Warning: This is a very violent story. If you do not want to read about blood, do not read this story.
"That could have gone a lot better." Ladybug rolled her sore muscles as she released the purified akuma.
"Ladybug, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"Chat Noir rushed up to Ladybug and held out his hand. Ladybug violently turned to him, throwing off his hand.
"NO! Don't talk to me right now. You've done enough damage. We'll talk about this later. We need to get this wrapped up." The akuma attack had been rough and had gone horribly wrong. Ladybug had luckily been able to use her lucky charm in time to cover up Chat's mistake, but the battle still took a toll on the superheroes of Paris.
Ladybug left Chat hanging to talk to the victim as she headed over to the crowd that had started to gather to talk to the press.
"Ladybug! Ladybug! Has there been any development on finding where Hawkmoth is now?" cried one reporter.
"Ladybug! How in danger is Paris, knowing that the attacks are already becoming more dangerous?"
"Ladybug! Ladybug!"
"Ladybug! Is it true that you and Chat Noir are steadily losing control of your powers?"
"Are we in danger of actually being hurt?"
Ladybug held out a hand, and it silenced the crowd instantly. Ladybug barred a smile that she only wore for the press, and answered their questions. "It is true that we are getting close to finding Hawkmoth. He has been giving away little secrets about where he is located every single attack, but Chat Noir and I have yet to come to any conclusions."
"Paris is still very safe. I agree, the attacks have become a lot more dangerous, but luckily my powers can always reverse them. And you also don't have to worry about Chat Noir or I ever losing complete control over our powers. We still will protect Paris no matter what it takes." Her earrings beeped a warning for two minutes, and Ladybug walked away from the press, telling them that she had to go.
Before launching herself towards her family's bakery, Ladybug walked over to Chat Noir. Like her, he had just finished his job of talking with the victim, making sure she was ok. Chat Noir turned to Ladybug with pleading eyes. Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright. We still need to talk about it, but we can't do it here. Meet me on the roof of the abandoned factory in thirty minutes," Ladybug said curtly, and she whizzed off.
Thirty minutes later Marinette had quickly gotten Tikki some cookies and gotten a start on her homework. As the time to meet Chat drew near, Marinette donned her spandex suit and jumped over to the abandoned factory on the other side of Paris. Chat wasn't there yet.
Even though some time had passed, Ladybug was still fuming about Chat's stupidity in the battle. He can be so arrogant some times. Chat dropped onto the roof behind Ladybug, and Ladybug mentally prepared herself. She needed to tell Chat firmly what went wrong. I can't deal with his shenanigans anymore.
"Hello, my Lady! Wonderful evening isn't it?" Chat said in a painfully cheery voice. Ladybug could tell that he was trying to make everything better, but it only angered her.
"I guess it is, but it would look a lot prettier right now if you hadn't decided to anger Lady Draco more than needed with your cataclysm." Ladybug whirled around angrily, and Chat took a few, tentative steps back. "That as real stupid of you to destroy the one thing she wanted; her mother's photo. Everything would have gone a lot smoother and a lot quicker if you hadn't done that. Now all of Paris is starting to think we have no control!" Ladybug's eyes glowed bright in anger. Chat stood his ground, but nervously tried to calm his partner down at the same time.
"I didn't mean to do it on purpose. I was trying to be helpful."
"Yeah, well you weren't." That struck a nerve in Chat, and he defended himself with harsh words, just like what Ladybug was doing at the moment.
"Oh COME ON! You've done stupid things too that ruined a lot of fights, clumsy girl! Remember Volpina? Yeah, all your fault." Chat Noir and Ladybug now stood nose to nose, arguing and japing pointy swords into each other with their words.
"At least I solved it! All you did back there was sit and look horrified at what you did, Chat! You're no hero! You just prance around destroying things, making terrible puns, and making everybody angry. No wonder Paris doesn't trust us! It's because of you and your destruction!" Ladybug screamed. She breathed heavily as she kept her hands in fists and her legs in a fighting stance. Her eyes breathed fire just like how Lady Draco's had done earlier.
Chat stood, stunned. His own fighting stance had long since disappeared, so he just stood there like a deflated balloon. His eyes became smeary and started to glaze over. Ladybug saw the smallest tear crawl out of his eyes and she instantly broke down.
"Oh, Chat…I didn't- I didn't mean that, really, I just-" Ladybug reached out a hand to take Chat's shoulder, but he promptly leapt out of her reach.
