BLK: I apologize if Marinette's name comes up as "Miranette", my autocorrect keeps changing it and won't stop, so I have to go back and retype her name every time. I think I got them all, but one might slip in there. Also, lots of uncannon details in this story such as Kwamis not emerging from a miraculous just because it is being held. In this story the miraculous must be worn in the correct way to activate. Like you can't put a ring strung through a necklace, or put earrings on your nose.

Blacktober

"Why aren't you excited for the party tomorrow? What's gotten into you, man?" Nino asked with a worried tone.

"October through December is always the hardest time of the year for me, it's when my mother disappeared, my brother stopped calling, and when my father started scowling. It's also when I forgot how to be happy…" Adrien sighed out as Nino patted him on the shoulder. The two sat on a bench in the park after school as the sun began to set.

Marinette's soul burned to hear more about Adrien's personal life. She and Alya had been ducking behind a tree as they spied on Adrien and Nino conversing about the Halloween party. Around this time the previous year Marinette noticed that Adrien went through a slump and wasn't acting his usual self, but now she has another piece to the puzzle.

"Alya…Did you have any idea that Adrien had a brother?!" Marinette whispered hoarsely to the tan girl who merely shrugged.

"I know next to nothing about blondie." She groaned. Nino glanced back to see Marinette's blue pigtails and Alya's shirt sleeve sticking out from the bushes behind him. He smirked knowing that they were trying to get an inside scoop on Adrien. He made a loud ahem noise to get their attention.

"You've got a brother?!" Nino exclaimed with a perplexed expression, putting on his best show.

"Heh…" Adrien chuckled almost darkly. "I haven't heard a word from him in two years now. He left for boarding school in London the year before my mom vanished. After she was gone he stopped calling me to check in. I written him several letters before, but he's never replied. I don't think he's called father either to be honest…."

Nino picked up on the depressing sour bite to Adrien's words.

"What's his name?" his friend asked curiously.

"Felix." Adrien said flatly. "He's a fashion designer like my dad, but personally…" Adrien paused to lean in and whisper. "Don't tell my father this, but I think Felix's designs are way better and that's why father doesn't talk to him anymore!"

"Ahh, rivalry!" Nino laughed out and Adrien followed suit. The gloomy air around Adrien began to disperse.

"One time for Christmas dad made Felix and I matching suits for a photoshoot, but we ended up wearing something Felix made instead. The pictures came out really well!" Adrien stifled another laugh at remembering how bad his father's designs were.

"How old is he?" Nino asked eager to know more. Adrien smiled lightly.

"He's twenty-one now. He's five years older than me." Adrien said and Nino looked thoughtful. As Nino opened his mouth to ask another question, Adrien suddenly began talking extremely fast and hyped up. "The last family vacation we took to Brazil he bought me this cool belt buckle with bat wings on it. Then in our trip to China he bought me a necklace made with real snake fangs! Right after he left for London he sent me a birthday package, it was a girly headband with bunny ears on it. We used to send each other goofy girly things to mess with each other all the time. Like for Christmas one year we got each other barbies and make up! Then-"

"Wow you've got a lot of memories with him!" Nino interrupted. He sensed that Adrien wasn't going to stop once he started. "Makes me kind of jealous, I'm an only child."

"Yeah! I can't wait for him to come back to Paris some day!" Adrien's vibrant smile melted Marinette's soul like butter.

"Oh good," Marinette sighed dreamily. "He's not sad anymore!"

'I can rest easy now that I know nothing recent happened to Adrien to cause his solemn mood swings.' Marinette allowed herself to take a deep breath and let it out.

Alya noticed her calm demeanor and smirked. 'This girl has the maddest cooties for blondie.'

"I wonder why his brother hasn't called in two years!" Marinette whispered to Alya.

"Have you met Adrien's father? Girl, he probably ran screaming!" Alya made a face of disgust.

Nino cleared his throat in a hushing tone, he was signaling to the girls to keep it down. Alya and Marinette put their hands over their mouths to keep spying quietly.

"So…" Nino started again and Adrien's burning green eyes stared him down knowing what his next question was. "When is he-"

"I don't know." Adrien said quickly.

Everyone felt the immediate tension from Adrien's words. All Nino could do was give Adrien as noise of understanding and a nod.

"I've fantasized about his return for the last three or four years now." Adrien sighed miserably again. "Every birthday, Christmas, fashion reveal, photo shoot….every day I expect him to just be standing there when I open the front door with that same grin on his face."

"That's gotta be rough." Nino placed his fist gently up to his friend's limp shoulder and nudged him. "My dad left my mom when I was twelve, he said he'd come visit me on my birthday or Christmas ever year, but I only saw him once and it was by accident."

