"MARINETTE!"
"NO!"
"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!"
"STAY AWAY FROM HER! SHE'LL HURT US!"
'Shut up, Lila.'
Marc watched the scene unfold. Students were crowding the courtyard of the school. On her knees, shaking and crying as her classmates yelled, was his cousin Marinette, the sweetest, the most upbeat person he knew with Hawkmoth's symbol displayed over her face. Her pink signature purse is pitch black. Adrien was kneeling in front of her, grasping her shoulders and telling her to fight off Hawkmoth's control. He was the first one to see the Akuma go into Marinette's purse when he came back from lunch. The second was Marc when he walked out of the library. They tried to get her to calm down, only to be met with her muttering something about, 'Lies.' 'Don't hurt me.' 'I'll have no one.'
Her classmates' shouting wasn't doing anything to help her, so Marc told her in a calming voice, "Mari, please. Remember, you have people on your side," Marc tried reminding her as he held her hand, "Remember that, please." The students behind him all agreed, giving her words of encouragement to fight Hawkmoth's control. Four of them were Juleka, Rose, Alix, and Nathaniel. Marinette's rapid breathing began to slow down. The Akuma symbol on her face started to flicker, much to everyone's relief. Just as things were getting better, Lila had to ruin it.
"There's no helping her!" Lila screamed so everyone could hear, "I saw her grab the Akuma! She wants to hurt me!"
Right after she said this, Marinette made this sound that sounded like a muffled scream. Marc saw Alix pushing her way in front of the crowd. She sent Lila a glare before yelling, "DO YOU PEOPLE HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT MARINETTE WOULD GO FOR AN AKUMA?!"
Mme. Bustier's students went silent for a moment, and immediately, loud insults were thrown at them by the other students.
"Unbelievable!"
"She's your friend!"
"You believe some liar over her?!"
"Idiots!"
"She'd never go for an Akuma!"
"It's true! I saw it out of one of the classroom windows!"
"NO, YOU DIDN'T! YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE MARINETTE LOOK LIKE A VILLAIN, YOU BITCH!"
"She's been after me ever since I came here! It's obvious she got herself akumatized on purpose just to hurt-" Before she could finish, Alix pounced on her and tackled the Italian to the floor. She grabbed the front of her romper and started hitting her back against the floor while Alya and Mylene tried to pry her off.
'That's not what happened, THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!' Marinette kept telling herself. She was in the bathroom. She had a fight with Alya about Lila during lunch and, she needed some space. Then, she walked in... After that, it was all just a blur, and then she started crying. She just wanted to go home and cry in her room. She would lose her friends, her support group... Everything! She'd lose it all to HER!
That's when she heard, "Hello, Princess Justice." and she quickly removed her earrings before everyone crowded around her and hid them in her pocket.
"Tired of the guilty going free? Don't you want them to pay for their crimes and expose them for who they really are? Let me give you the power to make it so. All shall be revealed. Just bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous."
'... My Miraculous... Tikki...' She needed to get her out of here. Her shaky hands made their way to her blazer pocket, reached in, and pulled out her earrings. Everyone was too busy trying to pry Alix off of Lila or shouting at her classmates who were defending the liar to notice. Who would she trust to become Ladybug while she was out of commission? Not Alya. She'd blab to the world that her best friend is Ladybug. She's just so desperate for views on her blog right now. Not Chloe. The two had an unspoken alliance when it came to Lila, but she just couldn't trust her to wield a Miraculous... Adrien?... No, not him. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't give her earrings to him.
"Mari, please..."
Marc... She took his gloved hand and slid the earrings into his palm before letting go and whispering, "I accept."
But it was loud enough for everyone to hear and shout, "NO!"
A dark purple mist bubbled up from the purse and engulfed Marinette, but not just her. Some of it started covering Adrien since he was still holding onto her. Panicking, he reached for his ring, slipped it off, and tossed it to the side where it landed by Nathaniel's shoe. He looked down in confusion, wondering why he did that, but fear overtook him when he saw the two figures covered by the black and purple mist that lifted seconds later to reveal Marinette and Adrien, now Akumas. Marinette's hair was longer and had more volume. It's now tied into a high ponytail with some up and some down and held up by a silver crown. She had on a flowing, grey high-low v-neck tailcoat with pink trim that was the same color as her mask and elbow-length gloves. She wore a light-grey colonial-styled high-collared jumpsuit with two rows of buttons connected to the one across by a black chain, and pink trim. On her feet were grey knee-length high-heeled boots, and in her hand was a scarily large sword with a black handle.
Next to her, carrying a grey shied with purple lining was Adrien, only now he was wearing dark grey armor with purple highlights. The pauldron, rerebrace, vambrace, and gauntlets were dark grey and had purple highlights, and on the pauldron were purple butterflies. The breastplate is the same color and has a purple butterfly in the center. Under the over-armor was a light grey tasset with purple trim held by a dark grey belt, and under that was a light grey habergeon. He also wore dark grey cuisse with greaves the same color. One thing the two had in common was that their eyes were now the same dark purple color.
The students took a few steps back. All was silent until Marinette, now Princess Justice raised her sword and said in a sinister tone, "No one leaves until the guilty have been judged." And just like that, the students cleared the courtyard. They tried running for the front door but were blocked by Adrien, who held up his shield.
Nino slowly approached his stoic-faced friend, "D-dude, co-come on. You gotta let us go!"
Instead of responding, Adrien smacked Nino with his shield, pushing him and a few other students back with a powerful force. "It's Veracity Knight, now. If anyone on the defense is innocent, they will go free while the rest... That's up to the princess and her jurors."
Suddenly, a loud 'CLANG' sounded throughout the school. The students looked to see that Princess Justice had stabbed the floor with her sword. Glowing pink ribbons similar to the ones Marinette wore in her hair seeped through the cracks that formed where her sword was embedded and shot over towards the crowd of students by the door.
They scattered about and hid around the school as the ribbons gave chase, then eventually wrapped around the ankles or wrists of eight students- Juleka, Rose, Alix, Mireille, Aurore, Ismael, and Julian. The ribbons dragged them over to Princess Justice who looked at each of them with a warm smile before frowning.
"What a shame. I so hoped Marc and Nathaniel would be part of the Jury," she smiled again, "I guess we'll have to make do with seven, then."
Alix spoke, her voice wavering, "M-Mari, please! Don't do this! We can expose Lila without Hawkmoth's power!"
Princess Justice approached Alix and placed her gloved hand under her chin, making the skater shiver at her cold touch, "Alix, we both know this is the only way. My powers are based on truth, and only that. Our classmates will see that I am and have always been right about Lila. If they still won't listen to me after I have judged her and every last student in this school, I won't be as lenient on their punishment."
"B-but why us?" Ismael wondered out loud
"Isn't it obvious? You all have been there for me and each other ever since Lila declared war on me," her smile drops, "I never meant to bring you all into this. She's made your lives terrible. Stealing, trying to ruin your reputations. Fortunately, no one outside my class believes her lies. My classmates?... Poor, ignorant traitors. They've shunned me, called me a jealous bully, and still have the audacity to demand me to make stuff for them without pay. You all will help me show them the error of their ways."
Juleka slowly raised her hand, Princess Justice gave her a nod, "You-you're not going hurt them if they're found guilty, right?"
Princess Justice gave a dark chuckle, "They will be found guilty. And I won't hurt them... They'll just learn that for every action, there is a consequence." A pulsing white light surrounded her sword as she raised it. The pink ribbons glowed brighter around their wrists and ankles. The seven of them suddenly kneeled to the floor, struggling a bit as they did, and bowed their heads. "Rise, my jury." At her command, they lifted their heads and opened their eyes to reveal dark purple irises, then stood up straight.
