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Marinette’s day had been going too well, and she knew it. She had woken up on time, got to class before the bell rang, aced a pop quiz in science, and she hadn’t had a clumsy moment all day. Something was bound to go wrong. It was inevitable.
She felt a sense of foreboding in her very bones as school let out for the afternoon. If there was anything Marinette understood it was that balance wasn’t just a concept it was an immutable law. Things were going to well for her, the scale was going to tip soon, and she needed to be ready. She hoped Chat would be ready too. When things went well for her civilian side it usually meant a sudden swing into chaos for her hero side, and that would affect Chat too.
She didn’t even flinch when she heard the Akuma alert go off on her phone. She had been scanning her surroundings already like a good vigilante, so she immediately ducked behind a dumpster in a clear nearby alleyway and transformed before taking to the rooftops. She could hear a commotion a few blocks away, and decided to check it out first. Hiding behind a chimney she scanned the scene.
“It’s not fair!” A purple princess dress wearing child screamed. Her face had tear lines in black painted down the edges, and she wielded a scepter that was shooting pink glittering beams out. Everyone hit was suddenly joined with a man. “I don’t want to stay here!” She screamed and shot out more beams, “If I have to stay then so should my dad. No one should be separated from their parents! It’s not fair.”
Marinette sighed, “Of course.”
She pulled out her yo-yo and called Chat. He picked up immediately.
“Yes milady,” he said, “I’m heading your way right now, but it might be a minute. I was detained for a bit.”
“It’s ok Chat,” she said quietly, “when you get here try to stick to the shadows. The Akuma is hitting people with beams that bring their dad to them.”
She could hear a sigh on the line, “Well that shouldn’t effect me. My father passed away about a year ago,” Chat said.
Marinette stiffened at the revelation, “Oh Chat I’m so sorry.”
“It’s ok, I’ve come to terms with it. I’m about a minute out. When I get there I can be your shield.”
“Thanks, she is moving down the street a bit. I’m going to follow her discretely,” then a sudden dreadful thought hit her, “I wonder how her power works. Is it referring to emotional, legal, or genetic fathers? This could get really messy, especially for me.”
A thud on the rooftop behind her announced Chat’s arrival, “What do you mean milady?”
“My parents used a donor,” she answered.
“Oh,” Chat seemed to contemplate it. “Well we will just try very hard to not let you get hit. Do you have a plan yet how to get her object, or what it is?”
“I’m not sure what her object might be, but I think if we can cataclysm her scepter then we can take away her main power. After that it should be easy to trap her long enough to figure out what the object is if it’s not the scepter.”
He nodded, “Thank heavens we have no limit on our powers any more.”
“It definitely takes some of the pressure off,” she agreed.
They approached the Akuma together from behind, hoping to take it by surprise. Suddenly she turned and hit Chat square in the chest. As the glow of the beam faded Argos was standing next to Chat. Both boys looked shocked. Chat because he was pretty sure his cousin wasn’t his father, and Argos because he had already been making his way to the fight, but was not expecting the sudden transport. Marinette was freaking out in her own way as well for what the implications of the peacock miraculous’ involvement with this Akuma’s power meant for the identity of Chat. She felt her gut drop.
“What’s happening here?” Argos asked.
“You are not my father,” Chat answered.
Argos’ shocked face was almost hilarious, “Of course I’m not your father.”
“I’m confused,” Chat said, looking to Ladybug, “I thought her power was to bring someone’s father to them. This kid can’t be my dad. My dad died. Maybe it just got mixed up and brought another miraculous user instead.”
“Let’s go with that answer for now,” Ladybug hedged as she dodged a blast, “Argos we are trying to get her scepter away.”
He nodded and the three hero’s set about trying to distract and herd the Akuma away from the open area and into a bottleneck to trap her. They were very close when Argos was hit and nothing happened.
“I really do not want to think about the connotations that nothing just happened,” Chat said.
Argos grimaced. The Akuma seemed sad for the peacock hero, and in that moment Ladybug made her move. Her hand was around the scepter when the Akuma reacted to her and struck her point blank with the power beam. In the moment of the light blast the Akuma ran.
“What just happened?” A masculine voice asked in English next to her.
Ladybug closed her eyes, took a deep breath, steeled her nerves and turned to the source of the voice. When she opened her eyes to explain she was greeted by a domino mask on a tall lean figure. Beside her she could hear Chat laughing. Words wouldn’t come for a moment as she processed what had just happened. At least she was fluent in English. The man beside her crossed his very muscular arms across his broad chest, partially covering the blue bird emblem that stretched across the Kevlar fabric there.
“Um…” she tried to begin, “I guess the answer is genetic.”
Chats laughter in the background only doubled.
Argos offered, “At least he is in a disguise.”
