A/N: So… I'm finally back. Rejoice.

To all who read Rise of Papillon, you know why I was gone. To those who don't, long story short, I get migraines that effectively cripple me for anywhere between a day and a week, and Halloween did me in, followed my CERT final (yeah, there is a reason Zoe's a CERT, because I know shit). So, I'm finally getting better, I would be fully better, but some punk ass kid pulled the fire alarm yesterday. It's getting insane, the twentieth time this school year alone, sometimes two or three in the same day! It's not even the same kid each time they catch one!

Also, I want to do Reverser, and want Zoe/Fireheart to be reversed, because she has yet to fall for this shit, but I don't know what to do. Polite? Not homicidal? Wanting to fucking kill Adrien? Send me reviews with ideas.

And because Season 2 is over—I won the bet, bitches! Natalie is Mayura! Meaning it will be another bet that gets Paula fucking with this story; but Cousin Marv stole $200/500 of my money, so I stole the keys to his car until he paid me back—I will be doing a singular OC akuma before Heroes' Day.

On a side note, what was with Guitar Villain and Frightengale? Were they honestly there to provide battle music? I watched it without subtitles, so I have no clue. But if they were, that is kind of badass on Hawk Daddy's part. And that man can kick monkey ass in a dress suit, that will be hysterical to play around with including Fireheart. XD

Anyway, this chapter hopefully will be worthwhile, back to comedy, and there will finally be some equality to Adrien. Because after breaking him in the last chapter, I had to atone.

Chapter 11: Of preventing Anansi, fighting Malediktator, Adrien getting out of the hospital, Chloe getting roped into the shitty parent club, and the reveal (and Adrien's mental breakdown 2.0) (Goddamn this title is long)

In the three days since Adrien had woken up, Zoe had become a daily visitor and often slept on the couch. It had taken awhile, but he could now hold down small amounts of food and drink and have the lights on dim. Alya had invited Zoe over to her place with Nino and Marinette, but she refused to go without Adrien, so they had on a videocall on an i-Pad, with the volume low and the brightness dimmed.

Alya and Nino were dancing in front of the television with some version of Just Dance. Marinette was watching from behind, next to her phone with the two watching from the device.

"They're so in sync with each other." Marinette said, watching their friends dance.

"You're right." Adrien agreed quietly, "Someday I hope I'll find someone I can share everything with… like they do." He sighed, "But until my father starts letting me go out more often, that probably won't be happening. Or when I get out of this damn hospital."

Zoe swatted him, "Says the guy who still can't be in a room with normal lights."

"Shut it, you."

"Big finish, here we go!" Nino said, so Marinette lifted her phone, "You don't wanna miss this." Nino posed on one leg in a humous impression of a ballerina. "Yeah!" Marinette and Alya started laughing, and Zoe just smiled, turning down the volume to avoid making Adrien get a headache.

A woman entered the apartment, "Aw, shoot. Did I miss the ballet?"

Alya turned, "Nora, is your match over already?

The woman, Nora, put down her bag, "First round: total knockout." She punched the air, "As usual." She then proceeded to whisper something in Alya's ear, then looked up, "The name is Anansi, like a spider."

Zoe muted it and turned to Adrien, "Fuck no! I hate spiders! It's the only thing I hate more than Peacocks."

"What is your vendetta against Peacocks, anyway? Is it Mayura?"

"No. When I was four, one chased me around the zoo. Three years later, one jumped out of a tree right in front of me and I swear to god was trying to crush me. Dad says the thing was stoned from all the marijuana in the air, and simply fell, but I beg to differ." (A/N: I am not kidding, that really happened to me, and I had to add it to Zoe's character, to add some amusement with Mayura.) She unmuted the tablet and was met with the sight of Nora spitting out her drink.

"Oh no! Baguette and Cappie can go with the Cellphone Twins if they want, but you're staying here." She crushed the milk carton under her hand, "It's way too dangerous."

So what Zoe got from that was Nora being a protective older sister, but didn't know their names. Still, she might use those names herself, they were kind of great.

"But Nora—I mean, Anansi, you can't do that!" She heard Marinette say.

"Yeah, no way dude, we're not going without Alya!" Take a hint at who said that one.

