Nino?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." She waited patiently while Alya spoke to her boyfriend, telling him about Marinette and convincing him to find another babysitter for Chris, Ella, and Etta because he had superhero duties, and Paris was more important than little siblings.

By the time Alya hung up, her usual bubbly personality was back. She turned to Ladybug with a big grin. "He'll be here in a few minutes. Mylѐné - uh, a girl in our class - is going to babysit."

"Gotcha. I won't give you the whole speech; you know the deal." She opened up her yo-yo and pulled out the Fox Miraculous, holding it out to Alya.

Alya accepted it as usual and clasped it around her neck, her eyes following the glowing orange orb of light that materialized into a Kwami. "Trixx, let's pounce!" She donned a pair of fox-like ears, an orange and white costume with a similar-looking tail, and a flute at her back, useful both as a weapon and for triggering her power. Thus completed her transformation into the famous Parisian superheroine Rena Rouge.

"Chat Noir should be at Le Grand Paris getting Chloѐ right now if you want to head over. I'll grab Carapace and meet you guys," Ladybug explained, treating Alya - or rather, Rena - as if she had always been part of the team.

"Oka-wait, Chloѐ? But-" she began, protesting.

Ladybug sighed and cut her off. "I know. I just think we might need her, that's all. I promise we'll never use her again unless it's a dire emergency or something." Rena huffed. "I know you two aren't the best of friends, but at least tolerate her, okay? She can be really helpful at times."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right. Well, I'll meet up with the other two." She leapt up to the top of a nearby building. "See ya!"

Ladybug smiled, heading the other direction to track down Carapace. "Later!"

…

Once Ladybug had found Nino and given him the Turtle Miraculous, the two of them found Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, and Queen Bee waiting at Trocadéro. In the few minutes between locating the Miraculous holders, Chat Noir had gone off to recharge his Kwami after using his Cataclysm, and a fight was already brewing between Rena and the Queen without a peacemaker. When Chat returned and found the two girls at each other's throats, he tried to break up the fight.

Ladybug landed not-so-subtly with Carapace at her side, and attention was turned towards her. "Come on, guys. We have a villain to defeat. There's no time for this." She snapped her yo-yo back to her and glared at the spectacle before her.

"She started it!" Rena and Queen Bee said simultaneously, pointing fingers at one another.

"Really? I thought you two were better than this. Rena, you know I asked you to tolerate her even if you two don't get along. As for you, Queen Bee, I was kind enough to let you use the Miraculous one more time. Don't ruin it, huh?"

Rena stared at the ground and kicked at a rock. "Sorry," she mumbled, turning away from Queen Bee.

"Well, I'm not," Chloè began. "It's her fault, in any case."

Ladybug fixed the Queen with a look of discontent before turning to Chat. "Let's keep in touch," she said to her partner, pressing the black dot in the middle of her yo-yo to reveal an earpiece. Nodding, Chat retrieved a similar device from the bottom of his staff, and the five of them set off to get back the Akuma and defeat Changeling.

…

Unbeknownst to the heroes, Changeling wasn't among the crowd of faux Ladybugs. While they were occupied trying to identify the real from the fake, she had taken that opportunity to...take care of some other business. She touched down silently on the balcony of one of her biggest enemies, knowing if Marinette had any dirt, it would be in her diary. The trapdoor, although closed, remained unlocked, and Changeling was able to sneak in without anyone being the wiser, closing it again once she was inside to avoid any later suspicion.

"What are you doing, Changeling?" Hawk Moth's voice came booming out of nowhere, and the butterfly mask lit up in front of her face.

Changeling sighed. "I told you I wanted the diary, Hawk Moth. I don't know if you weren't listening or something, but I'm sure I said that at some point."

"I said you could get it after you bring me what I want!"

"Well, that's too bad, isn't it?" Changeling retorted in a challenging tone, crossing her arms defiantly.

Hawk Moth placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose. "I could just take away your powers, you know. You're skating on thin ice."

"You're not going to take away my powers. I've gotten farther than anyone else. How do you know this isn't just part of my plan?"

"Fine. You get one more chance. There aren't any do-overs this time."

Waving him off, Changeling happened upon the diary. "Yeah, yeah. Just give me a sec." The glowing mask faded, and she got back to work.

