Chapter 3
"Marinette, you don't have a say in this matter",
"Alya! I'm not leaving him behind!",
"Marinette... he's gone...",
"I can't leave him...",
"Marinette... please, listen to me... he's gone..."
"Why...",
"Marinette...",
"Why... why was I the one to survive...",
"Marinette. You're the only one with the power to purify his Akuma...",
"No... I've already lost Adrien, I'm not losing you too",
"Heheh, you're not going to lose me silly. Don't worry about us, we'll hold them back, for now, get the people out of here",
"Alya, I'm going to come back for you...",
"I know... you always do.",
"Ladybug... we've just lost two more people",
"...",
"It was Juleka and Luka",
"...",
"Marinette! You can't keep running from this!",
"Alix... please, for now, leave me",
"Marinette...",
"Alix, you need to go somewhere safe, your miraculous is damaged",
"What are you planning on doing?!",
"Something I should've done a long time ago",
"Gabriel Agreste.",
"Ladybug.",
"You know you're stuck, your wife has no chance of being saved, your missing son hasn't turned u-",
"You think this will stop me! You've already lost Ladybug! Your superhero friends are no more! You. Have. Lost",
"Hehehehehe",
"...?",
"HehehehahhahahahahahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA",
"...!..."
"LOST. That's really funny Hawkmoth.",
"Heh, so you've finally lost it",
"Say Hawkmoth, would you like to know something special",
"..."
"Remember the first person you killed",
"...?",
"Ah, I see... allow me to refresh your memory",
*BASH*
"Whoops, now you're bleeding"
"Didn't... think a super... hero would... resort to violence...",
"Weird, you still don't remember? Oh well",
*BANG*
"your first victim",
*WHACK*
"Was Chat Noir",
*SMACK*
"He died when he was crushed by one of your Akuma",
*CRACK*
"Would you like to know who he was behind the mask",
"...S-Should... I e-even... c-ca *cough* care... at thi...this... point...",
"You know I think you should. Considering the fact that. He was your son",
"NO! I H-HAD ALRE- *COUGH* READY P-PROVED IT!",
"What a fool, did you already forget the fox miraculous could create illusions. How does it make you feel, I bet it makes you feel really happy doesn't it",
"DAMN YOU- IF I WASN'T SHACKLED, I WOULD'VE ENDED YOU- *COUGH* ALREADY!",
"But you can't, you see, you lost, a long time ago, you lost when you decided to use the miraculous to do your dirty deeds. It should've made sense, what goes around comes around",
"Adrien... Adrien is stil-",
"Still alive? You know I was there, he died in my arms, you know what his final thoughts were?",
"Don't... I beg of you...",
"He said, 'I can't believe my father could cause all this, Ladybug? Was I a bad son?'",
"Stop it!",
"He begged for life, he begged to see you again, the one who caused his deat-",
"Stop it! No more!",
"He cried as he died! He cried for his mother, he cried for his father. You caused his death!",
"I didn't know! I never wanted th-",
"You didn't know... ahahaha! You killed him, who cares if you knew or not. You killed your son, you killed millions of innocent souls, for what? For a women who was dead before she could be revived?",
"... didn't want thi-",
"Did you have fun? Gabriel?",
"no. No. No. No. No. No.-",
"Didn't you love it?",
"No. No. NO. NO. NO. NO",
"I'm sure, you must be celebrating, everything went according to your plan!",
"NO. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!",
"You know Gabriel, I can give you peace",
"..."
"Let me end you",
"What makes you think I would even dare to agree to this",
"Well you're shackled to your old bed, all your Akumas were purified, you don't even have your miraculous anymore, what reason don't you have",
"Alright. Do it... please... nothing is worth it anymore...",
"Okay, but don't expect it to be quick and painless",
"...",
"Hehehehehe-",
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
"Hehehehehehehehahahahahahahahahahaha-",
*SMASH* *BANG*
"hahahahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"
*BOOM* *BANG* *CRASH*
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH... ha...",
...
...
...
"how stupid... you barely even lasted 5 seconds",
"Ladybug... That... body brought in... was it...?",
"That was Hawkmoth, we had a huge fight... there was no other way",
"Was that what the explosion was at the old Agreste Mansion",
"Mm, here's my report of the situation",
"I see, it must've been hard",
"Whatever...",
"Thank you for your service, Paris will never forget how you helped us",
"Mm.",
"Adrien... your fathers dead now... I'm sure you can guess, it was because of me... I wonder... do you see me as a monster. Everyone is gone. Just me. You all said I was the only one capable of defeating him... I've gone and done just that... but why won't you come back to me... I've done everything asked of me...
