A special thanks to marinette.x and paris . superheroes for letting me use their characters! If you aren't already following their Instagram, you definitely should! They make fabulous edits.
Okay, here it goes...
There was something different about Reyna that day.
She couldn't put her finger on what it was and why she was feeling that way in the first place, but something was different. She knew that for sure.
Maybe the feeling started that morning when she was watching the news during breakfast. Her gaze was fixated on the screen, not pausing to look down at her food as she took bites of her toast. The news was replaying footage of Reyna's alter-ego, Scorpion, fighting alongside her partner Queen Bee against an akumatized victim. Reyna didn't know why she was paying more attention than usual to Queen Bee that morning.
"You look frazzled," a voice none other than her brother Elias commented, interrupting Reyna's train of thought.
Reyna grunted. "I didn't get much sleep last night."
Elias pulled out the kitchen chair to sit next to Reyna with his plate of food. "Interesting... elaborate."
"Well," Reyna turned towards to Elias, his amber eyes glinting with attentiveness. "I just had a lot on my mind... about, ah..."
"I won't pry," he intervened, sensing Reyna's uncomfortable demeanor. "How about I drive to school today?"
Reyna flashed him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Eli."
"I'll be ready to leave in five," he said, taking a bite of his croissant.
"All right!" Reyna replied.
She rushed over to the sink with her plate in hand and placed it down. Then she quickly walked over to the bathroom to get herself together before she left.
Reyna fumbled with her chocolate brown hair to put it in its regular braid. Instead of admiring her handiwork as she normally did in the mirror, she stared at the braid and felt dissatisfied with it. She strangely decided to wear it down, feeling that it suited her better that day.
"Are you feeling okay, Reyna?" a tiny voice whispered from the pocket of her jeans. It was her magical kwami, Dessa. A scarlet head popped out, gold eyes wide with concern. "You're acting a bit strange."
"I'm okay, Dessa," Reyna smiled reassuringly down at the scorpion-like kwami. "Really. It's probably from the lack of sleep I've gotten last night. I'll be fine when I wake up more."
"You don't think it's because of your interaction with Queen Bee yesterday?" Dessa smirked.
Reyna's face heated up with embarrassment. "It's don't think it's that, Dessa..."
"What else could it be?" Dessa said. "You were acting fine before that."
"Are you ready, Reyna?" Eli's voice called from the kitchen.
Dessa burrowed her head back in Reyna's pocket, establishing that they were going to talk again later.
"Coming!" Reyna yelled back as she scrambled to her bedroom to grab her backpack and then down the hallway to the kitchen.
The car pulled up to the parking space and skidded to a stop. Reyna lifted her head and blinked open her eyes. Because of her sleepless night, she thought resting a bit would help keep her awake at school. The sudden brightness from the rays of sun irritated her. She squinted until her vision adjusted.
She opened the door and stepped out. Reyna looked over to the passenger seat where Elias should've been sitting, or at least exiting the car as she did. Instead, she caught him running to catch up with one of his friends. Reyna sighed, slightly annoyed but understanding. She started trailing Elias to the courtyard.
Reyna noted the beautiful day that surrounded her. The sky cloudless and shades of a magnificent blue. A nice breeze caught her hair. She smiled appreciatively. As she trotted along, she saw a figure in the distance that was walking the opposite direction hurriedly. Her heart leapt once the girl came into view.
It was one of her fellow students, Melissa. They'd only had a few interactions in the past. Reyna remembered them too well. In an art class that one of them shared in the past, they were put at the same table. Melissa sat across from Reyna. Reyna reminisced at the grins they exchanged in the few interactions they had. After the seating chart changed, they no longer spoke, but Melissa would appear in Reyna's thoughts from time to time.
Melissa locked eyes with Reyna, stealing a bit of her breath.
"Hey!" Melissa shouted, now running towards her. "You need to get out of here, there's an akuma attack in the school!"
"Wha- really?" Reyna stammered, taken aback. "If that's true, I gotta call Eli..."