"Do you ever get to call him?" Adrien asked.

"I can call him any time I want, but I'd rather not dwell on him seeing as he has no intention of visiting me ever again. I've accepted the loss and have moved on." Nino hoped his words gave the other boy some comfort and closure.

"My problem is I know where he is, I can see his designs in the local magazines. He just won't pick up the phone and return my letters. This month's Vouge magazine had my perfume ad right next to his fall sweater ad!" Adrien whimpered and Nino sensed that the high tides were about to flood the gates of Mt. Agreste.

'That's so sad! There must be an explanation!' Marinette thought as she kept her hand clamped over her mouth.

"Try calling him from someone else's phone, he might answer if he doesn't know it's you calling." Nino suggested and held out his phone for his friend.

Adrien thought on it a moment. It wasn't a bad idea.

"That's too underhanded. If he doesn't want to talk to me he doesn't have to." Adrien scowled and gently pushed the phone away.

"Then let me call him!" Nino exclaimed and grabbed Adrien's phone. Being best buds had its perks, he knew the unlock code to his phone which Marinette did her best to memorize. He found the contact number and dialed it from his own phone.

'Eight, nine, nine, three! Eight, nine, nine, three!' she thought over and over again, but Alya was one step ahead and saved the number in her phone.

As the phone rang Adrien listened in carefully. To his surprise he heard the phone answer and a caution man reply.

"Hello?" Was the simple monotone voice of the man Adrien knew well. With wide emerald eyes of both surprise and excitement Adrien stared at Nino who returned the stare in almost terror.

"Is this Felix?" Nino asked somberly.

"I might be, depending on who is asking. How did you get this number?" the voice on the other end sounded either annoyed or wary.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, but I'm a friend of your brother, Adrien, he-"

"Adrien's friend!?" the voice became ecstatic and high pitched. Nino jumped at the suddenness of his volume.

"Y-yes, he-"

"Can I talk to him? Are you two alone? Is he with you now?" Felix's voice became very excited and rushed.

"Sure…" Nino handed the phone off to a very disembodied Adrien.

"Felix?" Adrien asked in a tiny voice full of swirling emotions.

"Adrien are you ok? What did father do to you?" Felix asked, Adrien could sense the urgency in his voice.

"I'm fine, what do you mean what did father do?" Adrien asked as he gave Nino a confused 'help me' look. All Nino could do was raise his eyebrows and adjust his glasses.

"He's been intercepting your mail, I've written to you several times this year already and you never answer your phone for me." Felix explained frantically.

"You've never called me back even once!" Adrien retorted.

"Father must have blocked my number on your service provider account. I should have known." Felix said through grit teeth.

"So all this time you've been trying to contact me?" Adrien asked with a smile that lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

"Of course!" Felix said as he too smiled light heartedly. "Why wouldn't I call my little brother? I've missed so many birthdays and holidays."

"Why haven't you come home yet?" Adrien asked with that glimmer of hope he only gets when he sees Ladybug rush in to save the day.

"I would love to, but there's no way I can get near the mansion without the guards seeing me. Father has me banned from the property." Felix said as he wiped his tears. "Can we meet somewhere private, where father won't know about?"

"My friends and I have a secret hang out location, I'll use Nino's phone to text you the address." Adrien was smiling from ear to ear.

"Bring all the gifts I've bought you over the years." Felix said suddenly serious in tone.

"Uh…the barbies and make up I threw away…" Adrien said in mild panic. What significance could there possibly be?

"No, the animal objects. The belt buckle, headband, and the necklace." Felix instructed as he maintained his straightforward tone.

"Okay, but why?" Adrien asked still very confused.

"I'll explain later. Right now I'm still in London, but if I leave the house now I can get to you by dinner rush." He explained.

"I'll be there!" Adrien nodded as he stood up abruptly. "And Felix…" he began softly.

"Yes?"

"I missed you."

Felix closed his eyes and smiled. "I missed you more than you realize."

The call was disconnected and Adrien turned to Nino and just unleashed a tornado of emotions to which Nino couldn't help but smile at. He hadn't seen Adrien this amped up since his father made his a scarf for his birthday.

"This is the best day ever!" Adrien practically yelled to the courtyard.

Heads turned everywhere and Chloe's ears picked up on her beloved's excitement. She came strolling over to him where she gave him her typical sassy look and placed her hands on her hips. Adrien leaped forwards and placed his hands on her shoulders with so much force that she had to grab on to his forearms to keep from falling over.

