Disclaimer: I don't own ML.
Why yes, as much as I love Lady Noire with all my heart, I'm slightly creeped out by the fact that her outfit is a leather suit that's so skin-tight that it makes her boobs pop and her belly button visible. When she's FIFTEEN. (Or 14. I don't even know their ages anymore).
Thanks to LaViolaViolaRosa, Rose Tiger, The Dimensional Reader, bunnywabbit29, RockSunner, catsinblack, Shiranai Atsune, acosta perez jose ramiro, The Keeper of Worlds, yellow 14 and DragoonSensei for your reviews :)
His lady. Marinette. His lady is Marinette. How had Misterbug never seen it before? The same pigtails, dark as night; the same angular eyes that shine with a determined ferocity that's always struck him as familiar, even if he'd never quite figured out why. Even though those eyes are now the cat-like green of his when he's Chat Noir and her black hair falls down her back in a loose braid, she's still recognisably Ladybug. And she looks utterly incredible in her suit: a cropped, long-sleeved black qipao top with bright green lining and two small slits up both sides at the bottom, over what looks like black gloves and a tight black suit with thin green lines down her sides and outer thighs. She's also got a thin black belt with a green paw print on one side around her waist, along with knee-high black boots with green trim around the top and soles that appear to be green with black paw pads if Misterbug looks closely as they run.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng is stunning, no matter what guise she's in. How did he get so lucky as to fall for the same girl twice? All his feelings for Ladybug, died down to background noise since being with Marinette, are rushing back to him in full force, filling his veins with jittery little ladybugs instead of blood and warming him better than any expensive heating system ever could.
Of course, it's not a hundred percent certain. But honestly, who else could it be? Marinette trips down the stairs and hurts her left arm (although he's got doubts about that being an accident, after her recent run of bad luck), and Ladybug's left arm is hurt so badly that she can't be Ladybug? And every single time Marinette's been around, Ladybug hasn't been, and vice versa? The way she's been odd every time he's brought up Marinette? How she was conveniently out on a secret mission when Evillustrator was targeting Marinette? No; now that Misterbug's mind has connected the two girls, there's no way he can see Marinette and Ladybug as two different people.
But what's he supposed to do? He can't just up and tell her. She'd flip out if she knew. And…maybe he's just a bit scared. Maybe, after Marinette's confession about the ways in which she used to pursue Adrien, there's that fear that she'll not want to be with Chat Noir if she learns that they're the same people, especially since she's confided in him without the knowledge that he's the boy she was talking about. And considering that Marinette is one of Misterbug's best friends and he'd kill everyone in the room and then himself if anything happened to her, there's no way in hell he's going to do anything to risk losing her.
"Um, excuse me, what the hell?" says a familiar voice, cutting through Misterbug's thoughts. He and Lady Noire have finally made it outside, where there are vines and tendrils covering almost every inch of the place, plunging the courtyard into the quiet, breath-holding atmosphere of the heart of a forest. What the hell is this akuma annoyed about?
"Oh, hi, Honeybee!" Lady Noire says. "Chat and I decided to try switching our Miraculouses for a bit, to get accustomed to each other's powers."
"We – did! Yeah!" Misterbug says. "Misterbug and Lady Noire, at your service!"
Honeybee wrinkles her nose. "Eww. Ladybug looks way better in spots than as a mangy alley cat."
"Luckily for her, she doesn't have to give a fuck about what you think!" Rena Rouge says brightly as she lands beside Honeybee, while Carapace skids to a halt next to Lady Noire. Honeybee flips Rena Rouge off in response.
"Guys, focus!" Lady Noire easily slips into her role as the team leader. Another sign that Misterbug had missed! Marinette is class president; she's a natural leader! "What are we up against?"
"A hacked-off gardener, I think?" Rena Rouge says. "Called himself Tangleweed before he ran and got his plants to try and strangle the hell out of us."
"How do we find him, then?" Misterbug says. "With all these plants, he could be anywhere."
"Just follow the leafy green road, dude," Carapace says. Huh. Now that Misterbug looks closer, the vines and other plants do seem to be trailing from a common source outside what he assumes is the school gates, not that he can make sense of what's up and down in this place.
"Well," Misterbug says, "everything will be just vine once – ow!"
