Chapter Text
“Reverser, it's over. Just give up already.” Ladybug said, swinging her yo-yo to shield herself from any potential attack from the villain while inching closer to him with Chat Noir in order to block any escape route. Her partner activated his Cataclysm and held out his hand, expecting Reverser to give the akumatized object on his own.
To say that the Akuma was stressed was an understatement — he was anxious as ever, even more than he ever was in his civilian form. He had everything planned perfectly but was interrupted before he even had the chance to implement his idea into life, and since then he was just fighting back and forth with the heroes. And Hawkmoth just couldn't understand that his creation was struggling enough and had to threaten him with revoking his powers, inflicting him physical pain which made it harder to think of a solution to the problem.
In the last attempt of saving himself, Reverser tried to make another reversion airplane, but he found himself unable to do so. What? While both Ladybug and Chat Noir looked equally confused on why the ball of energy suddenly disappeared from above the villains hand and didn't make an actual airplane. Was he playing with them?
Using the fact that his enemies were distracted, Reverser pushed his way between them and jumped from one roof to another in an escape attempt.
The heroes looked at each other for a second, then at the Akuma which was getting further away from them with every passing moment. Ladybug was the first to snap out and run after him.
The villain stopped on one of the rooftops, getting tired from all the jumping. Gathering all the energy left, Reverser created a paper airplane which he threw on the ground as it grew to the size of his previously destroyed glider. As he was getting off Ladybug swung her yo-yo towards the newly created transportation and as it got stuck on one of the wings, it quickly became a two person glider flying in the air.
“You are such an annoying pest, you know that?!” Reverser screamed trying to take as sharp turns as he could to make the heroine lose her grip and get rid of her. He wanted to create another airplane to up his chances of gaining advantage of the hero but he couldn't gather enough energy to form one. Weird. He felt himself getting weaker even before the heroes cornered him on the roof earlier but paid no mind towards it at the time. Now, when he couldn't use his power at all, he was getting worried for real.
Did Hawkmoth seriously revoke his power? No, he would have transformed back if it did happen. But then, what was happening? Maybe he just temporarily made him powerless, not fully removing the akuma? But that was pointless, doing so would make him unable to fight and take the goddamn miraculous.
No explanation sounded rational and Reverser found himself getting even more stressed, anxiety clouding his brain, making it harder to think—
He hit a wall. Apparently he let the stress cloud his vision too. Now he was laying on some rooftop with this awful red heroine standing above him, his glider nowhere in sight.
“Marc, I know you were wronged and you have every right to get upset but…”
“Stop.” Reverser pleaded weakly as he felt a sharp pain shoot through him.
“…everyone is worried about you.” She continued, completely ignoring his words. “Your family, your friends, especially Nathaniel, are asking me and Chat Noir every time they see us about your safety.”
“I said stop. It hurts.” He repeated.
The heroine looked confused, but looking at the Akuma assured her that he's not lying to get out of this. It did hurt him physically to hear about his civilian-self. But why? It never happened with any other villain, it even sometimes broke the strings they were controlled with.
It certainly didn't work like that with Reverser. He didn't know what was happening with his powers and now he didn't know why it physically hurt him when he heard his civilian name or anything that reminded him of still being Marc under this costume.
“Reverser, what are you waiting for? Your plan worked, Ladybug isn't going to hurt you, because she believed your act. Get her miraculous. Now!” Hawkmoth has cut into the situation, speaking to Reverser, sure that it was just a fake attitude to deceive the heroes .
“I'm not bluffing! What did you do, you bastard!” The Akuma couldn't contain himself, screaming loud enough to make Ladybug back away a step, even though she knew it wasn't directed towards her.
“Now, don't try blaming me or I'll take your powers away.”
“I already don't have them!”
“What are you-”
“It hurts!”
Ladybug tried to get closer to the villain, not fully understanding what was happening, and at the same time urging Chat Noir, who found them a few seconds ago and wasn't sure on what to do, to stay back.
“Hey, try to calm down, Marc, and tell me—”
“That's it! Reverser, it's time to part our—”
“Shut up! All of you!”
And with that shout, the akuma left his body. The heroes didn't know whether the villain rejected it himself or was it taken from him by Hawkmoth. They didn't deem it too important, because what mattered was that the villain was defeated. Before Ladybug could catch the black butterfly, the negative energy of Hawkmoth disappeared, making the akuma just a regular white butterfly. Did it seriously purify itself? It seemed like it. All of this was weird but at the same time it meant less work for them.
Right as Chat Noir turned towards the defeated villain, wanting to comfort the civilian, who was probably shaken up as they usually are after such an experience, he slightly gasped, making the other heroine turn around as well.