"Ow! Adrikins, I know you adore me, but this is a one of a kind jacket and-"

"Chloe, I have the best news in the world!" Adrien's sparkling eyes beamed at her and she blinked at him.

"Ohhh my Adrikins, I thought you were saving this for graduation day!" she blushed back at him. "If you want to rush this then I have no choice, I'm ready!" she posed dramatically awaiting his love confession.

"Felix is coming back tonight!"

Chloe froze and her delighted expression turned into pure curiosity as she blinked several times at him. Her entire body language transformed from sassy queen to excited little girl. She clenched her fists and brought them to her chin as she gasped and grinned at him.

"Really?" she asked with joy. Not phony joy either, the real emotion that she'd had locked away in her heart for years. "Felix is coming back?"

"Yes, and we're all going to meet at Marinette's bakery. It's the one place father wouldn't look for us!"

"Ew! If I'm going to be seeing Felix again it isn't going to be at some cheap run down bread shop! Felix deserves to see us both in my top floor penthouse suite room! He-"

"No, my father must never know that Felix is coming!" Adrien hushed her with a finger over her lips.

She blushed madly at the touch and as much as she wanted to keep his finger there, she moved it so she could speak. "But why? Is it a surprise visit?"

He let go of her and took a smell step back. "No." His gaze fixated on the grass below them. "Apparently he's been keeping us apart for some reason. He blocked Felix's number on my phone without my knowledge and he'd been intercepting my letters from him as well." Adrien grit his teeth and made a fist at his side.

"Why would your father do that? That's his own son!" she said with a huff and placed her hands on her hips. She'd reverted back to her usual self and made a scoffing noise of annoyance.

"I wish I knew…" he mumbled.

The look of sorrow overtook Adrien's perfect features again and Chloe relaxed a bit. If there was one thing she wouldn't tolerate it was Adrien being sad. She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her chin on his left shoulder.

"I'm sure there's a logical explanation." She whispered to him. "Your father loves you both."

It was one of those rare moments in which Chloe seemed human. Adrien wrapped his arms around her in return and they stayed that way for a few moments. Marinette would usually be seething right now, but she found the moment endearing, even if the love-rival witch had her claws on her angel.

"Does Marinette know we're going to use her bakery?" Nino said knowingly.

Adrien's eyes popped open in realization. "Maybe we should ask her first…heh…" Adrien said as he let go of Chloe.

"Of course we can use my bakery's party room!" Marinette said quickly as she burst out from behind the bushes with Alya in tow.

The word spread like fire throughout their class that Adrien's brother was coming to visit at the bakery after dinner rush. Adrien only expected the initial five of them, but the whole class showed up and the party room was packed. Sabine and Tom had closed the bakery for the evening and took all of their unsold goods and allowed Marinette and her friends to share them.

There was a wedding cake no one picked up, dozens of cookies, bonbons, croissants, macaroons, and pies. On the wedding cake Marinette wrote 'Welcome Home Felix' in green icing. Adrien would normally have thought it was too over the top, but he was too excited to see his brother again. It was starting to get dark when Adrien sighed and began to wonder if Felix wasn't going to show up at all.

"Don't look so glum, it's rush hour traffic out there, he probably forgot how busy Paris is at dinner rush." Nino said as he took a seat next to Adrien.

"Would you like to learn how to make macaroons while we wait?" Marinette asked sweetly. "It'll help pass the time and get your mind out of those dark thoughts for a while!"

"I'd love to." Adrien said as he stood up and followed her into the kitchen. Alya, Nino, and Chloe followed them and each made their own plate of macaroons.

Alya's came out very undercooked and a bit gooey. "I love them half baked!" she said in delight as she popped one into her mouth.

Nino's were burnt and inedible.

Marinette's were perfect, she had mastered the art of the macaroon a few years ago.

Adrien's were a little sloppy, but tasted great.

Chloe's were an absolute masterpiece.

"Woah Chloe!" Adrien said in awe as he saw her yellow macaroons attacked neatly on the platter.

"Of course mine are perfect!" Chloe said with her hands on her hips and her nose in the air proudly.

"You did a great job!" Marinette complimented her. Chloe slowly dropped her pose and looked at the blue-eyes rival and sighed. Marinette gave her a quizzical look.

"It's the only talent I've learned on my own." Chloe said almost depressed. "My mother never taught me how to cook like a normal woman, but she made macaroons for me all the time. She disappeared when I was only seven. My head chef was like a second mother to me, he taught me how to make macaroons and bonbons last summer."