"Let the trial begin."
Meanwhile, Marc and Nathaniel were watching the scene unfold from the dark art classroom. Nathaniel tried to maintain a brave face as he consoled Marc, who was crying in the crook of his neck. No one wants to see their family member Akumatized, so who could blame him?
Nathaniel kissed Marc's forehead, "Hey. It'll be alright. Ladybug and Chat Noir will come and save everyone like they always do."
Hearing that, Marc let out a content sigh, "Y-yeah. You're right."
Nathaniel smiled when he saw Marc's pink lips curling into a smile, then he looked back out the window and saw the students who were under Princess Justice's control searching the classrooms for the missing students. The ones they found were dragged to the courtyard. While they were doing that, Princess Justice's sword glowed again, and a bright white lite spread throughout the courtyard that had Nathaniel shielding his and Marc's eyes. He looked again after a few seconds and saw that the entire yard had turned into a sort of an elegant gothic-styled courtroom complete with a judge's bench, a jury box, a witness stand, and a few benches.
Princess Justice's feet lifted off the floor, and she started floating over to the judge's bench before taking her seat. Veracity Knight walked over and stood guard in front of her while the students sat patiently on the benches.
'Where are Ladybug and Chat Noir?' Nathaniel wondered to himself, 'Alya's probably live-streaming this whole thing right now, they've gotta see it.'
"Nath?" Nathaniel turned to his boyfriend, whose eyes seemed to be focused on something, "Is that Adrien's ring?" He points to the silver ring Adrien never seems to take off that was now in Nathaniel's hand.
"Oh. Yeah..." He examines the silver ring in his hand, "He just tossed it to the side before he got Akumatized. Not sure why, but I thought I should keep it safe for when he wants it back." He arches a brow in confusion, "It's weird that he just took it off, though."
"... Mari gave me her earrings," Marc said as he dug through his hoodie pocket and pulled out the black earrings, "She just slipped them into my hand."
Nathaniel was starting to get confused. What was so important about these little pieces of jewelry that Marinette and Adrien took them off before their Akumatization? "... Huh."
"What is it?"
Nathaniel didn't answer. He held the ring between his left thumb and pointer finger and started sliding it over his right ring finger. He suddenly felt a surge of energy course through his body that had him let out a shudder. Marc took his hand and looked at his boyfriend with concern, "Nath, are you okay?"
"Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm fine-" Suddenly, the ring emits a bright green light that forces him and Nathaniel to squeeze their eyes shut.
"Redhead?!" A nasally voice squeaked. The comic book duo slowly opened their eyes and stared slack-jawed at the small black cat... bug thing hovering in mid-air. He zips over to the window and gasps. "No!"
"Uh- you- what?" Nathaniel sputters. This can't be real, but it is. He's looking at a tiny bug-cat-demon thing that flew out of Adrien's ring, "What the hell are you?" He asks when the thing floats back over to him and Marc. He wraps a protective arm around Marc, just in case whatever that thing is might be dangerous, but Marc didn't seem too afraid. He looks like how he did when they walked past a pet store and saw the puppies playing around with each other. He thought this thing was cute?!
"Oh, gods!" It cried, "I was supposed to protect him, and then this happens!"
"Protect who?" Nathaniel asked, wanting to understand what's going on, "What are you? Who are you? Does Adrien know you exist?"
"My name is Plagg, I'm a Kwami, and yes! He does!"
"Kw-kwami?" Marc said, "What is that?"
The kwami furrowed his brow before gasping, "Put those earrings on, ponytail!"
Marc self-consciously felt his ponytail, "E-excuse me?"
"Put 'em on!"
Not wanting to be yelled at by the... Kwami again, Marc put on the earrings and immediately felt a wave of energy course through him. "... What was that supposed to-" The earrings emitted a bright light, similar to the ring, only it was red. The two cover their eyes again.
"-nette! No!" A feminine voice yelled. They open their eyes again and see a small, flying red bug-mouse. 'This must be another kwami,' they thought. The kwami looks around, then asked, "Where is she?!" The red kwami turns to see Plagg giving a solemn shake of his head, "... Plagg?"
Plagg takes the red kwami's flipper-hand and leads them over to the window. They gasp in horror when they see Princess Justice sitting at the Judge's bench before a group of students and teachers. Next to her on the witness stand was Mme. Bustier, who appeared to be crying as Princess Justice read something off of a floating scroll. "No," they whispered, "Marinette..."
"I'm sorry, Tikki."
"Lila did this. Plagg, I can't lose another bug! Especially not her!"
"Excuse me?" The two kwamis turned to the comic book duo. Nathaniel asks in a soft tone, knowing that they're upset right now for some reason, "What's going on? How do you two know Marinette and Adrien?"
Plagg turns to Tikki, "Should we tell them?"
Tikki looked at the two confused boys standing before them and sighed, "Yeah... My name is Tikki. I'm Ladybug's Kwami." Their eyes widened in disbelief. That would mean...
Plagg introduced himself next, "I already told you my name. I'm Chat Noir's Kwami."
Marc and Nathaniel just stood slack-jawed. Nathaniel looked at the ring on his finger again and back at Plagg. This couldn't be happening right now. Marinette and Adrien can't be Ladybug and Chat Noir, but the Kwamis came out of their jewelry!
"My... My cousin... She's..."
"Ladybug." Tikki finishes for him, "Yeah, she is."
"... I, uh... I guess that explains a lot," Nathaniel finally says, "They're never in the same place at the same time, they have the same hair, voice... T-they always disappear during Akuma attacks."
"Plus, those weird excuses," Marc mentions, "And Marinette did get these earrings the same time Ladybug appeared."
Nathaniel nods, "Same with Adrien and his ring."
They're so busy wrapping their heads around the fact that Marinette and Adrien are Paris' beloved superheroes that they almost forgot-
"They're akumas!" Marc cried.
"Shit," Nathaniel cursed. With Marinette and Adrien akumatized, there's no Ladybug or Chat Noir. That means no de-akumatization, no Miracle Cure, and they'd stay Akumas forever!
"How do you transform?" Marc suddenly asked. Nathaniel, Tikki, and Plagg stared at him with widened eyes.'He can't be serious right now!... But how else are Marinette and Adrien going to be de-akumatized?' Nathaniel turns to Plagg, "Is there a phrase we have to say, or some spell?"
"A-are you sure?" Tikki asks, "You've never even-"
"We already know about you guys," Nathaniel said, "You can't just go find another person to give the Miraculous to. Then more people will know about Marinette and Adrien being Ladybug and Chat Noir."
Marc adds, "And we need to save them right now. Please, just tell us what we need to say to transform."
Tikki and Plagg stare at them for a few seconds, tiny faces twisted as they thought over what they said. Nathaniel was right when he said that if they went to find different temporary holders, more people would know about Marinette and Adrien's secret. And they knew Marc was right when they needed to move fast and save everyone in the school...
"Spots on to transform, spots off to turn back."
"Claws out, claws in. And once you use your powers, you only have-"
"Five minutes before we transform back," they say in perfect unison, startling the Kwamis a little bit.
"Lucky Charm gives me an object to use, but after summoning it, I have five minutes to find a way to use it, capture the Akuma in the yoyo, then cast the Miracle Cure."
"Cataclysm, touch an object or structure, destroy it, I also have five minutes after using it."
"Right, you guys are superhero nerds," Plagg said.
Nathaniel rolled his eyes, "We prefer geeks. Plagg, claws out! "
"Tikki, spots on!"
