Queen Bee continued her fight against Miracle Queen. It was a constant battle of them not only on the physical plane, but also between the wills. At various points Miracle Queen would send her bees/wasps at surrounding people. Queen Bee instead asserted her Subjugation prowess to call the bees back. But every time she did she had to leave herself a bit open, and had to dodge an attack from Miracle Queen. However, Miracle Queen also let herself open whenever she controlled these bees, so after a while it became a tug o war between the bees for which the two versions of Chloé stopped bother altogether and decided they'd rather punch each other in the face.
Miracle Queen launched a flying kick, but Queen Bee flew back to avoid. But as Miracle Queen landed, she did a spin kick, which Queen Bee blocked with her forearms, grabbed Miracle Queen's ankle and then flipped her through the air but Miracle Queen barely landed back onto her feet. The evil Bourgeois counterpart growled and lashed with the trompo. Queen Bee did the same, and the two weapons bounced off in mid-air. The next few times, the two trompos didn't clash but shot out at their targets. Both bee-themed superpowered beings leaned their heads out of the way to avoid the trompo.
"Hah! You missed!" Miracle Queen bragged.
"Wasn't aiming at you!" Queen Bee said as she pulled back, her trompo ripping the support of her billboard and making it drop on Miracle Queen before she could even mutter a curse word.
There was some dust kicked up by the fall, but Queen Bee didn't think that something like a billboard would knock out a Miraculous wielder that easily. Sure, through the dust an angry Miracle Queen shot forwards and tackled Queen Bee to the ground and started clawing like they were a pair of schoolgirls in a catfight, Queen Bee blocking with her forearms. However, Queen Bee had enough and grabbed Miracle Queen's armed and bit down hard. "ARGH! You bitch!" Miracle Queen cried.
"I may not be an alpha bitch anymore, but I haven't forgotten how to play dirty!" She grabbed her counterpart by her ponytail, then swung her around by it and threw her into the wall of another building. Miracle Queen recovered, peeled herself off said wall and kicked off to rush at the heroine.
However, Queen Bee spread her wings and flew up. Miracle Queen huffed and stomped her feet. "Get back down here, you coward!"
"Oh come on. Are you a bee or not? Aren't you supposed to be able to fly?" Queen Bee mocked. "For a skilled Bee user it should be no problem. I can do it and I don't need any of my little bee servants, whom are still in kind of a flux at the moment." She said at the bees that were left immobile by a battle of the wills.
"I am a real Bee! Come down here so I can show you!" Miracle Queen growled. It didn't do much for her.
"If you're a real bee, you should be able to fight me in the sky. Oh, what's that? Can't fly? I can as you can see." Queen Bee said as she did some loop-da-loops and aileron rolls in the sky. "Fly!" she said before she did a moonwalk in the air. "I fly!" she repeated. She then stepped into place, in a circle vertically. "I can fly, I can fly, I can fly!" she said with each step she took. She then took a 'draw me like one of your French girls' pose in the air. "Fly…" she continued.
"Stop mocking me!" Miracle Queen said, going into full tantrum mode.
"Ask daddy to buy you some wings. Though that money is better used on buying you braincells and manners." Queen Bee said, studying her nails. "Though I got all that cost me nothing aside a bit of training and self-reflection. To be clear, I mean that in a figurative sense because you look like you still spend a lot of time in the mirror putting on the wrong type of make-up!"
"You are not better then me! I am the queen! I enthralled all the wielders of the Miraculous in my homeworld. I defeated my Ladybug and Chat Noir! I was the Queen of everything!" Miracle Queen boasted.
"But you have no timeline anymore, so something must have went wrong. You can't even win without losing." Queen Bee said before she gave a queenly mocking anime-like laugh. The black stripes on her outfit started to glow slightly.
"You had all this power, you had all these chances, and what do you do with it? You watch over these little peasants and don't demand worship from them? They should be bending over for you." Miracle Queen said.
