Chloe cursed.
Cursed what exactly? She didn't really know. Her brain was frantic, still calming from the mix of adrenaline and fear. Maybe she blamed the harsh sun beating down on her? Or the crowd of students grouped around Ladybug? Either way, she was irritated but she took a breath to push it down.
Because Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug. Brave, cool, fascinating, Ladybug, the one who risked her life daily… was Marinette, the girl she bullied on a daily basis. I don't deserve the Bee miraculous. Why did Marinette even give it to me?
And even more odd, was that her childhood friend, Adrien Agreste, was crying and pleading over Ladybug's body, asking her to hold and and wait and that the ambulance was on the way.
After a few seconds of letting out his feelings, Adrien composed himself and looked up at Chloe. His eyes frightened her, though she didn't let it show. The green wasn't warm anymore, it was cold and unfeeling. He wasn't Adri-kins anymore, he was Adrien Agreste. Chloe knew better than to anger him when he got like this, usually induced by his father. The classmates around them froze, no one speaking or trying to fawn over Ladybug- no, Marinette's body anymore.
They had never seen Adrien like this before, Chloe realized. They don't know how cold the Agreste's need to be. They only know the kind, gentle boy who isn't there right now. The price of having a high social status was having to suck in your emotions when it mattered. And right then, right now, it definitely did.
"What happened?" He questioned, the words more similar to a demand than anything else. "I-I was trapped in the locker room," Chloe swallowed, "with Marinette." She ignored the gasps of surprise that she, Chloe, Queen Bee, had referred to the class president with her first name instead of Dupain-Cheng.
"We were stuck, and she… transformed." Chloe pushed herself to finish, the gaping looks of disbelief from the brighter classmates who had put it together making her neck prickle in distaste. "Into Ladybug. She kicked the door down and brought me out. She collapsed afterwards."
Ayla, and many others, had tears dripping down their faces. Is it possible to feel elated and destroyed at the same time? Ayla wondered. Some classmates were stuck in shock and anger. "It's Chloe's fault! She shouldn't have needed Ladybug!" An anonymous voice called out.
Soon, a portion of the class was glaring at Chloe, casting accusing looks. The blonde girl slumped at the angered looks, knowing that she deserved it in a way. Looking at Adrien, she noticed him place a kiss on Ladybug's forehead, whispering some words. Then he stood up, laying the red-clad heroine's torso and head gently onto the ground.
This movement caught the attention of everyone gathered around. Adrien spoke with absolute conviction, "Word of her identity cannot be said outside of those gathered here. Is that understood?" Everyone murmured their consent, though some did it unwillingly. "Good. I will take off her earrings, and someone will call the nearest hospital. The alibi will be that she was stuck, and got severly burnt. There must be no mention of Ladybug at all."
"Who gave you the right to decide?" Someone called out. Adrien merely looked over with cold eyes. "I'd say that I have more authority over this situation than anyone here. I would hate to ruin your career forever, starting from letting my father message each and every school that you applied to and tell them to refuse." The class collectively sucked in a breath at the threat. Everyone knew better than to get on an Agreste's bad side. Then again, they didn't even know Adrien had one until now.
Kneeling down next to Ladybug's collapsed form, he carefully reached up to her earlobes and took off the matching red spotted earrings. The suit vanished in a shower of pink sparkles, revealing Marinette with multiple third-degree burns across her body, primarily her arms and legs.
Ayla's eyes widened in shock, and she almost reached for her phone before remembering her promise and Adrien's threat. Stay strong, she thought to herself, I won't invade her privacy! Everyone involved, though they already knew who Ladybug was, still gasped. The confirmation solidified it into everyone's heads: Marinette is Ladybug.
Adrien pocketed the earrings, scooping up a small red figure from the ground next to Marinette. Tucking the Kwami (her name is Tikki, Adrien recalled) into his other pocket, Adrien twisted his Miraculous in thought.
"Do any of you know who, or what, caused this?" Adrien turned to his classmates, all milling about.
Max offered some information. "There is a 87.29 percent chance of this being the result of an Akuma attack." Adrien nodded, then pulled out Plagg. "What is that?" Juleka asked, nodding at the black Kwami, who for once was not munching on cheese. "Kid, you sure this is a good idea?" The small cat-like creature questioned, eliciting a round of gasps.
Adrien did not stop to answer, instead exclaiming, "Plagg! Claws out!" In a flash of green, Chat Noir stood where Adrien once did. However, the playful glint was now gone, replaced by a gleam that promised revenge.
"Dude! What?!" Nino couldn't stop himself from exclaiming, among many other proclamations of shock. "I hold you to the same thing for Ladybug, don't reveal our identities. Now, I have somebody to deal with. Excuse me." Then he crouched down, and sprung up onto the school roof.
"What in the name of dumplings was that?!" Ayla questioned, squinting up to where she thought Adrien was located, the sun blinding her with the white glare of her glasses. "It seems that Adrien is Chat Noir and Marinette is Ladybug," Max offered. "You know what I meant!" The amateur reporter huffed, torn between anger at both of the heroes for not god-damn telling her that's what, and fear for putting their lives at risk.
Chloe was having a hard time computing… well, computing her whole life. First, Dupain-Cheng, a meek, shy, stuttering clumsy mess of a girl, turns out to be bold, daring, and confident Ladybug? Then Adrien, introverted, pacifist, and painfully oblivious to romance, turns out to be suave, outgoing, flirty and chill Chat Noir?
Chloe was thinking she didn't know her childhood friend as well as she thought.
Meanwhile, Adrien had found the Akuma. Previously, he may have laughed at the ridiculous situation that caused this newest issue, but now, he only felt a cold hurting sensation.
"I AM SUNSCREAM! I WILL BURN EVERYONE! THEY MUST FEEL MY PAIN!" A teenager was standing in the middle of the sun, throwing out fireballs from his fingers. Looking closer with his enhanced vision, he noticed that the boy's right hand had what looked like the remains of a torn glove.
Chat didn't stop to think. That was his lady's expertise. He simply walked up while the teen was distracted, snatched the Akuma-infected fabric, and ripped it, ignoring the burns that were sure to form under his gloves. Immediately afterwards, he snatched the fluttering blackened butterfly from the air, muttering "Cataclysm" and disintegrating the poor insect.
The boy, now reverted to his previous state, slumped to the ground. "Did I get akumatized? I did, didn't I? Oh, I told them to-" Chat stopped listening, disregarding how rude he might've seemed, and started to head towards the back of the school. The reporters, previously shocked into silence by the unexpected ending, tried to catch up to the young hero. Ignoring the protests arising behind him, Chat Noir dropped off the charred roof and quickly entered the school.
After de-transforming (and enduring a scolding from Plagg), running his burnt hands under some cold fountain water, and wrapping it up with gauze he kept handy in his gym bag, Adrien strolled out of the still burning building like nothing was wrong. Running a hand through his slightly blackened hair, he shrugged and waved to his dumb-struck classmates.
Damn, that looks cool. Chloe appraised in her head, watching Adrien greet everyone casually like he didn't literally freaking transform into Chat Noir. But for now, Chloe decided to act normal. I'll fucking gut him later.
~o0o~
Author's Note:
pain + pain + pain = me
Peace out!