They... Felt... Amazing! The magic from washing over them felt weird, warm, and like they were just outside, basking in the sunlight.
Marc swept his hand over his eyes, making a mask similar to Ladybug's appeared over his face. A red glove with black fingertips formed over his right hand and extended to turn into a red hoodie with blacks spots and black cuffs around his forearms. He tapped the floor with his boot, which became all-black with red toes. The boots extended to form red pants with black kneepads, black lined pockets, and a black belt with red studs formed around his waist with the yoyo attached to the side. The finishing touch was his hair. It became about an inch longer, wavier, and the tips turned red.
Nathaniel's transformation started from his neck. A black collar extended to a v-neck shirt that was the same color as his eyes and kept going until they formed a dark grey belt with turquoise studs and a leather cat tail flowing behind, black pants with turquoise-lined pockets, and dark grey boots with turquoise soles. A jacket the same color as his pants formed over his torso with turquoise-lined pockets and a dark grey collar. Black leather gloves with turquoise claws formed over his hands, and when he ran his clawed fingers through his hair, his bangs swept to the side, and the ends of his hair turned black. Finally, black cat ears appeared at the top of his head, followed by a black mask over his eyes.
Marc and Nathaniel walked over to the mirror art students used when creating self-portraits and looked at their new outfits. They weren't too different from their regular clothes. Marc had his hoodie and boots, Nathaniel has his jacket. Nathaniel looked a little closer at the mirror and noticed that his sclera was a lighter shade of his eye color.
"Whoa," he whispered in awe.
"This is actually happening," Marc whispered as he messed with the collar of his hoodie. He frowned, "Wait, how come we get cool outfits, different hairstyle, and Marinette just gets a skin-tight bodysuit and keeps her pigtails?"
Nathaniel grimaced, "When this is over, we're going to see if Tikki can fix that. And, before we go, what are our names?"
"Mariquita," Marc said quickly, "It's Spanish for Ladybug."
"Alright, then. Call me Shvartse Kats. It's Yiddish for Black Cat."
Mariquita smiled and kissed Kats' cheek, "You ready?"
Kats nods, "Let's do this."
They burst through the doors and were met with a scream. They paled when they saw Mme. Bustier sobbing at the witness stand as she clutched her head and yelled, "MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO FEEL LIKE THIS!"
Princess Justice looked up from the crying woman and smirked when she saw the new heroes, "Well, look who we have here."
~Earlier~
"Let us go!" Alya yelled as she, Mylene, and Max were dragged to the courtroom by Mireille and Rose, "We didn't do anything wrong!"
"That is for Princess Justice to decide," Mireille said. Once they were in the courtroom, shackles magically appeared around their wrists. They glowed pink, and the three students were pulled by an unseen force over to a wide bench that seated their classmates, teacher, and principal.
Lila turned to Alya and said, "I told you. She's out to get me."
Alya patted her shoulder, "Don't worry. Ladybug and Chat Noir will show up, defend you, and finally prove Marinette wrong." Lila mentally gagged at the mention of those two.
Princess Justice banged her gavel down on the surface of her bench, grabbing everyone's attention. Before her is the Akuma Class, Bustier, and Damocles, sitting at the defense table. In the Jury box to her left are Juleka, Rose, Alix, Aurore, Mireille, Julian, and Ismael, and the rest of the students and teachers that didn't manage to escape sit at the benches.
"Court is now in session. Let's bring up the first accused. Caline Bustier, to the witness stand!" Before she could do or say anything, Bustier's chains glowed pink and dragged her over to the witness stand. She looked up at her former star student who was sneering at her. "Caline Bustier. Let's see what crimes you've committed." Her gavel turned back into her sword, making the red-haired woman pale, believing she'll use that sword to slice her open, but much to her relief, Princess Justice taps her forehead. A scroll forms from the point of the sword and unfurls. Princess Justice does a quick read and grimaces, "Well, look at this. Victim blaming, favoritism, not doing your job... Shall I go on?"
"B-but that's not true!" She exclaimed, "I've never-"
"Tell us if you remember these people." Princess Justice said as Veracity Knight pointed the front of his shield at Mme. Bustier. A few images appeared of different teenagers. Once the images stopped showing, Princess Justice asked, "Do any of them look familiar?"
"Y... Yes, they're my old students."
Princess Justice smirked, "But not just any regular students, right? They were your star students."
"... They were."
"Please, do tell, Caline. What makes a star student?"
Mme. Bustier didn't seem to like where this was going, but she answered, "Well, they don't start fights, they're loyal to their classmates, they forgive the problem students-"
"Now, I'm gonna stop you right there," Princess Justice interrupted with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Explain what a problem student is."
"Well, a student who doesn't seem to get along well with the others."
"Is there a name for that student? Perhaps, something less of a mouthful that's quick and easy to say?"
"I-I'm not sure what-"
"A bully, Caline." She said coldly, "Your 'problem students' are bullies. Bullies who harass their classmates."
Bustier tried to reason with her, "No one is truly a bully, they-"
"They enjoy the misery of others." She pretended not to hear Lila and Alya whispering something about, 'Takes one to know one.' "You expect your star students to forgive their bullies?"
"Well, it's so they can be a good example for the other students-"
Princess Justice gives a strained smile, "Now, see, I don't get why a student has to be an example when that is the role for a teacher. That would be an example of not doing your job as an educator." Bustier looked down, ashamed, "Now let's move onto the victim-blaming. Veracity Knight?"
With a nod, an image appeared on the front of his shield, one of a young girl with tan skin, curly brown hair, big brown eyes, and a few freckles on her cheeks.
"Alicia Valdez," when she heard that name, Bustier's skin became paler, "One of your star students. She had a lot on her shoulders. She was class president, planned birthdays, field trips, she broke up fights that you should have broken up. She was under quite a lot of stress. Even more when a new student joined your class. Kira Price. You knew from the very start that she was trouble when she destroyed another student's science project, didn't you, Caline? Yet, you told everyone to forgive her so she would learn love."
She sent Chloe a look that had the blonde sinking into her seat, "One day, Alicia came to you and told you that Kira destroyed her science project, and you did nothing." Bustier started shaking in her seat as she continued, "And you had the audacity to try and pin the blame onto her, saying that she shouldn't have left it where Kira could've gotten to it, saying her project was in the line of fire. Then you shamed her for tattling on 'such a trouble young girl.' That project would allow her to get a scholarship for the college of her dreams if she took first place."
Alya shot up from her seat, "Knock it off! You're just making this up!"
Veracity Knight began walking over to her but was stopped by Princess Justice, "Cesaire. If none of what I said is true, she would have defended herself. But look at her." She gestures to Bustier, who's on the brink of crying right now, "The face of a woman who's ashamed of herself." She cut Alya off before she could retort, "Another word out of you, and I will make those shackles much tighter around your wrists." Alya reluctantly took her seat and stayed quiet, but had a visible scowl on her face.
"Victim blaming brings us to favoritism. Most of your 'problem students' are children with wealthy parents or just parents with connections." Again, Chloe slumped in her seat, "Kira was one of them. Her mother is a CEO, and her father is a talk-show host. You always did whatever you could to make sure she was comfortable and at the expense of your other students. You allowed her to switch seats as she pleased, let her get out of taking tests because she was 'too busy to study,' you always took her side if there was some hostility between her and one of your other students. Kira broke a phone? That student shouldn't have had it out in the first place. Kira copied off of a test? The other student shouldn't be sharing answers."
She goes silent for a moment and just takes in the sound of Bustier's sobs. That's what she wants to hear, but she's not done yet. Princess Justice turns to the jury members, "Has the jury reached a verdict?"