"No. It's ok," he spat. "I see how you see me…now…. I understand." With that Chat jumped into the darkness. Ladybug tried to run after him, but her legs felt like they had rooted her to the spot.
"Oh Chat…..what have I done?..."
000
Adrien's eyes burned like acid had been poured into them. His cheeks were raw from the rubbing of his hands and the acid from his eyes. Adrien was a hollow shell now that just stared blankly into space.
Adrien was sitting in an abandoned alley on the ground. The air ranked of human waste and decaying beings. It had started to rain, and heavy drops of hail pelted the ground, accompanied with thunder and lightning. Adrien noticed none of it.
Plagg hovered nervously in front of his charge, unsure about what to do. He had already run out of ideas. He had tried convincing Adrien that Ladybug didn't mean it at all. He tried telling a few jokes. He tried talking about Nino, Marinette, Alya, heck even Chloe. Nothing had changed Adrien's expression. Plagg even tried to convince Adrien to eat some Camembert. Adrien ate it with no complaint.
"Kid, please snap out of it. We can get past this," Plagg pleaded. "Adrien please listen to me. Everything's going to turn out fine. Just please, whatever you do, don't get akumatized. Only happy thoughts." Plagg huddled closer to Adrien, but Adrien just rolled over so his back was facing Plagg.
There was a silence for what felt like hours until Adrien finally spoke in a weak voice. "Maybe that's what will make things better….. if I show Ladybug my true value." Adrien's eyes glowed in the dark, foggy air. "Maybe everything would be better if I was akumatized." Plagg cried out in response to Adrien's statement and tried to get Adrien to change his mind, force out the bad thoughts; do something. But Adrien wouldn't listen, and that's all Hawkmoth needed.
A glowing purple and midnight black butterfly floated down the alleyway, whispering a message, "Oh, what a poor soul to be rejected and hurt by a loved one. That is one of the strongest feelings in the world."
Plagg made a last ditch effort to try and save his kitten, and he transformed Adrien into Chat Noir in hopes of taking control of the boy's brain, but he found the entry to his brain barred and locked.
"Chat Blanc. I am Hawkmoth. I can give you the power to show Ladybug and Paris how much of a hero you really are. But there is something you must do for me," Hawkmoth's voice boomed from inside of Adrien's head. Adrien, now Chat Blanc, lifted his head and the outline of a butterfly appeared, framing his eyes. Chat Blanc grinned at Hawkmoth's words.
"I will do whatever you ask, Hawkmoth."
"Good….good," Hawkmoth whispered in reply. An electric purple haze clouded around Chat Blanc. Particle after particle, the cloud attached itself to Chat. One moment Chat was wearing an invisibility cloak of cloud-like butterflies, the next he wore his new costume. His new suit shone like the moon itself and covered his whole body, save for his head. Just like his Chat Noir costume, his face was covered by a mask. The mask was white with an etching of a purple butterfly printed on it. Instead of glowing green, Chat Blanc's eyes were pitch black. His eyes were the color of demons.
"I will show Paris who the real villain is. My wish is your command…master."
000
Marinette sat at her desk in her room finishing up her history project for school. She needed to go out and patrol again, but her history project took precedence since it was due tomorrow, although Marinette's mind was not in it. Her mind was on topics such as scaling buildings under a moonlit sky and looking for the two people that meant most to her. Three weeks ago both Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste had disappeared off of the face of Paris. Marinette as Ladybug had patrolled non-stop since, looking for the two, but to no avail. Along with the two boys going missing, so had a few reporters, teachers, police officers, and some of her family. Literally anyone who knew Ladybug had suddenly disappeared without any notice. Marinette knew someone was after her, but the question was who.
Marinette filed her project away in her satchel for school and pulled out her phone to text Alya. The two had decided to keep tabs on one another in case they got taken by the mysterious criminal because of their ties to Ladybug. Marinette typed out her message to tell Alya that she was still safe, and a few seconds later Alya replied in same. Marinette sighed with relief. "Another hour, safe." She murmured.
Tikki flew out of her hiding spot and slowly looked at Marinette with tired eyes. "Are you ready to transform?" she asked weakly. Marinette just nodded and whispered the code word. The red and black polka dot skin spread over her body and encased her in warmth. Ladybug felt like she didn't deserve it.
"Don't worry, Marinette. We'll find the culprit soon," Tikki whispered from inside Ladybug's mind.
