What if Despair Bear used his powers more effectively?
Despair Bear Scare
"I've had it with your stupid teddy bear, your stupid advice, and you, Jean, whatever your stupid name is!" yelled Chloé.
"But, Mademoiselle, I was only trying to help," said Jean, her butler.
"There's no more Mademoiselle, no more help, no more anything," said Chloé to her butler. "You are fired! Now, get out!"
Chloé stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Jean alone. She wanted to break up the dance between Adrien and Marinette. But she had to hold back for a bit, and not draw attention to herself until people forget about the embarrassing yellow teddy bear, Mr. Cuddly, that Jean had waved around. Chloé sulked on the sidelines with her friend Sabrina.
All of a sudden, Sabrina stared at her with bright green eyes and spoke in a strange tone of voice: "Come here, Chloé."
"Sabrina? What's gotten into you?" asked Chloé
"Let me brush your hair. I promise I won't hurt you."
It was clear to Chloé that the promise was a lie. Sabrina came at her, and Chloé had to fend her off. As she did, she noticed a black teddy bear with glowing green eyes clinging to Sabrina's leg. Another akuma attack! Why did these things always happen to her!
"Argh! Somebody stop her!" said Chloé.
Chloé broke free and ran behind Kim for protection.
"If you touch one hair on Chloé's head, you'll have to answer to me," said Kim.
Chloé heard a small voice from the bear, "Oh, what a gentleman. Despair Bear praises a knight in shining armor."
"Chloé?" asked Sabrina.
She looked puzzled and her eyes were no longer bright green, but Chloé didn't trust that.
"Don't you come near me," said Chloé.
"Why? What's going on?" asked Sabrina.
"Kim, do something," said Chloé.
Kim turned to face her, and now he had bright green eyes, and Despair Bear was clinging to him. "Would you like to dance, Chloé?"
Chloé backed away from him with a gasp of fear.
Kim grabbed Chloé and subjected her to rough dancing. He twirled her and dipped her without mercy.
"Let go, you evil dork. You're messing up my hair!"
Chloé was tossed up into the air, shouting "Whooooah!" as she spun around.
Suddenly a yo-yo line caught Chloé out of the air and she landed in the ball pit.
Chloé spit out a yellow ball and glared at Ladybug. "About time! What took you so long?"
Kim ran after her but Chat Noir tripped him and he went flying into the ball pit. His evil rider was flung off of him and into the wall.
"That's a very slippery dance floor!" said Chat Noir.
Ladybug threw her yo-yo at Despair Bear, but he escaped by running up a wall and back down to the floor.
"Eeek! It's a mouse," cried one girl as Despair Bear ran past her.
"Move aside. All of you!" ordered Ladybug.
The guests complied, but Despair Bear had moved elsewhere while screened by them.
Max was standing on a counter, about to throw a chair down. "How about a little game of Flying Chairs?"
Max was quickly caught, but Despair Bear moved on to Alya. Ladybug easily got out of her arms.
"Huh? Ladybug... What happened?" asked Alya.
Ivan was about to throw a coffee table. Chat Noir split the table with his staff and pushed Ivan back onto a sofa.
"Huh. Cat Noir?" asked Ivan, no longer controlled.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" asked Chat Noir, looking around.
Ladybug was looking around everywhere when Chat Noir grabbed her hand.
"What are you doing?" asked Ladybug.
Chat Noir had brighter green eyes than usual, and he stared at Ladybug with a blank expression.
"Oh no!" said Ladybug.
Despair Bear paused for a moment as he received a message from Hawk Moth.
"Oh, pretty earrings," said a voice from inside Despair Bear.
Chat Noir tried to grab the earrings as Ladybug dodged.
"Chat Noir, it's me! Stop it!"
Ladybug wrestled Chat's left arm back.
Chat Noir clenched his free right hand. "Cataclysm!"
Chat reached his hand back to touch and destroy Ladybug.
Chloé pulled him back by the tail. "Paws off, Kitty!"
Chat was thrown across the room. He was off-balance, and about to fall on the couch and waste the Cataclysm on it.
The yo-yo streaked out and caught him. Too late, Chloé saw that Despair Bear had jumped over to Ladybug while she was distracted by trying to avoid the deadly touch.
Chat Noir was pulled to Ladybug. With a sickening smile Ladybug placed the destructive hand on her chest. She crumbled to dust.
Chloé screamed, and everyone in the room joined her.
Chat Noir was too stunned to move as Despair Bear jumped back to him and asserted control.
"You loved Ladybug, didn't you dear Chloé?" said Despair Bear through Chat Noir. "All those cosplay sessions with me as Big Mustachio. I have destroyed your hero and now I will destroy you. Cataclysm!"
Nothing happened.
"What is that, Hawk Moth? I do not get two in a row? I will time out soon? Very well."
Chat reached down for the spotted earrings that had fallen to the floor when Ladybug disintegrated. Chloé tried to get them, but he backhanded her across the room.
"I must make a delivery, and then I will be back to torment you further."
The possessed hero picked up the earrings. He ran up the stairs to the roof and used his staff to vault away.
Chloé fell to her knees and sobbed.
Chat Noir timed out on his way to Hawk Moth. He was starting a new leap, and Adrien took a face-plant on the ground. Despair Bear lost his grip.
