AN: This originally started as a prompt for the "Patrol Logs," but I decided it fit better here.
"Are you sure you want to try this?"
Ladybug pursed her lips, examining the Heretic and Disciple carefully. The three of them, along with Emilie, Claire, and Adrien, all stood in the Heroes of Paris Headquarters' butterfly garden, just off the path in the short grass. Ladybug met the Heretic's nervous gaze, and for a moment she was pulled back into their first meeting, when they had been enemies in Colorado. The Dark Acolytes had attacked them, they had tried to kill them. She had been powerless in front of them so many times. And now, she was trusting her life to two former members? The thin metal band resting on her forehead felt cool against her skin, the leads coming off of it drawing her attention and refocusing her away from the two former Dark Acolytes in front of her. To one side, she could see Adrien's encouraging smile. Her mouth set in a thin line, drawing strength from his presence. Firmly she refocused on the Heretic and nodded. "Do it."
The Heretic let out a breath, shrugged, and tossed a pea-sized object toward her. Resisting the urge to dodge, Ladybug stood perfectly still, allowing it to land on her shoulder. Her body froze in place, her eyes open and mouth mostly closed in a pout. A surge of anxiety rushed through her at the familiar feeling of lost control. How many times had she been hit with the chi-putty and frozen in place? How many times had she been left helpless, at the mercy of the Dark Acolytes? Her breathing came quick and shallow, her lungs hardly filling with each breath. Her head started to swim. She couldn't do this – not if she didn't force herself to breath slowly, to calm her racing heart. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Emilie smiling in encouragement. Slowly, she released her anxiety and fear, taking in as deep of breaths as she could. Pedro was their friend; John had renounced the Dark Acolytes. And Adrien was there. Adrien wouldn't let anything happen to her.
She was safe.
Folding his arms, the Heretic stepped back, watching her closely. "I will give you five minutes for now," he told Ladybug. "Then I'll take the chi-putty off and we can rethink our approach."
"You can do this!" Adrien cheered, giving her a thumbs up.
Ladybug swallowed anxiously, her eyes roving around the room. This had seemed so much simpler a day ago, when it was nothing more than a hypothetical. But what if she couldn't do this? What if she failed? What if she just stood here, frozen in place, for five minutes before they released her? Her stomach clenched. Suddenly she really needed to use the bathroom.
Relax…
She could almost hear Master Fu's voice echoing in her head. Focus on your breath…
A few butterflies flitted around through the grass and flowers, drawing her attention. The butterflies didn't have any cares in the world. Though they were captive in the Mansion, they could come and go as they pleased. Just like she could do in her mind.
What was it Master Fu had said about meditation?
Her heartrate slowing, Ladybug concentrated on her breathing, inhaling deeply, holding the breath for as long as she could, and exhaling slowly. Once, twice, three times she inhaled and exhaled. Calmly, she started counting to herself, centering herself and reaching down into her well of chi as Master Fu had taught her. With her eyes frozen open, she could see the people around here, the faces of optimism and anxiety they wore while watching her. Emilie smiled encouragingly. Adrien grinned, though she could pick out the worry lines around his mouth. Claire's brows furrowed, watching her closely. Ladybug could almost hear the time ticking away. It wouldn't do to let herself become distracted by the others – she blocked them out, focusing all of her attention on herself and on her breathing. Slowly, breath by breath, she dropped down into the ocean of chi waiting beneath the surface for her to use it. Master Fu had taught her to regulate her emotions, years ago while Hawk Moth was still a threat. After Hawk Moth's defeat, he had taught her the technique to heal a Kwami suffering from a chi imbalance, as he had done for Tikki. Emilie and Sabrina could use their chi in conjunction with their miraculous to draw out emotions. The Dark Acolytes had mastered techniques to weaponize their chi – enhancing their attacks, infusing it into their chi-putty, and more. They could immobilize a miraculous user with chi… but she had her own chi, too.
