I wrung my hands together nervously as I balanced on the railing that was the only barrier between me and the hundreds of feet to the ground below. Adrien leaned over the railing and took my hand, sending me a reassuring smile.

We were told that the others would be here to meet us soon and my stomach churned with nauseousness as I considered what to tell them. I might have pretended that I was excited about the arrival of new heroes but thinking about the possibility of anyone getting hurt made my heart pound inside my chest and, now, there were a greater number of people to possibly get injured. I understood the necessity of getting new heroes to help, but a lingering sense of doubt hovered at the back of my mind. There were a million ways this could go wrong and too many of them resulted in the injury or death of my new comrades and old ones alike.

"Ladybug! Chat Noir!" Someone called from behind me. I turned to see Queen Bee, only knowing the heroine's name thanks to Master Fu, floating in the air. Part of her powers, I supposed. Being able to fly. Sometimes I wished I could just fly away into oblivion.

"Hello!" I greeted, hopping down from my perch as Queen Bee landed softly on the ground, thrusting out a hand to me which I took and shook. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"I'm the one who should feel honored! I'm meeting one of Paris' most famous heroines! That's, like, totally incredible." Queen Bee gushed, fanning her face with her hands."And call me Queen Bee. Or Queenie for short."

"Sure!" I replied through a forced smiled. I studied the girl; she had long blonde hair that loosely flowed around her shoulders, bright honeysuckle eyes that seemed to pierce me, and a smile that seemed all too innocent.

"Having a party without me?" Chat pouted as he sauntered over to the two of us. He and Queenie shook hands, exchanging pleasantries. I let my eyes wander from the two heroes to scan the city, my city. I wondered how different it would look after the battle. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt arms snake around my waist.

"Chat!" I protested, my cheeks flaming as I swatted his hands away. There were people around, for heaven's sake!

"Sorry. You just looked like you were worrying." His hot breath tickled my skin as he nuzzled my neck, his arms snaking around my waist again to hold me. "Stop worrying, ma amour. Everything will work out."

"You can't promise that." I said so quietly I wasn't sure he heard until he spun me around and crushed me to his chest.

"I will not let anything happen to you." He heatedly whispered, crushing nearly all the breath out of my lungs with his grip. I merely nodded into his chest. I peeked over to see Queenie watching us with a curious look on her face, as if wondering what was going on.

I pulled away from Adrien and smiled sheepishly at Queenie. "Sorry. He tends to be a little clingy."

"No! No, no. I was just thinking about how cute you two were. Honestly, as a civilian I wanted you two to get together for a long time." Queenie said with a smile. I wondered who exactly she was behind the mask. I wasn't sure how to respond so I just smiled and turned back to lean over the railing. It wasn't long before I caught a flash of orange.

"Eeek!" A shrill screech filled the air as I was tackled by a blur of orange and white. I gasped wildly as I landed on the floor with a person scrambling to get up. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I'm talking to Ladybug! I'm your biggest fan! Oh my gosh!"

If I hadn't been in so much pain I would have chuckled, but luckily Chat sensed my distress and came  over, plucking the heroine off of me.

"I'm sorry to have to ask you to keep your paws off my purr-incess. She has a couple sore spots." Chat explained as he deposited the new heroine on the ground beside me.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?" She asked, her hazel eyes flooded with concern. I easily waved her off and stood, pretending like I wasn't in a truck load of pain at the moment.

"I'm just fine, er...- ."

"My name is Rena Rogue, but call me Rena. Oh good! I wouldn't want to be the one to put Ladybug in the hospital! Oh, speaking of which, where have you been? You've been MIA for like a month. Did you have to go on a top secret mission? What was it? Can you tell me? Oh, you don't really know me so you wouldn't have a reason to trust me..." She trailed off and I snorted with laughter as I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, actually. An acquaintance of mine was taken by Hawkmoth and I've been looking for them. But I found them and now everything is good. We even know his civilian identity, which is why you guys are here. " I told her, wringing my hands in anticipation. I was hoping I could later locate Alya to have her spread the news that the heroes knew Hawkmoth was Gabriel and hopefully call off the dog hunt for my civilian self once he knew that I "told" the heroes.

"Wow! That's insane. And speaking of Hawkmoth..." Rena was interrupted by Adrien cursing loudly. I shot him a disapproving look and he smiled sheepishly.

"Er, our turtle friend is here. I'll be back." I nodded to him and watched as he jumped off of the tower. Rena's and Queenie's eyes both widened, but they said nothing. I knew Adrien was going to go explain everything to the turtle Miraculous holder as Master Fu instructed and I was supposed to explain everything to Rena and Queenie. Easier said than done.

"So, uh, let's all talk. You know, girl-to-girl. The boys are having the same discussion downstairs." When both Rena and Queenie nodded and sat in front of me, I continued. "Look, girls. I'm not going to pretend I'm not absolutely terrified at this upcoming battle; in fact, I'm actually dreading it. It's us five against Hawkmoth and, even though we might outnumber him, you can count on it being one heck of a fight. Who knows who he will akumatize or use against us? It could be someone we know behind the mask. And then there's the possibility of injury or even death. I won't sugar coat the danger because you need to be prepared if you're going to fight.