"Listen, I appreciate you worrying about me and all, but I'm not a little girl anymore. Besides, Mom and Dad are totally cool with it." Alya said. Zoe frowned, she was honestly agreeing with Nora on this one, not that she wanted Alya stuck at home. If it were her talking to Adrien right now, with him in the hospital, upon learning akumas could be truly dangerous, and he weren't a superhero, she herself would be reluctant; she wouldn't keep his inside all the time like his dick of a father, but she would at least be cautious, and wait for him to get out of the hospital.

"Tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk, there have been way too many akumatized peeps in Paris these last few weeks. Look how many times you've been in direct danger. So, you're staying home, safe and sound, period!"

"That's so ridiculous!" Alya retorted, "The twins were akumatized right here at home."

"And Volpina flew into my house to try kidnapping me," Adrien added, "and Simon Says managed to take down the security system and successfully kidnapped my father. I don't think being at home changes anything."

"Well, none of that would've never happened on my watch. I won't let anybody mess with my family. As for your situation, Cellphone Boy, if I was your sister it would still apply." Zoe found herself taking quite a liking to Nora, except for the spider thing.

"You mean like the other day at the square?" Alya said dryly.

"What happened?" Zoe asked, handing Adrien some jello for him to eat, because it was the only thing remotely sugary for him to eat to fatten him up—because he was purely muscle, not fat, very obviously malnourished. He did, but continued watching the screen, only to look away and close his eyes, so Zoe turned the brightness down some more.

"Well… we came across a man handing out flyers," Marinette explained, "Nora thought the man was akumatized and wanted to turn Alya into a banana-zombie."

Zoe laughed quietly, "To be fair, that would not win the award of strangest akuma we've had. Remember the STD zombies? Or the Pigeon Man? Or Reflekta? Do I need to keep going?"

Nora pointed to the phone, as though thanking her, "Thank you! How was I supposed to know it was some stupid costume? And besides, what would happen if the Ferris wheel stopped working 'cause some akumatized dude refused to pay his fare? Once you fly-weights can actually defend yourselves like me," she proceeded to flex, "we'll talk about it."

"It doesn't matter," Marinette said, "because Ladybug, Cat Noir and Fireheart would save us if there were any problems."

"Uh-huh. And what if Mister Whiskers is catching a mouse or still at the vet with pneumonia, that Beetle's been sprayed with bug spray, and the Fire-Breathing Bitch decides to kill everyone? What do you do then? Remember what happened to the Agreste kids when Style Queen attacked," She pointed at Adrien, "I'm looking at the bandage wrapped around his head." Zoe was still enjoying Nora and made a mental note to meet her in person. Plus, she had been referred to as a Fire-Breathing Bitch! All she needed to do now was get 'Queen' added to the title and she would achieve Aelin Galanthynius status! Fire-Breathing Bitch Queen! Yes!

"I can protect Alya if I have to." Nino said, and Zoe immediately realized this as the episode where Carapace was introduced.

"Oh yeah? And how exactly are you planning to defeat the villain? A dance-off?" She laughed, and Zoe crossed her arms,

"Hey, that's how they did it in Guardians of the Galaxy."

Adrien rolled his eyes, but looked back to the screen as Nino spoke, "I'd… do anything to protect Alya."

"Hmm, ha! Okay, Alya can go out with you guys…" Nora placed her elbow on the table, "if… you beat me at an arm wrestle."

"Please, don't arm-wrestle on my account. I don't need to be protected."

Zoe sighed, "Nora, how about you go with us? That way we can be protected. Because I can see it now," she made her voice deeper to impersonate Nora in a similar fashion to how she mimicked the voices of every character of every pop-culture she ever watched, "How did this little fly-weight win?! I have been cheated!" In her normal voice, "I know that's nothing like you, Nora, I'm just proving a point. But the point is, you'd get akumatized, and then the superheroes would have to get off their asses and do shit. If you're there, at least you would have peace of mind."

Nora just blinked at her, "Let me guess, you're a protective sister as well. Because that's a great idea."

"Indeed, I am, and thank you."

Alya hugged Nora, "Awesome! I can't remember I spent some time with my big sis."

So, they all went to the fireworks, no akuma caused.

It was only after that did Zoe realize she had just stopped Nino from becoming Carapace. Shit. Well, there was always another time.

OoOoO

A week after that, Adrien was finally discharged from the hospital. Another three days after that was him returning to school. They had made an agreement that he would not fight any akuma unless 110% necessary, for one attack—but necessary meant something like Ladybug being down, evil, or anything that required assistance that meant Chloe otherwise—because he still got dizzy spells and headaches; and he had to wear sunglasses to avoid light.