Finding the diary was an easy task; getting it, however, was not. The small semicircle box was propped open on Marinette's desk, and inside lay a matching diary. Changeling's original plan remained: take pictures of every page in the diary, but leave the actual book there so no one could accuse her of stealing. It was a great plan, except... when she lifted the diary from its box, it clamped down on her wrist. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't pry it open, and therefore there was no way of accessing its contents.

"Okay, Dupain-Cheng," she muttered under her breath. "I have to give you credit for this one. But I'd rather be called a thief than call you a friend."

…

"Oh...wow. I forgot there were this many," Chat remarked as the team stood above the Place des Vosges overlooking a vast sea of Ladybugs, each an exact double of the last. From where they were, it was impossible to spot the fake one.

"This is...oddly unsettling." Ladybug cringed, peering into the large crowd of people that looked like her. "What do you guys think is the best plan?" She turned to the other four behind her.

Carapace and Rena Rouge were arguing once again about who would protect who, and Queen Bee sighed, rolling her eyes. "I don't know, you're the boss."

Ladybug furrowed her brow. "I really don't have any ideas. We can't just take them out one by one. There's way too many of them for that."
"Lucky Charm?" Chat suggested.

"So soon?"

Chat shrugged in response. "I don't see any obvious way out of this. Do you?"

"I suppose you're right. Lucky Charm!" She hurled her yo-yo skyward, producing a small rectangular box with an all-too-familiar logo on the top. Opening it, she revealed a couple dozen strawberry macarons decorated with white polka dots.

Queen Bee peeked over Ladybug's shoulder. "Macarons? How do you plan to defeat a villain with cookies?"

"Wait a minute." Ladybug inspected the logo. "That's my fami-uh, my favorite patisserie! They make great pastries!"

Oblivious to her mistake, Chat looked at his partner incredulously. "The Dupain-Chengs? That's my favorite patisserie too! Just look at how much we have in common, Bugaboo!"

Queen Bee groaned. "Ugh. The Dupain-Chengs? Lame."

At this, Rena tore her attention off of Carapace for a few seconds. "It isn't lame, Chloè! Don't you dare say that! I swear, if-"

"Come on, Rena. Please?" Ladybug pleaded. "We have to figure this out." Looking around, her Lucky Vision seemed to not be working. "Maybe we need to go to a different place?"

"How about-" Chat narrowed his eyes. "Wait a minute. I just saw something inside. Let's go!"

Indeed, as the team got closer they saw a shadow in Marinette's room through the small side window, though they couldn't make out who or what it was from a distance.

"Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee, you stay on surveillance out here. Chat Noir and I will investigate whatever's inside." Ladybug ordered in a hushed tone. Carapace nodded and retreated to the rooftop above the crowd of Ladybugs, the other two trailing behind him.

Chat deftly retracted his baton and spun it with his fingers before returning it to the loop at the small of his back. "You know, if you wanted to be alone with me, all you had to do was ask."

Ladybug snorted. "Oh, you wish. We're the most experienced superheroes, so I put them on an easier duty." The pair landed quietly on the familiar balcony and Chat peeked inside. "I have no idea what we're up against here."

"Um...you."

"Huh?" Upon seeing Ladybug's confusion, Chat gestured for her to look inside as well. Just as he had said, a Ladybug duplicate flailed around frantically in a feeble attempt to escape the clutches of the carefully engineered diary box.

Chat leaned in closer to Ladybug. "What's going on in there?"

"That's my dia-" Quickly clamping her hand over her mouth, Ladybug tried to direct the conversation elsewhere. "So, um...out of curiosity, who is Changeling?"

Raising an eyebrow, Chat smirked. "Why does that matter, m'lady?"

"I don't know. I mean, I'm sure it's not important, but maybe it is."

"It's Lila Rossi. Again. Apparently she hasn't had enough."

Ladybug squinted at the person in her room, getting closer for a better look. "That might explain it."

"Explain what?"

"Well, a little bird told me that Lila and Marinette aren't exactly what you would call best friends. The other duplicates wouldn't have any reason to be in Marinette's room now, would they?"

Chat's eyes brightened as he solved the mystery. "So…"

"So?"

"This must be the real Changeling!"

Ladybug smiled excitedly. "Exactly! Ready, kitty?"

"I'm always ready for you, m'lady." With one gloved hand on the trapdoor and the other poised in place to grab his baton, Chat Noir glanced at his partner, admiring the twinkle of fierce determination in her bright blues. He asked a question with his eyes and she responded in kind, giving him the green light to open the trapdoor. The two burst into the room in complete synchrony, just as every time before, and Chat couldn't help but wonder how they worked so well together.