...
I never even told you, I love y-",
Marinette
Marinette
Marinette
Marinette
"Marinette! You need to get up!",
"T-Tikki?",
"Come on! We need to get ready!",
"Ok..."
When Marinette had any form of a dream, she would often bury it, deep away. Whether it was a good dream or a bad one, Marinette didn't want either. She often hated sleeping for that one reason, but sometimes she couldn't help it, the exhaustion would get to her.
Damn... it's been nearly 7 years since I had one of those dreams.
"Tikki, what time is it?",
"It's currently 6:53, I'm just waking you up a little earlier so you could get a proper breakfast",
"I'm not hungry...",
"Aww, come on Marinette, you didn't even eat when you came home yesterday!",
"I wasn't hungry...",
"Marinette, starving yourself is not going to help you in the long run",
"...",
"Marinette, you're won't eat... is it because you don't want to eat your parents' food?",
"... I don't deserve their food...",
"Well unless you want to bring suspicion to yourself again, you're going to have to eat some food",
"Tikki... Do I have to go to school today as well?",
"...What happened?",
"What do you mean",
"What happened yesterday Marinette. The moment you detransformed you go and curl up in your bed, 'sleeping'",
"I was just tired",
"And yet despite the dark circles under your eyes, you got a full 12-hour rest, Marinette... I won't force you to talk about your past, but I do want to know what happened yesterday.",
"I'm going to go get changed",
"Marinette! You can't keep running from this",
"Marinette! You can't keep run-",
"Tikki. I can deal with my own problems. I'm going to get changed".
Walking off to get changed, Marinette left Tikki alone in her room. Tikki had been through many years and had seen many iterations of Ladybug. She just never thought this one would be so difficult...despite her current Ladybugs "request", Tikki wasn't going to back down, besides, Tikki had other methods that allowed her to gather information. She wasn't going to lose another Ladybug.
Adrian's morning routine could be summed up in two words. Practical and efficient. This routine was thought up by Nathalie of course, but going through the same motions day in and out would eventually get on their nerves. Wake up, use the toilet, brush teeth, shower, get dressed, go through his itinerary, yada yada yada. His schedule was always filled to the brim, it seemed he would never get a chance to do what he liked. Some days Adrien would dream of the times he was younger. Because his mother wanted him to have a pretty normal childhood, despite his abnormal lifestyle, she often took him to the park, just a simple outing but was so much better than being indoors working or going to events with his father.
"Adrien... I want Camembert...",
"Don't worry Plagg, I've got you covered",
Adrien tossed a piece of cheese in his Kwami's direction, Plagg catching it in gratitude. Since meeting Plagg, Adriens routine mornings had become a bit more chaotic, although the creature was quite lazy, he was also stupidly dramatic, always needing cheese, crying about taking the lazy option. In a way, Adrien was quite thankful, he also had a friend to talk.
"I killed him Chat Noir! I. Killed. Him.-",
"Plagg...",
"Adrien, are you going to cry about that Marinette girl again",
"I never cried! Wait no- that's not what I was going to talk about",
"...",
"Ok fine! I was going to talk about her... but I never cried",
"That's some hard denial",
"Plagg!",
"Ok, ok",
"I just...",
"Wanted to talk about the whole 'I killed hawkmoth' thing",
"It's just... she was in so much anguish... then she just dropped the whole it like hot potatoes and buried her emotions",
"If I wasn't so tired, I would've felt bad for Tikki, dealing with such a tough Ladybug",
"You're acting like there's more than one",
"Well, there was, just like there were multiple Chat Noirs. You're just the latest iteration",
"...",
"what?",
"Nothing..! It's just, I've never heard you speak so seriously before.",
"I don't like to talk about my previous Chat Noirs...",
"whys that...",
"...",
"...",
"Adrien... I want more Camembert...",
"Back to normal, I see",
Adrien noticed, whenever Plagg wanted to drop a subject, he'd cry for cheese. He didn't know what made him so weary about the subject but he complied silently and just gave him his cheese. Plagg rarely talked about his past, and when he did, there was... something there, hidden in his goofy mannerisms. It seemed whenever someone close to Adrien is hurting, they never let it show.
Hearing a knock at the door, it signaled his time was up and he was to head downstairs for breakfast. When he was finished packing up his school books for the day, he walked down to the dining room, where he'd receive his schedule for the day. Since today was a Wednesday, Adrien should be able to go to training today... training... he wondered if Marinette was ok... when he left, she looked so... exhausted... like she was fighting something within her.