Right now, they were watching the most pathetic thing they had ever seen.

Because Zoe was only half paying attention, it boiled down to Chloe failing to cosplay as Queen Bee and Ladybug, trying to promote herself. Even though she hadn't used the wig for Ladybug, kept her sunglasses for Queen Bee, and let's not forget Fireheart had exploited how horrible a superhero she was, risking lives to gain fame.

"That's not Ladybug," Ivan shouted, "that's you, Chloe!" The entire class, short of Adrien—who was pinching the bridge of his nose in hopes of avoiding a headache, because massaging temples still hurt like a bitch, and he still had the bandage wrap around his head—and Zoe—who was thinking about nothing in particular, doodling pawprints and ladybugs on Adrien's cast subconsciously; anyway, they all started laughing.

"Of course, that's the real Ladybug!" Zoe looked up, looking to Adrien, who was now shutting his eyes, sensing where one comment would lead. Here comes Malediktator. Fucking dicks. Maybe if they were lucky, someone could prevent it like Zoe had managed to prevent Anansi.

"But Chloe," Miss Bustier asked, "could you tell me why you chose to do an assignment about yourself? Uh—I mean, about Queen Bee?"

"Well, our assignment was to choose an important person in French history and I actually saved France. Even Ladybug says so…" She clicked a button on the remote and the Chloe dressed as Ladybug, spoke,

"Queen Bee really makes us stronger, she truly is Miraculous."

Both Adrien and Zoe narrowed their eyes at the bad pun, like, truly bad, uncalled for, pun.

"Chloe, it's so obvious that's you dressed up as Ladybug. You didn't even bother to match your hair color."

Zoe had to say something, "Remember Frightengale? I know for a fact you have a Ladybug wig. And that was not even three weeks ago, I don't think that counts as history."

"Uh… she… just… dyed her hair blonde to look like me." the entire class started laughing again, "Ugh, you're all a bunch of losers!" She looked towards Adrien, who was closing his eyes, trying to subtly cover his ears, "Except you, Adrikins. None of you deserve to see the rest of my documentary."

"Oh, what a shame." Marinette said sarcastically, likely louder than intended, as she immediately realized what she just said and looked shocked; the class laughed harder as Marinette covered her mouth with her hands. Adrien slipped a note across the bench to Zoe

If I pretend to faint, can you get us out of here before someone gets akumatized, or I really do faint? I need to take some more pain killers before I can deal with this shit.

Zoe nodded, smirking lightly, as Adrien let out a choked scream, closing his eyes just enough to give the impression of his eyes rolling into the back of his head—thank you plan to get Gabriel to stop being Hawk Moth #396—slumping into Zoe's supposedly unsuspecting arms.

"Adrien!" Everyone gasped, and Nino jumped up in alarm, as well as Marinette. Zoe made a show of checking his pulse and doing a blanch test, as well as a couple other fancy things that didn't really do shit, but made things look more dramatic than they really were—thank you plan #142—before picking him up in a one-arm carry (also known as bridal style) walking out of the classroom,

"I know the period isn't over, but do you really want to leave the kid who just collapsed because you all were being loud and irritating, and has still-mending cracks in his skull, here? And away from pain killers? I think not. At least I will be back by lunch, hopefully with Adrien." Miss Bustier didn't stop her as she walked into the courtyard, explaining the situation to Natalie—the almost fainting, not the faking to escape—and she came to get them.

They got home and shut all the windows in Adrien's room, letting him rest on bed, Zoe as well.

"Thanks, Zo. I was getting dark spots."

"No problem."

They sat together for a bit, Zoe reading him her favorite book she had read with her Dad when she herself had a migraine: Kill the Farm Boy. She used her funny voices in the impression of an audio book, while he closed his eyes. When his breathing evened out, she sat there with him, her mind swirling with thoughts.

Contrary to popular belief, Zoe had never hated Chloe, but had strongly disliked her. But upon meeting Audrey, and seeing their relationship, she had begun to understand. She realized Chloe's biggest problem was that she had grown up in an environment where bad behavior and bullying others was a good thing. Her mother could be rude, bossy and plain cruel and no one except Natalie tried to fight against her, because of her position. Chloe looked up her mother, so obviously, she wanted to be just like her. Meaning when people called her out, Chloe didn't understand why people hated her. Her mother got only praise and good treatment for acting like she was the queen of the world—unless you bring up the getting decapitated. It was only natural Chloe thought that the problem was in others, and she needed to learn that being nice, polite and all in all good person led to people to like her more.