"I need to get you somewhere safe first," Melissa offered, glowing with the confidence that Reyna always admired.
"Okay" was all Reyna could manage before Melissa tugged her along. Reyna broke into a jog to keep up with Melissa's pace.
"How did the akuma happen?" Reyna asked.
"I wasn't there to witness who it was," Melissa replied. "But I saw that it was an akuma that specializes in electricity."
"Shocking," Reyna joked, thinking of the infinite list of puns Queen Bee had in store for today.
Queen Bee.
Crap, Reyna thought. I'll have to face Queen Bee today. And after last night... I don't know what I'll say or do. What is there to say?
Melissa's laugh melted Reyna's worry. She didn't expect any reception for her pathetic joke-making, much less it be Melissa's reception. But it seemed genuine. The warmth and joy couldn't have been manufactured.
When they reached the parking lot, Melissa made a beeline towards what Reyna assumed was her car.
"I have to get something, keep going as far away as you can!" Melissa yelled to Reyna.
"Right," Reyna breathed, inaudible to anyone except herself. "I have something to get too."
She started to run for a hiding place. She dove in one of the bushes near her car.
Reyna first rummaged in her pocket for her cell phone. She whipped it out and dialed Elias' number. It went straight to voicemail. Reyna gritted her teeth with frustration at not being able to contact him. She hoped he was okay.
Dessa flew out of Reyna's pocket.
"What are you waiting for, Reyna?" Dessa snapped irritably. "Say the magic words!"
"Sorry, I'm so out of it today!" Reyna quickly apologized. "Dessa, transform me!"
The words dragged Dessa into Reyna's bracelet Miraculous. A surge of power coursed through her as she felt the skin-tight scarlet spandex magically meld with her body. Her golden whip appeared in her hands. Finally, a scarlet mask with her signature scorpion emblem molded to fit her face, disguising her identity from Paris. She swiftly leapt out of the bushes.
She glanced around at her surroundings, and threw her whip around the lamppost to swing and gracefully back flip to the top. She stood with perfect balance on the lamppost at a suitable height. An bolt of lightning thundered from the school, and she heard screams of chaos in the distance.
"Nothing I can't fix," Reyna smirked.
She jumped down, but didn't quite reach the ground.
"Need a lift?" a cocky voice Reyna identified as none other than one of the newer Miraculous holders, Hawk.
His strong arm firmly gripped onto Reyna as he soared through the skies, taking her with him.
"Hello, Hawk," Reyna said curtly, not thrilled about getting his aid, but accepting it nonetheless.
"You seemed like you were handling yourself just fine, but flying is quicker and more efficient, wouldn't you agree?" Hawk said smoothly.
"Drop me on the roof of the school," Reyna ordered Hawk, ignoring his remark.
He dropped down to land on the school. "That's exactly where I was headed to!"
When her feet touched the ground, Reyna could feel the school vibrating with electricity.
"If you didn't already notice, the akumatized victim has to do with electricity," Reyna said to Hawk, staring closely at his familiar-looking amber eyes. "Birds don't have a good track record with electricity. Be careful."
"Will do," Hawk acknowledged her tip gratefully. "Thanks."
Reyna spotted a doorway that led inside the school.
"Come on, let's go through here," Reyna beckoned Hawk.
Hawk nodded, and they both charged. Reyna dramatically kicked open the door and ran inside with Hawk following. Their swift footsteps echoed while running down the stairwell.
Hawk pushed open the door that led to the corridors of the school. Reyna expected there to be the screaming she heard moments earlier.
Instead, she only could hear the high pitched buzzing of electricity and nothing else.
"What happened to everyone?" Hawk whispered to Reyna, his nerves betraying him.
Reyna stood her ground. "Let's investigate."
She took careful steps through the abandoned hallway. She tried to not let the tension get to her, but her quick heart beat made her hands shake. A few quick inhales through the nose lowered her pulse a tad and she felt her muscles relax.
