The akuma flitted down into a comb in Chloe's hair, covering her in a dark purple energy. It seeped into her skin, turning it a dark, sickly yellow. Her blonde hair became dark, her clothes morphed into that of a black and yellow jumpsuit. Chloe had transformed into the supervillain Queen Wasp.
"RYUKO, WATER DOME!" Ladybug yelled in a panic.
"Water Dragon!" Ryuko declared, swinging her sword and erecting a dome of water around them. Queen Wasp raised her hand and summoned a swarm of wasps which dived at the heroes but stopped at their water barrier.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug called, summoning a single sneaker.
"HA!" Queen Wasp gloated. "Sorry, but it'll take more than that to stomp out MY bugs! Now hand over the bee miraculous so that I can become the hero this city needs!"
"Ladybug, what's going on?" Cat Noir asked. "Isn't Queen Wasp what happens when Chloe already has the Bee miraculous and gets akumatized?"
"It should be!" Ladybug said, looking around for a way to use this shoe. "But I… I don't know! And I can't figure out what this shoe is for!" At this moment, Chrysalis jumped down next to Queen Wasp. As did… Argos.
"We got another one!" Caprikid warned. His miraculous began to beep, as did Purple Tigress's.
"I know!" Ladybug yelled, frustrated.
"Do I activate my second chance?" Viperion asked.
"Good idea!" Ladybug affirmed.
"Second chance!" He activated his ability. Ladybug took a sigh of relief, knowing they at least had a backup. Argos pulled a feather out of his fan and threw it turned it into an amok, blowing it towards Chloe. It went into her phone, and then a sentimonster came into creation… A perfect copy of Ladybug.
"Queen Wasp!" Sentibug said, putting her hand on Queen Wasp's shoulder. "Thanks for being patient. It's finally time for us to team up! Come on, let's take these fake heroes down!"
"Ladybug!" Queen Wasp's face lit up, seeing the visage of her idol affirm her.
"That one's a FAKE, Chloe!" Ladybug yelled.
"Nuh uh! I've decided THIS is the real Ladybug! After all, she sees how brilliant I am, how utterly brilliant! YOU must be the fake! And also, it's QUEEN WASP, not CHLOE!"
"You tell them, Queen Wasp!" Sentibug cheered, readying her yoyo. Argos shot Ladybug a smirk, and all of a sudden… Ladybug had a feeling she knew what the shoe was for.
"Everyone, get ready for the fight of your lives!" Ladybug warned. She pulled out the miraculous of the Rooster and put it on. "Tikki, Mullo, Orikko, unify!" She declared, combining all their powers. "Sublimation, I grant myself the ability to lift objects several times my size with ease!" Ladybug declared.
"Why are you picking that ability?" Cat Noir asked.
"I…" Ladybug hesitated. She made eye contact with Argos again.
"Go on, Ladybug. Tell them just how doomed they all are." He taunted.
"Everyone, you can do this, I know you can! Make sure you don't get stung! Prioritize keeping Viperion safe!" Ladybug commanded. Chrysalis and Argos casually walked to either side of the sphere, flanked by wasps. With a casual swagger, they swung their weapons at the sphere of water, creating 2 tiny holes for a couple of seconds that a few wasps were able to get in. "WATCH OUT!" Ladybug yelled, swinging her yoyo at the wasps, prioritizing the ones headed for Viperion.
Pigella smacked wasps out of the air with her tambourine. Viperion dodged back to avoid a swarm which Purple tigress then whipped out of the air with her Bolas. Another swarm went at him, which Ryuko swiped at -
The water dome fell.
Ryuko, focused on saving Viperion, was stung. She froze, motionless.
"SECOND CHAN-"
"NOT ON MY WATCH!" Sentibug threw her yoyo and wrapped it around Viperion's offhand, pulling it away from his bracelet, keeping him from turning back time. Viperion was then stung.
"NO!" Pigella yelled. "Stop that! Gift!" She threw her power at sentibug… but no vision appeared. This was a hollow sentimonster with no real desires of its own.
"MULTITUDE!" Ladybug yelled, turning into several dozen of herself. A few were stung, but the rest fended off the wasps with their tiny yoyos.