"I know it's kinda scary. You're new heroes, you haven't trained for long. Not to mention you guys' inexperience. But I want you to know that Chat and I have a plan and we will do whatever it takes to protect you guys and this city. And I'm only going to offer this chance once, a chance to walk away. You can go to Master Fu's place and hand in your Miraculous, no consequences. And I wouldn't blame you if you did. But know, if you agree to stay and train, you're agreeing to days upon days and hours upon hours of grueling training not to mention the possibility of injury or death. Choose now." I paused and allowed the two girls to ponder what I said.

I looked to Queenie, whose hair whipped around her face as the wind caught it, the light reflecting off of her honeysuckle eyes. Like how Chat's transformation worked, the usual whites of her eyes were replaced by another color. She had an athletic build and I was positive there was an endless amount of guys wishing to be her suitor behind the mask.

Rena had startlingly orange hair that haloed around her head, with equally startling hazel eyes. Her mask curved elegantly around her face and her suit complimented her curvy figure. She held herself with so much confidence that I knew she held just as much without the mask.

Queenie raises her hand, looking expectantly for a go-ahead. I smiled slightly and nodded for her to go ahead.

"I can't speak for Rena, but I am more than willing to risk my life for this city and for each of you. It's why I agreed to become a hero. It's why I've always admired you, Ladybug. And Chat Noir. You two risk your lives everyday for this city and I want to become apart of that." Queenie lowered her arm down and I gave her an affirmative nod.

"I agree with Queenie. I'm staying." Rena crossed her arms over her stomach as both her and Queenie now looked at me as of waiting for something.

"Now we just, uh, wait for the guys I guess. How about we get to know each other a bit? Teamwork is knowing each other and being able to work together. I'll start. I'm Ladybug, I'm seventeen years old, although I'm almost eighteen. I love fashion. My favorite color is pink. And my biggest fear is losing the ones I love." I sat on the ground and Queenie and Rena were quick to follow my actions.

Rena spoke up next, clearing her throat first. "I'm Rena. I'm sixteen, almost seventeen. I love art and being an investigative journalist. My favorite animal is the panther. And my biggest fear is to die and be forgotten by the world."

We both turned to Queenie whose cheeks turned a light pink at the attention. "I'm Queenie. I'm eighteen, just turned. My favorite color is blue and my biggest fear is to die a painful death."

We continued asking each other questions, going around in the circle for a few more minutes before I detected the presence of my favorite cat.

"You don't have to eavesdrop!" I yelled loud enough for Chat to hear but not loud enough for the girls to realize I was talking to my lurking boyfriend and the newest new hero. "Come introduce him!"

Chat sheepishly ducked around the corner, a lanky boy in a turtle themed suit trailing cautiously behind him. "Sorry. I just didn't want to interrupt."

"Sure." I replied dryly.

"Umm, so, this is Carapace." Adrien awkwardly introduced the new member and pointed to him. Carapace gave an awkward wave as he watched us three girls move to make room for the boys to join.

"Pleasure to meet you, Carapace. We were just introducing ourselves before we started our training. Chat, why don't you start with giving your preferred name, a favorite thing of yours, your age, and your biggest fear." I gave him a pointed look, begging him not to goof off in front of the clearly uncomfortable guy.

"Yeah, Yeah. I'm Chat. I'm eighteen years old. My favorite thing is Ladybug," I blushed fiercely and avoided his cheeky grin he threw at me, "and my biggest fear is that I won't be able to protect the ones I love."

Carapace squirmed uncomfortably as we all looked to him. I sensed that he was of the more shy nature. "Name's Carapace. I love music. I'm eighteen. My biggest fear is to die alone."

I let everyone continue with the questions for another fifteen minutes, watching as Carapace slowly started to become more comfortable before starting the training.

"Alright guys. It's time to start." Chat stood and offered me a hand to haul me up. "We will start with just some simple team building exercises... just slightly modified to fit us heroes." I walked to the edge of the tower and looked back at the three rookies. Chat had already climbed on the railed and stood with all the confidence in the world. "We will start with a trust fall. Off of the Eiffel Tower edge. For the first few times it'll just be you three falling and Chat or myself catching you. Once you guys think you can, you can try catching Chat."

Although I could see and sense the uncertainty, they all nodded. "I'll go first with Chat, alright? Make sure to pay attention to how we are doing it."

Once I was sure they were all paying attention I signaled Chat to go. He threw me a grin before leaping off the monument, his baton still clipped on his back as he free fell to the ground. He took it out halfway down and used it to gently deposit himself on the ground. Show off. I heard someone sigh in relief but didn't turn back to check who it was. I instead climbed onto the railing and took in a deep breath. "I'm going to count to three and then jump. Chat will catch me before I hit the ground."

I wasn't sure if I was saying that for them or myself.

"One, two, three!" I leapt off the building, the wind viciously ripping at me as I fell towards the ground, my yo-yo clutched in my hand as I resisted the urge to use it. It wasn't long before Chat tackled me midair, cradling me in his arms as he used his baton to bring us to the safety of the ground.

