A week had passed since Prime Queen appeared and Hawkmoth was eerily silent once again. By now, it wasn't any relief for the heroes of Paris. The villain was being more thoughtful this time with his akumatizations. Prime Queen was a test in the water, seeing who in the Miracle Team was still active, if anything about the heroes had changed, and even better, it was a practical ploy against them in the social battle they now fought. People hated akuma victims, most of Paris being unable to see them truly as the victims they were. And to create a villain that would broadcast their fight on live TV was incredibly well played. People were doubting the power of Ladybug and Chat Noir, now having exposed them as being a duo once again. Their strength in numbers was gone, and Chloe was their weakness.

Marinette tried to keep her mind off of it.

She and Luka were now officially dating. Her feelings for him were confused but every moment they spent together assured her that he really was a good choice for her. Luka was soft and touching, very sweet to Marinette. He treated her like she was a princess. It was unfamiliar to her. Luka was a crazy good musician, especially with guitar. He'd written numerous songs that Marinette would now listen to, and was part of the reason she was starting to immerse herself in the punk scene. She found she actually liked his style of music!

Luka surprised her a few weeks ago with a ticket to a Jagged Stone concert coming to Paris. And the concert was tonight! Marinette liked Jagged Stone quite a bit, but she was still new to his music and was mostly going for the fun of being with Luka.

"Marinette! Luka is waiting for you!" her mother called for her impatiently. It was about the third time she had to shout for Marinette by now, but Marinette was trying to make sure she looked perfect! She was experimenting with eye-liner but she kept feeling stupid, no matter what she did.

"I'm coming!!!!!"

Marinette decided to stick with her normal look.

Rushing down the stairs, she found Luka was scarfing a chocolate croissant. His eyes lit up when he saw her and he tried to say something but ended up spewing pastry flakes everywhere and choking.

"Ah- ahem-" he regathered himself, "sorry-"

"He's been inhaling food while waiting for you," Sabine remarked, "it's like you're not being fed at home, boy."

"I am being fed," Luka said with a mouthful of chocolate croissant.

"Yeah, by me!" Sabine chuckled. She rolled up the top of a brown paper bag filled with more goodies and passed them to Luka, "here, for the road."

"Thfamks," Luka said, still unable to swallow the pastry.

"Sorry I took so long," Marinette said, hopping off the last step of the stairs. Luka finally swallowed.

"That's fine," Luka smiled at her, "you look pretty."

Marinette stumbled on her words but managed to say, "rocks."

"Uh huh... Rocks," Luka agreed.

"Be safe you two," Sabine commanded, "and wear a helmet Marinette!"

"I've got one for her, don't worry," Luka said, already taking Marinette out the door.

"Don't forget sunscreen!" Sabine exclaimed.

"It's indoors mom!"

"Wear it anyways!"

"I'll be fine mom," Marinette laughed, "love you!"

And with that, they were out of the house. Finally. Marinette apologized again for being so unbelievably poor with her time management, and Luka helped her put her helmet on.

Luka was cool enough to have a motorcycle.

"I found out Marc is going to the concert too," Marinette said as they came upon a red light. Luka barely heard her but nodded along. "Do you know him?"

"He's in your class, right? I don't think I've met him yet."

The light turned green and they continued their cruise through the city.

When they made it to the Accor Arena, it was already packed. Finding parking was nearly impossible and they were well over three blocks away before they found any open spots, even for a motorcycle! And even from such a distance, the place was swarming with crowds of people coming up from the metro. You could hardly see the street at all!

"I want to reach this level of fame some day," Luka remarked as they got closer.

"Oh yeah?" Marinette smiled at the thought, "I bet you can. Your music is insanely good."

"It's still just a dream," Luka said, "it's hard to get discovered and all that."

"Weren't you in a band?"