"Well if you ever want to hang out you can join me sometime!" Marinette offered, the fact that Chloe was her arch nemesis in life suddenly became a nonfactor. The innocent smile on Marinette's face was something Chloe never got to witness before. A friend wanted to hang out with her for reasons beyond her wealth and beauty.

"Oh please!" Chloe suddenly changed her tone back to the high and mighty princess. "If I was going to bake silly old macaroons and bonbons with you…it'd be at my chef's kitchen!" she hesitated. "We have enough room for everyone there, your bakery is too small."

"Everyone?" Marinette asked. She looked around to see that the five of them barely fit behind the counter together. "Deal." She smiled brightly.

"Don't go getting any ideas either, this is a one-time offer. So don't go thinking I'm doing this to be nice to you! I just want to prove I can bake better than the baker's daughter!" Chloe said stiffly and Marinette chuckled, she knew better. She knew Chloe was using a cover story.

Adrien smiled again for the first time in a few hours, Chloe was actually attempting to get along with someone other than himself. The half-hearted bickering between Marinette and Chloe continued for a few minutes before a small noise was heard from the door.

Just outside the bakery a very luxurious car pulled up and parked on the side street. A tall slender man in an expensive vest suit walked up to the bakery door to see the 'closed' sign hanging in the window. He frowned.

'I know I'm late, but I didn't think they'd be closed by the time I got here… Why didn't Adrien call me?' Felix thought as he looked at his phone. A paper sign written in green caught his attention

'Welcome Felix!'

He smiled. 'Adrien closed a whole bakery for me?'

He was glad to see that the door wasn't locked and he stepped inside. The bell above the door went off and Adrien's heart skipped a beat. The adrenaline rushed through his chest and up to his cheeks. The entrance of the shop wasn't visible from the kitchen or party room, but everyone heard the bell jingle and they all froze. Adrien's hands shook slightly as he took the flour encrusted apron off and peeked around the corner to witness his elder brother looking all around at the empty shelves where the baked goods were usually kept.

Adrien stepped out from behind the counter and stood a mere few feet (meters) away from the man he hadn't seen in years. Felix had his back to him and didn't hear him walk over. Felix was busy examining the Ladybug décor and advertisements. The moment was surreal to Adrien, tears pooled in his eyes and threatened to fall before he could even speak.

"F-felix…" Adrien said shakily. Felix's head whipped around to see his younger brother standing there half in tears and covered head to toe in flour.

"Adrien!" Felix shouted as he dropped his suit case and grabbed his brother in a hug that rivaled Gorilla's strength.

"You'll ruin your suit!" Adrien exclaimed.

"I don't care!" Felix cried out as he lifted Adrien a few inches off the ground. "I missed you too much to let a little flour come between us!"

Everyone gathered around to witness the moment, it brought tears to Marinette's eyes and Chloe ran over and joined in on the hug.

"Felix! I missed you!" she said through a sob. Felix set Adrien down and looked Chloe up and down from head to toe.

"Well well, Princess is all grown up now." He said warmly at her. "When did you become a lady? Have I really been gone that long?"

"Uhhuh!" Chloe was unable to speak properly as she forced her face into his chest.

"Adrien, when did you get so tall? Have you been working out? Why are you prettier than me?" Felix asked lightspeed fast as he grabbed him by the cheeks.

"It's been about three years, hasn't it? I'm sixteen now!" Adrien said with a blushing giggle. "You've gotten taller yourself, you know!"

Felix looked up to see around fifteen or so other people gathered around, all of them Adrien and Chloe's age. He raised an eyebrow and gave Adrien a worried glance.

"Oh, these are my classmates. They couldn't resist when I told them my long-lost brother was coming to visit. We ended up having to close the whole bakery so we could all fit in." Adrien said nervously hoping Felix didn't mind the extra company.

"I'm happy to see that you two have made so many friends over the years." Felix said with relief. "I was worried that father had done to you what he did to me. He locked me in that house through all of high school. When I turned 18 I basically ran away."

"He did actually, but I managed to convince him to let me go to high school half way through my first year." Adrien said as he noticed the woe in Felix's eyes.

"I'm glad you won your freedom back." Felix half joked. "By the way, you didn't need to reserve a whole bakery for me."

"It wasn't really intended, this is Marinette's bakery and she voluntarily closed it for us." Adrien said as he pointed at the blushing girl with dark blue pigtails.

Felix cocked a grin. "You two must be really close."

"Yeah, I'm really close to everyone here." Adrien said not realizing the hidden meaning behind Felix's words. Marinette understood the meaning well and turned bright red. Alya and Nino did a whooping call and Chloe began to rant about how she was the closest person in the world to Adrien.

