Chapter Text
When her alarm went off, Chloe groaned, slapped the snooze button and shoved her head underneath her pillow.
Is it really morning already?
She squinted in thought. The Akuma attack last night had happened at such a late hour that she hadn't even remembered returning home and crawling into her bed. She must have been quite exhausted indeed if that was the case.
Honestly she felt like she could sleep for a week, but even super heroes had schedules to keep, and she knew that if she didn’t get up soon her dad was going to send Jean in to wake her. If it got to that point then she would be in for a lecture from dear old dad about responsibility. Oh, how she hated those.
Chloe sighed and shoved her covers back to climb out of bed.
It was then that she saw the actual time on her clock and that there was only a half hour left until she needed to be at school and in her seat.
“What?” She said in shock.
Her father had a strict rule about being up an hour before school so she could join him for breakfast, or well, eat breakfast alone if he was off somewhere being his busy self. But why hadn’t that happened today?
She shook her head and ran over to her dresser to toss on an outfit. Breakfast was likely a bust for today and she would definitely be hearing about it from her father later, but she very much didn’t want to be late for school. Especially on today of all days.
After she was dressed she quickly searched her dresser for the gift she had hidden there, but it was missing.
“What? Where is it!” Chloe fumed and then frantically looked around her room to see if it was somewhere else, but found that it was no where to be seen. Perhaps she had left it in her locker at school and just forgotten? In any case she needed to get going.
As she ran for the door to the hall she grabbed her purse and draped it over her shoulder.
“Tikki, I swear some days I just can’t catch a break.” Chloe said in a whisper toward the purse. There was no response so she assumed Tikki was simply still asleep. “Well, at least one of us gets to sleep in.”
She saw Jean as she approached the elevator and inwardly winced, expecting fully to get an earful. But the man simply bowed toward her and pressed the button to call the lift.
Okay. That’s odd.
The man was usually a powerhouse of rules and sternness, much like her father. Having live in ‘help’ was honestly one of the things she hated most about their family being rich, after all, if her father had to take care of her directly then maybe he wouldn’t be so distant.
She breathed in asthe lift arrived at the lobby and she prepared to quickly make her way toward the exit but found herself colliding with someone who she hadn’t seen standing there.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” Chloe blurted out as she got to her feet. She knew very well that if she had upset one of her father’s guests that she would really be in for it.
“No, no, it was my fault, Chloe!” The girl blurted out. Chloe focused on her for a moment and realized that it was Sabrina. But what was she doing here of all places and so early in the morning?
“Sabrina, why are you here?” Chloe asked and then shook her head. “Whatever, I have somewhere I need to be. So if you will excuse me.”
She twisted free of Sabrina who seemed to be attempting to help Chloe up off the floor. Chloe didn’t really have time for any of the girl’s nonsense so Chloe had started to scramble toward the exit once more before she had even stood fully to her feet. After all, if she hurried she could still make it to bakery before it was too late.
Chloe exited the hotel and turned around the end the block where she then broke into a sprint, a smile spreadingacross her face. Today may have started out wrong, but she was determined to make sure that the rest of the day was perfect.
She reached the bakery in record time and pushed open the front door, the bell above the door announcing her presence. There were a few customers present, but Tom appeared to be handling them already, leaving Sabine near the other side of the store stocking the pastry shelves.
“Good morning Mrs. Cheng.” Chloe greeted. “Is Marinette ready to go?”
The woman turned to her with a quizzical look.
“Oh… uh... Good morning, Chloe.” Sabine said with a hesitation in her voice. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid she left for school ten minutes ago.”
Chloe’s heart sank. Why hadn’t Marinette waited for her? Perhaps she had messaged Chloe and she just hadn’t noticed. Chloe quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket to look at her messages. Nothing. She then quickly scrolled to try and find her previous conversation with Marinette but it wasn’t there.
“Stupid phone.” Chloe said as she moved to the screen with her contacts to start a new conversation, but found that she only had three people listed there. Her father, Sabrina and Adrien.
Adrien Agreste and Sabrina? What? Why are they the only people in my phone?