"Originally, but we didn't release anything. Most of us were super passionate about what we were doing but somewhere along the line there was a miscommunication and the singer stated she didn't want her music being posted. I don't know how she wasn't aware we'd been uploading our songs onto spotify and youtube, especially since we talked about it constantly. I guess she wanted a reason to be mad and now we've disbanded."

"Aw, I'm sorry," Marinette frowned, "at least you can sing."

"Only quietly," Luka chuckled, "my voice is still at that stage where it breaks if I try getting any louder. Which means no screaming."

"But not for long. Gosh, it's only been a few months since we started talking and your voice has already changed so much."

"I'm getting... somewhere."

"I like it," Marinette said, squeezing his hand which she'd unconsciously been holding in her own.

The crowd around the arena was absolutely wild and it took an entire hour for them to get to their seats. Luka saved his money for this but still couldn't afford to get very close to the stage. Marinette was content with that.

However, Tikki was going absolutely wild in her purse, and she feared if she didn't do something soon, Luka would notice and get suspicious. So, as soon as they got to their seats, Marinette was already leaving to "go get drinks."

"Tikki, what the hell?!" Marinette whisper-screamed as soon as she got to an empty stall in the bathroom. The bathroom was crowded so she was taking a massive risk by letting Tikki out of the purse. Hopefully, if anyone heard them, they'd think she was on a phone call.

"The rooster miraculous is out," Tikki said with a serious tone.

"What? Why? How?"

"I don't know. Surely the new master is not foolish enough to have sent her out on purpose. We' ve had only ONE akuma, and it wasn't even a big deal! We don't need any extra help, and certainly not from her."

"Why, do you not like her?" Marinette asked.

"No, she's one of my closest friends. It's just that she's much too powerful to be out here! Losing her would be fatal."

"Losing the ladybug or cat would be fatal too."

"Are you seriously trying to argue with me?!" Tikki's eyes lit up furiously.

"No! No!"

"It's just that I seriously don't trust anyone who gets their hands on that. Unfortunately for Orikko, she usually winds up getting the silent type of people. You can never tell what they're thinking, even if they're good people. Very hard to trust and work with, and they usually work on their own. Lone wolves are a threat to the box, especially if we don't know who it is who got the rooster."

"But you're sensing she's here, right?"

"Yes, but we're in a stadium filled with thousands upon thousands of people!" Tikki exclaimed, "and she could be paired with any single one of them! I can't just fly around checking everyone here to see if they're wearing a thumb ring!"

"Maybe you've got it wrong?"

"I'm never wrong!"

"Okay, okay! It might not be a big deal!"

"Please allow me to go find the young master," Tikki requested.

Marinette scrunched her brows. "I... don't think that's a good idea."

Tikki definitely wanted to argue with her on that. The two were still not on the greatest terms. Marinette was scared of all the things that could happen by allowing Tikki to have more power, especially by letting her roam around freely in her full form. And Tikki was pissed off with Marinette trying to control her, despite being the one doing most of the controlling. Marinette was afraid Tikki could kill someone, Tikki was furious that she was being chained down.

"Look, I let you out to help me with the bakery last week. That's it. I don't think it's safe to let you out, especially with this many people around."

"I know that's not the reason," Tikki said darkly.

"I have to go get drinks," Marinette said sourly, motioning for Tikki to hide in her purse again.

Marinette was having more fun at the concert than she thought she would. The energy was great, the music was loud, Jagged Stone was actually really funny on stage, and she could tell this was everything Luka wanted it to be.

And then shit hit the fan.

The power went out in the stadium followed by a loud booming noise. And after a short pause, there was a massive screeching filling the arena from the speakers on stage being forcefully dismantled, causing everyone to start screaming. Then, the lights came back on and Jagged Stone, along with his band, were no longer standing there. In their place was a very hot pink and black dressed woman with a wild mohawk, holding a microphone in her own hand. She imitated the song Jagged Stone had just been singing, stepping closer to the edge of the stage. The cameras, fully functional again, were all trained on her.