She's was definitely trying to hide who hawkmoth was. If hawkmoth is who I think he is...
Shaking the thought out of his head, he looked at his schedule. It seemed his Chinese tutor was sick today so he was to complete the work set by him and finish it before Friday. Since Adrien was pretty fast at doing his work, this meant that he could get a bit more free time today! He silently thanked Nathalie and hurried to finish his breakfast. Once done, his plates taken away, he started heading to the car.
"Adrien.",
Turning to the voice, he found his father standing at the top of the stairs.
"Adrien, this Friday we will be heading London for the weekend, an old friend of mine wanted to use you for a shooting so please prepare yourself",
"Does this mean I won't be able to attend school that day",
"I'm afraid not. Nathalie a word if you will",
"Yes, Sir.",
Letting his bodyguard take him to the car, Adrien took a look back to his father, but he was already gone. It should've been a given that Adrien wasn't going to live normally, but it still hurt knowing his father only talked to him for work rather than personal affairs. Hearing a grunt from the gorilla, he climbed into the car.
Just when my day was going off to a great start, it just had to be ruined by father... I shouldn't be upset... at least I'm still going to school today, that's good enough, I guess...
Marinette really didn't want to deal with people today... on days where she'd feel like this, she would often go out drinking her problems away. It was easier than being awake and sober. When she first turned 18, she was legally allowed to drink, since she was nearing the end of her fight with hawkmoth she never took the chance but after the fight, she began having nightmares. It plagued her, in her dreams and eventually even when she was awake. To combat her nightmares she started drinking. It only started as something formal, after a while she found if she drank enough she would black out, it felt like a much easier solution at the time and with the death of her loved ones, she had no reason to stop.
Now at age 14, she couldn't dare attempt to go to a shop and buy herself a drink. Sighing she did her best to shake out any bad thoughts. If hawkmoth got to her... if he Akumatises her again, she didn't know if she could get out of it as easily as before.
I should find a quiet place to meditate, it's better than getting all gloomy
When Marinette turned 22, she found a strange person in a nightclub, sitting on its roof. She claimed she was "meditating", although it looked as though she was pretty high. Since then, it piqued her interests, instead of getting head splitting headaches from drinking excessively, she was able to learn to channel her negative emotions away from her. It was better than drinking her days into a blur.
Entering the classroom, she felt relieved when she noticed Adrien didn't come in yet. Since she was early, there wasn't anyone in the class, most of them were outside with their friends.
Crossing her legs, she sat up, back straight, hands on her lap and began to focus on driving out her emotions. Not even 5 minutes had passed and she felt her concentration break. Adrien opened the door to the classroom quietly... well not as quiet as he thought he was.
"Marinette...",
She turned away, she didn't want to see Adrien, but it seemed she had no choice.
"Adrien.",
"Marinette is it alright if we tal-",
"No.",
"Come on Marinette, you were in a difficult situation, I can understand th-",
"Adrien. I'm going to tell this for your own good. You don't want to know what happened, it's just curiosity for you, but for me it wa-",
Not waiting for Marinette to finish her sentence, he walked up to her, grabbing both her hands and looked into her eyes.
"Marinette. I wouldn't treat something this serious so lightly! I don't want you suffering in silence.",
"...you should let go",
"Marinette...",
"I've lived over 10 years in solitude! What makes you think you could ever help me",
"I don't.",
"Then why are yo-",
"I don't think I could ever help you deal with what you went through, but I want to at least try. You say I'll see you as a monster, but I don't think so. You've gone through so much, you gave up so much, just to help Paris and it's people. How could I see someone so brave as a monster",
"You! You will, if you knew who Hawkmoth was, you'd despise me!",
Feeling tears well up in her eyes, Marinette tried to run from the situation only to be stopped by Adriens grip.
"Let go of me...",
"Tell me...",
"what...?",
"Tell me who Hawkmoth is then. If you think I'll hate you for stopping a man who had killed people you care about, then tell me",
"I-I won't- I won't tell you!",
"Marinette... please...",
"..."
"Please..."
"Adrien... he... he's your...D-Dad...",
"..."
"..."