After everything settled down Felix joined them in eating the green wedding cake which he felt honored to have his name on. It was a wild night of music, sweets, tears, reminiscing, and even some games. It was all dreamlike until a loud rumble caused the building to shake.

Marinette and Adrien groaned in unison, they knew full well what was happening.

"I'm gonna go check to see what that noise was! It could be my oven exploding or the freezer short circuiting!" Marinette lied as she dashed out the back door to transform.

"I'll check the front to make sure no one gets in!" Adrien lied and bolted for the front door leaving Felix behind with a very cautious expression.

After another set of rumbles Felix slowly looked down into the box of items that he requested Adrien to bring with him and opened it. He fumbled through them until he found the silver belt buckle with bat wings. He attached it to his belt and stood up and calmly made his way to the front door.

"Felixikins, stay with me and guard me! I'm scared!" Chloe said in a phony voice, she knew damn well that Chat Noir and Ladybug would save them all, she just wanted to be alone with Felix.

"I'm going to look for Adrien and make sure he is safe." Felix said solemnly before turning to Chloe and winking. "I trust you to protect your friends while I'm gone, you're quite strong yourself."

Chloe blushed and agreed.

Once outside he could see Chat Noir and Ladybug fighting a massive akumatized victim. An orb of light emerged from his belt buckle and out popped a batlike figure. Felix didn't even glance at it as he strolled casually down the dark street towards an alley and hid behind the walls of the tall buildings. The bat floated up to his face and squeaked at him almost wickedly.

"Are you sure about using me of all the Kwamis you could have picked from?" the bat said teasingly.

"Vaati, this is no time to question me. Jackk and Boazz wouldn't know what to do here. You and I however worked well together in the past." Felix said firmly.

"Well Felix old buddy, do your thing!" Vaati shrugged.

"Vaati, wings out." Felix said and Vaati was sucked back into the belt buckle and Felix transformed into a dark figure with bat ears, thigh high black boots, black bodysuit, shoulder length black gloves, and large bat wings that connected from under the arms down to the wrists and up to the shoulders. The silver bat miraculous turned black and the center of it showed six fangs that lit up red.

At a neck-breaking speed he took flight to join the fight with Chat Noir and Ladybug. The akuma was a large balloon animal shaped like an elephant and it had Chat Noir wrapped in its trunk. Ladybug was about to use her luckycharm when the earpiercing screech hit her senses like a freight train. Chat struggled to cover his ears before they bled. The screech had immobilized the balloon elephant in place.

"What in the world was that?" Chat croaked as he writhed in agony.

Before Ladybug could even answer a dark figure swooped down front the top of a building and used his sharp wings to pop the balloon animal. Chat was tangled in a mess of deflated rubber, but was cut out by the wings of the new hero. The bat helped him out of his mess and stood Chat upright.

Both Ladybug and Chat looked him up and down and gave a gawking stare.

"Are you a super hero?" Ladybug asked pensively.

"Yes, I am Mercielago, the bat miraculous holder." He said darkly as Chat had an uneasy feeling about him.

"I don't recall seeing a bat miraculous at Master Fu's house." Ladybug said in almost wonder.

"Master Fu does not have all of the miraculouses. There are dozens of them. He only ever had seven of them. I have some of the others, but today I am using the bat miraculous." He explained.

"You have more than one miraculous?!" Chat asked dumbfounded.

"Did you know you can wield more than one at once, but it gets very difficult to do so." He explained as another loud noise could be heard further down the street.

A balloon tiger was ripping apart cars and chasing civilians. The three jumped in and managed to pop the tiger as three more animals rushed them from around the corner. Chat's sharp claws popped the horse as Mercialago's sharp wings popped the alligator. Ladybug's lucky charm turned into a sword in which she was able to pop the snake balloon.

Hawkmoth stared on in wonder. "Since when was the bat miraculous found? It's been lost for ccenturies!" He continued to watch the fight in almost horror as the trio slashed away at the balloons like they were nothing. "The last thing I need is for there to be other miraculous holders helping Chat Noir and Ladybug!" he grit his teeth.

The clown began pumpking faster and faster with his air pump and dozens of balloon animals sprang forth. Just as Mercielago was ready to active his super power Chat Noir jump ahead.

"Cataclysm!" he shouted as he swiped them all down in one swing of his deadly paw. Mercielago watched in pure awe at how Chat Noir pummeled his enemies with ease. Seeing how amazing Chat Noir and Ladybug were on television was nothing compared to seeing it firsthand.

"There it is! The akuma!" Chat shouted as he pointed to the clown's air pump.

"This party is over Pennywise!" Ladybug shoulder as her sword stabbed through the pump with ease. "Back to the sewers with you!"

