Chapter 2: Blocked
Style Queen got a telepathic message from Hawk Moth.
"You can turn back your glitter statues to normal, correct? I tried to build that into your powers."
"Of course I can," said Style Queen. "I turned my former assistant Cammy, I mean Chloé, into part of my glitter stream and back again, didn't I?"
"Good, so you can turn Ladybug back in order to get her Miraculous."
"I can do better than that," said Style Queen. "I'm the Queen of fashion, and that means I can also refashion."
Style Queen struck her scepter down next to the Ladybug statue, causing it turn to loose glitter and be absorbed. She streamed up to the level where she had created the Sleeping Beauty display of Adrien, and released Ladybug's glitter, reforming the living Ladybug, encased in a block of solid glitter about the size of the one Adrien was lying on.
Only Ladybug's head was sticking out of the block. She struggled to free herself, but the glitter was packed too tightly to get any leverage.
"Lovely," sent Hawk Moth. "Now please get her earrings."
"Such a garish red color," said Style Queen, pulling off the earrings. "And polka dots are so last decade."
Marinette yelled in frustration as she de-transformed.
"It's Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the girl who designed A- a hat for the fashion show!" sent Hawk Moth in surprise, catching himself.
"I never got a good look at that hat, but if Gabriel Agreste likes it then it must be utterly ridiculous," said Style Queen.
"We still need to force her to tell us where Chat Noir is. We'll soon have both of them here, side by side," sent Hawk Moth.
"Where's Chat Noir?" asked Style Queen. "Let me guess. He's hiding because he's ashamed of his outfit."
"I won't tell you anything!" said Marinette.
"Let's see how you hold up under a bit of pressure," said Style Queen.
The block of glitter began to press into Marinette from all sides, making breathing difficult.
"Chat... Noir... isn't... coming..." said Marinette.
"But I am!" shouted Plagg, phasing up through the deck floor right in front of Style Queen. "Leave Ladybug alone."
"What have we here, a talking rat?" asked Style Queen.
"Meow!" said Plagg. "Style faux pas."
She aimed several blasts at the kwami, but he dodged easily.
"Yah! You've got no aim and no style, Queen," the little cat taunted.
Belle Abeille climbed up the side of the Tower, keeping out of sight. She had no long-range attack, only a highly effective short-range one, so she had to achieve surprise to have any chance.
The small flying creature was probably Chat Noir's kwami, sent in his place for some reason. Style Queen was distracted, so it was now or never.
"Venom," whispered Belle Abeille. Her top weapon morphed into a stinger which covered her right hand. She launched herself straight at the villain's back.
Style Queen was fully concentrated on the kwami, and didn't hear Belle. A normal physical attack would cause the glitter than composed her to move apart and let the attack through harmlessly, but with Venom the slightest touch on one fleck of glitter froze the whole person motionless.
"Good... work!" said Marinette in a strained voice.
"Marinette, you've been Ladybug all along?" asked Belle.
"Never... mind... that... now..." said Marinette.
"I know, we have five minutes to find her akumatized object before she unfreezes," said Belle Abielle.
"Scepter..." suggested Marinette.
Belle tried breaking it, but nothing came out.
"Hmm, she was sitting right next to me for a moment at the fashion show, when she tried to steal the seat reserved for you," said Belle. "She had a glittery artificial rose on her hat. A rose just like that one over there, on Adrien's lips!"
Belle tried to break through the force field around Adrien, but it was impervious to her fists and her top.
"Allow me," said Plagg, floating up. "Cata-"
"Wait!" called Marinette.
"I'll cause a ton of damage without a holder, I admit," said Plagg. "But you can just fix it... oh, right."
Belle took the earrings out of Style Queen's immobilized hand and tried to put them back on Marinette.
"No... you..." said Marinette. "I.. can't..."
Belle put on the earrings.
"Say... Pollen... Tikki... Unify."
"Pollen, Tikki, Unify!"
Belle was dizzy from the rush of power. She staggered for a moment but pulled through. Her costume was now a mixture of yellow and red, with black stripes and spots.
"I was Belle Abeille, so I guess now I'm Belle Coccinelle. Lucky Charm!"
Belle got a pair of heavy-duty garden shears. She moved close to the force field around Adrien.
"Cataclysm!" said Plagg, touching the deck of the Tower.
Huge cracks appeared in the Tower, spreading rapidly to the ground and all of Paris. He wasn't kidding about a ton of damage!
Belle had to move fast, and she knew it would be smart to reverse the regular steps. She kicked a hole in the cracked force field, reached in with the shears, and snipped the stem of the rose.
The akuma was released, the only pre-requisite for the next step.
She threw the shears into the air. "I've always wanted to do this. Miraculous Belle Coccinelle!"
The spreading cataclysm stopped, all the damage was reversed, all the statues returned to life (including Adrien), and Marinette was freed.
Audrey Bourgeois also returned to normal. "What happened?"
Belle Coccinelle still had an akuma butterfly to catch. "No more evil-doing for you, little akuma! Time to de-evillize! Gotcha! Bye-bye, little butterfly."
"You can divide from Pollen now," suggested Marinette. "She's closest to timing out since she used her power first."
"Pollen, Divide!" said Belle Coccinelle, becoming a Ladybug-style hero. "I'm running out of good names for heroes. I guess I'll be Super Bug, or maybe... Scarabella."
"Come here, Pollen," said Marinette. "I have some chili peppers to feed you in my purse."
"Marinette, you know all about feeding kwamis?" asked Adrien. "Are you... Ladybug?"
"I was Ladybug. I'm not going to keep it up. Hawk Moth knows who I am now."
"Wow!" said Adrien. "I..."
"I see progress, but you two can talk it out later," said Scarabella. "I'll get all of you back to the fashion show using my yo-yo."
"I refuse to travel in such an undignified way," said Audrey. "It's not fashionable. I'll see myself back."
"Hang on tight, guy and girl," said Scarabella. "Here we go."
They swung away on the yo-yo line.
As a parting shot, Scarabella called back, "By the way, the elevator is out of order!"
"You're fired!" cried Audrey Bourgeois.
Note: "Belle Abeille" is a French children's song, and the title means "Beautiful Bee." It seemed like a name Alya might pick on the spur of the moment.