Chapter Text
The reporter's voice filled the ears of those who listened. They were horrified‚ yet curious as she said "There are other superheroes who are currently fighting Hawkmoth!"
The camera showed two different heroes instead of Ladybug and Chat Noir. One in an unfamiliar red suit and the other one in a green-blue costume. Alya's eyes widened‚ recognizing the latter. "Viperion." She said blankly. The citizens barely saw those two. Alya had no idea who was the one in red‚ but she knew Viperion from her sightings and the pictures she had in her phone. Though she couldn't recall when she took a picture of him. And it was blurry.
"Where are Ladybug and Chat Noir?" she muttered as she started to think of the worst. Even if the superheroes kept the city safe for years‚ there was no guarantee that they would win every day. On top of that‚ she knew Nino also went to the battle. He was nowhere to be seen. Where was he? Where were Ladybug and Chat Noir?
"Ryuko‚ from the left!" Viperion shouted so the other could hear.
So her name was Ryuko.
A few seconds of intense fight happened before the citizens' eyes‚ no one was really able to predict what was going on. Ryuko was as fast as lightning and Viperion moved around so quickly.
The camera suddenly went black. Those were probably the longest moments of Alya's life. What was happening? Where was Nino? Where were the superheroes Paris had grown fond of? The journalist was still talking but she wasn't listening anymore, the only sound she could hear was the one of her heart violently pounding in her ribcage. The image was back as fast as it was gone and a sound of relief was heard from Alya‚ looking at the scenery displayed on the screen.
Viperion was now in front of Hawkmoth, while Ryuko was by his side‚ retrieving the butterfly miraculous. What was left of the detransformation was a girl. She was probably their age‚ Alya guessed while watching the screen. She was covering her face‚ sobbing loudly.
"Medics in the helicopter are going down to help the girl and the superheroes."
The camera was now closer to them. Citizens could see the faces of the not-so-famed superheroes. But the longer Alya inspected‚ the more familiar that girl looked. Even if her face was blurred.
"Chat Noir and Ladybug had an emergency‚" Viperion said and added "we have to go. Stay safe‚ Parisians!" as he ran to catch up with Ryuko.
After the girl on the roof‚ with her first aid done‚ was taken to the helicopter with the others; the news took an advertisement break.
Kagami‚ currently Ryuko‚ remembered the girl. Lila Rossi. She remembered getting akumatized once‚ because of a picture involving her and Adrien.
No matter how much she despised her‚ it still made her sad to hear those desperate sobs. Her outfit wasn't presentable in any way. Her face‚ as much as she could see from the uncovered places‚ was full of bruises. There were some wounds and scratches on her arms. But she still wanted to cut out that few seconds of her life when she thought Lila could be a better person.
And since she was defeated‚ it meant that there was no Hawkmoth to trouble Ladybug and Chat Noir anymore.
Her eyes widened in horror. Ladybug and Chat Noir. They left them in that place when they told her and Viperion to go after the villain. She tapped on the other superhero's shoulder‚ "Viperion. We need to go back to Ladybug and Chat Noir."
The sharp tip of her sword faced down as she jumped away from the top of the building they defeated the villain on. She heard him say a few words to the reporter‚ before running to catch up with her.
"Do you remember where they were?" Viperion asked her as he jumped and flipped over a group of stacked up barrels.
"On the northwest." She replied‚ her voice cracking.
That didn't go unnoticed by Viperion. He would ask her about it but there was another urgency.
Their hearts were beating loudly in their chests‚ lost in the melody of the rain. The bug and cat were in no good condition when they last saw them. They didn't want to leave‚ but Ladybug forced them to‚ telling them that they'll be fine. Ryuko‚ who was an obedient ally‚ had also convinced Viperion. He was also afraid of what might be waiting for them.
She saw it. The dragon superheroine's eyes widened even more if that was possible. W-were they..?
"Viperion!" She called the other as she landed on the roof of the building she saw them on.
A woman and a man‚ with their hands touching and facing each other.
Viperion's breath hitched. Their clothing looked familiar. There was only one detail that terrified him more than he already was. Pink jeans.
He did not know of too many people who wore pink jeans‚ except...
No.
His mind was getting loaded with things that would only appear in his nightmares. Unintentional. Unpleasant. Deep down from his subconscious. Surfacing without restraint.
He walked closer to the woman's body. Internally wincing at the sight of her bruised limbs and the blood pooling around her torso‚ which was now mixed with the rainwater. Her pulse was none as he checked it. His heart started to beat faster as he looked at the face covered with messy black locks. So familiar. No. He had to check. He must be seeing things.
With one shaky hand‚ he lifted the wet bangs out of her face. A brief sight was more than enough for his heart to drop.
He couldn't utter a word. He couldn't stop his hand from shaking. They weren't here when the other two arrived. His eyes diverted to his miraculous‚ his bracelet with the power of second chance. If only they could figure out the trap sooner... Viperion could've formed a loop longer than 5 minutes unlike his younger self. He could've saved them. He could've saved Marinette.
"My fault." He whispered. It was barely audible.
He knew he was thinking nonsense. He knew he was blaming himself for something he barely had any control over. But right now, logic didn't seem likely to him as the adrenaline in his body had reached its peak. He had seen something that he wouldn't be able to forget his entire life; the colorless, cold face and the lifeless body of the woman he loved so deeply. Her face was also full of bruises. A few scratches. And she had a busted lip.
