A/N:
Long time no see! So, I don't know how many of you have seen the "Antibug" episode, but I am choosing to ignore its existence. The reason for this is because I don't know if a person can be akumatized by more than one akuma, even if they are different. So, I am pretending that it didn't happen to keep it simple.
One reviewer said that my paragraphs were too long, and I vehemently denied this (cuz it looked fine on my desktop) until I opened it up on my phone. Then I saw what you meant...lol so thank you for telling me!
I'm trying to write these chapters long and like an episode, so it has a lot of actions written in them. Please bear with me as I try to get my grip on this kind of writing! Otherwise, please enjoy this next installment! Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or its characters, only the plot of this work.
Chapter 2: Running for Secrets
"So, I'm still thinking that taking that crown isn't a bad idea," Cat said.
Ladybug sighed as they continued toward Queen Bee. "What are you talking about? We went through this. It's completely ridiculous."
"Right, but then again, we've dealt with Chloé before. It's not completely out of character for her."
"We have?" Ladybug asked, a bit confused. "I'm surprised you know her by name."
Cat tripped.
"Y-yeah we have!" he sputtered, trying to regain himself. "If I remember correctly, it was a long time ago. We saved her and the mayor a few times."
Ladybug thought back for a moment. "Oh right," she said, "like when we fought Rogercop. It was so long ago. But how could I forget?" She smiled at the memory and continued to push forward.
Cat laughed nervously.
That was a close one. As Cat Noir, he had only met Chloé a handful of times, which, really, that was enough for anyone to get the idea of her character. But, as Adrien, he knew Chloé far better than anyone, which was a scary thought. He was thankful that Ladybug was so focused that she hadn't noticed his blunder.
"If you want to try her crown, be my guest," Ladybug stated with a smile, "but I'll bet that you're wrong."
Cat kept pace beside her. "And what is it that you're betting?" He waggled his eyebrows.
Ladybug shook her head, threw out her yo-yo, and swung to the next building with Cat following behind her.
Queen Bee was now within their sight. As she walked the street, she pointed her finger to those unfortunate enough to be close by. The light flashed and struck their backs as they attempted to flee. They stumbled, stunned by the light, but in one second, they turned around to face Bee, awaiting her command.
She was approaching the park again, as she had already searched a large portion of the city looking for Marinette without any luck. However, Nino and Charlene were still on the ground. The ambulance had just arrived but they were fumbling around with Queen Bee so close by.
She smiled wickedly.
The akumatized girl stood there for a moment with her hands on her hips and looked around. "Oh, Marinette!" she sang the girl's name. "You know I don't like playing these games. So why don't you come on out before I really get impatient?"
She snapped her fingers and the hypnotized people, merely drones now, started walking towards Nino and Charlene.
Ladybug gasped. "We have to do something! Now!"
Cat Noir and Ladybug dropped down from the rooftops, their weapons spinning in their hands as they took a battle stances.
Queen Bee's head whipped around, high on alert at the new arrivals. Some of the drones also changed their positions, ready to fight those who stood against her. The rest continued to converge onto Nino and Charlene.
"You again," Queen Bee rudely addressed them.
"Marching around Paris with all of these people isn't going to make it easier for you to find Marinette," Ladybug started, "or make you feel better about yourself."
Bee's eye twitched. "Are you really trying to taunt me? Acting as if you're so high and mighty just because you think you're Paris's defender? You sound just like Marinette!"
"Yes," the deep voiced cooed in her head. "Let your hatred for Marinette guide you. If you can defeat Ladybug, then she would have to acknowledge your superiority. You only need to take Ladybug's miraculous."
"She will come to understand my authority," Bee thought more to herself. Out loud she said, "You know, Ladybug, you're really nothing without those superpowers of yours. Nobody here really thinks you're even all that great." Ladybug's brows furrowed as Bee continued. "They just want someone to protect them. It's selfish, really. But if you hand over your miraculous, I can relieve you of that terrible burden."
For a moment, Ladybug seriously considered Queen Bee's words. They had some truth behind them. She was sure that there were many Parisians that didn't really care about her own well-being or of her other responsibilities, her goals, her dreams…they probably only saw her just as a heroine and not an actual person.
