Chapter 4: Tour of Wayne Enterprises and Ape Fighter

The Bat Family sat in the Batcave, having just heard the conversation on the bus from Damian's recorder, which switched to Barbara's recording of Stephanie's earpiece after they got off the bus. 

Everyone was quiet throughout the recording but had something to say by the end. However, no one said anything until Bruce spoke first.

"I don't like this," Bruce said. He had his fingers interlaced and glared at the center of the table everyone was sitting around.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific, Bats. There's a lot not to like," Harley said.

"Any of it," Bruce replied, "Paris has been under attack by a supervillain for at least a year, and the Justice League knew nothing about it. This Ladybug lost a partner and is likely working alone most of the time. She gave untrained teenagers magical items of unknown power without explanation for using them. Not to mention, she gave them to teens whose identities had been compromised, putting them and their families at risk. She clearly has no training and doesn't know what she is doing. Plus, it looks like Marinette wasn't exactly truthful about her relationship with her class."

"So, what do we do about the situation then? Zatanna won't be back till Wednesday, and none of us have much knowledge of magic. We need more information. Babs, have you found anything?" Dick asked.

"In terms of the Paris situation. No," Barbara, sitting at the Bat Computer, frowned. "However, I did some more digging on Marinette and her classmates and managed to uncover some interesting information."

Barbara pulled up several images of social media posts, pictures of a few of the students, and a police report.

"Okay, so from what I can tell, Marinette used to be close with most, if not all, of her classmates up until about a year and a half ago," Barbara enlarged some of the social media posts that talked about how excited they were to be hanging out together and photos of mainly, the girls minus Lila, smiling, laughing, or making funny faces. "Shortly after these were posted, Marinette vanished from the photos." 

She showed more pictures posted only a couple of months later with the same group of people, except instead of Marinette being in the photos, Lila was. "There are also awful posts targeted towards an MDCFashionBug, who, from what I can tell, used to be Marinette's social media handle before she deleted her accounts." Barbara pulled up those posts as well.

"Wow, that's quite the one-eighty," Harley said, "I wonder what could have caused that."

"Best guess is this girl, Lila Rossi," Barbara enlarged a picture of the girl. "She transferred to the school right before the switch happened. I also found some posts about Marinette bullying Lila, though I couldn't find any posts from Marinette since those got deleted when she deleted her account. So, if bullying was happening, it was in person, and no one posted any online evidence of it."

"From what I remember of Paris, I find that a little hard to believe," Dick said.

"Aren't you forgetting that you magically forgot most of what happened in Paris?" Jason asked.

"I have to agree with Dick on this one, at least a little bit," Stephanie said, "At the airport, it looked like she was actively avoiding her classmates, and at the hotel, when that one girl with glasses grabbed her wrist, she shouted not to touch her in French and ran off to the elevator like a bat out of hell. I tried to see if she wanted to go shopping for a jacket afterward since she said hers got ruined, but she turned me down, saying she was tired from the jet lag." 

"Waste of coffee," Tim muttered, sipping his coffee.

"Hmm, maybe it is a case of Marinette being well-liked, then she bullied Lila for some reason, and that caused everyone to turn on her to where she is now the one being bullied," Harley suggested. "Though she seems like a nice girl in the interview, however brief it was, along with Dick's interaction with her, does raise some questions."

"Well, that's not all I found," Barbara said.

Two documents appeared on the screen of the Bat Computer in French before getting translated into English. 

"Apparently, Marinette has been expelled once for cheating and stealing another student's property, but it was rescinded shortly after. She was also almost expelled again for breaking another student's jaw," She continued.

"Nice," Jason said, "I'm starting to like this girl."

"That was not mentioned in her essays," Bruce scowled.

"Technically, she didn't have to mention it in her essays as no question asked about its expulsions," Tim chimed in. 

Bruce glared at Tim, who hid behind a long drink of his coffee.

"Does it say why her first expulsion was rescinded?" Harley asked.

"It says that it was a misunderstanding," Barbara replied.

"A misunderstanding?" Bruce said in disbelief.

"That's what it says," Barbara shrugged.

"What about the broken jaw expulsion? How did she not get expelled for that?" Jason asked.

Barbara pulled up the police report, which was translated into English as well. 

"She got into an argument with one of her classmates, Chloé Bourgeois, and punched her, breaking her jaw in the process," Barbara explained.

"Does it say what they argued about?" Stephanie asked.

"No, just that they argued, and Marinette punched Chloé, breaking her jaw. However, no charges were pressed against Marinette, which is weird, considering that Chloé is the daughter of the Mayor of Paris, André Bourgeois, who owns a high-end and successful hotel in Paris, along with being the daughter of the director of the fashion magazine Style Queen Audrey Bourgeois," Barbara explained.

"Really? I love Style Queen," Stephanie exclaimed.

"How did Pixie Pop avoid charges? Blonde seemed to have all the money and connections needed to guarantee a successful lawsuit, especially if there were witnesses. Does she have some dirt on Blonde or her family?" Jason asked.

"I don't know. I couldn't find anything, but I doubt that something Marinette would post online. I also couldn't find any connections she has that might protect her from the charges either," Barbara replied. 

"Then what made them not press charges?" Bruce asked.

"All I know is that shortly after this incident, Chloé moved to Metropolis to live with her half-sister, Zoé Lee, and the parents of some of the students wanted Marinette removed from school as they didn't feel safe having their kids in the same class as someone so violent. However, since the incident happened off school grounds and no charges were pressed, they couldn't expel her for it," Barbara answered.

"Marinette is either smart or she got lucky that she punched Chloé off school grounds," Harley said.

"It also seems like Chloé wasn't well-liked either, considering the celebratory social media posts I found about her move to Metropolis," Barbara added.

"Does that mean she was an uptight, snooty, heiress like Demon Spawn?"  Jason asked, pointing his thumb at Damian.

"I'm not snooty or an heiress, Todd," Damian growled.

"Didn't deny the uptight part," Jason smirked.

Damian crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm aware that I can be a bit… stubborn at times, which leads to my irritation, but I am working on it with the help of Harley."

"Aw, you called me by my first name," Harley cooed.

"Well, since you married my father, and changed your last name to Wayne, you are no longer Quinzel. However, calling you by Wayne is also rather strange, so I went with your first name," Damian replied, schooling his features to keep a stoic look.

"Aw, love you too, Little Bird," Harley smiled.

"I'm not little," Damian growled. He had grown over the years to roughly 5'11" (180 cm), making him the third tallest person in the room, behind Bruce and Jason.

"No matter how tall you get, you'll always be Little Bird to me, sweetie," Harley teasingly smirked.

Damian huffed and deeply scowled.

"Did you find anything else?" Bruce asked.

"About Marinette? No. But, I noticed some social media posts were corrupted and couldn't be read. I think those posts have to do with what is happening in Paris," Barbara answered.

"That means that the magic that made me forget about what happened in Paris and mess up the email I sent Babs is still in effect, which leads to the question, why didn't the kids from Paris forget about Shadow Moth and his akuma?" Dick asked.

"It could be that they are all citizens of Paris, that keeps them from forgetting. Some of them have used the miraculous, so that could also keep them from forgetting, but it didn't sound like they all used a miraculous. Maybe they have all been turned into an akuma at some point, which keeps them from forgetting. It could be a combination of all three, and why the recorder didn't glitch out since they were talking about outside Paris," Tim suggested.

"All are reasonable possibilities," Bruce said, "but we can't confirm anything until Zatanna gets here. So, for now, we must be careful and observe the situation. Dick, you will be the tour guide for the WE headquarters tour. Cass, I want you to go with Dick and observe the class. Report everything you see, no matter how small."

"Sounds good," Dick said.

"Understood," Cass replied.

"Harley, I want you to show up when they break for lunch and talk to Marinette. I want your insight on her from a proper conversation."

"No prob, Batsy."

"Barbara, Tim, see if you can learn more about the Paris class."

Barbara gave a thumbs up, and Tim said, "Got it."

"The rest of you are on standby. I'm going to visit the Watchtower and see if I can't find anything about Paris now that it seems the amnesic effect is no longer in full effect."

"How do you know you won't just forget it when you go to the Watchtower?" Harley asked.

"I don't, but testing it shouldn't be dangerous," Bruce answered, taking out a pin and notepad. He scribbled down a short sentence that described what happened in Paris. 

"Just in case," He added, tucking the notepad into his pocket.

"Want me to go with you?" Harley asked, "I assume you are going to go now."

"I wouldn't mind the company if you're not busy," Bruce smiled gently.

"Sure thing, Bats," Harley smiled back.

"Gross," Jason gagged, "I'm leaving before I puke."

Jason got up and left the Bat Cave. The others took that as their cue to leave as well and followed Jason, except for Barbara, who stayed at the Bat Computer.

Bruce shook his head at his children's antics.

"They're adorable," Harley giggled.

"Shall we get going?"