"All this time and you still don't get it? I can't blame you because I knew I was quite a self-centered idiot back then, though no one gave you the kick in the ass you needed, did they?" Queen Bee said as she crossed her arms. "It's not enough you are a reminder of anything I could have been, that you are an empty-headed, vain, shallow, narcissistic, materialistic, selfish entitled little brat, whom moonlights as both a hero and a villain, and all that I could look past but…" Queen Bee began.
"…But what?" Miracle Queen asked confused.
"I really can't past that hairstyle." Queen Bee said as she waved her hand.
Miracle Queen's berserk button has effectively been pressed. "No one disses my hair!" She threw her trompo at Queen Bee, whom avoided her easily enough the first few times. But Miracle Queen's strikes became wilder and more unpredictable until she finally managed wrap her trompo around her leg and started to pull. "You are nothing, you have nothing!"
"You mean aside friends whom genuinely care about me? A real bond with my father whom remembers to support me and actually parent instead of throwing money at problems? Freedom from a toxic woman whom was never going to love us? A boyfriend whom makes us feel loved? People whom do not care for the rich former mayor's daughter Chloé Bourgeois, but just Chloé Bourgeois?"
Miracle Queen stopped pulling as if confused. "What's the difference?"
"If you can't see that, then you are hopeless." Queen Bee got her foot out of Miracle Queen's trompo. The stripes on her suit glowed. "And you know, I was getting sick of my past actions constantly thrown in my face. You are just the so-manieth reminder. But I am no longer phased now. If you had shown up earlier maybe, but now I can have a good laugh about it. I am in a better place. And I will not let anyone take that happiness away from me. Not Hawkmoth, not Latombe, not Audrey and certainly I won't let even myself do that."
Queen Bee floated down gently onto the rooftop. The glow on her grew brighter. "And I will make sure that no one else's happiness gets taken away as well. I am not a true Queen because I lord over my hive…but because I support it." The glow intensified as Miracle Queen covered her eyes. The glow started to die down.
Queen Bee now stood there in a new form. And she looked like…well, a queen. Her outfit, while having a more flexible armored look, looked really regal. The yellow parts almost golden. A tiara with a bee symbol. A fluff collar. Her wings draped like a royal cape. And furthermore, the bees that Miracle Queen summoned now moved to be at Queen Bee's side. Miracle Queen looked shocked, mouth agape. "Close that mouth before you catch flies, very unbecoming." Queen Bee snarked.
"Bees, to me!" Miracle Queen said. Last time, the battle of the wills forced the critters to be neutral, but now…she was still connected to them but her pull was weak, compared to Queen Bee's. She now gulped as Queen Bee and her now turncoat bee drones eyed her. She shivered in panic and fear.
"This is wonderful, my queen. You have unlocked your full potential." Pollen's voice sounded in Queen Bee's head. "You even already have a hive. You have grown so much."
'That's new.' Queen Bee thought, largely unphased. 'But quite handy. Now Pollen, what other tricks did I have? I like the make-over, but there is probably more to this, right?'
"Oh you will love what comes next." Pollen's voice sounded, a bit more impish then what she was used to.
Miracle Queen though saw that Queen Bee just stood there for a bit, like deep in thought. She thought she could get a cheap shot in on a distracted Queen Bee. She shot forward. "VENOM!" Her trompo turned into a weapon on her hand in gauntlet form and charging.
Queen Bee was a lot more aware then she believed. She pulled out her trompo as well and it suddenly shifted forms in her hand, but not into a gauntlet. Into a bee-themed rapier. She slashed once, like a very one sided samurai showdown. Miracle Queen was now behind her, backs to each other, but no sign that Miracle Queen had landed a hit. Queen Bee's rapier in front of her.
Suddenly Miracle Queen's hair fell off, leaving it very short. "No, my hair! My beautiful hair!" Once again her priorities were very skewed. "You'll pay for this!" She still had a charge of Venom left and jumped up with the Gauntlet read.