"Hmmm, I figured as much",
"Wha-what?!",
"Honestly, when you first tried telling me who Hawkmoth is, you were about to say that it was someone I knew. I didn't know a lot of people so that helped narrow it down. When you said, I might see you as a monster, I realised it may have been my father, I had nothing to prove it other than the fact he started acting really suspicious after Hawkmoth let one of his Akuma loose",
"H-Huh?!",
"Short answer, I don't hate you",
"But... I killed your father",
"Yeah... I'm not going to act like a saint and say it didn't affect me, but, you were alone, from what you said, Father had hurt a lot of people. I don't want my father in our time to turn out like that",
"...I still don't understand",
"Yeah... I can get that. when I first thought about it, I couldn't imagine Father going so far as to kill, I felt just as confused, it made me feel angry. I didn't want to believe it, but looking at you, conflicted and struggling, it just proved that my father went too far",
"Adrien...",
"Marinette. I don't want him to turn out that way, I also don't want you to go through that kind of experience again",
Marinette really couldn't hold back her emotions, he was always so gentle, always understanding... really what did she do to deserve him... but she didn't want to start crying. She would be at risk... that and she didn't want to let Adrien see her so weak. She backed away slowly, sat on her seat, closing her eyes, she was able to maintain her emotions.
"Adrien. Thank you.",
"Rather than a thank you, a kiss on the cheek would be nice",
Okay, scratch that.
"Wha?! I-I... wha... tha- hard... that's k-kinda hard t-",
"Hahahahaha! I was just teasing Marinette",
"...agghhhh, Wtf! You actually got me thinkin-",
"Thinking what my lady?",
"...hmghhh, nothing.",
"hahaha, still pissed",
"Hmmghhgh",
Adrien went back to his seat, still chuckling from his last interaction. Marinette could feel her face was hot. This cat, was he always this flirty?! Wanting to get back at him, Marinette stood from her seat, walked over to Adrien and left a peck on his cheek.
"M-Marinette?!",
"T-There, now we're even",
With her heart feeling much lighter, Marinette went back to her seat. She noticed Adriens ears were red. Heh, she's got the upper hand now. Before Adrien could launch his retaliation, students started popping in the class. Their little competition would have to wait.
Hearing the lunch bell, students began to run out of the class. Lunch often was more chaotic than break. Before Marinette could leave the class, she was stopped by Chloe.
"H-Hey Marinette... do you wan- you know what never mind! I just forgot I need my bag",
"But Chloe, I have it right here",
"Oh. Thanks. Sabrina.",
"Hehe, no problem!",
Marinette felt a smile rise on her face.
"Er Chloe, you know Alya, Nino Adrien and I are about to head to the plaza to have lunch, you wanna join us? Of course, Sabrina is free to join as well",
"...I... S-Sure. Why not, can't be that bad hanging out with you",
Tsundere.
Getting the group together, they all started to eat lunch. Chloe, feeling fidgety, decided to keep to herself and Sabrina most of the time despite Marinette and Adriens attempt to include her into the conversation. Eventually, Chloe needed to use the lavatory. They all thought nothing of it until they heard a shriek coming from the bathroom.
"How can you even think of hanging out with that loser Alya",
"*Scoff* she at least has a better personality than you skanks",
"How dare you! You think you're all that just because your the Mayor's daughter, nobody even likes you!",
"I don't need people to like me, I'm better than you all anyway!",
"of course you'll say that it at least justifies your loner life",
"Wha! Yo-",
"Do you think you'd actually become friends with that useless lot, the only person of mention is Adrien Agreste!",
"Adrien isn't the only one there you know!",
"Oh how can I forget that failed DJ, and ugh don't even get me started on that slut Mari-whatever",
"You're such a-",
"Girls! What's going on here",
"Ms bustier!?",
"Ms bustier, Chloe was saying rude things about my family",
"What?! I never said an-",
"Enough! Hilla, Chloe, I hope you understand there is a no tolerance policy for fighting, both of you go see Mr. Damocles.",
"But that's not fair! It's obvious Chloe's going to win!",
"Hilla! Both of you head to the principal's office. Now.",
Complying with the teacher both of them headed to the principal's office. Marinette stood with a half a smile fighting to appear on her face, she felt proud of Chloe, she was finally coming around.
"That's just not fair.",
"Alya?",
"Marinette... she was defending me... and she got in trouble for something like that?!",
Nino chimed in
"I know right! Adrien, we need to help her out dude!",
"Er..."
"Guys, you need to calm down, you might make things worse for Chloe",
"Marinette?",
"let's put a little trust in Chloe, we all know what really happened, and besides, Chloe's gotten into much worse predicaments",
It was true. Marinette couldn't be far from the truth but Alya couldn't stand for it.
"Marinette... I'm going to talk to Mr. Damocles, you guys don't need to come, but I want to give my side of the story.",
"Alya, of course we're coming dude!",
Adrien felt a little uneasiness.