Bruce and Harley walked over to the transporter pad. They didn't change into their hero costumes since neither planned to get involved in any action, plus the Watchtower had a spare set of their gear in case they did need to act.

After they stepped on the transporter pad, they vanished from the Bat Cave and appeared in the teleporter room of the Watchtower. They made their way to the Command Center.

As they walked to the Command Center, J'onn phased through the ceiling of their corridor. "Bruce, Harley, good to see you."

Bruce and Harley didn't stop walking as J'onn floated backward in front of them.

"Hey, Green Man," Harley smiled.

"Is something the matter? It's unusual to see you here out of uniform." J'onn said.

"There is a problem with Paris," Burce replied. 

"What kind of problem? I haven't had any kind of alert about Paris," J'onn replied. He closed his eyes as he connected telepathically with the Watchtower supercomputer to check if he might have missed something.

"No, nothing," He added after a moment.

Bruce opened his mouth to reply but stopped in his tracks. He couldn't remember what was happening in Paris. He knew they had just finished discussing what happened in Paris and the Paris place, but he could only remember the details about Marinette. He didn't even remember the notepad in his pocket.

"Is something the matter?" J'onn asked as he and Harley also stopped.

"I forgot what the problem was with Paris," Bruce answered.

J'onn's eyes widen in surprise. 

"You forgot?" He asked in total disbelief.

"Yes."

"I don't remember either," Harley added.

"That's quite disturbing," J'onn said, "Would you allow me into your mind to see if I can access the information you forgot?"

Bruce nodded.

"Sure, just be careful. It's a circus in there," Harley smiled.

"Then I'll be sure to buy some peanuts," Martain Manhunter smiled.

He placed a hand on the couple's foreheads. He closed his eyes and began to focus as he entered their minds. It didn't take him long to find the Paris memories in their minds, but he ran into an invisible wall when he tried to access them. He could tell it wasn't a mental block from Bruce or Harley. It felt different. He cautiously probed the invisible wall but found it didn't budge. 

  He withdrew from their minds after a couple of minutes. "Something is blocking me from accessing the memories about Paris."

"I was afraid of that," Bruce sighed.

"It feels like magic. Do you know what it might be?" J'onn asked.

"We might if we could remember what was happening in Paris," Harley replied.

"Well, magic is outside my area of expertise," J'onn replied.

"Ours as well. We are waiting for Zatanna to return on Wednesday before we try to do anything," Bruce replied.

"That would be a wise decision," J'onn nodded, "I'll keep an eye on Paris for the time being and let you know if anything happens."

"Thank you," Bruce replied.

"Is there anything else I can assist you with?" J'onn asked.

"Can you check to see if we had any calls from Paris that weren't responded to in the past two years?" Bruce asked.

"Certainly, give me a moment." 

J'onn closed his eyes, telepathically connected with the Watchtower supercomputer. He opened them again a few seconds later. 

"I found no missed calls, messages, or alerts from the Paris. I even checked back five years," J'onn said.

"I was afraid of that," Bruce scowled. "We know that whatever magic is keeping us from remembering anything about the situation in Paris also affects any kind of communication that can lead to its reveal. Dick sent Barbara an email about it some time ago, but it got corrupted into an unreadable mess."

"That would explain the lack of alerts about Paris. It must be some powerful magic," J'onn said, "Are you sure it's wise not to take some kind of action?"

"That's exactly why we shouldn't take any action yet," Bruce replied, "We don't know what we are dealing with here. If we act rashly, we could wind up making things worse. If they've held out for this long, they can hold out for a few more days."

"I hope you're right," J'onn replied.

"Me too," Bruce muttered.

Harley clapped her hands together, getting their attention.

"Well, since we can't find anything, shall we head back?"

"I suppose so," Burce sighed.

"Thanks for everything, J'onn," Harley smiled at the green man.

"My pleasure," He smiled back, "Sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"It's fine. I had a feeling it was a long shot," Bruce replied.

They all exchanged goodbyes, and the couple returned home.

The following day, Marinette woke up to the alarm on her private phone going off. She groaned, rolling away from the offending, and pulled a pillow over her head.

A sleepy Tikki flew out from under the covers on the other side of the bed. She turned off the alarm. The Kwami then flew over to Marinette and poked her cheek.

"Come on, Marinette; it's time to get up."

"Five more minutes," Marinette mumbled and rolled around from Tikki.

"No, you said not to give you five more minutes, remember?" Tikki put her little paws on her hip.

Marinette did remember telling Tikki and the other Kwamis not to let her sleep in past her alarm. She silently cursed her past self for telling them that.

"But the bed is so comfy," She whined. 

"Tikki, just give the girl five more minutes, so I can get five more minutes," Plagg added from under the covers.

Tikki scowled and took in a deep breath. 

"GET UP!!!" She shouted.

The sudden shout was enough to make Marinette bolt up. When she did, she got tangled up in the sheet and rolled off the bed, taking the sheet with her.  She hit the floor with a soft thud, and the other Kwamis whined in protest as Marinette took the sheets with her on her fall.

"Ow."

"Sorry, I didn't mean for you to fall out of bed," Tikki said, though she was trying to suppress a giggle.

"It's fine," Marinette replied.

She untangled herself from the sheets and got up. 

"Kid, you need to see about getting a bed like that. I think that's the best I've slept in ages," Plagg commented as Marinette stretched.

"We'll see," Marinette replied. 

She had to agree with the cat Kwami. The bed was probably the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in, along with some of the best sleep she had managed to get in a long time.

Marinette walked over to her purse, pulling out the Kwamis' favorite food and setting it down on the nightstand. 

"You guys eat up." 

She then made her way to her suitcase. She grabbed a black short-sleeved shirt with a blue silhouette of a bird with its out spread across the chest, a pair of black jeans, and her makeup. She went into the bathroom to change.

Once she finished changing, she applied glossy lipstick and nail polish, the same color as the blue bird on her shirt, added some light makeup, and styled her hair back into a French half ponytail.

Satisfied with her look, Marinette left the bathroom. The Kwamis had finished eating when she exited the bathroom and were waiting on the bed. 

"What do you think?" Marinette asked, turning around slowly so the Kwamis could get a good look at her.

"You look beautiful as always, Marinette," Tikki said cheerfully.

"Very noble," Kaalki added.

"Gorgeous," Mullo smiled.

"Look fine to me," Plagg said in a disinterested tone. 

Tikki smacked Plagg on the back of the head for his lack of interest.

"Hey!"

"Thank you," Marinette giggled.

She entered the common room, where a black box with a red ribbon sat on the coffee table. She got the box last night when room service delivered it to her room. There was a note attached to it that read.

Dear Ms. Dupain-Cheng

My son and Stephanie informed me that your jacket had a coffee-related incident and was ruined. I was also told that you were quite tired from your travels and didn't feel like shopping with Stephanie after you reached the hotel, which is understandable. However, considering how cold Gotham can get, we thought it best you still get one anyway. We also didn't know your size, so we took our best guess. If it's the wrong size, please let Stephanie or Dick, who will be your tour guide for WE tomorrow, know, and we'll get you the proper size.

Sincerely,

Bruce Wayne

P.S. The solid black color was my wife's and Stephanie's idea. They said it was best to give you a blank canvas to work with for when you go back to Paris.

Marinette took the top of the box to reveal a jacket inside. She had already examined it last night when she got it. The jacket was made of high-quality material, making it soft to the touch while keeping the wearer warm but not too warm. It was a solid black with a hood and a zipper. The usual pockets were on either side of the zipper, but she also found several pockets inside the jacket. 

She slipped the jacket on and was surprised it was a perfect fit.

"Stephanie must have a good eye for guessing people's size," Marinette said to no one in particular as she ran her hand along the soft fabric of the sleeve.

After she finished appreciating the jacket, she grabbed her school and personal phones, tucking them into two pockets inside her jacket that were the right size for phones. She grabbed the horse miraculous and placed it safely into another inside pocket. 

Marinette then checked the mouse and cat miraculouses around her neck, touching each one and ensuring they were tucked under her shirt. She also reached up and touched each earing of the ladybug miraculous.

With all the Miraculouses checked and secured, Marinette grabbed her purse.

"Okay, you guys ready to go?"

"Yes, already," Tikki answered.

"Good, let's go."

Marinette opened her purse, and the Kwamis flew inside. She then headed down to the restaurant to get breakfast.

When she arrived at the restaurant, she saw Kim, Alix, Rose, and Mlle. Bustier already eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Marinette," Mlle. Bustier said, noticing Marinette.

"Morning," She replied, not looking at her teacher and ignoring the glares from Kim and Alix.

  Marinette made her way to a table near the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the far wall of the restaurant, giving her a good view of the skyline of Gotham in one of the rare moments that the sun was out.

Shortly after she sat down, a waiter approached her. He handed her a menu and placed a glass of water on the table.

"Please take your time to look over the menu. I'll come back to get your order in a few minutes," The Waiter said.

Marinette nervously eyed the glass of water and hesitantly asked, "D-do you have bottled water?"