"And you're just a broken record lost in my garage~" she finished singing, now bursting out in laughter. "Good evening Paris! How is your night going?"

The crowd, confused and assuming this was part of the act, started cheering wildly. This pleased the strange woman very much. Unfortunately, Marinette could already recognize all the signs of an akuma. The unnatural way she appeared on stage, the lack of set up for her given by Jagged Stone, as well as the whole band disappearing way too quickly, plus the woman's quite absurd look, she knew this was the work of Hawkmoth.

"Glad to hear it!" the woman said into her mic. The crowd continued to cheer. "You may be wondering where Jagged is. He's gotten a little shy and had to go back stage. Why don't we cheer him on for his next song?"

Assuming this was an act, the crowd began to chant, "Jagged! Jagged! Jagged! Jagged!"

The woman laughed again and an ear splitting noise from the microphone rang painfully throughout the stadium. The crowd stilled chanted nonetheless until the woman spoke again. "Oh, I'm afraid he's not coming back out tonight. Sorry, you all paid tickets for half a show! And next on his agenda was his newest hit song! Oh boo! So disappointing!"

By now, the crowd was confused, and Marinette could feel Tikki squirming.

"He's back stage right now with his crew. Unharmed, I promise. I care too deeply for him to go any further with his torture. Unlike him. Have any of you heard of Penny Rolling?" The crowd was silent. "Well I'll give you a hint, I'M PENNY ROLLING. Jagged Stone's busy assistant! At least I was. But now I'm Troublemaker. And you know what Jagged did today?! He decided 'oh, I want to spice things up tonight. Why don't we bring the crocodile on stage three songs before the finally' and refused to understand that the stupid crocodile would have to stay on stage for the remainder of the concert if he did that, and SO HELP ME JAGGED WHY DON'T YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME ONCE IN YOUR LIFE?!"

The crowd was still silent. Marinette was trying to come up with an excuse to leave, but nothing she thought of would sound believable to Luka. And she didn't want to leave him in a stadium all alone!

"Oh, his fans must be just like him. I suppose I'll give you another blatant hint. There's a villain on stage right now, looking for Ladybug and Chat Noir to bring justice and chaos to the stage!"

Okay, NOW the crowd started screaming in terror. The woman was absolutely ecstatic with it, laughing so hard the microphone was making that ear bleeding noise again.

"Shit!" Luka said, barely loud enough to be heard over all the screaming, "we have to get out of here!"

"You go ahead, I'll catch up!" Marinette said automatically which caught Luka offguard. He looked at her quite strangely.

"Why would I leave you? Or run ahead of you for that matter? Marinette, come on!" He grabbed her hand, attempting to follow the crowd on their way out.

"I lost my phone," Marinette lied.

"I have your phone!" Luka said, waving it in front of her. Marinette forgot he had it since his phone died and he wanted videos.

"I want to find Marc to see if he's okay!"

"He could be anywhere in the stadium Marinette! We need to-"

The lights went out again as the scaffolding over the stage collapsed with them. The screaming became more intense, but the lack of lighting did give Marinette coverage.

"Alright, let's go!" she said, giving Luka a little shove before the two started running. However, just as they nearly made it upon the exit, Marinette slipped away.

"Marinette?! Marinette?!!!" she could hear Luka calling, which broke her heart. Still, she hid away until she was sure she'd found a spot she could transform in.