Pushing all feelings aside just like he always did, the black cat adopted a fighting stance and smirked at the villian in front of him. "Hey copycat, ready for round two?" Before Changeling could say a word, Ladybug snickered next to him.

"Oh my god," she said, covering the smile on her lips and pointing at the villain. "I'm sorry, I guess you can't fight very well with that thing on your hand."

Changeling scowled. "Well, you're wrong, blaireau. I took you down easily the first time because your little kitten was too busy to save you, and I can take you down again with one hand tied behind my back."

"I guess we'll find out." Ladybug whipped out her yo-yo. "Oh, by the way, you don't get to say those things about my partner, okay?"

"What do you mean? He's only around for comic relief. It's not like he helps you out at all. In fact, he mostly just messes things up."

Chat smiled, though on the inside he wondered what he was doing wrong. "Yeah, I'm not even going to fight that one."

"No."

Chat Noir glanced nervously at Ladybug, white-knuckled from the vice grip she had on her yo-yo. "But-"

She cut her partner off, fire blazing in her eyes. "Don't." Then, turning to Changeling, "And you can't talk about Chat Noir like that. He's the best partner anyone could ask for, and he's the one that defeated you the first time, so you really have no room to talk."

Changeling scoffed. "Well, I also wouldn't be Akumatized right now if it wasn't for his idiotic decision to release the Akuma. And it took him three days to find you? You'd still be locked up if I hadn't told him where you were."

"He did his best, okay? He's the one that saved me in the first place, and it's not the first time, either. Everyone gives Chat a bad rap because he takes a lot of hits, but it's not because he's a bad superhero. If anything…" Ladybug's tone softened. "...if anything, I'm the bad one."

Chat gaped at his partner incredulously. "What do you mean? You're not bad at all. How could you say that?"

"You wouldn't have to take so many hits if I paid better attention. You're always saving me, and...and you shouldn't have to! I should be the one getting hit most of the time the way we do things."

"But you're the only one who can capture the Akuma and purify it! Paris would be doomed if you fell under an Akuma's spell. I'm expendable."

"No, you're not!" Angry tears were welling in Ladybug's eyes. "You-you're not expendable! Not to me, anyway."

Yawning, Changeling looked at her free hand as if inspecting it for dirt. "If you're finished…" All of a sudden, she pulled out her yo-yo and swung herself to the loft bed, opening the trapdoor and escaping. Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other in shock for a second, letting the situation sink in. With newfound determination, they exited through the trapdoor as well.

…

"Ugh. This is ridiculous! What are we even doing here?" Queen Bee slumped down into a sitting position.

Rena glared at the sedentary superheroine. "We're watching the other Ladybugs because the real Ladybug told us to. Can't you follow orders instead of barking them at other people for once, Chloè?"

"Queen Bee." she reminded Rena, standing up. "And listen, Fox. I can do whatever the hell I want, okay?"

"There you go, ordering me around again. Guess you can dish it out, but you can't take it."

Carapace sighed and shook his head. "Can't you two please just try to get along for once?" Noticing both of the girls staring daggers at him, he threw his hands up defensively. "Hey, you dudes both have good points. Queen Bee, you're right. This is boring, and maybe we should go help the others." Rena glowered at her boyfriend. "But, on the other hand, Ladybug did tell us to stay here on surveillance, and we should probably listen to her."

"Whatever." Queen Bee crossed her arms. "I still think we should-"

"Whoa!" A streak of red flashed overhead before settling in with the other Ladybugs in the crowd, followed closely by real Ladybug and Chat Noir who joined the other three on the roof.

Carapace pivoted and stared at the superheroes. "What happened, dudes?"

Ladybug shook her head. "No time for the full story. The original Changeling has a pink box on her left wrist."

"A pink box?" Rena questioned, wrinkling her nose.

Ladybug sighed and held up a gloved hand. "Like I said before, it's a long story. If we can find the one with the box, we can capture her Akuma. I have a plan."

"We're all listening, m'lady," Chat Noir encouraged with a sly wink. The other three nodded the affirmative, so Ladybug took a deep breath and began.

"Okay, so here's the thing…"

…

"...then you use your power to immobilize her, Queen Bee. Once you do that, signal that it's safe for us to come capture the Akuma. Everyone got it?"

