To yellow 14: Definitely could have gone worse; definitely could have gone a whole lot better. The miraculous gets some explanation in this chapter. It's less that it can easily operate from the shadows and more that Andretti just wasn't as active with it (probably because if he tried to use it for too much, Ladybug would drop a metric ton of heroes on him!).

To Butterfly: I find the idea of regular humans trying to navigate a world of superheroes and villains to be fascinating, hence the idea.

Killer Bee glanced behind her, half-expecting the new miraculous user to have taken to the rooftops in pursuit. Although she hadn't gotten a good look at the hero's suit, something about it had felt… familiar. Perhaps it was the dress: while new heroes seemed to be appearing out of the woodwork, most of them seemed to prefer leggings. Or perhaps it was the fan: it had been a year since the Heroes of Paris reclaimed the Peacock Miraculous, and its weapon had also been a fan – but the Heroes hadn't put the Peacock back into use. Whatever the case, it didn't matter at the moment; the new hero wasn't following her. She was alone on the rooftops. Nevertheless, Killer Bee filed her away for later.

Of course, just because Sent-Bee and her friend weren't pursuing them didn't mean they were safe.

Her eyes darted from rooftop to rooftop, looking for some hint of movement to show that other heroes were out. While the other parts of their plan – the attacks on Andretti's drug dealers – should keep the police and Heroes occupied for a while, bad luck could still cost her this prize if another hero happened to be out for a run. But they appeared to be alone, running across rooftops, Killer Bee's footsteps the only sounds she could hear apart from La Gymnaste's breathing. After taking another several turns, crossing through two arrondissements, and doubling back once, she finally looped her top around a chimney and rode it to the ground, placing La Gymnaste on her feet the moment they were down.

"Whew! That was intense!" La Gymnaste observed, giving Killer Bee a wide-eyed look. "But we did it! Right?"

Killer Bee let out a breath and took another look up and down the street. "Yeah," she agreed, nodding, letting out a relieved breath. "We did it."

"What do we do now?" asked La Gymnaste, eyeing the immobilized Andretti warily.

"Now?" Killer Bee scoffed. You did your part; be grateful I didn't let the Heroes get you. Instead she told her, "I have to get this loser to Headquarters before his buddies try to get him back."

"Can I come with you?" La Gymanste asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. "I can't wait to meet Ladybug!"

Killer Bee smiled widely. "I'll be sure to ask her for you!" she replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I'll let her know what a big help you were tonight." She sighed heavily. "But I can't slow down for you; Venom could wear off and then he'd be free. So why don't you meet me there?" La Gymnaste nodded eagerly. "You know the abandoned apartment building two blocks south of the Trocadéro?" La Gymnaste furrowed her brows and cocked her head in confusion. "I'll meet you out front after clearing it with Ladybug."

Killer Bee shifted Andretti on her shoulder and raced down the street as fast as she could, the wind blowing through her hair. She tossed out her top and looped it around a balcony railing, pulling herself into the air. She swung from side to side down the street, angling southwest toward the river. As she swung, she finally became aware of the more-insistent beeping of her miraculous. After her escape from Sent-Bee, she was down to less than a minute before she would de-transform. And if that happened… She shuddered at the thought.

With another burst of speed, Killer Bee ran across the Pont Mirabeau, turned right, and found the third warehouse down, away from the riverbank. She pounded on the door as hard as she could, which opened to admit her into the darkened interior a moment before her transformation wore off and Pollen fell into her hand. Andretti shoved her to the side the moment he regained the ability to move. Lila landed on her hands and knees with a cry. Andretti bolted for the still-open door, only for the warehouse guard to stick the barrel of an energy rifle into his face. Lila pushed herself up from the floor and took a step back to lean against the warehouse wall.

"Not so fast, signore," a quiet voice whispered from the shadows deeper inside the warehouse. Night Bat snapped his fingers, and the lights directly above them turned on. "My employer has need of you. And he would prefer you alive… for now."

Andretti drew himself up to his full height, staring fearlessly at Night Bat. "Do you expect me to be intimidated so easily?" he asked, eyes narrowed arrogantly. "I have dealt with far worse than you or your Lynchpin!"

Lila snorted in amusement as Night Bat's eyes flashed maliciously. "You think so?" Night Bat hummed contemplatively, stroking his chin. "And yet a mere teen took you down." He turned to Lila. "Tell me, girl, was he any trouble?"

Lila scoffed. "Not even a little," she answered smugly. "Even with his toy!"

Night Bat examined her more closely, frowning. "What 'toy'?"

Lila reached into her pocket and found the pinky ring that she had stored in her miraculous suit. She held it out to Night Bat, who stared at it in some surprise. He turned to Andretti with a calculating look. "So…" he began, peering into Andretti's eyes. "La Cosa found a miraculous after all… I wondered if they might…" Andretti frowned in confusion. "Have you ever wondered why the families rose to prominence?" Night Bat asked conversationally. "They tell all sorts of legends, but I was there. They thought that together they could resist me!" He scoffed. "They were wrong. They thought to match my power with power of their own, but I turned their strength against them. Then they sought arcane means of their own." His eyes trailed down to the miraculous. "I suppose they must have succeeded."

"The Eel Miraculous has been in my family for four generations!" Andretti declared proudly. "My ancestor used it to take over his territory, and my family has used it since then to hold onto our power."