If he was annoyed by her request for bottled water, he didn't show it.

"Sparkling or flat?" He smiled.

"Flat, please."

"Certainly."

The Waiter left.

She moved the glass of water farther away before picking up the menu and reviewing the breakfast option.

The Waiter returned a couple of minutes later holding a bottle of water from a brand that Marinette didn't recognize, but judging from the looks of it, it was expensive. He began to open the bottle of water, but she quickly stopped him.

"Wait, I can open it myself."

"I'm sure you can, Miss, but it's no trouble at all."

"No, really, I can do it myself," She said slightly pleadingly.

The Waiter gave her a confused look for a second before setting the bottle down on the table. "Very well then. Have you decided what you would like, or do you need more time?"

"No, I know what I want. I would like the breakfast omelet with extra bacon, please."

"Very good choice, Miss."

  The Waiter offered his hand for the menu, which she placed in it. He then gestured to the glass of water. She nodded. He took the glass with him as he left.

Marinette took out her private phone. She sent a good morning text to her parents and the other Kwamis back in her room. She began reading through some fashion articles as she waited for her breakfast.

She eventually reached for the fancy water bottle. She tried to open it with her left hand, only to stop and wince when her wrist gave a painful twinge. She put the bottle. She glared at it angrily while rubbing her wrist.

"Are you okay?" Tikki asked from her bag, sensing her wielder's pain.

"Yeah, just my wrist," Marinette replied.

Marinette used her right hand to open the water bottle. It opened with a pop. She took a sip of the water. It tasted just like Marinette thought. Fresh, clean, and overpriced.

The Waiter came back a few minutes later with her breakfast.

"Enjoy."

"Thank you." 

Marinette ate her delicious breakfast omelet as the rest of her classmates filtered into the restaurant for breakfast. A few classmates glared at her as they sat close to Mlle. Bustier and the other. Once they sat down, they ignored her in favor of chatting with each other and having breakfast.

"Alright, everyone, be downstairs in the lobby in fifteen minutes. The bus will be here by then, and we'll leave five minutes later, okay?" Mlle. Bustier announced. 

All the French students gave some form of acknowledgment. Mlle. Bustier and some of the students who finished breakfast went to the elevators. Some went to their rooms to prepare, while others headed for the lobby.

Marinette discreetly checked her miraculouses and put the half-empty fancy water bottle into her purse. Not wanting to get stuck in the elevator with any of her classmates, she waited until the first wave of students left before getting up and heading towards the elevators herself.

She got into an empty elevator to go to the lobby. Just as the doors were about to close, an arm blocked them. The doors open to reveal that the arm belonged to one Lila Rossi. 

"Marinette, didn't you hear me calling for you to hold the elevator?" Lila innocently asked, stepping into the elevator.

Marinette glared daggers at Lila. "You don't ask me to hold the elevator."

The doors to the elevator closed.

"Oh, you're right. I'm just so used to making you the bad guy in front of everybody. I guess I did it even when no one was around," Lila replied.

"What do you want, Lie-la?"

"Aw, that's cute. Is that what you call me when you are with your friends? But wait, you don't have any friends. I wonder why that is?" Lila smirked smugly.

"Yes, I wonder why," Marinette deadpanned.

"Yes, what a mystery. Anyways, you should hear what we call you. It's definitely not cute," Lila laughed.

Marinette clenched her fists and growled, "I can guess. Now, what do you want?"

"I just noticed that you were getting quite chumming with that tour guide woman. I also overheard that you somehow managed to talk to Dick, who I assume is Richard, the oldest of the Wayne siblings, before coming here, and while I'm not sure how you managed to do that. I just thought I should remind you to be a good girl and stay out of my way."

Lila walked over to Marinette as she talked, stopping in front of her. She grabbed Marinette's left wrist, squeezing it and digging her nails in through the jacket's fabric. That's caused Marinette to wince in pain. She grabbed Lila's wrist, attempting to remove her hand from her injured wrist. Lila, in turn, gave Marinette's wrist a hard yank. Marinette gasped as a jolt of pain radiated from her wrist.

Marinette clenched her teeth and pulled her free hand back, making it into a fist. She was about to break the liar's jaw like she had done to Chloé eight months ago but stopped when she saw Lila's smirk, and her free arm read to guard against block it.

She clenched her fist tighter, growling in frustration. Getting punched was exactly what Lila wanted.

Once Lila realized Marinette wasn't going to punch, she frowned playfully.

"What, not going to punch me? Shame."

Lila let go of Marinette's wrist and backed away from her. "I thought for sure that would have gotten you. Oh well, I wasn't looking forward to getting punched by you anyway. After all, you did break Chloé's jaw. Just remember to behave yourself. I plan to make some connections with the Waynes while I'm here, and I doubt you mentioned all the bullying you did in those essays. I would hate for all that to reach Mr. Wayne, exposing you for the liar that you are. And before you go thinking of any funny ideas, remember I took all your friends, including your best friend, Alya, from you, along with your crush, Adrien. I even got that idiot teacher, Mlle. Bustier and the school on my side. I can do the same to the Waynes."

By the end of Lila's little speech, Marinette was looking at the floor, her knuckles white from how tight she clenched her fist, and her body trembled.

The elevator reached the lobby and dinged. The doors slid open. 

"Later, Marinette," Lila cheerfully said with a smile.

She left Marinette alone in the elevator.

Marinette waited for the elevator doors to close before leaning against the wall and sliding to the floor. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Her left wrist throbbed in time with her ragged breathing. Her emotions were stuck between unbridled anger at Lila, fear at the thought of Lila turning the Waynes against her, and sorrow at the reminder of all she had lost because of Lila. 

All the Kwamis flew out of her purse.

"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki asked.

"Do you want me to Cataclysm that liar?" Plagg asked.

Marinette shook her head, not looking up at the Kwamis. She massaged her aching wrist as she tried to get her emotions under control. 

"No, you're not okay, or no, you don't want me to Cataclysm the liar?" Plagg asked.

Tikki smacked Plagg on the back of the head. She flew into Marinette's view before moving up and cupping her chin in her tiny paws.

"Marinette, look at me," The Kwami of creation said gently.

Marinette slowly opened her eyes. A single tear ran down her cheek. She looked at Tikki with water eyes.

"Good," Tikki smiled softly, "Everything is going to be okay. Lila's lies won't trick Mr. Wayne and his family. They are far too smart for that. Even if they are tricked somehow tricked by Lila. You are still Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the strongest person I know. You are still CDM, the rising star of fashion, who will one day have a fashion company bigger than Gabriel Agreste's. You are still Ladybug, the defender of Paris, Guardian of the Miraculous Box, and the best Ladybug I've ever had. No one else would have been able to wield both the Ladybug and Cat miraculouses for as long as you, much less as well as you."

Marinette seemed to brighten up slightly until Tikki mentioned her being Ladybug. She chuckled sadly. "Some Ladybug I am. It's been three years since Shadow Moth started terrorizing Paris, and I'm no closer to discovering who he is than when I started. I barely have a team, if you can even call it that."

"Marinette, don't think like that. Most other Ladybugs would have given up by now, but you're still trying to protect the people of Paris," Tikki said.

"Yeah, kid, the same magic that helps protect your identity also protects Shadow Moth since he is using a miraculous. It's a double-edged sword," Plagg said, moving into Marinette's line of sight.

Kaalki and Mullo follow Plagg into Marinette's view but remained silent, simply giving supportive looks.

Marinette didn't say anything. She gently wiped away the tears, careful not to mess up her makeup, and slowly stood up. She took some ibuprofen from her purse. She tossed a few pills into her mouth, washing them down with a gulp of water from the fancy water bottle.

Once she put the water bottle back into her bag, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes a second later and smiled down at the Kwamis. "Thank you. I feel better now."

Her smile, while looking like her usual kind and bright smile, didn't reach her eyes. 

The Kwamis knew she was lying and that she knew they knew she was lying. She simply bottled up and suppressed her emotions. A skill she had gotten frighteningly good at over the years of keeping her emotions in check so that she didn't get akumatized. 

Tikki would usually call her wielder out on her lie, but the elevator at Gotham Tower wasn't the place to do so, nor did they have the time, as the class would be leaving for Wayne Enterprises in a few minutes. So, Tikki gave her one last sad look before silently flying back into her purse.

Plagg opened his mouth, looking like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind at the last second. He followed Tikki into the purse. 

Kaalki and Mullo also followed the other two Kwamis into Marinette's purse. As much as they didn't like to admit they weren't as close to Marinette as Tikki or Plagg were, despite living with her for a year now. They accepted the fact long ago. Marinette was Ladybug before she was the Guardian, and Tikki was her Kwami. They will always have a special bond with her that none of the other Kwamis would ever have with Marinette. While Plagg and Marinette bonded over the loss of Adrien as their wielder/partner. So, if Tikki and Plagg didn't think it wise to say anything, neither would Kaalki or Mullo. However, that didn't stop them from giving Marinette one last apologetic look before disappearing into the purse.

