Chapter Five: A Little Bug

Marinette grabbed her bag. "Mistress Marinette," Longg called to her.

"Yes, Longg?" Marinette asked.

"I feel Flash is not a good influence," Longg said.

"Thanks, Longg, and I think I'll go with Spiderman, too," Marinette said cheerfully. "I wonder how Chat is doing."

"You could call Crimson and ask…" Longg began, but stopped.

"What was that, Longg?" Marinette asked.

"Nothing, Mistress Marinette," Longg replied. Something told him the news Crimson had wouldn't be good news.

"Please, just call me Marinette," Marinette said, giggling. She finally had high spirits. Why? Because of Spiderman. Unlike his name, he wasn't a man, just a teenage boy. Like her. Before she could make out the door, Crimson came crashing through her window.

"Mar- Mari- Marin—Marinette!" she finally exclaimed, clearly out of breath.

"What's wrong, Crim?" Marinette asked.

"It's Chat, and he's not happy. I tried to stop him from coming, he said he'd come back in a month but he lied, you- you gotta make sure he doesn't get close to your school!" Crimson exclaimed.

"Longg! BRING THE STORM!" Marinette exclaimed. "Tell me everything that happened, and don't leave out any details."

…

After making it to Marinette's school, Marinette detransformed, because Chat wouldn't be looking for Dragonne.

"I'm sorry, Marinette," Crimson apologized.

"You should be! Just when I was having a good day!" Marinette snapped at the heroine.

"Hey, Mari, who's this?" Flash asked, coming up from behind Marinette. Marinette jumped and sighed as she saw Flash.

"This is Crimson, a Ladybug replacement," Marinette said.

"I didn't know Ladybug needed a replacement," Flash said.

"I didn't either," Marinette said through gritted teeth.

"Hello, m'lady," came a familiar voice.

"Hey, kitty," Marinette said, anger not withheld. She spun around on her heel to face the hero.

"You didn't tell me you were leaving," Chat Noir said.

"And you didn't tell me you were coming. Instead, I had a scared Crimson burst through my window!" Marinette said. "You know you said a month. You could've given me a month! But, no! You refuse to listen to Crimson and think I'll be delighted to see you!" Chat was hurt. Flash looked at the two, completely and utterly confused.

"Um- Mari? Why did Chat Noir call you m'lady?" Flash asked, quietly.

"None of your business!" Chat Noir snapped.

"OH! Looks like some kitty's jealous! Well, cry a river, build a bridge, and GET OVER IT, CHAT!" Marinette said. "Flash, he called me that because it's my nickname to him." Flash thought about this carefully, and it sank in. Marinette was Ladybug. That's why there was a ladybug replacement.

"Oh, come on Bug-a-boo!" Chat said. "Remember, we're a duo."

"A duo that I need a break from!" Marinette shouted. Crimson's face paled. Flash looked scared. Marinette was angry. Chat was determined.

"Come home with me, m'lady," Chat said. "I need you. Paris needs you."

"Stop calling me that. You can't just waltz right up to me, declare you know who I am by calling me my nickname and expect me to sing coomb-by-ya! No! Chat! That's not how it works, that's never how it works!" Marinette exclaimed. "I'm not coming home! I've finally found my place in this world and it's not in your arms!" Tears began streaming down her face. "Like Crimson told you, I have another miraculous- I was safe. And happy. I- I found another teenager, just like me. Wanting to find a place in this world. You don't love me, Chat. You only love the idea of me. You only saw Ladybug. Because guess what!? Crimson told me who you are, Adrien!" Chat was taken aback, and detransformed.

"Marinette, this isn't you," Adrien said, trying to grab Marinette's hand. She pulled her hand away.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES YOU HAVE BROKEN MY HEART?! DO YOU KNOW THAT SINCE I FIRST MET YOU, I WAS IN LOVE WITH EVERY BIT OF YOU! EVEN CHAT!" Marinette broke down. "But- I was only a friend. An amazing friend. A good friend. I'm nothing more to you, Adrien. And you will never be anything more to me. You can be just what you wanted us to be. Good friends. Longg, bring the storm." And with that, Marinette was off, leaving a sad Adrien, a confused Flash, and a desperate Crimson where they had talked. And she went to the first place she thought of.

Stark Tower.

…

"Dragonne, are you okay?" Spiderman asked, as her body was racked with tears.

"No. No I'm not okay," Dragonne replied, tears falling down. Spiderman held her tightly against him. Her tears soaked his costume, which wasn't much of a problem. He still had to do the laundry.

"Tell me what happened," Spiderman said softly, stroking her hair.

"Chat Noir… he came to New York. My replacement… Crimson, told me what had happened in Paris while I was gone, and told me who Chat Noir was, and… and he… and he was the same boy who had broken my heart! He tried to get me to go back to Paris… that's what I've been trying to do… but I can't. He says he's in love with me, Spidy, but I'm not. I'm not in love with him. Either sides. What- what do I do?" Dragonne wept, holding tight to Spiderman.

"It's going to be okay, Dragonne, it'll all be okay," Spiderman said softly. "I'm here for you. Even when others aren't. I'm here for you."

"M'lady?" Chat Noir said, because he had followed her. "Is this the superhero you were talking about?"

"Ch- Chat! Leave me alone!" Dragonne let go of Spiderman and leapt away.

Spiderman stopped Chat from following her. "Are you an idiot?" Chat was offended.

"How dare you…"

"Are you blind? Can you not see she's hurting? And what do you do? You try to get her to heal your broken heart. Broken because she left. Broken because she's said no to you," Spiderman sneered. "But she's human too! She needs time to be repaired, and clearly you're too blind to see it! Go away, like she said. She'll come back once she's ready."

"She's my partner!" Chat spat.

"She's been fighting crime alongside me too! But you're taking her for granted! She's not a prize, do I make that clear?"

"You are the idiot to think I'd ever listen to you!" Chat said, slapping the boy across the face. Spiderman was fazed, but followed Chat, and using his webs, Spiderman was able to slow the cat down.

"Stop it! She's going to be even more hurt the more you follow her!" Spiderman begged. Chat Noir just tore the webbing off of himself and continued. Spiderman continued following, slowing Chat Noir down. Finally, Chat was at the end of his tether with this boy. Dragonne was just close enough to see what was going on, and she was hidden in the shadows. "You know what you are doing Cat- I mean, Chat Noir. Don't make things worse between you and Ladybug worse than they already are."

"You can't tell me what to do!" Chat Noir punched him in the face, making Spiderman fall backwards. "You stole her. Me and her would've been perfect. Me and her are a team and you stole that from me!" Chat placed a heavy foot down on Spiderman's chest. "You stole her from me." With a clawed finger, he ripped Spiderman's mask off. And Dragonne saw the face. Peter. Peter was Spiderman. She had a crush on Peter. With fury, Dragonne threw her sword between Chat Noir and Peter.

"Don't you dare touch him," Dragonne growled, voice low.