Queen Bee turned around, her face impassive, the rapier turned into a gauntlet on her hand as well. Now, she had made the gauntlet spin as a drill before, but this time the gauntlet turned into an actual bee-themed drill. The tip clashed with the stinger on Miracle Queen's gauntlet…and after a few seconds, the evil Bee wielder's trompo shattered.
"NO!" she said as she fell back, turning from Miracle Queen into a short-haired version of Queen Bee…let's call her Queen Bitch. From the shattered remains of her trompo a black and purple butterfly flew. "Quickly, to me, you still can possess my Miraculous…"
"Disperse!" Queen Bee said with an echo in her voice, and the Akuma purified itself, the white butterfly fading from existence shortly afterwards. Queen Bitch now gulped. She tried to turn around and run. She then felt a pain in her back, and found herself immobile. A stinger could be seen between her shoulder blades.
Queen Bee lowered her gauntlet, and it was clear now she was able to fire stingers as projectiles this time. She moved over to her counterpart and snatched the Bee Miraculous from her. The transformation fell, but no Pollen came out. Result of her world no longer existing and no two Pollens allowed to co-exist. The thing turned rusty in her hands quickly. "And so your queendom ends, not a bang but a whimper."
She still noticed the bees were still around. Did they become part of her power now? She'll have to think about that later. "I should bring you to the Bunnyxes." She noted as she spread her wings, some of the bee drones picking up the paralyzed counterparts and following their new Queen.
"…and then she said 'No, that is the cream corn'. But I told her that the banana slug has to go back to…" A playful Pipistrello said as she smacked several illusionary enemies, Poofing them into orange smoke.
"Will you stop talking?" Volpina said through all her copies? "Nothing you say makes one iota of sense!"
"What, it is not any more nonsensical then the stuff that you came up with? I mean I heard what you said to Aurore and Mireille earlier. If that is the tip of the iceberg…" Pipistrello said. "I always thought I was smarter then that, but I know I can be a bit full of myself."
"I would have wrapped them around my finger, if you didn't ruin our reputation." Volpina said madly. "You instead chose to act like…like a clown!"
"Yet people love me more then you." Pipistrello said as she grabbed a Setzler bottle and sprayed some duplicates, poofing them.
"We could have had it all, power…" Volpina said as she realized her duplicates were running out. She put her flute to her lips and created the image of a giant monstrous fox.
"You are so uncreative, which is odd knowing how out-there your stories can be. What would you even do with all that power? You wouldn't know what to do with the world but shout at it." Pipistrello said. The giant fox illusion charged at her and snapped its jaws at her but the bat-heroine just flew out of reach. "I just merely decided to let loose."
"You let screws loose!" Volpina roared as she directed her illusionary fox monster, whom tried to reach Pipistrello futilely, like a dog trying to reach a cat inside a tree.
"Thank you." Pipistrello has pulled out salted popcorn and started munching.
"I wasn't complimenting you!" Volpina noted.
"Thank you!" Pipistrello replied as she instead threw some of the popcorn in the yapping mouth of the giant fox, whom made an odd face and started smacking its lips.
"I INSULTED YOU!" Volpina said exasperated. She then felt a tap on her shoulder. "Yes?" she turned around to see Pipistrello.
"Hello." Pipistrello said with a wide smile.
"But…" Volpina looked back to see where Pipistrello was floating earlier. "You were just there, I didn't keep my eyes of you, how did you…"
"The Force!" Pipistrello said as she waved her hands.
"You know what? I don't care. You were an idiot to get this close to me!" Volpina brought out her flute but then found Pipistrello leaping on top of her and wrap her legs around her face. "Hmph!"
"And you are an idiot by talking so much and giving me a free action!" Pipistrello said. "And that action is leg-hugs!" Pipistrello said, as Volpina stumbled around, being smothered in her good counterpart's thighs. "Bongo time!" She then started to rapidly tapping Volpina's head with her hand. "Whoa, sounding kind of hollow!"
