BOOM!

Marinette was currently being flung across the room alongside Marin, Marie, and Jeannette by Mari in her new form. What was supposed to be a simple training session now turned into a brutal one sided fight between normal Ladybugs and one super enhanced combined Miraculous holder.

Said Laybug now had an outfit mixed with the powers of the turtle, horse, and fox. A shield was on her back, shining red from the jumpsuit, a long flute adorned her side, and her glasses had a futuristic tinge to them. Fox ears sprouted from her ladybug hood while a tail came off her cape. She was only fighting them with her yo-yo and they still had trouble combating her!

"Okay, is anyone else feeling severely whipped right now?" Jeannette asked from the bottom of the Ladybug pile.

"Ask me when I can at least move my arm." Marie said, wiggling her way from under Marin with a groan. "How is she beating us when she hasn't even used her other powers yet?"

"Not my place to complain, but I wouldn't be asking about her other powers. She's just using one power to subdue us!" Marin complained, getting off the girls.

"We have to figure something out and fight with a strategy that can swindle her." Marinette said, bringing them all together. "She can use a shield, illusions, teleportation, and of course the Lucky Charm. This going to be a little tough."

"Too bad we don't have the Bee Miraculous or the Snake to figure things out." Jeannette said, laughing to herself. "Nobody uses the bee anymore, but my ex currently uses the Snake. He's good, but not that good at using it."

Marie looked like she wanted to say something, but stopped herself. "Point is, she has more powers, but imagine the strain she must be under. We can use that to our advantage."

Mari stared as the team start to formulate a plan. Had this been an actual battle, she would've blasted them to smithereens. For the purpose of this training, she let them do so. The monks were less than forgiving when she tried the same methods back at the academy.


Mari was tossed to the ground by the monk baring the turtle miraculous. Struggling from the ground, she looked up to see him charging forward. Without a moments rest, she dodged where he was about to smash the shield right at her face. The grandmaster watched her progress alongside Mullo, who fretted and worried about her safety.

"I'm worried that she may be killed before we can even get her out on the field." Mullo squeaked, flying about as she stared at Mari getting pummeled. "Can't we let have a break for a second?"

"No, she must learn to think quick on her feet. If there was ever a time she has to rely on others, she would bring them down. Worrying about the future is a thing one must learn in order to survive." The master saw Mari recovering quickly and even dodging faster than she was earlier. "Once she learns how to manage her fears and emotions, then she'll be ready to wield a miraculous."

Mullo gasped as she noticed a slight change in Mari, her eyes had gotten sharper and her reflexes more quicker. When the monk went to charge at her once more, she managed to snatch the turtle shield right from his hand. Now that she had the shield, she used it to knock him upside the head, making her the winner of the fight.

"She did it! Mari did it!" Mullo exclaimed, zipping past the grandmaster and hugging Mari on the cheek. "You had me worried for a second, but you managed to pull through! I knew I made a great choice when picking you as a partner."

Mari tapped her on the head, giving her a quick kiss. "Don't worry about me, I'm just doing my job. Helping you find your friends and saving the world is just part of my new daily routine." Turning to the grandmaster, she gave him a strict glare. "Now, what's the next part of my training?"

"In due time, my apprentice, you will learn what it means to be a true miraculous holder." The grandmaster grinned to himself, impressed by how much she was maturing. "I believe it's time to kick your training up to an eleven."

Footsteps were heard as a new figure appeared in the training room. This one was a female Mari's age with sharp, brown eyes, long blue hair in a wavy ponytail, and pale skin. Her lips were red while her nails were sharp. She wore the school training outfit, however, around her neck was a red necklace with a yin-yang symbol. A long katana was in her hand while a small kwami floated beside her.

"This is Tsugumi Kaiken, a transfer student here from Japan and the holder of the Dragon Miraculous. Like with you, she stumbled upon the miraculous by pure accident and has been using it ever since." The grandmaster placed a hand on the young lady's shoulder. "She will be your new training partner and both of you will practice the art of teamwork together."

Mari stared at Tsugumi who in turn stared her down. "I will do as you command Grandmaster." The holder of the mouse miraculous bowed to her dragon counterpart. "Let us work together and make the world a better place."

Tsugumi bowed back, her eyes never once leaving her presence. "Likewise, you better not hold me back Marinette. I don't like working with slackers."

Mari gave her a quick glare before composing herself. "Believe me, I don't intend to slack off."


"Don't you dare show me weakness now! If those evil Ladybugs were to come crawling in, how are you going to fight them? As it stands, they have better chemistry than you lot." Mari reprimanded, summoning her shield.

"Shouldn't you be exhausted from all that Miraculous power coursing through your body?" Jeannette asked before ducking from the shield being thrown. "Sorry I asked!"

"We can barely get a hit on this chick!" Marin complained, spinning his yo-yo to deflect her shield. "Does anybody have a plan we can use?"

Marie screamed, ducking from another shot. "Anything would work at this point! She hasn't even used half her powers yet!"

Marinette tried to use her Ladybug vision, but nothing was popping up. "I'm too panicked to think of a solution. If we summon our Lucky Charms now, she may wait for us to time out."

They were in a bind and Mari was not letting them even breathe! How would they come on top of this?