Reverser was still standing before them. Yes, he was shaking and looking around scared, but he was still looking like his akumatized-self. There should be Marc in his place, but no it was still Reverser. No black fog surrounded him, he wasn't transforming back or anything.
“Shouldn't he… y’know turn back normal?” Chat Noir whispered to his partner. “Why isn't this happening?”
“I— I don't know. Maybe he just needs a little help… Miraculous Ladybug!” She shouted as she threw the lucky object in the air. Multiple ladybugs flew around the city, fixing anything that was ruined… or reversed. Not many things were physically ruined but multiple people were changed to the Akuma’s liking, and ladybugs were supposed to change everyone back to normal.
Not even one passed by Reverser. He was still in his black-and-white paper suit. What happened to the colourful Marc Anciel?
“What are you two staring at?” The Akuma asked, looking quite annoyed at the two heroes.
“Marc… are you— are you okay?” Chat Noir asked, taking his staff in hand, fully ready for eventual attack.
“Yeah, why are you asking? Can I just go?” He said calmly, but a pained expression was still painting across his face.
The heroes looked at each other shocked. Was he really not feeling like an akumatized villain anymore? But if so, why was he still looking like one?
“Has this ever happened before?” The black-suited hero asked his partner quietly.
“Kitty, you fought the same battles as me. If you don't remember this then how am I—”
“Whoa, sorry. You're right. But M’lady you're getting worked up, try to calm down.”
“How am I supposed to not panic? For the first time ever the villain didn’t transform back! And how are we supposed to…”
“Uh… M’lady…”
“…explain this to his family or friends? Or to anyone? We failed to save an innocent—”
“LADYBUG! He left.” Chat Noir stated, looking around unable to notice the two-coloured figure anywhere.
Ladybug was scared as ever. To be fair, both of them were, but she actually expressed it, unable to contain herself.
To sum things up — the villain was in physical pain at the mention of his civilian life, argued with Hawkmoth, the akuma left his body and purified itself, but he didn't change his looks, although he didn't mind being called Marc. All of that was completely new and stressful.
No one knew what exactly happened this time, and they couldn't think of an explanation to all of Marc's close-one's nor to the media. What would the Parisians think of the heroes who failed to save one of them and lost sight of him, let him freely roam the streets still looking like an Akuma, maybe just hiding his powers? That's not looking good.
×××
As Marc-Reverser used his chance of getting off the rooftop using a nearby ladder, he tried to get as far away from the heroes as possible, still thinking about what happened. Of course he noticed his appearance in one of the windows of some shop. He still had his— Reverser’s paper suit, although he could have sworn the akuma did leave his body. What was happening then?
No other previously akumatized villain ever said anything remotely similar to his situation. Surely, some had crazy stories about their adventures, but none of them could ease his worries for now.
He had to talk with someone. But with who?
He already tried to contact Hawkmoth through the weird mask he usually communicates with his victims, but neither did it appear before his eyes nor did Hawkmoth talk to him first. No use of him then.
He could go back to the heroes, but they also seemed like they didn't know what was going on. And if he truly was the first person to experience this, wouldn't they be curious about his situation? Would they treat him like some sort of a lab rat? Technically they're heroes, supposed to save and not hurt anyone, but they already didn't manage to succeed in their first task to save, so who knows!
And his head was still pounding. It didn't stop even for a second since he was cornered by Ladybug and Chat Noir. Oh my God, what was actually going on with him? And he was all alone with it, just great!
Every path he could take right now seemed either too stressful, dangerous or just… useless. Like, he could go to his friends and tell them everything, but what would be the point of this? They would either redirect him to the heroes or just straight up not be able to help him in any way. And even then, what was he supposed to tell them? ‘Hey, I'm both Marc and Reverser at the same time, something went wrong and I can't change back to normal but I'm your friend!’
How would they react to that?
×××
“What do you mean Marc is still akumatized?!”
“Alix, try to calm—”
“No, Rose! It's way too serious to stay calm and act like it's nothing!” The redhead exclaimed, still walking nervously in circles around one of Louvre's rooms.
Ladybug and Chat Noir found Marc's friend group, sans Nathaniel, and wanted to inform them about their friend's situation to ease their worries, to not make them assume he's missing or dead. Just in a weird state between akumatization and normality. It was rather obvious they wouldn't take it easy and probably worry more but the heroes couldn't keep this information hidden forever.
“We know it's rather unique case and it's not the most pleasant thing to hear—”
“But you will find a way to make him, like, normal again, right?” Juleka cut Ladybug off, going quieter with each word, as if she couldn't fully fathom what was happening.
“Well, we'll see what we can do and we'll keep all of you informed and hopefully we'll figure it out soon—agh!” Chat Noir started and was suddenly stopped.
