Warning: Domestic Abuse -there is a warning before/after the scene. Stay safe!

When they finally pulled apart, they were breathing heavily.

"U-Uh..." The boy broke the silence with a groggy voice, and he had to clear his throat to hide his embarrassment. "I have no idea what just happened."

Alya pulled the boy's face, so she looked her in the eye. With a sweet and kind look, she let out a small apology. "I'm sorry."

Nino tensed. He was confused, but for some reason, had some idea what it was for.

"Nino Lahiffe..." Alya took on her regular stern expression, "If you ever don't tell me shit like this again, I'll kick your ass."

The boy nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Alya giggled, heading behind her to open the door. Just as she was about to turn the lock, she felt Nino hug her from behind. Now, her own shyness set in.

"N-Nino!"

"I love you, Alya Cesaire."

The girl let out a small gasp, stunned at how real it sounded.

"Hey!" Turning around, she felt her face heat up, "You can't just say that- and with a straight face too!"

"I'm serious," Nino said, grabbing her hands. "I'm sorry that... that this happened."

Alya wrapped her hand around his and nodded. "It's... It's fine."

She felt all of her worry, for once, seem to drift away. Not only had she been worried about Chat's situation and Marinette, but she'd been worried about her relationship with Nino too. And after this incident, even though they kissed and made up, it really didn't feel like everything had gone back to how it used to be. Their actions were the same, but rather than flowing as they once had, things felt stilted instead. But right now, being next to this boy who she'd been with for 3 long years, and never once did they say it so seriously, she really did know that she loved him. She did love him.

"I love you too."

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

"Trixx, let's pounce!"

After pulling the kids inside and getting them to safety, Alya, now Rena Rouge, gave her boyfriend a hug. The two had agreed that it was best that Ladybug received as much help as possible. Nino was unaware of Chat Noir's situation. Still, he could tell that the akuma was much more severe, so he didn't ask any questions when his girlfriend decided to go help. It was her job, after all, no matter what was going on between them, he couldn't keep her from doing what's best.

Rena climbed up to the nearest building to get a clear view of what was going on. She knew Ladybug needed her, but she had no idea where to find her, let alone help her. Pulling out her flute, she tried to contact the hero through the phone ability. It rang a few times, but there was no answer, meaning the girl was probably busy fighting her off on her own. And even if she was a strong hero, she couldn't do it on her own. It had been a while since Alya had even seen Ladybug in action. She couldn't remember if Adrien said anything about what was going on with Ladybug or not. Her memory was a little foggy, and her head hurt when she tried to think about it too much. She guessed it was only because of the events earlier that day, but she couldn't be sure.

The only thing she knew of was that right now, Adrien, Chat Noir, didn't have his powers. Plagg was frozen inside the ring.

By the looks of it, she wouldn't be able to help Ladybug on her own. And the only other person who knew, and could be fast enough to get, another miraculous, was Adrien himself. He had to see where the miraculous holder was, as he took Marinette there after the incident. Turning around to head in the opposite direction she'd been facing, Rena Rouge took off toward the Agreste Mansion.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

"Ah!" Ladybug flew backward as civilians ran away from the street they were standing on. Genevieve, or Homebreaker, had her hand extended in front of her, a force pushing Ladybug back. It was much like Empathie's, but almost stronger. There were so many things that this akuma could do, Ladybug just couldn't keep up. As soon as Ladybug was away from Genevieve, the villain's eyes seemed to light up at the sound of arguing coming near. She faded from view as Ladybug called after her angrily. Standing up, the hero coughed, almost heaved as she tried to catch her breath. She knew that Tikki was pretty stable now that she had told Adrien a good amount of truth, but it didn't matter. There were still some things keeping her from reaching a good mental state.

Rushing over to where the arguing was coming from, the heroine stopped to peek around a tipped over trashcan. The sight of 2 Parisians caught her eye, two little girls, and behind them a figure that she couldn't quite make out. She took a few steps forward to hide behind a red car, and there she was able to see that there was an older looking female lying between the two children.

"I'm so sick of you! You always want attention, and I am so sick of it!" The older-looking of the two children screamed almost inhumanly, her whole body noticeably trembling from afar.