A nudge to her shoulder brought her back to reality. She looked to Cat Noir who had noticed her self-questioning. He offered an encouraging smile, to which she returned and looked back to Queen Bee with resolution.
"That's a burden I'm more than willing to carry, especially when I have this ally cat on my team," she stated, standing her ground firmly.
"Tch, then I guess I'll have to convince him to join mine!" Bee yelled. In her hand flashed that light again, which she threw directly at Cat Noir. He dodged just before it hit the ground he had been standing on.
Suddenly, as if called to action, the enslaved people around them swarmed, effectively starting the battle. Cat Noir and Ladybug were split apart, Cat taking on Bee directly and Ladybug fighting off the drones that were trying to attack her friends. Ladybug used her yo-yo on almost every person that came at her.
Cat had his hands equally full. He didn't want to use his Cataclysm until they found that item, and it was just as well because he was having a hard time getting close to Queen Bee without getting zapped by her flashes of light.
Queen Bee tried to hit him with another sting. He immediately jumped into the air above her and extended his staff toward her head, knocking the crown off. "Ha-ha!" he laughed, landing behind her and grabbing the crown off the ground.
The crown was small and delicate, more like a tiara. Cat easily bent it until it broke in his hands.
But no akuma appeared.
"Well that's un-fur-tunate," he muttered.
"Told you!" came Ladybug's voice as she ran their way. "Time to switch!"
"Got it!" Cat ran past her in the opposite direction and began bashing his way through the worker bees.
Ladybug rushed Queen Bee with her yo-yo twirling. She kept swinging it at her opponent in hopes of getting a good enough hit to knock her off her feet. Of course, Bee's reflexes were good enough to move out of the way before she could land a hit. Then Bee retaliated with her stings, which Ladybug avoided.
And so they kept dancing around like that until finally Ladybug's yo-yo managed to strike Queen Bee's ankle. She stumbled down and hissed under her breath. Noticing their queen's distress, two enslaved people came to her aid, blocking the path between Ladybug and Bee.
Bee started to limp away towards a building while Ladybug took out the two drones.
"LB!" Cat called, still fighting the rest of the swarm. It was starting to get hectic. More and more enslaved persons were showing up and from all directions. One made a grab at Charlene before Cat knocked him away with his staff. "I could use a little help!"
She needed to go after Queen Bee, but with her ankle injured, she probably wasn't to get very far. "Alright then! Lucky Charm!" She threw her yo-yo into the air, and with a flash of light, an object fell down into her hands.
"A jar of honey?" Ladybug looked around, taking note of the nearby ambulance. Her earrings beeped, commencing the five minute countdown.
Cat swatted away another drone. "This is not the time for a snack break!"
"Cat Noir! They're acting just like bees! Bring those two to the ambulance! And use this to distract them!" She threw the jar overhead to her partner. He lithely caught it and in the next move scooped up Charlene and ran for the ambulance with Nino following close behind. From their new position by the ambulance, it limited the drones' ability to gang up on the group.
"Throw the jar in the center!" Ladybug gestured to the swarm that was closing in on them.
"Here goes!" Cat flung the jar straight at the drones. It crashed onto the ground, spilling its contents everywhere. Without hesitation, the worker bees piled onto what little honey there was. While they were distracted, Cat Noir directed his friends and the EMTs into the vehicle so that they could finally get Charlene to the hospital.
A second beep sounded from Ladybug's earrings. "I'm going after Queen Bee! Catch up with me when you're done here!"
She made her way to the building, which turned out to be the storefront of a clothing store. She ran in and immediately noticed the door leading to the back stairwell was left open, probably from Queen Bee frantically trying to escape. She ran up one flight and noticed a door left ajar. It was most likely as far as Queen Bee was able to get with her hurt ankle.
Ladybug walked into a storage room and looked around at all of the boxes and supplies and inventory that were stacked all around her. Nothing in the room moved and it was eerily quiet.
A sharp pain exploded in Ladybug's legs, causing her to fall. "Ah!" she yelped out in pain as she hit the floor.