The butterfly emerged and Ladybug cleansed it and set the damage back to normal. The buildings that had been crumpled were fixed and the cars that had been strewn across the streets were put back to their normal places.

"Pound it!" Ladybug and Chat Noir said in unison as they pounded their fists together. Mercielago watched in amusement as his aura of darkness faded. He knew how strong the duo was, but he never imagined that they'd make him feel utterly puny in their presence.

"Thank you, Mercielago." Ladybug smiled at him.

"I'm just glad I'm finally useful again." Mercielago said sheepishly. "I'm just disappointed that you two were so strong I didn't even get to use my secret power!" he said as he held up his detachable belt buckle that had sharp bat wings on it. The center of the buckle showed a screen much like Ladybug's yo-yo and Chat's pole.

"We've been doing fine until now, we could have handled it without you, but it's always nice to not have to struggle for the victory like we usually do. Winning without much of a fight is always a nice change of pace!" Chat said with a gloat.

"I think what Chat is trying to say is we appreciate the help, having a third hero makes everything easier." Ladybug giggled. "We're glad to meet you."

"I'm here to stay, so don't fret when the villains start getting tougher from here on out now that Hawkmoth knows there's a third villain." Mercielago said in a serious tone.

"What do you mean? Isn't Hawkmoth already trying his best? Why wouldn't he send tougher akumas out before? Why wait for a third hero?" Ladybug inquired.

"You see, the more miraculous holders that are active, the stronger his akumas get. The only reason today seemed like a piece of cake is because I didn't activate my miraculous until the akuma was already made." He explained. Ladybug and Chat Noir gave each other a frantic look. "I'd say it's best for me to deactivate my miraculous, but I have a goal to accomplish."

"And what goal would that be?" Chat asked with a confused expression.

"My father is Hawkmoth." Mercielago said in near monotone. Chat and Ladybug did a double take. "He hurt my mother and I want revenge on her behalf. He has her old miraculous which I intend to reclaim."

"How long have you known Hawkmoth's identity?" Ladubug asked, but before Mercielago could answer her earrings started beeping.

"For years now, it's only a matter of time before he realizes that his akuma are getting stronger and he is able to active his ultimate weapon." Mercielago said as Chat's ring began to beep as well.

"What weapon?" Ladybug asked quickly.

"He can akumatize multiple people at once with different powers. He gets one step closer to this ability the more miraculouses that activate. However…" Mercielago paused to give Ladybug an intense glare.

"You'll have to explain more next time, I'm about to detransform!" Ladubug said as she hooker her yoyo to the top of a building and was whisked off to another street. Chat followed suit and pole vaulted in the opposite direction.

Mercielago returned to his dark alley and detransformed. Vaati reemerged and groaned loudly.

"I'm so hungry!" the bat squaked as he landed as a deadweight on Felix's palm.

"I didn't even use the batterang." Felix said flatly.

"But it's been years since I've gotten the chance to stretch my wings and the first thing I do is fight an akuma? I haven't fought an actual akuma in over seven hundred years!" Vaati whined as he flailed in his open palm.

"Fine, but next time you're getting fruit." Felix said as he held up his index finger of his other hand to the bat kwami who bit it with joy.

Adrien and Marinette returned to the bakery to see that everyone was safe and sound. Chloe was bandaging Felix's finger up as the two sat down next to him.

"I cut it on a piece of glass outside when I went to look for you." Felix lied as he saw Adrien's worried glance. Marinette's eyebrow furrowed.

'The ladybug spell should have reversed all damage and injuries, why didn't it reverse Felix's cut?' she thought. 'Neither Chat Noir or Mercielago got cut at all in the fight, so he can't be either of them. He must have cut it after I cleansed the town.'

The party wrapped up with a bunch of hugs and greetings. Felix grabbed the box that Adrien brought and carried it to his car and set it in the floor of the passenger seat. Felix offered to take Adrien home as everyone else walked home. The car ride was fun to Adrien, he got alone time with Felix to talk about the silly and girly gifts they'd gotten each other in the past and how many holidays they needed to make up for. Adrien rolled the sunroof shut and turned off the music and Adrien became curious.

"We're not going the right direction, do you not remember how to get home?" Adrien asked, he wasn't nervous, but he was on high alert.

"I'm not taking you back to that hellhole." Felix said sternly. "I want you to come stay with me, I rented a hotel room at the far end of town so that not even the Bourgeois can find us."

"But why?" Adrien was starting to feel the anxiety seep in.

"Father will keep you locked in that house now that a new super hero has emerged." Felix said as he rounded a sharp corner.