Volpina then allowed herself to drop forward, smacking Pipistrello in the ground, making her let go. Volpina breathed again. "You smell of disgusting soccer-sweat!"
"At least I don't have STD's down there!" Pipistrello said as she picked herself up. "So I was saying, the banana slug had to go back to Cucamonga because it has to help the president save…"
"STOP TALKING!" Volpina raised her flute and creates a volley of missiles.
"Ooh we can own the night, don't worry 'bout a thing, don't worry 'bout a thing, don't worry 'bout a thing!" Pipistrello said as she started to sing and dance out of the way of the missiles, which missed or swatted aside as she swung her hammer in the rhythm of the song. "My turn…" She reached inside the hammerspace in her…well, hammer and pulled out a fish. "Hi Carl. Haven't used you in a while."
"I am a whale." Carl replied with a smile on its fishy face.
"How are the kids?" Pipistrello asked.
"I am a whale!" Carl replied.
"Really? Well I hope he is a good boyfriend for your son."
"I am a whale!" Carl replied.
"Are you seriously talking to that mackerel?" Volpina asked baffled as she was suddenly smacked with it. "Gah! I hate fish!"
"That's not a nice thing to say, you are hurting Carl's feelings. And he's a cod, not a mackerel." Pipistrello said as she kept smacking her with the cod. The fish kept that wide smile on his face the whole time.
"But you are smacking me with it!" Volpina said as she got another face full of fish.
"It's his job to smack stupid bitches." Pipistrello noted. "Don't forget the cocktail sauce!" She squeezed Carl and a light orange goop came out and sprayed Volpina's face, whom screamed out in disgust. Pipistrello took out a surimi stick and dipped it in the cocktail sauce. "Don't worry, it's Carl's childhood bully, he doesn't mind this." She said as she bit the sauce-covered part of the fish snack.
"STOP…DOING…CRAZY SHIT…AND ACTUALLY FIGHT ME!" Volpina said in frustration. "Oh wait, I have a giant fox. Get her!" Volpina turned around and…found the giant fox illusion happily munching on a pastry. "What the…"
"He surrendered for fruit pies!" Pipistrello said.
"But, I created him, he shouldn't be able to…" Volpina then sighed. "You know what, never mind, I don't care anymore. I'll think of something else." She wanted to put the flute on her lip. "Now, how can I crush you? Landsharks…steamrollers…"
"Kumquats!" Pipistrello whispered.
"Kumquats…" Volpina said distracted as she blew the flute, before the penny drops. "No wait!" And suddenly it rained kumquats." Volpina looked exasperated.
"I can make SO many smoothies with this!" Pipistrello noted as she picked up one of the kumquats.
Volpina's eyes twitched, her mouth started to foam she growled. She trembled then dropped to her knees and cried. "It's not fair! It's not fair!" she said as she dropped onto her belly, waggling her legs and stomping her fists on the pavement. "I want to win! I want to win for once!" something round rolled across the ground and stopped in front of her. Volpina stopped her tantrum and grabbed the ball. "What?"
"Remember this?" Pipistrello also held a ball. "It's our old friend, the soccer ball. Back when we were happy, there were no worries, no lies, just us and Mr. Leather and air." Pipistrello started to do some tricks with the ball, boucing it on her feet and knees. "If you're me you knew it at one point."
Volpina looked at the ball, as if there was a sense of recognition on her face. "I haven't done it for a while…thought the effort wasn't worth it, as I just needed a few nice words and some idiots to get me what I want."
"I rediscovered my passion and…I felt free." Pipistrello said as she spins the ball on her finger. "I felt happy. You are so mean now because you didn't pursue true happiness. Instead you only got malicious glee from others failing. So go on, try! Reacquaint yourself with your old friend."
Volpina looked back at the ball in her hand. It had a smily face drawn on it in sharpie, and it also said 'play with me'. Volpina seemed into turmoil. Emotions going across her face. The one she eventually settled on was a scowl and she squeezed the ball in her hand until it popped. "NO!" She grabbed her flute and rushed at Pipistrello.