A collective nod from the group was enough confirmation for Ladybug go ahead with the plan. She jumped down into the crowd of exact physical replicas of herself, trying to blend into the commotion.

A voice came through her earpiece. "Are you ready?"

"Hopefully this works," she whispered, her hand over her ear.

"Don't worry, Bugaboo. It'll be fine."

Ladybug smiled to herself. "Yeah. You're right." She mixed herself in with the other Ladybugs, keeping an eye out for one who might have her diary box clamped around their left wrist but coming up empty. All of a sudden, her faithful feline partner jumped in.

"Which one of you is Ladybug?" he called from the rooftop. The entire crowd chorused "I am! No, I am! Don't listen to her, I'm the real Ladybug," etc., etc., and Ladybug joined in to avoid suspicion.

In a voice louder than necessary, Queen Bee continued the charade. "How will we ever find out which one is the real Ladybug?" she lamented dramatically.

"I know!" Rena Rouge said to the others before turning to the crowd below. "If you're Ladybug, call on your Lucky Charm!"

"Great idea, dude!" Carapace high-fived his girlfriend. "Then we'll know for sure who the OG LB is."

Ladybug gazed up at the rest of the team and gave them a slight nod. "Lucky Charm!" she shouted, throwing her yo-yo up in the air with her left arm, causing the rest of the congregation to do the same. One glance at the others whispering amongst themselves triumphantly was enough for Ladybug to know that they had determined which one Changeling was. She looked down at her hands and contemplated the red and black spotted fire hose she now had, her Lucky Vision highlighting all of the other Lucky Charms held by various members of the red and black pack, everything from traffic cones to kitchen utensils.

"You there, LB?" Chat's voice came through the earpiece again. "I can direct you to Changeling if you want."

"Go ahead." With his instructions, Ladybug was able to make out a certain duplicate, spying a flash of pink as she turned around. "I see her."

Chat hummed for a second, thinking. "Okay. Make your way towards the roof for a handoff."

"Got it." Her earrings beeped their first warning. "We have to end this promptly, kitty cat. I don't have much time."

"Duly noted." Ladybug meandered through the crowd inconspicuously (she hoped) until she was in a place where Chat could drop a tracking device into her waiting hands. All the time, she kept her eye on Changeling from across the square, milling around once more until the villain was right beside her. "On the count of three, m'lady," Chat warned. "One...two...three!"

Carapace pointed a finger into the mass of people. "I see you, Changeling! Come out or we're coming in to get you!"

After a few seconds and no response, Queen Bee joined in. "We're not joking. Hiding out is so lame. I guess I'll have to get you myself. Spinning Top!" She hurled her stinger-shaped weapon into the horde, more or less aiming for Changeling. Amidst the commotion, Ladybug stuck the tracking device onto the diary box as Changeling wrapped her yo-yo around a nearby tree branch and perched at the top.

"You're not going to get me. Go ahead and try!" she threatened, revealing her Lucky Charm, a smoke bomb. Tossing it somewhere in the middle of all the people, she escaped, leaving a cloud of smoke behind her. Ladybug looked around, her Lucky Vision highlighting someone else's Lucky Charm: a pair of scissors. Glancing towards the rooftop, it highlighted the other four heroes, and when her eyes drifted back down to her hands, the fire hose also lit up. She snagged a street lamp with her yo-yo and swung through the crowd, claiming the hose and the scissors on her way through.

Still coughing from the smoke, Ladybug retreated to the roof with a smile. "All good, chaton?" she asked. Chat smirked, opening the screen of his baton and displaying a map. A paw print blinked a couple blocks away from their location. Ladybug grinned wider and flicked her partner's bell. "Good work, kitty!"

"Okay, so...should we go after her?" Queen Bee asked, still holding her weapon and mode of transportation, the string wrapped around her finger.

"No. I want to get the others out of the way first. That way it'll be five against one and we can defeat her fast." Ladybug held up the fire hose. It was long, but… "This won't be enough to contain all of them. Queen Bee, you follow my lead. Chat, take this and do the same." She tossed the hose to her partner. Grabbing the scissors, she continued. "Rena Rouge, you take these, and Carapace, follow her. Come on. There's no time to lose." Without another word, Ladybug jumped down to the ground, motioning for the others who mirrored her movements.

