The Salt Files (MLB)

Identity Reveal Gone Wrong (Request)

Idea requested by nightfalls030403

Adrien Salt mwhahaha

Adrien reveals his identity as a hero but it goes wrong and he gets criticized for not helping Ladybug

Sorry I posted late I was busy and tired all weekend🥲

Adrien curled up in a ball on his bed, trying to ignore the commotion outside. How did things go so wrong?

You see, lately Cat Noir had been trying to encourage Ladybug to do a city reveal. They defeated Hawkmoth a few months ago, so he figured that they don't need to hide their identities anymore. Besides, the public should love them, mask or not.

Ladybug didn't like that idea because she wanted to remain secret in case there was another danger. Plus she didn't want to be pestered by the media more than she already was.

After that, Cat Noir kept asking, and kept getting denied. One day he had enough and was going to prove that everything would be alright if they did a reveal. So, he went on top of the Eiffel Tower and revealed his identity.

Only he got a different reaction than what he was expecting.

Instead of cheers, he got boos. Instead of clapping in the air there were objects flying. It was at that moment when he knew:

He made a mistake.

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His father watched the news story from prison. He was avoided by other inmates because he was a supervillain, but they would now talk behind his back about his son actually being a hero. Gabriel felt sick.

This entire time, he was battling his own family. Their family was now more broken than it ever was before. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

Cat Noir and Adrien were never in the same place at once, unless there was an illusion or something. They had similar eyes and hair, and the voices were identical. 

Gabriel wished he listened to Natalie when she had suspicions before. She didn't make it to the final battle, as she died from overuse of a broken miraculous. The loss of his dear friend made him fight harder.

Gabriel sat there on his prison bed, regretting everything.

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School was even worse for Adrien too. He kept getting glares as they whole-heartedly degrade him as he walked by. They kept saying comments about how he hasn't helped Ladybug, but instead put more pressure on her during akuma battles. Marinette watched sadly as the golden boy walked with his head down everywhere he went.

Even though the situation was bad, it went up for Marinette. The Cat Noir Fiasco also exposed Lila. 

When classmates started going up to her asking if she knew about that factor when she was dating him. Lila claimed she wasn't dating Adrien.

But she didn't count on classmates and other witnesses recalling that she did.

Needless to say, Lila was exposed and went down with him. Classmates who believed her came back to Marinette and apologized, but she didn't take them back. The secret heroine realized that she didn't need to have friends that were ready to dump her from another's beck and call.

Marinette did however feel slightly bad for Adrien, so she went on air as Ladybug and asked the citizens to stop harassing Adrien. 

"He made a mistake." Ladybug said. "But you all are sinking lower than he did by acting worse. Please, if you won't do it for yourselves, do it for me." 

And just like that, Adrien was no longer bugged by anyone. But he was still isolated everywhere he went. He wasn't doing well mentally either, and Gorilla was doing his best to make sure the kid was safe under his care.

Adrien laid out on his bed again, just like he did weeks before. He wished he could reverse time.

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Adrien was walking through the empty school hallways afterschool one Friday. He took up to leaving last at school so it lowered his chance of being harassed, even though it stopped.

It was cloudy and was about to rain, so it added a dark and mysterious vibe to the environment. What Adrien didn't know was that Marinette was there as well, leaving the art room after cleaning.

"I told you not to do it, Chaton." Adrien froze as he turned to see the girl behind him. His eyes widened.

"M'lady?" He stumbled forward. "Marinette? You're-"

"Don't. Have you not learned the consequences of outing yourself?" The blonde looked down in shame. 

"I still don't understand. Why did you do it? You sacrificed the rest of your life for a reveal."

"I just wanted to feel appreciated more than just under the mask. I figured since we saved them a lot, it wouldn't matter to them." A silence loomed over them as thunder boomed overhead. Marinette looked him in the eyes.

"Was it worth it?" Silence. "I figured." Marinette turned around, and didn't look back. If she stayed a little while longer, she would have seen him break down as it started to rain.

So he did get to learn Ladybug's identity. Just not the way it was supposed to be.

I wrote this idea as soon as I could so I could edit if I needed to lmao

Thanks again nightfalls03043 for the idea!

There will be a few more story-type chapters then the rest of the book will be song ones. If I get any other requests after like the first song chapter I'm adding it to the next book.

I'm trying to make this one like 75 chapters cuz I don't want it to be too long and I like numbers to end in 5 or 0 it's just satisfying to me😅

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