Welcome to my newest story! For the last...maybe 3 months I've been planning this out, plotting out the story line. And I decieded to post the first chapter today.

Most updates will be on Fridays, not Wednseday.

...so, if you can guess WHY it was released today instead of this Friday - which will also recieve an update this week - I will do one of two things. I will either give you the entire next chapter; so if you guess what it is after 13 chapters, you'll get the 14, or if you guess on 9 you'll get 10, ect, or will answer any one question you might have.

I suppose that's mostly it, you can skip the rest of the author's notes for the real story.

(:)

Wondering where all The Dark Knight references come from? I had just watched the movie for the first time when I wrote this chapter. Was creeped out. Still sorta am. But it gave me a lot of ideas for Chat Blanc!

Also…I am…really, really devastated. I can't believe that Notre Dame burned. (Several months late to the party. Team idiot) It's…wow. I can't believe it.

(:)

If I Killed Someone for You

-Alec Benjamin

Marinette remembered first hearing that Chat Noir was akumatized.

Nadja was reporting that a strange, blond-haired person dressed in a white cat suit was going around destroying monuments, touching people with his destructive claws, and calling out threats to all who dared come near him.

It didn't take a genius to figure out he had been akumatized.

It was – surprisingly – much harder to beat Chat Blanc then she had been expecting. It had taken her several hours to figure out how to break his ring, and had done so effectively, though had closed her eyes when she captured the akuma and tossed lucky charm into the air to fix everything.

She didn't peak when Chat Noir dully slipped his ring back on and summoned his powers back, asking what had happened.

Once he was reverted to normal, and his secret identity secure, she immediately explained everything she could to him with her limited time.

That night, the news exploded.

Angry mods were throughout town, yelling threats at Chat Noir, screaming that he had killed almost everyone – if not everyone - they knew, that he had wrecked everything, and so how could they trust him anymore? How could they depend on him to defend them from akumas when he had been one himself? How could they forgive him for his crimes?

Saturday passed, and the mods were only expanding.

Sunday, and everyone who wasn't joining in the protests stayed inside. Even Marinette's parents were beginning to mumble.

"I don't think she knows."

"The entire city is raging…how could she not know?"

"Marinette appreciates Chat Noir so much…I don't want her to know."

"The city hates him, though. I'm starting to lose faith in him, myself."

"Tom! You've been akumatized too, don't forgot."

"But I didn't kill people, I'm sure."

"Ladybug's lucky charm fixed everything, they're all fine. It's not technically killing."

"It still happened. He still turned people to ash, he still wiped out half of the city's population."

"We shouldn't tell Marinette. She'll be so upset…"

"She'll find out from all her friends, tomorrow, though…"

"Is it even safe for her to go to school, Tom?"

"I don't know, Sabine. It's only across the street."

"But there's so many dangerous mobs out there…what if something happens to her?"

"I can escort her, if you'd like."

"Yes, that's a good idea. Thank you, sweetie."

"Of course, honey."

As her parents fell silent, Marinette realized she felt like crying. Even her own parents, the most kind, considerate people in all of Paris, doubted Chat Noir. It was like she was the only person to still believe in him. The only person who still cared about him, akumatized or not.

She learned, after going to school the next day, that was not true. Instead of wearing her usual, flowery shirt, she wore a black shirt with a black cat embroidered into the middle, its green eyes bright and intelligent, a green collar with a yellow bell around its neck, and a fluff of blond fur atop its head. It was obvious what it symbolized. Ne méprise pas le chat noir was written across the top of the shirt in jade-green lettering. 'Don't despise the black cat.' That was the motto Marinette would use. The words she would say whenever someone questioned her interest in the feline.

Since it would obviously be a color clash with her shirt, Marinette also ditched her grey signature jacket in exchange for a green sweater. Her pink jeans became green leggings. After quite a bit of shopping, Marinette had also purchased a pair of black slip-on shoes. To complete her look of pro-Chat Noir, she replaced her pink purse-jacket with a green and black one, hosting the same symbol as her shirt with the black cat.

It was no secret that Chat Noir was still among the best super-heroes in her mind.

However, as normal, Alya ignored the obvious, and didn't even notice the wardrobe-change Marinette was presenting. Instead, the blogger danced into a rant about how Chat Noir being akumatized was wrong, uncivil. He had killed people, and how could they forgive him? Alya had added bitterly that he had Cataclysmed her twin sisters together, the two girls frozen in a scream, and how Nora hadn't even stood a chance against his feline-reflexes. Then, quick as a wink, Chat Blanc had killed her parents as they stepped into the door. Before she could properly understand what had just happened, Chat had vanished out the window, as if he had never been there.

As Alya finished with her story, Adrien and Nino had entered the classroom, obviously in a heated argument, since they were both making wild hand motions.

