Adrien sighed as he walked on through the forest and back to the Kingdom. His kwami, Plagg, bursted out of his pocket in protest.

"What are you doing?" Plagg asked. "Leaving the girl you love behind just like that?"

"It's my fault Marinette was put in danger, Plagg," Adrien whispered. "She probably hates me."

"I doubt that," Plagg replied, crossing his arms. "Now go back there!"

"You only care because the pub has Camembert," Adrien mumbled.

"The best!" Plagg replied with a toothy grin.

Adrien sighed and held a hand close to his heart. "If only I could see Ladybug again. That'd put my mind at ease. She's so brave and heroic."

"Uhh... that might not be long from now!" Plagg exclaimed, pointing towards the sky. Adrien turned around and gasped. There were people trapped in bubbles and they were floating in the sky!

Adrien clenched his fists. "We need to help! Plagg, claws out!"

Meanwhile, Ladybug focused on the bubble casting villain. Again, she was amazed at these villain's powers, but she had to remain vigilant.

"What are you doing?!" Ladybug yelled.

"I am The Bubbler! Ready to strike back at those stupid adults! They caused the pain in our village!" he roared angrily.

Ladybug gasped. "Nino?"

The Bubbler growled and summoned a bubble, sending it hurdling towards Ladybug. She quickly jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding it.

"Where are the adults going?" Ladybug asked.

"Some place where they will never boss us around again!" The Bubbler replied. He then sent an army of bubbles towards Ladybug. She gasped and prepared her yoyo for the attack.

Then, Chat Noir swooped in out of her nowhere, landing besides Ladybug. He smirked and started deflecting the bubbles with his pole. "Looks like I came just in time," he proclaimed.

"I had it covered. But thanks," Ladybug winked.

"Go Ladybug!" Alya screamed from the crowd of people who formed around the attack. Everyone started cheering for the superheroes.

The Bubbler growled furiously and faced the crowd. "Why are you all cheering for them?"

"Because, duh, she's the superhero!" Alix yelled.

"Fine, if that's how you feel, then feel free to join the adults in the sky!" he roared. Then, he formed giant bubbles and sent them over to the teenagers.

"No!" Ladybug and Chat yelled, watching their friends get captured in the bubbles.

"Help!" Mylene whimpered from the sky.

"Get me out of here!" Kim screamed.

"Help us Ladybug!" Alya shouted.

Ladybug faced The Bubbler. "Let them go!" she warned. "Let them all go!"

"No way! Your friends were annoying. And adults always get in the way of the fun!"

"Adults protect us and love us!" Ladybug yelled.

"Most of them do, anyhow," Chat mumbled. "You must bring back the adults!"

"Too bad!" The Bubbler screeched. "Say goodbye!"

Ladybug furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't think so!" She threw her yoyo at The Bubbler and it wrapped around his wrist. She yanked it back hard, causing him to fly forward and land on the ground. He growled and waved his wand above his head, summoning a bubble. It came flying towards Ladybug.

"Watch out!" Chat yelled, jumping in front of her. The bubble swallowed him whole and he floated helplessly up into the sky.

"Chat!" Ladybug exclaimed.

"You got this!" Chat yelled, his voice muffled. He frantically looked around himself. "But just hurry up before this cat travels to space!"

The Bubbler chuckled and faced Ladybug. "Now it's just you and me."

Ladybug gripped her yoyo even tighter. "You won't be laughing very soon," she said, throwing her yoyo up in the air.

"Lucky Charm!"

Down from the sky, a simple plate fell into Ladybug's hands. She raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

She looked around quickly, searching for any clues. Then, it all fit together. She smiled triumphantly.

"I hope you can catch!" she exclaimed, bringing back her elbow. She released the plate from her hand and it soared towards The Bubbler's face. He gasped and raised his wand in front of his face to deflect it.

The plate made contact with the wand and the force knocked it out of his hand. It clattered to the ground. Ladybug sprinted over to the wand, grabbed it, and skid to a stop. She snapped it in half, releasing the akuma.

She brought out her yoyo and opened it. "No more evil doings for you, little akuma."

Ladybug swung it around herself quickly. "Time to erase evil!" She captured the akuma and when it was released, it was a white butterfly again. "Bye-bye, little butterfly."