"Guys maybe we should listen to Marinette, we don't want to make the situation worse",
"Worse? Dude. This is Chloe we're talking about",
Hearing everyone argue Sabrina felt herself stuck standing solid, almost scared to talk, Sabrina felt something bubble in her. Chloe, she's been nicer these days, she'd talk to her not like some kind of follower, but as a friend. In front of Sabrina were people who were willing to let them join in, despite all the mean things they'd said to them, and now they're even thinking of ways of trying to help Chloe.
"I... I don't want to leave Chloe.",
"Sabrina?",
"You're all right, sometimes she doesn't think when she talks and what comes out is something rude that she didn't mean to say. We might make things worse... but I'm willing to take that chance",
During Marinettes time, Sabrina died soon after Adrien, she tried protecting Chloe. She was of course, the holder of the sheep miraculous. Not the most powerful of the zodiac miraculous but enough to get Chloe out of danger. When Chloe found Sabrina's corpse, she changed... whether it was for better or worse Marinette never found out. When they were left to the last 3 miraculous holders, Chloe took a risky mission, one that didn't pay off. She lost her life attempting revenge on Hawkmoth. Seeing Sabrina already prepared to save Chloe, Marinette couldn't help but feel angry at herself.
"Sabrina, what do you have planned.",
Adrien called in surprise.
"Marinette!?",
Sabrina continued.
"First we tell the principal our side of the story, of course after that Hilla girl had said her argument, it would be easier to point out any flaws in her argument, if we went first, she could spindle something up. From what I heard, she has some pretty powerful connections, almost as powerful as Chloe.",
"Wow.",
"H-Huh?",
"Didn't think you had it in you dude!",
"I... er... thank you...?",
"Well I can't think of anything better, let's go with Sabrina's plan",
Feeling excited, they all stomped to the principal's office, once they were all distracted, Adrien pulled Marinette to the side,
"(Marinette, are you sure you want to go about it like this, I've heard about Hilla, her family has ties to almost every major company)",
"(Kitty, don't worry too much about it, our next Akuma attack shouldn't happen until next Tuesday, we'll be fine)",
"(*Sigh* if you say so my lady.)",
Chloe sat just outside the office, it seemed the Principals was still doing some work. Normally she'd burst in, demanding that she not get in trouble, flaunting her power. Normally she would also never dare to hang out with Marinette... Normally... She wasn't acting so normal was she...
"(My queen...?)",
"(Pollen, it's best not to talk right now, that Hilla bitch is two chairs away from me)",
"(Aren't you going to call your father)",
"(...I don't think so Pollen, I heard today my dad's trying to deal with the Akuma situation)",
"(It's great that you're thinking about your father first, Ladybug would be proud!)"
P-Proud...
Chloe felt something swell in her chest... Proud. She could feel a smile appear on her face. Heheheh Proud...
"What are you gawking at!",
Snapping out of her stupor, she looked to her left. Of course, Hilla would be the one to ruin her mood.
"What's it to you, sad you don't have a life so you disturb mine",
"Oh-ho that's it! I'm going to call my father, you think you're the only one in this school who has a powerful figure backing them",
"Wow. Having to call your daddy to get you out of a little detention. Pussy much",
"That's like the pot calling the kettle black!",
"Whatever, I bet I could beat you without my father's help",
"Oh, you wanna bet huh, well no dice",
"Hmmm",
"I'm not an idiot, do you really think I'm going to go in there and let you step all over me!",
"You'd like that wouldn't you, skank",
"Wow. You wanna go bitc-",
"Girls!",
"Mr. Damocles!",
"Office now.",
Mr. Damocles hated dealing with these students, a lot of students in this school came from powerful backgrounds as well. Chloe was especially worse. She was the daughter of the Mayor, the one funding this school and everyone's salary, with one word he could have it stopped, so Mr. Damocles didn't try to get in her way. And then there's Hilla. Her father was a dangerous man. Someone who could destroy not only his school but maybe even his family. She was put in a different class away from Chloe so they wouldn't ever interact with each other, if they got in a fight or teamed up, Mr. Damocles would never survive. Yet here they are, screaming like sirens at each other. Of course, he couldn't get any peace of mind.
"So I heard you two were fighting",
"Mr. Damocles, I was defending my f-friend...",
"Ugh like you have any, Mr. Damocles, she insulted my family, she called me a whore and then threatened to end me!",
"Watch your mouth. You might turn it rotten with all those lies",
"ENOUGH. Chloe, this sort of behaviour, isn't-",
"Wait! Chloe didn't do anything wrong",
Oh, who was it now...
