Chapter three! I planted a few sneaky little references if anyone can catch them, and if anyone catches all of them, well... I'll give you a shoutout next chapter. (Here's a hint. The two new DM villains are part of it).

Some reviewer replies!

decode9: They haven't gotten as much of a chance to shine yet, but they are firmly on the dark side.

Vegito blacj: Here you go!

ElizabeththeLast: They're one big family, aren't they? And now there's more!


Chapter Three

Iapallidus & Skinker


"Have you guys ever wondered what our place in the universe truly is?" Alphaux asked as he, Dragonus and Crocdown gazed at the midnight sky, lying on the Hendrol mansion roof. "If we're merely specks in the cosmic order, whose actions have little consequence in the grand scheme of things?" The two other villains shared a look of annoyance, despite their helmets preventing their faces from being seen. Alphaux had insisted that they come up and stargaze every night for the past few days, for reasons unfathomable to the other two.

"I wouldn't say 'little consequence,'" Dragonus replied tiredly. "Our super sparring partners' powers, when combined, allow for a reality-altering wish to be made. Not to mention we essentially break the laws of physics every day during battles."

Alphaux bolted upright. "What was that last part?" he asked. Dragonus shrugged. "Breaking the laws of physics, or the wish?"

Alphaux threw him a glare. "The wish. The reality-altering wish. You mean to tell me that if anyone had those powers together, they could wish for anything? How selfish are they?! There's so many things that power could do, and Ladybug decides not to?!"

Dragonus sat up himself. "If the wish were to be made, the universe would have to balance itself. Say, you wanted to bring someone back from the dead. Someone else would die in return, and likely it would be someone else you care about, because karma," he explained. "Oh, and maybe rewriting existence itself. That's also why I need the whole Miracle Box for it. There's no rule in the universe that says that power can't be a power source."

"All I'm hearing is 'blah blah, wish, blah blah, magic, blah blah, karma,'" Crocdown said. "You both know that I don't have the patience for this stuff."

Alphaux groaned in exasperation. "This is more than just stuff, Crocdown! This could rewrite the laws of physics as we know them! This could-!" He was cut off by Crocdown howling. In the blink of an eye, Alphaux stood and howled at the moon himself, a chorus of three hundred thousand dogs echoing him.

Crocdown chuckled. "I love doing that," he sighed contentedly, then exhaled in amusement. "I bet the twins would love messing with him," he added. Dragonus cracked his knuckles. "Aren't the twins coming in tomorrow?" he asked. Alphaux shook himself out of his howling. "Friday evening, actually," he corrected. "Which is… tomorrow!"

"Which ones are you gonna give them?" Crocdown asked as Dragonus opened a portal back into his room. The three supervillains stepped through and transformed back to their regular selves. Andrew shrugged. "I have an idea for Dylan, but for Ryan, I'm not… Newwt, what are you doing?"

Alex and Jack glanced over to Andrew's TV, which was on and flickering with a very familiar cartoon. The two shared a glance as Andrew rushed over to the couch.

"I was bored," a somewhat feminine voice, which had to be Newwt, answered. "I've got it turned down low so I won't wake anyone up! And besides, Alphaux was howling again!"

"I don't care, I told you NOT to watch this kind of-!" Andrew whispered, then took a deep breath. "Turn off the TV, go back in the Box, and go. To. Sleep!"

Newwt grumbled, but still floated off.

"You really have become a dad, dude," Alex commented. Andrew sighed. "It's not too bad. Newwt and Remmy are the ones who get into the most trouble, the rest are okay. As long as Remmy doesn't antagonize anyone."

Jack chuckled. "Maybe you could give Ryan the Dark Griffin Miraculous?" he joked. Andrew rolled his eyes. "First of all, that's not in this Box, and second… really? That's what you come up with?"

Vorath, Howll and Snapp popped their heads out. "You guys remember when Simmba and Screech once decided that they would be inseparable? And there was that time the griffin hero yelled at their wielder for… what was it, 'stealing his thunder?'" Howll asked.