She also knew the change wasn't going to happen overnight. In real life, change like that would take years. Maybe if she roped Chloe into the basics of their two-person shitty parent club, teach her that her mother could suck it, and independence was key.

Adrien slept for about two hours, before slowly waking up,

"What time is it…?"

Zoe checked her phone, "Ten after lunch. Are you up to it? Because I could just get your homework."

"No, I'm feeling good enough." He stood up, leaning on the wall for support as vertigo hit him, before grabbing an Advil, swallowing it. Zoe handed him a bag of chips and a bread roll—what? She only had snack food around—he ate it and they had Gorilla drive them back to school.

They entered the courtyard to find everyone cheering, and celebrating.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Adrien asked, "What are we celebrating?"

Marinette turned, "You're alright!" She sighed in relief, "As to what we're celebrating, Chloe's gone! She's moving to New York!

Adrien suddenly looked really sad, "Chloe left…? For good?" Zoe frowned, because she knew Chloe would be back by the end of the episode, but not saying goodbye to Adrien of all people was just plain rude.

Marinette was still excited, not realizing Adrien was not sharing everyone else's enthusiasm, and Zoe had a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, "Yeah! Isn't it great?"

"Uh… no." Adrien turned to her, actually taking off the sunglasses to ensure eye-contact even though his eyes still couldn't properly dilate yet, leading to him quickly putting them back on, "I think it's terrible! How can you celebrate a thing like that?"

"But, Chloe's a total brat to everyone. She was useless anyway." Ouch. That was low, even to Zoe, who was fully ready to kill Chloe's mother—she still had a week and a half before estimated recovery from her Brief Psychotic Disorder, it had gotten better, but Gabriel and Audrey were not yet safe.

"Nobody's useless," Adrien retaliated, "not even Chloe. When I was little and wasn't allowed out, she was the only friend I had. She left angry and unhappy. I can't celebrate that." He walked into the locker room sadly, Zoe about to follow him when she heard Marinette say,

"I'm really sorry, Adrien."

Zoe just shrugged to her, and did follow him, finding he had turned off the lights. He was crying.

"Adrien?" She sat down beside him on the floor, letting him cry on her shoulder, "Come on, let it out. I've got you, I've got you. Chloe's going to be back in a little bit, I promise."

Adrien looked up at her with red eyes, "You think so?"

"I know so. We still have Heroes' Day. If this was the finale, I wouldn't be so sure, but we still have roughly four episodes before that." She wondered why she sounded so gentle, not a hint of her usual sarcasm. But she realized Adrien had made her a better person, she would not have done something like this at home for anyone but Eden and maybe Sam. God, she did really miss them, but she tried to not think about it. "Do you want to go back home for the day?" They both heard Nino DJing outside, "Speaking as someone who gets migraines, I think this will be too loud for you. Or do you want me to just read Kill the Farm Boy in here?"

He couldn't respond before they heard the sound of a helicopter outside, Adrien clamped his hands over his ears, and Zoe pulled out two large pairs of headphones from her bag, putting one over Adrien's ears, and one over her own. Her Dad had had these, they could literally block out a gunshot.

Next thing they knew, people were storming in and wrecking everything. Zoe saw Marinette run in, likely to transform, so Zoe took Adrien in the other direction,

"Adrien, I think we'll have to do shit. Blazze, Wings Out!"

"Plagg, Claws out." Suddenly he looked like a huge burden had been lifted, "Holy shit, I feel better than I have since before the fashion show."

Okay, that did technically make sense. Fireheart just prayed it would last. They ran out and saw people completely destroying the school,

They stood on the helicopter rotors for dramatic effect, "Hey, you! Do you have a demolition permit for this school?" No really, did he? Probably not. But it would be interesting to see that happen.

"I don't need a permit. I am Malediktator, the all-powerful supermayor of Paris, and this is my city."

"It does not, asshole. Even if it was; only until you get assassinated or impeached!" Fireheart snapped, as Ladybug joined them,

"Paris is our city! It belongs to everyone."

Ladybug started the battle, landing right in front of Malediktator with her yo-yo. He punched, or tried to, but she dodged. Cat Noir hit him on the head with his staff while Fireheart used her fire-shields to make him stumble. Malediktator eventually—after like five minutes—succeeded in grabbing Cat Noir's staff and threw him away, though Fireheart was able to roll him away from the wall, both getting back up to their feet. Malediktator grabbed a wooden bench to try and smash Ladybug, who dodged, but did release her hold on Malediktator's wrist, which had been tied back with her yo-yo.

