Chapter One

How the Ladybug lost her spots

The last time Ladybug fought an Akuma attack turned out into a disaster.

The Lucky Charm had proved unsuccessful – for the first time, leaving both Ladybug and Chat Noir unsure what to do. They were running out of time, and the Akuma was out to get them.

They had to think of a solution. Fast.

Papillon was getting better at picking his henchmen. Ladybug and Chat Noir had been fighting him for over a year now, and thus it was quite obvious that he was observing them, figuring out their weaknesses, and it appears Papillon had found just the one.

Marinette was dumbfounded. The Lucky Charm had never failed before. And yet – it had this time. What'd gone wrong? She'd done the same thing she'd do every time, and yet – it was as though the Akuma had anticipated her every action.

And now Ladybug was out of time.

"Milady!" Chat's voice called for her, waking Marinette from her thoughts. They were standing in the middle of a crowded street, the people trapped by toppled cars on either exit. They huddled by the corners and edges of the street, near the facades of the houses and shops.

In the middle of the street were Ladybug, Chat Noir, and across them, the Akuma, taunting them.

Who this woman was, Marinette didn't know. Neither did Chat, she knew that. But did it matter? She was an innocent victim, about to make a cruel mistake.

She had to be stopped. That was all that mattered.

"Ladybug," the woman taunted, her golden eyes glittering angrily. "Want to see what happens when you humiliate Le Papillon one too many times?"

"No, I don't," Ladybug snarled. "And neither do you! You've been akumatised, you're not yourself!"

"Do I?" the woman cackled. "I was a fan of Le Papillon long before you children came along. Je suis Le Vainqueur, vanquisher of heroes! And today, my dear Ladybug and Chat Noir, I will vanquish you!"

Chat swallowed. "Wow, she's really serious about this, huh?" he whispered to Marinette. "Never thought I'd see a Papillon-fangirl."

Ladybug nodded in agreement. "Let's see if she plays her part well, huh?" She crouched down, ready to jump, just in time to miss the comic book Le Vainqueur had used to capture the image of various superheroes while she'd been akumatized. Comic book heroes, children in costumes resembling heroes – it didn't seem to matter to her. She wanted to vanquish all forms of heroism so only Le Papillon would be left to rule.

But Ladybug refused to let that happen.

Marinette hoped that, despite the Lucky Charm's failure, luck would be on the duo's side. They really needed it.

"Chat!" Ladybug motioned for Chat to follow her to a corner of the street she'd jumped to to escape the fate of becoming a comic book character.

"Do you have a plan, Milady?" Chat asked, his facial expression turning rather alarmed when he heard the beeping sound of Ladybug's earrings running out of power. "We've got to do something quick."

Ladybug nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, I've got a plan," she said. "And it involves you getting trapped in that book."

Chat, insulted, took a few steps backwards. "Milady!" he said, sounding genuinely upset. "What are you suggesting?"

"Listen," Ladybug said, not allowing herself to be thrown off by Chat's pouty face. "We've battled a similar villain before, right? Gabriel Agreste's akumatised object worked very similar to this comic book." She grinned as she moved closer, whispering her plan into her companion's ear.

Adrien's face lit up as he heard Ladybug speak of the plan. Of course his Lady wasn't going to sacrifice him just like that. Le Vainqueur was much less careful than his father had been. It should be much easier to lure this one into a trap.

The duo turned back around, to be met with another attack from Le Vainqueur. They each ducked into a different direction to avoid the comic book, readying themselves to perform 'Plan B'. Or, actually… Plan C. C for Cataclysm.

"Hey, Vanquisher!" Chat shouted, hoping to get the villain's attention. It worked. The woman turned her back on Ladybug, her golden eyes glittering and her orange, voluminous hair dancing around her head like flames.

"I feel as though your comic is coming along nicely," Chat continued, his green eyes showing a mischievous twinkle, "but I can't help but think it's missing something."

"Like what?" Le Vainqueur hissed.