When she reached the end of the hallway, her gaze caught on something that made her stifle a gasp. An unmoving body of a student was lying on the ground.
The body was not dead, although it would be easy to assume that depending on how terrified one was. No, he was very much alive. The student's eyes were wide with fear, and Reyna spotted his chest rising and falling.
"Paralyzed," Reyna concluded. "The akuma can paralyze its victims."
"You're right," Hawk said, impressed at how quickly Reyna figured the situation out. "Not bad, Scorpion."
"Thanks, Hawk," Reyna replied, feeling satisfied at the compliment. "You know, you're not doing bad either. You're getting to be pretty good at your Miraculous."
He glowed at Reyna's praise. "Thank you, tha-"
Suddenly the door bursted open. A bolt of electricity came shooting at Reyna too quickly for her to register. She turned, and the next thing she knew, Hawk was in front of her and taking the blow.
Her eyes widened as she saw Hawk collapse to the ground rigidly, but she wasn't going to let his sacrifice be in vain. She quickly dodged the second bolt of lightning, and held up her whip in a fighting stance.
"Who's there?" Reyna fiercely shouted.
The akuma laughed. "I'm Powerhouse!"
He threw more bolts of lighting, in which Reyna ducked and rolled. Powerhouse stepped forward where Reyna could finally see him. He was a human made of red and black wires. As Reyna inspected him, he conjured another bolt of electricity in his hands.
"You're in for a shock!"
BAM! Queen Bee knocked Powerhouse over with a jump kick as she blasted through the door.
Her gaze locked with Reyna's. Queen Bee's dark eyes burned into hers with apology and guilt. Reyna glanced the other way, avoidant, only to see Powerhouse regaining his footing.
Reyna cracked her whip and charged at Powerhouse to slash at him. She wrapped the gold whip around his legs and yanked it, throwing him off-balance once more. Queen Bee jumped on top of him, unsheathing her sword to cleanly chop off one of Powerhouse's wired arms. He shrieked, and collapsed to the ground in pain.
"Watt's wrong?" Queen Bee giggled as she dominantly towered over Powerhouse's helpless figure. She looked up at Reyna to see her reaction to her pun. Reyna awkwardly pretended not to notice.
"Where do you think the akuma is located?" Reyna deadpanned, paying no acknowledgement to Queen Bee's attempt at light-hearted humor.
Queen Bee uncomfortably shifted at the amount of formality in her voice. "Um, I think there's a special wire in his right hand. I heard he was formerly an electrician."
"Awesome," Reyna said, still avoiding Queen Bee's eye contact. "Do you mind doing the honors?"
"It would bee my pleasure," Queen Bee forcibly laughed as she broke the wire where the akuma was being contained with her sword. The infected butterfly flew out, and Queen Bee captured it in the jar she always carried around for akuma attacks.
"I'll take this to Ladybug," Reyna offered emotionlessly, swiping the jar away from Queen Bee.
Hurt filled Queen Bee's face from the detachment that Reyna was showing. "I'll come with you."
"Don't," Reyna said as she kept walking, her back to Queen Bee. "Please."
Reyna was suddenly running away and she didn't know why.
"Scorpion, wait!" The heartbroken shouts of Queen Bee faded as the distance between them grew.
Reyna sprinted at full speed through the top of the roof. A shot of adrenaline pumped through her veins. She needed to escape. It was too much.
She jumped lamppost to lamppost, swinging her whip at a panicky pace until she was hopping from building to building in the main part of town. Reyna lost track of where she was going at this point. Her mind was on autopilot and her inner GPS was directing her to the meeting spot with Ladybug. What she was actually focusing on was Queen Bee. Her thoughts were all Queen Bee, everything Queen Bee...
"Scorpion! Come back!"
Reyna's heart lurched. Queen Bee was chasing her, pursuing her... Reyna sped up to get away.
"Please stop!" Queen Bee yelled desperately. "I didn't... I didn't mean to do what I did last night!"
