Day 4 – Enemy - Justifying the Means
Summary: In a world where Adrien was gifted the Ladybug miraculous and Alya the Black Cat miraculous, they must work together to fight the Super villain who constantly akumatizes the citizens of Paris: Mariposa, wielder of the butterfly miraculous, otherwise know as Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
If anyone had ever asked Adrien Agreste if he thought that at the age of fifteen he'd be flying across rooftops in red spandex fighting super villains, he'd have told them only if he was lucky. Well, not about the spandex, that wasn't something he had particularly looked forward to.
He did however, look forward to fighting crime as Ladybug with his best bud, Chat Noire. Chat was a girl he assumed was around his age. She was like him in her love of superheroes and she considered herself one of the luckiest people alive to be fighting the baddies.
He still remembered the day he had first received his miraculous. He had taken the ring out of the box and put it on at Tikki's request. She had explained his powers, or tried to at least. Honestly, he had gotten just a little too excited and cut her off pretty quickly once he learned the activation phrase. Moments later he was Ladybug. Paris's new superhero.
He had gone out to try to save Paris from the creature attacking it, Stoneheart, and had nearly crashed into his new partner.
Chat Noire had long reddish brown hair pulled up into a ponytail and wore an all black costume complete with cat ears and a ribbon tail. Her baton had seemed like a much better weapon than his yoyo at the time.
The main thing that Adrien would never forget about that first akuma they had fought, was when the butterflies had formed a type of hologram of the person behind the akuma.
She had called herself Mariposa. And it honestly scared both of the heroes when they realized the girl sounded like she was around their age. Since that day, they had fought long and hard to keep the akumas at bay and tried to track down Mariposa and discover her secret identity.
Adrien sat in class staring at the girl in front of him. Marinette… he sighed. She was beautiful. With her pigtails, and her sparkling blue eyes, and that adorable shyness that turned to fire when someone she cared about needed protecting.
Marinette turned in her seat then. "Here you go, Adrien," she said with a smile.
Adrien stared at her dumbly for several moments before realizing she was handing him something. He quickly grabbed the papers from her and set one on his desk before handing the stack to Nino. He could feel his face flush as Marinette giggled at his response.
"Do you want to go get ice cream after school?" Alya asked as the bell rang, signaling the end of class.
Adrien's ears perked up. Could this be his chance to go somewhere with Marinette? Surely, she wouldn't object to a group outing. Right?
"Sounds great!" Nino replied first, swinging his bag across his shoulder.
Marinette fiddled with her purse strap. "I, I'm, that sounds great but…"
"But what, girl? You're always so busy. Come out and have fun sometime!" Alya said.
Marinette gave her a smile. "I really would love to, but I can't tonight. I have some homework to catch up on."
They all moved to their next class and Adrien had thought the day would end uneventfully, that is until Nathaniel had been scolded for drawing in class. To make matters worse, he tripped over someone's bag and his drawings went flying everywhere. And then of course, Chloe had to add insult to injury by calling attention to Nathaniel's drawings of Marinette.
Adrien had not been happy about those. He had to swallow back his jealousy. He had no right to be jealous. Not of the blush on her face at the realization of Nath's crush. Nor the way that Marinette excused herself from class immediately.
He had no right to be jealous.
Mariposa stood in an empty room. The door was locked behind her. Her dark hair was still worn in her trademark pigtails and her blue eyes shone brightly through her iridescent purple mask. She held her jeweled cane in one hand. Her normal clothes had been replaced by black tights that became heeled boots at her feet and an iridescent button up shirt that flowed behind her in a type of tail. Atop the shirt was a dark purple jacket that strangely resembled butterfly wings. The final touch, was of course, the butterfly pendant that rested at her collar.
She opened the top of her cane and a delicate white butterfly emerged.
"Such strong negative energy. To be humiliated in front of not just your classmates but also the girl you love. I will grant him the power to create." She ran a gloved hand above the butterfly and a purple energy engulfed it, turning its wings black and purple. "Go my little akuma. Transform him." She blew it away like blowing a kiss and waved as it flew through the window.
"Bye-bye little butterfly."
Ladybug was angry when he landed on the Paris rooftops the following day. School had let out early due to the circumstances of the prior day's akuma, and now he paced the roof waiting for Chat Noire to land.
The day before had been a disaster. Evillustrator had attacked their school, with the attacks mostly focused on Chloe and Mme. Mendeleive. It had been tiring trying to protect them and keep Evillustrator from destroying the school. He had just been grateful that Chat Noire had shown up so quickly.
He heard the thump of her touching down and turned to see her. Chat had an abnormally serious look on her face.