Using her yo-yo, the superheroine restricted close to a third of the crowd, wrapping them up in a tight bundle. Queen Bee did the same, employing her Spinning Top to tie up another portion of the imposters. The rest of the group was small enough that Chat Noir was able to tether them with the fire hose. While the three of them kept the duplicates under control, Carapace went around removing the tainted ribbons and giving them to Rena, who cut them in half. Within twenty minutes, several hundred civilians were transformed back to normal, and Ladybug's Kwami was fueled up again.

"Okay," Queen Bee began in an impatient tone, crossing her arms indignantly. "What now?"

Ladybug marched over to her original partner and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a knowing smile. "Well, thanks to Chat's tracking device, we know where Changeling is. All we have to do is track her down."

"And capture her Akuma," Rena finished, taking pride in the fact that she knew so much about defeating supervillains.

Ladybug nodded, emphasizing

each syllable. "Precisely."

"What about Marinette?" Chat asked tentatively, studying the ground as if he was almost afraid of the question. Or maybe it was the answer that scared him. "If Changeling took her, will your Miraculous Cure bring her back?"

The superheroine tensed, glancing around to find worried looks settled on Rena Rouge and Carapace as well. Her eyes widened as she fumbled to come up with a plausible response. "W-well, if Changeling was responsible, then I suppose the Cure would return her to...wherever she was before." This answer seemed to satisfy everyone, or at least convince them enough so they would stop focusing on finding her alter ego for the time being.

"Anyway," Queen Bee cut in, conveniently changing the subject back to the topic at hand. "We should focus on capturing Changeling's Akuma instead of...less important matters." Rena shot a dirty look in her general direction and opened her mouth to fire off a comeback of sorts, but Carapace cut in before the girls started arguing again.

"That's probably a good idea, don't you think?" he blurted, voice too high-pitched and filled with too much enthusiasm. "We can worry about Marinette another time." Rena turned her head to glare at her masked boyfriend with a rage that made her look no less menacing than Hawk Moth himself. "Ah! I mean, of course I'm worried about Marinette, but Changeling is more important."

"More important than my. best. friend?" Rena asked, stressing the fact that although she and Marinette were at a low point in their relationship, she still considered the two of them best friends.

Carapace smiled anxiously, attempting to rectify the situation. "Right now, I mean! Because Ladybug will fix everything and bring her back, so there's no reason to be so high-strung about it."

"High-strung?!"

Ladybug clapped her hands together. "Carapace is right; we should focus on capturing Changeling's Akuma. Chat Noir, where is she right now?"

Chat Noir grabbed his baton and flipped it open, revealing a map with a pawprint moving down Rue de Rivoli. "Looks like she's heading to the Louvre. We can set up a trap there."

"We need to get there before her. But how?" Ladybug wondered aloud, her thumb and first finger poised on her chin, the other hand resting on her hip.

Chat winked at his partner. "I may know a shortcut."

…

Changeling traveled by rooftop the whole way to the Louvre, planning out a route that limited the number of swings she had to do with her yo-yo, because that wasn't exactly a simple task with one hand trapped inside a fickle box. A handful of pedestrians noticed her and whipped out their cells, eager for a piece of footage to prove that they were close to Paris' superheroine. Keeping a smile on her face and her left hand close to her body, she was able to get to the museum in a matter of minutes, but it wasn't fast enough.

She was able to get inside without hesitation, past all the security who stood guard, blissfully unaware of the danger. In a similar manner, Changeling herself stood triumphantly inside the Louvre's main entrance, oblivious to the fact that a team of superheroes was waiting just a few feet away, planning her downfall.

Retreating her head from around the corner, Ladybug faced the other Miraculous holders. "She's gone inside. We need a strategy, but it has to be clever. Obviously I can't get inside because it'll arouse too much suspicion, so…" She furrowed her brow in pensive thought, fingers pressed to her temples as though she were willing an answer to make itself obvious.

"You could use your Lucky Charm," Chat offered. "If we can come up with a plan based on that - quickly, of course - it would be easier."

Ladybug looked at him hesitantly, clutching her yo-yo tight. "I wouldn't have much time afterwards, though." Looking around at the expectant faces of her friends, she relented. "You're right. If we want a good shot at defeating Changeling, that's the best way to go."

Chat flashed a reassuring, toothy grin at his counterpart. "Whenever you're ready, m'lady." A hum of agreement arose from the other three, watching and waiting patiently for the heroine to make her move.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug summoned, throwing her yo-yo skyward and receiving a jump rope in return.