"Alya... you shouldn't be here, I can deal with the situation",
"Yeah I'm sure you can, but I'm not going to leave a friend hanging",
"F-Friend...",
"Ugh, what is this sappy bullshit. Mr. Damocles, Chloe and her group tried to harass me!",
"Harassment, that doesn't sound like Mrs. Bustier student,
"that's because it's not.",
"Sabrina as well... wait who else is hiding behind your back Miss Alya",
Stepping aside, Marinette, Adrien, and Nino all entered the office.
"What the actual fuck. You got Adrien Agreste on your side as well, you're so pathetic!",
"Miss Hilla, could I ask you to refrain from using such sour language in my office",
"I can't believe you're making me out to be the bad guy, when my father hears about this-",
"N-Now now, let's not use drastic measures for small situations like this",
"Small?! My life was threatened and now they're harassing me! Of course, I'm going to get my father involved!",
"Hilla you're going way too far-",
"And you don't, what, you get to call for your father but the moment I ask for mine you start acting all moral",
"Hey! At least she knows when enough's enough, Chloe may have been a brat in the past, but at least she's not some lying snake that gossips behind people's back",
"Wow, you got that loser Alya to defend you, how much did you pay her, hey you, I'll pay you double to leave this room",
"Double zero is still zero, she didn't pay me.",
"Heh likely story.",
"THAT IS IT, IM DONE. BOTH YOU GIRLS OUT THE ROOM, I'LL BE CALLING BOTH YOUR FATHERS AND EXPLAINING THE SITUATION",
"If you think you're going to leave school today scratch free, you've got another thing coming Chloe Bourgeois.",
Scampering out the room, Hilla pushed past Marinette, unable to topple her she opted to just kicking her shin. When Marinette didn't double down in pain, she stormed out the room.
"Children I suggest you leave the room, I have a lot to sort out today",
Forcing everyone to get out of the office, Mr. Damocles sat back down on his desk, his head throbbed.
Why couldn't I get normal students attending my school...
Hilla felt her head swell, of course Chloe Bourgeois would get the upper hand, of course she wouldn't get in trouble. Hilla sat down on a bench, her hand clenched in a ball. What could she even do against that spoiled brat. Gripping her purse, she pulled out her phone, scrolling down to her father's number. One tap was all she needed to bring down this school. But it wouldn't guarantee Chloe getting the short end of the stick. She could ruin this school but could she ruin her. If only she could screw her over. If only she had the power to make Chloe Bourgeois fall down on her knees. But Hilla didn't have that kind of power. She was lower in status, lower in power, lower in money, and now, it seems she was also lower in popularity.
As Hilla lamented her powerlessness, she spotted a black butterfly float over to her phone, Hilla wasn't too fond of bugs but she didn't mind butterflies, they were at least pretty to look at, but for some reason, this butterfly seemed to glow with darkness? It was a strange creature. Trying to observe the butterfly, she found it molded into her phone. As the phone turned black, Hilla could feel something within her change, like her very core was stretching out, soon after she heard a voice in her head...
Hello Madame Control, I am Hawkmoth, I can give you the power to control anyone your heart desires, all I ask in return are Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous.
"Alright, as long as I get to put that spoiled brat down to size, I can get you what you need.",
Hilla felt something within her core change as her body formed. Black mist covered her body, her skin changed to purple, her phone morphed into her wrist and became something similar to a watch, her clothes warped around her, turning into a ball gown dress. Standing up, she noticed several students back away in fear. They could be her first victims.
Marinette felt uneasy. Chloe seemed to be quite happy, she was definitely coming around but she could help shake this feeling like there was something amiss. She had never met this Hilla person in her last life, in fact, Chloe and Hilla never even met, let alone fight in her time. Something was definitely wrong.
"(Marinette, everything alright)",
"(Adrien, I think something might be wrong, Chloe and Hilla never fought in my time, I don't think they even met each other)",
"(Oh... but maybe things will be fine! As you said, we shouldn't get an Akuma for at least a week now)",
"(Yeah... that's what I thought but...)",
"(No buts! Trust in yourself. I'm sure we should be fine, Chloe's definitely's gotten nicer!)",
"(Yeah, you're right, I shouldn't think too much of I-",
A scream emanated from the central area, running to see where the source was, Marinette spotted a woman resembling Hilla.
"Oh no... Adrien... I was wrong. Hilla she-",
"We should go "hide" somewhere",
Following Adriens advice, they both attempted to run to a nearby empty room only to be stopped by Alya.