Lili stood, "That's not fair! They're just going to say whatever you want to hear!" She wailed and forced out some crocodile tears for effect.
Princess Justice rolled her eyes, "Stay silent until I call you up!" She stabbed her desk with her sword, making a few students and teacher flinch, and made some cracks form on the surface. Lila took her seat, still fake crying while Alya comforted her.
The jurors had a wordless conversation, only nods and head shakes. After a few seconds, Alix stood from her seat and said, "We find the first defendant, Caline Bustier, guilty."
Princess Justice sent the woman a wicked smile. She held her sword again, and it turned back into a gavel, "Caline Bustier, for your punishment, you will forever feel all of your star students' inner turmoils. You will always know what they've felt ever since you made them your star students, and nothing else." She banged her gavel, and a red glow surrounded Bustier. When it dimmed, her tears started becoming heavier. She held her head and rocked back and forth in her seat as she muttered for it to stop.
"What did you do to her?!" Mylene yelled.
Princess Justice just smiled at the sight of the crying woman, "It's only fair that she knows how she's made those poor students feel all those years. Imagine if I hadn't done anything. She'd continue using those methods. Students with bright young futures will become doormats because they were forced to forgive their bullies, bend over backward for others, won't stand up for themselves."
"MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO FEEL LIKE THIS!"
Suddenly, a door opened. Everyone looked in shock at Mariquita and Kats standing right outside the art classroom. Alya, still with the shackles around her wrists, tried to fish her phone out of her pocket and get some footage of the new heroes for the Ladyblog.
"Well, look who we have here."
Mariquita spoke, "Marinette, stop this! It's not worth it!"
She let out a chuckle, "Oh, but justice is worth everything." Her gavel turns back into the sword. A beam shoots out and heads straight for Mariquita and Kats. The redhead hero pulled out his staff. It extended, and he used it to deflect the blast.
Kats turns to Mariquita, "You get everyone out, I'll handle Marinette and Adrien." With a nod, Mariquita jumps down from the second floor of the school and down onto the floor, followed by Kats. Kats surges forward but is stopped by Veracity Knight. He uses his staff like a sword against the knight's shield while Mariquita gets the students and teachers to follow him out. It was difficult getting Mme. Bustier to come with them, so he just carried her. When they were getting close to the door, he suddenly heard the rapid sound of heels clicking. Mariquita turned to see Princess Justice running towards them with her sword raised.
He threw his yoyo, and it wrapped around her waist before he flung her away. She managed to land on her feet and yelled to the jurors, "Don't let them escape!"
After her command, the jurors ran after the spotted hero, students, and teachers while she and Veracity Knight fought off against Kats. Mariquita turns to everyone, "Get out of here!" He sets Bustier in Mendelieve's arms, and she runs out of the school with the others. He throws his yoyo at the jurors, and it wraps around Alix and Ismael. He threw them into the other jurors, knocking them all down.
'Oh, my God! I actually did that!'
"NO!" Princess Justice screamed, "They need to be judged for their crimes!" Again, she ran for Mariquita. He spun his yoyo to use as a shield against her sword, "I find you guilty of interrupting court!" Her sword glowed again, "I sentence you-!" Her attack was blocked off by Kats, crossing his staff against her sword. She quickly tries thrusting it, but Kats deflects it by spinning his staff.
Suddenly Veracity Knight comes running. Like with what happened to Nino, the heroes were shot back by a powerful force when hit by the knight's shield, and their backs hit a wall. The Akuma symbol appears over Princess Justice's face, "Now Princess Justice! Take their Miraculous!"
"... I will. Once I give certain people their well-deserved sentences."
"What?!"
"That's clearly not Ladybug and Chat Noir. They're inexperienced and easy to beat. I'll come back for them later." She turns to Veracity Knight. "Let's go." The two jumped onto the roof of the school and made their way to the city just as Mariquita and Kats get up with pained groans.
Kats rubbed his head, "How do they do this every week?"
"I don't know," Mariquita responded, "Let's go. They're probably going after their classmates and Damocles."
"Well, how do we know where they are?"
"... Ladyblog," they deadpanned. Mariquita examines his yoyo, looking for a way to use the phone setting he's seen Ladybug use before. He taps one of the spots, and the yoyo opens like an old flip phone. He swipes the screen a few times until the icon for the Ladyblog appears. He taps it, playing a live video. Kats noticed that Alya didn't have on her shackles anymore, 'I guess they only appear in court,' he thought.
"Hey, Ladybloggers! Hawkmoth's akumatized two people this time, Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She pans her phone up, showing Princess Justice and Veracity Knight jumping from roof to roof, trying to find their classmates and principal. Along the way, Princess Justice was zapping a few people with her sword, turning them into jurors. "So apparently, their powers are based on truth and justice, but it's totally biased! Marinette punished Mme. Bustier, an amazing teacher, and now she's going after Lila. I'm sure you all remember Ladybug's best friend."
The heroes tried not to roll their eyes at that and continued watching.
"She's been out for Lila since day one, all because she's jealous, and-" At that, Mariquita immediately turned the phone back into a yoyo. "It looked like they were heading for Hôtel de Ville."
"Let's go then, mon amour!" Mariquita blushed a little at the name, making Kats frown a bit, "Do you... Not want me calling you that?" Mariquita responded by kissing his cheek, "I don't mind, kitty." He threw his you up and let it wrap around something on the roof. He tugged at it to make sure it wouldn't come loose, then wrapped his arm around Kats' waist, and they were pulled up to the roof of the school before they swung and vaulted away.
Princess Justice blasted down the doors of city hall. Guards acted fast and surged toward her and Veracity Knight, but stopped in place and bowed before her when she blasted them with her sword. The princess and her knight made their way around the building, turning those in their way into jurors until they come across the doors that stood between them and the mayor's office. Veracity Knight hit the solid doors with his shield and it exploded inwards in a cloud of dust and some splinters. Andre Bourgeois came out from behind his desk and looked to see the two Akumas approaching him.
He stood, trying to intimidate the teenage villains with his height, and spoke in his 'mayor voice'. "What is the meaning of this?! I will have the authorities-" He was cut off by Princess Justice, pointing her sword to his neck, "... What do you want?"
She smirked, knowing she was in control now.
Later, a news crew, now under Princess Justice's control, broadcasted her message for all of Paris to see, "My loyal jurors, your prime objective is to find the remaining students of Mme. Bustier's class. Bring them here, and I will see to it that they pay for their crimes and receive their well-deserved sentences. And if any of you see the new heroes, Mariquita and Shvartse Kats, do not let them stop you from bringing these people to justice!"
"Stupid Marinette. Stupid Hawkmoth. Stupid Paris!" Lila ranted as she ran from Princess Justice's jurors. She was suddenly pulled into an alleyway, and the jurors ran past. Lila looked and saw that Mylene was the one who helped her. With her is the rest of the class; all are out of breath from running so much. "Are you okay?" Mylene asked, "Oh my gosh! It was awful! What's even worse is that someone took Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous!" That made the class go into a rant about the heroes filling in for Ladybug and Chat Noir being imposters, probably stealing the Miraculous, and wondering where the real heroes are.
"I knew it!"
"We need to find Ladybug and Chat Noir!"
"What if they're working for Hawkmoth?"
They were cut off by, "There you guys are."
They looked to see Mariquita and Kats standing right outside the alley. Alya stormed over to them and jabbed at Mariqita's chest, "What are you fakers doing with Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous?!"
Mariquita frowned, "First: Don't touch me. Second: They're out of commission at the moment, so we're temporarily filling in."