"I need to get Chat Noir over here," she muttered to herself after she'd assumed her transformation. She pulled out her yoyo, hiding behind the chairs furthest from the stage and exits. The yoyo would allow her to message Chat Noir, but as she pulled up his contact, something mortifying unfolded right before her eyes. Someone was somehow already texting Chat Noir... As Ladybug!? The texts read as so:

Chat Noir: patrol? (8:14pm)

Chat Noir: tonight :') (8:32pm)

Chat Noir: pwease (8:50pm)

Chat Noir: I'm all aloooooooone (9:36pm)

Chat Noir: and so sad (9:37pm)

Chat Noir: where are you im getting kinda worried (10:00pm)

Chat Noir: did I confuse the schedule again? (10:13pm)

Chat Noir: my bad (10:13pm)

Chat Noir: wait no I didn't where are youuuuuuuuu (10:22pm)

Ladybug: we're at a concert right now but something happened (10:23pm)

Chat Noir: and who is this? ',:|

Ladybug: her boyfriend

Ladybug: I think

Chat Noir: SHE HAS A BOYFRIEND?!?!??! But what about me :'( jk jk (10:24pm)

Chat Noir: Hello? (10:25pm)

Chat Noir: wait wdym something happened

Chat Noir: IT WAS A JOKE I SWEAR is she okay?

Chat Noir: what's going on?

Well shit, Ladybug had no idea that if she transformed without her phone, it would still be connected to her miraculous. And Luka... had her phone. Oopsies. She was just begging Luka didn't somehow unlock her phone and read Chat Noir and her previous messages. And she had no idea how to explain why Chat Noir of all people was texting her about going on a patrol. Maybe she could lie and say it was Alya.

She decided to not message Chat Noir. If Luka saw any more of those messages, and saw that Marinette was somehow able to text without her phone, her identity would basically be blown.

Okay. New plan. Deal with Troublemaker on her own and hope that somehow Chat Noir would catch on somehow-

Ladybug: who is this? Her contact put you as Chat Noir

Marinette felt like she was about to die. If the cat knew any better, he wouldn't answer. He didn't know who she knew in her personal life so there wasn't even a single excuse of a person that could take this bullet for her. She had to pretend it was Alya, or maybe Nino. Somehow that could work. But Chat Noir would be suddenly responsible for this excuse if he answered and OH MY GOD HE ANSWERED.

Chat Noir: well then obviously I'm Chat Noir ;0

Ladybug: REAL lol

Ladybug: unfortunately I lost her and I don't know what to do

Ladybug was basically praying to any god that may exist that Luka would not reveal her name in these texts.

Chat Noir: jk I'm Adrien Agreste

Chat Noir: the one and only

Ladybug: oh ok

Chat Noir: ...

Chat Noir: aha

Chat Noir: yes indeed. I am the agreste boy.

Chat Noir: wait hold on you LOST HER?

Ladybug: we were running for the exit and she disappeared! The electricity went out so I can't see anything and since I have her phone I can't even call her

Ladybug: I don't know what to do

Chat Noir: don't worry I'll save her

Chat Noir: I am Chat Noir after all ;0

Ladybug: no seriously, there's been an akuma

Chat Noir: oh no my wifi is glitching out I have to gooooo

Ladybug: ???? You're an Agreste, how tf do you not have good wifi????

Chat Noir: oh noooooo I'm fadinggggg

Ladybug: what?

Ladybug: hello?

Ladybug couldn't believe her eyes. CHAT NOIR WAS AN IDIOT! But that was a discovery she made on the first day she met. She knew he just claimed to be a celebrity as a joke, after all, how would he have any idea that Ladybug actually KNEW Adrien Agreste, and was not only his classmate but one of his closest friends?

Now she just had to make sure Adrien and Luka NEVER met. Easy as pie.

Oh and she totally forgot she had a villain on her hands until said villain was standing on the seat in front of her.

"Are you seriously texting your boyfriend instead of fighting me?" Troublemaker deadpanned.

"... Yeah?"

"Oh so not only does Jagged Stone lack the ability to take me seriously, but even the superheroes don't! Is there something I'm doing wrong? Tell me!"

"Well, for starters, hijacking a concert was a foul move. I was enjoying the music until you showed up," Ladybug answered, "second, you were the one who made it basically pitch black in here. I figured if I couldn't find you then I might as well use the time to get backup. Simple as that- hey where'd you go?"