"Leave the puns to the clown, bugaboy," Lady Noire says with a charming little smile, retracting her baton after bopping him over the head with it.
"Okay, I take it back," Honeybee blurts out. "Lady Noire is just as hot as Ladybug, and feel free to stomp my head into the ground whenever you want. I'll totally thank you for it."
Lady Noire snorts at that. "I'll remember your offer. But let's take down Tangleweed before I go stomping on heads."
Following the road of plants leads them out of the school and into the streets of Paris, which have also been overrun and choked just like the courtyard. Once they're out of the school, however, following the plants is unnecessary to find Tangleweed. Unless Misterbug's sorely mistaken, the massive flower bud on the tip of the Eiffel Tower is most certainly the location of this akuma.
"If this is another Horrificator pod person thing, he better not be slimy," Honeybee says with another nose wrinkle. "Ick."
"I'd comment on that, but I'm afraid Lady Noire would hit me next," Rena Rouge says dryly.
"Damn right," Lady Noire says with a shit-eating grin. Fantastic. Is Plagg's bastard energy rubbing off on her? "Well, bugaboy, what's the plan?"
Misterbug blinks when his teammates turn to stare at him expectantly. "M-Me?" he stammers. "Aren't you the brains, milady?"
"Sure, when I'm Ladybug," Lady Noire says, twisting the tip of her boot on the ground coyly. Misterbug's heart nearly gives out at the sight because this is his gorgeous girlfriend Marinette he's talking to. "Come on, milord, I'm sure you can think of something."
"I'm gonna be sick," Rena Rouge mutters.
"Payback's a bitch," Lady Noire grins.
"Well, you don't have to watch me make out with my boyfriend! And ew, Ladybug watches me lock lips. I'm gonna make myself sick now."
"Guys, focus!" Misterbug whines. Lady Noire falls silent, though her green cat eyes continue to glitter with mischief. "D'you think we can get to Tangleweed ourselves? Or should I Charm it?"
"Not this early," Lady Noire says. "At least get closer and gather information. The Lucky Charm doesn't just give you what you want. You have to make do with what you get and figure out how to win the battle!"
"May I just repeat," Honeybee says, "please crush me into the ground."
"Come on!" Lady Noire spins her baton. "Let's go yank some weeds!"
"Hey, that's my line!" Misterbug complains as he leaps after her, followed by Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Honeybee. It's easy enough to make it to the Tower; the problems start when they try to scale it and a thick root appears out of nowhere and literally slaps Honeybee out of the air.
"Ah," Misterbug says. "Yes. Because this was going to be easy, just for me."
"You know, putting on this suit is probably the best thing I've ever done," Lady Noire says cheerfully and bats a massive tendril of grass away from Rena Rouge with her good arm, wincing as she does so.
"Stop being a bastard and help me figure this out!"
"Fine, fine. Let's try a distraction! Rena, Honey, keep him occupied. Misterbug, Carapace, and I will try and sneak around."
"I grow gayer every time you call me Honey," Honeybee says, then spins her trompo and leaps out onto a massive pink flower. "Hey! Planthead!"
"Look at Honeybee in her natural habitat!" Rena Rouge grins, stabbing a tendril with her flute. Honeybee shoots her a death glare.
"Come on!" Misterbug says. He, Lady Noire, and Carapace take off up the Tower, although Lady Noire noticeably winces every time she's forced to put weight on her injured arm. Oh. Shit. Misterbug had forgotten about that!
"I'm fine," Lady Noire huffs when she catches him staring. "Seriously."
"Forgive me if I don't believe that," Misterbug says. "Look, you can stay on the ground and –"
"Like hell! I can still fight, bugaboy!"
"Uh, am I missing something, dudes?" Carapace says.
"I just don't want you to hurt yourself even more!" Misterbug says.
"I don't need you to coddle me! I can – ah!"
Tangleweed seems to have finally clued in that he's getting a surprise visit from the rear. A vine lashes out and Lady Noire's forced to dodge with the reflexes of, well…a cat. But she's unprepared for the follow-up attack, especially as she hisses and cradles her arm to her chest, and she's knocked off the beam that she's clutching, hurtling towards the ground with a shrill scream as her staff clatters just out of reach.
