Chapter 1: Good Luck

She had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Had the time finally come, after all these years? What had they been without each other? Perhaps this would finally be the end. They could have closure. Their final note, striking a chord with such disdain. At long last putting this partnership to rest.

She had been planning for this day for a long time.

Her apartment door was unlocked when she got home, that's how she knew. Her stomach churned with a sensation she had not felt in years. A feeling of completeness. Belonging. Followed by an unrelenting volley of fear and anxiety.

She had been dreading this day for a long time.

The day Chat Noir would pay her a visit.

Marinette slammed the deadlock as she entered the hushed living room. Not a sound could be heard as if the very city of Paris held its breath. Flipping on the light, she found herself alone, haunted by the black corridor that lead to her kitchen. Silently, she crept past the living room. She could feel sweat beginning to run down her forehead. A shiver jerked from her spine down to her feet, misplacing her steps as she walked.

Words escaped her as his figure came into view, sitting on her kitchen counter, blanketed by the darkness. With her hands trembling, she started to reach for the light but decided against it. Chat had not lived in the light since they were young. A moment passed once more without a sound. In the dim light, she had almost not realized that he was in civilian form. Here sat Adrien Agreste, once an icon in the world of fashion, reduced to a pair of black, slim-fit jeans and a dark grey army jumper. His boots were covered in dirt. He had been busy this night. He was bleeding.

The wind carried the sound of bustling traffic through the open window beside him. As much as Marinette wanted to reach out to him, to help him, to tend to his wounds, she knew he was ready to leap out if she came any closer.

"If you're looking for my earrings you won't find them here."

The accusation finally escaped her lips.

He did not answer. He made no acknowledgement of her words, not even a flinch. Only continuing to stare out the darkened window as he no doubt considered his next move.

A cat planning his escape route.

"I saw you on the news last night…" Marinette continued. The room grew more tense with every syllable.

"You didn't have to kill those people."

He spoke three words. There was no aggression, no hatred, no judgement. He simply stated with a vacant, ghostly timbre.

"They were criminals."

His voice had grown so different since they had last spoken.

Now Marinette's vision had adjusted to the darkness. She could see his face, locks of hair draped over his eyes, with unkempt patches of scruffy facial hair. He had a deep cut sliced upwards from the corner of his left eye. Her eyes began to swell with tears.

"Criminals, not super villains!" she stomped.

Once again, Adrien showed no reaction to her words. It had been over a decade since the two of them ended the akuma onslaught that had terrorized Paris for the greater half of their adolescence. Why was he still fighting?

"Adrien…" His name hurt to speak.

"I've worried about you every day. Every. Day. I can't stand the thought of you out there on your own."

She choked on the memories of their crime-fighting youth. After the incident with Hawk Moth, Adrien was never the same. He lost faith in their powers. He refused to look Marinette in the eyes. Nevertheless he continued to fight, terrorizing the criminals of Paris. Killing. Annihilating. Ladybug was no longer there to reverse the results of his massacre, his unbound brutality.

And she had been fearing the day Chat Noir would come to her for help.

"We can still begin again. You can stop this senseless mayhem! We could protect the city like we used to. Together. Ladybug and Chat Noir! The unstoppable te-"

Her words were cut short as Adrien slammed his fist against the wall.

"Don't ever call me by that name." he growled.

He shifted on leg out the window, ready to retreat.

Perhaps she wasn't afraid of the day Chat Noir came to her for help; but afraid that that day would never come again. Marinette dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands to fight back the tears.

It killed her to witness first-hand what had become of the promising young Adrien Agreste. He was broken. His moral compass had been abandoned. He would get what he was after and he didn't care what kind of trail of bloodshed and destruction he left in his wake.

For just a moment, Mari thought the experience with Hawk Moth left Adrien… Akumatized.

She closed her eyes, flooding with tears, and turned away from the window. Her voice shook with pain at what she was about to say.

"I'm sorry this happened to you Adrien.. I am so… so sorry… But if you continue to wreak havoc I will have no choice but to step in."

Adrien's head jerked slightly and he glanced at Marinette. Had those words finally gotten a reaction? Did he only feel safe looking at her when she wasn't looking at him, when she couldn't bear to? He shifted his other leg out the window.

"If you continue to walk this path, you will have to answer to Ladybug. And I will put an end to this."

Mari's voice grew stronger. She had made her decision. She set the rules, and if Adrien wanted to play this game, she was ready.

Adrien paused and looked back before leaping out the window and vanishing into the darkness. He used to have such a way with words, usually too many. But not this time. This time he only uttered two words.

"Good luck."