Troublemaker had simply vanished into thin air somehow. Ladybug was confused for a moment until she felt Troublemaker's cold fingers coming from behind her, tracing over her earrings.

"Hey!" Ladybug jerked away before Troublemaker could grabe them. "...how'd you do that?"

"Grrr."

"Did you just GROWL at me?" Ladybug snorted.

"Why can't anyone take me seriously! This is so unfair! I organize every show, release, meet and greet, interview, video, travel, gathering, gala, the money, the design of everything, and hell! I even managed to figure out a way to get Jagged's fucking crocodile on stage for the third to last song, as well as manufactured a way to get it off stage quickly before the finale songs. Do you know how hard and ridiculous that is?! I can hardly take myself seriously when THAT'S my fucking job. Half the time I'm babysitting that stupid animal backstage and then when jagged's not performing I'm babysitting him, and scheduling his flights, events, and appointments. I didn't sign up to be a mother, I signed up to be an actual assistant!"

"I mean... You just described what your job it supposed to be."

"Ugh! You wouldn't understand! You're like, fourteen."

"Seventeen."

"A child!" Troublemaker scoffed. "If you're not going to respect me then I'd rather just get this over with quickly. Hand over your miraculous."

"No can do," Ladybug shook her head. She realized Troublemaker had vanished again. "Ohhhh I see. You turn invisible. That's a... creative power...."

"I don't turn invisible!" Troublemaker said, planting a firm punch across Ladybug's cheek which forced her to the ground (she was crouching after all). "I can phase in and out of space with the click of my pen."

"Which has your akuma?"

"Yeah?" Troublemaker waved the pen.

"And did Hawkmoth forget to tell you you weren't supposed to reveal that to me?" Ladybug quirked a brow, "I know you're new to this, but the other villains have been better. And they were ALL newbies too."

"WHAT?!" Troublemaker dug her fingers into her cheeks, "are you kidding me?! I can't even be a respectable villain! I'm so fucking stupid!"

"You seem stressed."

"I AM STRESSED!" Troublemaker fumed.

"I'm no therapist but I think you should be seeing one."

"Oh believe me I've tried," Troublemaker sighed, "but there's never time in my day to schedule time for myself like that. Unless I move Jagged's next dermatologist appointment later in the day on Tuesday so it overlaps on my half hour lunch break, and I can use that break to have a quick appointment... But then I wouldn't be able to see them regularly and thirty minutes is not long enough therapy..."

"Have you discussed this with Jagged?" Ladybug asked as she picked herself up off the ground, "I mean, is he aware you're literally an overstressed nervous wreck?"

"I mean yeah but no," Troublemaker chewed on the end of her pen. She glanced at Ladybug and punched her in the face again. Ladybug just accepted it.

"Hey man, just let it out. I'm assuming this is your first real breather in a long time, based on what you've said," Ladybug said, rubbing her swelling cheek sorely.

Troublemaker slapped her across the face and said, "but it's not!" She slapped Ladybug again. "Now I have this Hawkmoth freak breathing down my neck telling me to take your earrings! I can't even have a little but of my own freewill as a villain!? Why did I even agree to do this?!" She slapped Ladybug again.

"Yeah, I've seen my fair share of akumas break down after they realize Hawkmoth is still controlling them. I mean, my friend Evillustrator had a whole mental breakdown and Hawkmoth had to turn him into a puppet because of that. So uh... Don't defy Hawmoth too intensely. I'm willing to fight you, I do wanna help after all and you see to have a lot of pent of anger you need to let out."

"I do!" Troublemaker leaned back to prepare another punch but she stopped, "but... You must feel the same way, don't you?"

"Not nearly as intensely," Ladybug admitted. Troublemaker went through with her punch but this time Ladybug actually caught it. "But it's alright. Now let's brawl."

A/N

*finally gets to summer break but immediately gets a massive time suck job*

This chapter is shorter than usual but oh well. That's fine. We're fine. Idk what I'm doing but I'm trying my bestest.