"Marinette."

The end of her pencil tapped softly against her chin as she tried to focus on the empty journal in front of her.

"Marinette?" the voice called again, and it was harder to ignore as it floated closer to her ear. Filling out her diary on a daily basis had been so simple as a teenager. In the confines of her room, Tikki had always been quiet and given her all the privacy she needed.

Now, however? Trying to recount the morning's chaotic events as a twenty-two-year-old was a bit more difficult with an impatient cat hovering around her head.

"Marineeeeeettee..." Plagg finally plopped down, draping his limp body over her shoulder with a loud whine. "I'm hungry, and Adrien threw out all the cheese!"

Marinette took in a slow breath through her nose and let it out as a soft sigh, pulling at the ends of her loose hair with her free hand. "He didn't throw it out, I saw him put some away in a sealed container."

Plagg immediately perked up and flew around to face her. "Where?"

"Top cabinet," Marinette answered, pointing over her shoulder. "Farthest from the fridge."

Plagg zipped away, flying low over the marble counter that separated the living room from the open kitchen. He only stopped for a moment before taking off again, almost ramming into the sleek can lights that hung from the ceiling.

"Make sure it's not the smelly kind!" she called after him as he disappeared into the cabinet. Whatever response he gave was muffled through the polished wood.

Marinette glanced down at her journal again, the page void of anything aside from the day's date. There was only a small reminder scribbled in the top corner that read, 'Exam tomorrow.'

"Incoming video call from Alya Césaire."

Marinette practically jumped off the sofa at the combination of the voice suddenly emitting from the flat-screen on the wall and her phone vibrating loudly atop the glass coffee table in front of her. She glanced between her cell and the TV before hesitantly mumbling, "Oh, uh... Francis, answer, please?"

The screen promptly flashed to life, and Alya's face popped up, the video bordered on both sides by black to fit the vertical view from Alya's phone. "Marinette! You had me worried, girl!"

"About what?" Marinette asked, trying to recall the last time she'd seen Alya. It had been the day before... "Oh! Right."

"You forgot?" Alya laughed at that. "Even if I hadn't seen it on the news, Adrien called just about everyone in a panic."

Marinette groaned and slapped her forehead. "Everyone...?" She quickly waved her hands in front of her at the concern that crossed Alya's face. "I'm perfectly fine! Nothing to worry about!"

"Are you sure?" Alya's mouth formed a small frown, her eyes seeming to search her friend for any signs that said otherwise. "Rose was under the impression that you'd had a concussion or something. They don't usually admit people to the emergency clinic for routine check-ups."

"That was..." Marinette's voice faded, uncertain about how much she wanted to explain. "Well... The doctors apparently pay attention when Chat Noir carries someone into the building himself."

"He didn't?" Alya gasped, trying—and failing—to stifle her widening grin.

"He did." Marinette nodded solemnly, resting her head in her hand. "He almost followed after me before he realized that he was still transformed."

"You didn't warn him?" Alya quirked an eyebrow. "You must have been pretty out of it not to notice that."

"Actually..." Marinette drummed her fingers against her cheek as she hesitated again. "I was... a bit out of commission?" She averted her eyes when she saw Alya's gaze widening. "He had to remove my earrings because I wasn't awake to de-transform."

"Marinette!" She winced beneath Alya's sharp reprimand. "That's not 'perfectly fine!'"

"It was the akuma's fault!" Marinette tried to argue, her attention flitting to the side of Alya's head where a pen floated up on its own in the background, most likely Trixx, drawn over by the commotion. "He turned the whole of Paris into a sauna. I wasn't the only one that wound up in the hospital because of it!"

"Ugh, you're going to be the death of me." Alya rubbed her forehead before turning a stern look back on Marinette. "So, if you were in the hospital, who used the Miraculous Ladybug? Everything was fixed once the akuma was taken care of."

"Well, he had my earrings," Marinette pointed out. "Once a few of the others arrived, Adrien took care of that himself. It's not his first run as Mister Bug."

"Right," Alya said with a nod, quirking an eyebrow with a knowing smirk. "But he didn't leave you alone, did he? I know Adrien had classes to run to..." Her face moved closer to the screen as if she might be able to peer around the living room. "And you're making sure to drink plenty of water?"

"Yes, maman." Marinette giggled while Alya stuck out her tongue in response. "And I'm not alone, Plagg's with me."

As if his name had summoned him, the kwami in question floated over her shoulder carrying a chunk of cheese.

"Plagg!" Alya snapped when she caught sight of the floating wedge. "That better not be camembert!"

"What's the fuss?" Plagg griped, making a face and flattening his ears. "It's only gouda! Not stinky at all like the far superior and gourmet taste that is ooey gooey camembert!" He let out a pitiful whine, dramatically draping a paw over his forehead before tossing the cheese slice up and catching it to swallow in one gulp.

"He says, 'It's not,'" Marinette supplied instead.

Alya rolled her eyes, but quick enough, her smile returned. "So I guess Adrien went ahead with his little idea?" She gave Marinette a wink. "Not surprised. Red and black really does suit him."

"You've been out on too many patrols together," Marinette groaned.

"How long does he want to swap?" Alya pointed in Plagg's general direction with her free hand, still holding her phone with the other. "Do I have to worry about changing my blog to 'The Bug Blog?'" She tapped her chin and scrunched up her face. "Or does 'Mister Blog?' sound better?"

Marinette wrinkled her nose, not really liking either option. 'The Ladyblog' just had that perfect ring to it, but it didn't make much sense since Adrien was no lady, and didn't call himself as such with the ladybug miraculous. While she paused to think of an answer, something loud hummed past her window. Alya jumped to attention, and the video skewed at an angle as she hilariously tried to see through the screen.