"By the power vested in me, I declare that your Miraculous are my property!" He created three orbs and sent them after Ladybug, Cat Noir and Fireheart, who dodged them; however, the orbs kept up their pursuit and the heroes fled to the roof, until Fireheart destroyed them with her shields. She smirked as she realized she was so OP she sometimes forgot parts of her powers.

"It's time we impeach him and declare him powerless!"

"The akuma has to be in his sash." Ladybug suggested, "Lucky Charm!" An abacus appeared, "An abacus?"

"While you figure that out, I'll take care of Malediktator. Come on, Fire." He stood up, jumping down for the attack.

"Cat Noir, wait!" Both women shouted, but it was too late, because they saw him get hit by a bubble. His attitude instantly changed. He starts acting like his namesake, a cat. He chased a toilet roll over to Audrey."

"Oh no!"

"Ah, fucking dicks! Every damn time!"

Malediktator walked up to Cat Noir, whose cheek was being stroked by Audrey, making Fireheart realized Malediktator had probably made her not-a-bitch and was wishing he could have done that before. As Malediktator approached, Cat Noir hid behind Audrey.

"Cat Noir!" Fireheart shouted, about to go down there to help him, but Ladybug grabbed her wrist.

Malediktator reached for Cat Noir's Miraculous, but Cat Noir clawed at him, and Malediktator backed off.

"Kitty still has claws!" She assured, "Hold on, Cat Noir, we'll be right back!" She swung off, followed by Fireheart flying after her.

They both detransformed in front of Master Fu's shop and Marinette burst in, "Master Fu! A villain has transformed Cat Noir… into a cat!"

"And he's still recovering!" Zoe added, "If his transformation wears out, he might get worse! Who knows what Hawk Moth would do!" Marinette gasped, clearly not having thought of that.

"What?! But… perhaps you shouldn't have left him by himself. He's at Hawk Moth's mercy!"

"Thank you!" Zoe said, "Shall I go back with my halberd and kill him? I need to rescue kitty, and take care for Adrien! Do you understand how hard it is to babysit them?" Babysitting one was hard enough at times, the idea of there being two made her want to jump out a window sometimes.

"I know, but the Lucky Charm led me here!"

"And the Lucky Charm never fails."

"Sure it does." Zoe muttered, "What about last time she came here for the Bee?" Master Fu ignored her and grabbed the Miracle Box and placed it before Marinette and Zoe, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Zoe Carpenter, pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you on this mission. Choose wisely; such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over, you'll retrieve the Miraculous from them."

Marinette put a finger under her chin, "I must choose someone who's not impressed by people in power. Who can help me trap Malediktator."

"You mean me?" Zoe asked, "I still want to kill Audrey. Painfully."

"But we need someone to stun—Of course! That's it." She reached for the Bee, before recoiling from it, "Wait, what am I thinking?"

Zoe looked down at it, "The plot pushing part of me tells me to tell you to follow your instincts. The logical part of me tells you that's a terrible idea, Marinette."

Marinette picked up the Bee Miraculous.

"Are you sure you want to give it back to… her?" Master Fu asked, "Because I'm with Zoe on this one."

"Don't worry, Master; I know how to make good use of it this time." She ran off and Zoe tugged at her dark locks before running after her. This was stupid. In her mind, running was reserved for when one is late, or who something horrid is chasing you. Neither of which was currently happening, but would be if they went through with this plan. But Adrien needed her, so she'd run.

Fortunately, she had always been the fastest of her class—that did not mean she had the best endurance, but being a cartoon character assisted with that little problem—so she was able to catch up with Marinette quickly.

"Mari! Wait up!" She was fast, but so was Marinette, and she had gotten a head-start. She finally caught up and Marinette turned towards her while running,

"I gotta find Chloe before Malediktator." She whipped out her phone, still running while Zoe guided her, until she pointed, "Look!"

She pointed at Marinette's parents, walking the streets with suitcases in their hands. They both slowed

"Uh… uh… what are they doing? Mom! Dad!"

"Ah, Marinette." Tom said cheerfully, "A man named Malediktator was looking for you. Thanks to him, we're leaving Paris forever."

Sabine nodded, "Come with us, honey. Last one there is a big slow snail!" They walked off and Zoe gritted her teeth together.

