Ladybug was shaking with anger as she made her way back to the roof of her house. She couldn't believe it! She didn't need him! She never did! All he did was boast and brag and flirt and make puns!

"Sometimes they were funny puns," she thought suddenly. She immediately pushed the thought deep into the back of her mind. There was no turning back now. No regrets. Besides, being Ladybug and Marinette had been so complicated before. Now she didn't have to worry about keeping track of that crazy cat. She didn't have to worry about him getting somewhere on time, or insisting that she stay before she was about to detransfrom so he could tell her something.

"It really will be easier without Chat Noir," she thought. "This is for the best." She nodded her head firmly. Besides, there was nothing she could do. Chat Noir would never forgive her. He was too prideful. Or maybe she was too prideful to admit that she was wrong.

"But I'm not," she reminded herself. There was something nagging her in the back of her mind, but she ignored it. She slipped through the still open window and detransformed. She gently set Tikki down on her desk and handed her a cookie. Then she slipped into her bed and pulled the covers over her head.

Just then, the trap door slid open and her parents stuck their heads into her room. Upon seeing their daughter sleeping peacefully upon her bed, they slid it shut again and went off to go to bed. But Marinette was anything but peaceful at the time. She was still angry at Chat Noir. How could he claim that she took all the credit? She had always said that they were a team! And that she couldn't do it without him!

"But I can. He was always jealous of me. He's only in it for the fame!" Images flashed before her. The time when he took the hit from Timebreaker for her, the way he hugged her when he thought that she had gotten eaten by the T-rex. And when he took the hatred arrow in the back for her. The kiss...

It was all a ploy! It was all to use her for fame and to gain the adoration of many! He always joked around, flirting with her and every other lady that he came into contact with, probably. She would love to see his face if she revealed that she was actually Marinette and that he had openly played hero with someone who had saved him so many times before.

Chat could never love her. It was all a joke to him. And if for some obscure reason he had, her heart was already taken by another. Adrien. Who was mild mannered and perfect and nice to everyone! Who did everything his father told him to do without complaining a bit even if he hated it. Who stood up for his friends. Adrien. Chat Noir was nothing like him.

The guilt and question in Marinette's mind was replaced with anger. She had convinced herself that he never liked her, he just used her. And she didn't need him. He was just a burden. She kept repeating that in her mind. "I don't need him. I never have. He only cares about fame. It's all a joke. He's a burden. I don't need him..."

She snuggled down to sleep. Maybe she could have one last night full of dreams about her and Chat Noir, racing across rooftops, saving the day. The heroic duo of Paris! Best friends, who worked together in perfect harmony. She could almost hear their voices together say, "Pound it!"

Tikki watched Marinette fall into a deep slumber. This was bad, very bad. She hadn't said anything to Marinette tonight. She knew whatever she said would only fuel the rage that Marinette convinced herself to have for Chat Noir. And that would only lead to disaster and destruction...

She had no doubt that Plagg was counting on her to talk Marinette out of it. And she was counting on him to keep Chat Noir's spirits up. No doubt the poor boy was crushed. Sometimes it felt so cruel that she and Plagg couldn't reveal the teen's identities to each other. But Plagg had told her that Chat Noir really did love Marinette. And Tikki had already guessed that, the way he looked at her and was willing to do anything for her...

She sighed. Fate would bring the two teens together again. It was just a matter of whether it would have to happen the easy way or the hard way. And if there was something Tikki couldn't bear to see, it was Marinette getting seriously hurt.

###############################################################################

"Honey! It's time to get up!" a loud voice boomed. Marinette groaned.

"Coming, Papa!" she called. She dragged herself out of bed and got dressed. As she pulled her hair up, she tried to remember why her pillow would be wet with tears. It all came flooding back. Chat Noir. That absolute jerk.

"I won't let him ruin my day," she mumbled out loud to herself. "I'm done with him anyway. I won't have to see him ever again."

"I know who you're talking about," Tikki said, zooming out from underneath Marinette's bed.

