Chapter Fifty-Five

The insistent vibrating of Marinette's phone had her scowling. She'd switched it to silent to avoid the ringtone but the screen continued to flash, annoying her kwami. "I don't understand why Chloe is so persistent."

Tikki tilted her head to view the screen. "She's just sent a text message. Wait, it says Adrien has her phone. He's trying to ring you."

"Why would Adrien be using Chloe's phone?" Marinette wondered as her nose crinkled in confusion.

"Does it matter, he's trying to get a hold of you."

Snapping out of her funk, Marinette snagged the phone just as it started ringing again. "Hello?"

"Thank God, you answered." Came Adrien's strained yet relieved voice.

"What's wrong?"

"Long story short, my father has my miraculous. Well, the cat miraculous. I still have the bee miraculous and Pollen." Adrien sucked in a breath. "Father has transformed using both the cat and butterfly miraculous. He's calling himself Kittyhawk."

Marinette snorted, "What?"

"You heard me, Kittyhawk. I know it's a terrible name but when you see him, you'll understand why."

"Does this mean he has the power of both miraculous?" Marinette looked pointedly at Tikki who nodded. "Crap, Tikki is confirming that he does."

Adrien made a noise of disgust. "Just great, now he can create akumas and destroy stuff."

"We need to stop him before he evokes either power." Marinette stood from her hiding place, edging towards the mansion. "Where are you?"

"That's not important, at this point I'm the wildcard. You need to come to me to fight Hawkmoth, I mean Kittyhawk. I can assist you if you're in the mansion." There was something he wasn't saying and it put Marinette on edge. Before she could ask, he added, "Chloe is here. That's why I'm ringing on her phone. She has no idea what's going on. What's weirder is she actually tried to give me a genuine apology. I'm not sure I'm buying it though."

"She probably wants something from you, like your soul or your hand in marriage." A wry smile spread across Marinette's face, she couldn't wait to hear her partner's response to that.

Sure enough, he didn't fail to deliver. "There's only one girl I want to marry, and I'm talking to her. Although we're a little young yet."

"Consider it something to aspire to, you know in the five to ten year plan."

"Put it in the five year plan, I'm not willing to have you snaffled away by someone else."

Grinning, Marinette faltered when she saw the pointed look Tikki was giving her. "As fun as this is, we've got a supervillain to take down." She winced, she knew it had to be hard on him. "Sorry Adrien."

"It's okay. After the weird crap I've just been witness to, I'm pretty sure that's the best course of action for my father."

Marinette didn't bother asking. She could only imagine the awful scenario Adrien was put in when Gabriel gave his justification for behaving in such a despicable way. "Should I come in or out of costume?"

"I think he knows who you are, be on the offensive. Kick ass, milady." The conviction in his voice boosted her confidence.

Without needing further coaxing, Marinette found a secluded spot and transformed.


Within his hidden lair, Kittyhawk patiently waited. His hidden eyes were locked onto the tracker in his hand and a sinister smile tugged at his lips. Ladybug had just transformed and was heading to the mansion. This was going to be a piece of cake. Closing the baton, Kittyhawk placed it at his back and summoned forth a white butterfly.

On a floor below, Chloe's temper was simmering at the annoying busywork she had to do and it was starting to peak into ire as she realised her phone was missing. "Perfect," Kittyhawk uttered as he imbued the small vessel with his power. "Fly away little butterfly and corrupt her already dark heart."

The tainted butterfly was the usual deep purple but veins of green streaked it wings. It fluttered through the spherical window and out of the mansion, curving in an arch to enter a lower open door. Chloe was cursing under her breath as she rummaged through her hand bag, then froze as the akuma touched the object in her hands, connecting her with Kittyhawk.

"Queen Chaos, I'm am Kittyhawk."

"Kittyhawk? I thought you were Hawkmoth."

"I've had a boost in powers my young friend."

"And this matters to me how?" she snarked.

"You want retribution and a chance to escape the punishment you've been issued. I'm giving you the power to destroy anything you deem fit. One touch of your handbag and it turns the object brushed to ash."

"Oh, I like this." The brat grinned something fierce. And with that Chloe was transformed. The girl's attire changed from light to dark. Her body was encased in a tight purple costume, highlighted with a sequined green and purple belt, matching gauntlets, boots, mask and of course handbag.

Kittyhawk's deep voice continued, "Now come to me and I'll make sure you get what you deserve."


Adrien was trying to slow his breathing. In order to hide effectively he had to stop panting. The poison was almost gone from his system but he felt drained. He'd managed to make his way upstairs and was hidden within his father's workspace. From his vantage point he studied the portrait of his mother, looking for the hidden buttons within the painting. The sound of the door opening had him leaning back behind the plinth displaying one of his father's designs.

He had expected Nathalie or even his father. What he didn't expect was an akuma victim with a remarkable resemblance to Chloe. He shouldn't have been surprised, Gabriel had made it clear she was part of his masterplan.

A variation of Hawkmoth's symbol flashed over her face as she communicated with Kittyhawk. Adrien overheard her akuma name was Queen Chaos and he wondered what powers she'd been granted. But his train of thought was cut short as she moved into position in front of the portrait of his mother. Sure enough, her gloved fingers quickly splayed to find the correct buttons and she stepped back as the platform in the floor whisked her away.