“Of course we will.” Ladybug cut him off, slightly poking his side with her elbow, to which he reacted way harder than expected from the light touch, but it didn't matter. They couldn't lose their faces and had to remain sure of their success in helping Marc. No maybes, no seeing what they can do.
“Did you tell anyone else about this or do we have the pleasure to be the first?” Alix asked, trying to ignore the inconsistency between the heroes' claims.
“You're the first to know. We didn't want to alarm the media or anyone but felt it's right to let Marc's close ones know, and you were the first we found.” Chat Noir stated, rubbing at his side exaggerately.
Silence fell around them for a few seconds, which seemed to last an eternity. The heroes knew the teens worried about their friend and were maybe even disappointed in them.
“Look…” Ladybug started quietly “…it's just a matter of time until we find Marc, figure out what's the cause of all of this and bring him, the real him, back. We just need you to stay alert and inform us about anything you deem important and helpful. And please, try not to spread this… I know how this sounds but I fear it's better if less people know about the whole situation.”
“Marc didn't seem aggressive, so he probably won't attack anyone, so public panic about ‘a villain roaming the streets’ would be pointless.” The other hero added, trying to justify the decision of his partner about keeping the news hidden after seeing the teenagers' confused faces.
“Okay, okay, but can we at least tell Nathaniel about this? He is also close to Marc.” Rose asked.
“Uh, yeah.” The heroine said as she looked around the room, seemingly only now realizing the redhead in fact wasn't there. “Just try to do it in a way that won't freak him out.”
When the girls promised to keep it tame, the heroes decided to take off and patrol the city again, desperate to find the black-and-white villain.
×××
One of Nathaniel's favourite ways to relieve stress was obviously drawing, which in this state should be called furiously sketching anything he sees to calm down.
Since Marc's akumatization he filled his sketchbook, reserved for those sketches, with multiple drawings of paint containers, his bedroom furniture and earlier with school desks. There were even some simple drawings of Reverser, mostly from memory as he wouldn't dare to stand near Akuma just for a few drawings of questionable quality.
Currently he was just staring at the pages he filled in the span of just a few hours. Oh he was really stressed if he managed to do more art pieces, even if pretty simple, than when actually being inspired. Could anyone blame him though?
His boyfriend was akumatized again, after being able to calm himself down multiple times before this could actually happen. He was a sensitive person, often feeling some sort of negative emotion that could be used against him, but he was amazing at all those calming techniques that were promoted between civilians to shield themselves from akuma attacks. He was even better at that than Nathaniel himself, as he did get re-akumatized a few times.
But now Marc was Reverser again, and Nathaniel didn't even know what happened to cause that. Who managed to disrupt him so much that he couldn't get hold of his emotions in time? And obviously it had to happen on the one day he decided to stay home to finish some comic panels. Just the perfect occasion. What even happened?
Earlier he was watching the stream on LadyBlog where Alya reported as much as she could before Reverser flew away and she couldn't chase him anymore. Then he switched to the news where Nadja Chamack was in the middle of the action, reporting on every detail. At some point the transmission was cut off and Nathaniel didn't have any way to stay informed about his boyfriend's situation.
As he wanted to check his phone to see if there was any new information, he heard a faint creak, accompanied by a louder thud. He looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. Maybe something fell or his parents wanted to check on him…
Nathaniel didn't expect to see a black-and-white figure standing on the window sill outside of his room.
“What the—!” He let out a startled scream, quickly covering his mouth to not alert his parents. He backed in his chair a bit, not sure what to do.
As he was thinking of his options he noticed Reverser quietly knocking on the window, looking expectantly at him. Oh there was no way Nathaniel would open this window. Yes, Reverser was Marc but it was well known that Akumas can be unpredictable and it's better to stay away from them, no matter their relationship with you, that's what the heroes always said…
Nathaniel got up and slowly walked towards the big windows of his room and opened one of them. Obviously he was always doing the exact opposite of what everyone told him.
Marc— Reverser slowly stepped into the room, avoiding Nathaniel's gaze. He kept doing so even when he walked around the bedroom like nothing, making it seem like it was their usual planned hangout. He went towards the desk, looking through the sheets of paper with comic panels and the stress sketchbook, which he closed as to not invade the space too much.
“What are… I mean… uhh… Hey?” Nathaniel wanted to ask multiple questions but not one made sense so he just watched as the villain looked at the photos taped to the wall. Was he smiling? He then slowly went towards the bed and sat on it, patting the space next to him, urging Nathaniel to sit too.
“So…” Nathaniel quietly started, clearing his throat as he sat down, but a bit further than the intended spot. “Why are you here? I mean… Why the sudden visit? What happened under the Eiffel Tower? There wasn't any news about… y’know… since then and now youre— That's just… What's with Ladybug and—”
“You talk so much when stressed, you know that, Nath?” Reverser cut his rambling off. Nathaniel didn't know what to say to that so he just kept quiet, ready for something that would make him regret opening that damn window.