"Watch out, Pigella!" Caprikid jumped in to knock wasps away from his pink friend, but was blocked by Chrysalis's cane, which clashed with his paintbrush. Chrysalis swung at him again and again, with him blocking every time. CLANK! CLANK! CLANK! With each clash of their weapons, Caprikid was pushed back, until he backed into the frozen form of Pigella, knocking him off balance. He, too, was stung.
Cat Noir spun his staff like a helicopter blade, swatting away wasps getting close to him and Purple Tigress as she tried to swipe at Argos, who was running circles around her.
"Come on, Tigress, show that bird why we're the apex predators!"
"Don't need to tell me twice!" She said, swinging her bolas to knock away some wasps as Cat Noir swung at Argos, who jumped over the attack. Argos then grabbed both by the hair midair and slammed them together as he landed, stunning them and leaving them vulnerable. The wasps stung them into statues. All that was left were the mini ladybugs.
"Now, which miraculous should I grab first?" Chrysalis asked before stepping towards the frozen Viperion. "This one seems useful - " But as she grabbed for his wrist, Viperion flew away. "Huh? How the - " She watched in disbelief. She looked around and saw all the other heroes flying off: the minibugs, given the power to lift heavy objects by the power of sublimation, were absconding with the frozen superheroes.
"GET THEM! AND ANYONE ELSE IN YOUR WAY!" Queen Wasp declared, sending her wasps at all of the mini ladybugs, who were now scattering. They stabbed every citizen they came across on their way to try and stop Ladybug, getting a few of the minibugs along the way but far from all of them.
Sabrina watched all of this unfold from behind a car. She watched her best friend Chloe turn into a villain yet again. Part of her wanted to support her, but she knew what was happening was wrong. She… she…
"Wait, Chloe!" Sabrina called out, coming out of hiding. "I… I think you should…"
"Who's this?" Sentibug asked.
"Just some nobody." Queen Wasp dismissed before freezing Sabrina with a Wasp, not even hearing her out.
—
After a few minutes of running from the wasps, the ladybug carrying Viperion managed to hide away in an alleyway. The tiny superheroine then climbed onto his wrist and pulled off the bracelet. She opened up her tiny yo yo to bring it back into the miracle box, but… she quickly realized it wouldn't fit. She instead opted to grab it and run with it to another location. She and many other ladybugs hid inside of an abandoned building, carrying all of the miraculous of the now frozen holders.
"Sublimation." One of them said. "I grant myself the power to remove any poison or venom from my body." After she changed her rooster-ability, she undid the power of multiplication, recalling all miniature ladybugs to her current position and combining them into a single Ladybug, now cured of any of Queen Wasp's venom. "Mullo, Orikko, divide." She then put away the miraculous of the snake, mouse, rooster, ram, dragon, pig, and tiger, back into the miracle box. She looked at the cat miraculous and sighed. It felt wrong, but she returned it to the miracle box as well.
She sat down, giving herself time to think, and sighed. She still held the shoe in her hand. "I could've used the power of Orikko to undo the poison on all of the users, but… My lucky charm is telling me a pretty clear message. The person who needs to do this is Zoe. And it makes sense, the Bee Miraculous is ironically the best one for the job here. But… This is so risky." She shook her head. She thought back to that day, that dreadful day, and the warning Bunnix gave her…
"Oh, Fu, what would you do?" She asked herself. "Once I reveal the full power of the Bee to Zoe, there's no going back. I could just use it myself, but…" She stood up. "No. I have to believe in my allies." She transformed her yoyo into its phone form and sent a text.
—
When Zoe woke up after being stung by Despairia, she had assumed the day was saved. She sat around, waiting for Luka, but when he didn't come, she checked her phone… and saw there was yet another Akuma attack. And this time, it was Chloe.
Before she could decide on what to do, she saw swarms of wasps flying through the street, chasing after a bunch of tiny Ladybugs. Zoe wanted to intervene, but some wasps were heading her way, too. She made a bolt for the river, diving in and avoiding the wasps that way. She eventually swam over to where Luka's home was docked. She made her way inside, hoping it'd be a safe haven from the wasps.