Ladybug grabbed the plate and threw it up in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

A red flash washed over the village, returning everything to normal. Chat blinked a few times from his bubble that was in the sky. "Uh-oh," he mumbled. The red flash washed over him and he was sent free-falling through the air. He screamed helplessly.

Ladybug glanced up and saw her partner falling to the ground. She formed a net with her yoyo string between two trees directly beneath him. Chat safely landed into it.

"Thank goodness for you, my lady," Chat sighed with relief. He hopped out of the net and grabbed Ladybug's hand. He kissed it tenderly.

Ladybug pulled her hand back, laughing. "Silly kitty. You are quite the flirtatious one, huh?"

Chat smirked and winked. "You got it."

Nino blinked a few times. "Huh? What happened?"

Ladybug's earrings beeped. She covered it with her hand.

"Sorry, I'd love to stay and chat, but I gotta go before my transformation wears off. See you later!"

Ladybug soared away with her yoyo while Chat watched her silently.

"I can't wait," he called out after her, but deep down inside, he was so sad. Chances are, he would never save the day with Ladybug again.

*

Marinette snuck into the empty pub and grabbed a few cookies. She fed them to Tikki who was delighted.

"Yum!" Tikki cheered, nibbling on the cookie.

"Eat up because we're going to find Adrien," Marinette replied in a hushed tone.

*

"Are you sure you want to leave? People in that village admire Chat Noir you know!" Plagg shouted annoyingly.

Adrien sighed as he walked down his previous trail. "I'm sure, Plagg. The least I can do as a superhero is to make sure those people are out of danger. If my father found out I stayed at their village, everyone would get punished."

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Come on! I see the way you look at that Marinette girl or whatever. I say we go back and order some Camembert!"

"It's just your stomach talking, Plagg," Adrien replied quietly. "And she and I are just friends. Friends keep other friends out of danger, right?"

"Well, when you put it that way," Plagg mumbled, trailing off.

"I'm gonna return to the Kingdom like nothing ever happened," Adrien nodded. "Yeah, that'll be okay. And when my father returns, he won't suspect a thing."

"And what about Chloe? Are you sure she won't tell anyone?" Plagg asked.

Adrien frowned. "She's a whole new problem."

Adrien kept walking on silently until he reached the gates of the Kingdom. He sighed as he gazed upon the establishment. Back to his strict life. Surprisingly, there were no guards on duty.

"Adrien!" a voice then called out. He turned around quickly.

Soaring at him was Ladybug. She slid to a stop in front of him, breathing heavily.

"Don't go back," Ladybug said. "Your father will punish you!"

"I have to," Adrien replied quietly. "If I don't, everyone I care about in that village will get punished because of me."

Ladybug walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Not if I can help it."

Adrien blushed.

"People there... they c-care about you," Ladybug said shakily. She looked deep into his eyes. "Chat Noir and I, we'll fight off the Kingdom's guards."

Adrien widened his eyes. He began to process her words. Could he actually fight off the Kingdom? His father?... Of course he could. He was kept in isolation ever since he was born. His father had always treated him coldly. He would fight for his friends.

"Okay," Adrien nodded. "I'll come back."

"Yes!" Ladybug squealed happily. Then, she widened her eyes and composed herself. "Uh, I mean, good."

Adrien laughed and scratched the back of his neck.

"I'll, uh, meet you back at the village, then!" Ladybug suggested. "I mean, I would carry you, there, but that'd just be awkward. Plus I wouldn't be able to move around efficiently and--"

She looked at the confused expression on Adrien's face and stopped. She smiled sheepishly. "I'll stop talking now."

Adrien nodded and laughed, a blush remaining on his cheeks. "Alright."

Ladybug waved before soaring off back towards the village. Adrien smiled as Plagg bursted out of his pocket.

"I knew you'd make the right choice," Plagg said happily.

"Yeah, I'm glad I did. Plagg, claws--"

Adrien stopped abruptly as he heard a gun click from behind him. Plagg quickly hid back in Adrien's pocket. Adrien turned around and gasped. Chloe was smirking sinisterly at him as she held a gun up to Adrien's face.

"Hello, Adrikins. Care to have a chat?"