"You're lying!" Lila wailed, "Ladybug said that if she's in trouble, she will give me her Miraculous!"
Hearing that, Kim walked over to Mariquita intending to take his earrings and give them to Lila, but was stopped by Kats stepping in front of him, "Don't touch him!"
Kim scoffed and looked down at the shorter hero, "What are you gonna do about it, pip- Ah!" Kats suddenly had him in a chokehold.
"What were you gonna call me?" He asked with a smirk, 'I freaking love this ring!' Mariquita tapped his shoulder and whispered, "That's enough." Reluctantly, he released the athlete, allowing him to breathe. Kim backed away, and the students stared at the new heroes in horror.
"You're no heroes!"
"Chat Noir would never do that!"
"What did you do to them?!"
"QUIET!" Chloe yelled, silencing her rowdy classmates, "I'd focus less on the new heroes and more on getting to safety before the jurors find us, drag our asses to Marinette, and let her punish all of us!" That had made them, including Lila, go silent, but a few were still looking at them with distrust.
"But what gives her the right to hurt us?" Alya snarked, "We didn't do anything." Her words just made Mariquita's blood boil. He was about to snap and tell her off using words Marc would never use, but when his fingers intertwined with Kats', he calmed down and said, "Go home."
"Fine," Alya muttered, "Just fix everything and give Ladybug and Chat Noir their Miraculous' back." She felt Lila placing her hand on her shoulder and remembered what the Italian said earlier, "Or," she points to Mariquita, "You could just give Lila the earrings since Ladybug said she'd give them to Lila if she were in trouble."
Mariquita shot the Italian a glare that she sent back without anyone noticing, "You honestly believe that bullshit? Ladybug hates her, they were never friends, and they never will be." 'With and without the mask.' Before the students could retort and defend the liar, Mariquita swung away, leaving Kats in the alley with the class. He shot them a fanged sneer, making them, especially Kim, flinch. He extended his staff, ready to vault after Mariquita before his turquoise eyes landed on Alya's phone still in her grasp, "Maybe don't live stream everything when there's a hoard of people after you." At that, he vaulted away.
Alya scoffed, "Who do they think they are?"
Nino rubbed the back of his neck, "Babe, maybe he's right. The jurors are probably able to find us if you're live-streaming."
"Yeah, Alya." Mylene points to her phone, "Can you just record later when we're out of danger?"
"Guys, it's just Marinette and Adrien," Kim said with an eye roll, "What can they do? Hey!" He lifted his head off the ground and looked to see Chloe glaring down at him, "What was that for?!"
"In case you've forgotten, Marinette knows everything about us," she answered, "You all saw what she did to Mme. Bustier. She can use our fears and desires against us and use them to create the perfect sentences for when she finds us guilty." She turns to Mylene, "You wanna be a famous actor? Well, she'll make it so that you always freeze up whenever you're on camera, or you mess up every. Single. Line." Hearing that, Mylene started crying while Ivan comforted her.
"Harsh, Chloe," Nino said.
"No. What's harsh is you and monkey brain," she points to Kim, "turning on your best friend. Your sentences?" She hummed in thought, "My guess is you two are never able to defend those you know are innocent. Or maybe something more personal. Maybe, all of your music comes out discordant, and you'll sink like a rock every time you swim."
Alya shoved her back, "Cut it out!" Chloe pretended to inspect her nails, "Oh, I haven't gotten started yet. You'll be forced to tell the truth, but no one will believe you. And every time you post an article without checking your sources, it'll be deleted until you get your facts straight." Alya froze at those words. She always checked her sources! And she always made sure she posted only facts!
"You don't post facts," Chloe said, rousing Alya out of her thoughts. She stared at the blonde in disbelief, wondering how she knew what she was thinking of, "You post gossip on that tabloid blog of yours. You'll post anything that'll get you views, like Liar Rossi, for example." She gestured to the sausage-haired girl, "You posted a video about her being Ladybug's bestie without even asking her if it's true."
"Well, she-"
"Never said anything?" She interrupted, "Well, maybe because she's hoping that you'll figure it out, but no! Here we are months later, and you still believe the crap coming out of her big mouth! And look where we are."
Lila sniffed, "Chloe, there's no need to be rude, I-"
"Shut up, Rossi!" She snarled, "And you people honestly believe that Marinette would cheat on a test, push someone down the stairs, steal, throw a NAPKIN at someone who wears GLASSES with the intention of gouging out their eyes?" Max looked down, "God! You're all idiots! Come on, Sabrina." The red-haired girl followed her out the alley.
"Where are you going?" Nino asked.
"Far away from you people!" Chloe looked around, making sure there were no jurors in sight, and pulled Sabrina away from their classmates.
All was silent until they heard Lila's crying, "You guys know I'm not lying, right?" Alya sighed and went to go hug her, "You're not lying. Right guys?" Hesitantly, everyone made noises of agreement, "We're gonna make it out of here."
Kats looked around for Mariquita until he found him standing on a roof of the homes built across from city hall. He landed a few feet away from him and looked around the vicinity. Officers turned into jurors were everywhere. They were guarding the doors, patrolling the streets, and dragging anyone who wasn't under Princess Justice's control into city hall. With his enhanced eyesight, he could see through the windows. Guards were blocking them from the inside.
"... Jurors are blocking every entrance," he said but got no reaction from Mariquita, "Wanna see if there's a way to get in through the back?... Rainbow?"
"... S-sorry. I just... I can't believe them sometimes." Kats sighed. That's what this is about, "How are they not seeing that all of this is their fault? If you hadn't stopped me, I would've just gone crazy. They've been hurting her for months because of Rossi!" He exclaimed, "They called her a liar, a bully! It was only a matter of time until she finally got Akumatized! I-I should have done something!"
"Rainbow, you did-"
"But it wasn't enough!" He took a breath, "Now I have to fight her. My own cousin..." Kats walked up to him and wiped away a tear forming in the corner of his eye. "How does she do this? She had to fight all the people she considered her friends, and she even fought uncle Tom, Wang, grandma, grandpa."
"Because she knew it was to help them," Kats gently turned Marquita's head toward him, "I'm sure she probably felt like you do right now. No one wants to fight their friends or family. But it'll be okay." Mariquita looked down at the floor, "Rainbow, look at me." He does, We're gonna save Marinette and Adrien. Okay?"
He smiled, "Okay. Thanks, kitty." He gives him a peck on the cheek, "So, you said there were guards blocking the windows?" Kats nodded, "There has to be another way to get inside without getting caught." Suddenly, he felt his yoyo vibrate. He pulled it out of his belt, pressed one of the spots, and it turned into a flip phone. "It's Chloe. She says the clock below the flag is a little loose."
Katz furrowed his brow and looked at the blonde's text, "That's... Nice of her to tell us. How does she know your number?"
"We'll deal with that later." Mariquita throws the yoyo at one of the stone statues sitting on the ledge above the front door, and it wraps around the statue's head. He ties the end to a pipe on the ledge and Kats pulls out his staff.
"Ready?" In response, Mariquita wrapped his arms around Kats and nodded. They zip lined over the guards and landed on the ledge. Mariquita retracted his yoyo and tossed it up to the rod holding up the flag. This time, Kats wrapped his arms around him as the yoyo pulled them up to the clock. Kats messes around with it and feels the clock moving a little bit. "Found our way in." He and Mariquita push the clock with some struggle due to its weight and create an entrance for them to get in.
The heroes dropped down from one of the rafters and found themselves in a hallway. They looked around for any jurors and make their way down the hall. They round a corner but quickly go back when they see jurors patrolling.
