"I'm back."

"So..." Clair stood leaning against the banister of the stairs leading to his apartment, "it's ten in the morning. Where've you been all night?

"Working."

"Hm. Still looking for a certain Adrien Agreste?"

"... Yeah."

"I see. Did you..." He started up the stairs and she followed not too far behind him, "did you find any leads?"

"No."

"Hm. That's a shame."

The two were silent the rest of the way up to his apartment until he shut and locked the front door behind him. He watched as Marinette headed straight to the bathroom and he, in turn, headed straight for the kitchen. His stomach reminded him he hadn't had breakfast yet, so he fished a carton of eggs from the refrigerator and set a pan on the stove.

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

"I try."

"What the the heck is wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. I'm just... Unique, is all."

Clair smiled to himself and watched the yolk of the egg burst at the center of the pan. He sighed and moved the spatula around the egg to gather whatever was left of the yolk. Every girl... I've never really told them anything. That's all I said. Unique. I'm unique. Well, I'm literally just...

"I'm not that hungry."

He turned to Marinette as she walked in and sat at the kitchen island behind him, "oh?"

"Yeah, sorry. I found a café and had breakfast there." She smiled, "I mean, it wasn't the best, but I skipped dinner last night, so I couldn't wait to get back to eat."

"Ah." Clair looked back down at the pan and cracked a second egg into it, "I need to talk to you."

"Huh?"

He set the spatula on the counter, grabbed Marinette's wrist, and pulled her to stand up.

"Clair, wh-what are you doing?!"

He didn't listen to her as he only pushed her against the wall and leaned in close.

"Clair!!"

"Marinette." He smirked, "I can see right through you."

"What are you talking about?!"

He lowered his voice and sighed.

"You found him."

She stared at him, "h-how did..."

"I can see it in your eyes." Clair stepped away from her and returned to his pan of burnt sunny-side up eggs, "sit down. I need to tell you something..."

"Now hang on!" Marinette ran up to him defensively, "you can't just see that from looking at my eyes! How did you know?!"

"Because." Clair sighed as he absentmindedly tossed the frying pan into the sink and clapped his hands together, "I think my story comes first, though. So, you listen up, little girl."

Marinette looked at him nervously and swallowed hard, nodding slightly.

"So." Clair crossed his arms, "I'm not who you think I am."

"Please, tell me something I don't know. You're such a liar, you've been lying to me all this time." 

"Oh? You knew? Then you tell me. What am I about to say?"

"That you're really the supervillain putting Adrien and I through this eternal nightmare."

Clair looked at her then chuckled lightly, "I should've known a smart girl like you would get it right..."

"Cut that crap!! I'm not falling for your flirty comments!" Marinette shouted, "I trusted you, so you think I can just be okay with that?!"

"Now, listen." Clair swallowed hard, "this was... This was to save you and Adrien!"

"Really?! Save us?! With every instance that's happened this past month, we nearly died! You think you're doing such a fabulous job at this?!"

"No, I don't I'm doing a 'fabulous job'. In fact, I know that I'm not even doing a job at the moment."

"Then what was all that?! You're trying to kill us?! How do I know you weren't going to poison my food or stab me in my sleep?!"

"No, I would never! That's..." Clair pursed his lips, "that's what I was going to tell you. But you just need to calm down and listen. Can you please do that?"

"Fine, whatever."

"Okay." he took a deep breath, "it all started when I met Mélodie Agreste."

"Wh-what?! Mel--"

"It was last year, around the time Ladybug and Cat Noir were slowly falling at the hands of Hawk Moth. The moment everyone discovered the true identities of the two world-famous heroes of Paris, I fell in love. It was just something of a celebrity crush, but things got real when I somehow ran into Mel on the streets of New York about a few months after the incident in Paris. I recognized her as the new Butterfly of Paris, so I stopped her and asked her if she knew Marinette and Adrien personally, and that's when she caught me in her trap. It wasn't planned, but she figured it out along the way."

"So, you were coerced by Mel?! Why would you fall for that so easily?!"

"Because at the time, I believed I could get any girl to fall for me. I mean, that's how it always was. So, Mel gave me these powers: The powers of shadows. I used those powers to help New York, but so much happened that no one even noticed me. So, they believed there was some sort of 'Ladybug' of New York that no one knew about."

"So, you're saying you're a good guy yet still managed to do what you did to me and Adrien?"

"I was... It was jealousy. I wanted to be known, so Mel made a deal with me: Adrien for Marinette, or something like that. We can destroy Ladybug and Cat Noir if we split them apart and take them down individually. That's what we did. I've never really seen you in person, but when I first met Marinette Dupain-Cheng about a week or two ago, I knew that was my chance to get rid of her. But... I started bonding more with you and I enjoyed your company. So, I went back on my deal with Mel and decided to protect you, instead of kill you."

"Wh-what?"

"She wanted me to kill you so that she can be the superhero Paris needs, and I fell in love with her, so of course we'd protect Paris side-by-side... But she's really doing it to have Adrien all to herself."

"This isn't adding up..." Marinette rubbed her forehead, "so... Your powers? Can I see them?"

"You already have." He held out his hand and a black ball of magic formed in his palm, "this look familiar?"

"Uh-huh."

"I'm supposed to kill you..." He lowered his voice and leaned in closer, "and because I have these powers because of an Akuma, Mel knows my every move. Hell, she knows I'm here with you right now and waiting for me to strike."

Marinette stood up from her seat and backed away, "th-then... What am I doing here?!"

"Marinette, wait, I need you to--"

"You're both insane! I knew from the beginning there was something sketchy about you, Star Raven!"

"Wait, Marinette!"

She walked towards the front door, "no, Clair! There's no way you'll be able to break me or Cat Noir! We're not going to fall for your tricks, again. This is the last you'll see of us.

"Marinette!"

"No. I'm done with you, Clair Raven."

______________________

"You let her get away?"

"I couldn't help it."

"Star Raven, I took your powers away once. Don't fail me again!"

"B-but what'll you do? You're nothing without me."

"Shut your face! I can take your powers--"

"Yes, you can. But what'll you do? All your plans will be foiled."

"I don't need you." Butterfly snapped her finger, and just like that, the dark sorcerer flashed purple and in his place stood Clair Raven, "I have my own methods of getting rid of Ladybug myself."

"Melodie." Gabriel Agreste set his hand on her shoulder, "you're acting so childish. You think you can do anything more by taking away his powers? You won't get anywhere."

"He's lost my trust multiple times."

"Incentives." Gabriel approached Clair, "listen closely. You will eliminate Marinette Dupain-Cheng, or I'll eliminate her myself with my own methods."

"Oh?"

"We'll give you back your powers after she's dead."

Clair smirked and nodded, "alright."