"Oh please tell me you're not going to give me a lecture on how I should forgive him," Marinette groaned. "Tikki, my identity is more safe now. You're more safe too. And we won't have to watch his back for him any more. It'll be easier to take down villians. He can't de-evilize the akuma anyway. He really does need me." She smirked at the thought.

"Marinette!" Tom yelled up at her, startling her. Tikki sighed sadly and slid into her purse as she went down the stairs.

"Here's your breakfast, sweetheart," Sabine said with a smile, handing Marinette a brown paper bag. Okay, maybe this arrangement would work. How often did people need Ladybug at exactly this time in the morning anyway?

"Bye mom!" she waved at her mother and climbed into her dad's car. Her father was even taking time off from the bakery to drive her to school just because they thought she needed help. They were so sweet, they would do anything for her. Unlike someone else...

"If you're going to keep obsessing over mean thoughts to try and convince yourself he's a jerk, you should probably just avoid the thought of him entirely," Tikki whispered. Marinette shushed her.

She got into her classroom in time. When she remembered that Adrien wouldn't be here today, she frowned. Oh well, she wouldn't hardly be able to talk to him anyway. Espescially after yesterday. Maybe after a day off he would forget about that.

"Well, look who's on time. Maybe now we can have our conversation before class instead of during it," Alya said while sliding into her seat.

"Hey Alya," Marinette greeted her friend.

"Hey girls," Nino greeted the both of them as he sat down in front of them and twisted around in his seat. "Adrien won't be here today. So I guess it's just you and me," he said, raising his eyebrows playfully.

"Yeah, he said something about the teacher giving him a note because he looked so tired...That doesn't seem like something she would do," Marinette said, confused.

"Dude, she didn't even notice Adrien until Chloe made a huge fuss over it. Said that Adrien needed to look fresh and handsome for his next photo shoot," Nino laughed. Alya rolled her eyes and Marinette growled.

"Look on the bright side, there won't be any drama today," Alya whispered to Marinette as they pulled out their textbooks. No sooner had the words left her mouth than loud sirens went off in the school.

"Everyone, you know the drill! School is dismissed! Get home quickly and stay in safety!" the teacher barked. The students cheered and then made a mad dash for the door. Alya pulled out her phone.

"You know what this means! Hey girl, you wanna come with me? You might even get to see LADYBUG!" Alya squealed.

"And risk getting myself into some of the crazy situation you get yourself into? No thanks!" Marinette exclaimed. She dashed out of the classroom and into the girl's bathroom. "Tikki, spots on!" she called. She transformed into Ladybug and dashed out the door.

She zipped along the rooftops, following the police sirens and the screams until she found the akumatized victim. Whatever had kept Hawkmoth busy yesterday was apparently gone. She found herself staring at a man dressed entirely in a camoflauge suit, with a camo cape. He had a gun over his shoulder.

"I am the Trapper!" he roared. "I can catch anything! You can't tell me when and where I can hunt! I can hunt whatever I want!" He started shooting at the civilians, who all collapsed at his feet. Ladybug frantically ran up to one of the victims and checked for a pulse. Firmly there. That's when she saw the tranq dart in his side. So the Trapper was tranquilizing them...interesting.

"Where is Chat-" she started to say out loud and then stopped abruptly. "Right, I don't need him. And here's my chance to prove it!"

She threw her yoyo at the Trapper's arm, throwing off his aim. Then she yanked backwards. He flew towards her and crashed against the ground. He shook himself and stood, grinning maniacally.

"Ah look, a ladybug. One of my favorite things to hunt. Small and quick, tricky to catch. But nothing can escape the Trapper!" He yanked the wrist that had her yoyo wrapped around it and she flew forwards, slamming into the wall. But she was determined to see this fight through. There was no point in waiting.

"Lucky Charm!" she called out, spinning her yoyo in the air. It formed into a peice of paper and fluttered downwards towards her. She caught it and looked at it. It was a picture of Chat Noir. "Now this really is a useless Lucky Charm," she muttered. She dropped it into the dirt.