"NO! I'm done having these fights with you, Meena! From now on, I'm going to be mom's favorite."

The older one, seemingly named Meena, flung her body at the younger one, clawing at her face. Ladybug went to rush forward, but she felt herself being stopped, almost like something was utterly blocking her body from moving any further. She felt the presence of a figure appear next to her, and craning her neck, she saw Genevieve standing next to her.

"This bores me." The villain spoke, "If something like this was really going on, it's a bit too generic and underappreciated, don't you think? This is a fit of simple famililial jealousy."

Ladybug grew confused. So were these events stemming from the victims' desires, or from Gen's own thoughts?

Stretching, the woman smiled. "We need something more compelling." Yet the look on her face faded in seconds. Ladybug turned to look just in time for the younger child to pick up a piece of sharp debris.

"HEY! NO!" Ladybug screamed, she tried to move but she couldn't. She was stuck in place, and it was ridiculous. How could she not be able to move at all?

Then suddenly, she felt herself being whipped back harshly. So fast, and so hard, she thought she was going backward on a rollercoaster for a second. She watched as the two children, who were just fighting, collapsed unconscious. Even though she was in a dire situation, she felt relieved to see that they were safe.

Ladybug flung her arms forward and used her yo-yo. She finally had control over her body again, but still, she continued to fly back. Extending it, she tried to retract and pull herself out of the villain's grasp, but it was no use. Her yo-yo fell out of her hands, and in a split second, she was weaponless.

"LET ME GO!" Ladybug screamed.

"Stop fussing!" She heard the woman say from behind. They came to a sudden stop, and Ladybug was flown forward, yet stopped in the same trance as last time. It was like Ladybug was Homebreaker's little toy.

"Why are you doing this?" Ladybug asked, "This isn't you."

Yet, that something quite generic to say to an akuma. Especially if the person behind the mask, Marinette, knew Genevieve as a person. Because no matter what, when the akuma has hold of the civilian's personality, there is nothing that can really be done. Unless there was a way to break it- which has been done in the past but very very rarely.

When the hero was able to focus on what was going on, she came to the realization that Genevieve simply wanted Ladybug to watch. Instead of trying to fight or take her miraculous, she was forcing the hero to be an audience to the horrors around them.

"I want you to watch and see what happens in this situation." The woman spoke, her voice sounding calmer than before.

Ladybug was about to argue, but instead, she allowed herself to listen to the akuma. She didn't want to anger Gen when the woman had control over her body. Her miraculous could be gone in seconds, and she had no partner at the moment.

God, how she wished she could see Chat again.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Rena was nearly out of breath when she reached Adrien Agreste's mansion.

"God, it has been a while, hasn't it?" Flicking herself up onto the side of the building, she began to scan the windows to the rooms leading into the house. She wasn't sure which one was Adrien's. It'd been months since the last time she was even at his home.

Running along the, she carefully aligned herself with the proper window she'd been looking for. It hadn't taken too long, but when she tried to push the window open, it was no use. Not only was it locked, but Adrien was nowhere to be seen inside.

Where could he have been?

Rena, or better yet, Alya, thought of where the boy could have been. The only other place she could imagine him being was the basement, but that seemed like too natural of a place for Gabriel to hide his son. Speaking of the man, she didn't expect to see him anywhere in there either. Meaning he was probably with Adrien, himself. And if that was the case, there was no getting the boy out of there without some dangerous tricks.

Good thing Alya knew so much about being sly.. and she had plenty up her sleeve.

If only she could find the blonde.

When her feet hit the ground, she made her way over the fence and to the windows of the first floor. Her power would only allow her to do so much, but the good thing about that was it'd be easy to find Adrien if she could give him a sign that she was looking for him.

Thinking as quick as she could, the girl sighed and made her way to a bush, out of the way of any security cameras or witnesses. She pulled the tops of the leaves over here and hid inside as she called off her transformation.

Trixx appeared in front of her, obviously confused as to what was going on.

"What's going on? I thought we still had work to do."

"We do, but unfortunately, this akuma is too strong for just me and Ladybug to handle. We need Chat Noir."