Vorath snorted. "Do I? I remember that my wielder had to pry those two apart when they locked horns!" he replied. Snapp shrugged. "Sometimes, when we were imprisoned, we'd play 'I Hate This Person Because,' and Simmba and Screech would always answer Griff."

Jack yawned. "Well, I need to get back to my place," he said tiredly. Alex nodded and stretched. Andrew quickly transformed into Dragonus and opened a pair of portals, one for Alex, one for Jack, leading to their rooms. The two quickly stepped through, and Dragonus closed the portals. Transforming back to his civilian self, Andrew flopped on his bed. Vorath floated up to his face.

"Ryan should get Newwt," the draconian kwami said without preamble. "It might help tone them both down a little." Andrew groaned. "Or increase both of their mischievousness. I dunno, I'm too tired to think," he replied, then yawned. "Good night, Vorath." And with that, he fell asleep. Vorath shrugged and curled up on the pillow as he too faded to sleep.


"This is the third time this week!" Marinette complained as the echoes of the howling dogs still sounded through Paris. Tikki yawned. "Seeing as the Darks haven't done anything malicious tonight other than that, I'm willing to bet they're just playing around. Let's go back to bed, Marinette," she said reassuringly. "Didn't Adrien say something about coming to a modeling session with him?"

Marinette nodded. "I guess you're right. Good night, Tikki."

She laid back down, and once Tikki was sure Marinette was asleep, she flew out of the trapdoor to a waiting Plagg, who was sitting on the chair on her balcony. The two kwamis shared a grim look. "You don't think the Wolf and Crocodile are going to be the last ones, do you?" Plagg asked. Tikki nodded solemnly. "They're only the beginning, if anything," she replied. "Even with Blobbo… out of commission, there's still eighteen others. Each of them could be used to devastating effect."

"Do we tell them?" Plagg asked. "Do we tell them there could be more coming?" Tikki shook her head. "I can barely imagine that two more would be let out," she said. "There aren't enough people in Paris who hate Ladybug enough to side with Dragonus. The fact he even found two is startling enough." Plagg shrugged. "'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,' they used to say. I guess the modern phrase would be 'you can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends?'"

Tikki nodded. "Yep. You should be going, Plagg. In case he needs you." Plagg yawned, then flew off. "Bye, Sugarcube!"

"Why does he call me that?" Tikki asked herself tiredly as she went back into Marinette's room. After a few moments of thinking, the cherry red kwami curled up and fell asleep.


"Girl, I can't help but notice how you've been acting around Adrien lately," Alya said as the two took their seats in Ms. Bustier's class. "Spill."

Marinette shrugged. "So I've learned to speak coherent sentences around him, big deal," she replied. "What, you think I've confessed to him and we're a couple now? I've just figured out how to be better friends with him." Marinette could feel the bead of sweat dripping down her neck as Alya's eyebrow raised. That lie had been decent, for Marinette, at least, but Alya could read her like a book when she wanted to.

Marinette exhaled a small sigh of relief when her best friend just shrugged and pulled out her phone. "So I was looking at more artifacts in the Louvre the other day, and you won't believe what I found," Alya began excitedly. Marinette gave her a quick, almost panicked look, and Alya chuckled. "It's to help unmask Dragonus and his new allies, don't worry," she reassured. "I'm not revealing Ladybug any time soon. So, I was looking around, and I found this painting."

Marinette inspected the picture on the screen. A woman in a ladybug-pattern suit fought a greenish-gold dragon in the foreground of the image. Looking closer, Marinette could see a pack of wolves, a crocodile, a cobra and what looked like a salamander positioned closer to the back, supporting the dragon. She held in a gasp as she realized the wolves had necklaces as collars and the crocodile had a tooth protruding from its front right foot.