Adrien's eyes remained locked on the sequence of buttons, memorising them as he waited. He'd be following Queen Chaos soon enough but for now he needed to wait for his partner's signal. In his weakened state he needed to time things perfectly.


Ladybug swung with ease to the Agreste mansion. The metal iris on the large circular window was still damaged but mostly open. Carefully navigating her way around the serrated edges, she positioned herself beyond the glass on the rooftop. There was no doubt that her enemy would be waiting inside. Her dilemma now was in how and when she should contact Adrien. In transforming her day-to-day phone magically vanished into the ether, meaning she no longer had Chloe's number.

Should she track down Adrien inside? Ladybug didn't know how she was meant to communicate with him if he didn't take on the bee transformation. They hadn't gotten that far in planning. Tikki had assured her King Bee would have a communication device in his weapon, apparently the one linked to the bee miraculous was a spinning top. Ladybug wondered how that would work. But given her own weapon was the humble yoyo, she figured she couldn't throw stones.

Reaching for said yoyo, she flicked it open to her tracker to see if Adrien had transformed. He hadn't. Yet Chat Noir's beacon flashed on her screen, though the emblem was distorted and now circled in purple. It had to be Kittyhawk and he was where she suspected.

Lurking outside the massive window, Ladybug shimmed over and warily peered inside. The room was illuminated only by the light streaming in through the fractured glass. It was a wonder that her partner hadn't been more seriously injured when he'd fled this place.

The voice of her enemy boomed, "Lingering outside like a coward, Ladybug?"

"Hardly, I don't trust you. Especially after what you did to Chat Noir."

There was a touch of guilt in the man's tone. "His injuries were obtained by his own means. I did not inflict them upon him."

"No, you just verbally wound him on a regular basis." Ladybug narrowed her eyes as she located the lone figure in the shadows.

"Don't presume to know what happens in this household."

Scanning the room, Ladybug cautiously climbed higher to the side, skirting the edges. She was still reluctant to go inside. "I don't need to presume. I know," she snapped back.

Suddenly a hand snaked up from the bottom of the window, latching onto Ladybug's ankle and yanking her into the gloom. The unexpected move had the heroine tumbling down into the sinister space she was doing her best to avoid. On her back she watched as a darkly clad female loomed over her. "Chloe," she gasped.

"That's Queen Chaos to you." The girl raised her sparkling handbag of purple and green to swipe it against the yoyo in Ladybug's hand. In seconds it crumbled into ashen dust.

Ladybug's blue eyes widened and she rolled sideways to escape her additional foe. Kittyhawk stood with his hands on his cane, grinning maniacally as Queen Chaos herded Ladybug in his direction with the wave of her bag. The need for a substitute weapon became vital to the heroine, without her yoyo she couldn't even call up her lucky charm.

Launching to her feet, she hunkered low and rushed Kittyhawk to dive under his now raised arms while he attempted to whack her with his cane. Snaking around his back she snagged the baton that should have been Chat Noir's. Flicking it open, she swung it hard and swept Kittyhawk's feet from under him.

The villain landed with a gruelling thud. Ladybug stomped a foot on his sternum and snatched at his right hand, desperate to steal back the cat miraculous. Queen Chaos raced towards her, handbag raised and Ladybug jumped backwards to avoid its touch.

"Stop!" Kittyhawk ordered, "I need her earrings."

"Oh, and here I was thinking you actually disliked murder." Ladybug snarled as she rotated the staff in her hands protectively as Chat Noir would, although her skill at it was not as practiced as her partner's.

"I meant to swipe the staff," Queen Chaos interjected.

The pair of villains stalked towards her, backing Ladybug against the angular wall. Damn, she needed her partner to equalise the odds. Her best bet was to eliminate the akuma. Given the handbag was the weapon, Ladybug was certain it held the tainted butterfly. She feigned a leap towards Queen Chaos, but edged in the opposite direction, using her staff to hit against Kittyhawk's cane. The momentum sent his weapon hard against Queen Chaos' handbag, slashing the bag with its pointed end while the cane dematerialised seconds after contact. Effectively destroying both items.

With the akuma released, Queen Chaos disappeared and morphed back into a confused Chloe who dropped to her knees. "What happened?"

Ladybug didn't have time to answer, Kittyhawk's anger was ignited to a level beyond rage. The heroine tried to sidestep his attack but she was too slow. Kittyhawk crashed into her abdomen, tackling her to the ground where he pinned her arms to the floor with his knees. Triumph glinted in his masked eyes as he tugged the earrings from her lobes. "Finally, they are mine!"

The frantic twisting and squirming of Ladybug's body did nothing to dislodge her foe. Instead, Kittyhawk was fixated on his new prize. With a familiarity gleaned from the ancient book he'd stolen, Kittyhawk lodged the earrings into the side of the cat miraculous, making them one. A blinding flash of light seared the room and Kittyhawk yanked the butterfly miraculous from his shirt, tossing it across the room as he no longer needed it.

"Ultimate power, it's mine." The man chanted with crazed glee.


I know, you all hate me for leaving it on a cliffhanger. Unfortunately that was the natural end point for the chapter. I'll try not to leave you hanging too long. Please don't abuse the review box too badly, it has feelings too ;)