Gina flew into the ground and only managed to turn at the last second, landing on her feet so hard she left a small crater in the street beneath her. She glanced up to see what appeared to be another hero standing in front of her in a basic brown and white splotchy bodysuit. She had reddish hair with what appeared to be two floppy ears coming out of it, but Gina wasn't focused on any of that at the moment.
It was the new girl's face. She looked calm, almost placid. It was unsettling.
"Get up," the mystery woman said. "This will go a lot faster if you get up."
Gina slowly rose and dusted her black jacket off. "Hey," she said cautiously. "Um, you're a holder? Cool. Look, there's no need to fight, I'm one, too. For real." Gina put up her hands in a 'hold on' gesture. "I don't think we've met, and I'm willing to bet this is a misunderstanding. That, um, that happens with me. I'm Faunus. Who are…?"
The new girl moved like a blur. Gina didn't even finish her sentence before she was punched with enough force to derail a freight train. Gina went soaring backwards into a brick wall. The building she hit shook from the collision.
Gina shook her head, her vision blurry from the hit. "Who… Damn." She struggled to her feet in time to see the new girl charging and screaming.
"Nope," Gina said. She extended her staff and shot herself upward towards the roof. A second after she landed, the dog hero landed in front of her and tackled her.
Gina brought her legs up and kicked her off, but the dog hero flipped backwards and sprang at Gina, grabbing her by the throat.
"Normally, I wouldn't have to do this," The mystery woman said in an almost casual tone as she choked Gina. "I hate fighting. I've worked hard my whole life to keep my temper under control. It's become a point of pride for me to handle things without physical violence. But then you came along." She leaned in closer. Gina clawed at the mystery woman's hands, desperate for air. "Did you really think you could destroy my life? Did you think I'd let you?"
Gina punched her in the stomach to make her let go, and then cracked her across the face for good measure. "I've never even seen you before!" Gina yelled.
"I didn't say you had. It doesn't change the fact that you've ruined everything," The girl said in a cold voice. "You're a problem. And I fix problems. Normally I can do it with a phone call. Maybe use a few threats, or maybe a well-placed nudge, but with you? You're a ghost. I've got nothing on you, so you'll forgive me for resorting to this."
She whipped out what appeared to be a leather leash and started spinning it, not unlike how Gina had spun her yoyo. Gina brought her staff up in time to block the angry young woman.
"Lady, back off, alright! I seriously don't know what you're talking about!" Gina snapped. They dueled across the rooftops, the brown hero pushing Gina back with sheer anger. Gina didn't know what was happening, but she was torn between realizing this must be a colossal misunderstanding and seriously wanting to kick this girl's ass.
"How can you not know?" The new girl said. She used her leash like a whip, catching Gina's staff and flinging it across the rooftops. "It's why you're here, isn't it? To destroy what happiness I've managed to grasp? You're a homewrecker, and I'll see you pay for it in blood if I have to."
Gina stared confused. That last line unfortunately felt a little more than familiar. "Angie?"
The brown hero stopped, confused. "Angie? You mean you thought I was someone else you've hurt? God, you just can't stop, can you?"
The hero brought her whip down as Gina jumped back. The impact destroyed the tiles where Gina had been standing.
"So, not Angie? Please stop?" Gina begged. "Um, I really think there's been a misunderstanding here."
"Oh, there's no misunderstanding," the brown hero said. "See, I know exactly what's happened, and as a result," The new girl lowered her gaze. Gina paled as the city lights around them reflected off the girl's mask, causing her eyes to shine.
"I'm going to kill you. Slowly. With my bare. Fucking. Hands."
With a primal cry, the hero tackled Gina and started pummeling her with her fists. Gina, completely fed up at this point, started punching back. The two rolled across the roof, hitting, pulling, and kneeing where they could.
"What's your issue, lady?" Gina yelled as the hero put her in a headlock.