The fox raised her hand. "Oooh, oooh, let me guess. You want me to go find him?"

"Yes... please? If you can. I know it's kinda against the rules, but these last few weeks have been pretty hectic."

"It's alright. I'm fine with breaking the rules if it means I can help you." The fox closed her eyes, "Alright, you stay here, and I'll go scrounge the mansion for a one, Adrien Agreste!"

Alya nodded. "Good luck. And please be careful."

Trixx disappeared from her place next to Alya and made her way into the house. Listening carefully, she tried to find a sign of any people inside. They wouldn't have left the building, right?

Phasing through the wall, she began to quickly inspect the rooms. When she reached the kitchen, she heard something that sounded like a voice. Rushing closer so that the sound got louder, the kwami came to a stop at the door. It must have led to the basement. But if that was the case, why were there basement stairs on the other side of the house too?

Growing confused, the kwami went through the door and made her way down, staying close to the ceiling.

"Adrien, please, your father said you need to stay here."

"But Marinette just rushed out there... and why all of a sudden are we using this crawlspace to hide? I just find it ridiculous that you could just let her leave like that." He turned angrily toward a girl with dark hair, known to Marinette as Aria.

"With all due respect, sir, you were the one that also said it was okay for her to leave."

A few other maids turned and gasped at the young woman, yet she showed no regret for the disrespectful words that left her mouth. The blonde scoffed before crossing his arms and nodding his head reluctantly.

"You're right. But that doesn't give me the excuse to accept it." He knew that if he couldn't help Marinette, he could at least try and help Ladybug. He felt stronger... he needed to help somehow, just like before. He had to find Rena and make his way to Master Fu to get his miraculous back. He was taking a huge chance. It could all be for nothing, but he wanted to try and believe that Plagg found his way out of the ring safely. And even if he didn't, he still needed to get out and help. He couldn't sit here feeling helpless.

Suddenly, he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He peered up to see an orange kwami floating by the single light hanging from the ceiling. The rest of the room was pretty much dark, so there was no way any others could see.

"M. Adrien, I suggest just staying put until we hear from your father. Eventually, Ladybug and Chat Noir will stop this from happening, and you won't have to hideaway. I can assure you of that." One of the older maids spoke with a motherly tone, yet it didn't reassure the boy. He was Chat Noir so he'd know better. And he knew that right now, there was no way they were going to win in the state they were in. He had to find a way out.

"It's quiet right now." The boy turned around, "Can I at least use the bathroom really quick?"

"Isn't their a bathroom down here?" A red-haired maid asked.

"No, not at the moment. I think M. Agreste is still having it installed."

"Hm... Are you sure you can't wait?" The same maid asked.

The boy shook his head quickly. "I really have to go. Please."

"Okay, but we need to be quick."

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, the boy ran up the stairs before stopping at the word 'we.'

"You're coming with?"

"Yes, of course. I'll wait outside the door if that's what you're worried about."

The boy's face flushed. "Ah... That's not what I meant- but okay."

The kwami took the pause as an advantage to fly over and sneak in Adrien's cardigan. It was where Plagg used to hide, and it gave the boy a sad vibe for a second. But of course, it just motivated him to try even harder to find his way back to his kwami.

Reaching the downstairs bathroom, he closed the door behind him, and Trixx flew out.

"I'll go get Al- I mean Rena Rouge."

"I know who she is." The boy said without thinking, leaving the kwami startled for a second, "I mean.. yes, I'll wait here. Please hurry."

It took only half a minute for a knock at the window to echo throughout the large bathroom. Adrien looked behind him at the door for a second before rushing and climbing up the cabinet to unlock the pane. Alya, in her civilian form, huffed and puffed as she tried to haul herself up.

"Help me, Agreste!" The boy's eyes widened before he reached forward to pull her through the window. She fell forward, knocking the two of them off the cabinet. They landed on the blue rug, dazed. The girl was on top of him, but it wasn't that awkward at all. They'd been through worse.

"Goddammit, Agreste. How fucking clumsy are you?" She stood up and opened a hand to help him up. The boy scoffed.

"You can be nicer, you know. And what if someone saw you?"