"Did Chloe try to get you banished from Paris? Are you positive this is a good idea?"

"Your poor parents." Tikki said, "We really have to stop Malediktator."

Marinette looked between them, "I know it's questionable, and we have to stop Malediktator, but we've got find Chloe first. Her Venom attack with be extremely helpful." She looked at her phone again, "She talked about her secret lair in her documentary. Hmm. Wait a minute. I know where her lair is!"

"It's the roof on Le Grand Paris, doy. Even I could tell, and I wasn't paying attention."

Marinette stared at her, "Okay, let's go."

Five minutes I'm too lazy to write later

Fireheart and Ladybug landed on the roof, just as Chloe came up the stairs and saw them, then fell on her ass trying to stop in time.

"Are you okay?" Ladybug asked, Fireheart looking her up and down, "She's fine."

"Ladybug, finally! You're going to help me, right?" She backed up from Fireheart a bit.

"I'm fine with helping you, Chloe," Ladybug said, shocking Fireheart, "but first… I need you to tell me what happened. Why is your father—I mean, Malediktator, so mad?"

"It's because of this super lame loser named Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She's this horrible girl in my class and she hates me." Fireheart sat down as well, seeing Ladybug looked angry, but then contained her feelings, "She's ganged everyone up against me and she—"

Fireheart crossed her arms, "Maybe Marinette isn't entirely to blame? Need I remind you the events two weeks ago."

"Uh! Ugh. Okay, it wasn't totally Marinette's fault. She is really mean to me sometimes, but actually, this time, Daddy got angry all by himself."

Not even Ladybug bought it, "All by himself?"

"Yeah, because… there was something he couldn't do…"

"Was it banish Marinette? Because we saw her parents leaving 'forever' after seeing Malediktator."

Chloe's eyes widened, but she didn't answer as Ladybug put a hand on her shoulder,

"Chloe, it's me, Ladybug. You can trust me. You can tell me the truth."

"I—I—"

"Mm-hmm."

There were genuine tears falling from Chloe's eyes, "Fireheart's right. It—it was me. I hurt my daddy's feelings. Because I want to leave Paris, forever."

"Because of what happened in school?" Ladybug asked, "I'm sure Marinette probably didn't exactly mean what she said."

"Oh, it's not just her—actually, I don't even care about her—it's because I have no reason to be here: nobody likes me, I have no friends, I'm… useless." Damn. That was slightly depressing. But it wasn't unfair.

Ladybug smiled, "A friend once told me: nobody is useless, Chloe."

"It's easy for you to say that. You're Ladybug, a superhero. You serve a purpose."

"Yes, I can fix up all the messes. You said it yourself in your documentary."

Chloe gasped, "You saw it?!"

"Who hasn't?" Fireheart asked rhetorically, "It's on YouTube. Cat Noir and I have seen it too."

Chloe looked away from them, "Oh! I'm so embarrassed. That film's ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. I realize that now."

"Don't worry Chloe." Ladybug assured, "You can fix your own messes, if that's what you want. You, too, can serve a purpose, but you have to want to."

Chloe sniffled "I do want to."

Ladybug pulled out the Miraculous box, "Chloe Bourgeois, here is the Bee Miraculous, which grants you the power to immobilize your opponent. You will use it for the greater good. Or Fireheart will beat you, she's a loose cannon, I cannot control her. The only one who can is Cat Noir, and he's in trouble."

Chloe hesitated, Ladybug nodded approvingly, while Fireheart just shrugged; Chloe took the box and opens it; a yellow ball of light flew around her, and Pollen appeared.

"At your service, my Queen."

"Once the job is complete, you will return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you, Chloe?"

Chloe put the hair comb in her hair, "I won't disappoint you this time, Ladybug. Pollen, buzz on!" She transformed, and she and Ladybug ran across the rooftops while Fireheart flew beside them.

"I've always dreamed of doing this… with you!"

"We must work together as a team, all right, Queen Bee? And Fireheart, what's the rule."

Fireheart groaned, "No murder."

Queen Bee looked alarmed at that being a rule, "Yes, yes, don't worry. I've been practicing since forever." As if on cue, Ladybug pulled Queen Bee aside, before she could run into a chimney. They kept running.

The sun set alarmingly fast, and they saw Malediktator sitting atop the Hôtel de Ville, surrounded by shielded policemen. The trio of women landed across from the building on a roof. Fortunately, Fireheart saw Cat Noir, still with his active Miraculous, sleeping peacefully.