He had never felt this much hatred and grief. He never wanted to kill someone this bad. He felt guilty for not thinking of this until someone he loved took real damage. He discarded his thoughts of Hawkmoth being redeemable.
He lifted his head to see Ryuko staring at the blond man, whose head was help up from behind by her right hand. Her lips were parted‚ as if she wanted to tell him something. His locks were away from his face. It shocked him to see another familiar face. He was Adrien.
The person who played the org.
The person whose heart danced on the black and white tiles.
But now‚ he was the man whose melody had been silenced forever.
The superheroine said nothing. She just lifted her head a little and Viperion was now able to see the devastated look on her face. It was enough for him to understand. That Adrien was important to her the way Marinette was important to him.
The two superheroes stood somewhere far from the hospital they just left Adrien and Marinette in. Holding onto that little hope that maybe, maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe they both could still be saved. But there wasn't much they could do on their own. So they were here‚ just sitting on the ground‚ unsure what to do next.
"What are we going to do now?" Ryuko asked‚ her voice low. "Will Ladybug show up? "
"No idea. But I think we'll have to be extra careful with our miraculouses."
Beep.
"Speaking of which..." He said as he looked at Ryuko's choker. "You have to go. You would not want to reveal your identity."
Ryuko answered him after an unintentional‚ pained smile. "My identity? It was already known by Hawkmoth. It doesn't matter anymore." she said‚ which shocked him. She looked down at the butterfly brooch in her hand. The villain had been defeated, secret identities were of no use. She sighed. Super heroes weren't needed anymore either.
"Did I hear wrong or are you telling me that detransforming in front of me is no problem for you?"
"Maybe."
A few minutes passed by. They were just thinking of all the things that happened today‚ in the borders of their own perspectives. Neither of them spoke as the silence was too heavy to break through. But the more time passed‚ the heavier their hearts felt inside their chests. The feeling of betrayal was featherweight alongside the grief that weighed as heavy as lead. They could do nothing but breathe as they felt numb‚ the world around them feeling unreal.
"Sorry." Viperion said as he stood up‚ "I need to go. I have something important to do."
"Might as well as have said 'I don't want a reveal'."
He turned his head to look back at her. "No offense‚ Ryuko." And he jumped to the building on their right‚ running to a direction the superheroine didn't care about.
She was alone now. She stared at what was in front of her‚ to a view she also didn't care about. It would not take long for her to detransform and feed her kwami. Those things weren't what she was concerned about. She just had no idea what to do from now on. What should she do? How would she carry on?
The raven haired girl was on the floor‚ unable to move her limbs. Rain continued to wash over her clothes‚ her hair and her wounded skin. In her mind‚ she was having a brief summary of how her life had been for the past few months. Cold‚ lonely and stagnant.
Her dull eyes looked at the body that laid not so faraway from her. To the mess of blond hair‚ to the wet and stained clothes. She knew those eyes. Those emerald green eyes that no longer shined the way they used to. Those eyes she fell in love with. She smiled in pain. Her breath was still hitching‚ knowing that she was bleeding.
"Adrien?"
His gaze found hers.
He had no idea. He had no idea how she was still smiling. His face failed to express what he felt‚ because he also didn't know how he felt. The reveal didn't surprise him as much as he thought it would. He even made a mental note for himself to talk about this after the battle. Only‚ there was no 'after the battle' for them.
"It was you." His breath hitched.
"And it was you." She whispered.
It was raining. Again. Just like that day.
"Mari..." he muttered as breathing became a harder task. "We have to get up."
He felt something. It all happened too quick. He looked at the small amount of blood on the floor he just coughed. He tried to inhale deeply‚ his voice hoarse. He scrunched his face as he attempted to lift his body with the strength of his lower arms‚ which was supposed to help him get up. "We have to get up‚ Marinette."
They were practically deaf to their kwamis' voices.
"I'm afraid..." she started‚ "I can't get up‚ Kitty."
"Please. Ladybug." he said as his bruised hand formed into a fist.
"A fist huh?" she smiled again. "Pound it..?"
Adrien felt some sort of emptiness in his chest. His head felt light. He felt funny‚ must've been from the blood loss and some breathing difficulties. He had to say it. It was now or never. He couldn't let her go before she knew how he felt. He used up almost all of his strength to crawl to her side.
"I fell in love with you on a rainy day like this." she suddenly said.
He could only go as far as his body would let him. But he got a bit closer to her. At least now he could hold her hand.
"I've always loved you." His eyelids fell midway as his remaining strength gradually dissolved into pieces. He neither had the strength or the time to tell her all he wanted her to know."You're Marinette. And you're Ladybug. I love you."
Their hands were not intertwined‚ but their fingers could reach to each other's palms. "I love you too. Adrien. Chat. Two of the bravest people I ha-" Her sentence was cut midway due to a sharp pain in her abdomen that made her wince.
Adrien smiled, his eyes still closed. "I told you I would always be by your side‚ Bugaboo."
Marinette no longer had the mental strength she used to have. Tears flowed out of her eyes‚ as fast as a river would run and she let a watery chuckle escape her. "I told you to not call me Bugaboo."