The ship was eerily quiet. Not a single person was home. Zoe wandered around, eventually stumbling into Luka's room, where she saw one of his guitars leaning on the wall. She remembered how beautiful his music was, how much it cheered her up. She could use some of that right now, but she didn't know how to play.
She received a text - one from Ladybug! It asked her location, so she texted a response. Within a few seconds, Ladybug had opened a portal right next to Zoe and stepped into Luka's room with her.
"Kalki, divide!" She said, the horse kwami leaving its miraculous. She'd put it back into her yoyo. "Hey, Zoe, good to see you."
"Ladybug!" Zoe exclaimed. "I… I thought that you wouldn't be giving me the miraculous anymore."
"You… You WHAT? You actually believed - " She stopped herself. "Whatever. Look, Zoe, those videos were a fabrication. You're the only person I can trust with the bee miraculous. I'd never trust Chloe with it, especially now." She said, taking out the bee miraculous and offering it to Zoe. "Right now, this is what Chloe wants more than anything. And it's the last thing I can afford to let fall into her hands."
"Wait, why would Chloe need this?" Zoe asked. "Her akumatized form… isn't it already stronger than Queen Bee? I saw everyone stung by those wasps turn into statues."
Ladybug looked down, solemnly. "Once upon a time, she couldn't get this strong without the bee miraculous and an akuma. But if this is how powerful she is with merely an akuma's mimicry of the power of subjection, then I have no doubt that getting the bee miraculous would turn her back into Miracle Queen."
"Miracle queen?" Zoe asked, concerned by the dreadful seriousness of Ladybug's voice.
"I'll explain on the way." Ladybug said, putting the miraculous in Zoe's hand. "For now, you need to transform.
Zoe took it and nodded. "Pollen, buzz on!" She declared, turning into Vesperia. Ladybug took out the snake miraculous and the ox miraculous. "Tikki, Sass, Stompp, unify!" She declared, turning into yet another variation of Ladybug. "Let's go!" She said, running out of the Couffaine residence. Vesperia followed after her.
As they ran through the streets and swung over buildings, Vesperia was struck by the dreadful silence of the city. Every citizen was frozen in place, their faces locked into an expression of terror: a snapshot of when they were stung, when they were subjected by Queen Wasp's power.
"You asked about Miracle Queen. Well, the power of subjection does not merely immobilize." Ladybug explained. "When exerted to its full potential, it grants full dominion over the person stung."
"F…Full dominion?" Vesperia asked, horrified.
"Precisely. An experienced user can control the mind of anything stung. When Chloe was miracle queen, she used this to control many of my allies and force them against me. Try to imagine it. Every soul you see right now is frozen. But with your miraculous in Chloe's hands, they'd all become her loyal slaves. No… drones would be a better word for it."
"That's terrible!" Vesperia exclaimed. "We can't let that happen!"
"If you want to stop it, though, you'll have to push the limits of your own power of subjection."
Vesperia stopped when she heard this, not jumping to the next roof. Ladybug stopped on the roof of the next building over, an alleyway separating the two of them.
"You… you're telling me I'm going to need to take control of someone's mind? Their free will?" Vesperia asked. "I can't… I can't be trusted with that power! No one can! It's bad enough that the butterfly can do that, but… that's not what a hero does!"
"You're right." Ladybug said. "To tell you the truth, I could think of a number of ways that I could solve this without you."
"Then WHY?" Vesperia asked, distraught.
"Because my lucky charm never leads me astray." Ladybug held up the shoe and turned to face Vesperia. "I instantly knew that this was meant to bring me to you. One day… you'll need to use your powers to save the world from a threat even greater than Chrysalis and Argos. And when that day comes, you must become a master of the bee miraculous. Not just someone I lend it to, but its true holder and master. If you would accept that responsibility, then your journey towards that starts today. Right here, right now."
Vesperia's lip quivered, not sure how to process what Ladybug had just told her. She looked down: she saw in the alleyway below her the frozen body of Luka Couffaine. She jumped down in front of him and inspected him up close. "He's so… quiet." She said, her voice trembling. "When I felt down, when I felt like you had abandoned me, I was trapped in my own thoughts. But the world, it was full of all sorts of sounds. People living their lives. And the sounds he made, they were the most beautiful ones of all. But, if me, or someone else, was controlling him that day… would he have still played that beautiful song?" She asked, tearing up as she caressed Luka's cheek. "Ladybug, I can't. I can't do it. I don't have it in me to force someone to walk down a path they didn't choose. I know it brings nothing but pain. I'm sorry, but you chose the wrong person." She choked out, tears welling up in her eyes.
