Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous Ladybug or any character from the series.

Who is Cat Noir?

Chapter 1: The News Report

In order to increase ratings, TV reporter Nadja Chamack announced she had big news on Cat Noir. Cat's secret identity, Adrien Agreste, didn't know what to think about it. On one hand, he was afraid Nadja would reveal something about him that should stay secret. On the other hand, he was happy his father Gabriel Agreste wanted to watch it with him. If only Adrien knew his father's real interest.

"Good evening, people!" Nadja announced. "Tonight I promised to deliver news on Cat Noir and I won't let you down! Do you remember the one time he didn't show up to help Ladybug?"

"Style Queen." Gabriel said while fondly remembering what he used to consider his greatest creation as Hawk Moth before he figured out how to akumatize several people at once.

"For those who don't, it was when Style Queen disrupted a fashion show and turned several people into statues." Nadja reminded the viewers who forgot. "No official explanation was given but a latter comment by Ladybug implies that he couldn't show up because he lost his Miraculous. Is it the truth or is it some lie she made up to cover up the fact he's one of those turned into statues by Style Queen before having a chance to transform?"

"What?" Marinette Dupain-Cheng asked in outrage as she watched the news with her parents. "I, I mean, Ladybug wouldn't lie!"

"After how Hawk Moth, knowing Queen Bee's real identity, went after her parents, who can blame Ladybug for it?" Marinette's father asked.

"Point taken, Dad." Marinette pretended to accept the reasoning because she couldn't tell her parents how she knew the 'truth' without admitting she's Ladybug. Her kwami Tikki knew the real truth but wouldn't say anything because Nadja got it right about it being a lie to cover up Cat Noir's secret identity.

"At this point, most of you must be assuming 'He certainly cannot be Adrien Agreste since, famous model or not, he's just a student at Collège Françoise Dupont and too young to be a crime fighter and the two of them were seen together'." Nadja commented and then showed a file photo of the Gorizilla incident. "As we can see, the 'Adrien' seen with Cat Noir was wearing a helmet so we cannot tell if it's really him or not. About the other point, his fellow Françoise Dupont student Alya Césaire brought up through her Ladyblog that Ladybug could also be a student there."

"Maybe Ladybug did apologize in front of Adrien Agreste after all." Lila's mother commented while watching the news.

"Like we can trust the media." Lila replied in disdain. "And even if Adrien is Cat Noir, Ladybug couldn't expect me to have known it back then."

"We mustn't forget that Scarlet Gorizilla would later abduct Adrien Agreste, who escaped before the floor below them suddenly crumbled but there was no sign of Cat Noir." Nadja commented. "Could it be that our feline superhero can use Cataclysm without being transformed?"

"I've seen enough." Gabriel commented and stood up.

"Father, you're not thinking I am Cat Noir." Adrien pleaded. "Are you?"

"Adrien, if I really believed that possibility, I'd have ordered you to hand over every ring you had so you'd stop playing hero." Gabriel sincerely responded. He didn't believe his son was Cat Noir but believed Nadja might be right about Cat Noir being one of Style Queen's other victims. "Now, if you excuse me, I have something to do." He said and then left for a secret passage Adrien didn't know about.

End chapter.

Author's Note: Sorry if the characters sound odd. I'm a Brazilian who rarely watches an episode's English Dub.

Author's Note 2: I wrote this chapter before Season 3. Any similarities between events described here and events that take place in Season 3 are mere coincidence.