"Any ideas?" Mariquita whispered.
Kats shrugged, "They won't remember us attacking them, right?"
Mariquita thought about it, "Alright, then." The charge at the guards and ambush them. Kats smacks a few into each other with his staff and Mariquita uses his newfound strength to flip a few over his shoulder and his yoyo to fling them at the walls. Once the guards are all unconscious on the floor and in too much pain to move, they ran to go find Princess Justice and Veracity Knight.
"Your highness!" A guard panted as he ran into the office. Princess Justice looked up from her cup of tea and addressed the guard, "The new Ladybug and Chat Noir broke in. They've taken out ten of your jurors."
Princess Justice frowned, "They're more capable than I thought. Veracity Knight," he straightened himself up even more than he already was, "Lead a team of the jurors to find the defendants and bring them here."
With a nod, Veracity Knight ran out of the room. She turned to the guard, "Send a few jurors to find Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale while the rest keep Mariquita and Shvartse Kats busy until I serve out their sentences."
Lila knew she should have run way from these idiots when she had the chance. Now they were being chased by a hoard of jurors lead by Adrien, Veracity Knight, whatever he was called! Most were recognizable; they were Alix, Juleka, and Rose, and some other students from the school. The rest were Nadja, M. Ramier, Kagami, Bob Roth, and some members of the police force.
Nino pointed to an empty bus parked in the middle of the street, "In there!" The students pile in and close the doors just before any jurors get in, and let out breaths of relief once they're safe.
Veracity Knight punched the windows, making small cracks appear due to his armored fists even with four layers of glass.
"We're safe for now," Ivan muttered, "Maybe we can just wait it out?"
"I don't think so, dude." Nino points to the cracks forming along the surface of the windows, "We're gonna have to drive."
Kim raises his hand, "I've had a few lessons. I can try." He makes his way to the wheel, only to trip and fall to the floor, "What the-!"
"ALIX!" Alya shrieked as she pointed to the pink-haired girl who was hiding under the seats and clasping Kim's ankle
"How did she get in?!"
Kim tries to pry her off of his leg, "Someone else needs to drive!"
While everyone else, sans Lila, tries to help Kim, Nino runs to the wheel but stopped on his tracks when he saw the familiar mop of black and turquoise gradient hair sitting in the driver's seat, "Luka?"
The young guitarist whirled his head around, revealing his dark purple irises. With a sneer, he put the bus into drive and slammed his foot down on the accelerator, making it hard for the students to stand so they fall on top of each other. While he drove, Veracity Knight leads the jurors after the bus as it sped to Hôtel de Ville.
"Mari-girl, this isn't you!" Jagged exclaimed as he was pulled by jurors into the Mayor's office with Clara, "We can talk about this."
"He's right, Marigold, you must break free from Hawkmoth's control!" Clara rhymed
Princess Justice turned away from Rose, who was holding up a tablet, "When my classmates arrive, you'll see why I'm doing what must be done."
"Rose! What a surprise!" Prince Ali's voice sounded out through the tablet, "Say, weren't your eyes blue?" The blonde juror turns her tablet around so Ali can see Princess Justice, "Oh... I see. M-miss Akuma, any particular reason you called?"
Before she could answer, a juror police officer ran in, "Your majesty, the defendants have been captured."
Princess Justice looked back to the prince with a smirk, "Oh, you'll see very soon."
Mariquita and Kats fought their way through a stairwell and hallways full of guards until finally, they made it to the Mayor's office
"It's over, Marinette!" Kats yelled, "Huh?"
But no one was there. They brandish their weapons in case of sneak attacks. "Where is she?" Mariquita wondered, "Her broadcast was playing from this room."
Kats walked over to a window, "Mon amour, you may wanna take a look at this." Mariquita joined him at the window. Kats points to what he was looking at- Jurors are dragging Mme. Bustier's class out of the bus and into the building.
Their weapons let out beeps. Mariquita turns his yoyo back into a flip-phone while Kats fiddled around with his staff, trying to figure out how to turn it into a phone until he presses on the pawprint. On their screens are live streams showing the main room of the building. The students are back in their shackles and standing before the Akumas sitting at the front desk. Seated next to them are Jagged Stone; Clara Nightingale; and Rose, holding up a tablet with Prince Ali's image on the screen.
Princess Justice's image appears on the screen, "Mariquita, Shvartse Kats. You're just in time to witness the downfall of one of Paris' villains are her little posse. You're free to join, of course, after the trial is over."
Mariquita gasped, "We need to get down there!"
They were about to run for the doors but were stopped by two guards blocking them off with a large bookcase. Kats pounded on the heavy bookcase with his fists, "Damn it! How are we going to get out?"
Mariquita was about to suggest they go out through the windows but found them being blocked by jurors standing guard outside, "She really thought of everything."
"That's Marinette for ya." Kats chuckled, "I think that's one of the reasons I had a crush on her."
Mariquita giggled, "I forgot you had a crush on my cousin, you weirdo."
"Yep." He holds his hand, "Now I'm dating her very adorable, funny, and creative cousin." Something comes to mind, "Wait, I know how to get out of here. Think you can hold them off until I get back?" Off Mariquita's nod, he yelled out, "CATACLYSM!" Kats and Mariquita flinched when they saw the destructive magic surround his hand. Getting over his shock, Kats slid his hand across the bookcase, turning it black and into ashes, "... Shit, that was so cool."
Wasting no time, they ran out of the office.
"Lila Rossi, you stand accused of the following," Princess Justice unfurled the very long scroll and read all of Lila's crimes for everyone to hear, "Lying, cheating, bullying, truancy, charity fraud, slander, sexual harassment, baiting others into suicide, cyberbullying, assault, faking disabilities, forging signatures, slander, and destruction of property. That's not ever the worst. The worst thing you've done? Being an accessory to terrorism." Lila's paling went unnoticed as everyone gasped in horror and disbelief.
"I'd like to call Jagged Stone up to the front." Before he could react, the rockstar was pulled out of his seat by XY and Luka and pulled to the middle of the room. "Jagged, speak only the truth." He nods, "Have you ever owned a cat?"
Jagged furrowed his brow, "What? No! I am highly allergic!" He points to Lila, "Has sausage hair been saying that I own a cat?!"
"Not only that, but you also wrote a song dedicated to her but it was so special to you, that you kept it a secret," she explained, and Jagged's face turned red with anger.
"THAT IS SICK!" The student's flinched and the usually mellow rockstar's outburst, "I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT THE ONLY LADY I'VE WRITTEN A SONG ABOUT WAS LADYBUG! IT WAS TO THANK HER FOR SAVING ME, AND I MADE IT PUBLIC!" He was about to approach Lila, but Luka and XY kept a tight grip on him, "Layla, Lisa, whoever you are! If you speak about me in such a way again, I will make it so you can never set foot in Paris again!"
Princess Justice grinned at the shocked looks on her classmates' faces. Lila tried to say something in her defense, but was cut off, "Next up, Clara Nightingale." Luka and XY pulled a seething Jagged Stone away and in his place was Clara being restrained by Kagami and Ismael, "Speak only the truth, Clara."
She nods, "Please, tell me the lies she's told. So I may put the demon in a chokehold," she sneered.
"With pleasure. Apparently, you stole her dance moves and didn't give her credit."
Clara tightened her fists, "That would explain some of the hate mail I've been receiving. I think now this girl deserves a bludgeoning!" Once again, the jurors had to keep another witness restrained so they couldn't kill Lila before the end of the trial.