"Was that a news helicopter? It's not a second akuma in one day, is it?" Marinette heard Alya complain as she quickly straightened the image. "Someone's not playing around."

"Unfortunately, when Ladybug fainted, everything was caught on the broadcast this morning." Marinette stood up and moved to the glass balcony doors, watching the aircraft maneuver over the city. "I would be more surprised if anyone didn't try taking advantage of it." Marinette tilted her head and winked. "I should let you go. You want to get a good scoop, right?"

"Right." Alya nodded before looking over her shoulder where the pen was still floating. "Catch you later, girl! Don't faint again!"

Alya didn't give her a chance to respond before the screen went dark and the automated voice declared, "Call ended."

"Aaah!" Plagg flopped onto the top of the couch while Marinette settled down beside him. "It feels nice to sit back and let the other heroes handle things for a change."

"I'm sure you're loving it." Marinette smiled before calling out, "Francis? Turn on the living room TV and change it to TVi News, please?"

"Turning the television on to TVi News. There is currently an on-going report of an akuma attack." The screen switched back on quickly, where a news helicopter was en-route to try and get a good view of the unfortunate victim.

"Thank you, Francis."

"You don't have to be polite with it." Plagg lazily floated over to the small speaker set into the wall and balanced against its sleek edge. "Francis, order me some more camembert, would ya?"

"Sorry, I can't do that," the robotic assistant answered. "Parental controls have been adjusted, and camembert was added to the list of restricted items that I cannot purchase."

"What!?" Plagg shouted.

"Plagg." Marinette frowned at him. "I'm trying to listen."

Plagg grumbled to himself while he returned to the couch, plopping down next to Marinette and glaring at the screen. She tried to repress her giggle as she patted the moping kwami atop his head before focusing on the TV. The camera's view sped over Paris as the helicopter followed after two small figures moving across the rooftops in the distance.

She could hear Nadja Chamak reporting on the action, but she didn't need the narration to know that the red-spotted figure using his yo-yo was Mister Bug, already on the scene. The news crew wasn't close enough to see clearly, even with the camera's zoom, so the reporter kept incorrectly referring to the hero as Ladybug.

"Huh, he must have been in the area," Plagg mumbled, leaving his spot on the couch to float up closer to the television. He nearly flipped upside down as he made a show of tilting his head. "Does he look shorter to you?"

"How can you..." Marinette started to respond, but her voice trailed off as she stared at the second figure in the frame, noticing that he was waving a weapon that was clearly a silver baton. "Is... Is that Chat Noir?"

Marinette quickly leapt up from the couch in her surprise, and the news crew zoomed in on the two heroes that were clearly a female Ladybug and a male Chat Noir fighting against a white and blue clad villain.

"That's impossible!" Marinette squeaked out, turning to Plagg to find him staring at the screen with a stunned expression on his face. "You're here! And if Adrien has the Ladybug earrings..."

"Uh oh," Plagg groaned.

Marinette dove for her phone, quickly scrolling to her contacts while chanting, "Pick up, pick up, pick up!"

Thankfully, after only two rings, Alix answered the call.

"We have a problem!" Marinette immediately shouted, not giving Alix any chance to say hello. "It's a time problem!"

"Wait, are you serious?" Alix's voice sounded incredulous. "But... The burrow hasn't reacted. Fluff !" Her voice faded as she must have turned her head to shout for the kwami. "Time problem! Are you sensing anything?"

"Turn on the news," Marinette said, but Alix must have been one step ahead, because she heard a soft curse from her friend as Nadja's faint voice created a stereo effect from the two TVs.

"Okay, either Mister bug is in a very convincing wig, or there is definitely something out of whack with the time-stream, because you haven't worn pigtails in forever."

"We might just need to take a closer look to figure this out," Marinette proposed.

"Yeah, I—wait, we?" Alix yelped. "Nuh, uh! Adrien already told me about this morning. You stay home!"

"I know, yes!" Marinette groaned, almost snapping with agitation. It wasn't as if she was in any danger. The doctor had let her go with a clean-bill of health! "I promise, I'm not going to get involved!"

"You better not!" Alix barked. "I'll head that way and see if I can meet with anyone else. We will handle this. Peace out!" With that, the line disconnected, and Marinette closed her phone with a disgruntled sigh, rubbing her hands against her forehead.

It wasn't as if she didn't trust anyone else to get the job done, it was just so frustrating not being able to do anything. And waiting! She just hated that she was stuck at home, waiting for updates rather than being able to take action herself.

She dropped down next to Plagg on the couch and let out a huffy breath.

"They'll do fine." Plagg rolled onto his back and crossed his legs as he reclined leisurely. "Even if Adrien didn't have the earrings, technically you'll still be there. Well, your past-self, but same difference, right?"

"Yes. Sure. Great," Marinette grumbled. "I feel much better because of a technicality." She suddenly straightened up and eyed Plagg curiously as the wheels began to turn in her head. "You know," she started quietly. "If I watch from a safe distance, I'm not technically fighting any villains..."

"Oh, no!" Plagg cried, zipping up in front of her and pointing an accusatory paw at her. "I'm under strict orders to stay with you here! And didn't you just promise that you wouldn't go?"

"Since when do you do what you're told?" Marinette smiled at him mischievously. "Besides, I promised I wouldn't get involved, and I'm not. I'll just observe from a far-off vantage point, safe and sound." She stood up and lifted her fists. "Plagg—"

"Marinette!" Plagg shouted in warning, zipping off the couch and trying to escape to the balcony.

He didn't get very far before Marinette yelled, "Claws out!"