"That was really hard. I honestly hoped we'd never have to tell someone's family that we didn't know what had happened to them or if we'd find them." She wrapped her black gloved arms around herself as if trying to ward off the cold.
Ladybug grimaced. "It's going to be all right. We will find Nathaniel and we will purify the akuma. Just like always."
He tried his best to sound confident, but he wasn't sure this time. They had just left Nathaniel's house. Just finished telling M. and Mme. Kurtzberg that no, they still had not been able to locate their son. And just finished watching as the heartbroken couple spoke into news cameras begging Mariposa to release their son.
There was a buzz from Chat's baton then. She picked it up. "Sorry. I have it set up to send me alerts about the Ladyblog. It's probably just someone sharing the Kurtzbergs' video."
She tapped the screen with a clawed finger and gasped. "Ladybug! Come here."
In an instant he was beside her, watching the screen over her shoulder. "A new video?"
Chat nodded. "Posted by a guest." She selected play and they watched as the video loaded.
Marinette appeared on the screen then and both of them gasped, each too absorbed in the screen to wonder at the other's reaction.
Their classmate's pigtails were lopsided, one nearly falling out. Her eyes were puffy and red as if she had been crying. She looked scared.
Ladybug felt anger pulse through him and he clenched his fist, grateful that he wasn't the one with claws.
"Um, this is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Evillustrator has captured me. He's holding me in the old textiles factory near Père-Lachaise. He said that he won't let me go unless Ladybug and Chat Noire come and give him their Miraculous. Please, Ladybug, Chat Noire, save me. I am really scared."
The screen fizzled out to black and Chat closed her baton. "What are we going to-" She turned just in time to see Ladybug preparing to throw his yoyo off toward the nearest building. "Hey!" she grabbed his wrist. "I know you want to save her. I do too. But we can't just go running in there. It's probably a trap."
Ladybug shook off her hand with a smile. "Don't worry, Chat. I'm counting on that."
Location: Old Textiles Factory
Marinette looked at her phone. She had the Ladyblog pulled up so she could watch people's reactions to her video. Evillustrator stood watching nearby.
"M-Marinette, are you sure this is a good thing?" he asked.
Marinette stepped closer to him. She rested a hand against his cheek. "Nath, don't you get it. I am not the villain. I'm not the bad guy. I am a hero, spreading power and giving it to the weak, the helpless. The people like us who get bullied their whole lives." She turned away and pointed up at the ceiling. "Them, Ladybug and Chat Noire- they are the bad guys. They obtained this, this power and what do they do? They keep it to themselves. And the guardian who stores all of the Miraculous is hiding them away from everyone."
She turned to look back at him. "Don't you feel powerful? Don't you want other people like us to feel that way?"
Evillustrator watched her for a moment. His eyebrows scrunched together in deep thought as he considered her words. Finally, a smile broke out onto his face and he bowed low in front of her, dropping onto one knee before taking one of her hands in his.
"I will follow you to the ends of the earth, my queen. You have a truly noble cause."
Marinette smiled and patted his head. "Then let us prepare. Ladybug and Chat Noire will be here shortly." She stepped back and Evillustrator watched in awe as she summoned her transformation.
"Nooroo, Wings Rise!"
A swirl of purple shimmering magic engulfed her as her costume appeared. When the energy had settled, Evillustrator stood quickly.
"My queen, allow me to make you your palace."
Mariposa nodded and watched with appreciation as he began to sketch on his tablet. Soon the room they were in was filled with gold railings and columns. Purple and blue tapestries lined the walls and a plush carpet appeared beneath their feet. In the center of everything, a throne was placed.
Mariposa climbed up into the small platform and settled herself comfortably into her new throne.
"Let the games begin."
"You will sneak in through that window and lower yourself onto the upper level. Once we know where Marinette is being held we can decide how to attack. I'll wait for your word," Ladybug told Chat. He watched as she gave him a salute and used her baton to launch herself onto the roof of the building.
It was only once she was completely out of sight that his body began to tremble. He held his hand against his mouth trying not to cry. It was his fault. All of it. If he had been more careful when they first fought Evillustrator, the love of his life would not be in danger right now. He bit down on his hand, guilt turning to rage. No, not my fault. Mariposa's fault. She caused this.
A beep interrupted his thoughts and he opened his yoyo. Chat's face appeared on the screen. "So, Bug, I have good news and not so good news. Good news, Evillustrator is nowhere to be seen. Not so good news, it looks like Marinette is tied up down there." She flipped her baton around and the image changed to show a chair with someone tied to it and blindfolded.
Ladybug felt his anger bubble up again. "All right, Chat. I'm coming in. Let's rescue her."
He ended the call and kicked through the main door. When he made it inside, Chat used her baton to lower herself to the ground next to him.