"And last up, Prince Ali," Princess Justice said as Rose made her way to the front and held up the tablet with Ali's angry image for her classmates to see, "Princess Justice, I swear to speak honestly. Just tell me what this harpy has been saying about me."
"Where to begin?" She hummed in thought, "Well, there's the charity fraud. She told others she was collecting money for one of your Go Green charities- Yes, I'm aware you've only endorsed children's charities- then she harbored that money for herself. She's also claimed to have visited your palace multiple times and that you've gone on secret dates with her."
There was a moment of silence before Ali took a deep breath and said, "Miss Rossi. I will say this once. Make any more outrageous claims about me, and I will send my team of lawyers after you."
"Oh, and Alya?" The reporter lifted her head, "I think you'll find this interesting. Lila claims to be the descendant of a superhero. She even has her own Miraculous. You may have seen it when she pulled it out of my locker." Alya shook a little in her seat after hearing that.
Finally, Lila snapped, "ALRIGHT! So I told a few lies? Who cares?!"
"Mine and Clara's careers would have been ruined because of you!" Jagged exclaimed angrily, "I could have gone to jail!"
"And let's not forget the other things you've done," Princess Justice mentioned, "Veracity Knight? If you please." The knight made his way to the front, and an image appeared on his shield. He held it up for the class to see, "Nadja," the controlled reporter nodded, "make sure you get this." Nadja had her news crew point their cameras at the shield just as the first image appeared. There was no sound, but everyone could clearly see Lila walking through the school, reaching for the Akuma, and putting it in her earring.
Lil shot up from her seat, "Th-that's fake! I would never take an Akuma!" The students looked like they wanted to believe her, but that was clearly Lila's image on the surface of the shield reaching for the Akuma. "Alya, you believe me, don't you?" The bespectacled girl stayed silent and continued watching.
The next image appeared, this time with sound. It showed the day where Kagami got akumatized into Oni-Chan. First, Lila forcing a kiss on Adrien by wrapping her arm tight around his neck, then telling Oni-Chan that she'll surrender if she gets rid of Ladybug. Nino remembered that day. Lila had told him that she wasn't interested in Adrien, but there she was, forcing a kiss on his cheek and making him very uncomfortable. He looked at his stoic best friend and sighed.
Next and final, Lila hoped, was the day Marinette got expelled. The shield showed everything from Lila stealing the test answers and placing them in Marinette's bag to walking down the stairs and wailing that Marinette pushed her, to placing the necklace in Marinette's locker, and finally, smirking sinisterly when the scarlet Akumas flew into the room.
Lila paled when she saw her classmates glaring at her, possibly plotting her death. Kim and Mylene even tugged on their shackles, trying to break them apart so they could pummel her properly.
"Well, I think it's time we come to a verdict. Jurors?"
Without having a wordless conversation like the first jurors, they all immediately said, "GUILTY!" Lila tried to look for a way out, but there was no escape. Every door and window was blocked off, and her classmates certainly weren't going to help her after everything was brought to light.
"The jury has spoken," Princess Justice said with so much glee in her voice as her sword morphed into a gavel, "Lila Rossi, I sentence you to-"
"MARINETTE!" Mariquita yelled from the top of the left staircase.
Princess Justice snarled, "You just can't stay away. Where's your cat?"
Now de-transformed, Nathaniel looks around the corner and sees jurors blocking off the kitchen. He turns to Plagg, "What do you need to recharge?"
"Cheese," he answered, "preferably camembert. So how are you gonna get past those guys?"
Nathaniel thought about it for a moment before coming up with something, "I got it." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pencil sharpener.
"What's that gonna do?"
"This." He aims, then tosses the sharpener so that it ricochets off a wall and goes down the hallway. The jurors look to see what that was, allowing Nathaniel and Plagg to rush into the kitchen. Nathaniel opens a fridge and looks around for any camembert, "I don't see any. Is gouda okay?"
"As long as it's cheese." Nathaniel tosses him a piece.
"Take your time," Nathaniel said, and Plagg paused mid-bite. "I something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, y-yeah. Usually, I only get two or three bites in before Adrien transforms." Nathaniel frowned, "So, you kinda caught me by surprise there."
"... I'll talk to Adrien about that," he said seriously, "Eat as much as you need, but please hurry. I don't know how long Marc can hold them off."
With a nod, Plagg quickly finished the piece of gouda, "Alright, I'm ready."
"Plagg, Claws Out!"
It felt even better the second time. Kats ran out of the kitchen and went to join the fight.
Princess Justice took cover behind Veracity Knight as he blocked Mariquita's yoyo from hitting her. Mariquita deflected a few of Princess Justice's blasts with his yoyo while occasionally dodging jurors. He backed away as six jurors stalked towards him. 'Nath, where are you?' Before they could attack, Kat's extended staff smacked them out of the way and into a few other jurors, knocking them down. Mariquita smiled, "Kats!"
"Came in just in time, mon amour," he winked, "Think it's time to break out the Lucky Charm."
"You're probably right." He yelled, "LUCKY CHARM!", and tossed his yoyo into the air. The object that landed in his hands was, "A magnet? What do I do with this? He looks around the scene, and before his eyes, everything turned monochrome with only a few objects lighting up with a ladybug pattern
Get Kats to use Cataclysm on Veracity Knight's shield so Princess Justice is forced to be on the defensive.
So he can't attack, use the magnet to restrain Veracity Knight. Connect the magnet to his arm and leg
While she's blasting you, she'll be too distracted to notice anything
Get Kats to sneak up behind Princess Justice and pull the crown holding up her hair off so her hair will fall over his eyes and she can't see
Grab her sword, break it, free Akuma.
Mariquita blinked a few times, "So that's how she knows how to use her lucky charms. Kats! Cataclysm his shield!"
"On it!" He yelled out, "CATACLYSM!" He ran over to Veracity Knight and touched his shield, destroying it on impact. Enraged, Veracity Knight ran after Kats. Suddenly, Mariquita tossed Kats one of the magnets. He slid under the knight and attached one end of the magnet to his leg, bent his leg so it would reach his arm, and attached the other end to his forearm. Veracity Knight lost his balance and fell to the floor as he tried to remove the magnet.
Princess Justice continues blasting at the heroes with her sword, sometimes taking a few shots at the class, only for them to duck or dodge.
"Get the crown!"
Confused by what he meant, Princess Justice didn't have time to react before Kats leaped over her and grabbed the crown holding up her ponytail in mid-air, making her hair fall over her eyes so she couldn't see, "Hey! Give that back, you mangy thing!" Kats snatched the sword out of her hand and tossed it to Mariquita. He broke it over his knee, releasing the Akuma. He smiled as he captured the Akuma with his yoyo. "No more evildoing for you, little Akuma. Time to de-evilize!"
From the yoyo emerged the newly purified butterfly, which soon flew off. "Bye-bye, little butterfly," Mariquita said as he took the magnet and tossed it into the air, "MIRACULOUS MARIQUITA!"
The magnet burst into thousands of ladybugs that scattered across the city, repairing all damage caused during the Akuma attack. The courtroom turned back into the courtyard, the mayor's office was fixed, the jurors were no longer under Princess Justice's control, the shackles disappeared, and Mme. Bustier's sentence was lifted. As the ladybugs swept around the city, Kats wrapped his arms around Mariquita's waist, brought him down with a dip, then kissed him. The Akuma's magic bubbled away, leaving Marinette and Adrien on their knees. Marinette's purse laid by her feet, repaired.
"What just..." Marinette murmured in confusion before seeing the new heroes and the solemn looks on her classmates' faces, "... Oh my God. Did I..."