Her eyes wanted to stay shut to try to ignore the stinging in her extremities, but she forced herself to crack an eye open to look at them. They looked fine. They weren't bleeding or seemingly broken. She realized the problem once she tried to move them.
Ladybug hissed in agony. Her legs had become immobilized—paralyzed, but still painful.
She heard a chuckle from the other side of the room and looked up. The door had been closed and Queen Bee's hands were both extended in front of her. So Bee had been hiding behind the door and then stung her with her light while her back was turned.
Ladybug sat there paralyzed from the waist down. She was almost out of time.
That same wicked smile adorned Queen Bee's lips as she slowly stepped closer to Ladybug. She chuckled lowly, "Oh-ho-ho, how great this is. The mighty Ladybug can't even hold her own against the Bee."
Lady tried to use her yo-yo, but when she was about to throw it, Queen Bee stung her right arm with her light, rendering it useless. She cried in agony again as her limb fell to her side.
Ladybug rolled herself over onto her stomach and began to drag herself away from Queen Bee with only her left arm.
"Oh, but wait, Ladybug. Don't you want to stay and chat?"
She flopped against the floor, her face twisted in pain.
"We have so much to do, so much to discuss." Queen Bee closed the distance between them, eyeing Ladybug carefully. Her earrings made the "beep" sound again, giving her a three minute warning before she would transform back into Marinette.
With her left hand, Ladybug made one last effort to get away from Queen Bee, struggling to pull the rest of her body with her. She could see her own shadow cast from a light behind her, meaning Bee was going to use her sting again. Ladybug clenched her eyes shut, waiting for it.
The door burst open behind them. "Ah!" cried Queen Bee as Cat Noir kicked his foot into her side, sending her flying away.
"Sorry I'm late," Cat said with his staff at the ready. "Had some straggler bees to take care of."
"Cat!" Ladybug called.
He turned and gasped at her form, starting towards her when a flash of light caused him to jump back. They looked at Queen Bee who had gotten back onto her feet. "Hey, cat, I thought we played enough for today?"
"I was just getting warmed up!" Cat replied, lunging at Bee with his claws extended. He threw some blows at her, which she skillfully deflected and returned, but were also blocked by Cat.
The akuma had given her some uncanny fighting abilities, for sure, but Cat had some experience under his belt now. When Bee moved to block another one of Cat's blows, he switched up his rhythm and side-swiped her, sending her back once again.
Quickly looking around, he noticed they were in a storage area of the clothing store. He found the closest article of clothing, a long, skinny scarf, and tied her hands and feet together like she was being prepared for a rotisserie. She might have been a better fighter now, but Bee wasn't much stronger than before and couldn't break the high-quality cloth herself. She struggled against her bindings.
Ladybug's earrings beeped again. "Cat!" She called with desperation. "Only two minutes!"
Cat ran up to her. "You can't move?"
"Her light is some sort of paralyzing sting," she explained. "I can't move my legs or arm."
Cat nodded. "Well, then, excuse me—" he snaked his arms under her and hoisted her up, causing her to grunt in pain. "I guess I have no other choice but to get you out of here myself."
From outside the room, the yelling of citizens were coming to aid Queen Bee. Cat Noir carried Ladybug out of the room with a brief pause at the door to see the people storming up the stairs. "Ah, there's the swarm!"
"Cat, there's no time…" Ladybug warned.
He finally recognized the urgency of the situation and bounded up the flights of stairs to the roof. The swarm was close behind them all the way to the top. They had finally made their way outside, but there was no place to hide on the rooftop where the angry mob wouldn't find her once she transformed back.
Glancing out over the building, he could see people on the ground, which would make their escape more difficult to accomplish.
Cat decided on the next option. Holding Ladybug tightly, he sprinted to the edge of the building and sprang to the next roof with their pursuers close on his heels. Surprisingly, a few more athletic ones had managed to follow them. Cat's breathing hitched as he picked up his pace, heading for the next building.
Another beep sounded from her earrings, causing Cat to panic. Only one minute was left and there were still a few men tailing them.