Tikki Prime watched as the Ladybugs dodged all of Mari's attacks, not once attempting to get a punch in. Now she was even more worried that their teamwork was straining. Sure, they were used to working with a partner, but only a few of them knew how to work in teams. Did she make a mistake picking these Ladybugs?

"Hey Tikki lady, is this even fair?" Javin asked, him and the others had been quiet for awhile. "That Ladybug is totally overpowering them at every corner! Shouldn't they get an advantage too?"

"I know Marinette enough that she could think her way out of any situation as Ladybug." Adrien said, smiling at his partner. "However, I even think this is slightly unfair for them. Clearly she's been far better trained than the others."

Felix huffed at his counterpart. "Perhaps that's why you lack proper teamwork with your Ladybug. No enemy is going to give her an easy win and they certainly won't care that she can't work well with others. They look for the slightest sign of weakness and will exploit it." He narrowed his eyes at the now frowning Adrien. "If you can't figure that out, then you are as naive as a newborn kitten."

Chuckling was heard, making the group turn around to see that Sparrow had recovered from his shocked state. "You heroes are so predictable. It's no wonder villains always have an easy time taking you lot down."

"Tough talk coming from someone who's still hiding behind a mask." Lyra snapped, crossing her arms. "Obviously you are someone we know, otherwise you wouldn't be standing there so smug."

Sparrow clenched his fist. "Why don't you all just give it up? For once, things are beyond even you Quantic Kid's control and you still want to play heroes. What's the point when the whole world, no, the whole universe as we know it is going to end?"

"You were once a Quantic Kid too Sparrow. You like to forget that a lot."

A gasp came out of Lyra as she saw Bridgette and Andre step out of a portal. Bridgette looked vastly different from before, more mature and stronger. Both Felix and Sparrow saw the way that Andre was staring at Bridgette, making Felix a bit jealous and Sparrow even more hurt. The pigtailed female walked forward, passing by the two of them without giving them so much as a glance. She stopped in front of Tikki Prime and bowed slightly.

"I apologize for my actions before, I was in a state of dismay and sorrow. That being said, I can't let my personal feelings get in the way of saving the multiverse." Her bangs formed into curves. "Because if we can't stop whatever is, we may as well give up on our family, friends, and homes. The time for crying is gone, time for me to grow up."

Tikki Prime was floored by this new mature Bridgette that came up to her. "Are you certain that you will be able to continue? You have a choice to go back and live out the rest of your days."

Bridgette pointed to the Ladybug earrings on her ears. "I was granted these for a reason. The mantle of the Ladybug is my burden to carry and if I die doing this, then it will be worth it."

She turned back and gave Felix a cold look. "After this is over, I will be lifting that curse from you. No need to thank me for doing so. All I request is that you forget about me and my crush for you. As of this day, I am over you completely." With that, she walked down to the fighting arena to go help her multiverse counterparts.

Felix stood there stunned at what just occurred. Before he found Bridgette to be insufferable and quite clingy, always vying for his attention. Now, seeing her as the girl of his dreams and Ladybug, he was having regrets on not choosing her sooner. There she was, ignoring his sorry butt and leaving him to muddle in his thoughts.

Javin of course had to make things awkward. "Man, she dumped your butt and you guys weren't even dating."


Now all the Ladybugs were panting on their knees once more. Mari stood over them, a disappointed look on her face.

"Do you lot just not know how to fight with each other? You work with partners, some work with other powers, and Marie can cast spells! Why aren't any of you thinking of a way around me?!" Mari asked them, frustrated at their lack of skills. "If you aren't fit to wear the Ladybug earrings, then don't even think about fighting those others."

Suddenly, she was sent flying to the other side via a yo-yo to the face. Smacking into the opposite wall, Mari picked herself up and her eyes widened to see Bridgette standing there with a smirk on her face.

"You spout all that nonsense and you don't even have the Ladybug Miraculous at all." Bridgette stood in front of the other bugs. "I'll be frank, you are quite a formidable foe, but you lack the empathy needed to be a trainer. You pushed them too far."

Marinette helped Jeannette off the ground while Marin did the same for Marie. They were all shocked to see Bridgette back. The Quantic Ladybug gave a smile to the rest of her team, lifting their spirits up immediately. Jeannette even gave her a quick hug.

"You came back to help us!" The future girl squealed, not wanting to let go. "With you by our side, we can finally stop this mean girl!"

"Listen up bugs, I've worked on a team my whole life and have been around you guys long enough to know how to work with you." Bridgette brought them into a group huddle. "If you want to beat that overpowered megane, you have to hear me out."

Mari got up from her fallen position, rubbing her now sore cheek. This was new for her, feeling the pain from another one who bore her face. Up until now, none of them had been able to even deal serious damage to her. She started losing faith that the miraculous was even the most powerful of the zodiac due to how poorly it was executed. The monks described Ladybug holders as powerful and wise patrons of justice. These were not what she expecting them to act.

They broke the huddle and faced Mari once more. More determined than ever to stop her, they stood in a fighting stance against the well trained girl.

"Alright team, let's do this!" Bridgette called, going left with Jeannette while Marin and Marinette went right. Marie stood in the center, pointing her wand at Mari with a look of concentration.

"FORTUNA GAUDETE!"