Ladybug landed next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're wrong, Vesperia. I can't think of a better person suited to the job. I know I can trust you to never abuse this power. You're far too kind. And more importantly, you understand just how valuable individuality is. Vesperia, please, won't you help me save Paris? And one day the world? There's no one else who can do this but you."
"I… I…" The tears kept flowing down Vesperia's cheeks. She held both side of Luka's motionless head in her hands and placed her forehead to his chest. "You can count on me, Ladybug. I won't let you down."
—
Queen Wasp was hopping around the rooftops of Paris, searching with an angry glare. "LADYBUG! IF YOU DON'T COME OUT SOON, ALL OF PARIS WILL BECOME STATUES, YOU HEAR ME!"
"THAT'S RIGHT!" Sentibug said, landing next to Queen Wasp. "COME OUT YOU FAKE, AND GIVE US YOUR MIRACULOUS!"
"Sorry!" A voice said from behind them. They turned around to see Vesperia standing confidently with her fists on her hips, glaring down at them from an even taller building. "But Ladybug isn't here right now! I, Vesperia, will take both of you down all on my own! Shouldn't be a problem for the TRUE wielder of the bee miraculous!"
Queen Wasp stomped her foot in frustration. "YOU! You took what's rightfully MINE!"
"Yeah, give it back this instant!" Sentibug ordered.
"You'll have to catch me, first!" Vesperia taunted, swinging away from the roof using her top. Queen Wasp and Sentibug gave chase, alongside a swarm of wasps which were hot on Vesperia's tail. She swung between alleyways, slid under cars, hopped off verandas, and dashed through homes to try and keep the wasps off of her.
—
"Looks like the bee miraculous brought itself to us." Chrysalis said, currently a ways away on another rooftop alongside Argos. "Come, pigeon, let's turn Chloe into my masterpiece."
"As you wish, my little butterfly." Argos agreed with a bow. The two of them hopped onto the street to run to Queen Wasp's location…
"Not so fast!" Ladybug landed right in front of them, twirling her yoyo. "You two are going to be giving me YOUR miraculous, today."
"I'm not so sure about that." Chrysalis said, the 3 of them slowly walking towards one another. "After all, that friend of yours is doomed on her own."
"You don't know the first thing about Vesperia." Ladybug retorted confidently. "She'll take down Sentibug AND Chloe. Your plans end here, Chrysalis!"
"Oh, Ladybug, you KNOW that's not true." Argos retorted, unfurling his fan.
"Come, Argos, let's squash this pesky beetle!" Chrysalis declared. The 3 of them ran at each other. Argos and Chrysalis swung their weapons at her, but she dodged under them, sliding between their legs and attempting to wrap her yoyo string around them. However, they both jumped, and Chrysalis jammed her cane into the ground, causing her cane to get wrapped up in the yoyo string. When she landed, she used her cane to pull on the yoyo, but Ladybug pulled in return. The two were in a tug of war.
Argos used this opportunity to try and slice Ladybug with his fan, but Ladybug summoned the lyre of the snake miraculous with her offhand to block the attack. She pulled her yoyo back, breaking it away from the cane. She then swung it at Argos, who blocked it with his fan. Still, the strike caused him to slide back, making distance between him and Ladybug.
A bunch of wasps flew over to Ladybug and stung her… doing nothing. "Sorry, guys, Determination." She smirked. "I've gotten pretty good at keeping its power up indefinitely."
—
Meanwhile, Vesperia was continuing to evade the wasps. "Is that the best that QUEEN BEE can muster?" She taunted. "No WONDER Ladybug gave you up for me!"
"Hey, that's not true!" Sentibug yelled. "NO ONE could replace Queen Bee!"
"That's right, and NO ONE is going to miss you, Vesperia!" Queen Wasp growled.
"I bet you 2 will! Bye bye!" Vesperia jeered, diving into the Seine. The wasps stopped at the surface of the water, unable to follow her in. Queen Wasp and Sentibug landed in front of the river.