"My guess is that the new villains, Alphaux and Crocdown," Alya continued, "Is that they're ancient allies of Dragonus. Maybe possessing people, maybe descendants, I'm not sure. But those villains should have Dark Miraculouses, just like Dragonus. If we find new people with those kinds of jewelry, maybe they'll be the Darks!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Marinette exclaimed in surprise. "You think it's a good idea to look for them? What if one transforms right in front of you and uses you as a hostage? Or worse?" Alya scoffed. "Those two sidekicks aren't that dangerous. The worst thing Alphaux's managed to do is interrupt everyone's sleep."

"I still don't think it's a good idea," Marinette replied.

Nino and Adrien looked back to the girls. "Yeah, Alya, it's probably not a good idea," Nino said. "Remember when Anansi took you captive? I think if Alphaux heard you, he'd get the motivation to do something similar."

Adrien chuckled. "And if you were wondering about how Marinette and I are friends, I sometimes ask her to come to a modeling session to keep me company," he explained. "It gets lonely without anyone to talk to, and I get to see some of Marinette's designs."

Alya pursed her lips and leaned in close to Adrien. "You two may have fooled everyone else, but I'm sure, no, one hundred percent certain, that you two got together under our noses," she said in a low whisper.

Adrien and Marinette shared a small smirk when Alya leaned back to her seat. "Maybe, maybe not," Marinette replied cryptically. Adrien snickered. "Maybe if you're patient, we'll tell you… but probably not."

The four of them cracked up, oblivious to the fact that Andrew was discreetly glaring daggers at them. So, they want us to be more dangerous? We'll show them dangerous, he thought. Ryan's getting the Salamander, Andrew decided. Might help force them to think about who's dangerous.

The sound of boot heels clacking against the wood floor caught his attention as he felt Lila sit next to him. Ivan was out for the day, and it seemed whenever she had time before class, Lila would slide up next to Andrew. Luckily, he didn't mind the company.

"So, whatcha thinking about?" she asked. Andrew shrugged. "Nothing really," he replied. It's technically true, he thought to himself. Plotting the heroes' downfall is honestly easier than I thought. "I assume you met Alex and Jack?"

Lila nodded. "You never mentioned your friends from home would be coming here," she said, and Andrew thought he heard something like - he wasn't sure how to describe it. Abandonment? Rejection? - in her voice. "Don't worry, they're not gonna take up all my time," he reassured her. "Still meet up for coffee at four?"

Lila smirked. "You bet, teatimer," she replied playfully as she went back to her seat. Vorath popped his head out of Andrew's jacket and gave him a look. She's going to Yoko Ono you.

Andrew's glare responded sharply. She knows better than to try that with me.


"So, how was your little date?" Alex asked with a smirk when Andrew met up with him and Jack at five. Andrew blinked in surprise and asked in confusion, "What? What are you talking about?"

Jack chuckled. "You gave us both Dark Miraculouses, which not only give us superpowers, but also enhance our physical abilities. You do the math," he replied.

Andrew crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "You were watching that?" he asked calmly. Alex shrugged innocently. "Maybe, maybe not. Maybe we were talking to someone else and they happened to mention you meet up with that girl every Friday at that same spot," he answered. "We're only looking out for you, pal."

"If you're worried about exploitation, don't be," Andrew replied. "She's… different around me compared to everyone else. I'm not quite sure how to phrase it, but she's different." Jack smirked. "So you charmed her instead of the other way around, eh? You always had a thing for bad girls." Andrew scoffed. "Melissa wasn't bad, man, just misled," he replied as the three made their way to the limousine.

"And this… Lila, is it? She's like Melissa?" Alex asked. Andrew thought for a moment. "Sort of. Kinda. There were some bad experiences involving two certain people." He lowered his voice. "The ones you two would've lost to if you kept going," Andrew added darkly.

The other two were silent for a moment before Jack piped up again. "Do you think she's cute?"

Andrew's reaction resulted in laughter that was nothing short of raucous. Jack was still laughing as the car began to pull into the airport.


"They're starting to wonder," Marinette whispered to Adrien when he got a break from his modeling.

Adrien nodded. "Alya's getting close. Do you think we should tell them?" he asked. Marinette thought for a moment. "Give it a week. I kinda want to torture her a little with this before we tell anyone, y'know. Just for fun."

