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Adrien had often wished that he could break away from the portrait painted of him by all of the world. That he could be more than just the son of esteemed fashion king Gabriel Agreste and be Chat Noir all the time. At least he used to, but as he stared at the boy across from him wearing his face, he realized just how wishful that thought was.
“W-What happened?” The boy asked, looking his superhero persona up and down. Chat folded his arms over his chest with a pensive frown, staring at the two pads flashing on his ring.
“Buckle up, princess. This is where it gets interesting.”
***
All hell broke loose during a particularly forgettable chemistry lecture as hell often did in the city of Paris. Not that Adrien minded; in fact, he welcomed it, dashing to the nearest secluded space with an elated smirk.
“Claws Out!”
Chat Noir vaulted himself down into the action, front flipping impressively into his landing. He twirled his staff around his back, catching it at his side and spreading his legs into a wide stance, limbs ready for action.
The akuma wielded a giant axe, cleaving its victims in two with a single swing. Several students stared at their copies in confusion for a moment before things got really weird.
“Hey, you nasty superfreak! You wanna go?” A familiar voice shouted above the chaos.
Was that…Mylene?
The small girl placed her hands on her hips and glared challengingly up at the villain with unwavering confidence. Chat noticed her twin cowering under the stairs not too far off.
“You should stay back,” Chat advised, but she spun on him in an instant.
“You wanna go too, catboy? I’ll take you both on!” She bowed up at him.
“Hey, no one’s knocking out Chat Noir and Ladybug except me!” The voice belonged to Alya. “Where is that Lazybug of yours?”
“Ohh, you did not just call my girl Ladybug lazy!” Another Alya growled.
“Uhh…” Chat took a step back as the three broke into a heated argument. What was going on?
“The akuma splits their personalities with that axe,” His partner’s hand on his shoulder startled him.
“Ladybug,” He sighed with relief.
“It looks like the axe creates an opposite copy of whatever aspect of them is the strongest. Be careful not to get hit by it.”
“Ladybug! I’ve got a bone to pick with you!”
“You’re not picking any of her bones!”
“It’s getting away! C’mon!” Ladybug gasped, grabbing his wrist and tossing her yoyo up to the roof. She tugged the slack, and they shot off after the villain while the people below argued amongst themselves.
“Are you two enjoying the show?” The akuma had stopped to wait for them on a rooftop, tracing a finger along the blade. “People are so petty and fake. They show you one side of themselves, pretend to be your friend and then they stab you in the back! I am Two Face, and I’m cutting out all the fakes!”
“Not on our watch,” Ladybug glared, leaping forward to land a kick. Chat Noir was right behind her, though the range of the axe made it difficult to get close without being cleaved.
“Come a little closer, Ladybug! I’ll rip your false-self right out!” They laughed maniacally.
“We can’t get close. Can you take out that ledge with your Cataclysm?” She pointed to the spot in question.
“With pleasure, m’lady,” He winked. “By the way, I’m sure every aspect of your personality is lovely.”
“Chat, focus,” She gave him a stern look.
“Enough talking!” Two Face roared.
“Cataclysm!” Chat dashed forward, leaning back to dodge the swing of her axe and sliding across the roof on his knees as his claws scraped the wood, rotting it on impact.
They spun on him with a deranged grin as the roof crumbled under them. With a forceful swing, she sent him flying through the café window across the street before getting lost in the wreckage.
“Chat!” Ladybug screamed.
He sat up, rubbing his head sorely and blinking a few times. Ladybug landed in front of him with a worried expression. Nothing about him felt off other than the ringing in his ears from crashing through the window. Perhaps the axe hadn’t hit him right?
“No worries, LB. All here and accounted for!” He assured her with one of his signature cheeky grins.
“Don’t scare me like that,” She scolded as they sprang back into the battle.
“And I assume that’s where you came in,” Chat interrupted his recount of the day’s events, cocking a brow to his civilian self.
“Y-Yeah,” Adrien nodded.
After Chat Noir pounced off after Ladybug, Adrien Agreste blinked open his eyes and found himself staring up at a wooden ceiling. His body felt tingly and sore, and he sat up, shaking shards of glass from his shirt. What was he doing there?
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” An older woman in an apron inquired. Her nametag read Sophie. Adrien glanced at the ring still on his finger and sighed with relief.
“I’m fine. Just a few scratches,” He insisted, trying to stand, but his legs felt numb so he fell back once more.
“Oh dear…Jean!” She called over her shoulder before stooping to help him to his feet. “Help me get this poor boy to the back!”
A tall man with sandy brown hair appeared from the back and rushed to support them as they stumbled around the counter. Jeez, what was wrong with his legs?
“I’ll get the antiseptic and some bandages,” Sophie fretted, racing off to fetch the first aid kit.
“Thank you very much,” Adrien smiled as she fumbled to get it open.
“No problem, sweetie. It’s just a shame you were in the way when Chat Noir came crashing in through that window. I don’t think they even saw you,” She dabbed his wounds with an alcohol-soaked cotton swab. “You’re lucky you’re not in worse shape. Hopefully they stop that villain soon.”
“Y-Yeah,” He rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. He needed to get away and help Ladybug.
A series of explosions sounded outside, rattling the building, and instinctively, Adrien lurched forward. Jean caught his shoulders quickly and pushed him back down.
“Better stay here, kid. Sounds like it’s getting bad out there,” He shook his head.
“Is it alright for me to stay? I don’t want to trouble you,” He winced.
“Of course, sweetie! Can we get you anything?”
“Do you have anything with cheese?” He asked, thinking of Plagg. It likely wouldn’t be Camembert, but he had to get him something.
“We have a delightful cheese Danish! I’ll go grab you one,” She offered, disappearing with Jean back to the front.