Was someone playing some kind of prank on her? She hadn’t even been aware that she had their phone numbers to begin with. In fact, of everyone in her class she was certain those two were the only one’s she never wanted to contact.
She shook her head and then looked back up to Sabine who was still staring at her, a bewildered look upon her face.
“Sorry if I bothered you, I know how busy you can get.” Chloe said and then turned around to leave. Perhaps if she hurried, again, she could catch Marinette before class started. She waved over her shoulder at Sabine. “Have a lovely day!”
The entry bell chimed again as she left and she quickly crossed the small square toward the school that sat directly beside the bakery. Chloe could see that a couple of her classmates were walking in as she approached, a few standing on the steps talking. But there was no sign of Marinette, so she continued on inside. First she would check the locker room, after all, she also needed to find that gift.
Whens she entered the locker room she saw a familiar set of pigtails. Finally. There was Marinette by her locker talking with Alya and Nino.
“Marikins!” Chloe called out gingerly as she approached Marinette from behind. “I’m so glad I finally caught up with you!”
Marinette turned to her with a startled expression, very much matching those that Alya and Nino were wearing on their own faces.
“I tried to catch you at the bakery, but your mother said you had already left.” Chloe said as she quickly wrapped her arms around Marinette’s waist and then leaned back to look her in the eyes. “Why didn’t you wait for me?”
Chloe waited for Marinette to respond but she seemed positively stunned.
“What’s… what’s happening right now?” Nino said. “Am I having a stroke?”
Chloe looked to Nino in confusion and then to Alya. Both of their friends seemed to be confused by something. Maybe she had just come in to the room and interrupted the middle of a joke or something. Trying to figure out what she was missing, she glanced over her shoulder and saw that the other six students nearby were all also standing silently and staring at her as if she had grown a second head.
“Chl… Chloe…” Marinette mumbled and then shook free of Chloe’s arms. “What’s up with you? Are you okay?”
Chloe looked back to Marinette and then frowned at the lack of embrace.
“I’m perfectly fine.” Chloe stammered. “Why?”
Marinette glanced behind herself at Alya who shrugged and then looked back to Chloe.
“I just…” Marinette began. “Your acting very strangely.”
Chloe tilted her head in confusion. Why was Marinette saying such a thing? As far as she could tell she was behaving just as she normally did. Sure, she had been late to meet her this morning, but Marinette shared her penchant for being late, so she of all people should be understanding.
But the thought that perhaps Marinette was playing coy because of what day it was today crossed into her mind. She smiled wickedly at the notion.
“Ah. I see what this is.” Chloe said and then reached up and poked the tip of Marinette’s nose in the way that she knew she liked her doing. “Somebody is pretending she forgot about our anniversary.”
Marinette’s eyes were wide again and she quickly rubbed her nose as if the poke had annoyed her.
“Anniversary?” Alya finally said after a moment of silence that seemed to have stricken the entire room. “What Anniversary? Did I miss something?”
Chloe squinted and started to feel worry being to creep into her heart about how Marinette was acting. In fact, she seemed outright startled by the affections Chloe was giving her and hadn’t once shown any in return.
“Our… three month anniversary.” Chloe stammered, starting to feel a bit emotional about the lack of reaction she was getting. She knew that for most people three months wasn’t really a big deal, not like a full year or whatever, but to her it was important. She had never dated anyone before, so every little milestone was something to celebrate.
Chloe watched as Marinette’s cheeks grew red and she blinked a few times before looking around the room at everyone who was nearby. Was Marinette embarrassed about how openly affectionate Chloe was being in their relationship? But why? It had never bothered her before.
“Chloe. What are you doing?” A voice behind them caught everyone’s attention and Chloe turned to find that it was Adrien. She watched as he quickly walked over and placed his hand on Marinette’s shoulder, an act that all but made Chloe’s blood begin to boil. The gall of this boy.
“Are you okay?” Adrien asked Marinette with what sounded like actual concern.
Chloe rolled her eyes and then slapped his hand away from Marinette’s shoulder with a huff.