Cat crossed a few more buildings and Ladybug's weight was beginning to slow him down. When he looked back, he saw that the men had gained on them.
"Your staff!" Ladybug prompted him.
He gave her a confused look before glancing ahead of them with realization. "Hold on tight," he ordered as they approached the next ledge. Ladybug squeezed her good arm around him as he took out his staff and extended it to a normal length.
Just as he should have leapt to the next building, he planted the staff in front of them and made it elongate, propelling them into the air. It shot them forward across multiple buildings, and Cat did it twice more for good measure. They were so far away from the mob, there was no way it would catch up from the rooftops.
Still, they were visible.
Cat kept sprinting, afraid he wasn't going to get his lady to safety. His mind hadn't registered her protests as time ran out. At the last second, Cat dropped down from the rooftops to a smaller building.
There was a flash of light that blinded him, forcing his eyes shut.
When next he opened them, Marinette was in his arms.
Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit.
No other thought was coming to mind as she locked eyes with Cat Noir—as Marinette. And from the looks of it, he was as equally surprised by this turn of events as she was. His eyes were nearly bugged out with his mouth hung agape.
They sat there for a moment, frozen in a stupor because neither one of them knew how to proceed. This had never happened before. Marinette had always intended for it not to. She hadn't yet prepared for this kind of situation. But now what was going to happen?
She blinked her eyes in an attempt to free herself from the trance. "Cat…" she murmured.
Cat snapped back to normal. "Ah, Princess, who would have thought it was you of all people?" His normal smile was still absent, but he gently set her down.
She hissed in pain. She was hoping that if she detransformed the paralysis might wear off, but that wasn't her luck today.
Marinette's kwami floated around her. "Marinette! Are you okay?"
"Tikki," she said, holding her good hand out for her to sit on. "I'm fine, I just need to rest for a bit." That was a lie. She was not fine. How could she be fine? How could anything be fine? Her identity was just revealed for the very first time!
Breathe, Marinette. At least it was only Cat. At this point, her biggest concern was Queen Bee's goons finding them and seeing her. Although they wouldn't know I'm Ladybug. They didn't watch me detransform, she groaned internally.
Marinette shook her head. Her main priority should be catching that akuma right now.
She looked up to Cat Noir. His eyes were wandering her face as though he was still trying to believe what he saw. She looked down and flushed. "Cat, could you look away? We need to figure out what to do now. I can't think with you staring at me."
"Oh, sorry," he apologized and spun on his heel. "But you're right. What do we do about Queen Bee? Her swarm will be here soon."
Marinette pursed her lips in thought. They had already tried her crown, and that didn't work. "There are still three rings, her bracelets, and the necklace left," Marinette stated.
"Can we narrow down our possibilities somehow?"
Marinette thought some more, but she was finding it hard to concentrate from their lack of time. "All of the pieces of jewelry are pretty distinctive on their own. I'm not sure how I can."
Tikki piped in. "Marinette, we've known Chloé for years. Didn't you say that the akumatized object had to be something the person might ordinarily have?"
This was true. Chloé had a style that was expensive in taste and she hated tacky things. So her jewelry was very luxurious in price but worn simply to avoid looking too gaudy. The only thing she could remember Chloé ever wearing were necklaces.
"Chloé would normally never wear that many rings or bracelets," Marinette started, "so I'll bet it's that necklace of hers. But it wouldn't hurt to snag the other stuff from her too." Some of the strength was starting to come back to her feet, so she attempted to stand only to promptly fumble back down with weak knees.
Cat turned around and knelt beside her. "Are you still in pain?"
"Just some slight throbbing. I'm sure those guys are catching up now, so I'll still need your help moving around until I can transform again."
"Got it." Cat offered a hand, which she took with her good one, and hoisted her up into his arms again.
They jumped down into the street and ran into the next nearest building before any enslaved persons could see them. Cat sat Marinette down on a chair and drew the curtains so that they were only open an inch to let some daylight in. It was a bakery—not the one owned by her own family—that had been emptied due to the commotion from Queen Bee.