"I didn't have much choice." Peeking out of her jean pocket, the orange kwami he'd seen earlier, Trixx, was eating a piece of candy she'd found.

"Flying around tires us out as well, y'know?" Trixx continued to eat the candy, flying out and allowing the two to quietly converse.

"M. Adrien. What was that sound? Are you okay? I only left to get a snack for you."

The blonde hurried to respond. "Ah, I'm fine! I'm almost finished."

"Alright," The maid responded, "I'll be out here."

The boy let out a breath of relief. "Alright, what's the plan he asked?"

When he looked up at the girl in front of him, she had a smug look on her face.

"What is that look for?"

"Is she cute?" The redhead teased. Adrien's cheeks lit up.

"W-What?"

"You seemed more frazzled than usual with the maids. Is she new? Young?"

"Alya!" He hissed, "This isn't important. And I'm not into her or anything. Yeah, she's cute but still-" The boy looked down.

"Really, then who are you into then?" Alya silently praised herself for her childish antics. She was only teasing him to get a rise out of him, but with the look on his face, she could definitely tell the boy was thinking about someone totally different.

"Can we just focus?" The boy's face turned a few shades redder, and he turned away for a second.

"Okay, okay, here's the plan..." Leaning forward, she lowered her voice down to a whisper. "I'll use my illusion while you go and get your miraculous back. It should be easy to find Ladybug if you just follow the path of destruction."

"How powerful is this akuma?" Adrien found himself asking.

The girl paused, "Powerful enough for me to recommend maybe grabbing another miraculous while you're at it."

Adrien nodded but silently, to himself, was against the idea of having Chloe partake in this. It seemed risky considering his state, and apparently Ladybug's too. But Alya couldn't help if she was busy keeping an illusion here in place of the boy himself.

"Then let's do that."

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

-Trigger warning start-

The scene in front of them was simple. They were in front of a small building that was recognizable to Marinette only because she passed it on her way to school every day. In front of the building, was someone she couldn't quite recognize. But this person looked strangely alike to Gen, so at first, Ladybug thought that this person could have been someone in her family. But it couldn't have been right, as Gen only had one family member here in France with her.

"Hey! Come on, what's happening?" The girl in front of the building asked the person she had been talked to was blocked from view. Ladybug craned her neck to look up at Gen, who had a subtle, glum look on her face as if what she was seeing was something healthy to her.

"You little bitch!" A voice screamed and grabbed Ladybug's attention immediately as the person came into view. The person was a man not much taller than the girl in front of him, yet he seemed bigger the quicker he rushed over to her. "You think I wanted to take you in?"

Take you in?

Ladybug watched in horror as the girl was knocked over by the man forcefully. What she was witnessing, was abuse.

"I never loved you. I don't care about you. I only took you in because I felt guilty that my brother left behind someone so young."

The girl backed away from the man, ramming into the garbage bin behind her. She rubbed her head in pain. "Uncle, please-" The girl pleaded.

"This isn't like you. What's going on?"

"I only took you in because you were young! And I'm done with pretending..."

At that moment, Ladybug found herself turning to look at Gen once again. The akuma had a glint in her eye that was hard to figure out. It was almost as if what was happening before her was something that the woman had seen every day. It was apparent she was akumatized because of her uncle's behavior. Still, it didn't explain why she seemed to find familiarity in the scene.

The man grabbed onto the girl, forcefully as she screamed. "Let me go!"

His hand struck her across the face. "God, have I wanted to knock some sense into you. For someone with such a big mouth, you strike me as the weak kind-"

Ladybug's eyes widened. "Gen! Stop this!" She said.

"He's hurting her! Seriously!"

Genevieve stared at the event in front of her. Why was she just looking? Even as an akuma, there's no way that Hawkmoth would condone someone to do something like this. This was physical abuse on the streets of Paris for everyone to see, and it wasn't even their fault.

The man's hand struck the girl again, this time, leaving a mark that Ladybug could now see from her position next to the akuma. They were in mid-air, yet Ladybug could barely move. The more she tried to struggle against the force, the harder it became to breathe.

The man hit the girl again, hard enough to send her flying back the other way, into the street, where her head hit the pavement. He ran over and pressed her face into the cold Parisian street.