“Adrien, Marinette has already made it clear to you that she isn’t interested in your advances.” She scoffed, a statement that drew a gasp from everyone in the room. Marinette seemed to shrink in on herself at this, likely because Chloe knew her girlfriend had always felt awkward about how persistent Adrien always was. “And it’s wholly inappropriate that you are still trying since you know very well that she and I are dating.”
“Dating?” Adrien and Marinette both yelped in unison.
Chloe squinted at the reaction from both of them, in fact, everyone seemed to be very confused about her assertion. Marinette seemed positively mortified and Adrien seemed angry. Behind them Alya and Nino were exchanging glances as if trying to decide what to do.
“Alright, that’s about enough of that, Chloe.” Alya said pushing her way past Marinette. “I think you’ve had your fun. Leave Marinette alone and stop mocking her.”
Chloe stepped back in confusion at the fact that everyone seemed to be upset at her. She had actually been expecting Alya to step forward and scold Adrien, after all, he was hated by almost everyone in the class. But why was it that everything seemed backwards right now?
“I don’t…” Chloe stammered. “In what way am I mocking her?”
Alya grabbed Chloe’s arm and dragged her away from Marinette who seemed like she was about to fall to pieces.
“You know very well that she has a crush on Adrien.” Alya whispered angrily when they were out of earshot. “So pulling this… whatever this is. You really are cruel!”
Chloe blinked and staggered back.
“What… “ Chloe began to ask but then she noticed Marinette had walked up beside her and was looking at her with tears in her eyes. Chloe was immediately concerned as to why Marinette was so upset. “Marikins?”
At the mention of the pet name, Marinette’s eyes flared open once more and she slapped Chloe hard. Chloe felt the burn of her skin and reached up to touch her cheek in shock, all while never letting her eyes fall from Marinette’s gaze. Something in Marinette’s eyes changed for a moment, and it seemed as if she could sense the pain Chloe was feeling at this sudden act of betrayal by her girlfriend.
But then Marinette quickly blinked and shook her head before walking out of the room, followed shortly by everyone else. They had all glared at her angrily as they left and Chloe just stood there with her hand on her cheek. She had no idea what to think or do.
She had been planning on giving Marinette her gift and finally tell her that she loved her, those three words that she wanted Marinette to hear so badly. She had been waiting all week to do so and it had dragged on as she waited for today in anticipation.
But what had happened? This entire day seemed to be broken. First her alarm, being late, now this.
Chloe began to feel tears forming in her own eyes now and she fell into a kneel right where she was.
“What…” Chloe forced out. “Why is this happening?”
Marinette was shaking, but she couldn’t quite place what she was feeling. It had started out as confusion, turned into embarrassment, shifted to anger, but then upon seeing the hurt in Chloe’s eyes, it had became confusion once again.
The way Chloe had looked at her after she had slapped her, a look as if she had felt Marinette could never have possibly been one to strike her, a look that now shook Marinette to her very core. There was no reason to think that Chloe would have been hurt emotionally by her slap because she had deserved it for being so cruel, but she had been hurt by it, on the inside. It hadn’t been the look of anger, or frustration, or even the look of someone who wanted revenge. No, it had clearly been betrayal.
“You alright, Girl?” Alya asked as she sat beside her on their normal bench in class.
Marinette slowly looked up at her best friend and blinked in confusion.
“I don’t know what that was.” Marinette said.
“Try to not dwell on it.” Alya said squeezing her hand in comfort. “It was just Chloe being Chloe, doing whatever she can to ruin your day. I gotta say though, her means of attack today was… inventive.”
Marinette shook her head. There was something off about the entire situation, and it wasn’t sitting well with her. She happened to look up just as Sabrina entered the room, a sad look on her face. Perhaps Chloe’s human shadow would know what it was that Chloe was up to.
“Sabrina!” Marinette called out, drawing a look of surprise from the girl which quickly shifted back to sadness. Marinette furrowed her brow. Something was clearly wrong. “Are you alright?”
Sabrina shook her head.