"Remember," Marinette began, trying to ignore the two boys, "It wasn't Chat Noir who killed them, it was Hawkmoth, using Chat Noir's powers and body, creepy as it sounds. It was Hawkmoth who teared them all apart."

"Marinette, you don't understand!" Alya exploded, tears gathering at the edges of her eyes. "Your family hadn't been effected by him; he hadn't even touched your block before Ladybug showed up. If he had, you'd understand! He killed every family he got his hand on! It was like Thanos, but worse, because you actually knew what was going on! If he had gotten his claws on you, he would've killed all but one member of your family on purpose! Marinette, you don't…you don't know what we went through. Juleka? She was killed, along with her mom. Alix? Her father and brother. Max? Entire family but his mom. Nathanial? His mother and his father both murdered. Mylene witnessed her family's deaths. Nino saw-"

Nino turned around, slinging one arm across the back of his chair. "Are you guys talking about…Chat Blanc?"

"Who isn't?" Alya growled, crossing her arms in anger.

"It wasn't his fault." Adrien mumbled, slight doubt playing in the back of his eyes. "Hawkmoth overpowered him. Alya, you can't blame him for giving in. You either, Nino. You both were akumatized. TWICE."

Alya silently motioned '3 times' to Nino, who nodded back. The gesture went unnoticed by Adrien.

"Who in your family died, Adrien?" Alya inquired, ready to challenge him unconditionally. "How could you possibly know ho-?"

"My mom." Adrien flashed back, narrowing his eyes. "My mom died."

Alya knew she had crossed a line, horror instantly crossing her face as she leaned back from him.

It was an unspoken rule not to mention his mother. It was never confirmed that she had died; 'disappeared' was the word the press used, but everyone knew what that implied. She was a wonderful woman; she wouldn't have just abandoned her family.

Chat Noir may not have had any part in her death two years prior, but Adrien certainly knew their range of emotions. Maybe more so, since she hadn't magically returned form death several hours later. He didn't even know how she died. He hadn't even known she had died; he had to figure it out for himself. And, when he asked his father, the man's silence was enough.

All good reasons not to bring up the subject of his mother.

"Marinette, I see you've been standing up for Chat Noir." Adrien stated blankly, breaking the awkward silence as he stared at her wardrobe choices.

"Of course!" Marinette nodded, determined to agree. "It wasn't his fault; we've all given in to our angry thoughts before. We've all done things we shouldn't have; and we've regretted it. Why are we treating him different from us?"

"Because we trusted him, dude." Nino scoffed, running his hand down his face as if he was dealing with two idiotic toddlers who were asking the dumbest questions ever. "We trusted him to protect us; we knew we could rely on him through thick and thin. But then he literally turned our families to nothing but ash, he killed them mercilessly. He threw Chris' ash into my face and laughed. He laughed as if this is all some sick joke. Then he was gone. I swear, if you put cats and the Joker together and mixed them in a blender, it'd be Chat Blanc."

"He…he threw the ash into your face?" Adrien balked, surprise, and maybe fear coming to surface on his face.

"And laughed, dude. He literally laughed. He's Joker all the way around."

"Wait, no, Hawkmoth's Joker." Alya corrected, refraining from looking at Adrien. "Chat Blanc's like Two Face. And Two Face began doing it all on his own after only a little bit of temptation."

"But it's not like he flipped a coin to figure out which families to kill." Nino grunted. "It was 'last family member standing gets to live'. So, yeah, he's like if you stuffed Two Face, Joker, and cats into a blender."

"What if making the people of Paris turn on Chat Noir was all part of Hawkmoth's plan?" Marinette disagreed, narrowing her eyes. "Just like Two Face becoming evil was Joker's plan. Hawkmoth just won, and you just let him."

Adrien was looking more and more horrified as the conversation went on, staring into space. "It's not right." He said hesitantly, lifting his dull gaze to Marinette's. "It's not right at all what he did, but it's also not right how Paris is treating him."

"Exactly!" Marinette agreed, relieved that Adrien was still on her side.

"No, not exactly!" Alya protested. "He destroyed everything! He traumatized people for life! He deserves much worse than a few mobs!"

"You know what?" Adrien glared, standing abruptly. "Forget this. I'm not going to argue about this. Chat, yes, was in the wrong, but we're in the wrong, too, by overreacting! Marinette, get over here."

Marinette, surprised by his bossy, powerful tone, obeyed.

"Nino, get up there." Adrien pointed to Marinette's old seat, and Nino, also shocked, obeyed as well. Adrien slid over to his best friend's former spot, and patted the seat beside him, motioning for Marinette to sit down.

"And enough of the argument for today." He announced as the bell rang, school beginning with all the students bustling into their assigned rows.