The Trapper slammed his elbow into her gut. Ladybug groaned in pain and flipped over him, kicking the back of his head. He grabbed her leg and slammed her onto the ground, and then pinned her down. The Hawkmoth symbol appeared over his eyes, showing that he was communicating with his evil master.

"Of course master, it will be done. But I have this one in my grasp! No sense in letting her go now! Oh, very well. No animal can escape the Trapper!" Suddenly, he looked up. He turned towards a nearby building and sniffed the air. "Purr-fect," he cackled maniacally. He released Ladybug and disapeared in a cloud of smoke.

Suddenly, the world returned to normal. It was as if Ladybug had tossed her lucky charm and said the magic words 'Miraculous Ladybug'. But she hadn't. The people woke up. The knocked over cars were uprighted. The damage was undone. But there was no sign of the Trapper or the akuma.

Ladybug was beyond confused. What did it all mean? But then she realized her parents would be panicking if she didn't get back home! Paris looked to be fine. She would run back and reassure them that she was safe before coming back and trying to figure out what happened. "I guess I don't need Chat after all," she thought to herself, grinning.

#################################################################################

Adrien groaned as he looked up from his video game. He had won again. That made 629 wins and 3 losses. He was so incredibly bored. I mean, at first it was nice to sleep in. He could wallow in his dreams a little longer, hoping to escape the cruel reality that awaited him. But eventually he woke up.

He didn't say a single word to anyone. He dressed, ate breakfast, came back to his room, and the sat on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He had to put on another mask. He shook his head. Would he ever have to stop hiding himself?

Underneath this mask of gloom and indiferrence, he was Adrien Agreste, smart, cute, nice, and perfect. Underneath his Adrien Agreste mask, he was Chat Noir, sly, witty, danger prone, and happy. Underneath the Chat Noir mask he was himself. But he would never be able to be himself. He would never have anyone who loved him for simply him. The closest thing to himself was Chat Noir, and the one person who could have loved him as Chat Noir had broken his heart.

He was broken. So he stitched himself up as best he could and hid the damage underneath another mask. No one had to know. But now what was the point of living? Photo shoots, fencing, and Chinese?

Suddenly, his computer started blinking. He turned it on and found an update to the Ladyblog. His heart wrenched as he watched Ladybug single handedly defeat a new akuma victim called the Trapper. It looked like she had it under control. Maybe she was right. Maybe she didn't need him. Maybe she never had.

But still, maybe he would just make sure. Just take a quick look. He could get over there and back in five minutes. She would never know he was there. And just in case she did need him, and she was in danger, she could count on him sacrificing his life for hers. It was pointless withtout her anyway.

"Plagg, claws out!" he called. The little kwami shrieked in surprise as he was sucked into Adrien's ring. Adrien transformed and then jumped out the window. He crossed the rooftops at lightning speed, the wind wipping through his hair. But it didn't give him the same exuberant feeling. He wasn't going to see 'his lady'. Well, he was. But not the way he would have ever imagined it.

He stopped on a rooftop a short distance away and peered out from behind an air vent. The Trapper had Ladybug pinned beneath him. Chat Noir felt his blood boil as he reached for his baton.

Suddenly, the Trapper released Ladybug and stared in his direction. Then he disapeared in a cloud of smoke. Chat was confused. Where did he go? He clearly didn't have her miraculous, because she was still Ladybug.

"Hey there, kitty kitty. Here, kitty," he heard a harsh voice say. It was followed by a deep chuckle. Chat Noir spun around and pulled out his baton, but it was too late. He watched in slow motion as the Trapper pulled the trigger, the dart whistled towards him. He tried to leap out of the way but he was too late. It struck his arm, and the world tipped and blurred,

"Purr-fect," The Trapper laughed. Chat ground his teeth together. He officially hated cat puns now, and that wasn't even a good one. He stumbled backwards, unable to see clearly. He felt his knees buckle beneath him. "Ladybug, help," he thought desperately, But she wasn't coming. She would never come. He was all alone in this world. And everything went black.