“It’s nothing really. Chloe, just acted like I wasn’t even there this morning.” Sabrina replied and then shuffled her feet in place. “It’s not a big deal, I didn’t mind the quiet walk to school... alone. It was… nice.”
Sabrina continued on without another word and Marinette turned to Alya who also seemed intrigued by what Sabrina had said. The two of them then turned ant watched as the girl sat in her usual seat, alone as Chloe still hadn’t arrived yet.
Marinette sighed. Class was about to begin, so there wasn’t really anything more to do about any of this now. She pulled out her phone to set it to silent and noticed she had a text from her mom. It must have come in while she was distracted in the Locker room by the whole event with Chloe. She opened the message and read it.
Chloe stopped by this morning after you left.
Poor girl seemed truly disappointed and hurt that you left without her.
Marinette squinted at the words as if they were foreign to her. What in the world was Chloe playing at exactly? It was true that her parents knew that she wasn’t overly fond of Chloe, but the way her mother had worded the text seemed to indicate sincerity in Chloe’s actions. Her mother was good at spotting the pretense behind people’s behavior, so if she suggested that Chloe was hurt and disappointed, then she actually had been.
Adrien, Nino and Mme. Bustier all entered the class at the same time and as the door was shut behind them Marinette noticed that Chloe was still no where to be seen.
Why am I worried about her?
Marinette shook her head. After what Chloe had done, she should be angry, furious even, yet still something about all of this was eating away at her. She thought back to the very first moment Chloe had entered the locker room.
That look on Chloe’s face when she had called her...ugh, “Marikins”. It had been sincere as well. There was clearly no question in Chloe’s mind that what she was saying was the truth. At the time Marinette had been preoccupied with the shock involved with Chloe wrapping her arms around her waist as if they were actually a couple, so she hadn’t noticed it.
Chloe really believed we were dating.
But why? How? Could it be that she was being affected by an aku…
Marinette shot up from her seat which drew everyone’s attention.
“I uh. I need to use the bathroom.” Marinette fibbed with a blush at all of the attention her outburst had just garnered.
“Class has just begun, Marinette.” Mme. Bustier replied with a sigh, likely getting tired of Marinette’s constant excuses. “Could you perhaps wait-”
“Sorry, it’s an emergency!” Marinette said as she ran for the door.
Marinette exited the room and looked around the courtyard of the school to see if she could spot Chloe, but she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. She glanced at her phone to see if an Akuma alert had been activated. No, if there was indeed an akuma present, then no one had reported it yet.
What kind of akuma could make Chloe act this way? Was it something that scrambled people’s knowledge of their own relationships? Or, maybe… (she shivered at the thought) made them act on their hidden desires or crushes. Between the previous incarnations of Dark Cupid and Zombizou, she at least knew that emotional alterations like that were possible at the hands of an akumatized villain.
Of course, there was still of the possibility that Chloe was just being cruel again, but somehow she knew that wasn’t the case this time.
That look in her eyes…
Marinette crossed the courtyard and entered the locker room again in hopes that Chloe may still be in there, but she saw that no one was there. Or so she thought until she heard the crying.
She turned and slowly walked toward the girl’s bathroom and listened. Yeah, that was definitely somebody crying.
“Chloe?” Marinette asked as she opened the door to enter the bathroom. She glanced down the row of stalls and found that one of the doors was closed.
“Mari…?” A sob came forth.
Marinette slowly walked to the stall and leaned against it’s door.
“Are you… alright?” Marinette asked after a moment, unsure how to proceed. If the girl was being affected by the powers of an akuma, then there was no telling what she would do or be capable of. But Marinette had to be sure before she suited up and went off in search of the villain that had caused this.
“I just... don’t... understand.” Chloe said through breath catching sobs. “We were… so … happy.”
Marinette squinted and felt a bit awkward about what Chloe was saying. But clearly the girl was actually hurting. Not even Chloe could pretend this well.
“I’m sorry that I slapped you.” Marinette offered. It was at least the truth. She knew that she had been angry at the time, but she didn’t usually give into that anger in such a way.
The was a deep breath behind the door and Marinette listened as the sobbing seemed to lessen some.