"That's not necessarily a good thing, Tikki." Marinette leaped out of her window and onto the roofs of Paris. She did a quick circuit around Paris, and then took a deeper look into everything her second time round.
It was an eerily calm night that made Marinette's skin prickle with electricity. Every time she had gone out so far she had felt this feeling and knew she was being watched, but the feeling was only amplified tonight. Along with the feeling of being watched, she also felt the urge to find Chat and Adrien fast before she could possibly lose them both. She was hoping against hope that they were still alright.
Ladybug ignored her feelings for a bit as she visited several homes of Paris. Little boys and girls lay sleeping comfortably in their cotton candy beds with no fear entering their minds at all. The teenagers, like Marinette, were much more aware and were by their little siblings for comfort if the need arose. The parents stood in their living rooms talking in hushed voices, worrying about what was to become of Paris. Ladybug wanted so much to tell them that everything was going to turn out fine, but she wasn't even sure of that anymore.
There hadn't been an akuma attack in three weeks, and that had calmed many Parisians down. But Marinette knew, or felt she knew the reason why there had been no attacks recently. It was because there was an akuma victim in Paris right at that moment. He or she was playing their cards carefully to get closer to her and Chat. It already looked like they had gotten to Chat. Now it was only her. Now it was only Ladybug and the akuma victim that had been following her for the past three weeks.
Marinette dropped herself carefully onto a large and bare roof to wait for her pursuer to catch up with her. When she felt him stop, Ladybug sprinted off the roof and went jumping and running all across Paris, trying to get a lead so she could circle back and get him. But her plan failed. In response, he had doubled his speed and was catching up to her.
Ladybug veered to the left, then to the right, but the villain anticipated her every move. Marinette tried her best moves of evasion to get away, but somehow it was too little too late. The villain caught up easily and threw his body weight against her so she lost her balance and tumbled into the alley below.
Ladybug hit the ground hard and she heard her elbow crack under impact. The rough pavement burned under her cheek, but she quickly tried to get up, only to be kicked down again by her follower.
"I wouldn't try to get up if I were you, Ladybug," a male voice whispered darkly. Ladybug's skin tingled with the familiarity of his voice, but her brain couldn't make a match. Ladybug heeded the man's directions, but rolled onto her back to look into her attacker's eyes. She was not prepared to see black, soulless eyes on her partner's face.
"Chat Noir?" She asked tentatively.
The boy sneered. "It's Chat Blanc now, My Lady." Ladybug shuddered. Her eyes took in the boy's bright, white suit that was flecked with what looked like dried blood and dirt. His breath stank of fish, and Ladybug had trouble breathing with his face so close to hers. It definitely looked like Chat had become akumatized. Nevertheless, Ladybug had to ask.
"What happened to you?" she asked. Chat Blanc dusted himself off as he got up and glared at her from above.
"I think it's kind of obvious, my dear. I became stronger, all thanks to you." Chat Blanc picked up Ladybug by her neck and set her upright roughly. He kept his hand securely around her throat and let his thumb caress her throat and the bottom of her chin. "You see, once you showed me what you really thought about me as a partner, I realized how right you were. I wasn't a hero in that weak little form. All I really ever did was vie for your attention, which was such a waste of time, let me tell you." Chat Blanc put his other hand around her neck as well and pressed hard enough that Ladybug's breathe faltered. "But in this form, I am so much better, and I am so much wiser. I am actually a hero, unlike you. I have done so much in keeping akuma attacks down in these past three weeks than you have done in years. Now I must tell you my plan for you. You see, this town isn't big enough for the two of us, or rather another person who opposes me."
"So that's why all of those people disappeared. You were getting rid of my followers," Ladybug was able to gasp out.
"Now you're catching up, Bugaboo," Chat Blanc snickered. "Oh, and I also have to tell you about this wonderful thing that I found only minutes ago. She was very willing to follow my lead on anything as long as I didn't hurt anyone she cared about. I made that promise, but it just wasn't in me to keep true to that promise." Chat Blanc squeezed tighter around Ladybug's throat, making her choke, but she was able to whisper a response.
"I know you're talking about me…and let….me…tell….you. I will not…..be….a….pushover." Her eyes burned with anger as she stared ruthlessly at Chat. Chat Blanc could see sadness and regret in her eyes, and he decided to play his ace.
