Chat froze and knocked Hawkmoth down onto his hands and knees before delivering a kick to the man's side, "You're lying, now tell me what needs to be said so I can end this all." I winced as I watched Chat's eyes darken and he turned off his emotions.

I've gotten to know my Adrien, the sweet one who gives shoulder kisses, and plays the piano, and flirts like there's no tomorrow- but right now he wasn't there. The person I was staring at was the assassin Chat Noir. I was staring at the emotionless agent who knew how to get the job done, that knew if he failed he wouldn't see the light of tomorrow.

"But I don't lie, Adrien- the agency took you from your mother and me when you were young! That's why I'm doing this! I'm doing this for you and Emilie!" Tears were welling in Hawkmoth's eyes and he was on the verge of hysterics. I was pretty decent at reading people, in a job like this you have to know when someone is hiding something. And I usually don't look for these sorts of things, people are very complicated beings, every single human is an enigma and it takes energy to pick up on their ticks and their giveaways.

I have to pay close attention to pick up if someone is lying, I have to time their breathing patterns, watch their eyes for flinches, or even their fingers for an anxious tap- and as I watched Hawkmoth cry his soul out to Chat, I saw none of these.

He must really be Adrien's dad.

"Chat," I called for him and let out a small sigh, "I see nothing to show he isn't truthful." If Hawkmoth was truly Adrien's father- he deserved to know. I would give almost anything to hug my family again, but I don't have that option, and I might not ever in my life. But he does. Adrien does.

"Please, son, we're family." Hawkmoth stood up and reached for Adrien, his arms wide. A gasp came from behind me and I saw Rena Rouge and Carapace, both holding a tied up Queen Bee, watching the situation with wide eyes.

Adrien stood frozen, his baton-turned-dagger still glowing green in his hand. He flipped it between his fingers and stared at his father with disbelieving eyes.

"We're family..." Hawkmoth took his mask off to reveal his face and I let out a faint gasp, he was the famed fashion designed Gabriel Agreste? I had always wanted to do something with fashion, and so even though I wasn't really allowed to stay up to date with trends, I had always kept tabs on fashion designers, it was a hobby I held, and it made me feel more human. A hobby that wasn't all about death had helped keep me grounded.

"Please, come with me, son. We can rule together, take down the industry- I can even introduce you to your mother, if only she was conscious... She would be so proud of the young man you've become.

"Together we can take over Miraculous Inc- we can take over WAIT- we can even take over the world. Doesn't that sound fun? Just you and me, making up for all the lost time." Gabriel was starting to sound insane, and his mumblings were concerning me. "Miraculous is corrupt, they're using you just as they used me. Not all of the targets you take out are threats- it's all just a game of chess and we're the pawns, playing to the whim of the King.

"So come with me, and we can be a family again. You and me, we can take down agents and rule the world."

Adrien's face was now red hot with anger, and I wasn't sure if it was at his father or at the situation. Although I had a feeling it was both.

"Hurting innocents is never okay," Adrien started, talking about the whole Akuma ploy Gabriel had going on, "and you're not my father." His emerald eyes wandered to my icy blue ones and he gave me a small smile before turning back to Gabriel, "blood doesn't make us family. Family is so much more than just sharing genes- I could never be family with a monster like you."

With that, he drove his dagger into his father's chest and whispered a small goodbye. "Target destroyed, the threat has been eliminated," I said quietly as I stared at Chat. Tears trickled down his face quietly and soon we heard sirens whistle in the distance.

Better late than never I suppose.

Rena Rouge pulled Queen Bee to a standing position, "The Guardian will deal with you."

Carapace butted in, "I know that dude was crazy- and sorry Adrien- but shouldn't we listen to some of the things that he said? What if we're really being used?" Nino paused and looked at us, "and I don't know about you lot, but I don't want to be an agent, it's never been my passion, and I hate hurting people. I want to make music, I want to have friends, and go to school, and be a real person... Not just a shadow or a myth."

Queen Bee muttered, "That's why I did it." We all turned to look at her, not caring that soon we were surrounded by police who were all very confused. They stood still staring at the five teenagers and the dead body of a wanted criminal.

"Hawkmoth- he promised me freedom for all of us. A chance to live. A chance to actually have lives. To be free."

