"Bugaboo!" Cat noir wailed into his cat phone.

"What is it, kitty boy?" Ladybug smirked.

"I can't see you! My cousin tested positive for COVID. He came to my house last week. Which means I have to self isolate… URGH! I can't see you now!"

"Oh, kitty, kitty, kitty." Ladybug chuckled. "You know there hasn't been any akumatisations for months! We don't need to see each other!"

"Yeah, well, uh, maybe Hawk moth's staying at home? Maybe he's vulnerable or something? Can viruses pass through akumatiation?"

"Well, I was flicking through a few pages of the grimoire and apparently a butterfly superhero from the medieval times gave a friend some powers by akumatisation but got the bubonic plague from them and died."

Cat noir wailed. "Bugaboo! We were going to go on a date!"

Ladybug groaned. "Cat noir, it was an OUTING, not a date. I only did it because you would bug me about it for months if I said no!"

"Bug you? Who's making the puns now?" Cat noir grinned.

"URGHHHHH. You can be SO annoying sometimes, you know."

"I know. It's one of my great qualities."

"Whatever. Also, have you seen my post?"

"No."

"See it."

"Okay."

Forwarded many times

DEAR READER,

This is Ladybug.

I am urging you to stay strong during this tough time.

Why?

Because there is a hero in every one of us.

We may be separated, but in our hearts, we know that this unprecedented situation has brought us all closer together.

I know many of you have lost loved ones to this horrible plague.

I know many of you are struggling to cope

I know many of you are crying right now. I am too.

I know that so many of you are reading this message and wishing that this pandemic would end.

I am too.

And I know in my heart that on the other side of this long, cold tunnel that blinds us with a burning darkness, there is light. There is light on the other side. We just need to keep going. We just need to stay strong. We are united, as one nation.

I am sure that Hawk moth is reading this message right now with a sly smile. If you are, Hawk moth, then I want to tell you that you will not win. We are a family, and we will fight for justice. We are all heroes, whether we have a miraculous or not. One day, you will be on your knees, begging to us to lighten your fifty thousand year sentence in jail!

Everybody else, everybody else who is reading this right now, I urge you to stop reading this right now and take a moment to reflect on the situation. You are an incredible person. You are a survivor. And one day, you will be looking back on this moment.

Hawk moth is plotting. I'm sure I don't need to say it. I know that this theory is in everyone's mind. The pandemic has been the perfect foundation for negative emotions. This terrible times is like heaven for the paranoid madman called Hawk Moth. If you are akumatised, all I can say is, to remember that:

You mind is your own. Your body is your own.

You can resist your thoughts being seen by him. You can resist him controlling you. Just remember that your mind is your own and your body is your own. Believe in yourself, because you are incredible.

Thank you on behalf of the world for staying strong.

And thank you, key workers, and NHS staff, for your relentless efforts to save the world.

Stay strong.

Ladybug.

"Wow. Ladybug, you are amazing. It's beautiful. This thing's gone viral."

Ladybug smiles.

"When this is all over, remind me to invite your on a date."

Ladybug sighs with a smile, hanging up.

"Spots off". Her bug phone disappears.

(Meanwhile, at the Agreste mansion)

"Master, there is a great risk. Are you sure?", Nooroo asked.

"Yes, yes. Of course I'm sure. Nooroo, dark wings, rise!" Gabriel grinned, transforming.

"I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. I was so oblivious, so stupid. This plan would have worked years ago. Our technology have reached unpredictable heights. How come the mere thought of using facial recognition to find out ladybug and cat noir's identities didn't occur to me?" He sighed. "I am going to go out there. This might be my riskiest mission, with coronavirus and all, but I have to do this. First, I need a diversion. I need a distraction. To keep ladybug and cat noir looking somewhere else, while I can execute my master plan. Finding a negative emotion should be easy. So much sadness, so much fear, so much tension, so much frustration. The pandemic has been the best chance for me to akumatise people. Time to bring back Scarlet Moth."

(Meanwhile, a few miles away)

"Urgh. Another day. Another day of stupid online learning, stupid lockdown, stupid social distancing, stupid LIFE!" Emily banged her fist on the table. Opening up Microsoft teams on her computer, she calls her friend.

"Ananda Appleby is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone. When you're finished, please hang up or press the hash key for more options." The monotonous voice drones.

"UGHHHHHH" She groaned.

She doesn't realise an akuma flying towards her. It sinks into her necklace.

"Hello." A voice echoed in Emily's head.

"AAGH!" She screams. "Why can I hear voices in my head!? Oh no no no no. I must be going paranoid!" she thought, her eyes widened, unblinking.

"Don't worry. You're perfectly sane." The voice smiled.

"What are you!?" Emily stuttered. "Why am I talking to myself?"

"You are not."

"What's going on!? Who are you? How are you doing this!? Leave me alone!" she sobbed.

"Don't worry. I will not harm you. I am more than a voice in your head."

"Wh-wha-?"

"Speak no more. You do not need to. I can read your thought, like words on a book. I can see your deepest, darkest fears, your memories, your desires. I am here to help you unleash your full potential. That is all I will help you achieve."

"You can see my deepest darkes- WAIT!" Emily smirks. "Hawk moth! It's you. And, wait up, Isn't that kindof dramatic speech about seeing someone's mind more like something your girlfriend says? Y'know, the peacock girl? The one who talks about enhancing and honing frustration? Ha. Yep. The same cheesy speech every time. Just stop! Please! My mind is private!"

"If I offered you a wish, what would you wish for?"

"Well, I dunno, probably for th-"

"Shush. I do not need to know, for I can already see it. I can see your visions, Emily. I can see your destiny. I can see the goal you wish to achieve, and I'm sure that I'm not the first to break it to you, but you just won't be able to achieve it. It's impossible."

Emily's smug expression turns to one of shock.

"Without a miraculous."

"STOPITSTOPITSTOPIT!" Emily wailed. She closes her eyes, trying best to remember the thing Ladybug had posted somewhere about resisting akumatisations. Finally, it comes to her, and she tries in earnest and in vain to block out her thoughts.

"My mind is my own, my thoughts are my own. My mind is my own, my thought are my own." Emily repeats this anger, oblivious and ignoring Hawk moth's words of frustration. Emily is blocking the thought out of her mind- she is blocking the truth about her and the inevitable realisation Hawk moth would come to, one day or another. She was hiding the truth, blocking out her mind, resisting the urge to think about it. Hawk moth is annoyed at how Emily is resisting.

"What are you doing! Stop it! Foolish girl. You cannot resist akumatisation! It's- Urgh! It's unfair! I always win, and deal with it!" Hawk moth growls. He is surprised and angry at how for the first time, somebody is resisting him. Emily's voice repeating the words coolly and unfearfully angers Hawk moth even more.

"UNFAIR! IT'S UNFAIR! I WIN! I CAN'T LOSE! STOP WINNING! START LOSING!" Hawk moth roared.

"WHY ARE YOU BEING SO MEAN TO ME!?" He wailed, bashing his cane on the floor.

Emily grins while repeating the mantra.

After throwing a tantrum, Hawk moth finally gives up and withdraws the akuma. "You will pay for this." He says, trying to maintain a steady voice. "You will."