Finally, Ladybug sank down into the vast ocean of golden chi simmering below the surface. She could sense all of the aches in her rigid muscles fading away as the chi flowed through her. But there was something else, a different presence – similar to her chi, but foreign. With a start, she sensed the chi-putty on her shoulder, not as a physical object, but as a disruption in her own chi, a mote of foreign chi clogging an artery within her ocean. She could trace that back, through her chi, and locate the place where the chi-putty was stuck to her shoulder But how was she to remove it? Carefully, surgically, she pressed her chi-fueled consciousness against the chi-putty, pushing against it. It would not budge. Gritting her teeth, she pushed again, harder. Still it remained obstinately in place. Finally, she reached into her chi and pulled out a handful, throwing herself against the chi-putty for a third time. She could feel her facial expression beginning to shift – someone gasped – but before she could move more than a single muscle, the chi-putty reasserted itself over her, the foreign chi sinking down into her own chi and blocking it away.
Ladybug let out a growl, almost throwing away her handful of chi in disgust as she did so. As she was about to release it, she paused, frowning. Something about the chi felt… different now. Cautiously, she focused back on her own chi, and then on the foreign chi trapped within the chi-putty. Now it was even clearer. Although she couldn't feel any difference within herself, the chi-putty itself had taken on a slight glow after being placed in contact with her own chi. She frowned. Perhaps it wasn't force that she needed… Carefully, hardly daring to breath, she held her own chi against the chi-putty and concentrated. And as she concentrated, the chi infusing the putty began to fade. Almost indistinguishable at first, but after what felt like hours, the chi-putty had decidedly lost its vitality. Finally, with a herculean effort, Ladybug raised her corporeal hand and flicked the chi-putty away. And as sensation returned to her body, all the energy drained from her.
Adrien lunged forward, catching her moments before she would have hit the ground. "It's okay, Milady," he whispered, holding her to his chest. "I've got you."
Slumping against his arms, she smiled wanly. "Thanks, Kitty," she murmured, resting her forehead under his chin and starting to close her eyes.
"That was incredible!" the Heretic almost whooped, pumping his fist. Running in their direction, he stopped knelt a meter away, feeling around in the grass. After a moment of searching, he held up the piece of chi-putty and closed his eyes, his eyebrows knitting together in concentration. After a moment, he opened his eyes, his head cocked to one side. "It feels… inert," he began. "As if the chi-putty within has been neutralized." He hummed. "I didn't think it would work that way."
The Disciple shook his head in shock, staring at Ladybug. "I–I never thought something like that could even be possible…"
Standing up, the Heretic placed a hand on his shoulder. "There is a lot that they considered impossible; in my experience, 'impossible' was their excuse to explain away their own false teachings."
Emilie placed a hand on Ladybug's shoulder, kneeling in the grass in front of her and Adrien. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" she asked anxiously, moving her hand to Ladybug's cheek. "That looked like it took a lot out of you."
Ladybug slowly nodded, trying to slow her racing heart. "I–I think so." She shuddered. "It–it took a lot of effort. But once I tapped into my chi and figured out what I was doing, it was straightforward."
"Let me," Claire instructed them, dropping to the ground next to Emilie and placing her hand on Ladybug's forehead. Her hand began to glow white, and she drew in and released a breath. Warmth spread through Ladybug's body from her forehead down to her arms and legs, and the white shifted to gold as Ladybug tapped into her own chi, amplifying the sudden burst of energy and vitality.
Ladybug let out a breath, stretching her shoulders and arms and pulling away from Adrien. "Thank you."
Adrien grinned, pushing himself up to his feet and reaching down to take Ladybug's hand. "You'll have to teach me the secret of how you did that."
She smiled in relief, leaning into his side. "We should try to teach everyone the secret if we can."
Along the far wall, the lab door opened and Max stepped out, an amazed look on his face. "I have the readings," he announced, indicating his tablet. "I was able to record approximately 60% of it, though I am unsure what I am really looking at. At this time, I only estimate 13% chance of designing something capable of replicating that effect. However, additional experiments may increase the success rate to as much as 50%."
Adrien frowned doubtfully. "That's not very reliable."
Ladybug shrugged. "We can try again in a little while," she allowed. "I'm sure you'll do your best with whatever we can give you."
"Absolutely."