"It could still be a trap, remember that," she warned him.
He cautiously approached the chair and reached out to turn it around. "Marinette?"
Chat gasped as the chair turned. Instead of their friend, a strangely artistic cloth doll that resembled Marinette was sitting in the chair. Ladybug let out an angry yell.
Chat was the only one to here the whirring seconds before it reached them. "It's a trap!" she yelled, yanking her partner to her side and launching both of them into the air. The next second, two whirring blades sliced through the air where they'd been moments before.
The blades disappeared and a figure stepped out of the shadows. He clapped slowly as he came into view. "Very good, Chat Noire. And I thought I had you there." Evillustrator gave them a deranged smirk that was so unlike Nathaniel it made Chat sick.
"Where is Marinette?" Ladybug yelled.
Evillustrator tutted at the other boy. "Not yet, Ladybug. As she told you in her little video, Miraculous first, then I release her. Do not worry though, I promise she has not been harmed."
"I'm going to use my Cataclysm on his tablet. Can you distract him?" Chat whispered. She knew it was her turn to plan as Ladybug seemed to be lacking the ability right now.
He only nodded, then grabbed his yoyo from his side and whipped it across the room. He swung in quickly, hoping to catch Evillustrator off-guard.
The villain responded with a flurry of pigeons that flew straight at the hero, causing him to sneeze.
"I have paid attention to past battles, Ladybug. I know your weaknesses."
As he spoke, Chat summoned her power and sneaked behind him silently. She had gotten just close enough to swoop in and destroy when the villain sketched and a hole appeared beneath her. She screamed and grabbed onto the edge with her un-cataclysmed hand.
"Why do you underestimate me? I was granted the most miraculous powers by my queen," Evillustrator approached the pit of blackness and moved close enough that he could step on Chat's hand.
But that wasn't what he was here for. He didn't need to kill them. Instead, he sketched again and a large vine grew from the bottom of the pit. The vine wrapped tightly around Chat, lifting her from the pit entirely before moving to wrap around her Cataclysm. It immediately turned black and disintegrated around her, dropping her to the ground.
Ladybug took advantage of the momentarily distracted artist and launched himself with a kick. Evillustrator flew through the air and smashed through the doors on the far side. Chat and Ladybug followed, only to find themselves inside of a purple and gold throne room.
"What the hell?" Chat muttered.
Evillustrator pushed himself up from the ground. "Enjoying my handiwork?" he asked, though his voice was raspy after having the wind knocked from him. "Why don't you try some more?"
Suddenly, a giant ball of green yarn appeared. It tied Chat up faster than humanly possible and hung her in a tangled mess from the rafters. She tried to fight against her bindings but was unable to free herself. A loud beep alerted her to her earlier mistake.
"Ladybug! Hurry!" she called down.
He nodded and quickly summoned his lucky charm. A red and black polka dotted shield appeared.
"You think that can protect you from my powers?" Evillustrator asked.
He launched another attack. This time a javelin that flew straight for Ladybug. He held up the shield and the javelin bounced off with a resounding clang. Ladybug moved the shield only to see that Evillustrator was a bit distracted now as a purple glow appeared in front of his face. Ladybug recognized that look. He was speaking with Mariposa.
"What do you mean? Why can't I hurt him?" Evillustrator was arguing with her now.
Ladybug watched curiously. Couldn't hurt him? Was Evillustrator not supposed to harm him for some reason?
"Are you in love with him, my queen?" the question came in a deadly tone. His eyes locked onto Ladybug and he quickly sketched something on his tablet. Shackles appeared before Ladybug could think or move. He was chained from the rafters and floor, suspended defenseless in front of an akuma who suddenly seemed to hate him with a vengeance. His lucky charm lay on the floor useless.
"I am the only servant you need. No other person can stand in my way." Evillustrator ignored whatever words Mariposa may have been telling him as he reached to retrieve his javelin.
Chat watched the scene below with wide eyes as her miraculous continued to beep its countdown. "Ladybug!" she screamed as she struggled against her binds.
Evillustrator pulled his arm back before throwing the javelin at the superhero before him. There was a scream and then everything happened very slowly for Ladybug. First a purple blur zoomed down to their level, Evillustrator froze in place before his eyes rolled back and he crumpled to the ground, detransforming as did.
All of his creations quickly followed. The throne room he had so carefully constructed disappeared. Then the tangle of yarn holding up Chat. She only just stopped herself from crashing to the ground by using her baton.
And last the javelin and chains disintegrated just as the javelin's point brushed Ladybug's cheek. He fell to the ground with only a stinging sensation on his right cheek. He reached up and touched it. Blood. Great. But, how? His eyes surveyed the scene before him. Standing just a few feet away was a girl wearing a purple iridescent costume. A butterfly floated nearby and she quickly trapped it in the top of her cane.