Marinette sighed once all the Kwamis were inside her purse. She was thankful they didn't push her about her "feeling better". She wasn't sure she would have been able to handle it at the moment. She didn't want to show up with red eyes from crying or fake being sick to avoid her classmates.

"Just a little bit longer," She whispered to herself.

She pressed the button to open the elevator doors. She walked out of the elevator to see the rest of her classmates already in the lobby. She went over to her classmates, stopping near the edge of the group. 

"Alright, it looks like everyone is here," Mlle. Bustier said, noticing Marinette's arrival, "So, let's board the bus."

The French class went outside where the bus from yesterday was waiting for them. The bus driver was the same as yesterday and the only WE employee there.

"Morning. Is everyone here?" The Driver greeted.

"Yes, everyone is here," Mlle. Bustier replied.

"Good, now hop aboard everyone. The less time we spend on the streets of Gotham, the better," The Drive said.

The French class swiftly boarded the bus, taking the same seats as yesterday, and The Driver started the bus.

It was a short drive to Wayne Enterprises.

When the bus arrived at WE, it pulled up to the front entrance where Dick and a young woman Marinette didn't recognize were waiting for them.

"We're here," The Driver opened the bus doors.

The French class disembarked from the bus, and Dick greeted them with a big smile.

"Welcome to Wayne Enterprises, Richard Grayson, but you can just call me Dick, and this is my adopted sister, Cassandra Cain."

"Hello," Cassandra gave a small smile.

Cassandra's analytical eyes were already analyzing each of the students and Mlle. Bustier. She looked for anything that stood out about the French class, paying special attention to Marinette, Lila, and Alya, who was a confirmed Miraculous user.

Alya didn't stand out in any particular way. She had an average build for a girl her age and didn't wear anything that might have been a miraculous. Granted, she didn't know what a miraculous looked like. Plus, Ladybug always took them back, so it wasn't likely Alya had one on her. What stood out the most about the girl was that she was taking a bunch of pictures with her phone. The pictures were of nothing specific, seeming to be the picture taking of an excited teen. Cassandra didn't think much of it.

Lila didn't stand out in any particular way in terms of physique, but Cassandra's sharp eyes did notice that she was wearing colored contact lenses. That made Cassandra raise an eyebrow mentally, and she made a note about it on the tablet she was holding. Cassandra didn't see anything that might have been a miraculous on Lila, making her wonder if the contacts might have been a miraculous, though she thought it was unlikely.

Marinette was a different story. Cassandra could tell that she was fit. It was a bit hard to tell just how fit she was with her loose clothes and jacket, but it was clear she was leaner and muscular than a girl who was a fashion designer with no physical extracurricular activities should have. Cassandra wondered if that physique was from fitting supervillains in Paris or if she happened to be into fitness. After all, the miraculouses were magic. She knew Shazam wasn't much fitter than the average teen when he was just Billy Batson. So, Marinette didn't need to be as fit as herself to fight supervillains if she was magically enhanced.

Cassandra noticed Marinette's surgical scar on her left wrist, which barely peaked out of her jacket when Marinette moved in a certain way, and the slight difference in muscle development between her arms. 

Cassandra wondered if she got it from when she punched Chloé. She knew it was possible to hurt one's wrist by punching someone, especially if it was hard enough to break someone's jaw. If it were powerful enough to damage her wrist to the point of needing surgery, her fingers would likely have suffered significant damage, too. However, the only scars she could find looked like they came from accidents in the kitchen and not broken fingers or the surgery needed to repair them. Cassandra noted to look into Marinette's medical history on the tablet. 

Cassandra also noticed Marinette's earrings and that, other than Mlle. Bustier, no one else was wearing earrings. She wondered if earrings weren't something teenage girls wear in Paris or if it was something else. The two necklaces under her shirt didn't escape Cassandra's eyes either. She didn't know if Marinette was careful about her necklaces getting stolen or if she wanted to keep them hidden for another reason. However, Cassandra didn't mention Marinette's earrings or necklaces in her tablet, seemingly forgetting to do so. 

While Cassandra was analyzing the French class, Dick talked to Marinette.

"Good morning, Marinette. Did you sleep well?" Dick asked with his signature smile. 

"Yes, I did." Marinette smiled back. 

Dick noticed her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"That's good to hear," Dick replied, "and before I forget Kori and Mar'i told me to say hey."

Marinette's smile brightened, becoming a little more genuine at the mention of Kori and Mar'i.

"Tell them I said hey back and that I'm glad to hear they are doing okay after what happened to them in Paris."

The hairs on the back Dick's neck stood on end, and he felt the sudden need to check on Kori and Mar'i.

"What happened to Kori and Mar'i?" Cassandra asked.

"You didn't tell her about Paris?" Marinette asked Dick tilting her head. 

Dick gave her a sheepish look and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I think Cassandra was away on a business trip when I got back. And by the time she returned, the whole thing had blown over. So, I guess I forgot to mention it. Sorry, Cass."

"It's fine, so long as you tell me what happened in Paris?" Cassandra glared at Dick. 

"Little help here, please?" Dick glanced towards Marinette.

"Well, I was dead at the time. But according to my Papa, Kori, Mar'i, and himself were eaten by a giant sentishark."

Dick managed to keep the surprise off his face, remembering that it wasn't supposed to be new information to him. Cassandra let the surprise slightly show on her face.

"Damian mentioned that Ladybug's powers could revive people, but I didn't believe him," Cassandra said.

"It is an experience," Marinette chuckled nervously.

"I'm glad Ladybug was there to fix everything," Cassandra said.

"Yeah, Paris would be in ruins if not for her," Marinette replied.

"For now," Alix commented, grabbing their attention.

"What do you mean for now?" Dick asked.

"Well, Ladybug has been slipping ever since Chat Noir left the team. She's having more and more trouble taking on the akumas and only hands out miraculouses on rare occasions. People are starting to question her decision-making, and some are even calling for her to hand over her miraculous and the others to more worthy people," Lila answered.

Lila took out her phone and opened the Ladyblog. She pulled up a recent poll on the blog. She showed the poll to Dick and Cassandra. "This a recent poll on Ladybug's approval rating."

The poll showed a 26.9% disapproval rate for Ladybug. While Cassandra and Dick were focused on the phone, Lila shot Marinette a dirty look—a reminder of the elevator conversation. 

Marinette looked away from Lila and at the ground. She knew about the poll, but Tikki and the other Kwamis forbid her from looking at it after she spent a whole night stressing over actually giving the miraculouses to someone else. That was back when the disapproval rate was around 5%. It took all her willpower not to break down crying or spiral into a storm of negative thoughts.

"Has Ladybug said anything about it?" Dick asked.

"She hasn't given an interview in over a year," Alya answered, "Trust me, I tried to get one. Also, after Chat Noir left, she only stays behind long enough to make sure the akumatized victim is okay before leaving, even when she has extra time. When she used to stay for a minute or two to say hey to the citizens of Paris if she had the time."

"Extra time?"

"All the Paris Superheroes have a special power that, once they use it, they will transform back after five minutes. Ladybug's power is Lucky Charm. She has to use it to cast the Miraculous Cure that fixes all the damage, but the five minutes start when she uses Lucky Charm, not the Miraculous Cure. So, sometimes she doesn't have much time left after the akuma is purified."

"I can't really fault her for leaving right after. Batman doesn't hang around for reporters either," Dick replied.

"Yes, but Ladybug isn't like Batman," Adrien commented, "at least she wasn't."

"And you said this change started after Chat Noir left?"

"Yes," Adrien replied, "Though Ladybug was already becoming colder before Chat Noir left. It got worse afterward. Personally, I think he actually quit because she became too bossy and cold, and he couldn't put up with it anymore."

Dick and Cassandra sympathized with Chat Noir, assuming Adrien's statement was true. Both remembered how Bruce used to be in the past. 

Marinette's attempts to stop her depressive thoughts came to a halt as a wave of anger overtook her. Her head snapped towards Adrien. A look of pure rage on her face. She couldn't believe he had the gall to call her bossy and cold when he was the one who harassed her with his pick-up attempts and became irate when she sidelined him in a plan. She took his miraculous because of his behavior. When she offered to let him continue using it, he told her no.

The expression of rage lasted for only a second before Marinette managed to school her features back to a more neutral expression. However, it was long enough for Dick, Cassandra, and Lila to notice. 

Dick and Cassandra wondered what caused such an expression on what seemed like a sweet girl. Maybe she was a huge fan of Ladybug? 

Lila, on the other hand, slightly smirked. She knew Marinette was a fan of Ladybug, and having her crush insult her favorite hero must have really gotten to her.

"Really, what makes you say that?" Dick asked. 

"I don't know, just a hunch from what I know about the heroes," Adrien said with a nervous shrug.

Marinette barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes at his lousy lie.

Dick and Cassandra looked like they bought Adrien's lie, but both of them saw right through it. The magic that was protecting Marinette's identity from being discovered stopped protecting Adrien's identity shortly after the cat miraculous was taken from him. So, nothing was stopping the secret vigilantes from figuring out who he used to be.