Marinette motioned for Cat to go to the counter where some cookies were. He strolled back and handed one to her. Tikki appeared from her purse and sat in Marinette's hand, nibbling at the cookie.
"So what's the game plan?" Cat asked Marinette.
She sat there pensively, biting her lip in thought. "She's got her little minions swarming around so it's hard to get close to her. And even when we do get close, she's got that stinging light of hers. Once I transform again, maybe you can try separating her from them and I—"
"No," Cat interrupted, very uncharacteristically. "That's what got you where you are now. If we go, then we go together."
Marinette was taken aback by his tone. He was unusually assertive. "Well, then, you and I need to separate her from her little worker bees. They've probably untied her already and are looking for me."
In an instant, Cat's eyes lit up and a smile flashed across his lips. "I think I have an idea."
Marinette stood in the middle of the park where this whole thing started. It was a terrible idea really, but what else could she do at this point but try it?
Queen Bee was on the other side of the city now, still looking for her as Marinette, and in between the two of them strewn about the streets were her little worker bees. The concept was to lure them towards her and away from Queen Bee herself, but there were so many people in Paris, Marinette was skeptical. How was Cat going to round them all up? Eventually, Bee would hear about the commotion and make her way back towards the park.
And that was the idea. Cat wanted to lure Queen Bee back their way. After that last fiasco, she would surely be avoiding Cat Noir and Ladybug and would run away at the sight of them. They needed to get Bee to stay put, and what better way to do that than to use herself as bait?
Marinette nervously swayed back and forth on her feet, tapping her fingers against the sides of her legs in anticipation. Across the way, she could see one of the worker bees, a man, looking around but who hadn't seen her yet.
Cat stayed up in the trees to avoid being spotted prematurely.
Marinette felt absolutely defenseless, and her nerves only intensified as the man came closer. He finally made eye contact with her and let out an unintelligible shriek to alert others nearby, just like they were hoping. Then he charged toward her.
Marinette recoiled at the man and ran in the opposite direction, covered by trees and foliage. Cat took the opportunity to jump down and land on the man just as he was about to join Marinette in the brush. New worker bees appeared in the park now, making more of those noises and coming to attack Cat.
He easily fought them off one by one, knocking them unconscious along the way.
"Alright," whispered Marinette from behind the bushes. Tikki floated from out of her pink purse. "Hopefully Queen Bee was tipped off and is coming this way. But I think I should help Cat Noir now. Tikki, spots on!" The glittering light from her transformation was shielded from view by the bushes. She jumped out as Ladybug and began bashing away at the worker bees until Queen Bee finally made her appearance with a few Parisians at her side.
Queen Bee looked at the scene and then clenched her fists in agitation. "I was told Marinette was here," she spat. "I need to take her as collateral for their miraculouses! You've wasted my time, you imbeciles!" Just before she could storm off, one of her lackeys, tugged on her arm and pointed to the trees and bushes in the park.
Bee smiled to what the lackey was implying.
"You can't hide forever, Marinette!" Bee sang as she entered the park, effectively gaining Ladybug's and Cat Noir's attention.
Without wasting any more time, Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the air, shouting, "Lucky Charm!" With a burst of light, an object fell into her hands. She held it up in confusion. "A mirror?"
"Any time now, Bug!" Cat called out while still fighting off some people.
Her eyes quickly scanned the area, frantically trying to find what else she could use. She looked down at her yo-yo in her hand and then up at Queen Bee. "Got it! Cat! I need you to distract her!"
Cat Noir immediately rushed at Queen Bee, who had seen him coming. She sent her flashes of light flying at him and he repeatedly jumped out of the way. Ladybug spun her yo-yo around and threw it at Queen Bee while she was preoccupied with Cat. It fastened around one of her arms and Ladybug tugged it to gain her attention.
Queen Bee scowled at her before she noticed that the yo-yo string made a straight path back to Ladybug. She smirked. "Bad idea, Ladybug!" Light flashed from her trapped hand and soared straight at Ladybug.
At the very last second, Ladybug brought the mirror in front of her. The light bounced off the surface and flew straight back at Bee.
"Ah!" Bee yelped as the light hit her arm, paralyzing it.