"No more evil-doing for you, my little akuma. You've caused enough trouble."
Ladybug watched on in awe. "Mariposa…"
The girl looked at him then with surprisingly blue eyes. Her eyes filled with tears and she threw herself forward to him.
Chat jumped forward, prepared to fight. To protect her partner. Ladybug held up a hand. "Wait." He looked at Mariposa who was kneeling on the ground in front of where he sat. "Why did you save me? Why after everything else you've done, would you save me?"
And she began to sob. She threw her arms around him, and Ladybug couldn't force himself not to want to comfort her. Then he thought of her eyes again.
"Wait," he pushed her away, holding her at arms length. "Where is Marinette? What have you done with her?"
A strangled laugh hiccupped out of her throat. "You- you care about her?" she asked, and he noted how different her question sounded from when Evillustrator had asked the same thing of her.
She sounded desperate. Not angry or jealous, almost like she wanted his answer to be… yes.
He nodded. "I do. And I want to see her now."
Mariposa nodded. "But first you need to know that it was never my intention for anyone to get hurt. I have tried my hardest to stop this from harming people beyond what you could restore."
"Then why do it at all?" Chat growled from behind her.
Mariposa smiled at her sadly. "You remind me of someone. She told me once that all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing." She gave a hollow laugh. "I guess I stupidly thought I was one of those good people. Helping the weak. Giving them the power to defend themselves. Trying to get justice."
Chat stared at her intensely. She shook her head as her glowing yellow eyes teared. "No, I will not accept that. You- it can't be you!"
Ladybug glanced back and forth between his partner and his enemy who seemed more and more familiar.
"I'm sorry, Ladybug." She closed her eyes tightly. "Wings fall."
And with a purple flash of light, Mariposa was no more. In her place, sat Marinette. He didn't understand how someone he had hated so much could turn out to be the girl he loved. "Marinette? You're Mariposa?"
She nodded. Peaking at him through her eyelashes. There was a green flash behind them and when they looked, Alya stood in Chat Noire's place. Her eyes were filled with tears and she dropped to her knees as she stared at Marinette.
"Mari," she breathed the name out. "Mari, why? How could it be you?"
Marinette blinked back her own tears. "I'm sorry, Alya. I was just trying to bring justice to those who don't get it. If I had known it was you…"
There was a rapid beeping in the background and a flash of red lit up the dark room. Alya gasped. "Mari…"
Marinette turned back around slowly and blue eyes met green once again. "Adrien?"
Adrien gave her a weak smile. "Hi, Marinette."
They all sat in silence for several moments, trying to absorb this new information. Finally, Marinette spoke.
"Nooroo," she called softly for her kwami. He fluttered to her side. She reached out a hand and gently touched his head. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you before. You were right. I'll fix things."
"It's okay, Marinette. I always knew you had a good heart," the kwami told her.
She reached up to her neck and removed the pin which was attached to a choker. "I renounce the butterfly miraculous." When the words were spoken, Nooroo vanished. Marinette held out the miraculous to Adrien.
"Take it. I don't want it anymore. I was wrong."
Adrien took it from her, still feeling shaken after everything he had witnessed.
"I know that I will need to be punished for what I've done. I accept that. Please, do whatever you both need to do." She looked down at her hands that rested in her lap.
Alya stepped forward and held out her hand. "I will take this back to the guardian. And when I get back, I expect you to have figured out how we are handling this." She gave him a nod. "I will follow whatever you decide partner."
Adrien nodded and handed the butterfly pin to her. "Nathaniel will probably wake up soon. I'll transform back as soon as Tikki has refueled."
Alya nodded and then she was gone, Plagg trailing behind her.
Adrien checked inside his bag and saw that Tikki was just finishing her last bite of cookie. "Are you ready, Tikki?" he asked.
The red kwami swallowed. "Ready, Adrien."
A few words and a bright light later, and Ladybug now occupied Adrien's space. Now that he was safely transformed, he turned his attention back to Marinette. The girl he loved, who apparently loved him. And that's when he saw she was crying again.
He kneeled down beside her and wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm sorry. I am so sorry." She repeated those words in between sobs for several minutes before Adrien pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"It'll all be okay, Marinette. I'll take care of everything."
A/N: So as I'm sure you've noticed I am way behind on these. But I will be finishing them. They will probably just leak over into September. Also, I am still finishing the next chapter of Can We Find Comfort. I am under a lot of stress in my personal life and It's causing arm pain that makes it hard to write. I'm hoping to get chapter seven up tomorrow. Thanks for all your support! And thanks for reading!
~marauderluverz