"Here's the plan—"

Queen Bee stood up, shouting, "Here I am, Daddy! I'm sorry I hurt your feelings the way I did. Stop all this nonsense at once!"

"My honey pie," Audrey shouted back, "you look so pretty in that suit!" Not wrong, but weird coming out of Audrey's mouth.

"Ugh! And please put Mom back to normal. I can't bear to see her like this. Your powers are ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous."

"That's enough!" Malediktator roared, "Now you're going to do what I tell you to do. By the power vested in me, give me your Miraculous!" He shot the orbs the heroes' way. Fireheart blocked them with her shields as Ladybug and Queen Bee jumped up and launched their respective weapons at Malediktator. Both attacks got blocked by a wall of shields.

Ladybug moved in, trying to kick this time, but got blocked by shields again. Queen Bee was fighting some policemen alongside Fireheart and winning. Ladybug swung herself around the building and launched herself in the air, attempting an attack from above. The attack was, however, blocked again by shields. Not even Fireheart would have had a chance to use her Dragon Flame.

Malediktator watched this for a bit, before throwing his hands up, "By the power vested in me, I declare you all my slaves!" He suddenly made a big ass orb.

"That bubble is going to be a tough one to dodge!"

"He's gonna take over the whole city!" The trio tried attacking again, but alas, the shields did their job well, "Queen Bee, you need to get past his guards. Lucky Charm!" A huge gun with laser sight appeared.

Queen Bee didn't hesitate to hide as far away from Fireheart as possible, "Well, that's an effective Lucky Charm! Don't give it to Fireheart."

But Fireheart had already snatched it, seeing a perfect use for it. She used the eye-piece to get a better view, ready to activate the laser. Ladybug gasped at the idea, and Queen Bee activated Venom.

"Focus on Malediktator;" Fireheart said, "Kitty and I will deal with the guards." She activated the laser in front of Cat Noir who started chasing it. She made a mental note to try this on a normal day as he jumped on the back of every policeman to throw them off the building. Malediktator noticed but couldn't intervene as he was still making the orb.

After Cat Noir was done, only he, Malediktator and Audrey were still on the elevated platform. But this provided enough distraction for Queen Bee to jump up,

"Sorry, Daddy!" She stung Malediktator on his sash; he lets out a girlish squeal. The orb he was creating disappeared as Queen Bee threw the sash to Ladybug, "Your turn, Ladybug."

Ladybug caught it and broke it in half like it was nothing—though it was fabric, so yeah—the akuma fluttered out, and she did her usual thing, turning Cat Noir back to normal and teleporting the policemen, Malediktator and Audrey back down, after which Malediktator turned back into Andre.

Audrey was clearly back her old self again, "Wha—? What are we doing here?! What have you done this time, Andre?"

Cat Noir walked up to them, earning a hug from Fireheart, "Ah, bummer; don't tell me I missed out on the party."

"Yep, you missed Queen Bee, Fireheart and Ladybug saving Paris, for real this time." She too, hugged him, "I was worried about you when Fireheart told me you were sick."

Cat Noir was blushing furiously, until Queen Bee detransformed, "I understand, Ladybug." She gave back her Miraculous, "Being a superhero isn't only about fixing messes." Ladybug held up her hand in a fist; Chloe gasps and smiled as they bumped fists, while Cat Noir and Fireheart did it themselves.

"Sorry, M'Lady. Feel like I was pretty useless this time around."

Ladybug grinned as Chloe ran off to her family, "Actually, you were totally key in defeating Malediktator."

"Really? Tell me all about it!"

Ladybug's Miraculous beeped, "Next time. Bug out!" She swung off, and Fireheart smirked, revealing she had tied her hair into a high bun, because the band held a Go-Pro, "You needed to see it, so it's all recorded."

OoOoO

The next day, there was yet another party was going on at school. Marinette and Chloe arrived.

"All right, I came to your stupid party… now what?"

"Look there," Marinette said, "we're having a party in honor of the girl who saved Paris: Queen Bee!"

Chloe gasped "But—Queen Bee is… me. You're— you're having a party… for me?" She then talked to Sabrina and showed a bunch of people a glowing box. Adrien began talking to Marinette, while Zoe dragged Chloe to a quiet corner, making her decision.