"Oh! You thought I was talking about you?" He laughed in a shrill tone, and then suddenly stopped. "Goodness no! My little story that I just told you has already come and gone. The reporter Alya Césaire has already been dealt with. You won't be talking to her anytime soon. Go ahead and check your phone." Chat Blanc's voice became unceasingly calm and he let Ladybug take out her phone and quickly try and text Alya.
Ladybug kept a watchful eye on the cat as she was texting, ready for any surprise attack. None came.
Once the text was sent, the two watched the screen for several minutes, but Alya never replied. Ladybug didn't want to believe it was true, but she knew her gut feeling was right; it was always right. She felt like drowning herself in tears. But before Ladybug could react, Chat Blanc pinned Ladybug against the wall of the alleyway and once again lifted her by the neck.
"Now you are all alone." Chat Blanc held his breath for a dramatic pause then continued. "No one else will come and save you." Chat Blanc shoved a clawed hand into Ladybug's stomach then his other hand as he let go of her neck. Ladybug fell down into a puddle of dirty water. She was gasping for air when Chat Blanc rounded on her again by hitting her head against the concrete, clawing at the fabric of her nose until it bled substantially, and kicking her ribs until he heard them crack. Throughout all of the abuse, Ladybug didn't once raise her fist.
"COME ON! FIGHT ME!" bellowed Chat Blanc. "I KNOW YOU CAN. COME ON! YOU KNOW IT WELL FEEL GOOD!" Chat Blanc continued to yell and hit her until most of her body was covered in blood. "WHY WON'T YOU FIGHT ME?"
Ladybug looked up at her old partner and looked sadly into his eyes. "I won't fight you, Chat. You're my friend and my partner. I care too much to hurt…"
"AWW! That disgusting friendliness! I wonder how I ever got along with you?" Chat Blanc sneered. "You are just plain disgusting."
Ladybug kept a steady gaze on Chat Blanc and stared him down. It was working the way she wanted it to. She had gotten him to stop hurting her. "I am your friend," she whispered. "But even a friend would notice that she needed to change that cattitude." Ladybug shot her arm into the air, calling "Luck Charm!" Her hands grasped a spray bottle full of water. She instantly started spritzing him with the water, making him hiss angrily. "You like that?" Ladybug asked, innocently. The magic of her suit was slowly healing her wounds in front of the two's eyes. Ladybug smirked. "Looks like you can't really do much to me!" Two loud, shrill beeps cut through the foggy air and made both of them pause. Ladybug's eyes widened as she realized she only had two minutes left to her transformation. I guess the healing must of taken some of Tikki's energy. I need to end this fast.
Meanwhile, Chat Blanc's tongue was tutting at her with sharp clicks. "Tut, tut. You spoke too soon. You will be susceptible to anything in a little while….about two minutes to be exact." Chat Blanc smiled arrogantly. "Want to give up?" He asked.
"NEVER!" Ladybug cried as she dived to tackle here enemy. She did so successfully with her spray bottle as her weapon, and she grabbed for the glowing ring on his left hand. Chat Blanc let out a gasp of shock and tried to grab the ring back, but Ladybug pushed him back down with her foot. "Down kitty" Ladybug said smugly as she crushed the ring in her hands.
Nothing came out of it.
No akuma, no kawami, no nothing. Ladybug looked incredulously at Chat Blanc. He smiled darkly as he reached inside his pocket.
"You should know by now, my dear Ladybug that not all akumas hide in something that the villains wear. The heroes, in my case, sometimes carry their object." Chat Blanc pulled out a duplicate ring out of his pocket and held it up to the only light that streamed through part of the alley. "It is curious, very curious on how we're going to solve our little dilemma," he whispered. "Especially when one of us is de-transformed." At his words Ladybug became a blur of light and soon her latex suit was once again civilian clothes. Chat's features reflected surprise and shock, but he quickly covered it with a smirk as he put his ring away. "Welcome to the show, Marinette."
A little red blur buzzed up to his face and was determined to injure him deeply, but Chat just knocked her away lazily. Marinette's face broiled.
"You will regret that! And don't worry, you're transformation will wear out too!" Marinette huffed.
Chat Blanc just idly picked at his sharp teeth. "You're wrong, Princess. Another thing that the people of Paris will love about me is that I won't transform into my weaker self. I will always be the hero they want. They will never see the prick, Adrien Agreste again."
Marinette had resolved to keep a level head and keep her emotions in check, but his words crumbled those walls. "You're….Adrien….Agreste?" She asked weakly.