Plagg flew out, exhausted but enraged. He phased into the black teddy bear, and it went still.
"What did you do, Plagg?" asked Adrien. "Did you break the akumatized object?"
"No. I broke the akumatized villain. His neck, that is."
"Plagg! You've never killed before," said Adrien.
"Of course I have. I'm the kwami of destruction," said Plagg.
"Never around me," said Adrien.
"Don't worry your head about it," said Plagg. "Now you need to take the Ladybug earrings and transform. You have a chance to undo everything. It may not save her, but you have to try. But feed me first. I need cheese."
Adrien tossed a lump of Camembert to Plagg. He took the earrings out of the hand of Despair Bear.
"What do you mean, it may not save her? It has to work!"
Plagg spoke with his mouth full. "When a Cat kills a Ladybug using his ultimate power, it creates an imbalance in the universe. It can nullify the power of the Miraculous Ladybug, and make it not work on her. I've seen it happen once, but it was an intentional murder that time."
"Ladybug killed herself by touching my hand under Despair Bear's mind control. That has to be different!"
"If it's not, the only way to fix the balance is to kill the person responsible for the death of Ladybug. Not you, not Despair Bear, but the person behind it all – Hawk Moth, And you would have to be the one to do it."
"I will, no matter who it is," said Adrien. "Even if I have to go to prison for it."
"The laws of your country are easy on minors. Since you're under sixteen, you would get at most twenty years and be up for parole in ten."
"First I'll try it the regular way," said Adrien. He put on the earrings, which attached by magic without piercing.
"Say, Tikki, spots on," said Plagg.
"Tikki, spots on!"
Adrien transformed into a hero in a red suit with black spots.
"Now you have to get an object to help break the akumatized object," said Plagg. "It's the whole bear costume this time."
"Lucky Charm!" called the male Ladybug (Manbug, as he thought of himself). He got a polka-dotted pair of scissors, and used it to cut open the teddy bear suit.
The akuma butterfly flew out. Manbug captured and purified it. "Bye-bye, little butterfly," he said, which was part of the required ritual of cleansing.
Manbug threw the scissors into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
Red ladybugs flowed out everywhere. They repaired the yellow teddy bear. Butler Jean came back to life holding it in his arms.
"What has happened?" asked the butler. "The last thing I recall is being fired by Mademoiselle Chloé."
"You were akumatized, and Ladybug died," said Manbug. "Let me go and check out the situation at the hotel. If Ladybug has come back to life, you may be able to be re-hired. Otherwise, I suggest you start looking for another job."
Manbug took Jean's cell phone number so he could report the good or bad news.
Manbug took off the earrings and transformed back to Chat Noir before coming back in through the stairs to the roof. He was terrified that he would find Ladybug still a pile of dust on the floor.
Instead, he saw Marinette sitting on the couch with a blanket around her. Chloé was sitting next to her, looking anxious.
"Are you feeling better now, Marinette? I could ring for Jean to bring you some hot tea... oh, I forget he's gone. I wish now I hadn't fired him."
"Thank you, Chloé," said Marinette. "I'm okay without tea."
"You're treating Marinette nicely for once," said Chat to Chloé.
"How can I not? She's my hero for saving me so many times, and she almost gave her life this time."
"What happened to you, Marinette? And where is Ladybug?"
"I died as Ladybug. Chloé saw me come back to life. Only her, nobody wanted to stay at the party after they saw me die. I don't remember dying – I went under Despair Bear's control and then I woke up on the floor a few minutes ago."
"Marinette, you're Ladybug?" asked Chat half in shock.
"Yes," said Marinette. "There's no denying it now."
Chloé said, "The dopey lovesick act at school was just to hide your secret identity, like Clark Kent, right?"
"Dopey lovesick act?" asked Chat Noir.
"For Adrien Agreste," said Chloé.
"It wasn't an act," said Marinette. "I really do have feelings for Adrien."
"You do?" said Chat Noir. "I have something to tell you, later."
"You mean, you're Adrien?" said Chloé. "I should have known. The way she was dancing with you tonight, like she was on a pink cloud, and the way you looked at her just now."
"We're just... no, I can't say that anymore," said Chat Noir. "You're Ladybug, the lady of my dreams."
Marinette jumped up from the couch and hugged him. "You're Adrien, the center of mine."
"I'm so unlucky!" said Chloé. "I just played matchmaker between the guy I like and the hero I adore."
"It was never going to work out between us," said Chat Noir. "You're my childhood friend and it would never have been anything more."
"I thought it could be,"said Chloé. "I guess I can stop being nice to people to please you."
"Do it for my sake," said Marinette. "When you hurt people you usually create akumas, and people can get hurt or worse."
"Please keep our secrets," said Chat Noir. "Our lives depend on it."
"I will," said Chloé. "I won't even blackmail you for selfies."
"Here are your earrings back," said Chat Noir, handing them to Marinette. She put them on and transformed.
"Time to bug out," said Ladybug. "See you both tomorrow at school."
"Shall I call Jean and tell him he has his job back?" asked Chat.
"Please forgive him," said Ladybug. "It wasn't his fault."
"Yeah, yeah," said Chloé. "I really am nice, after all, aren't I?"
"It's a start," said Ladybug.
The End