"Ah! Zoe…"

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk." Chloe still didn't look convinced, and Zoe sighed, "I expected that. I wanted to invite you over this weekend, Adrien and I have a little club, because we both have or had a singular shitty parent we changed ourselves for. Want to join?"

Chloe was taken aback, "Shitty parent? Both my parent are—" Zoe's expression made her point clear, "Oh. You mean my mother."

"You know Chloe, you and I aren't so different in some ways." Zoe said, "We both are good people deep down, but hide behind being a bitch, and Adrien and Marinette have both seen through us. You have the potential to be loved by everyone—and I know about your doubts, because I have those doubts sometimes too—but you can't change yourself to be exactly like your mother. Come over, Chloe, play some video games and eat junk food with us, unburden your problems." She smiled, seeing Chloe looking shocked, and happy, "Adrien cares about you, and I saw that you tried to help the two of us when Style Queen came." She smirked, "And I'm stubborn as hell, don't think I'll give up."

Chloe smiled, looking towards where Adrien and Marinette were laughing together, "I'd like that, Zoe."

"Call me Zo, or Satan. Both names fit."

That caused Chloe to genuinely laugh, and not her weird bitchy laugh, "Fine then, Satan."

"Come on, let's get back to the party."

OoOoO

This had not been how she expected the reveal to go. She had planned on telling Adrien Ladybug's secret identity, but she had not expected it to go like this.

She had been editing the video of Malediktator when Adrien came in. But she had transformed and turned on the camera before Marinette had transformed, and any intellectually capable reader would correctly guess that Adrien walked in just as that part was playing.

Zoe was unsure what his response would be. But never in a million years did she think this was it. Because he wrapped his head around the fact Marinette was Ladybug…

And panicked.

"Marinette is Ladybug…" He muttered for the thirty-seventh time—she had counted— "Oh shit…on a good day I can almost believe I have a shot with Ladybug. She's dazzling and incredible, sure, but she's stubborn and she laughs at my dumb jokes, and I've seen her faceplant into the Seine. She's a superhero, but I'm also a superhero, so that can balance out." He inhaled deeply, only to continue,

"But Marinette Dupain-Cheng?! There is no way I'm cool enough for Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Marinette is objectively the most popular girl in out grade, Zoe; everyone has had a crush on her at least once!" He broke out in a cold sweat while Zoe filmed this, eating popcorn with zero shame, muttering various 'mhms' and 'okays'.

"Marinette is tough as nails, okay! She stands up for what's right in every situation! She's faced down akumas without the suit! She even confronts CHLOE! The only other person to do that, is you, Zo, YOU! AND ONLY, BECAUSE YOU DON'T GIVE A SHIT! Oh god…" He had lapped the room a good three times now, even using the zipline twice, though how with a broken wrist was a mystery, did he just use one hand?

"Without a doubt," he continued, "Marinette is the most talented person in the damn school. She has a million passions and wins every contest she enters, whether or not it's for fashion or video games of the student council!"

"Because of main character syndrome." Zoe muttered under her breath, but he either didn't hear, or didn't care.

"Marinette designed an album cover for JAGGED STONE with the was THIRTEEN FUCKING YEARS OLD! I asked her for an AUTOGRAPH! OH FUCK, OH FUCK, OH FUCK! Zo, she's even more incredible without the suit, what the fuck do I do!?" Zoe was now clutching her stomach, laughing, while the kwamis ate the popcorn, also laughing.

"THIS IS A CRISIS, GUYS! HOW DO NONE OF YOU SEE THAT THIS IS A CRISIS!? STOP LAUGHING!" That only made them laugh harder.

Zoe took gasping breaths, relived that his own shrieking hadn't done him in, but way too amused by this conversation for her own good.

"Oh kitty, this is going to be fun."

A/N: And there we go. The next chapter will be the Shitty Parent Club.

Also, I made another bet with Paula, and this time we need everyone's help. She bet that nobody would succeed in drawing Zoe, and even though I thought it was a joke at the time, I bet against. Photoshop is one thing, but fifty dollars and a month without doing the dishes in on the line! And the dishes always get nasty. Please help. Just let me know if you accept the challenge. And Paula wants me to tell you all that she loves you (I think she's trying to sweet talk you all into convincing me to let her write a chapter, but she is grateful to the people who read her stories).

Also, Carapace will appear in a later chapter, I just feel Anansi could have been easily avoided.

Anyway! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

And as a little token of my appreciation for being patient during the hiatus, here is the title for the Frozer based episode:

She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me—shit, a Villain.