"A jump rope?" Queen Bee asked incredulously, eyeing the red and black spotted rope that lay in her idol's gloved hands. "What are you going to do with that?"

Ignoring the question, Ladybug looked around, surveying the area as her Lucky Vision highlighted several seemingly unhelpful objects. A fountain, the security guard, a tree branch, the heroes, the jump rope. Alone they were useless, but they were each part of the solution. An idea formed in her head, a convoluted one, but luck was on her side, and so were some of her best friends.

With ease, her nerves slipped away and the confidence returned. "Okay. Pay attention, because I don't have time to explain this more than once."

…

The five heroes were inside the Louvre Museum, and not a moment too soon, as Ladybug had just three minutes before her transformation wore off. With the use of her Lucky Charm, distracting the security guard enough to sneak the real Ladybug in was a bit of a task, but thankfully tracking the fake wasn't. Civilians were flabbergasted at the sight of five superheroes standing in their midst, turning their otherwise normal day into quite the spectacle. Pictures were snapped and videos recorded as the Parisians were ushered out of the building quietly, the real Ladybug continuing to draw confused glances from people who had already crossed paths with her double.

"This way," Chat Noir confirmed in a whisper, slinking through a narrow corridor between exhibits with all the agility of a cat. He poked his head around the corner and quickly withdrew it, holding a finger to his lips and pointing to signify that Changeling was close by.

Ladybug opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by a shrill beep sounding right in her ear. "Two minutes. Let's go."

Changeling was caught up in conversation with a nosy civilian who was hellbent on getting a selfie with "the most amazing superhero ever!", but with a strained smile, she politely declined for what was probably about the eighth time. According to plan, Chat Noir took this as his cue and stealthily approached the two from the right side.

"Hey, sorry to bother you," he said to the civilian, slipping an arm around Changeling's shoulders. He conveniently ignored Changeling turning her body towards him and wrapping her left arm behind her body to conceal the box. "I need to borrow this little lady here. There's a villain on the loose right now."

…

Ladybug waited until she got the thumbs up from Chat Noir before turning back to the other three. "Okay. Do you all know the plan?" Three heads nodded back in agreement. "Great. I knew I could count on you guys!"

Rena took her flute from its resting place and played a few notes. "Mirage!" she yelled, casting her illusion on Ladybug so she looked like a regular tourist. Smiling at her handiwork, she motioned for Queen Bee to activate her power as well.

"Venom!" the Queen called out, her hand surrounded by the pulsing energy of the Bee Miraculous. "Ready when you are, Ladybug." Ladybug slipped out into the small crowd of people, keeping a close eye on Changeling.

…

Changeling grimaced, grateful for the excuse to not pose for a picture but less excited about the prospect of trying to hunt down herself. "Chat Noir's right. We really do have to get going. Chat, I think I saw her going towards the Egyptian exhibit."

"Great." He flashed her a Cheshire cat grin. "I'll go get the others." Knowing there was only a minute to make everything work, Chat Noir quickly gave the go-ahead to Ladybug, who threw out her yo-yo, wrapping Changeling tightly in its indestructible cord. The villain shrieked, still disguised as her arch-nemesis, and struggled, but to no avail. Charging forward, Queen Bee outstretched her right hand in an attempt to paralyze Changeling, but the latter ducked to the side and Queen Bee tripped, heading straight towards a frozen civilian.

"Shelter!" Carapace called frantically, directing his power to protect the citizen in the nick of time, as Queen Bee turned back around and struggled with Changeling, finally landing the attack on her. There was a sudden silence that lasted for a few seconds, cut short by the second to last warning chiming from Ladybug's earrings. She withdrew the red and black yo-yo from her double, now frozen in time, and snapped it back to her hand, hearing Chat Noir shout "Cataclysm!" and touch his finger to the purple ribbon, turning it to ash.

Ladybug stared at the girl who had been wreaking havoc across Paris for days, wearing the same costume and features as her, but there was something cold and unfeeling in the girl's gaze, almost ruthless, that sent an involuntary shiver down her spine. She stared at the black butterfly that emerged from the destroyed ribbon and purified it, watching it flit away innocently through the museum.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" she yelled, throwing the spotted rope into the air. She stared as it burst into swarms of ladybugs in a soft pink glow, cleansing all the physical damage Changeling had caused. She stared at the girl who was left behind. No costume, no Akuma, but instead the girl wore a stunned expression that hardened when her eyes fell on her adversary. And for a second, Ladybug found herself wishing she could remove the evil from a person as simply as she could with a butterfly.