Adrien laughed a little. "M'lady, sometimes I wonder if you'd make a more dangerous villain than Hawk Moth," he said playfully. Marinette smiled a little and gave him a quick peck. "You know it, kitty," she teased back. "Don't you need to get back to the pictures?"

Adrien nodded and gave her a kiss. "Be back in a minute, princess," he said as he walked off. Marinette sighed contentedly. This is the life, she thought. I'm with Adrien, I know he's my kitty, and we're stronger than ever.

But one thought tugged at the back of her mind. Dragonus is gathering allies, and they're not going to hold back. Marinette took a deep breath. We'll beat them, too. And Shadow Moth.


"I thought your dad said they would be here by the time we got here," Jack commented. "I notice a distinct lack of twins, and our parents for that matter." Paul, the chauffeur, hmphed in amusement. "Don't worry, son," he replied. "They'll be here in a minute."

True to Paul's word, Andrew's father, along with Alex's mother and Jack's father, came towards the front doors, four figures with them. A tall, dirty-blond man in a black suit and sunglasses covering hazel eyes, a woman with red hair and blue eyes in a red suit with a skirt, and two boys who shared their father's hair and mother's eyes. Dylan was clad in his usual ensemble: blue denim jacket, black shirt emblazoned with a band logo, pale blue jeans and leather boots. Three concert souvenir bracelets lined his right wrist.

Ryan was a bit shaggier than his brother and was dressed in almost the opposite: red zip-up open sweatshirt, white theater club tee, dark navy jeans and green track shoes. His playful expression contrasted with Dylan's more serious one. Not many could tell at first glance that they were twins.

As the group met up with the three boys, Everett Hendrol nodded to Andrew. "I'll let you five get reacquainted," he said warmly. "James, Lizzie, my car is over this way. We'll meet back up at the mansion in a little bit." The parents nodded, and the five adults set off to Everett's limousine. The twins' luggage was loaded into the car Andrew came in, with Dylan's guitar being put in the passenger section.

Andrew, Alex and Jack looked at the twins, the twins returning their looks. Then Dylan broke into a smile. "I was hoping for an old-fashioned hello," he began. "Not this staring contest. What, I spilled something on my shirt without noticing?" The five boys cracked up at that, giving each other handshakes and high fives. Andrew chuckled. "The whole gang's back together!" he said as Paul opened the door to their limo and the five piled in.

"So, what have you guys been up to while we were still back home?" Ryan asked. "Surviving classes, getting lost, living without hickory-smoked ribs?" Andrew scoffed. "I've been surviving just fine, I haven't gotten lost once, and I've had all the smoked ribs I need. But seriously, dude, the best ribs are mesquite-smoked, not hickory."

"No, no, you're both wrong," Jack cut in. "It's oak chips that are the best." Alex and Dylan rolled their eyes. "I've missed this," Dylan said fondly as he strummed a few notes on his guitar. None of the boys noticed Paul rolling up the window separating the two sections.

"Andrew's got himself another evil girlfriend," Alex commented, then yelped as Andrew swatted him.

"I never said that!" Andrew replied defensively. Jack snickered. "Your reaction definitely confirmed it." The twins leaned forward, mischievous looks on their faces. "Oh, we are definitely seeing how evil she is later, man," Ryan said with a chuckle. Dylan played a few more notes, these ones dark, yet melodious. "How many cute ones are in your class?" he asked.

Andrew scoffed. "Pretty much all of them are in a relationship with somebody, even though the relationship map of my homeroom is essentially dominated by three girls seeking one guy."

Alex fake-coughed. "Said guy and one of the girls are the… let's say, mascots of the city," he said, discreetly pointing to the camera hidden in the shadows.

The twins glanced at their programmer friend. "So, like how the Skyburners became the mascots of Nashville?" Dylan asked as he played a chord, the acoustic sound echoing in the back of the car.

