Zip! Zoom! Woosh! Ladybug zipped across the rooftops, flinging her yo-yo out and flying over. She bit back the tears that threatened to spill, the wind from the Parisian night stinging her eyes.
Looking over her shoulder, she noticed that her partner, Chat Noir, was sprinting right behind her.
"Hello, Chat Noir,'" she greeted him, not bothering to animate her voice.
"What's wrong, Ladybug?" he asked, picking up on her distress immediately.
Her face bent down as she stared toward the roof of the building. "I… I..." she began as small droplets started to slowly drip down from her eyes.
Noticing the tears harshly hitting the floor, Chat placed a gloved hand on Ladybug's shoulder. "M'lady, if something's bothering you, you know you can tell me, right?" he confided, his tone taking a gentle lilt as opposed to his playful one.
Ladybug had the oddest sense of déjà vu. "I… Chat, I can't. There's no way you could possibly change it, and I might end up revealing my identity. Besides, there's no way to make it better."
Chat sighed, undeterred, wrapping his arms around Ladybug. "Try talking to me about it. Please, 'lady… I can't bear to see you hurting…"
Letting go from his grasp she said, "S-sorry, Chat, I can't… I have to go." Ladybug leapt away, leaving Chat Noir alone, a depressed aura clouding him.
Ladybug landed gently on a balcony commanding, "Tikki spots off!" making her earrings turn black - the color of Chat's lonely aura - as a small kwami came out.
Back as her civilian self she dived into the window of her room, exhausted from all that leaping and swinging. She fell on top of her bed but instead of sleeping she found herself tearing up and her eyes getting puffy.
"Please don't cry Marinette," Tikki said sympathetically in a four-year-old voice, "I know you're upset. I mean your Uncle Cheng... passed away… and you were really close to him but you won't be able to save Paris if you fret all the time."
"You don't get it Tikki, do you?! You stupid kwamis don't know how it's like to lose someone!" she wailed, "Why don't you just leave me alone!"
After hearing her fits of anger, Tikki floated and swayed to a secluded corner across from Marinette's room. Of course, Tikki knew exactly what it was like to lose someone dear. She'd seen through so many Ladybugs and lost each one, whether she liked it or not.
Somewhere in the distance, a dark room lit up as a mechanical window swirled open, flooding the room with blue light.
"Grief and suffering… such a treat for my akuma. Go, and evilize this mislead mourner!" Hawk Moth insisted as he covered a white butterfly, filling it with a dark energy, turning the innocent creature's wings the color of his heart.
When the akuma entered Marinette's room, it fluttered onto her earrings. Tikki let out a strangled yelp, but Marinette made no attempt to stop the butterfly.
"Miss Fortune, I am Hawk Moth. I give you the power to make others feel your pain. All I ask is that you get me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous. Do we have a deal?"
As a light purple butterfly outlined her face, Marinette said, "Not a problem Hawky, don't worry 'bout a thing. Mari's got this covered." She said, a smirk on her face.
At that moment, Tikki was sucked into the earrings, causing Marinette's appearance to change.
But she didn't look like Ladybug, the savior of Paris anymore. Instead of a spotted red and black jumpsuit, it was purple and lilac. Her hair was still in her signature pigtails, but were inky-black instead of their usual midnight hue. Her usual red and black ladybug mask turned purple, with smaller, lilac polkadots, and her suit followed with a similar design, while her eyes glowed crimson.
Miss Fortune leaped out of her window jumping from roof to roof, swinging from bar to bar, turning everything that came into her purple and lilac yo-yo's way into pure evil. She transformed anything from flagpoles to monsters, to the civilians of Paris to her slaves. Marinette wasn't the hero, but the villain of her city.
Meanwhile, her best friend Alya was videotaping the entire drama scene for the Ladyblog, the most visited site in Paris. As always, she was always focused on getting the best footage-
When she accidentally bumped into an old man.
"I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't mean to bump into you like that." she apologized, rubbing her aching forehead.
"It's quite alright, young lady," he said. "I really should watch where I'm going."
Alya flushed. "No, it was my fault," she said, helping the man up.
That was when Alya's phone flashed. It was out of battery. Groaning, she made her way back to her house.
Upon plugging her phone into her laptop, stretched out, when something on her desk caught her eye. Alya frowned, picking it up. It was an octagonal prism, with a red design decorating the top. Curious, she shook it gently. It made a metallic sound and as her inquisitive nature got the best of her, she slowly lifted the lid of the mysterious box, when a bright orange light emanated from it. Inside was a necklace, but not just any necklace. This had a pendeat of an orange fox tail with a streak of white at the end of it. That was when a tiny creature appeared from the glowing necklace. Instinctively, Alya dropped the box.
"Aghhhh!" Alya screamed, scrambling backwards.
"Hiya! I'm Trixx, the kwami of the Fox Miraculous. Nice to meet ya." cheered the creature who introduced itself as "Trixx".