Reyna stopped dead in her tracks, her heart racing.
Last night.
A night she was trying to keep out of her head all day.
"I brought ice cream!" Queen Bee announced happily, sitting down next to Reyna while holding two waffle cones with ice cream.
Reyna's eyes lit up in delight as she accepted hers. "Strawberry cheesecake? You're the best!"
She licked the dripping pink cream off of the cone and gave a thumbs up at its deliciousness.
"How did you know that was my favorite flavor?" Reyna asked, distracted by the way the sunset glistened on Queen Bee's kinky, dark curls.
"I happen to pay attention, unlike some people," Queen Bee teased, referring to Reyna's clumsy encounter earlier that day.
"Hey, I was in a tough position!" Reyna protested, but giggled nonetheless.
A drop of ice cream dribbled on Queen Bee's suit. She gently wiped it off with her finger then proceeded to take a huge bite of her vanilla ice cream.
Reyna couldn't believe she was outside to behold the beauty in front of her. They watched the sun slowly sink down, changing the sky's hues from bright oranges to soft pinks like the melting strawberry cheesecake ice cream that was in her hands. The clouds gradually turned from pink to lilac. And all the while, Reyna and Queen Bee were sitting silently, their legs dangling off the roof of the building they were perched atop, licking their ice cream and enjoying each other's company.
"What a perfect place to be," Reyna softly smiled. "Thank you for this."
Queen Bee remained quiet. That struck Reyna as odd. She turned around to catch Queen Bee staring at her.
Queen Bee had never looked at her like that before.
Reyna wanted to ask what was wrong, or say something, but her throat was constricting and her heart started racing. She noticed how the sunset's tangerine glow dappled onto Queen Bee's chocolate skin, causing her dark eyes to sparkle with light.
Before she could register what was going on, Queen Bee's lips crashed onto hers. She tasted of sweet vanilla. Reyna's shoulders were tense with shock. Her thoughts scattered into thousands of directions, then back to the soft, ice cream-filled lips that were being pressed against hers. Reyna found herself reciprocating, giving into the lightness. Her body relaxed into Queen Bee as Reyna let her hands unbraid and rake through her hair, until...
No.
Reyna's eyes shot open and she pulled back forcefully. Queen Bee snapped out of her daze looking deliriously happy, but when she saw Reyna's expression it changed to concern.
"I-I..." Reyna stammered, jumping to her feet and backing away. "...can't..."
Reyna's neck jerked back to look at Queen Bee, really look at her, and saw the same hurt she witnessed that night.
"Why," Reyna whispered shakily. "Why did you kiss me?"
Queen Bee stared down at her shuffling feet, then glanced up at Reyna with broken eyes. "Why did you leave?"
Reyna's words faltered, speechless with guilt.
Queen Bee continued. "I just... thought that since you started kissing back and seemed to like it that maybe... you felt the same."
Reyna's lips parted to utter a response, but she couldn't form a coherent sentence. What was there left for her to say?
Her legs carried her towards Queen Bee, filling the gap between them. Reyna stopped a couple feet away from her.
"Why did you leave?" Queen Bee repeated, this time breathless and barely audible.
"I was..." Reyna leaned in to kiss her, tenderly placing her hands on Queen Bee's jaw. She breathed in through her nose, intoxicated. Queen Bee's tight curls tickled Reyna's cheek. Their spandex brushed up against each other as they passionately kissed. Reyna pulled away, slowly opening her eyes to see Queen Bee's heated face.
"Confused," she finished with a murmur.
Queen Bee stared at her with a mixture of shock and desire. She opened her mouth to say something, but Reyna, quick to the punch as usual, beat her.
"I have to go," she muttered, turning around and equipping her whip to jump to the next building.
"Don't lea-" Queen Bee extended her hand, trying to grab Scorpion.
But it was no use, Queen Bee realized as her words trailed off.
Scorpion was racing away, already disappearing into the morning sun.
~end