Andrew nodded. "Exactly. Of course, not everyone likes them, but the majority of people do." The five boys sat in silence as the limo pulled into the Hendrol property. When Paul opened the door for them, the five piled out of the limo and the twins looked around. "Dude!" Ryan exclaimed. "You never said anything about going for the fortress while in Paris!"

Andrew shrugged. "What can I say? I didn't pick the design," he replied as the five headed inside. Clover greeted them at the door. "Dinner will be ready pretty soon, guys," she said, then smirked. "The whole band's back together. I'm a little jealous you guys have this kind of bond," she said playfully. Andrew smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Clover. We'll be ready in a little bit."


"I still don't know how your mom eats like that, dude," Jack said as he lounged across the couch, twirling drumsticks between his fingers. Dylan shrugged. "I never asked why she was vegetarian in the first place," he replied as he strummed a chord. Andrew chuckled as he strummed a complimentary chord on his own guitar. "Well, she still has people she wants to impress, right?"

The five of them cracked up after Andrew said that, Ryan lightly slugging his friend in the arm. "Oh man, I missed this," Alex commented. "All five of us together, hanging out… It's been too long, guys. Too long."

"Agreed," Dylan replied as he stopped strumming to crack his knuckles. "So? What's our plans while we're in the city? Kick back and chill, or do a little… how to best say this, destructive operations?" he asked.

Andrew smirked. "I like the way you think, and it's about time you two got your new powers."

The twins turned to each other and gawked. "New powers?!" Ryan asked in amazement. "Don't tell me you found it!" Andrew chuckled pridefully as he pulled the Dark Box out of its hiding place. "You bet I did," he replied as he opened the pyramid-shaped container. "More than that, I took it from a high-security vault in one of the most remote places on Earth."

Andrew gingerly took the Cobra ouroboros bracelet and the Salamander pant chain from the Dark Box and presented the two jewels to the twins. "Dylan and Ryan Parkerson, here are the Dark Miraculouses of the Cobra and the Salamander, which grant the power of Repetition and Distraction, respectively. Use these powers to help me and I will let you keep them. Can I trust you?"

"Is that even a question?" Dylan asked as he took the light red bracelet. A ball of red light emerged from the jewel, condensing into a cobra-like kwami. "Greetings. I am Naaga," the cobra kwami said respectfully.

Dylan raised an eyebrow. "So you're like Vorath, in a way?" he asked. Naaga nodded. "Though I am arguably the better looking one," he added. "To transform, all you must say is, 'Naaga, Fangs Out!'"

"Naaga, Fangs Out!" Dylan repeated as Naaga was sucked into the silver bracelet, returning it to its light red color and a cobra head appearing over a dark green slit for the power. Light red energy coiled around Dylan's body, replacing his civilian clothes with a light red bodysuit, designed to look like snake scales and underbelly. Darker red boots replacing his shoes. A snake-like tail formed in a burst of red light, whipping behind him. A red helmet materialized over Dylan's head, a black visor and silver faceplate over his face, snake fang detailing on the faceplate. A small purple rounded triangle was right above his sternum. A light red electric guitar with black strings materialized in his hands, a silver strap wrapping around his body.

"Nice," Dylan commented as he surveyed his new look. "So these are my villain threads. And this guitar!" He ran his hand over the instrument, which looked like a normal electric guitar, except for a small amplifier just above where the strings would tune. "I guess this is for ranged attacks? Y'know, sonic blasts?" he asked. Andrew nodded. "Exactly so. What's your villain name gonna be?" he asked. Dylan stroked his chin. "Is there a snake hero?"

Andrew nodded. "His name's Viperion." A dark smile formed under Dylan's mask. "Iapallidus, then. A combination of Iapetus, that Greek Titan of the west, and pallida, the scientific name for a red spitting cobra," he replied. Alex sighed. "Finally, someone else has a well thought-out name. I thought I was gonna be the only one."

"Less talky, more villainy!" Ryan exclaimed excitedly as he took the chain from Andrew. "I never thought I'd say that," he added as Newwt emerged from the blackish-yellow light. "I'm Newwt, your- wow, nice shirt!" she yelped.