"Yoink!" She said as she sidestepped her evil counterpart, and soon, she stood there with the fox necklace in her hands. Pipistrello saw Volpina turn back into Lie-La, whom looked at herself in surprise. "Shame. I gave you a chance, one you may not have deserved, and you didn't take it." Pipistrello said, looking disappointed and unsurprised at the necklace. She threw it to the ground and smashed it with her hammer.
"No…" Lie-La said, but regained some hope as she saw the black butterfly. "Here, akuma, akuma, akuma…come to mommy…make her powerful again." The evil alternate Italian said, desperate to regain power.
"Random!" Pipistrello said flatly. All of a sudden, a strange cartoonish police car came into existence. Out of the car stepped…Human-sized butterflies in police uniforms. One put the akuma in a jar, the other handcuffed the jar somehow. Their badges said 'butterfly police' and they took the jar back into their police car and it drove off.
Lie-La could only stare as her power source drove off in the distance. She blinked and then let out the highest pitch scream of frustration ever. "Why has my life turned into a joke?" she cried.
"Because you made the wrong choice. Got no one else but yourself to blame." Pipistrello said. "Now what to do with you?"
"You may have won this round, but I hate you, other me! I will find a way to get revenge, I will get even…I will lie to the right people or find that Latombe guy to align with…yes, I'll do that and both you and the rest of those Miraculous losers will rue the day…" Lie-La ranted.
She was abruptly cut off when that same police car of the butterfly men drove into her, backwards, sending her flying. One of the butterfly police stuck his heads out. "We took a wrong turn!" before the police car left into the other direction. Lie-La was alive, as Random acted on Pipistrello's intentions and she hadn't wanted to actually kill anyone. But Lie-La was in a hell of a lot of pain right now.
"Well, that takes care of that, time to take her to the Bunnyx sisters." She grabbed her counterpart by the ankle and dragged her along. "This is why you don't play in traffic, kids!"
'That was a nice display of randomness, and very satisfying too. Everyone watching this was waiting for you to kick your canon counterpart's ass!' Jinxx' voice sounded in Pipistrello's head.
'Whoa… If I didn't know I was already, I'd thought I'd have gone crazy because I'm hearing voices.' Pipistrello thought.
'Those aren't always inclusive.' Jinxx' voice replied. 'You are just getting more adept at your powers, matter of time unlocked true potential. It means that the timer is no longer an issue and I'm able to talk in your head.'
'So you're in my head? How are things in there?' Pipistrello asked.
"Things are looking crazy, what else?' Jinxx noted.
'Well, it was fun, and oddly therapeutic to fight my evil self. But we got to move on.' Pipistrello thought before holding out her hammer and opening it up. "Time to go home everybody!"
"I am a whale!" the smiling cod jumped into the hammer in to the hammerspace. The butterfly police came up in the car, let the (somehow) now purified white butterfly out before the car in a cartoonish fashion squeezed itself in the hammer.
Pipistrello saw the illusion fox, somehow not dispersed, giving puppy dog eyes. "Oh, all right, you can stay." The fox happily went inside the hammer as well. "I'm going to call her Furtive." Pipistrello said as she closed her hammer, slung it over her shoulder and grabbed the unconscious Lie-La by her ankle. "Up and away we go."
She flew off, Lie-La hanging limply…and Pipistrello making sure that her evil counterpart hits her head a few times on some billboards or lamp posts on her way to meet the others.
TO BE CONTINUED
NOTES
Queen Bee and Pipistrello continue their fight. I wanted to do Rena Rouge and Carapace, but had more ideas for the duo of redemeemed ladies.
Anyhow, I have the week off and hope to get the rest of the episode finished up before the end of the week.
Just to note, only the core five (Ladybug, Chat Noir, Carapace, Queen Bee and Rena Rouge) get a major upgrade, with the others it will be just a loss of a timer and telepathic contact with their kwamis they may unlock.