"Which way did she go?" Sentibug asked.
"Let's split up. You head that way, I'll head this way!" Queen Wasp ordered before dashing to the left. Sentibug went to the right. Vesperia came to shore at a dock… and saw that Queen Wasp was heading her way. She spoke into her ear piece.
"Ladybug, Queen Wasp went left at the Seine!"
—
"Got it!" Ladybug said. She brought her hand to her wrist, which had the snake miraculous on it. "Second Chance!" She yelled, bringing them back in time to several minutes earlier.
—
Vesperia and Ladybug handled things almost identically this time around. However this time, Vesperia went right instead of left. When she came up onto a dock, it was Sentibug who found her.
"Queen Wasp!" She communicated to her ally through an earpiece. "She went this way!"
"Thanks, Ladybug, I'm heading over!" Queen Wasp responded. Sentibug smiled at this before focusing on Vesperia.
"I got you now, you usurper! Give Queen Wasp back her miraculous!" Sentibug yelled, throwing her yoyo. Vesperia dodged to the side, holding out her hand to grab the yoyo string.
"If it's the bee you want, then I'll give you the stinger!" She pulled the string full force, sending Sentibug flying towards her. "VENOM!" She declared, forming the stinger on her other hand. She jabbed it into Sentibug's sternum, causing her to freeze like a statue.
Vesperia recalled what Ladybug told her. This sentimonster isn't a sentient one. Its only instinct is to act out whatever Chloe's wishes for Ladybug were. It's an empty vessel with no free will, so it was the perfect dummy for Vesperia to try and extend her power. Could she really do it? Infuse this sentimonster with her will?
—
Queen Wasp landed next to Sentibug. "Where is she?"
"She got away." Sentibug responded.
"Huh? She got AWAY? You're useless, utterly useless, you know that!" Chloe chided her. "If I were the one who found her, I guarantee things would be different."
"You're wrong, Chloe." Sentibug said. "Vesperia would have bested you, just like she bested me."
"...H-huh? What are you talking about?" Chloe asked.
Vesperia watched this from behind a dumpster, controlling her new puppet with her mind the best she could. This was her chance to get Chloe to lower her guard. It was going to be cruel, but… she had no other choice. Ladybug was counting on her. She swallowed her guilt and carried on.
"I should never have trusted you, Chloe." Sentibug said, walking towards Queen Wasp.
"E-excuse, you! It's Queen Wasp!"
"You'll always be Chloe. Not Queen Wasp, not Queen Bee, just Chloe." Sentibug scorned her.
—
"Queen Wasp, what's going on?" Chrysalis asked Queen Wasp, using their telepathic link.
"Sorry, but I think you should be more focused on OUR fight!" ladybug said. She had been hanging the shoe her lucky charm gave her on her hip till now. She took it off and unfurled the shoelaces, running at her enemies. She threw her yoyo, forcing Chrysalis to dodge towards Argos. That's when Ladybug slid under them and tied the shoe laces around their arms, tying them together. She then kicked them down to the ground, with Argos landing on top of Chrysalis. They were face to face.
Argos smirked. "Well, quite a compromising position you and I are in." He said. "Though you finally get a chance to see how gorgeous I am up close."
"Don't make me gag." Chrysalis retorted, now entirely distracted from whatever was going on with Queen Wasp.
"You didn't say I wasn't gorgeous."
"You're infuriating."
"I'll take that as an admission that I am." Argos chirped. "You're quite breathtaking as well."
"Alright, get off!" She said, sitting up and shoving him off of her. They both got to their feet and turned to Ladybug, who was getting comfortable on a bench and smirking at them.
"You know, you two sure make SOME duo." She teased them, hoping to keep them occupied.
"Me? Him? A COUPLE?" Chrysalis asked, offended. She tried to pull her arm away from him but just pulled him closer to her, since they were tied together. He shot her a smile, prompting her to push him away again.
"I said, duo, not couple." Ladybug snarked. "Freudian slip, much?"
"I - GH - HRJK - " Chrysalis stammered. "I WOULD NEVER DATE THIS PATHETIC PIGEON! MORE MATTERS TO ME THAN JUST LOOKS, YOU KNOW!"