"Marinette, you and the others should hide in this Classroom, I'm, er, going to get my, er, stuff from... my locker",
"What what?! Dude, Now is not the time for stuff, you guys hide in the classroom, I'm going to see if I can-",
"What now you're going to get something!? I at least have a valid reason, you all should- wait where's Chloe!?",
"She must've already gone to hide, see dude, take some responsibility and get away!",
"I am taking responsibility, take Marinette and Adrien- wait where did they go?!",
"obviously to hide!",
"I'm not going to let you get in danger because you want some stuff",
"I could say the same thing!",
"Aghhh screw this, I'm going into this closet, don't follow me, I want my hiding spot to be safe",
"What! You think I'm going to let you get hurt just so you can hide alone?!",
"Nino! Just let go! I need to-",
"I don't care about needing your stuff, I'm not letting you get in trouble-",
"You don't understand, I... fine. Let's go inside together, you'll understand then...",
"What!? I can't do that, dude, I have to go-",
"Get your stuff?",
"...",
"Nino.",
"Alya. Are you also a-",
"Miraculous holder",
"So you are...",
"Yeah...",
"We'll talk more later, for now, let's go somewhere hidden to transform",
"Alright.",
The two ran into the closet, making sure there were no prying eyes, they called out for their Kwami's
"Wayzz, Shell on!",
"Trixx, let's pounce!",
Once the two were transformed the ran out of the closet to start dealing with the Akuma. When they Arrived they noticed Ladybug, Chat Noir and Queen Bee hiding on the roof, watching the Akuma.
"Hey, Glad you could make it",
"Ladybug. After the fight, Carapace and I... we-",
"Don't worry, for now, let's deal with the Akuma. Queen Bee, you were here first, what have you noticed",
"It looks like the victim is Hilla Civec. She had a fight with, er, Chloe Bourge-something, I think she wants to do something to her. Her power seems to be controlling the students... I think",
"Nice job Queen Bee. Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, can I trust you two to distract her",
"Yeah, you can count on us my lady",
"Good. Rena Rouge, don't use your power just yet, ok?",
"No worries Ladybug",
"Carapace, I need you to make sure there are no lingering students, don't engage with the controlled victims just yet",
"Yeah dude, I got it covered",
"Queen Bee, you and I are going to try and find the Akuma, I may need your Venom sting",
"Don't worry Ladybug! I won't let you down!",
"Ladybug struggled to keep her face neutral. It was starting to feel like the good old day. She had her team back and she wasn't going to let Hawkmoth hurt them again. Since both Queen Bee and Marinette had swinging type weapons they could effectively survey where the Akuma could be hiding. Both Chat Noir and Rena Rouge had staff weapons. They could both combat at close range and keep the Akumatised victim away from civilians. Carapace had his shield so he could protect and direct any stragglers away from the Akuma. For Ladybug, this was the most efficient method of taking down an Akuma as fast as possible, keeping casualties and damages to a minimum.
"Where is Chloe Bourgeois! I'll crush her!",
With Chloe out of sight... sort of, the Akumatised victim started to get testy.
"Madame Control, you need to find a place to escape, there are more superheroes than expected"
"No! I will find that girl and ruin her!",
"Damn you, if you get defeated how will you crush Chloe Bourgeois!",
"..."
"Get out of there. I will think of something.",
"I can defeat them. I just need to control them.",
"If you can defeat them, I will give you those powers permanently but my priority is Ladybug and Chat Noirs Miraculous, once you have completed the task I will hand you Chloe Bourgeois on a silver platter",
"Alright. Ladybug and Chat Noirs Miraculous will be yours",
"Uh, you ok miss control",
"It's Madame Control!",
"Yeah ok. Can you move more into the middle, you keep breaking stuff",
"You're first, Cat.",
"Uh oh. Rena Rouge! Help!",
"Come on Chat Noir, how are you going to get Ladybug to like you if you act so wimpy",
"Wha- how do you know that?!",
"Chat Noir. It's obvious. So stupidly obvious",
"Heh, you're starting to sound like Queen Bee, is she rubbing off on you",
"Chat Noir, she about to slap you.",
"Wuh uh oh!",
Doing his best to dodge her slaps, Chat Noir Jumped on the roof. While the chaos continued, Ladybug noticed something on Madame Control's wrist. It resembled a smartwatch.