"A real hero, perhaps?" Chat grinned back, taking a superhero stance. "Come and get me – forget about Ladybug! I'm all the smoking-hot action you could possibly need!"

Chat didn't notice, but Marinette couldn't help but roll her eyes. Chat would never stop being Chat, now would he? He better hurry up – Marinette heard the beeping indicating that the Ladybug miraculous was reaching its final inch of power.

"I'll consider your offer, sweet Kitty," Le Vainqueur smiled. "Now, come here, my master piece!"

Le Vainqueur ran towards Chat, comic book outstretched with an empty page ready for Chat to appear on. A perfect place for the cat to tear his way through the paper.

"CATACLYSM!" Chat shouted, placing his palm on the comic book page just as the power took effect. The comic book turned black and crumbled, releasing the akuma. Butterfly and villain were in turn separated by Ladybug's yo-yo lassoing itself around Le Vainqueur's torso and pulling her backward, all in one smooth move.

Marinette bit her lip. The akuma! Hurry! She had to retract her yo-yo and catch the vile creature, before –

The ground disappeared beneath Marinette's feet and met with her face instead. Le Vainqueur, transformation yet to wear off, had managed to grab hold of the yo-yo cord and pulled Ladybug off her feet.

"As long as I'm here, you will not stop that Akuma!" Le Vainqueur screamed. "You will fail, and Le Papillon will gain control over someone else!"

Ladybug got on all fours to meet Le Vainqueur face-to-face. "You know what happens when you don't stop an Akuma, don't you, darling?" the villain whispered, truly seeming to enjoy every second of the moment. "It's not… the first time this has happened, huh? Paris will blame you, darling. So… I'd better go home and recharge." Then, she gasped, pretending to be surprised. "Oh, you're already out of time."

Both transformations wore off at the same time. One revealed a redheaded woman with hazel eyes, wearing a cheap replica of the Butterfly Miraculous on her lapel.

The other revealed a wide-eyed girl with messy black pigtails.

"We will stop Le Papillon," Marinette hissed at the villain in front of her, not caring that her identity had been revealed –at least, not at this exact moment. "We've done it before."

"Yes," Le Vainqueur responded melodiously, "but will you do so before Paris loses faith in you, and starts to see you as the cause of this mess? Le Papillon is here because of you... without you here, he wouldn't be here. So… what's stopping them from chasing you out of town?"

Le Vainqueur got up, crouching down to whisper a final message in Marinette's ear before walking off. "We're coming for you, Ladybug. I'm not alone. More will follow. And we won't stop until all of Paris hates you."

Marinette blinked silently, trying to prevent the tears from streaming down her face with all her willpower.

Chat wanted to stop Le Vainqueur from walking off, but Adrien decided he had to help his friend instead. Marinette was clearly shaken.

Marinette! MARINETTE! Her name echoed through his head. It had been Marinette all along. Of course! OF COURSE!

No. Adrien shook his head. No time. Marinette needed help. Feelings were of later concern.

She probably didn't even want to know right now.

And thus, Adrien, Chat, knelt beside her, unsure how to act. He wanted to help her like Adrien, but all she could see was Chat, and Adrien believed that hiding his identity was critical now that Ladybug's had been revealed.

How many people in Paris knew by now?

"Marinette," Chat whispered. "Princess. Are you alright?"

He put an arm around her shoulder, and Marinette accepted it quietly. "No," she whispered hoarsely – a mistake; allowing her vocal cords to move somehow dropped the defence at her eyes, and the poor girl burst out sobbing.

"Shh, it's alright," Chat said, looking around as he helped Marinette to her feet – the people were staring. They had to get somewhere quiet for a serious talk.

"Let's get you home, alright?" After receiving a hesitant nod from Marinette, Chat pulled out his baton and readied both himself and his partner for some fast-travel to the roof of the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

"Are… you alright?"

"No," Marinette blurted out walking nervous circles through her room. "We- we failed, Chat. My identity was revealed, and…" She bit her lip. It was hard to admit, even after all this time. "I… I… I don't want to do this anymore."