“Plagg!” He whispered, patting his clothes in search of his kwami. “Plagg?”
Adrien froze in horror, panic creeping up his spine. Where was Plagg? Had he gotten knocked out of the way when he detransformed? Slowly getting to his feet, he headed up front where Jean passed him a small bag.
“Thank you,” He smiled sheepishly.
“Make yourself at home,” He patted Adrien’s shoulder and grabbed a broom to sweep up the glass still on the floor.
Adrien survey the floor frantically, panic levels rising when Plagg remained nowhere in sight. Maybe he was outside, but he wasn’t getting out there so soon. With a sigh, he pulled up a chair and stared down at the pastry bag in his hands, leg shaking as he waited.
Meanwhile, as the smoke cleared, Ladybug and Chat Noir landed across the street from the café, coughing and fanning away the smog. That got out of hand fast. He thought cars only exploded like that in movies, and he was still surprised that the akuma hadn’t affected him this time.
“It got away while we were blinded,” She groaned as the sky came into view once more. She glanced at his ring. “You should go recharge, and we’ll regroup later.”
“Don’t miss me too much, m’lady,” He winked, turning and reaching for his staff, but the person standing on the other side of the street made him stop dead in his tracks. So the akuma had split him after all, but where? What side of himself was standing over there? Anger? Fear? No, everything seemed to be normal, but clearly everything wasn’t!
“Adrien!” Ladybug gasped, smiling as the boy approached. He cast a wary glance at Chat before turning back to Ladybug. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a few scratches from a window, but I’m fine,” He shrugged, returning the smile. “You’re amazing. Fighting villains all the time must be tiring.”
Everything about him seemed so normal. It suddenly dawned on him that he and Adrien were quite different from each other…opposites even. His face paled as he realized just where the akuma had cleaved him, and everything was in fact not all accounted for.
“Sometimes,” Ladybug chuckled. “Speaking of, I should go find out where that one went. Try and stay out of trouble, okay?”
“Good luck!” He called as she tossed her yoyo across the town.
“Hurry and join me, Chat. I’ll need your help,” She instructed.
“Uh, y-yeah!” He waved as she shot off then turned to his double.
“And that’s where we are,” Chat shrugged. “I guess we’re kind of opposite personalities, so that’s why we got separated.”
“Okay, so how do we fix it?” Adrien cocked a brow. “You’ll change back soon, right? You already used Cataclysm.”
“Yeah, see, that’s what I’m not so sure about,” Chat winced, holding up his ring. “That last pad seems to be stuck.”
“So, you can’t change back?”
“Nope.”
“And you can’t use Cataclysm?”
“Doubtful.”
“Super,” Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose. Chat eyed the bag in his hands and reached for it carefully, an idea forming in his mind.
“Cheese, right?” He peeked inside. “Maybe if I eat this, it’ll recharge Plagg.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Adrien nodded as Chat stuffed the delicate pastry into his mouth. Swallowing, he glanced at his ring as the final pad stopped blinking.
“Hey, it’s working!” He gasped.
“But you need a full charge to use Cataclysm,” Adrien said pointedly.
“So, just get me more cheese Danishes,” Chat shrugged.
“I’ve got another idea, and you’re not gonna like it…”
“No.” Chat hissed several minutes later outside the cheese shop he often paid patronage as his other half held up a wheel of Camembert.
“It’s Plagg’s favorite,” He asserted with a smug grin.
“I’m. Not. Eating. It.” He articulated through clenched teeth. His ring beeped in protest, the last pad blinking once more as the overdramatic creature inside begged for the putrid cheese. “Fine…”
“For once, I’m happy to be Adrien,” His counterpart snickered as Chat lifted the cheese to his mouth and gagged. “I so do not envy you right now.”
“I hate both of you,” Chat groaned, plugging his nose and shoving the section into his mouth, chewing it quickly. He glanced at his ring which still flashed on the last pad. “Oh, come on!”
“You know Plagg usually eats the whole roll before we can go anywhere…” Adrien smirked.
“You’re a real ass; you know that?” Chat glared, snatching the wheel from his hands and proceeding to down the whole thing. After swallowing the last bite, his ring flashed green and all of the pads were restored.
“Good luck!” Adrien called as he shot off.
“I hate you!” He called over his shoulder.
He could hear commotion near the Eiffel Tower, and when he landed, Ladybug was locked in combat with Two Face, a mirror in one hand. Instead of springing into the action, he stayed back for a moment, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
“Instead of criticizing others for their faults, why don’t you look at yourself?” Ladybug grunted, flipping the mirror around so Two Face was forced to see her own reflection. She stopped with her axe raised in the air, and Chat saw his window.
“Cataclysm!” He called, relief washing over him as his power charged in his palm. He caught the axe as she lowered it, turning it to a pile of ash.
“Nice work, Chat Noir,” Ladybug praised, landing a kick on Two Face’s stomach and knocking her back, a small charm bracelet flying off her wrist. Ladybug crushed it under her foot, releasing the akuma and purifying it quickly.
“Bye-bye, little butterfly.”
“Pound it!” They cheered in unison, bumping fists.
“Thanks for your help. I’m cutting it close this time,” She let out a breath then sniffed the air curiously, nose wrinkling. “Why do you smell like Camembert?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it…” He slumped, reaching for his staff. “Just throw your stupid charm.”
“Miraculous Ladybug!”
Chat didn’t stick around as the damage around the city reversed, thousands of tiny bugs swirling around him and restoring his civilian form to his proper place.
He landed back in his room and collapsed onto the couch with a sigh as he changed back. Never in his life had he felt so relieved to be Adrien again. His life may have its complications, but from that moment on, he would be keeping Adrien and Chat Noir as they were, together.