"A Miraculous?" Alya questioned.
"You know Ladybug and Chat Noir, right? Well they also have a miraculous that lets them transform into their superhero form. You just say 'Trixx, tail up!' and you will transform into the superhero Volpina. It's officially your job to stop Hawk Moth, the villain causing all the akumas , and to save Paris."
"Volpina? Wasn't that Lila?" Alya asked, confused.
Trixx shook her head, "She was a fake; an akuma created by Hawk Moth."
A grin spread across Alya's face. "Does that mean I get to fight crime with Ladybug and Chat Noir…?" Alya started, "Eeeeee! This… is… going… to… be… so… awesome!"
"It sure does, but you need to protect your identity so that Hawk Moth doesn't target you through others. I also have your first mission. The villain you recorded is the first crime you will fight. You will be head to head with Miss Fortune along with the black cat." Trixx explained
"Wait, what about Ladybug?" Alya asked, bewildered.
"Miss Fortune is Ladybug. She's been akumatized, and you need to help her." Trixx stated.
Trixx explained. "All you have to do is break that item and capture the akuma. Once you do, let Chat Noir take it from there and destroy it, understood?"
"Umm… yes, I think. I'll just have to be attentive," Alya responded. "Trixx, tail up!"
An orange light flooded over Alya then transformed into Volpina, making synthetic fox ears appear on her head, orange with white tips, accented the tips of her ombre hair white, and put her in an orange and white jumpsuit with a tail that was primarily orange, but accented white. On her back, a flute rested in some kind of quiver. She looked almost exactly like Lila when she was akumatized, sans the change of hair. She escaped out of the window and as she saw Chat Noir jumping across the roofs like he always does.
Chat Noir turned to hear his name being called. Instinctively, he spun around, to see a familiar costume, that of an old villain. Grabbing his baton, he stood on his guard. "Not you again!"
The newcomer frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Chat rolled his eyes. "Lila, this isn't-"
"I'm not Lila. I actually happen to be a new member of your team, the real Volpina." said the girl sassily. She almost reminded Chat of Alya.
"Oh, really? How did you get your Miraculous?" he demanded, keeping his gaze level. He didn't want to fall for the same trick twice.
"It appeared in a black box in my room. When I opened the box, a creature called a kwami flew out and told me what to do."
Of course, Chat couldn't find a single error in her story. "Okay," he sighed, "you're in."
"Okay, so hear me out." Volpina started, "My kwami told me that the villain we are fighting, Miss Fortune, is actually Ladybug!"
Chat froze. "Ladybug's been akumatized?" he whispered. "Are you sure? How are we going to free the akuma? And what about her kwami?"
Volpina looked at him grimly. "We'll have to be careful. The akuma is located in her Miraculous, so we just have to remove it and, hopefully, the butterfly will be freed. Once we capture it, use your Cataclysm to destroy the evil inside of it. Are we on the same webpage here?"
Chat nodded, but couldn't help the pun that fled his mouth. "The graphics are purrfectly clear."
He smiled as Volpina chuckled. "Well, stay connected. Don't wanna lose the signal."
After the punning moment, the duo leaped away in search of Miss Fortune. They searched high and low, only to see her hiding in a dark ally. She turned everyone evil, causing chaos in the entire city of Paris. They crouched on top of the building snooping what the akumatized civilian was doing. She was against the wall stalking everyone.
"What do you think we should do, Chat Noir?" Volpina asked.
"Hmm…" Chat Noir chastised "I got it! We both jump down and I will pin her to the ground. You take the chance to grab her earrings and grab the akuma!"
"Are you sure? We're pretty high up." Volpina said adding the detail that Chat missed.
"Oh, I forgot about that." Chat said, recollecting the situation they were in, "Since it's a two-story building, we we'll jump on that balcony and then to her. After that, we'll go according to the original plan." Chat recommended, pointing to the balcony below them. "Don't worry miss, this cat has got this in the bag." he punned, letting a grin slide across his face.
"Okay, on the count of three…" Volpina started, "One…"
"Two…"
"Three!" they both counted.
Chat Noir dove down first, letting his feline instincts kick in. Jumping from the roof to the balcony, Volpina was right behind him.
"Well, well, well, Kitty, look who's out to play," Miss Fortune grinned. "You know, we could do this the easy way or the hard way. Hand me your ring, chaton."
Chat shuddered. He hated having to fight Ladybug, his lady. He hated that Hawk Moth was intentionally using her. He hated that the akuma was using Ladybug's nickname for him. "Ladybug, this isn't you. You can fight him," Chat said, trying to distract the akuma.
"Oh, Kitty, Ladybug's gone. She wasn't real anyway. Of course, surely you didn't actually love her. If you did, you'd have been able to recognise her civilian self right away." Miss Fortune sighed, examining her now, purple yoyo. "Purple is a pretty colour, isn't it? A purple tulle skirt would look good with a lilac silk bodice on a dress. Isn't that right, Hawky?" Miss Fortune laughed, making the purple butterfly mask appear over her face.