"Queen Bee! Use your Venom sting!",
Complying, Queen Bee did just that. She called out her power then poked Madame. Running over to the victim before she could start moving again, Ladybug ripped off the watch and threw it towards Chat Noir
"Chaton, quick! Use your Cataclysm!",
Catching the Item, Chat Noir called up his cataclysm and broke the item. A small black butterfly floated out. Ladybug pulled out her yoyo, opening it up, she threw it out and caught the creature. Once she confirmed it was purified, she let it out.
"Bye bye little butterfly",
Realising she didn't summon her lucky charm this battle, she called out for it to clean up any problems caused by the akuma. When the lucky charm fell into her hands, she noticed it was in the shape of the peacock miraculous... she still had to deal with that. Not wanting to think too much about it, she threw it in the air and called out her signature phrase.
"Miraculous Ladybug!",
Once the ladybugs had done their job, she called her team for rendezvous.
"Nice we did it my lady!",
"I feel like I didn't do anything though",
"That's not true, you helped get the kids to safety",
"That's easy for you to say, you and Chat Noir were at least going toe to toe with that akuma.",
"Well I mean... you helped a lot!",
"Sure dude.",
"Well we defeated the akuma, that's more than enough, right Ladybug",
"While you're right about the Akuma Queen bee, we still have a bigger issue to face",
"Hawkmoth?",
"Yeah...",
"My lady, if I could. You mentioned to me at Masters place, you had a plan",
"Wait master?! Dude! I wanna meet this guy!",
"Chaton!",
"Well, they're going to meet him someday right!",
"Yeah, but when the time is right and they can handle the truth!",
"uh not to interrupt this couple spat but, what's this about a master",
"Don't worry Rena Rouge, when you guys are ready, we'll tell you everything",
"...",
"So about the pla-",
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
"Sorry kitty, looks like this conversation will have to wait. We won't have training today, so everyone get ready at 5 tomorrow, I have a new location planned, one that's closer to the city.",
"A new location, is it sanitary?",
"Probably.",
"Wait probably!? Ladybug, I don't want to get a strange infection!",
"and you won't! I'll see you guys tommorow!",
"Wait Ladybug!",
"Sorry, Queen Bee, I'm off as well",
"Seeya dudes!",
"(Don't worry Chloe, trust in Ladybug), Bye!",
"Ugh... this is utterly ridiculous...",
"So they have 5 superheroes now. No matter. I won't let them ruin my plans. Just wait, I will have your miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir!"
Gabriel Agreste had his reasons for becoming Hawkmoth. One of which was the love of his life. It may sound cliche but she was the one to thaw his frozen heart, when she fell into her stasis, Gabriel felt his light die out. He attempted every treatment possible but she still wouldn't wake up. It finally came down to him using the miraculous, he needed to bring his wife back, no matter the cost. Nathalie, of course, knew from the beginning what he was planning to do, she never backed down, she stayed by his side despite the danger and risk it would pose to her. Really, he couldn't have asked for a better secretary.
Gabriel felt his head ache, he lost again, this time there were five of them. Five against one. How cruel. Yet because of the loss, he could prove how much danger the school could go through. He could manipulate the mayor into putting more security at the school, Adrien could be safe and Gabriel wouldn't need to meddle in his sons life. He already knew how much Adrien despised working so hard, but Gabriel needed him to be strong the world was tough after all.
Sighing, he called Nathalie to arrange a meeting with the mayor. He needed to strike while the iron was hot.
Marinette silently thanked that the fight today ended as fast as it did. When she arrived home, her parents, being her parents, bombarded her with questions, asking if she was alright, yada yada yada. Once done dealing with them, she rushed straight to bed. Was every day going to be as tough as the past two days. She felt so mentally exhausted. It turns out Nino and Alya had found out each others identity, so that brought out a whole can of worms. They seemed both confused and started asking who her identity was or who the others were. Marinette obviously, forced them to keep it a secret, she made up an excuse about how, keeping our identity a secret was important to the plan she was making, but really, she didn't want to deal with the drama that came when they find out each others identity. Last time it happened, Alya and Chloe just would not talk nor look at each other in the eye. It was so annoying and hectic! Hawkmoth was on the loose and these two would just not cooperate!
Laying her head down on the pillow, Marinette felt exhaustion over take her, she was pretty glad there was no training today. Even Tikki kept her distance. Actually, she'd been surprisingly quiet the whole day. She didn't bug Marinette nor try to pry anything out of her. She was just hiding in the purse doing nothing. Did her conversation with Adrien... scare her...?
Shaking out the thought, Marinette closed her eyes. She could deal with this stuff tomorrow. For now, she just wanted to sleep.