"He sought it to prevent my return," Night Bat corrected, sneering. "But now I will turn the Mafia's prized weapon to my own purposes."

"I am not afraid of you," retorted Andretti.

"Hmm… perhaps you aren't afraid of me," Night Bat agreed, smiling ominously. "But there is something you fear. Even the worst – even the Pol Pots and the Hitlers feared something. And they in turn provided me with such… fertile minds to exploit and corrupt."

Andretti backed away from Night Bat, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He bumped into the guard standing behind him, who shoved him forward. His eyes widened fractionally as he found himself face-to-face with Night Bat, with nowhere to go.

"You see," Night Bat continued in a conversational tone, "that is my… gift. To exploit and enhance your negative characteristics. To identify your greatest vulnerability and bring that to the forefront. Are you consumed with anger and hatred, Lorenzo Andretti?" He examined him closely, peering deeply into his eyes. "No, perhaps not. Nor are you a coward. Hmm… your weakness is not greed or lust…" His eyes lit up and he placed a hand on Andretti's forehead. "But… yes… Kiss of Death!"

Andretti's eyes had widened in fear with each word Night Bat spoke. The pupils constricted to tiny pinpricks as Night Bat's power coursed into him. His mouth fell open, his eyeballs rolling back into his sockets, his back arching in a silent scream. Finally he fell to his knees, gasping and panting for breath. Lila jumped back away from him, eyes wide in horror. She had thought that Hawk Moth was bad, that his ability to latch onto a person's negative emotions and manipulate them into doing his bidding with promises of power was true power – she had worked with him willingly for a chance to claim that power for herself. But she had been nothing but a naïve schoolgirl. Night Bat… he could reduce a grown man to a quivering wreck with a word.

"Please… I–I'll do whatever you ask… just… make it stop!" Andretti pleaded. He fell over onto his side and hugged his knees to his chest, whimpering.

"So little…" Night Bat clucked his tongue in disappointment. He let out a sigh, and Andretti instantly stilled, breathing raggedly. "I will not remove it entirely," Night Bat told him, grabbing his hair and pulling his head back roughly, forcing Andretti to look him in the eye. "You will continue to feel some of the pain… as a reminder of who you now work for."

"Y–yes, sir." Andretti's shoulders sagged in defeat.

Night Bat smiled maliciously and handed the ring back to him. "I will return this to you, but you now serve me." Andretti nodded. "You will only use this as I command you to. Any resistance or disobedience will not be tolerated." Andretti nodded, eyes wide. "You love your children – think of them – and of what I will do to them – any time you are tempted to betray me." Andretti swallowed hard but acquiesced, dropping his head to stare at the ground.

Lila swallowed hard against the lump forming in her throat. "Um… do you still need me?" she asked hesitantly, staring at Night Bat with wide eyes.

Night Bat glanced over at her in surprise. "No… not at the moment, at least," he informed her. "You served your purpose tonight." As Lila was about to leave he cleared his throat. "But don't worry," he added ominously. "I will have further… use… for you. Eventually."

Lila nodded vigorously before quickly backing out of the warehouse door. Only when the door was closed again did she finally turn her attention back to the Kwami sitting in her hand. She rooted around in her pocket to find a snack for Pollen and finally came up with a granola bar. Pollen ate quietly without taking her eyes off of Lila.

"What's that look for?" demanded Lila, glaring down at the Kwami.

"You put your friend in danger," Pollen replied quietly. "You got her in trouble. And all for a lie?"

"That's what subjection is about, isn't it?" Lila retorted. "Exerting your influence over another person to get what you want out of them."

Pollen sighed and shook her head, patting Lila's palm with one paw. "Lila, you have a poor understanding of subjection if you think that is the extent of it," she commented, giving her a pitying look. "That is subjugation, not subjection. Subjection is about influencing another person, yes, but the purpose is for their good. Used properly, subjection is not self-serving but rather other-serving – even when it hurts in the short term. Is what you did to your friend tonight really serving her? Is it really for her good?"

Lila frowned. "I can't exactly stop now, can I? And anyways, Nadine didn't get hurt, and she got the fun experience of playing hero, just like she wanted." Pollen opened her mouth to argue the point further, but Lila transformed and launched herself into the air. She swung a couple blocks north to the river, where she looped her top around a tree, swung around it several times to build up her momentum, and launched herself into the air and over the river. She raced north and east as fast as she could go until he reached the abandoned building she had described to La Gymnaste. She landed on the roof and dropped to the ground moments before La Gymnaste jogged into view. She took one look at Killer Bee and ran up to her, smiling broadly.

"Is this when I get to meet Ladybug?" she asked, hands clasped, giggling like a schoolgirl.

Killer Bee put her hand on La Gymnaste's shoulder. "Not tonight," she told her, screwing her face up into a look of pure disappointment. "I tried – I really did!" she wailed. "And Ladybug is interested in letting you join the team! But she was adamant: you still need to prove yourself." Seeing the disappointed look on La Gymnaste's face, she rushed to console her. "It's not that you'll never get to meet her, but Ladybug insisted. You need some practice first, before we can let you onto the team officially."

La Gymnaste's face fell. "Okay," she finally said. "I – I guess that's fair…" She brightened. "But I'll get to meet her soon?"

Killer Bee sighed and nodded. "Soon. And until then we'll be working together a lot more so I can test you and make sure you're really hero material."