Ryan blinked in surprise as he fitted the chain onto his belt loops. "And I thought I had a short attention span," he remarked as the kwami began fiddling with his shirt. Newwt glanced up at his face. "To transform, say, 'Newwt, Crawl from Flames!'"

Ryan repeated that, then Newwt was sucked into the chain, turning it from its twenty silver links to fifteen black-and-yellow links. A blackish-yellow light raced up his body, replacing his regular clothes with a bodysuit colored like a fire salamander. A black-and-yellow salamander tail formed behind him, connecting to his waist. A helmet in fire salamander colors materialized over his head, a yellow visor and gray faceplate forming over his face. A black trident with yellow tips materialized in his hand.

"Oh yeah!" Ryan exclaimed. "The power! Is this what you feel like every time you transform? It's awesome! Call me Skinker!" The other four boys groaned at Ryan's pun name. "And I thought Jack had a bad name," Alex muttered under his breath.

The other three transformed into their respective alter egos, then Dragonus cracked his knuckles. "Alright, guys, this won't hurt a bit. Infusion!" He infused the adult abilities into his friends, as well as their nanobots and created their doppelgangers. Alphaux and Crocdown activated their doppelgangers, and after a quick interaction, the clones left.

"So now that we have a consistent way to get out of a situation..." Iapallidus began.

"Could've used that for the past five years," Skinker muttered.

Iapallidus elbowed his twin. "What next?" he asked. Dragonus chuckled as the five went onto the balcony. "That's my new plan," the draconian supervillain replied cryptically. "Follow me from the rooftops, and maybe if you're good, I'll give you a lift." Dragonus took to the air.

"Why can't we do that?" Skinker asked. Alphaux exhaled tiredly. "The world isn't fair, Skinker. But if there is any silver lining, it's that we don't get as tired as we did before." Skinker shrugged. "I can accept that." He leapt onto a roof and raced after Dragonus. Alphaux, Crocdown and Iapallidus shrugged and raced after Dragonus and Skinker.


The five stopped at a rooftop near the stadium, the sun beginning to fall behind the skyline of the city. Dragonus pointed at the stadium and smirked. "There. It's not in use right now, so we can use it for a surprise attack. Or rather, you two will," he explained, looking at the twins.

Iapallidus nodded slowly. "So what? I jump in, form a gigantic amp with these nanobots and then blast a chord which will then be heard all over the city?"

Dragonus shrugged. "I honestly had no plan other than to use the stadium, so… good idea! Meanwhile, Alphaux, Crocdown and I will be perched somewhere nearby to watch," he answered. Alphaux took a quick look at the stadium. "Considering the echoing potential of the stadium, and the way it's built, not counting the light breeze, it would be less of a concentrated sound blast, but rather an explosion of sound. You might want to position yourself in a node," the lupine villain said.

"I have absolutely no idea what you just said, dude," Crocdown sighed, then turned to the twins. "You're going to want to act sufficiently villainous, guys. Maybe laugh evilly or say something along the lines of 'Hero scum, I will crush you!' Got it?"

"Question! Can I go full Skybolt on them?" Skinker asked. Dragonus thought about it for a moment. "As long as you don't permanently disfigure anyone," he replied. "I would prefer that the heroes are not permanently disfigured." Skinker crossed his arms in disappointment. "Fine," he grumbled.

Iapallidus slugged his brother on the shoulder. "Get over it, you big baby," he said. "We have work to do." The twins leapt off the roof and raced into the stadium.

"I hope you know what you're doing, man," Crocdown told Dragonus. "The twins have done some crazy stuff, but I don't know if they can pull it off." Dragonus scoffed. "Why do you think I gave them those Dark Miraculouses? They might get into a little trouble, but Iapallidus's power takes care of that. And if they're just against a wall, Skinker's power takes care of that. I thought of everything!"

"And the heroes?" Alphaux asked. "What if they bring reinforcements?" Dragonus shrugged and crossed his arms. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. C'mon, let's go hide." And with that, the three Darks snuck off to a secluded corner.


