Chapter Text
Marinette was fourteen years old when she realized that maybe things shouldn't feel so different to her.
She was fifteen when she began fully accepting the changes, especially after noticing the new heroes. A Justice League that, apparently, had been protecting the world for years.
That’s when she understood. Gabriel had done much more than give his life for Nathalie's, just to be with the woman he loved.
Marinette was sixteen when she and Adrien finally broke up. They had both discovered each other's identities. Neither had their heart broken by that romance, but Adrien had stopped speaking to her upon learning every lie Marinette had told him about Gabriel and every secret she had kept.
Chat Noir retired that very same day.
Ladybug had to retire too.
And she was seventeen when she decided that maybe Paris wasn’t the best place for her, even if it was the city where she had grown up.
Marinette was twenty-one and could still remember it clearly. How she felt almost as small as a mouse in an alarmingly large hole beneath Adrien's house, with the walls of the underground greenhouse—where Emilie Agreste’s crypt was—surrounding her as she searched for the brooch and tried to ignore the dead woman.
She still remembered how Paris loved their Ladybug, placed her on a pedestal, and admired her during her darkest moments. They expected her to protect them—always. They had faith in her even when she had lost nearly every Miraculous.
Tikki had always calmed her down when she entered one of her apocalypse-mode spirals. An anxiety attack, she would later learn. Then, when the teenage girl finally began to hear her kwami again, Tikki would tell her Marinette was the best Ladybug she had ever had. She repeated it so often that Marinette almost believed it at one point. Almost.
Chat Noir had handled Ladybug's breakdowns similarly, always cheering her up. But Chat Noir wasn't there anymore. In fact, she had no idea where he was. He had stopped speaking to her years ago when he found out all her lies. But even before that... long before that, when she was fighting Monarch, he hadn’t been there either.
Chat Noir—Adrien—had refused Su Han’s demands that someone know his identity, believing that would keep them safer from Monarch. And where had that led? To Marinette facing Monarch alone, her identity exposed, Chat Noir gone, and everything lost.
Now that she remembered, Marinette was surprised she had remained in the same spot Gabriel had disappeared, even ten minutes after it happened. She thought she would feel something when the world was rewritten. But at that moment, she felt nothing.
In fact, she didn’t realize anything had changed until she turned fifteen and began noticing the differences around her. Subtle, yes—but they were there.
The scariest part, something that still haunted her and kept her up at night, was that she had no idea what Gabriel Agreste had wished for. Whatever it was, it hadn’t been what he initially intended, judging by the horror and fury on his face before he died.
Marinette knew then that the wish hadn’t been calculated or precise. Gabriel hadn’t thought of the consequences. He had only wished for what his heart desired most. And she tried to imagine what that could be before one word came to mind: control. But she couldn’t be sure, because the man was dead.
Marinette turned fifteen. And while she was making plans to live out her perfect dream life with Adrien, she noticed it.
Something was clearly wrong.
As Guardian of the Miraculous, she was the first to feel it. At first, it was just a hunch. An inexplicable nervousness, a constant hum in her mind. Something had changed, but she couldn’t identify what.
So she dropped everything, sat in her room—surrounded by maps, blueprints, and documents she had gathered over time—and started researching. It was a good thing she had always been cautious and kept detailed records of everything related to the Miraculous, just in case something ever went wrong.
So that night, with a growing sense of unease, she began reviewing the maps.
At first, it seemed insignificant. A mapping error. A misalignment in the coordinates. But as she dug deeper, something else began to take shape—something that made her stop cold. Gotham. That city had never existed before—not that she remembered—but now it appeared on the maps. Not only that, it was marked as if it had always been there, sitting on the same plane south of New Jersey in the United States.
“What…?” she had whispered to herself, feeling a knot in her stomach. Something didn’t add up. Something was wrong.
Marinette expanded the search. Metropolis, Star City, Central City… All these cities, previously unknown, now appeared on the map as if they had always existed.
That was wrong. Everything in her screamed that it was wrong, mistaken, off.
So she went out as Ladybug, exploring Paris and trying to find anything different. And as she moved across the rooftops, she began to notice other small changes. Images of heroes in strange costumes with names like Superman and Flash—people she had never seen before, but who somehow seemed familiar to the citizens of the city. As if they had always been part of the world’s history. Each of these heroes, although unknown to Marinette, triggered a strange feeling—as if she recognized them from somewhere.
How was that possible?
Fear started to burn in her chest. Her mind, as Guardian, was working overtime, analyzing every piece of the puzzle. The connection between the Miraculous, the altered reality… Could this be the result of Gabriel’s wish? Was there something more behind all this?
She decided to stay alert. She wouldn’t act recklessly until she understood what kind of forces were involved. Monarch’s wish may have rewritten more than history—maybe it had altered the very fabric of the world or even the universe.
And then she felt it. A powerful presence, like the earth trembling beneath her feet. Marinette stopped atop a Montmartre rooftop, watching the white dome of the basilica glow under the moonlight. She wasn’t alone.