“I know it's probably unusual to see me like that, but please don't stare so hard…” The redhead averted his gaze immediately at that, not sure what would enrage the Akuma. Oh he did regret letting him in.
A few seconds passed by in silence, only Nathaniel's heavy breathing could be heard, which he tried to get a hold of. . “You're scared of me, am I right?” And another few quiet moments.
“I— I mean I…” Nathaniel looked back at Reverser and he didn't expect to see him so sad. He looked ready to burst into tears. Has any Akuma ever actually cried?
“Listen I… It's… Okay just listen, Nath, for a few seconds, please.” Reverser tried to calm himself down before continuing, making sure Nathaniel is focused on his words.
“If I said I am… Marc, like right now, despite how I look, I don't feel like a villain or anything, would you believe me?” The two-coloured boy said slowly.
Judging by Nathaniel's expression he maybe believed it but he was definitely… shocked, to say at least.
“What do you…”
“Let's just say something went wrong during the fight, or during the de-akumatization or somewhere else.”
They stared at each other for a while, both seemingly thinking about what to say now. Nathaniel was the first to slowly speak up “Marc, do you think… woah!”
Sudden hiss from the Akuma made him stop whatever he was about to say. Reverser was clutching his head in his hands and breathing heavily. Nathaniel just stared at him wide-eyed with fear, not sure what to do. Should he run? Actually regret letting his akumatized boyfriend into his room? Help him? But how could he help if he doesn't know what's happening and—
His train of thoughts was stopped yet again, this time with a slight cough from Reverser that was supposed to get his attention. “Yeah, uh, this happens as well.” He said laughing slightly but seeing Nathaniel's expression he continued “Like, whenever someone mentions anything about my civilian self it physically hurts me, like if someone had hit me or something.”
“Why did this happen?” Nathaniel asked quietly.
“Nath, I wish I knew why myself, it's just so weird and I don't know what to do now—”
“No,” now it was Nathaniel who cut the other off “I'm asking how did you even get akumatized in the first place, of course this situation also is weird and I wish—” another hiss from Reverser could be heard “...does asking about your akumatization also hurt you?” His boyfriend could only nod slightly before getting hold of this pain and stabilizing his breath.
“How can I help you?”
“I don't know.” The answer came immediately. “For now just please, don't tell anyone about… this. I just wanted to tell you this so you don't worry too much. Although now that I think about it this is probably causing more worries…” Nathaniel didn't say anything back, so Marc just assumed he was correct.
While Nathaniel thought about everything, trying to understand this whole scenario and find a solution, Reverser got up from the bed and walked towards the window again.
“I'm sorry Nath for disturbing you with… that. Please, don't tell anyone anything, I'll figure this out myself.” He said already standing on the window sill.
Nathaniel jumped out of the bed and walked up to the Akuma. “Ma— Reverser,” he quickly corrected himself, feeling weird calling his boyfriend that way. “I can try and help you too, you know that? Just stay a bit more and let's talk, maybe we'll figure something out together—”
He didn't even notice when the other boy got on his glider, ready to take off. And he did so, murmuring a quick ‘sorry’ before.
Nathaniel stood by the window for a few more minutes, staring out of and following the black-and-white silhouette for as long as he could. Only when he completely lost sight of his boyfriend did he close the window and go back to his bed.
“Marc…” he muttered under his breath when he heard his phone ring. He hesitantly picked it up, hoping it isn't another weird thing to happen to him only this day.
“Hey Alix, what's up?” He slowly spoke up, voice tense as ever. Great. At least try to sound normal.
“Man, be careful. Something happened while the heroes wanted to de-akumatize Marc and he didn't change back— like, he still is Reverser. They don't really know why, but they'll find a way to help him.” His best friend rambled, talking so fast you could barely register any words clearly. Nathaniel didn't need to understand her speech though, as he already knew everything, or almost everything.
“Oh, really? That's… terrible” he slowly picked his words, not wanting to reveal his knowledge and anything that happened in his bedroom.
“Right now just… uh… stay careful, okay?”
“Yeah, okay, sure…”
“Hey, Nath. Don't worry, everything will be alright. They'll manage to help Marc, I'm sure.” His best friend reassured him, probably thinking his laconic answers were because of stress. He honestly would prefer this over whatever happened not so long ago.
“…Thanks.” He mumbled while staring out the window from his bed, looking after his boyfriend. What would happen to him now? What would happen to both of them?
He hung up the phone and began his least favourite activity — thinking of every possible outcome of this situation. Why did it have to be Marc? What happened to him, even before the whole malfunction? Why was he even akumatized in the first place? He had to figure it out.