Thirty-Nine: Ch-Ch-Changes

Author's Note: While it's still unclear who the new villain is and what their exact motivations might be, Ladybug and Chat decide the first order of business is removing Alya and Nino from the duress they are under.

"I didn't feel this way the last time," I mewled, my forehead pressed against the cool of the kitchen tile, paws pressed to each temple.

We'd spent the afternoon with Alya, but even after going against her better judgement and uncorking the pheromones once more, Ladybug hadn't been able to procure any additional information from our teammate aside from confirming that Nino was holed up at his parent's house. Hours of exposure to the vial, however, had one positive effect: we'd managed to get Alya tucked into bed and had left her sleeping very soundly just a bit before the dinner hour.

For me, however, the bonus time exposed to the pheromones had affected more significantly than I would have expected. Despite every bone in my feline body wanting to check in on my best friend, I was in no shape at all to travel across the city and face what might be waiting for us; Ladybug had prudently decided to regroup instead.

What little wits I had left at that point had required Ladybug to lead me back to our apartment; de-transforming, Marinette had begun plying me with black coffee to try and chase away the effects of the pheromones. The efforts, though, had left me with a monster headache and a desire to rip whoever had done this to our friends limb-from-limb. Cognizant of what had been said to Alya in the subway, however, both Mari and I knew we had to be prepared for a move from our new nemesis that evening.

Just thinking about it made me growl. There was also an odd feeling deep inside me, one that I'd never felt before and couldn't quite quantify. I growled again as I thanked the kwamis for having picked an apartment with granite countertops.

Marinette gently pressed a hand to my mane. "You're reacting more like it was catnip," she said thoughtfully. "And yet you were exposed for a shorter period of time."

I groaned, knowing what was about to come.

"You've certainly clocked more time transformed as Chat since then, too," she continued as she slid around to sit on the stool beside me.

"I know, I know," I mewled again, my tail slashing back and forth. "I spend too much time as Chat. You've told me before-"

"Before you drown in your pity," Marinette laughed softly, "I was actually going in a different direction."

Twisting my masked visage slightly, I cracked open a masked eye. "You aren't going to harangue me about staying transformed?"

"Of course I am," she smiled. "But-later."

Huffing, I turned my head back. She wasn't wrong, up until I'd finally revealed I was Adrien, I'd spent nearly every hour with her transformed as Chat. "Then what,? I asked morosely, trying to ignore the pounding in my head.

"You remember all of those times that Hawkmoth has taunted us with the notion that we don't command our full suite of powers?" she asked softly.

I twisted again to stare at her. "Yes. I still recall what Bunnix from-the-future was able to do that one time she visited us. As well as how embarrassed I was that I had to recharge in front of her."

Something passed across Mari's face, and it made me look up fully. "You've seen her again?"

Marinette looked away, an act I knew from long experience telegraphed her unease.

I sat up. "When? Recently?" I asked, ignoring the wave of nausea either the rapid movement had triggered or the very thought that Future Bunnix had made another appearance. Her last visit had opened us to the possibility that the "correct" future could be harmed by Hawkmoth's actions, something that filled me with deep dread. And intensified the throbbing of my headache in the process.

"Not recently, no." She turned back and smiled weakly. "It was years ago."

I watched her eyes and saw something in them that I'd never seen before: fear.

"Milady, I don't recall more than the one visit." My tail swished again. "Where was I?" I asked.

"Blissfully unaware," she replied, tapping me on my feline nose.

"Mari," I softly pressed. "What happened?"

"Nothing," she said, looking away again. "Thankfully."

"Did she-"

"I'd prefer not to talk about it right now," she said, turning toward me and using her patented brook-no-dissent Ladybug tone. "We have bigger fish to fry at the moment."

I glared at her, for it had been quite some time since she'd pulled that particular stunt on me. Normally it would be enough for me to cease and desist, but a low growl of disagreement escaped before I could stop it.

Softening her gaze, she pressed a hand to my masked face. "I promise we'll talk about it. But it has to wait until after we get Alya out of her mess."

Ire abating slightly, I put my paw to her hand and nodded slowly. "I'm going to hold you to that," I warned.