"Ah, confirmation." Argos sang.
"Geez, she's so nasty." Ladybug said, not even trying to hide her amusement. "What do you even like about her, anyways, Argos? Surely a good looking guy like you could find love without resorting to this, right?"
"Well for one, she's positively adorable when she's angry."
"I'm WHAT?" Chrysalis barked, offended.
"Not to mention she's so cunning and bold. The world's against her and yet she stands up against it with poise." He mused. "I can't help but find myself enchanted. The two of us are birds of a feather, truly." He said, looking Ladybug in the eye, knowing she understood a deeper meaning of that comment. Ladybug rolled her eyes.
"W-wait, are you serious?" Chrysalis asked Argos.
"But of course, princess."
"Don't… don't call me that!" She said, flailing her arm around and jerking Argos every which Ladybug giggled and swung away towards Vesperia's location while the two of them kept bickering.
—
"What are you saying, Ladybug?" Queen Wasp yelled. "I am the only one you can trust! Vesperia is nothing! You told me yourself!"
"And I was a fool to believe it. You're selfish, irresponsible, and downright evil! You will never become Queen Bee again, you hear me?" Sentibug yelled. Chloe grit her teeth, clenching her fist. Tears rolled down her eyes. Vesperia was tearing up, too, both from the guilt in her heart and from the strain of pushing her power this far. She could feel her grip on its movements starting to wane.
"HOW COULD YOU! I TRUSTED YOU! I THOUGHT YOU WERE FINALLY SOMEONE WHO WAS ON MY SIDE!" Queen Wasp yelled, stomping her feet. "I THOUGHT YOU NEEDED ME!"
Vesperia's heart broke. She teared up, not having the heart for this any longer. Her focus began to fade; she wouldn't be able to control sentibug for long. So she made it do one last movement: She had its face morph into one of guilt and had her pull Queen Wasp into a hug. Chloe hugged back.
This was as distracted as Queen Wasp would get, so Vesperia stepped out of hiding. She threw her top at the comb in Queen Wasp's hair. It hit and shattered, releasing the akuma. Chloe stayed holding onto Sentibug, who was now frozen in place, rigid. Chloe didn't seem to care.
Vesperia walked over to Chloe and pulled her phone out of her pocket; she met no resistance. She cracked it in half and released the amok, causing Sentibug to vanish. Chloe fell to her knees, sobbing.
Vesperia knelt down next to her. "Hey… I'm sorry about that." She said. "I… Your friend didn't mean those words. I was making her say them with my power to distract you." She told Chloe. Chloe looked over at her and slapped her across the face.
"YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STOLE MY MIRACULOUS!" She accused. Vesperia shook her head. She pulled Chloe into a quick hug before letting go and swinging up to a rooftop to track the akuma and amok.
"TIME TO DEEVILIZE! GOTCHA!" Ladybug was already on the roof, and snatched the akuma and amok with her power. "Bye bye!" she said, releasing the butterfly and feather into the world. She then threw the shoe into the air. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" And with that, everyone frozen in paris began to move again.
—
"And that annoying grin on your face!" Chrysalis pointed at Argos. "Why in the world do you insist on constantly - " She was interrupted when the string tying them together disappeared and she saw the magical ladybugs fixing the city. She grit her teeth. "DAMNIT! She tricked us!"
Argos snapped his finger, pretending to be upset. "Curses! If only you weren't distracted by my devilish charms."
"I was distracted by your hideous, shrill voice."
"And I by yours, my little butterfly." He said before jumping off.
"HEY, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SAY MY VOICE IS BEAUTIFUL!" She yelled before noticing the people around her staring. Fuming, she ran off somewhere to detransform.
—
Ladybug and Zoe sat on the rooftop, watching the sunset. Zoe handed back the bee miraculous.
"So… How was the power?" Ladybug asked.
"It was exhausting to use." Vesperia admitted.
"You'll get better at it."
"I'm… not sure I want to."
"You'll have to, I'm afraid." Ladybug said. She put a hand on Zoe's shoulder. "But don't worry. You're more than capable, I know it. I couldn't be prouder of you."