Chat Blanc sneered at the words. "Was, my dear….was. Now I do believe we have some unfinished business to attend to." Without warning Chat Blanc, her once dear Adrien, leapt on her and clawed at every single bit of skin that was showing. Then he moved onto her clothed skin. This time Marinette didn't hold back anything. She kicked and screamed and even clawed at Chat Blanc's face. The fighting went on for minutes, maybe hours, but Chat Blanc just stopped suddenly and surveyed his handy work. Just like before, her body was covered in blood, but she didn't have a suit that could heal her this time.
Marinette relaxed her muscles when she realized the fighting was done for a while. She coughed weakly, but decided to try to reason with her partner one last time.
"Did you know I loved you back?" She asked quietly. "Both sides of you, without knowing it? I fell first for your 'weak side' as you call it. But then I fell for the pun loving cat. I thought I would never see the day when you would be….akumatized."
"No. You're lying!" Chat Blanc spat after a long pause after her words. "No one loved me,… not even my own father. But now all of Paris will love me." Some of Chat Blanc's spittle landed on Marinette's cheeks and she attempted to open her eyes.
"You really can't see it, can you? Even when it's right in front of you." Marinette took a pause to suck in more air, but she just coughed it back up. Nevertheless, she continued. "You were more of a hero than I ever was, and I'm sorry for yelling at you…..that one night. I should….have…never….done that." Marinette was running out of air, but she needed to get this out. "I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry that I did this to you." She weakly gestured to his outfit. "But I'm not that sorry to not realize that the person I knew is long gone…along with the love that I once felt for him."
Chat Blanc had stayed quiet and calculating as he let her speak. He had almost looked like he was about to actually forgive her, but that look was gone as quick as a flash from a camera. Anger seared into his eyeballs and in a blind rage Chat Blanc called for his Cataclysm and he threw his crackling hand against her stomach. Both of their voices collided in screams. Chat screamed in anger while Marinette yelled and cried form the searing pain that was eating away her flesh.
The burning and screaming went on forever, probably waking up the whole of Paris. When the torment had stopped, Chat was sitting on his haunches watching Marinette closely. She, in turn, was bent double over her bleeding, gaping wound. But, through the pain Marinette was able to stare at Chat Blanc with cold eyes. A black and purple butterfly darted into the alley and into Marinette's earrings. Just before she transformed she whispered to Chat. "I spilled my guts for you, but you just ignored it. Now the world will never look at you the same way again. That is my goal. My aim is to teach you a lesson in the worst kind of way. And I'm going to enjoy watching your face as I take everything you hold, or held dear, away. Because guess who's in control now?"
Before Chat's eyes Marinette's body morphed into her Ladybug outfit, but there were many changes. The background was black like a black hole in space. The black fabric was then covered with white spots that were encompassed in grime. The wounds that she had suffered in her fight with Chat stayed where they were, but were amplified. There were gaping holes in her face and a whole part of her body was missing from where the Cataclysm had hit her. Instead of hiding her wounds, the akumatized Marinette flaunted the wounds as she sidled over the Chat. The akumatized Marinette reached her hand into the pocket of Chat Blanc's suit and pulled out the ring. In her little fingers she crushed the ring, letting a large akuma out of it. She captured the akuma in her black yoyo, but instead of returning everything to its normal state, her miraculous cure only repaired the broken ring and the akuma was not let out of her yoyo. Ladybug tossed the ring in front of Adrien's face, taunting him.
"It looks like I'm in control now. I believe Hawkmoth will be very happy with my find." And with that, the akumatized ladybug sauntered off, leaving Adrien Agreste alone and cold in the alleyway.
Plagg was gone. Ladybug was gone. Marinette was gone. His whole future was gone. The one thing that Adrien wanted the most at that very moment was just one yesterday. He would trade all of his tomorrows with the soulless Marinette for one yesterday with his true lady where they could tell jokes into the night without worrying about the nightmares to come.
Hey Readers! I am really sorry for such a sad and scary story. I don't know why I wrote this, but for some reason it just came out. This story is based off of the song by Fall Out Boy featuring Foxes called "Just One Yesterday", and the song "Control" by Halsey. The art by CreativeCreepie on tumblr and youtube really inspired Ladybug's motives as well in this story. Again, I'm really sorry about how I tortured these characters, but thankfully this will never happen. I only wrote this as a what if story. I never want this to happen in the show, it was just interesting to delve into. Please comment, favorite, or follow if you wish. If enough of you want me to continue this story and write a happy ending, tell me. But until I write again, TTFN!