"Why? Won't that mean I'm even safer in the streets than before?" Adrien couldn't quite grasp what could possibly be wrong. Wordlessly, Felix pulled up to a rundown hotel that probably didn't even have its own website.

Adrien pensively followed Felix to a room at the top of the building. It was only three stories tall, but there were no other buildings as tall nearby so the view of Paris was serene and unparalleled. Felix closed the curtains and locked the door. He set the box on one of the two beds and pulled out his suitcase and laid it next to the box.

"Why did you want all that stuff back from me anyways?" Adrien asked as he sat down on the adjacent bed and watched his brother pull out the snake fang necklace and the bunny ear headband.

"It's going to take a small army of us…." Felix mumbled as he opened the suitcase to reveal four fancy pieces of jewelry inside.

"Uhhh…what?" Adrien asked dumbly as he watched Felix set a pair of brass knuckles, two horns looped in circles, and two pairs of earrings. "What are these for?"

Felix resisted the urge to smirk, but the situation was too serious for joking around.

"Do you know what a miraculous is?" Felix started and Adrien's eyes widened, but then softened again.

"Yeah, they're the things that Hawkmoth is after. He wants Ladybug and Char Noir's miraculouses." Adrien answered. This was public knowledge and nothing to be suspicious about.

"There are many other miraculouses, but so far only four are on the game board." Felix said as he turned to Adrien who was swallowing a lump in his throat. "Thus far the ladybug, the black cat, the bat, and the butterfly are the only ones who have been activated."

"I s-see, news of that new hero spread pretty quick….. didn't it?" Adrien stammered. "That Merci…what's his name again?" he said pretending to not know many details.

"Mercielago, it's Spanish for bat." Felix told him as he held up his belt buckle. "I am Mercielago, tonight I activated the miraculous that I'd assumed for years you'd awaken yourself, but you never did."

Adrien's eyes wandered from the buckle to his brother's sincere expression. His mouth hung open a bit as he watched the bat kwami peek out from Felix's collar. He was speechless, both excited and heartbroken. Excited because he'd get to kick akuma-ass on a daily basis with his brother, but heartbroken because he's been keeping this amazing secret for years now.

"But wait, then that means…. You said your father was Hawkmoth! That can't be true!" Adrien's emerald eyes lost their sparkle as he sunk to the floor.

"How did you know I said father was Hawkmoth? I only told that to….Ladybug….and Chat…Noir…" Felix said slowly as he kneeled before Adrien and lifted his hands. He saw a silver ring that looked very ordinary resting upon Adrien's finger. "Does father know about this ring?" he asked as he squeezed Adrien's hand tighter than he meant to.

"Yes, but he doesn't know what it is…" Adrien said as he bit his lip.

"Are you Chat Noir?" Felix asked as he stood back up and took a step backwards.

Adrien rose to his feet with his gaze fixated on his own shoes. Plagg popped his head up and waved. "Hey Felix, been a while, eh buddy?"

Felix waved back dumbly, almost in denial. "No wonder you didn't activate another miraculous, you already had one!" Felix applauded the teary eyes Adrien.

"You know my brother?" Adrien asked Plagg.

"Yeah, he was Chat Noir at one time about seven years ago. Ladybug wasn't around, but Master Fu let Felix use me to stop the spider miraculous from causing a lot of trouble. He never went public though and he only transformed a few times." Plagg explained.

"I thought you smelled like camembert cheese!" Felix laughed loudly and Adrien looked up at him in with in his eyes.

"Does this mean you're here to stay?" Adrien smiled weakly. "Mercielago said he was sticking around for a while, you're him right?"

"Of course, as I was saying earlier before you both almost detransformed, the akumas will be a lot stronger from here on out, but they'll also be further apart. You're used to seeing them daily, but you won't see them but once a week or so." Felix explained as he laid a hand on Adrien's left shoulder.

"That just means less chances to see Ladybug." Adrien frowned.

"Ahh, the cat's curse!" Felix sighed out dreamily.

"The what?"

"The cat's curse, every Chat Noir ever has fallen madly in love with his Ladybug. It's not a real curse, but that's fate for you." Felix laughed.

"Is father really Hawkmoth?" Adrien asked trying to change the subject. "You said he hurt mother, what did he do?"

Felix's smile dropped and he turned to Adrien with a twinge of sorrow in his eyes. "Do you remember going to Tibet for vacation when we were small?"

"Yes, it was a blast!" Adrien exclaimed.