"I'll fucking kill you!" The hero yelled as Gina rammed her elbow into the girl's stomach. "You're dead, you, you fucking temptress!"
Gina brought her head back sharply, but the new girl put her arm between them, blocking the blow. They struggled until they both broke apart due to the green shell separating them.
Both girls got to their feet and glared at each other. Both were bleeding and looked a mess, and only somewhat registered the heroes standing around them.
"Okay," Ladybug said. "Drop the shield, Carapace."
"Right," he said as he pulled back his special attack. Gina tensed, ready for round two, but a sword blade came between them.
"Enough," Ryuko said. Both girls finally registered that every active hero in Paris was surrounding them.
"Hey," Chat Noir said as he came up to Gina. "You okay?" He gingerly took her by the arm to keep her steady.
Gina nodded and wiped the blood from her nose. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm cool. This chick here attacked me out of the blue and would not let up." Gina looked around. "She with you?"
The heroes all shook their heads as the mystery girl composed herself. Ladybug turned to her and snapped, "So, what's your damage, new girl? You can't just jump in and attack one of our own. Even this one."
"Don't you defend her." The new girl snapped at Chloé. "You of all people don't get to do that."
"Hey," Chat Noir said. He stepped between the new girl and Chloé. "Calm down. It sounds like you're the one in the wrong here."
"Get out of my way, Chat Noir," the new girl said, her voice level and cold. "You're really nice, so I'll give you one warning."
Chat sighed. He glanced to the new girl's side. "Rena?"
Before anyone knew what was happening. Rena Rouge dropped her illusion camouflage and snatched the collar around the new girl's neck. The other heroes watched as Barkk dropped the transformation, revealing…
"Sabrina?" Chloé asked, confused. "What's going on here? Why are you attacking goat girl?"
"It's Faunus," Gina said. Her voice was still trembling due to the adrenaline rush from fighting.
"I thought you were Artemis?" Adrien asked, confused.
"Like, when I'm using Plagg, yeah," Gina said.
"Dude," Carapace said. "Artemis is a killer name. You should have just kept that."
Alya elbowed him. "You can't do that! You don't carry a hero name from one kwami to another, it's rude!"
"We've never gotten more than one. How would you know that?" Carapace asked.
Rena Rouge crossed her arms and looked away. "I asked Trixx. You should spend more time talking to your kwami instead of playing him in video games."
"What? Little dude is killer at Mario Kart," Carapace said, grinning. "Even if he goes out of his way to use shells."
"Guys? Later with this?" Chloé said. She looked back to Sabrina, who was looking off to the side. "Sabrina? Are you okay?"
Sabrina crossed her arms but didn't say anything. Chloé looked to Alya. "Hey, Rena? Let me have the miraculous. I'll make sure it gets back to the Guardian."
"But, Ladybug is the Guardian," Chat said. He looked to Chloé. "Um, can I come along?"
Chloé shook her head. "All of you, get Faunus there to safety and make sure she's okay. Give us a few minutes, okay?"
"You sure you'll be cool, dudette?" Carapace asked.
Chloé rolled her eyes. "Would you dorks get out of here! Just go have your little dork argument somewhere else and let me take care of this. Ugh!"
Alya nodded. "Yeah, okay, she's got this."
The group looked to Chloé and nodded. One by one, they jumped off towards the Tower. Chat and Ryuko made sure to stay by Gina's side as they left.
As soon as the heroes were gone, Chloé looked back to Sabrina. "Are you okay?" She asked.
Sabrina was breathing heavy. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and actually shook before she blurted out, "Are you cheating on me?"
Notes:
Yep, we'll just stop the chapter right there. I'm sure the upcoming conversation will be civil.
NEXT TIME!
Chloe and Sabrina have it out!
A shocking find is brought to light!
A couple's love in peril!
ALL! NEXT! CHAPTER!
Be here tomorrow, same Bug Time...
SABRINA: Drop the fucking joke. THIS IS NOT THE TIME!
...Same Bug Channel!