"I'd expect nothing less, Kitty. Now," she said as she pulled her teacup over to me. "Cataclysm this, please."

I looked between the teacup and my girlfriend. "I know I still have cotton in my fur brain, but... do what?"

"Cataclysm this."

Arching a masked eyebrow, I nonetheless raised my ring hand. "Cataclysm!" I cried.

As well-used to the intoxicating feel of the power of destruction flowing into my hand as I was, I could tell immediately that something was a bit different. Holding my hand out in front of me, I found myself momentarily mesmerized by the snapping, crackling energy. Even that, too, looked and felt different. I turned to Marinette. "Those pheromones have done something to me," I said to her, a note of caution in my voice. "Something is wrong."

"No, Chat," Marinette said, smiling slightly. "I think something is right. Take out the teacup, please."

I looked at her again, but slowly brushed my paw across the teacup. Immediately, it turned to ash and drifted away. "You loved that cup," I said as I turned up my ring hand.

"Not that one," she said.

"Oh," I said.

She stood and went to the cabinet, pulling out a second teacup. "Okay, cataclysm this, please."

"I'll have to recharge," I said, though my eyes were planted on my ring.

"Trust me," she said. "Try it."

"Cataclysm?" I said a bit tentatively.

To my surprise, the rush of energy flowed to my paw once more. I held it out again, staring at it in wonder before I turned to Marinette with a half-smile on my face. "This is new."

"I've suspected we were both getting close to transitioning into our full adult powers," Marinette said as she watched me turn her second cup into a pile of ash. "While Master Fu couldn't give a specific date, of course, he did say length-of-time transformed played a big role in the holder's body adjusting to handle the greater powers." She smiled at me a bit wider. "I'm not surprised you've unlocked this achievement, as it were, given as much time you spend as Chat."

I nodded. "Especially the past seven months."

"Exactly. So in this case, it seems to have helped, not hurt."

That undefinable feeling deep inside suddenly made sense. I nodded again. "I can feel it, actually. And though I can't explain it, I've got this... sense... there are some new tricks inside this old feline." I paused. "How do I use them? What are they?"

Mari shrugged. "I don't know. The Grimoire might have more information. Once this is over, we'll need to visit with Master Fu, I think."

"Defelinely."

I looked at my ring again, and smiled to see that all of the pads were still lit. "I could get used to this."

"Don't get too excited," she warned. "I suspect you have some limits, still. But to be honest, it's good to know we have this ace up our sleeve. I think we could use every advantage we can get right now."

"Can you-"

"No," she frowned. "But I think I am close." Marinette came back around the desk and grabbed my baton from the small of my back as she passed by. "You said you had a video?" she asked as she held it out to me.

"Yes," I said as I accepted the baton from her and snapped it open. "I don't think it's going to give us a clear shot of who Alya was speaking to, but you'll hear what I heard as well."

Queuing up the video, I glanced one last time at my ring before hitting play. The small screen jumped and gave a partial view of the elevator from beneath the tarp; as I suspected, I'd been blocked from getting a clear shot of the interior of the elevator.

The sound, however, was crystal clear, and once more I felt that I knew the voice we were hearing. It was familiar yet different, almost in the same way my voice as Chat was similar to Adrien, but not exactly the same. "Do you recognize her?" I asked Marinette after we re-ran the video a third time.

Mari had a thoughtful expression on her face. "Maybe," she said after a long, long pause. "I agree, it's someone we know. And they are transformed."

My masked eyes widened. "Wait, transformed? You don't think this is an akuma?"

"No," she said again, her eyes turning toward me. "I think this is another holder."

That caused my feline ears to shoot straight up. "I wasn't aware that Master Fu was missing anything other than the Peacock and the Moth," I said. "And all of the other jewels are accounted for, right?"

"The ones we know about," she replied. "We've got another reason to talk to the Guardian now."

I switched to phone mode and glanced at the time on my baton. "I'd prefer to see what we can do about Nino and Alya first," I said, looking up with a grin. "How do you think those bracelets of theirs would handle my Cataclysm?"

Marinette smiled slightly. "Not well, I suspect. Let's go see if we have a volunteer willing to assist us in our research. Tikki – spots on!"