"It wasn't your fault!" Alya yelled, "Marinette... I-I am... So sorry." She choked back a sob, "I-I was horrible to you, I thought you actually did what..." Her looks of sadness morphed into anger, "YOU!" She pointed to Lila, who was trying to sneak away, "I can't believe I ever listened to you! You better run right out of here before I do something I'll probably regret!"
Taking this opportunity, Lila ran for the doors. Maybe she could tell her mom that she was being bullied at school so they could move. Yeah, that'll work.
"LILA ALICIA ISABELLA ROSSI!" Her mother yelled as she opened the doors, "NEVER IN MY LIFE," she grabs one of her ponytails and yanks it hard, "HAVE I BEEN SO DISAPPOINTED, SO INFURIATED, SO... SO..." Instead of continuing her rant in French, she yelled in Italian. Everyone, sans Lila, Marinette, and Mariquita- who understood Italian from their grandmother- stared at the woman very confused and wondering what she was saying. Finally, she switched back to French, "CONSIDER YOUR DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY WAIVED, YOUNG LADY! WORKING WITH A TERRORIST?! YOU MIGHT AS WELL START WORLD WAR THREE! AND DON'T EXPECT THE FAMILY LAWYER TO SPEAK AT YOUR TRIAL!"
"But, mama-!"
"NO! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD COMING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!" When Roger and a few officers approached her, she released Lila and allowed them to drag her to the car while one stood by to comfort her.
Nino chuckled, "Wow... That was... Marinette," the Eurasian girl looked up at her friend, "I... I should have listened. You've been my best friend since forever. You'd never do something like that. Ever. I'm sorry."
She smiles, "It's fine, Nino."
"I'm sorry too, Mari," Kim apologized, "I'm supposed to be like your brother, and I just... I was awful. I'm sorry." He turned to Mariquita and Kats, "And, sorry I almost took your earrings."
When he didn't say anything, Kats received a nudge from Mariquita, "And I'm sorry I choked you."
"Um, Mariquita, Kats? Could you maybe take us home?" Marinette asked as she and Adrien approached them, "We need to tell our families we're okay."
Mariquita nodded, "Of course." He and Kats lead the respective holders out of the building, ignoring the press as they asked many questions.
"Are you the new Ladybug and Chat Noir?"
"Is this temporary?"
"What are your thoughts on Lila Rossi?"
"Do you think there are more people in this city willing to work for Hawkmoth?"
Mariquita pulled Marinette into an alley, just as he de-transformed. Tikki gasped upon seeing her friend and flew over to hug her, "Marinette! Thank gods you're okay!"
Marinette giggled, "Hey, Tikki. I am so-"
"Don't you dare apologize!" She scolded, "You're only human, even you can get Akumatized."
This touching moment was cut short when Marinette remembered that Marc was standing in front of her, "So..."
"... So..."
"You know you can't tell anyone, right?"
"I won't. Ever." He starts taking off the earrings, "But there is something I need to ask."
Marinette and Tikki looked at each other for a moment, shocked. "What do you want?"
"For you to get a new suit." He hands Marinette the earrings, "I will not have my cousin fighting crime in a revealing skin-suit without proper armor or shoes."
Marinette giggled, "That's it?" Off his nod, she turns to Tikki, "Can I really change my suit?"
The goddess nodded, "It's possible. You can always draw up some designs."
She nodded before looking back at her cousin, "Thanks, Marc." She pulls him in for a hug which he returns, "And if anything happens where I can't become Ladybug, I'll be sure to send Tikki to go find you."
"Thanks, Mari," he whispered.
Kats and Adrien ran behind a building just as Kats' transformation dropped. Plagg immediately flew over to Adrien and hugged his face, "Don't do that again! Ever! I know it may seem like I don't, but I really do care, kit!" Adrien, shocked at first, holds Plagg close, "I care about you too, Plagg." He looks at Nathaniel standing awkwardly by, "Thanks, Nathan-"
He cuts him off, "You can call me, Nath."
Adrien's jaw hung open a bit. Nathaniel only allowed a select few to call him 'Nath'. "S-sure. But really, thank you. For helping Marinette, me, the city."
He gave a faint smile, "It was no problem." He starts taking the ring off, "Oh, and before I forget. Let Plagg finish eating before your transform. He needs the energy." He hands him the ring back.
Adrien looked to Plagg who gave him a nod. "Oh. Plagg, I'm sorry. Thanks for telling me, Nath."
Plagg flies over to the redhead, "And if blondie here gets into trouble again, I'll be sure to find you."
Nathaniel's eyes gleamed, "Re-really?!"
"Of course," Adrien said, "You know how to use the ring, and you've proven yourself to be an amazing hero. Plus, you're the only one who knows I'm Chat Noir." He holds up his fist.
With some hesitance, Nathaniel curls his hand into a fist and fistbumps him.
Marc and Nathaniel met up with each other at the park and ran into each other's arms.
"That was amazing!" Nathaniel exclaimed
"It was!"
He pulls away from Marc and kisses his cheek, "How's Mari?"
"Better," Marc answered, "What about Adrien?"
"He's okay." He made a high-pitched sound that had his boyfriend laughing, "God, I wanna do that again!"
"Later, because I am so tired right now," Marc said with a small yawn, "I'm amazed how those two haven't passed out during class yet."
Nathaniel wrapped his arm around Marc's shoulders and walked him home, "Too tired to come up with a new comic, Rainbow?"
"... I'm not too tired for that."
A week has passed since Princess Justice took over Paris, and things have changed. After Lila's school-based lies were exposed, the school board decided to do a background check on Mme. Bustier and Principal Damocles, who is nowhere to be found. Apparently, he had been taking bribes from the parents of rich and well-connected students and allowing those students to do whatever they wanted as long as he got his money. That money was used for selfish purposes, the worst one was modifying his office into his "secret lair". Mme. Bustier was also receiving repercussions. She was supposed to go to a bullying seminar in order to get her teaching license but never did, so she's been teaching without a license for years and using toxic teaching methods that forced many students into therapy.
Mme. Mendelieve- who was supposed to receive a promotion years ago- took over as principal and ran the school much better than Damocles ever did. The Akuma class got a new teacher. A kind woman named Jessica Kittrell, who actually did something about bullies. And speaking of bullies- based on the severity, those students were either given months of detention, suspension, or expulsion. Chloe was expelled but didn't even try to complain since Mendelieve was in charge. Adrien came out and told his classmates and told them he knew about Lila's lies. He lost their trust for a while but was slowly earning it back. It also took a while for Marinette to fully trust her classmates again, but things are slowly getting better.
Ladybug got a new outfit. This time, she wore a black leather jacket with her logo on the back over a ladybug-print tunic with a black belt, black forearm cuffs, black shorts over red leggings with black knee-pads, and boots similar to Mariquita's. Adrien made sure Plagg ate enough so he wouldn't be too exhausted after a battle.
Lila got the attention she wanted. She was with Benedict Arnold on the list of traitors through history, Gabriel fired her and had every magazine that even just mentioned her name burned and shredded, and she was tried as an adult and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. She was sued for millions of dollars by celebrities, past students who found out her lies, the parents of the students she drove to suicide, and would probably be paying off her debt until she's in her eighties. But that would be hard because who would ever hire a terrorist's accomplice?
Mariquita and Shvartse Kats met on top of the roof of a building and watched the scarlet Akumas run rampant through the streets of Paris. Marinette was visiting family in Italy and Adrien was in London with his aunt and cousin.
"You ready?"
Kats held his gloved hand, "When you are, mon amour." He gave his hand a quick kiss before he and Mariquita jumped down from the roof and went to save the city.