However, Dick and Cassandra didn't know if Adrien's lie was because he used to be Chat Noir or if he knew who Chat Noir was. Cassandra made a note to look into Adrien more on her tablet.

"Um, excuse me, I hate to intrude, but are we going to start the tour soon?" Max interrupted, raising a hand. 

Some French students groaned at Max's interruption, and Kim even said, "Nerd."

"Oh, right, right, sorry, got a little distracted with finding out about Paris and all that," Dick apologized and checked his watch. "Yes, we do need to get started on the tour. We do have a schedule to keep, after all. So, let's get going. After the tour, there will be plenty of time to continue the Paris superhero conversation."

Dick gestured to the entrance of Wayne Enterprises, and the French class started walking towards it. Dick jogged to the head of the group while Cassandra followed along with the group, staying near the middle next to Marinette.

When they walked into the lobby, Dick started the tour with a brief explanation of the founding of WE.

"Wayne Enterprises was founded in the 17th century by the brothers Judge Soloman Wayne and Joshua Wayne. Back then, it was just a merchant house, a place for people to gather and discuss business. Soloman's son, Alan Wayne, officially made it into a corporation in the 19th century, making Wayne Shipping, Wayne Chemicals, and Wane Manufacturing. Over time, WE has diversified into many different areas of enterprise. Alan's grandson, Patrick Wayne, saw WE through both World Wars and the Great Depression. Partick's wife, Laura, also pushed for the company to become environmentally conscious during the time. I can proudly say that WE has kept up ever since. Wayne Enterprises also created and supports many charitable organizations that range from helping those in need to dictator relief to medical advancements to arts and education, amongst many others. During the tour, you'll get to see some of the latest innovations that WE is currently working on. Some of which are fairly secret, so you won't be allowed to take any pictures or videos of them."

Everyone turned to look at Alya, who was currently taking multiple pictures of Wayne Enterprise' elegant lobby. It took Alya a second to notice everyone looking at her. She slowly lowered her phone, slightly blushing.

"Sorry, I won't take any pictures when you tell us not to."

"Good, because if you do, we will find out, and we will send the blood-sucking lawyers at you," Dick smiled, though everyone understood the seriousness of his warning.

"Blood-sucking lawyers?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

Dick shrugged, and Cassandra rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, the first place we'll be visiting will you won't have to worry about that," Dick smiled at the group. 

He guided them towards the elevators to begin the tour.

The tour proceeded smoothly. The French class's enthusiasm varied from person to person, depending on which department the group was in. Still, overall, the class was talking amongst themselves excitedly about what they were seeing. 

Marinette remained quiet since she had no friends in the French class, and Dick was busy giving the tour. She stayed near Cassandra at the end of the group. She enjoyed the woman's calming presence.

  Cassandra made a couple of comments here and there but was mostly quiet throughout the tour. She didn't try to strike up a conversation with Marinette, almost like she could sense that Marinette wasn't in the mood to talk at the moment.

The tour continued until lunchtime. The tour group went to the food court located in WE. Various restaurants lined the food court's walls, including but not limited to Big Belly Burger, Taco Wiz, Planet Krypton, and even Bat Burger. 

"And here is the food court. As you can see, we have plenty of choices, and it's all covered by WE, so get whatever you like. You'll have an hour to eat. Then we'll continue with the tour," Dick said and gestured for the French class to go eat.

  Most of the class took off running towards different restaurants, while the others walked more calmly toward the restaurants. Dick, Cassandra, and Marinette were the only ones who didn't immediately head towards a restaurant. 

Marinette watched as her classmates and teacher spread out. Most of her classmates headed to Bat Burger for obvious reasons, while the rest went to a few other restaurants. She looked at the restaurants that none or a couple of classmates visited for possible lunch choices. She also unconsciously rubbed her wrist as it started to ache again.

"Are you okay?" Cassandra softly asked.

"Huh?" Marinette turned to look at her.

She was surprised to see Cassandra and Dick look at her with genuine concern.

"Does your wrist hurt?" Cassandra gestured to her wrist.

"Oh, no, I'm fine. It's just an old injury, is all. Nothing you need to worry about," She said, waving away their concern. 

"Are you sure?" Cassandra asked, looking directly at Marinette's left wrist.

She quickly pulled her hands behind her back.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's nothing, really," She gave a weak smile.

"May I ask how you injured your wrist?"

"Oh, huh, I'm pretty clumsy and fell downstairs about a year ago. I broke my wrist pretty bad. I had to get surgery to get metal plates and screws put in my wrists to fix it."

Marinette's words were just a little too fast, and she broke eye contact a little too much for Cassandra and Dick to fully believe her. They didn't think she was lying about falling down the stairs and breaking her wrist, nor the severity of the injury. The clumsiness, however, they didn't fully believe. 

"Well, do you need painkillers, ice, or a compression sleeve?" Cassandra asked.

"No, no, no, you don't have to trouble yourselves for me. I'll be fine, really," Marinette answered.

"There is no need to be like that, Marinette," Dick said, crossing his arms, "It's okay to ask for help when you need it. We would like to help you. It's really no trouble."

"Thank you, really. But I do have some painkillers in my purse," Marinette quickly reached into her purse and pulled out the bottle of ibuprofen. She gave it a quick shake, making it rattle.

"That's good. Do you have a compression sleeve? It can help with pain, maybe even possibly even keep it from happening in the first place," Dick said.

"No, but you don't need to get me a compression sleeve, really."

"I would go ahead and say yes, sweetie. He's a stubborn one," said a new voice from behind Marinette.

Marinette turned around to see Harley walking up to them.

"Hello, Marinette. It's nice to finally meet you in person," Harley smiled, "Love the outfit, by the way, very Nightwing-esque."

"Oh, aw, thank you," Marinette lightly blushed.

"No problem, Dickie bird here is a huge fan of Nightwing," Harley smiled teasingly at Dick.

Dick blushed a little while Cassandra snickered.

"Yes, I am. I planned to compliment you on your outfit but got distracted by learning about Ladybug and Paris."

Marinette blushed deeper.

"Aw, you're adorable," Harley smiled.

  Harley raised her arms to wrap Marinette in a hug but stopped when she saw Marinette flinch away. She lowered her arms. 

"Anyways, you really should get a compression sleeve for your wrists if it is still bugging you. I think we have some here. We are testing some new materials for them, right?" Harley continued.

"I think so," Dick replied.

Cassandra did a quick search on her tablet. 

"We are. Sports science department," Cassandra stated.

"Great," Harley clapped her hands, "send them a message to send a runner up here with a sleeve."

"You don't have-" Marinette started to say but was cut off by Harley.

"Stop right there, Sweetie. I know what you're about to say, and it won't work. We will get you a compression sleeve whether you like it or not. So, you might as well be a good girl and just accept it with a smile."

Marinette looked at Dick and Cassandra.

"I would save yourself some trouble and accept it. She got my dad to marry her. That's no small feat," Dick said, and Cassandra nodded in agreement. 

Harley smiled victoriously at Marinette, who sighed in defeat.

"Good, now let's get some lunch while we wait for the compression sleeve," Harley said, "What are you in the mood for? Bat Burger is pretty good."

Marinette looked towards Bat Burger, where most of her classmates went. None of her classmates were there. All her classmates had already got their food and sat at the tables and booths littering the food court. She caught Lila giving her a dirty look. She knew she was going against her warning. She also knew the liar was going to make her pay for it.

"Okay, Bat Burger works," Marinette replied.

If Lila was going to turn the Waynes against her, she might as well enjoy being in their good graces while she could.

"Great, let's go." 

Harley herded Marinette, Dick, and Cassandra toward Bat Burger. 

Marinette and Cassandra got a Batburger, Dick got a KGBLT, and Harley got Night-Wings, making Dick roll his eyes. Since Marinette got her food first, she picked a table far enough away from the rest of her class to give her some distance but not so far away as to seem like she was avoiding her classmates. The Waynes sat down at the table shortly after.

"Are you enjoying the tour so far?" Dick asked.

"Yes, you are an excellent tour guide," Marinette replied.

"Glad to hear. I'm actually a detective for Blüdhaven, so giving tours isn't something I do often."

"Then why are you giving us a tour if you're a detective?" Marinette asked.

"I still help out with stuff around here every now and again, and once I heard you had won the contest. I volunteered to be your tour guide."

"Oh, thank you, but you didn't need to do that," Marinette replied.

"It's no problem. It gave me the chance to see the family again, and I always appreciate that. Granted, Blüdhaven isn't that far from Gotham, but it's still nice."

"Well, then, I'm glad I could be an excuse for you to see your family."

"Also, Kori and Mar'i wanted to see you again. Maybe we could arrange for you to have dinner with us before you leave for Paris?" Dick asked hopefully.

"Oh, that would be fantastic," Harley smiled.

"I don't know, maybe. It'll depend on the schedule, but I think we have most nights free," Marinette replied in disbelief.