“Why didn’t anyone seem to know that you and I…” Chloe began to ask and then went silent again for a moment. “...I’m so confused, kitty.”
Marinette froze. Did Chloe just call her kitty?
Before she could question any further, Marinette’s phone chimed and she looked down at it. There was indeed an akuma. Thank goodness. That meant that Chloe wasn’t losing her mind.
There was a chime in the stall as well, clearly alerting Chloe to the akuma. Marinette considered just walking out and leaving Chloe here, after all, when she used her Miraculous Ladybug power it was likely Chloe would return to normal anyway. But before she could make the move to leave, the stall door flew open and Chloe exited with a look of determination burning through the tears and smudged mascara.
“Look’s like this will have to wait.” Chloe said after giving Marinette a pained look. “We have work to do, kitty.”
Marinette blinked a few times as Chloe stood straight and clenched her fist.
“Tikki.” Chloe said, completely shocking Marinette. “Spot’s on.”
Marinette watched in wonder as Tikki’s form streaked out from where she was hiding in Marinette’s purse and spiraled into Chloe’s earrings.
Wait. WHAT?
Marinette hadn’t even noticed it before, but Chloe was wearing a pair of earrings the looked just like her own did. She quickly reached up and touched her own ears to find her own earrings were still there.
But even still, Chloe was standing before her in her Ladybug outfit, so there was no doubt that somehow she had obtained the Ladybug Miraculous without her noticing. Had she swapped hers for fakes at some point?
“Chloe… How… what?” Marinette asked, unsure as to whether or not she was the one losing her mind now.
Chloe gave her an impatient look that actually made Marinette seize up.
“What’s wrong?” Chloe asked. “Why aren’t you suiting up?”
“I … what?” Marinette said, still not able to comprehend anything. Was Chloe implying that she knew Marinette was Ladybug? But even if that were the case then how was Chloe expecting her to suit up too if Tikki was already activated elsewhere?
“Wait…” Chloe said as she looked down and quickly grabbed Marinette’s hand. “Where is your ring? Where’s plagg?”
Marinette yet again felt a bit dazed at the question. Chloe seemed to know a lot of things that she shouldn’t, although all those facts seemed to be a bit... off.
“You know about Plagg?” Marinette was finally able to ask through her daze.
“Of course I do, Marinette!” Chloe said, a bewildered look on her face. “He’s your kwami, he’s the one that gives you the power to become Lady Noire.”
“Lady…” Marinette echoed.
Chloe shook her head and then they both looked out the nearby window when they felt a rumble. Clearly the akuma attack was actually happening nearby. But Marinette was still too confused to even consider what to do.
“Look, I don’t know what’s up with you today, but we have work to do.” Chloe (or, well, Ladybug?) said to her. “Or am I going to have to go out there without my partner?”
“Your… partner?” Marinette asked and raised her eyebrow.
Chloe sighed and shook her head again.
“Guess I’m off then.” Chloe said and then gave Marinette a pensive glance. She seemed to mull something over and then after another moment rolled her eyes before leaning in to kiss Marinette on the cheek. This of course caused Marinette to stiffen with uncertainty.
She then watched as Ladybug ran from the room without another word.
Marinette stared at the door as it closed and then slowly raised her hand to her cheek, touching the spot Chloe had kissed her. She then blinked a few times in confusion.
“What… the… HELL?” Marinette finally blurted out.
Ladybug leapt up onto the nearest rooftop to survey the area. She could hear screaming in the distance as the rumbles continued to grow closer. The feeling of the rumbles almost seemed familiar to her.
And then she saw the villain and it made her straighten in surprise.
This Akuma was one she had already fought and purified the week before. Her name was Inventress. She had apparently been denied a position at a company that she had once been offered, only to later discover the company had already copied her designs and sought to keep the profits for themselves.
But why was the akuma back again?
Ladybug heard a familiar plop beside her and she smiled wide.
“So, you decided to join me after all, kitty?” Chloe said as she turned to greet her partner. But the person she saw there was not who she had expected at all.