“We didn’t mean to scare you,” said a firm, deep voice behind her.
Ladybug turned quickly, yo-yo in hand, ready to fight. But she stopped when she saw who was standing there.
A tall, imposing woman with dark hair and shining armor. Her eyes seemed to see through everything—even the mask. Beside her, a man with a serene, almost kind expression, a red cape billowing behind him and the iconic “S” symbol on his chest.
“Ladybug,” he said, giving a slight nod. “I’m Superman. This is Wonder Woman. Can we talk?”
Marinette didn’t lower her guard, though her breath hitched for a moment. Superman. Wonder Woman. Names that, just days ago, didn’t even exist. And now they were here. Real. Watching her.
“Why are you here?” she asked without moving.
“We’re investigating a recent phenomenon. Subtle alterations in the structure of our reality,” Wonder Woman replied. Her tone was direct but not hostile. “And all the signs led us here—to Paris. To you.”
“You defeated Monarch,” added Superman, “using a power we couldn’t fully trace. We want to understand what happened. And also…” He paused, searching for the right words. “We want to invite you to the Justice League.”
Marinette blinked, as if she hadn’t heard right.
“Invite me?”
“You are one of the most formidable protectors on the planet,” Diana said calmly. “What you did... you didn’t just save your city. You saved something bigger, even if you don’t fully realize it yet.”
Ladybug slowly lowered her yo-yo, though she didn’t relax completely. She couldn’t tell them that she remembered the change. That she remembered a world without the Justice League, without them. That her mind, as Guardian, had retained memories that no longer existed for anyone else. Because if she revealed that, she might jeopardize what little stability remained.
“I only did what I had to do,” she said at last, uncomfortable.
Diana nodded, as if that answer was enough for now. Superman smiled at her—a warm, sincere smile.
“We understand. We’re not here to pressure you. But when you’re ready—if you want answers, or if you need help—we’ll be nearby.”
Ladybug nodded silently.
Superman handed her a small card: metallic, with a subtle shine and engraved with the League’s symbol.
“You don’t have to decide now. We just want you to know the door is open.”
Ladybug held it for a few seconds between her gloved fingers. She said nothing. She looked at it. Acknowledged it. Then looked up at the two heroes in front of her. “Thank you, but no.”
Diana slightly furrowed her brow. “May I ask why?”
Ladybug was silent for a moment. The wind stirred her hair. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower twinkled with its artificial lights, oblivious to the ghosts drifting across its rooftops.
“No,” she finally said, without looking at either of them. “Paris has Ladybug and Chat Noir. It doesn’t need a League.”
Superman stepped forward gently, without invading her space.
“This isn’t just about Paris, Ladybug. The world is changing. So are the threats.”
“I know,” she replied, calmer than she felt. “But the choice is mine. And I don’t want to. The Order will not mix with the Justice League.”
Diana nodded faintly. “Sometimes it’s not about mixing. Just knowing that if you ever need something, you’re not alone.”
Ladybug squeezed the metallic card tightly, until its cold edge bent slightly.
“Thank you. But no.” She returned the card. A heavy silence lingered for a few seconds. “Now, please—out of my city.”
Superman didn’t insist. Neither did Diana. Both nodded, and as they drifted away into the starry sky, Ladybug watched them go. Imposing. Legendary. Distant.
When she could no longer see them, she sat at the edge of the building, gazing at the city lights. Her knees drawn to her chest as the cold night air washed over her.
The Miraculous, ever tricky in their interpretation, hadn’t granted Gabriel’s wish the way he expected. The wish created a cosmic fracture—a tear in the very laws of reality, a breach that didn’t just affect Paris but merged entire dimensions.
Marinette was fifteen when she noticed it. And she couldn’t do anything about it.
.
.
.
Marinette was seventeen when she realized Paris was no longer good for her.
Each day, she felt herself unraveling—bit by bit. The weight of responsibility pressed down on her, heavy and relentless, while anxiety grew like a storm in her chest. The nightmares never ceased. The memories lingered. Always.
The kwamis, though still by her side, seemed to feel the same pressure, the same unease that pulsed through the city’s veins. Even Tikki—loyal, steady Tikki—had begun to show signs of unrest, as if she could sense that something was wrong, and not just in Paris.
Marinette could see the consequences of what Gabriel had done, but she had no idea how to stop it. His wish hadn’t just shifted her world—it had torn the balance between heroes and villains apart. The worlds were no longer two, but one, tangled together in a chaotic fusion where the rules no longer applied.
So she made a choice.
She would leave.
She would travel the world as the Guardian of the Miraculous, doing everything she could to mend the damage, to restore what had been broken.
It was all she could do.
It was her duty.
And then, Marinette turned twenty-one.
She was in Gotham, patching the imbalance that had rooted itself in that haunted city, when someone tried to mug her—and a vigilante stepped in to save her.
And then, the most improbable thing happened:
She fell in love.
With Red Robin.
And that… was when everything truly began.