She could hardly believe she was invited to dinner with the Waynes—one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the entire world. Even Gaberial Agreste couldn't come close to touching the Waynes.

"Oh, trust me, I know you have the free time. I help make your schedule after all," Harley said, "That said, it'll probably have to be this Wednesday or later to make sure everyone clears that night so we can all eat together."

"I think this Thursday will work. If that works for you, Marinette?" Dick asked.

"Yes, Thursday is fine," Marinette replied.

"Great, Thursday night for dinner," Harley smiled.

"Now that that's settled," Dick said, "May I ask you something?"

"Sure, I guess," Marinette replied, keeping the worry out of her voice.

"What do you think of Ladybug?" Dick asked.

"Excuse me?" Marinette stiffened.

"What do you think of Ladybug? I noticed you gave the blonde pretty boy quite the glare when he mentioned her being cold. I'm assuming that you're a fan of hers. So, I wanted to get your opinion about her."

"Oh, ah," Marinette was caught off guard by the question.

Had she ever had to give her opinion about her superhero identity to someone before? If she had, it had been a while since she had done it. What did she think of herself as Ladybug? 

Despite what Tikki had said earlier, Marinette considered herself to be a failure of a Ladybug. Shadow Moth had been terrorizing Paris for three years, and she still had no idea who he might be. She lost her partner seven months ago and has yet to find a new one. Not to mention, over a quarter of Paris thought she was failing at being Ladybug. 

However, she didn't want them to be warned about what was happening in Paris. So, should she lie and give a glowing review of Ladybug despite her own opinion of her superhero identity? After all, almost three-quarters of Paris still approved of her being Ladybug. Plus, they did think that she was a fan of Ladybug. It would be strange if she talked about Ladybug's flaws.

Luckily, Marinette was saved from having to answer the question by her phones and the rest of the French class's phones, going off with the familiar akuma alert sound.

"What is that?" Harley asked.

Marinette reached inside her jacket to grab her personal phone but stopped herself, remembering that she wasn't in private. She turned off the alarm on her personal phone before grabbing her cheap phone and pulling it out.

"It's the akuma alert," Marinette explained.

"Akuma alert. Aren't they the thing Shadow Moth turns people into?" Dick asked.

"Yes, it is," Marinette replied.

She pulled up the akuma alert app on her phone. It showed an image of a maroon-colored gorilla that was at least a story tall with torn blue jeans and a large 'U' shaped belt buckle. There was no name for akuma yet, and Marinette didn't recognize the akuma either, meaning it was a new one. She pulled up a live feed from one of the drones the city of Paris employed so people could watch the Ladybug fight akuma. She angled the phone so that the others at the table could see. The rest of the French class were already watching on their own phones. 

Marinette wanted to find the nearest hiding spot to transform into Pegabug and teleport back to Paris to deal with the akuma. Still, she couldn't without it looking suspicious. 

She had to wait.

"Where is Ladybug? Shouldn't she be there by now?" Rose asked after a couple of minutes passed.

"Maybe something is holding her up?" Nino suggested.

"Like what? She's a superhero with magic powers. She can literally teleport with the horse miraculous. What could possibly hold her up?" Alya asked.

"Maybe she's in a situation where she can't leave without risking her secret identity?" Adrien suggested.

Marinette watched silently as the akuma grabbed a car and sent it flying into a building. She couldn't take sitting idle anymore. She handed the phone to Harley.

"I have to go to the restroom."

Marinette left the table before anyone could question her. She didn't need to ask for directions to the restroom since signs marked them. She rushed into the women's restroom. She checked to ensure that all the stalls were empty.

Once she was sure she was alone in the bathroom, she went into the stall farthest from the door and locked it. She opened her purse, and the Kwamis flew out of it.

"Okay, we need to be quick. I have ten minutes tops before people start to ask questions," Marinette said quickly.

"Do you think you can get it done that quick, kid?" Plagg asked, "No offense, but it usually takes you about half an hour to defeat an akuma."

"Don't really have a choice. I can't just sit by and let that akuma destroy Paris, and I can't let people know that I'm Ladybug, either. So, I'll have to do it in ten minutes," Marinette replied.

"Then you better get going. Time is already ticking," Kaalki said.

Marinette took the horse miraculous out of her jacket pocket and put them on.

"Dual metamorphosis."

Marinette transformed into Pegabug. 

"Voyage."

She created a portal in the stall and jumped through it. The portal disappeared behind her.

Pegabug appeared on the roof of a building not far from where the akuma rampaged.

"Kaalki, divide."

Pegabug transformed into Ladybug as Kaalki came out of glasses. Ladybug took a sugar cube from her yo-yo and gave it to Kaalki.

"Thanks, Kaalki. Recharge. Hopefully, this will be quick."

"Just be careful, okay," Kaalki replied and ate the sugar cube.

She disappeared back into the horse miraculous. Ladybug put the miraculous safely into yo-yo. 

Ladybug swung off the rooftop towards the sounds of destruction.

She landed on a rooftop on the same street as the akuma. The ape akuma was smashing a car with a light post and shouting, "Ladybug, where are you!? Come out and fight me!?"

Ladybug took out her yo-yo and opened it to check the akuma alert. She hoped it had been updated with where the akuma was hiding. Unfortunately, the akuma alert hadn't been updated with that information, but it had been updated with the akuma's name, Ape Fighter.

"Of course, it doesn't have the location of the akuma," Ladybug sighed, "At least there is no sentimonster."

She closed her yo-yo.

"Okay, let's see if we can wrap this up quickly. Lucky Charm."

Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the air as she called upon her power. Her outfit changed slightly as she did. Her hands, waist, and upper thighs turned black, her neck turned from black to red, and she gained a zipper down the front of her suit. A ring appeared from the lucky charm. A ring in the shape of the cat miraculous.

Ladybug barely had time to register what the Lucky Charm was before she had to jump out of the way of a light post turned javelin. Her Lucky Charm had attracted the attention of Ape Fighter.

She landed on the street with Ape Fighter, who was already charging at her. She backflipped away from Ape Fighter's first right hook of his long-reaching fist and ducked under the following left hook.

However, she could not dodge Ape Fighter's third attack, an uppercut. His knuckles dragged against the street during the swing, tearing up the asphalt like a hot knife through butter, before connecting with Ladybug's unprotected torso.

Ladybug felt all the wind get forcibly knocked out of her as she was sent flying through the air. She crashed through the edge of a roof, which sent her tumbling. She crashed down several blocks away onto a car, crushing its roof.

Ladybug remained unmoving, embedded in the car. She had been knocked out cold from the force of Ape Fighter's punch. 

A drone streamed the image of an unconscious Ladybug lying on top of the crushed car to everyone watching on the akuma alert app, including those in Gotham. 

"What's going on? Why isn't she moving?" Alya asked, worry seeping into her voice. 

Cassandra, Dick, and Harley all turned to look at the French class. They saw the looks of concern on the foreign class's faces and assumed that Ladybug didn't usually stay down for this long after hits like that. They didn't know if they should be impressed that Ladybug could usually take attacks hit like that or worried that something was wrong with her.

"Is she dead?" Alix asked.

"No way, she can be dead. She's taken plenty of hits like that before and got right back up," Kim replied.

"Then why isn't she getting up now?" Alix retorted.

"If she was dead, she would have turned back to her civilian form," Alya said, "I think."

"Still, something is wrong," Max said.

"Yeah, but what?" Alya asked.

The Bat Family's worries grew with each exchange between the students. 

"Wait, she's moving!" Adrien exclaimed.

Ladybug softly groaned as she started to regain consciousness. Her eyes fluttered up before she went into a small coughing fit. She pulled herself off the car's roof and onto her hands and knees on the street. The world still spun slightly as her coughing fit subsided, and she pushed herself up on shaky legs. She needed to lean against the remnants of the car to remain standing.

Despite the protest of her aching ribs, she took slow, deep breaths as she tried to understand what was happening. She had taken plenty of hits over the years as Ladybug. Hell, she'd been sent flying halfway across Paris before, and not once had she ever blacked out from a hit until now. Nor had she ever been in as much pain after a hit. Her entire body ached, specifically her stomach and ribs. She didn't think anything was broken, but it was definitely the kind of ache that would last a while.

Ladybug then remembered her Lucky Charm in the shape of the cat miraculous. She looked down at her hands, thinking she had dropped it. She felt relieved when she saw that she slipped it onto her right middle finger subconsciously when she was avoiding Ape Fighter's attacks.

With the Lucky Charm secured, Ladybug opened her yo-yo and pulled out the cat miraculous. Plagg immediately flew out of the miraculous and up to Ladybug's face.

"Kid, are you okay?" Plagg worriedly asked.

"I don't know," She replied, "I've never blacked out after a hit before, much less felt like I was hit by a truck."

"It's the imbalance in the Ladybug and Cat miraculous energy. You're reaching the point where the effects are starting to get serious. The magic isn't as strong as it's supposed to be, so you are going to be weaker, both offensively and defensively."