"I got her!" Carapace says and dives after her before Misterbug can devolve into a panic attack at the sight of his lady plummeting off the Eiffel Tower. "Shellter!"
No. Focus! She can take care of herself. That's why you love her. Focus, Misterbug!
Right. New plan. He drops to scoop up Lady Noire's baton from the stray beam and then continues scaling the Tower, until he's at the tip and right next to the massive pink flower bud. This close, it looks like it's pulsating…wait, no, it is. Ew. Good thing Honeybee's not up here or she'd be pitching a fit.
"Right," Misterbug says, and takes advantage of Lady Noire not having her baton to add, "Time to nip this in the bud!" He shakes the baton to lengthen it, then jabs at the bud with a bellow…only to be grabbed by the ankles by a vine and hoisted into the air.
"Misterbug!" Lady Noire cries from on the ground as another tendril starts snaking towards his ears. "Use your Lucky Charm!"
Right! "Lucky Charm!" Warm power rushes through Misterbug as he bends up to toss his yo-yo, so unlike the cold energy of Cataclysm, and he's so preoccupied with this warmth that he almost misses the summoned item that floats back towards him. It's – "A feather? What am I supposed to do with this?"
Before he can start to think of a plan, though, there's a low groaning sound that splits the air. The tendril around his ankles loosens, almost as though in shock, and he drops off the creaking, leaning Tower like a stone and is forced to whip his yo-yo off and toss it back at one of the beams to arrest his fall.
"Well? What did it give you?" Lady Noire says once he's on the ground and can see the reason for his release: the bottom of the toppled Tower is corroded, just like whenever he uses his Cataclysm as Chat Noir. In response to her question, Misterbug holds out his hand to reveal the feather.
"I don't know what to do with it!" he says. "I mean, I thought of tickling it, but you'd do something totally different! It can't be that easy!"
Lady Noire hums and looks back at the collapsed Tower. "Well, I'd come up with some convoluted plan, but you're a simple, straightforward guy," she says. "Maybe it is that easy. But you can't just get up there and tickle the akuma without coming up with a plan, which is the whole point of the Lucky Charm."
"And we have to do it fast, dude," Carapace says. "I'm gonna change back in a few minutes. And so'll Lady Noire."
"Well, the obvious thing would be to have Rena keep it occupied with Mirage while I tickle the flower and Honeybee paralyses Tangleweed," Misterbug says slowly. "But it can't be that simple…right?"
"Why not?" Lady Noire says with a small grin. "It's still a plan. Carapace and I can help Rena Rouge keep him busy until our timers run out. Nice thinking, milord."
"Alright, let's freakin' do this." Rena Rouge twirls her flute and raises it to her lips to play a little tune. "Mirage!"
Birds. Her illusion is birds. Hundreds of them, flapping around Tangleweed's vines and vanishing in orange light when the vines touch them, but they seem to do the trick of keeping his attention focused away from the superheroes, as his vines start to lash out at them.
"Let's go!" Misterbug takes off running for the fallen Eiffel Tower with Honeybee, ducking and weaving through vines and flowers and leaves, batting them away when they react to his presence and try to grab him once again.
"Ew," Honeybee grimaces when she and Misterbug finally make it to the pulsating pink bud. "Gross."
"That's what I said," Misterbug says. "You ready?"
Honeybee steels herself and nods. "Venom!" she says and catches her throbbing trompo. Then she wrinkles her nose. "Ugh. I'm never gonna be able to look at my weapon the same way again."
"Get ready to pollinate this plant," Misterbug grins. Honeybee gives him such a venomous look that he's surprised he doesn't drop dead on the spot. "Fine, fine, I'll lay off the jokes."
"Just tickle the damn thing already!" Honeybee says. Sticking out his tongue – because okay, Adrien's technically not yet friends with Chloe again and she doesn't know he's Misterbug slash Chat Noir, but it's so much fun to mess with her – he steps up to the bud and starts to tickle it with the little red feather. The bud quivers, then shivers, then thrashes wildly and falls open to reveal the green-skinned man inside. Honeybee's on the case straight away, jabbing her trompo into Tangleweed's arm to freeze him on the spot.
"Nice," Misterbug says. "Where d'you think the akuma is?"