“Uh, wait.” The black cat stammered as if confused as well. “Ladybug?”
Ladybug squinted and looked the cat in front of her up and down. This was clearly a male version of Lady Noire as he had a similar outfit, just with no green accents. But one thing was certain, he was definitely not Marinette.
She then noticed the ring on his finger and remembered that Marinette had been missing hers. So perhaps this impostor had stolen it from her somehow.
“Who are you?” Ladybug demanded. “And how did you get your hands on that Miraculous?”
The cat crossed his arms and scowled at her.
“I could ask you the same thing.” He retorted. “You are clearly a fake Ladybug. And not even a good one at that. I mean, blonde hair? Really?”
Ladybug blinked in disbelief and then looked off toward the screams again. She really didn’t have time for this.
“What is Monarch playing at?” Ladybug scoffed. “Is an akuma really not enough? Now she has to throw fake heroes into the mix too?”
The cat tilted his head.
“Monarch?” He asked.
Ladybug sighed.
“You know. The villain with Butterfly Miraculous who is hell bent on stealing mine and Lady Noire’s Miraculous as well?” Ladybug explained with a sardonic tone. Seriously, how could this guy even be pretending to be a hero if he didn’t know who the villain was.
“You mean...Hawk Moth?” The black cat asked. “You aren’t really making much sense. Seriously? Lady Noire? My name is Chat Noir and I’ve had this ring since Stone Heart first appeared.”
Another plopping was heard off to the right and both Ladybug and the fake cat looked over to find the Bee Miraculous holder standing there looking not too pleased at all. Ladybug blinked in confusion. She hadn’t handed out the Bee Miraculous since she had been given it back by its previous holder, so who was this and how did they get a hold of that Miraculous?
“Queen bee?” Chat Noir asked. “Wait, no… your hair is different… What is going on?”
The Bee crossed over toward Chat Noir and shook her head at him.
“You’re guess is as good as mine. I’m not sure what’s going on with… this other one or how she got her hands on my Miraculous.” The Bee said and then pointed at herself. “But I’m the real Ladybug.”
“Excuse me?” Ladybug scoffed and crossed her arms in offense. “The real Ladybug?”
The Bee actually had the gall to nod. Who was this person to think that they could claim to be her?
“Seriously Chloe. How did you do it?” The Bee asked earning her an eyebrow raise from Chat Noir. “How did you get my Miraculous?”
Ladybug stepped back at the sound of her own name and then looked the bee up and down. Those familiar eyes, that hair…
“Marinette?” Ladybug gasped out.
“Wait… Marinette?” Chat Noir asked, seeming taken aback. “The real Ladybug is…”
The Bee winced and then looked to Chat Noir in resignation.
“Great.” The Bee said with a sigh. “Thanks for that.”
There was another distant rumble and all three heroes glanced toward Inventress again.
“Maybe we should table this discussion until after we take out the akuma?” Chat Noir suggested. “And since I’m the only one in the correct outfit, maybe I should be the one to call the shots.”
“I beg to differ.” Ladybug scoffed. “Marinette is supposed to be Lady Noire.”
“Chloe!” The Bee yelled and stomped her foot. “Just… just follow his lead. Please? For me?”
Ladybug looked into The Bee’s eyes and saw the eyes of the girl she had fallen for as clear as day. She really couldn’t say no to Marinette, so she sighed and nodded.
“Fine.” Ladybug said, but then nodded toward the akuma. “But you should know that the akuma is inside Inventress’s tool belt.”
“How… how do you know that?” The Bee asked.
“We took this akuma out last week.” Ladybug said with a sigh and the looked to The Bee. “But let me guess, you don’t remember that?”
Both The Bee and Chat Noir shook their heads.
“Yeah…” Ladybug said and shook her head finally noticing a pattern to all of this. “Seems obvious now that I’m the odd one out here. So please, by all means, lead on.”
Chat Noir and The Bee nodded to each other and then leapt off toward the akuma, leaving Ladybug alone for a moment to accept the truth of the situation for the first time since things had started to get strange.
This place, these people.
This wasn’t her life at all.
Where am I?