"Mother and father found a book about the miraculouses there, along with the butterfly and peacock miraculouses. They used to wield their powers with great honor and pure intentions, but after the wasp and spider miraculouses emerged in Xinjiang they were forced to use their powers against people just as strong as them for the first time. Father was too stubborn to admit that his powers relied heavily on using other people and he began to use people with negative emotions rather than pure intentions to fight. One of his akumatized followers stuck mother in combat and paralyzed her from the waist down." Felix paused as he took a seat on the bed and Adrien sat next to him.

"Wait, where is mom? Do you know? Is she ok? Can I see her soon?" Adrien asked as he grabbed Felix by the collar of his vest which cause Vaati to flee. Plagg followed Vaati over to the window and began playfully pouncing at him.

"Mother is fine, she is in London getting therapy. You'll get to see her quite soon actually." Felix said softly. "But you mustn't allow father to know where she is. She may never get to walk again…" he added with a shiver.

Adrien wasn't sure if he was supposed to be excited or depressed, but he quivered and let go of Felix's vest.

"Why does father want the ultimate power of the Ladybug and Chat Noir miraculouses?" Adrien asked.

"I can take a few guesses, but I'm not entirely sure. I am certain however that he is up to no good." Felix said as he held the bat miraculous in his hand.

"You mentioned that it would take a small army, I'm assuming you meant to defeat fath-Hawkmoth." Adrien said.

"Indeed, and back to that topic… I have another detail to add." Felix began and Adrien's ears burned to hear more. "Not just anyone can wield a miraculous, it takes a very strong willed being to bring out the best in the super hero. The wrong person, even if they're strong, won't match up with a Kwami very well. Seeing you in combat has showed me that you're a great fit for the cat miraculous, far better than I was. I prefer Vaati over there because we sync up so well. I sent him to you in hopes that since you're my brother that you'd do well with him. Apparently that isn't necessary though."

Adrien looked over to see that Vaati and Plagg were across the room locked in a rock, paper, scissors deathmatch.

"I get along great with Plagg, but sometimes his love for stinky cheese overwhelms me." He laughed lightly. Felix smirked.

"Be glad it isn't aged goat cheese he likes…" Felix chided. Adrien stuck out his tongue and gagged.

"Those friends of yours at the bakery, how much do you trust them? How well do you know them?" Felix asked as he picked up the brass knuckle set and held them in his open palm.

"I know them all quite well, I've spent three years in high school with the exact same class. I've seen them handle akumas without a miraculous, I've seen them charge in and help Ladybug and I with no weapons or powers…." Adrien smiled and looked over to Felix to add, "and win!"

"Even Chloe?" Felix smirked knowing the girl's true nature.

"EspeciallyChloe!" Adrien winked.

"We have our work cut out for us tomorrow then!" Felix grinned. "At long last the miraculouses will have their masters again."

"Tomorrow?" Adrien asked curiously. "Tomorrow is the Halloween party though!"

"Master Fu is on his way to deliver three miraculouses to chosen heroes who he has watched closely over the last three years. Your party may have to wait." Felix winked. "And I will be delivering all of these miraculouses to the list of people he gave me."

"These are all miraculouses?!" Adrien shouted as he stared at the six objects on the bed.

"Yes, they are the snake, ox, rabbit, rooster, tiger, and wolf miraculouses." Felix said as he set the brass knuckles back in the suitcase along with the others. "I have spent the last three years travelling the world to find these. I've bought some of them, dug some up, and I even stole one from a villain."

"I bet Nino would make a good wolf, Alya a good tiger, Chloe a good snake, and Marinette a good rabbit." Adrien pondered.

"Actually, the list Master Fu gave me combined with the list he has for his three miraculouses doesn't include that Marinette girl, yet she seemed the most capable to me." Felix pondered.

"She is sort of clumsy, but she's incredibly brave!" Adrien said. "I bet he's got a secret miraculous for her!"

"No such thing." Felix pondered.

"What makes you think Marinette was the most capable?" Adrien asked.

"She was the very first to respond to the rumbles of the akuma. She knew it wasn't her stove exploding or her freezing shutting off. She was running to go save people or keep her parents calm. She was the first responder and the only one to not get scared. She had the qualities of a super hero, but I don't understand why Master Fu didn't include her!" Felix said with annoyance. "I've never once doubted his actions and choices, there must have been a reason why."

"Maybe we can ask Master Fu tomorrow before he gives away all the miraculouses?" Adrien suggested.

"Perhaps, but for now we should rest. It's already past midnight and you have school in the morning!" Feliz said as he touched Adrien's nose with his bandaged finger.

Tomorrow was going to be the clusterfuck of the millennia.

BLK: Yes, I stole the name Vaati from Legend of Zelda.