Chat heard it too. "Well, Miss Fortune, you are quite the designer. Still, get me the Miraculous and when I take the akuma off you, maybe your designs will feature in a new line of a fashion industry… I have several connections, including Gabriel's."
Chat jerked back involuntarily. Hawk Moth knows my father? But… how?
"Thanks, Hawky." Miss Fortune smiled - it was still Ladybug's smile, the smile that reminded Chat so much of his mother…
This was not the time to get distracted, he chided himself. Volpina signalled to him from behind, signifying she was ready.
"Oh, look who found himself a new partner!" Miss Fortune gushed sarcastically. "Forgotten your Bugaboo already, have we?"
"You're not Ladybug." Chat said, his voice almost wavering.
"Still, you're not going to stop me," she said, her tone bored. "I have an army."
At that moment, half of Paris's population emerged, all wearing purple wristbands and marching their way towards Chat and Volpina at top speed.
Quickly playing a tiff on her flute, Volpina created illusions of multiple versions of another akuma: Lady Wifi. Chat looked at her, confused, but she just shrugged sheepishly in response. Now, Chat mouthed.
He pushed her to the ground, landing right on top of Miss Fortune and immobilizing her, giving Volpina enough time to remove the earrings. He pushed her with all her might, but she just kept pushing him back. Then Miss Fortune looked over her shoulder. She noticed a pigeon feather floating beside her, which lit up the lightbulb of thought in her mind as she remembered that her old partner had an allergy to feather. She released her grip from Chat Noir and reached out for the feather. With only her index and middle finger, she managed to latch on to the feather and put it up to Chat Noir's nose.
A...A...Achooo!
Chat Noir sneezed so hard that he flew out of the dark alley, letting go of his baton in the process, but he could sense someone was right behind him. He slowly turned his neck to see Miss Fortunes army right behind him. They grabbed onto his arms, high enough where his feet can't touch the ground. Strangling to get free, Volpina saw Chat Noir signaling her to get the earrings, as Miss Fortune was distracted enough by the Lady Wifi illusions.
Volpina ran up the akumatized Ladybug and pinned her to the ground. She placed her hands near the villains ears, scooping the earrings. Once she did, a small black and purple butterfly started to flutter free. She enclosed the butterfly in her arms, but being gentle enough not to kill it.
"Chat Noir!" Volpina cried grabbing Chat Noir's baton and throwing it at him.
He managed to free himself from the unfortunate army's grip and catched his baton. He swung and twirled it round and round, doing gymnastics and fighting the purple bandits. Seeing Volpina with the akuma in her hand and her miraculous beeping, Chat Noir activated his Cataclysm, admitting black particles from his hands. Volpina let go of the akuma as he jumped up and covered his Cataclysmic hand over the evil butterfly. The de-evilized akuma lit out a white beam as it had all the essence of evil stripped out of it. The beautiful white little butterfly happily fluttered away as if nothing has happened. As it was getting out of sight, the entire city of Paris shone with a beam of innocence as the evilness vanquished. Ladybug's transformation disappeared as her identity had finally been revealed in front of the two dizzy after the long battle, she collapsed unconscious.
After getting back to her senses, Marinette looked around warily, to find herself on the roof of Le Grand Paris Hotel. Her eyes widened. She must have been akumatized. Lifting her gaze, she saw Chat Noir and… Volpina? This one didn't look like Lila, and Marinette was sure that Chat would have taken more precautions after the last incident, so Chat must've trusted the new girl.
Marinette shuddered, letting out a shy laugh. "I guess the cat's out of the bag. Must be disappointing… knowing that the Ladybug is just me," she chuckled mirthlessly as the stared at her hands.
She hadn't expected Chat to bound up to her and wrap his strong arms around her, or for him to bury his face into her shoulder. "Thank God," he whispered. "Thank God it's you Marinette," he said, and Marinette could feel a wet splotch on her shoulder.
The new girl just stood there awkwardly, but her eyes were wide and tears welled up in her eyes. "... Marinette?" she asked, voice hoarse in disbelief.
Marinette cocked her head sideways. "You must be the real Volpina," she said. Looking at the girl, she noted that her features were familiar, and, judging by her reaction, she knew Marinette well… so well that this came as a total shock. Immediately, Marinette knew who it was.
That was when she started choking from lack of air. "Chat…" she coughed. "I can't breathe."
"I'm sorry," Chat whispered. "I should have seen earlier. I'm a horrible partner," he whispered, and Marinette just knew that he was breaking down.
"Chat, you're probably one of the most sincere people I know. You, Alya, Nino, Adrien" - she blushed at her crush's name - "and Tikki - my kwami. Don't ever think that you're worthless, chaton. You're irreplaceable."
"Thanks you, Princess, I needed to hear that." Chat said, wrapping his arms around his lady, again, as he whispered the words, "I love you."