The frantic beeping in her ear silenced any thoughts other than those of getting the Miraculouses back to Master Fu, wherever he may be at that point in time. She held out a fist and smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes as the other four members of her team bumped their fists with hers. "Bien joué!"

"Can you take care of things here? I need to get the Miraculouses back to Master Fu but I'm going to detransform in a minute." Ladybug asked her partner, holding a hand to her ear.

"Of course, m'lady. You know you can count on me." Chat Noir grinned, bowing gallantly and planting a gentle kiss on her hand to which she rolled her eyes, as per usual, but there was a soft smile tugging at her lips.

Queen Bee took the cue, noting that she only had a few minutes before she detransformed as well. "Pollen, buzz off." Removing the comb from her hair, Chloé placed it in Ladybug's waiting hand. "I...wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" Ladybug quirked her head slightly in confusion. "What for?"

Chloé shifted uncomfortably and pulled on a piece of hair that had fallen loose from her usual pristine ponytail, avoiding eye contact. "For letting me use the Miraculous again. I know I was upset when you said I was done being Queen Bee, but I totally understand, you know. So thank you." she smiled nervously. "For trusting me."

Ladybug gave her still-outstretched hand a squeeze, surprised by the sudden display of kindness, but pleasantly so. "Thank you for being trustworthy. And you never know," she said, turning to leave. "Maybe we'll do this again sometime." Flanked by Rena Rouge and Carapace, Ladybug darted outside and into an alley, retrieving the other two Miraculouses and bidding her friends goodbye just in time to feel the pink glow of light wash over her.

"That was a close call!" Tikki squealed, landing in her chosen's cupped hands and yawning. "But now, we need to go find Master Fu so you can get back home."

"That's right, Tikki!" Marinette smiled wistfully. "We're going home."

…

After tracking down Master Fu for the better part of half an hour (finally locating him at the same movie theater, though this time he was cleaning instead of working the ticket desk), Marinette made her way back to the patisserie, where her parents dropped everything (including a tray of baguettes, but luckily not the baby) to fawn over her. They closed the shop earlier than usual to pay close attention to their one and only child, treating her as if she were made of glass.

Visitors streamed in for hours: Officer Roger and Sabrina, Jagged Stone, some other classmates and old friends brought gifts or called to check in on her, even Lila stopped by, but it wasn't to exchange pleasantries. One look at the Italian girl's hand confirmed what Marinette already knew: the box containing her diary was still firmly attached to her hand, something they both knew would be inexplicable to their parents. Rather than tease her about it or expose the fact that her diary was almost stolen, Marinette sneaked Lila up to her room and unlocked the box, earning a mumbled apology and a barely audible "Thanks" thrown in her direction.

Nino paid a visit as well, dropping off a thick stack of missed assignments and explaining that Adrien couldn't make it with his busy schedule, but he couldn't wait to see her tomorrow in school, and Alya wasn't sure she was ready yet. Marinette didn't blame either of them for not coming and persuaded Nino to stay for dinner (with the help of her parents, of course).

Hours later, when calls and people had ceased for the time being and the sky had blackened, illuminated only by a partial moon and a small smattering of stars, Chat Noir finally got up some semblance of courage and landed on Marinette's balcony before he could stop himself. He wanted to go inside and say...something. What he had to say was beyond him, but he would think of something.

It's nice to see you. It was true, but it wasn't enough. It was more than just nice to see her, but no combination in twenty-six letters could explain that well enough.

I'm glad you're back. Better, if perhaps a little impersonal. He was a superhero and she was a civilian. Those were the facts. There was the baby, sure, and he was more than happy to help her with it while he figured out that situation, but he still couldn't consider her much more than an acquaintance.

I was worried about you. That was a possibility. It didn't necessarily imply anything besides general concern for a citizen of Paris that he knew, but 'general concern' just wasn't enough to cover it.

I missed you. That, on the other hand, implied all sorts of things that he wasn't sure she needed to know yet. Three words full of expectations and promises that could give someone all the wrong ideas. Maybe that was the idea.