“Again kids, what just happened,” the man asked.
“I’m sorry,” Ladybug said, “I’m Ladybug, this is Chat and Argos,” she introduced the group, “We are hero’s in Paris. Do you speak French?”
He nodded.
“Our villain fights by possessing civilians using mind control. She gives them different powers depending on their method of possession. They are called Akumas. This Akuma is meant to bring people’s father’s to them,” she explained.
The hero’s mouth dropped open. She grimaced as he processed what she just said.
“Argos, can you and Chat please go follow the Akuma. Try to get the staff, I’ll meet you both in a minute.”
They nodded and jumped away in the direction that the Akuma had left. Marinette waited a few moments before she asked, “What is your alias in this suit?”
“Nightwing,” he answered almost out of breath, “So I’m your dad?” He asked. His voice sounded thin.
“Biologically I’m guessing yes. Did you ever donate to a fertility clinic?” She responded with a question of her own.
“Oh thank heavens,” he let out a long breath, “Yes I did.”
He was nodding so hard it looked like his neck might snap.
“I knew my parents used a donor, so no shocker there for me. Please don’t worry about anything, ok.”
“But you’re a hero, how are you a hero? Where is your mentor? You can’t be more than seventeen? Your teammates looked about the same age as you. You have support here, don’t you?”
“It’s a longer story than I really have time for. I need to help my teammates out. One of them already is having an existential crisis because of this Akuma, and they can’t fix this without me. If you want to help you can, or you can wait here. When it’s over I’ll send you back where you came from. We are fine here.” Her answer was filled with deflection before she ripped her yo-yo from around her waist and flung it to the top of a neighboring roof.
“Wait!” He yelled behind her. Then she heard the sound of a grappling hook being fired near her. He followed her closely and when she caught up with Chat and Argos he was right there with her.
“Chat destroyed the staff, but it wasn’t the akumatized object,” Argos informed her.
“Maybe it’s her tiara,” Ladybug suggested.
“That was what we were thinking too. There aren’t really too many other things it could be besides her outfit,” Chat said.
“I really need a new Bee miraculous holder.” Ladybug mumbled, then louder spoke, “Alright at least we don’t have to worry about her beams anymore. I’m gonna call for my charm, then I’ll tell you the plan.”
One jump rope later the team plus Nightwing worked together to tie up the Princess Akuma. Ladybug still wasn’t even sure what her moniker was. When the tiara was turned to ash, a the black butterfly was caught and purified quickly. Ladybug wasted no time before calling on her miraculous Ladybug’s to set everything right again.
“Wait how can…” Nightwing’s voice cut out as the ladybugs took him home, or wherever he had been before the Akuma had brought him there. Argos too was taken to whatever rooftop he had been on before he was hit. This left just Chat and Ladybug standing together with the Akuma victim.
“Are we going to talk about everything that happened?” Chat asked.
“I think you and Argos really need to talk,” Ladybug said.
“He is not my father. He can’t be,” Chat said.
“I know, but Duusuu might be another story,” she explained.
“What!?” He exclaimed, “But that would mean I’m a… “
“No matter what you will always be my partner,” she said, “Just talk with Argos. I give you permission to share your identity with him. I’m pretty sure I just figured out your identity today, and I already knew his. You both really need each other.”
“Seriously?” Chat asked.
“Seriously,” Argos answered as he dropped down beside him, “Cousin, I think we have a lot to talk about.”
Chat’s look of shock and then hurt morphed into hesitant fear before Ladybug pulled him into an embrace.
“Everything will be fine Adrien,” she whispered in his ear.
He stiffened for a moment before returning the hug.
“Are you going to be alright?” He asked her.
“I’ll be fine. I doubt Nightwing will do anything about Paris. The Justice League has stayed in America for the past few years despite everything happening here. Why would that change now?”
“Hm, how about the fact that now one of their members knows they have a kid in the fight?” Argos said.
“Im not his kid. He is just my donor. I’m thankful for him, but that’s it.”
“I don’t know if it will really work that way, I mean, LB, what would you do in his shoes?” Chat said.
She sighed, “Ok, I guess we need to prepare ourselves for the American invasion. How long do you think it will take?”
“Knowing he has your genetics, I’m guessing he will be on a plane here within two days, but will only officially reach out in a week after he has filed the appropriate paperwork,” Argos said.
She nodded, “Keep your heads down, and be on alert. I’ll inform the rest of the team. You both have a lot to talk about, and Chat if you need me I will be there.”
He nodded his agreement and she watched as the two boys jumped away from her. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to have a talk with Adrien later. She was pretty sure it was time for her to share her identity with him now, and he was going to need her support to get through the bombshell that was about to be dropped on him. She had just known things had been going too well.