Honeybee raises an eyebrow. "Probably the shears he's very obviously holding in his left hand?" she says. Misterbug squints at Tangleweed. Oh. Right. That…would make sense. Biting down on a scathing retort, he grabs the shears and snaps them over his knee to release the evil purple and black butterfly.
"Don't forget to capture the akuma!" Lady Noire calls over from the base of the ruined Eiffel Tower.
"Hey, I've always wanted to do this!" Misterbug swipes open his yo-yo and tosses it at the akuma, capturing it and reeling it back in. "No more evildoing for you, little akuma! Time to de-evilise!"
"You are a massive dork and I hate that I'm in your presence," Honeybee says. Misterbug grins at her as he releases the now-white butterfly.
"Bye-bye, little butterfly!"
"Nope. Ladybug does it better. Don't even try."
"You could be just a little more encouraging, you know," Misterbug says.
"That would imply that I approve of you being a gigantic loser."
"Hmph. Don't be such a hater." Misterbug throws the feather into the air before Honeybee can retort, and when he calls, "Miraculous Misterbug!" the ladybug swarm surges around Paris, restoring the Eiffel Tower and other damaged buildings and vanishing any trace of Tangleweed's plants.
"Did you seriously just –?"
"Hey, you told me not to try and be like Ladybug," Misterbug grins. Honeybee's eye twitches.
"Not bad for your first time as Ladybug, milord," Lady Noire says as she bounds over with Rena Rouge and Carapace. She holds out her good fist, and Misterbug, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Honeybee follow suit and the five of them cry, "Pound it!"
[8:33 pm] miraculass
ladyBIrd: nice job today, guys
what does the fox say: wait why is your name still that
what does the fox say: you're lady noire now right
ladyBIrd: only temp
catitude: yeah we thought it'd be good to try each other's powers
catitude: in case we ever have to swap and realise we're fucked bc we don't know how to use the other
mess w turt u get hurt: makes sense
honeybeetch: just pls hurry up and switch back
honeybeetch: i can't stand to see ladybug like this
honeybeetch: i mean
honeybeetch: she's hot but i can't handle misterbug
honeybeetch: he's a giant loser
catitude: :(
mess w turt u get hurt: omg chloe?
honeybeetch: !
ladyBIrd: caRAPACE NO
honeybeetch: FUCK IVE BEEN EXPOSED
what does the fox say: welp
catitude: f
airhead: Plot twist
airhead: Did I get that saying right?
mess w turt u get hurt: SRY
mess w turt u get hurt: i just
mess w turt u get hurt: the timing of honeybee esp after queen bee
mess w turt u get hurt: and how she's a bitch here but like
mess w turt u get hurt: not nasty
mess w turt u get hurt: and chloe's been better since mal
mess w turt u get hurt: even said congrats to marinette n adrien at school that day
mess w turt u get hurt: idk how chloe and honey were together after mal but prob rena
honeybeetch: only ladybug can call me honey shellhead
mess w turt u get hurt: only rena can call me shellhead fuzzhead
what does the fox say: aww i didn't know we were at that stage in our relationship
mess w turt u get hurt: stfu don't make a big deal of it or anythin
what does the fox say: 0:)
catitude: dw honey we're not taking the miraculous
honeybeetch: good bc like fuck i'll give it
ladyBIrd: Honeybee
honeybeetch: ugh fine
honeybeetch: only for u lb
honeybeetch: but thanks for not taking it
ladyBIrd: just
ladyBIrd: stop figuring each other out
catitude: pls
catitude: idk who milady is
catitude: now i feel sad :(
ladyBIrd: ugh
ladyBIrd: you're a dork
catitude: eat me ;)
honeybeetch: ew get your kink away from me
airhead: Is it too late to give back my Miraculous?