He knocked on the open trap door letting in the gentle breeze of night air, still at a loss for words as Marinette glanced up from the book she was reading on her chaise and beckoned him inside with a tender look, teetering somewhere between joy and something else unidentifiable to him. He dropped down to the floor effortlessly and she stood up from her position, still leaving a few feet of space between the two of them. For a few seconds they just stared, his emerald eyes never breaking away from her own azure ones, neither one knowing what to say to the other.

"Chat," Marinette whispered, taking a timid step forward and fidgeting with her hands. With a few long strides, Chat was suddenly much closer to her, the proximity painting a lovely pink blush on the girl's cheeks.

"I…" he began, reaching out hesitantly, his gloved hands brushing against her bare ones. "...are you alright?"

The corners of her mouth twitched into a shy smile as she hung her head, still avoiding his eyes. "Nothing broken." Slowly, she looked up and met her partner's gaze, and Chat felt his breath hitch at the way her baby blue eyes sparkled, backlit by the reading lamp next to her chaise. He released his grip on her hands in order to wrap them tight around her torso, pulling her into a firm hug. Marinette tensed for a split second before softening and perching up on her toes to snake her arms around his neck.

"I missed you," Chat mumbled, voice muffled by Marinette's shoulder, but he knew the point got across because she hugged him a bit closer, if that was possible. "God, I missed you." A few seconds later (hours, maybe?), she pulled back slowly from the embrace, and Chat found himself already missing the warmth she brought him in every sense of the word. He looked at her adoringly, hand cupping her cheek so the tip of his thumb brushed her bottom lip. He leaned in, eyes fluttering closed, and although her eyes blew wide open at first, Marinette quickly followed suit, her lips the last thing he saw before-

"Marinette! You have company!" Sabine's voice was unmistakable as she yelled up the stairs, the call reaching her ears through the closed trapdoor. Marinette looked around, frantically smoothing her clothes and hair as Chat darted back up to his spot on the balcony. What was he thinking anyway, trying to kiss her like that? He had no right.

"Okay, Maman!" She responded, heading to open the door just as a familiar mop of brownish-red hair poked through. Marinette stopped dead in her tracks, curious as to why she was getting another visitor so late at night, especially that particular one. "Alya?"

The hazel-eyed girl looked at her once-best friend apologetically, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm...ugh." she paused, pushing her glasses up and swiping a hand across. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know that's not enough, and don't say it is, because it can't be. So...I'm sorry for not trusting you when I should have, because you're usually right, and I'm really, really sorry for telling Lila anything you told me in private, because that was really terrible of me. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me, because I should have been, and...oh, to hell with this.

I've been an extremely crappy best friend to you for way too many months now, and I know no amount of apologizing can just gloss over all the awful things that have been going on not only with Lila, but also between us. I know we'll probably never be best friends again, at least not like we were before, and that really breaks my heart, but I can't exactly go back in time and slap my past self upside the head, as much as I totally would if that were possible. But I'm...I'm really happy you're back. It's been pretty miserable these last couple days. I was worried I would never get the chance to apologize…" Alya trailed off, rubbing her eyes in one last futile attempt to prevent the onslaught of emotions that was about to boil over.

"Maybe we can start over?" Marinette held out her hand to Alya, the latter's expression growing visibly confused. "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Alya choked, unsure if she was about to laugh or cry. "Alya Césaire. Mind if I sit here and cry for a bit?" she asked, shaking her friend's hand.

"Make yourself at home."

…

A couple hours later, after most of the lights across Paris had gone out, as it was well after midnight, Alya descended the stairs she came up long before. She had politely declined the Dupain-Chengs' offer to sleep over, because they had school the next morning, and her homework wasn't finished. Marinette couldn't say she was surprised, because it wasn't like she had done much catching up either, but her teachers couldn't really blame her for being kidnapped by a supervillain. For once she had a plausible excuse to not turn in her homework the next day.

Sabine had insisted on babysitting Emma one more day to take some of the load off of her daughter's shoulders, and Tikki had been asleep for hours, worn out from 'macaron deprivation', although she had her fill. There was no reason to stay up, so Marinette crawled up to her loft bed with a yawn, grabbing her phone from its place on the charger and setting the usual alarm that would wake her bright and early in the morning. Sparing one more glance at the open trapdoor to her balcony, she could faintly make out a tail swishing in the breeze, and sighed wistfully.

"Come in, chaton."