"Thanks, ladybug." She said with a smile. "I… I wonder if those baked goods I bought from the Dupain bakery are still where I left them."
—
Zoe ran back into the park and found Luka over at the table they were eating at earlier. He waved at her. "Hey, Zoe, glad to see you're alright!" He called. She jogged over and sat down.
"I'm also still starving." She said. "Running from wasps works up an appetite!" She shoved some food in her face.
"I can imagine." He said.
"Hey, Luka, do you mind if… I ask a favor? You've already done so much for me, but - "
"Ask away."
"Well… I was thinking of learning the guitar." She said. Luka's face lit up.
"Well, you came to the right guy."
—
Chloe was trudging through the streets when she spotted Sabrina. She considered waving to say hello, but opted not to. She didn't want to know whether or not Sabrina would be happy to see her.
—
The next day, Marinette parked her electric scooter in front of the school and got off right as Adrien and Kagami were leaving their fencing practice. The three of them exchanged waves as Marinette ran up to them. "Hey there, Kagami! Hey there, handsome - I mean Adrien! How's macarons! I mean I baked you macarons!" She said to Adrien. She shook her head and then turned to Kagami. "I mean, I baked YOU macarons!"
"Really, not for your boyfriend?" Kagami asked.
"Yep! I was just thinking about you last night." Marinette said, handing Kagami a box of sweets. The two exchanged kisses on the cheek before Marinette grabbed Adrien and guided him to her scooter. The two of them drove off, with him holding onto her.
—
Now safely within her room, Marinette handed Adrien his ring back. "Sorry you had to go without him for so long.
"It's fine, I didn't mind the silence." Adrien lied. He put the ring on and was greeted by the familiar sight of his kwami.
"My god, Adrien, thank goodness you're here! Did you know that this bakery doesn't even have camembert?" Plagg exclaimed, distraught.
"Yeah, yeah." Adrien rolled his eyes, pulling out some camembert and feeding it to Plagg. "So, Marinette, I was wondering. You know how a few days ago we did that photoshoot? With multimouse?"
"What, you want to feed me again? Sorry, but I'm not gonna be eating camembert."
"No, not that." He laughed, waving her off. "I was wondering if there were any of my hero forms you wanted me to transform into again."
"Oh, I see! Hmmm, now, how many did you have? There was Aspik, Snake Noir… any other ones?"
"I think you're just forgetting Catwalker."
"Ah, right, Catwalker!" She said. "Haha, Catwalker….. Wait. C….Catwalker?"
"Yeah, you remember? When we fought Kuro Neko?"
"...Y….You were…. That was you?"
"...Did I never tell you?" He asked, cringing from the onsetting guilt. Marinette pulled on her hair.
"NO! NO YOU DIDN'T! ARE YOU SERIOUS? I FELL FOR 3 DIFFERENT PERSONAS OF YOURS?" She screamed.
"Wait - " Adrien asked, doing a double take. "You fell for Catwalker? But you knew him for a day!"
"And he was so caring and dreamy and suave!" She yelled, gesticulating wildly. Adrien giggled.
"Do you want more of him?"
"I - I - I - I - Walk of course a cat you like!"
"Huh?"
"I mean, Of course catwalker's in a photoshoot, I'm a like like! I mean, uh, CRAP!" She grabbed her head again. Adrien burst out laughing. She sat down, taking a deep breath. "...I mean…. I still prefer Cat Noir but like, if you wouldn't mind for a bit…" Seeing that cute, nervous look on her face, Adrien knew what he had to do.
"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien said, transforming into Cat Walker. Marinette instantly perked up, squeeing as she bounced in her seat. In front of her was the mysterious cat miraculous user she had nearly been wooed by. "At your service, my lady." He said with a bow.
"I - I - I - I'm sorryyyyyy!" she said, feeling awkward for being this excited. She knew she shouldn't be this into someone other than Adrien or Cat Noir… though, it was technically the same person. It still felt a little wrong. But somehow that just made it more exciting.
"You have not a single thing to apologize for." He told her, fully playing up the Catwalker persona. He knelt down to kiss one of her hands. "It is my pleasure to be at your beck and call." Marinette squeed again. She took out her phone and began taking pictures of him.
It was a fun night for both of them.