Adrien spoke up, "Then let's do that." With that, he dropped his weapons and put his hands in the air as he looked at the bewildered officers. "Let's handle this like real people, not myths, or ghosts, or assassins." A news chopper arrived at the scene and a camera zoomed in on us, but Chat didn't wince like the rest of us, no, he stared straight into the camera and shouted with tears welling in his eyes.

"My name is Adrien Agreste and I'm an agent under the name Chat Noir. I was taken from my home when I was a toddler by a secret organisation called WAIT and I was trained to kill. And now I'm done- come and get me! I know how much you love your anonymity- so come and kill me WAIT. I dare you."

I stood up and put my hand on Adrien's shoulder, "My real name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng and I want to exist again! I've lived as a ghost named Ladybug for my entire life, pulling strings from the shadows from too long. I want to finally stand in the light and take account for what I've done. And if you're going to hurt Chat, WAIT, you'll have to get me first."

Rena Rouge and Carapace stood up beside me. "My name is Rena Rouge, but my real name is Alya Cesaire, I can't remember my real family but I think I had siblings, I remember loving them more than anything in the world, but then I was taken from them- I want to see them again. And I want to be a writer! I hate this job- I want to be a person again and have a real family with parents who give you hugs, not bullets! And for once in my life I want my words to finally matter, I want to be more than just a ghost story."

"I'm Carapace, and I think my name is Nino- we've never been called our real names until recently so it might actually be something different... I want to write music and have friends and a life- I really don't want to hurt anyone else in fear of my own life anymore dude, this is all so much. And since we're talking will be dead in a week tops, fuck you WAIT! I want my childhood back!"

Queen Bee stood last and Alya untied her hands, resigned to what might happen, but all she did was take off her hood to reveal herself as Chloe, I gave her a sad smile, one she returned. She turned and shouted at the cameraman in the helicopter (this guy was loving this), "My name is Chloe Bourgeois but I've gone as Queen Bee for my entire life. All I've ever wanted was freedom, I want to be free to talk to who I want without being scared of death, I want to get to know my friends and teammates, I want the freedom of being called my actual name! I want to be an actual person for the first time in my life!"

We all stood there, arms linked. After we finished talking the police rushed in to grab and handcuff us, they had recognised our code names as myths from nothing of word of mouth. Our codenames weren't really taken seriously, and we were written down as nothing more than stories you'd tell your kids about if they were being bad, but every now and then, those daring enough would speak of us in the black market, whispers of our missions and the reign of destruction and peace we brought with us.

Of course, that had all been written up as fantasy in the eyes of the authority figures, they were spoon fed lies and cover-ups by the very agency that employed us. But here we were, tears falling down our cheeks, wrists rubbing against the metal handcuffs, and blood staining our hands.

For some reason, I hadn't felt happier than I did at that moment. As twisted as it sounds, it was relieving in a way to be called my real name, to be acknowledged, to have consequences, to be real. My eyes met Adrien's wide goofy smile, and I knew he felt the same.

Whatever was in store for us, we knew we could handle, and I knew we'd be content with. Because being seen for the first time in years was refreshing.

I wouldn't have given up that moment for anything.

Adrien and I were shoved in the back of the same cop car and I put my head on his shoulder, our hands still clasped behind our backs. My lips grazed his cheek and he gave a content sigh. "I think we made the right decision," I whispered to him as the car started and we were driven to god knows where.

"Even though we might be on our way to jail? Or worse, our death?" he asked, as he kissed the top of my head.

"Of course, at least now WAIT can't stay that anonymous anymore, they'll have to become WIT." I chuckled at the end of my statement. "But I hope that someone gets to the bottom of this all and that if they do say running that someone takes care of The Guardian, he was a good man. Not to mention, I hope that someone gets all the other agents- both in field and in training, back to their homes."

"Don't worry, Princess, you and I will make sure they all end up safe. We've been known to have silver tongues after all.

"We'll be just fine." He kissed the crown of my head again and we sat in the back of the cop cruiser with a sense of peace thrumming through our veins.

Yeah, we'll be just fine.

-=- 

Long chapter! Like almost 2000 words!

This is not the end, I'm thinking maybe two more chapters? End it in time for the new year?

I hope you enjoyed it!

Tell me what you think!

-SecretsInMyHead