"What?" Chat shouted, almost feeling insulted. "Why the sudden change of heart?" His ring beeped. Five minutes. He ignored it.

"Because," Marinette said, turning around – the volume of her voice made her feel glad her parents weren't home that day. "Didn't you hear what Le Vainqueur said? She was right! Le Papillon is only here because of us! He wants us! If we're gone, he'll stop torturing the people of Paris!"

"But where would we go?" Chat asked. "He'll follow the Miraculouses to the end of the world. You know that."

Tikki was asleep in Marinette's bag, exhausted from the battle – if Adrien hoped he'd get help from the Ladybug Kwami, his wish would go unfulfilled.

"I know," Marinette nodded. "Trust me. I know. But… I know someone who keeps them. The Miraculouses, I mean. He's got more."

"More?" Chat raised his eyebrows. "And you've been keeping this from me?" His eyes drifted to the wall behind Marinette for a brief moment, believing he saw a familiar face – only to discover that the wall was covered in photos of him. Well – not of Chat, of Adrien.

He felt his cheeks turn beet red. Where'd those been when he was here the year before, playing videogames? Had she hid them? Was she secretly crushing on him?

NO! ADRIEN, FOCUS! Adrien groaned. NOT the right time.

Marinette didn't seem to notice. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't think it was relevant. Until now." She took a deep breath. "I'm going to talk to the Miraculous owner, Master Fu," she said, "to ask him for advice. Until then, I do not wish to have these with me."

Marinette reached for her earrings, taking them out of her ears without any protest from Chat.

The original box still rested on Marinette's desk, and she carefully placed them inside as the Miraculouses dropped their black onyx-disguises and returned to their original, five-spotted form.

Marinette closed the box and turned back to Chat, holding out the box in front of her.

"I'll come back for them after I've spoken to Master Fu," Marinette told the cat. "Until then, I want you to keep them safe – I've been compromised."

"Marinette, I can't-" Chat said, his eyes hesitantly shifting from the box to his friend, but she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Take them," she demanded. Then, she continued more nicely, "please, Chat. I can't keep them safe anymore. Le Papillon knows who I am." Tears started to well up in her eyes again. Another tissue to add to the pile she'd thrown to the floor already in her attempt to calm herself down?

Adrien swallowed, his eyes shifting down and up again once more. "I…"

He closed his eyes. "Fine, Princess," he said, trying very hard not to drop his act. Beep Beep. One minute. Really?

"I'll take them," Chat said, placing a hand on the box, one hand on one of hers as to provide comfort. "But only because you asked me to. I know you can overcome this, and… Master Fu-" he tried his best to hide the fact that he'd forgot the name – "will agree with me.

"If he chose you, us, then he chose us, you, for a reason. He won't let you go just like that.

"And neither will I."

Marinette rolled her eyes and smiled in-between a small sniffle. "I know," she said. "I'm your Lady. But… if it's unsafe, Chat," her expression suddenly turning serious and cold, "you'll have to prepare yourself for a new partner. I won't put both our lives in jeopardy."

"I understand," Chat smiled, standing up and taking the box from Marinette's hands. "Stay strong, Milady. I'll see you around."

Marinette knew his time was about to run out, and thus she didn't see him out to the balcony. She didn't want to know who he was and compromise him further that way. It simply wasn't safe. And she'd made it that way.

Adrien jumped from the balcony with the aid of his baton, luckily reaching the ground just as his power vanished.

Did anyone see him? No, luckily, the street was deserted. And Marinette?

Adrien looked up; no, she wasn't there, either. He sighed as he looked at the small, dark wooden box in his hands. How was he to protect his Lady's honour this way?

Adrien couldn't help but feel these earrings weren't particularly safe in his home, and it was something to do with his father. Adrien had begun to question his own father's honesty and credibility more and more.

As he set off to go home, Adrien vowed to keep the Miraculouses safe from anyone who might want to abuse them, unaware of the fact that his greatest enemy already knew right where to find them.

Gabriel Agreste had just won the jack-pot; a chance he vowed not to let slip.