"Stop this!" Ladybug screamed, "He's going to kill her."

Her head was pushed into concrete again and left a bleeding mark on the side of her face. "GENEVIEVE!"

A voice that did not belong to Ladybug called out, but it was unrecognizable by the hero who couldn't even crane her neck to find out where it was coming from.

There's no way Hawkmoth would allow this to happen. Something was going on. And when Gen heard her voice all of a sudden, she blinked, becoming aware of the event now occurring under them. She slowly lifted her hand to her cheek.

Then, Ladybug started to realize what was going on.

"Gen... don't tell me..."

Suddenly, the thought of the few times in which Gen showed up with more clothes on than usual came to mind. The signs were minimal, but it made so much sense. The way that the girl acted, her submissiveness with the man, and the way she winced whenever he raised her voice. She was only in her early 20s. She was a college student. The girl below her had to be about the same age.

There's no doubt about it.

Gen was physically abused by her uncle.

"Gen! Stop this! Please!" The same voice from earlier rang out, and the akuma found herself turning her and Ladybug toward the person.

"Rebecca?" Ladybug whispered under her breath. The brunette below them was staring up in shock at Gen.

"This is your classmate! Our classmate! Why are you allowing this to happen to her?"

Rebecca yelled, rushing forward only to be pushed back by Gen when she tried to get close to the scene happening. At this point, the student being brutally beaten was about to pass out. Words were being said, insults, phrases were leaving their mouths that should never come from any human being- especially family.

"Fight back," Gen said suddenly. "I want her to fight back."

"What?" Rebecca asked.

Ladybug gasped, suddenly feeling her right arm gain the ability to break free. How could she had been so weak and easily stuck in place this entire time? She had no weapon, was that why?

She tried to reach across her arm to the other side. Her left arm was still numb and useless, but if she could just reach over and grab at Gen's satchel... then maybe she could-

It had to be where the akuma is. Right?

The heroine returned her attention quickly to what was happening below, where the girl was now fighting back.

"It doesn't matter." Gen spoke thoroughly, "No matter how much strength she uses, there would not be enough to stop the man in front of her."

Ladybug filled tears well up in her eyes. She'd never felt so much sympathy for an akuma before. Even her own family. And that's because this desire that Gen has was real. There was no doubt about it. The woman was young, and even though she just started living in a dorm with friends and other students, it seems as if she'd spent her entire life afraid of this 'perfect' man.

What was Ladybug supposed to do in this situation?

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

-trigger warning end-

Adrien snuck out the window, landing in the grass. He could already hear his illusion starting to work.

"Oh, you're done!" The maid exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Yes, sorry about that." He heard his own voice and let out a breath of relief. Alya had to stay inside the house, hidden, to keep the illusion active and listen to what was going on. There was no way for her to spy when he was supposed to be in the crawlspace.

The boy scaled the wall as he tried to stay out of the way of the cameras he knew were above him. When he reached the back of the mansion, he rushed past the one spot he knew was safe before gripping the fence and attempting to haul himself up. It was easier than he thought, considering the fact he was in civilian form. When his feet hit the pavement, he took off in a sprint, not seeming to worry. All he could think right now was that he needed his miraculous.

He noticed the streets were not only emptier than usual but that from afar, he could see that the gate to his mansion was secured shut with a lock from the outside. It was like his father had gone through twice the amount of trouble to prepare Adrien for this akuma.

Neither him, Alya, or Ladybug understood the reason why Hawkmoth was taking so many precautions. Perhaps it was because the akuma he had released was stronger than usual, and even he himself may not have been able to control it.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

A/N: Hey, savvers. Listen, I am so sincerely sorry for the wait. I'm working on it. I really am. I can't promise anything, but I do want you to know that I'm trying my best to get these updates out and wrap up this book. If you have any suggestions for me, feel free to leave them in the comments- but until then, peace out- next update will be sometime next week.

https://discord.gg/vQFRKug

Song Choice: Rather Be by Clean Bandit (feat. Jess Glynne)

There's no place Adrien would rather than be by Ladybug's (Marinette's) side.

Word Count: 4523

Bug Out!