I giggled and gave Chat a peck on the cheek. "Seems as if I'm always falling for you."

Chat's eyes widened as did his grin, marveling at my casual pun. "I'm just that handsome, right?" I whacked him on the chest, huffing annoyedly. Way to ruin a moment.

Adrien carried me all the way back up the tower despite my protests. When we arrived the three gave us a light round of applause.

"Great job!"

"I thought you weren't going to catch her!"

"I don't know if I can do that..."

The last comment came from Carapace and I frowned, lightly resting my hand on his arm. "Don't worry. I think you can do it. Master Fu would not have chosen you if you couldn't handle all of the trials being a hero brings. Just take a breath and step."

Carapace gave me a look I didn't recognize before letting a small smile slip. He gave me a thumbs up as he turned to gently go to the edge of the tower.

Chat had already descended back down; we had agreed that I would mostly cover the instructions and he would do the physical things until I healed fully. I had only agreed because he had looked so desperate when he asked me.

Carapace's turn went surprisingly well considering his doubt, as well as Rena. Queenie, unfortunately, screamed the entire way down. But after the first couple times they started getting the hang of it. When they felt ready, Chat let them catch him. I stood in the middle just in case I needed to save someone's butt. But everything went as smoothly as it could have.

Queenie has the advantage of flying. Rena was fast and was almost halfway up the tower by the time Chat reached there, using her agility to change direction in midair and land safely on the side of the tower. Carapace turned out to be great at jumping up high, catching Adrien and gently drifting to the safety of the metal monument.

By the time I called it a day, we were all drenched in sweat and the sun was close to setting. We were going to meet up again at the same time tomorrow to continue. They all went their separate ways as Chat and I watched them disappear into the night.

"I think that went well." I commented, leaning my head on Chat's shoulder as we sat at the base of the tower.

"Yeah. I think this team will work out great. They were really quick learns." Chat yawned as I grinned at booped his nose gently with mine.

"Ready to go home? I gotta showed and then go pay a visit to Alya. She should get to know that I'm alive." I stood and hauled Chat up with me.

"When are you going to tell your parents? They've been worried sick."

I frowned at Chat. "I am just barely comfortable with telling Alya I'm back. Hawkmoth knows me now, that puts everyone I know in danger. The less the know, the less danger they're in.."

We headed to Master Fu's, arriving shortly after 11:00 pm. I took a quick shower and threw some clothes on. A pair of plain jean shorts, a comfortable loose black long sleeve shirt, and a pair of fashion combat boot. I tucked my hair in a beanie and threw on a black surgical/face mask to cover my identity.

Chat was asleep on our shared bed by the time I slunk out of the room.

I arrived outside of the familiar apartment, creeping around to the side of the house to Alya's window. I peeked in and saw that while the light was on, she wasn't in her room. I pushed her window open, glad it was unlocked as I pulled myself into her room.

I quickly turned and shut the window, startling when I saw the reflection of someone in the window. I whirled around to come face to face with Alya.

Her hand came up and snatched the face mask right off my face, a slight gasp escaping her lips as she realized it was me.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL F-..." Alya started yelling but I quickly jumped forward and slapped my hand over her mouth, cutting her off mid shout.

"Shh! Don't wake your parents up."

Alya nodded and I released her mouth just to be crushed as she gave me a massive hug. She started sobbing into my shirt as I comfortingly held her.

"Shh. I'm real. I'm here. I'm alive." I repeated the words until she started calming down. She backed up and furiously wiped her face.

"Where have you been? You-You've been-been missing for weeks! I thought-I though you were dead!" Alya hiccuped as her legs gave out and she had to sit on the bed. I joined her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "I was so worried."

"I know. I'm sorry. Look, you're not going to believe this, but I have a favor to ask you. From Ladybug."

"What?"

I trudged home, satisfied that Alya would pull through. I had explained to her that I had found out Hawkmoth's identity, though didn't tell her who, and that she needed to post on her Ladyblog that Chat Noir and Ladybug knew his identity now.
After that, we had simply stayed in each other's presence; Alya had gone on about what had all happened while I was gone. How she and Adrien had spent hours searching for me, and how worried Adrien, her, and Nino had been.

Once she had fallen asleep I had escaped and had now arrived back at Master Fu's. I crawled inside and into bed with Adrien and let his arms wrap around me. I closed my eyes and let out a soft sigh. I knew that a storm was brewing and would soon hit, but that was a problem for another day. For now, all I wanted to do was sleep. So, I shut my eyes and let sleep carry me away.

I AM SO FREAKING SORRY GUYS! I know I'm a horrible author-chan who hasn't updated in WAY TOO LONG. I have failed you guys.

I am so sorry.

Between school, Hurricane Harvey aftereffects, dealing with some personal stuff, and mostly just having the most major writer's block I just haven't had enough to update. And I'm also really sorry that it isn't even as long as they normally are. I'm lowkey kind of a mess right now. I apologize profusely.

The song for this chapter is Silver Spoon/Baepsae by BTS

Word Count; 3,318