ladyBIrd: yes
catitude: yes
mess w turt u get hurt: yes
what does the fox say: yes
honeybeetch: yes
honeybeetch: anyway later losers
honeybeetch: late night massage calling my name
airhead: My mother will be expecting me
honeybeetch: mine won't
honeybeetch: not since i told her to gtfo back to new york
honeybeetch: don't think she wants to talk to me for the next century
what does the fox say: yeah i should start on my homework
mess w turt u get hurt: SHIT FORGOT STUDY DATE WITH GF
what does the fox say: loooool
catitude: f
catitude: let's take this to dms milady
ladyBIrd: such a gentleman
[8:39 pm] direct messages
Chat Noir: so um
Chat Noir: how's the arm
Ladybug: sore as hell
Ladybug: freakin broke it
Chat Noir: oof
Ladybug: yep
Ladybug: prob gonna be out of commission for a few weeks
Ladybug: least the cure fixed any damage I did to it when I was transformed
Chat Noir: just treat plagg well
Ladybug: same with Tikki
Ladybug: I miss her already
Chat Noir: same with plagg
Chat Noir: even if he's a gremlin
Ladybug: he told me to tell you he's super offended
Chat Noir: let him be
Ladybug: um
Ladybug: ty
Ladybug: for having my back like that
Ladybug: don't know how I would've managed with my arm
Chat Noir: of course bugaboo
Chat Noir: we're a team
Ladybug: 3
Chat Noir: 3
Chat Noir: hate that i can't go and see mari
Chat Noir: even if she's out of the hospital she prob needs rest time
Ladybug: Chat
Ladybug: you're her boyfriend
Ladybug: why the heck wouldn't she want to see you
Chat Noir: i mean
Chat Noir: true
Chat Noir: i'm gonna go see her now
Ladybug: good
Ladybug: I'll have fun with this homework
Chat Noir: ew
Ladybug: yep
Ladybug: thank god it wasn't my right arm
"It's really nice of you to do this, Adrien!" Tikki says as Adrien double checks his schoolbag the next morning to make sure that he's got everything.
"Well, why wouldn't I give Marinette a lift to school?" he says. "Someone's got it in for her. They broke her arm! I mean, it was an "accident" that someone tripped and caused a domino effect just as Marinette happened to be on the stairs but come on. I'm going to stick by her and be her 'lucky charm'."
"Mhm." Tikki's mouth droops. "She doesn't deserve what's been happening to her. Uh, from what I've seen of her…"
"You don't have to pretend." After a night of tossing and turning, Adrien's realised that this is the right thing to do. He can't just sit back and pretend that he doesn't know, especially since he's got Ladybug's kwami for the time being. "I know Marinette is Ladybug."
"Eep!" Tikki claps her little paws over her mouth. "I didn't mean to –"
"No, no, it wasn't anything you said!" Adrien hurries to say. "I figured it out yesterday. Ladybug just happening to have the same injury as Marinette? And then everything clicked."
Tikki sighs and lowers her arms. "I'm just surprised that none of the others figured it out," she says. "You are one of the least observant lot we've had."
"Hey," Adrien protests, though he can't find it in himself to take offence at something that true.
"When are you going to tell her that you know?"
"I don't know. I want to but…I'm afraid, Tikki."
"Adrien –"
"She likes me, right? Adrien? Even though she's choosing to focus on Chat Noir?"
Tikki slowly nods.
"I know I'm just being silly but, like…part of me is terrified that she won't want me anymore if she knows I'm Chat Noir. What if she decides that she likes Chat Noir better than Adrien and she wishes I'd never told her? That she'll lose interest because it's been me all this time and – and I'll lose her."
"That won't happen, Adrien," Tikki says firmly. "Marinette most definitely will still want you even if she knows you're Chat Noir."
"But –"
"Adrien, I'm her kwami. Trust me when I say that she won't be disappointed at all. Knowing you're Adrien would probably make her happier because then her heart won't belong to two different boys when they're the same person."
"Right. Right. Just…give me some time? I still have to wrap my head around the fact that I fell for the same girl twice. Of course she's Marinette! Who else is as brave and funny and gorgeous as Ladybug?"
Tikki giggles. "How about telling her when you give me back? That should give you enough time to sort yourself out."
"This isn't fair," Adrien complains. "I got stuck with the gremlin kwami. Of course Marinette would get the sugary sweet one."
Tikki laughs again. But at the sound of footsteps outside Adrien's bedroom, she dives into the pocket of his green hoodie, just in time to avoid being seen as Nathalie opens the door.
"If you're insistent on giving this Marinette girl a ride to school, you have to leave now, Adrien," Nathalie says.
"Right." Adrien grabs his bag and follows her. "Thanks, Nathalie."