Cat Noir licked his lips nervously, adjusting his grip on his staff. Princess Justice stared at him from across the courtyard, the fox miraculous gleaming from her neck.
Cat Noir heard a thud, and he turned his head to see Carapace land next to him, his shield at the ready. His eyes surveyed Alya on the floor and the miraculous in Princess Justice's possession without even so much as a twitch of shock.
"She took Alya's miraculous?" Carapace asked. His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed as he stared at Alya. He didn't seem surprised to learn Alya's secret identity.
"You know Alya was Rena Rouge?" Cat Noir eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head. Had everyone known but him?
Carapace hesitated. "Yeah, dude, I knew." He glanced quickly at Cat Noir. "I don't know anyone else's identity though. I only knew hers because she's my girlfriend." He looked back at Alya, the concerned look on his face now making sense to Cat Noir.
"Your girlfriend?!" Cat Noir's mouth popped open. Nino was Carapace? What were the odds that Ladybug would pick a girlfriend and a boyfriend to carry two of the miraculouses? Then again, maybe it wasn't an accident, and Ladybug knew the two of them in real life and thought she could trust them. "Do you know Ladybug's identity? Does Alya?"
Nino glared at him. "Dude, I just told you I don't know anyone else's identity, and neither does Alya. Ladybug is smarter than that."
Cat Noir breathed out a sigh of relief. It was disappointing not to be closer to discovering Ladybug's identity, but he was glad he wasn't the only one left in the dark in that regard.
"Are you done?" Princess Justice asked, hiding a yawn behind her hand. "I'm growing impatient."
"How is she so strong?" Nino asked in a whisper. "She took down Alya like it was a piece of cake."
"I'm not entirely sure, but she is different than the other supervillains." The only theory Cat Noir had so far was that Marinette was a previous miraculous holder which could make her stronger, but Ladybug had taken the mouse miraculous from her, so that couldn't be it. He wished he knew where Ladybug was. She would know why Marinette was so different.
"Who is she?" Carapace asked.
Princess Justice laughed. "Oh Nino, you don't recognize me?" She grinned, but it seemed more deranged than humorous. "I'm the girl who was betrayed by her friends. I'm the one your girlfriend," she gestured to the unconscious Alya, "abandoned."
"M-Marinette?" Carapace stuttered, his eyes wide. "Marinette, please, think about what you're doing." His eyes narrowed. "Alya is still your best friend. She made a mistake, but I'm sure she feels bad about it. I know I do!"
"And I'm the girl who's going to fix everything," Princess Justice continued as if Carapace had never interrupted. She smirked as she leaned down close to Alya. "Starting with making this one pay," she hissed, her eyes glinting.
"Nino, wait—" Cat Noir started, reaching out to try to grab Carapace's arm before he could charge, but he was too late. Carapace shot past him, anger in his eyes.
Cat Noir tensed to jump to his aide, but the scuffle was over far too quickly for him to intervene. Princess Justice side-stepped Carapace's attack and snatched his miraculous from his wrist before he could process what had happened.
Nino de-transformed mid run, and he collapsed to the ground, panting. Princess Justice waved her staff, and a pile of rubble nearby slid down, obscuring Nino from view and blocking him from re-entering the fight.
"I'll fix everything, just like I always do," Princess Justice whispered, and the sound echoed through the empty courtyard, raising the hair on the back of Cat Noir's neck. The princess slipped the turtle miraculous over her wrist, taking a deep breath. "I'm almost there."