"That's just great," Ladybug huffed before wincing as the action aggravated her sore chest.

If Ladybug was being honest, she didn't feel the same amount of power and energy she used to feel when she transformed into Ladybug. She guessed it was such a gradual decline in power that she didn't fully notice until now.

"Anyways, it looks like you're up," Ladybug continued, showing him the Lucky Charm.

"Then let's get to it," Plagg flew into his miraculous.

She slipped the cat miraculous on her left middle finger. 

"Unify, Divide Tikki," Ladybug said quickly.

There was a flash as she became Bug Noire for a split second before transforming into Lady Noire. Her Lady Noire outfit hadn't much changed over the years. It was still the same black catsuit with green accents on her knees, forearms, waist, and neck. However, it now had a florescent green strip run down from her elbows to her wrists before branching out to follow the bones in her hands to her fingertip. The same could be said for her knees down to her feet and toes.  She also had a florescent green streak travel the length of her floor-length ponytail, and the tip of her cat ears was the same green.

She would have stayed in Bug Noire form, but the strain of wielding the cat and ladybug miraculouses was a lot. The current imbalance between the two energies exacerbated the strain to the point that she could only use the form for a brief time. Plus, Marinette wanted to avoid being tempted to make a wish using the power of the cat and ladybug miraculouses. A temptation that grew the more challenging things got for her.

Lady Noire felt a wave of dizziness overtake her, and she had to lean against the car again.

"Ma- Lady Noire, are you okay?" Tikki worriedly asked.

"Yeah, to give me a second."

Lady Noire raised a hand in a sign to give her a moment. The change from Ladybug to Bug Noire to Lady Noire was quite the whirlwind of energy, especially regarding Bug Noire.

Unfortunately, Lady Noire's break was cut shorter than she would have liked as Ape Fighter came crashing down onto a car down the street from where Lady Noire was resting.

"Guess the break is over," Lady Noire quipped.

She took a deep breath, her chest hurting less than before, and stood up to her full height. Tikki flew into her miraculous.

"There you are, little bug, or should I say little kitten?" Ape Fighter said.

Ape Fighter roared and pounded his chest before rushing at Lady Noire.

Lady Noire extended her staff and got in a fighting stance. She didn't have much time to think of a plan as Ape Fighter rapidly approached her. However, she found that she could only think about not wanting to get hit by Ape Fighter's massive fist now that they could severely damage her. Her eyes widened when she also found that her body wouldn't move.

She was frozen with fear. 

Lady Noire couldn't believe it. She had taken on akumas in her civilian form before, even if it was only a brief distraction. So why would she freeze now when she was Lady Noire?

Unfortunately, she didn't have long to ponder the question as Ape Fighter was already in striking range. The fear of getting hit by Ape Fighter overrode whatever fear kept her frozen, and she managed to dodge Ape Fighter's first swing. She extended her staff to launch herself into the air away from him. However, Ape Fighter grabbed her staff and swung it over his shoulder and down to the ground, slamming Lady Noire, who was still holding onto it, into the ground.

Lady Noire yelped as she suddenly changed direction. She got the wind knocked out of her for the second time that day. Ape Fighter didn't give her time to recover. He jumped high into the air, combining his hands to make one giant fist intending to crush Lady Noire. 

Lady Noire rolled out of the way the moment before Ape Fighter turned her small crater into a much larger crater. She used the momentum of her roll to roll to her feet. She stared at Ape Fighter like a scared cat for a brief moment before running down a nearby narrow alleyway.

Her breathing and thoughts were erratic as she fled from the akuma. He tried to follow her, but she swiftly lost him through the many narrow alleyways in the area. She could hear Ape Fighter's roars of frustration and him smashing buildings and cars while she fled. 

Once she had a comfortable distance between herself and the akuma and didn't think he could find her easily, she leaned against the alley wall. She closed her eyes as tight as she could, trying to keep tears from slipping out. She screamed and slammed her fist against the wall, cracking it, as the tears slipped out. They were tears of anger, frustration, and embarrassment at herself for being scared and running away from an akuma in fear. 

Luckily, she had lost the drone watching the akuma and her when she had lost the akuma, so her little breakdown wasn't broadcast to everyone. However, the drones still caught her running away.

"Why is she running away?" Kim asked.

"Looks like she finally broke and is showing everyone her true colors as the scaredy cat she is," Lila said. It took all her willpower to keep the slight grin on her face and not break out into a wide, maniacal smile and laugh.

"Maybe she is going to get one of the other heroes," Adrien suggested weakly. Clearly not believing his own words. He knew what Ladybug, or Lady Noire in this case, looked like when going to get help or making a tactile retreat, and what he just watched was neither.

"Does this mean Shadow Moth is going to win?" Nino asked meekly.

"I hope not," Alya replied. Her voice equally as soft. 

Nino grabbed his girlfriend's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

Harley's grip on Marinette's cheap made her knuckles turn white and the cheap casing of the phone creak. Cassandra, Dick, and Harley wanted to leap up from the table, call the rest of the Bat Family, and head to Paris to help the struggling superhero. They couldn't, though. They all knew it would take too long and raise too many questions if all the Bat Family suddenly showed up in Paris. Plus, they still didn't fully understand what they were dealing with.

Back in Paris, Tikki came out of her miraculous still accessible on Lady Noire's ears. She did a quick look around to make sure no one was around. Lady Noire had stopped screaming and crying and was sitting on the ground with her knees up to her chest despite the ache the position caused.

"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm a failure."

"You're not a failure."

"Yes, I am. I ran away like a scaredy cat."

"That's okay, Marinette. Your powers aren't as strong as they used to be due to the imbalance in the energy. It's making you vulnerable, and it scares you. It's okay to be scared, and it's not a bad thing, but it's how you let that fear rule over you that is bad. I know, Marinette. I know you won't let this fear stop you from beating that akuma. You are my brave Ladybug, or well, Lady Noire. I know I can speak for the other Kwamis when I say that you're also the best guardian we've ever had. We couldn't ask for a better one."

Lady Noire smiled sadly at the ground.

"That's two pep talks today, and lunch isn't even over yet. That's got to be a new record."

"Maybe, but it's been quite the eventual morning. Now, get up. It's been eight minutes since you left. That gives you two minutes to wrap this up and get back to Gotham."

"That's not a lot of time," Lady Noire got to her feet.

"I know you can do it. I have complete faith in you."

"What would I do without you?" She smiled gently at Tikki.

"Be locked in your room freaking out over your latest embarrassing mishap in front of Adrien, who you would still have a massive crush on." 

Lady Noire gagged in disgust.

"Please don't remind me of that phase of my life. I still can't believe how I acted towards him and how blind I was."

"Right, right, sorry."

Tikki flew back into her miraculous. 

Lady Noire took a deep breath. When she exhaled, she had a look of renewed determination on her face. She could hear the destruction Ape Fighter was causing off in the distance. She launched herself in the direction of the destruction with her staff. 

She landed on the street where Ape Fighter was rampaging.

"Hey, Ape Fighter, was it? Sorry about earlier, had to handle something real quick," Lady Noire said confidently.

"So, the scaredy cat has come out to play? Give me the miraculous, and I'll let you go," Ape Fighter smiled.

"You want them? Come and get them," Lady Noire replied.

Ape Fighter roared and pounded his chest before charging at Lady Noire.

Lady Noire felt the same fear of getting hit by Ape Fighter's fist as before, but it didn't make her freeze up like last time. She parried Ape Fighter's first attack with her staff, batting away his giant fist. She did the same to his second, third, and fourth attacks.

After Lady Noire parried his fourth attack, she lunged toward him. Ape Fighter instinctively took a step back to keep his distance. When he did, she got his foot with her staff and pulled it out from underneath him. 

Ape Fighter fell onto his back. He looked down at Lady Noire, only because he was massive compared to her despite being on his back, in disbelief. How was this the same person who ran away from him in fear not five minutes ago?

Lady Noire walked closer until she was standing between his legs.

"Cataclysm."

Lady Noire called upon her superpower, and black destructive magic manifested in her left palm. 

Ape Fighter's eyes locked onto the Cataclysm in her hand before flicking to his belt buckle, which didn't go unnoticed by Lady Noire. He quickly sat up and slammed his fists between his legs, where the cat theme superhero was. 

Lady Noire jumped back in time to avoid them. She retaliated by throwing her staff, which she collapsed into baton form, at Ape Fighter's head. Her baton struck him right between the eyes. He reeled back, covering his face with his massive hands, exposing his belt buckle.

Lady Noire didn't waste the opportunity presented to her. She lunged for the belt buckle and slammed her Cataclysm-covered palm onto it.

"NO!" Ape Fighter roared as his belt buckle turned black and crumbled to dust.

A purple butterfly came out of the remains of the belt buckle. Ape Fighter transformed back into his original self. His original self was a large, muscular man who was missing his shirt and had a very hairy chest and forearms. He wore tattered blue jeans with a belt and buckle similar to the one he had while akumatized. 