"Cat, grab her other arm!" Ladybug commanded, already running toward Queen Bee.
"No!" Bee objected, but it was too late. Cat had a firm grip on her other arm and pinned her to the ground. Ladybug quickly removed all of the jewelry, the rings, the bracelets, and the necklace and crushed them all under her feet until the akuma flew out of the necklace.
"I knew it! I think you've done enough damage for one day, little akuma," Ladybug said, twirling her yo-yo and throwing it at the butterfly. "Time to de-evilize!" The akuma got caught in her yo-yo as she pulled it back to her, then released it, white and purified. "Bye-bye little butterfly."
She then tossed the mirror into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
A red light enveloped the city, reverting everything back to the way it was. The Parisians around them regained their senses and looked about in bewilderment. Queen Bee turned back into Chloé, who sat on the ground with her head held in her hands. "Ugh, what happened?"
Back in his lair, Hawk Moth was growling through grit teeth, his hands clenched into tight, shaking fists. "Damn it! I was so close to getting her miraculous!"
With the two of them always working together, Ladybug and Cat Noir had been thwarting his efforts left and right for years now. At what point was he going to get his hands on at least one of their miraculouses?
At that thought, Hawk Moth paused. His brows furrowed as he contemplated more deeply. Perhaps he had been addressing the duo inappropriately this entire time. It wasn't the first time he had this thought, but maybe it was time to revisit it.
"Another day, Ladybug," Hawk Moth said, striding away as the window overlooking Paris closed and left the room dark. "I will have your miraculous."
Cat Noir looked down at his ring. He didn't use his Cataclysm, so he would have to force a detransformation himself.
He looked below him to the streets, finding that the citizens of Paris were beginning to return to their regular lives. His eyes finally fell on Ladybug next to him.
"A job well done, if I do say so myself," Cat said with a grin that now felt almost unnatural.
Ladybug offered a small smile in return before her earrings began making the beeping sound too. She subconsciously touched them before murmuring, "Right. I guess we're done here for today. We better get going." She was about to use her yo-yo when Cat grabbed her hand.
"You know," he started, "it's only fair if you see me detransform, too. Then we'll be even."
Ladybug peered into his eyes, seriously considering his proposition. Eventually, she looked away.
"I…can we…just forget about what happened today? Like it didn't happen at all?"
Cat's eyes widened in disbelief. "But, Ladybug—"
"But nothing, Cat. It's still better if at least one of us keeps our identities a secret."
He urged, "No one will know but the two of us. I promise."
Ladybug turned back to Cat with a longing look. It would be so easy for them to just completely reveal themselves to each other right now. And no one would know, save for them.
Another beep sounded from both of their miraculouses, making her reconsider again.
"Sorry, Cat. Today won't be that day." She broke from his grasp and ran to the edge of the rooftop, swinging away with her yo-yo as Cat watched her go.
His heart sank with disappointment.
A/N:
I do read all comments and suggestions, even if I don't reply to them all. So please post them! Every little bit of advice helps me with my writing!
Also, I don't mind taking suggestions for the plot itself. It's a little early for them, to be honest, but I really like the idea of readers being able to influence stories. And I will most definitely give credit if I do decide to use someone else's idea.
I already have a few scenes written for chapter 3, but I will not have it done by this Saturday like I said I would. I do keep a status on my profile of what I am currently working on or if I am on hiatus for school or work. Be sure to look at that if you feel like it's taking a while for chapter updates.
Thanks for reading! :3
-Ram 3/17/2016
UPDATE:
Parts of this chapter have been rewritten since it was first published! The synopsis: Before, Ladybug and Cat Noir didn't have to worry about Nino and Charlene because they went to the hospital, but with the last chapter re-write, they're still in the park waiting for the ambulance! Queen Bee decides to threaten them to lure Marinette out when Ladybug and Cat Noir show up to stop her. To save their friends, Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm, thus starting the countdown that leads to her identity reveal.
These two chapters were rewritten because I wanted to restore that concept of their magical transformations lasting indefinitely if they didn't use their special abilities.
-Ram 7/7/2016