The man groaned and rubbed his head, coming out of his akumatized daze.

"Unify, Divide Plagg." 

Lady Noire transformed into Bug Noire and then to Ladybug. The same wave of dizziness from earlier washed over her again. This time, she was prepared for it and managed to hide its effect on her. She captured the akuma with her yo-you despite the dizziness. 

"No, more evil-doing for you, little akuma," She said as she purified and released it.

She looked at the man on the ground.

"Are you okay, sir?" Ladybug asked, offering her hand to him.

"Yeah, sorry about all the trouble," The man took her hand.

"No problem, I'm just glad you're okay."

Ladybug pulled the man up to his feet. She made a magic charm and offered it to him. "Here, this lucky charm should keep you from being akumatized in the future, so long as you don't lose it, that is."

"Thank you, I'll make sure not to lose it," The man took the magic charm. He hooked it onto his belt next to his belt buckle. "That should be a safe spot."

Ladybug nodded in satisfaction. She took the Lucky Charm cat miraculous off her right middle finger.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" She tossed the Lucky Charm into the air and called out the magic words.

The Lucky Charm exploded with a swarm of ladybugs that swept through Paris, fixing all the damage caused by Ape Fighter.

"Time to go," Ladybug said once the miraculous cure finished repairing all the destruction.

She swung away on her yo-yo. She landed on a rooftop and then jumped down into an alleyway, out of view of the drones. She took the horse miraculous out of her yo-yo.

"Okay, Kaalki, you're up. Unify"

She put the glasses on and transformed into Pegabug.

"Voyage."

A portal appeared in front of her. She leaped through it, appearing in the same stall she left from at WE. After the portal closed behind her, Plagg came out of his miraculous.

"You might want to sit down before transforming back, kid. This is going to be a rough one." He warned.

"Thanks for the warning."

Pegabug gave Plagg's head a quick scratch before sitting down on the toilet.

"Reverse morphosis."

She dropped her Pegabug transformation, turning back into Marinette. She felt the world spin for a second before going black. Plagg, Tikki, and Kaalki had to grab Marinette by the back of her shirt collar and pull her back to keep her from falling off the toilet. They pulled her back and leaned her against the stall wall. 

Mullo came out of Marinette's purse to see what was happening.

"She's bleeding!" Mullo cried out.

Blood streamed out of Marinette's nose. Mullo grabbed the toilet paper. It unrolled as she flew up to Marinette's face. She pressed the toilet paper against Marinette's bleeding nose. The other Kwamis grabbed the unrolled toilet paper and bunched it up to catch the blood that had run down to Marinette's chin. They managed to keep any blood from getting on her clothes.

"What do we do?" Kaalki asked worriedly.

"Tilt her head forward and pinch her nose," Tikki replied.

The Kwamis tilted Marinette's head forward, careful not to let her fall off the toilet in the process, and Kaalki pinched her nose.

They stayed like that for half a minute or so before Marinette's eyes started to flutter open. She let out a soft groan as she came to. 

The first thing she noticed was Tikki and Plagg looking at her with concerned looks. The second thing she noticed was difficulty breathing through her nose. She reached up to touch her nose and felt the toilet paper and Kaalki.

"You got a nosebleed," Tikki explained.

Marinette nodded in understanding. Her mind was still clouded, and she felt completely drained of energy. She broke the string of toilet paper and bunched the rest up to her nose.

She stayed on the toilet for another minute before the fog cleared her mind. She checked to see if her nosebleed had stopped. She was pleased to see that her nose had stopped bleeding. She tossed the bloody toilet paper into the toilet and flushed it. She carefully stood up.

Once she was comfortable on her feet, Marinette thanked the Kwamis.

"Thanks. I think I can handle things from here."

"Are you sure?" Tikki asked.

"Yeah, I can manage from here. I need to be getting back soon anyways."

Marinette took the cat miraculous of her hand and put it back on the necklace hidden under her shirt. She also put the horse miraculous back into her jacket pocket.

"Alright, just be careful," Tikki said.

"I will. Thank you for worrying," Marinette smiled at them.

She opened her purse as a gesture for them to go inside. The Kwamis gave her one last look of concern before flying into her purse. She left the stall and checked herself in the bathroom mirror. 

Marinette had some blood smeared around her nose, mouth, and chin, and her lipstick was smeared. She used a paper towel and water to clean up her face, and fixed her lipstick.

Once satisfied with her look, Marinette walked out of the bathroom and back to the food court. Her class talked enthusiastically about the akuma attack. From what she could overhear, it was mostly about what took her so long to get there and why she ran away.

Marinette did her best to ignore the chatter while she walked to the table where the Waynes were.

Harley, Cassandra, and Dick were also discussing what they saw. However, they were whispering, so Marinette couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Sorry for taking so long. I got a nosebleed while I was in the restroom. So, I need to deal with that. Is the akuma attack already over?" She said, taking her seat.

"A nosebleed? Are you okay?" Harley asked.

"Yeah, I think it's just the change in environment, is all. It stopped pretty quickly," Marinette waved off Harley's concern. 

"That's good, at least. If you start having them frequently, then make sure to contact a doctor," Harley said.

"I will. But is the akuma attack already over?"

"Yeah, it ended a couple of minutes ago while you were still in the bathroom," Dick replied.

"That was quick."

"How long does it usually take for her to beat an akuma?"

"I think the average is around thirty minutes."

"So, that was a fairly quick one then," Harley said, "Oh, here is your phone back."

"Thank you," Marinette took her phone from Harley and put it back in her jacket pocket.

"It's a shame you missed the fight. Apparently, Ladybug acted pretty weird during the fight from what we could overhear your classmates talking about. I would have liked to hear your opinion on the matter," Dick said.

"Sorry, I missed it, but they upload the live feed shortly after the attack is over. So, I can watch it later and give you my thoughts on it," Marinette replied.

"That would be great, thank you," Dick smiled.

"We should eat. Lunch is almost over," Cassandra spoke up.

Everyone looked down at the food on the table and realized they had only eaten a few bites, having gotten distracted by the akuma attack.

"Yeah, I guess we got a little distracted," Harley grinned sheepishly.

"Then let's eat. It'll be hard to focus on the tour if we're hungry," Dick said.

They let the conversation drop for the moment to focus on finishing their food in time. While they were eating, an intern entered the food court and walked over to their table.

"Here is the compression sleeve you asked for," The intern said, holding out a folded black compression sleeve to Harley.

"Thank you, honey, but it's for this sweetie," Harley gestured to Marinette.

"Oh, here you go, miss," The intern turned to Marinette.

"Oh, thank you," Marinette shyly took the compression sleeve.

The intern said a quick goodbye and made his way out of the food court.

The intern's appearance didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the French class.

"What was that?" Alya asked, quiet enough that Marinette's table couldn't hear her.

"Looks like Marinette asked them to get something for her," Adrien replied, equally as quiet.

"Is she seriously that entitled that she asked the Waynes for something?" Lila asked, "I wondered what she had to say to get them to do it."

"I know, she is the winner of the supposed contest or whatever, but isn't that asking a bit too much to ask to get an intern to deliver an item for her?" Sabrina asked.

"Maybe, when Dick was in Paris and visited Marinette's bakery, she gave him some 'extra friendly service' if you know what I mean?" Alya replied.

"Wouldn't be the first married man she's slept with," Alix added.

"Come on, Marinette isn't like that," Adrien said.

"Of course, the little slut is like that," Alix retorted, "She slept with both Mr. Damocles and Mayor Bourgeois."

"I think I just threw up in my mouth," Lila muttered.

"Seriously? Mr. Damocles and Mayor Bourgeois? Do you really believe that?" Adrien replied.

"How else do you think she kept from being both expelled and arrested for breaking literally Chloé's jaw? She didn't even get a detention." Alya replied.

"I still find it hard to believe," Adrien said.

"Well, even if she didn't sleep with the principal and the mayor, there are still plenty of others she slept with," Lila said, "I've overheard some of the boys in the other classes talking about their escapades with Marinette."

"I've heard some of the boys talking about it, too. She really gets around," Alix said.

Adrien was about to say something but was stopped Dick, who announced to the class, "Alright, lunch is almost over. So, if you haven't finished eating, I would finish fast. In five minutes, we'll continue to tour. So, if you need to use the bathroom, please do it now."

The French class quickly finished their food or ran off to use the bathroom.

"Welp, I got to get back to work myself," Harley said, "Enjoy the tour, and I'll see you tomorrow at the garden."

Harley waved goodbye to Marinette, Dick, and Cassandra before leaving the food court.

The second half of the tour lasted about three hours and went by just as smoothly as the first half. After the tour, the French class returned to their hotel. When they returned to the hotel, Marinette headed straight for her room.

She was utterly exhausted from fighting the akuma and could barely keep her eyes open. She didn't bother changing out of clothes as she made her way to her bed. She collapsed onto her bed. She entered dreamland as soon as her head hit the nice soft bed.