"It's great you finally convinced your dad to come get ice cream with us," Marinette told Adrien as the two of them, as well as Alya and Nino, sat nearby Andre's ice cream cart on the Pont de Arts. Adrien gave her a sly look. "Well, I said I was meeting up with Kagami for a quick fencing spar, but I think my bodyguard left me at the wrong address. I still have to be home before dark, though," he replied as he glanced over at the Gorilla, who was eating his own ice cream.

"Okay, you two," Alya began. "I have looked over everything you've been doing, scrutinized every detail, and I want to know what in the name of Ladybug is going on here. Are you dating or not?" she asked insistently. Marinette and Adrien shared a cheeky look with each other, then looked back at the brunette.

"Well…" Marinette started. "It's complicated. We're not together officially, but we have been spending a good bit of time together."

Adrien chuckled. "Ever since we were stuck in the same room together by Ladybug, we've been seeing each other for a bit," he continued, his smirk still mischievous. If there was one thing he and Marinette gave Lila credit for, it was the ability to lie with such a straight face. They had a hard time keeping from revealing the truth.

A high pitched squeal was beginning to form in Alya's throat as she processed the realization. Nino put a hand on her shoulder. "Alya, I get that you're enthusiastic, but everyone's gonna give us weird looks…" he trailed off as Alya began to launch into a volley of questions. "When? Where? What did you talk about? GIRL, TELL ME EVERYTHING!"

Marinette and Adrien shared a worried glance. "Maybe she is going to explode," Adrien whispered to Marinette, who sighed in amusement. "I told you she would," she replied.

Nino gave the two of them a deadpan look as Alya tried to ask more questions. "I prefer not to kiss her if she's foaming at the mouth," he said, and the three of them laughed as Alya swore up and down that she wouldn't tell anyone.


"Bro, check out what I found!" Skinker called over to his twin. Iapallidus rolled his eyes behind his visor as he watched Skinker bounce a soccer ball off his knee. "Of all the crazy things I expected to be doing in Paris," Iapallidus muttered under his breath, "why do I have to supervise my brother while being a supervillain?" The cobra villain was older than his brother by fifteen seconds, and Skinker seemed to fully embrace the younger sibling role. Befitting his preference in theater.

"Can you get rid of that thing?" Iapallidus asked. "I don't want a repeat of the Great Kiddie Soccer Fiasco. My teeth still hurt whenever someone mentions it." Skinker begrudgingly kicked it away. "Then why mention it?" Skinker countered. Iapallidus rolled his eyes again. "So help me, I will blast you if I have to," he threatened.

"Except you won't!" Skinker replied teasingly. Then he glanced up and whistled approvingly. "That's some amp," he said in awe. Iapallidus looked up at his handiwork. The amp, formed from his nanobots, was twice his height, had twenty speakers, and was connected to his guitar weapon. Iapallidus chuckled. "Cover your ears, bro," he warned. "It's gonna be pretty loud!"

Right after Skinker turned off the audio receptors on his helmet, Iapallidus tapped the purple triangle on his chest, popping out the guitar pick. He raised the pick with flourish, and brought it down on the strings, playing a single G chord.

The sound exploded out of the stadium and onto the streets, knocking people back and sending cars flying. Right after the sound wave began to spread outwards, Skinker leapt up to the roof portions of the stadium.

"Only that much destruction?!" he asked in disbelief. "Looks like the Simpsons was wrong this time!" A crackle came through over their comms. "Good work, guys," Dragonus said. "Now they have an idea of where you are, so be ready."

"Oh, joy," Iapallidus replied sarcastically. "Be ready in case we need you guys." Another crackle. "We don't need them!" Skinker said over the comms. "Amazing how the suit's so absorbent. I've got plenty of stuff for my power now! They'll be stopped cold!"


Once the ringing in Marinette's ears lessened, she looked around at the damage. Andre's ice cream cart was sinking in the river, Andre himself weeping over it. The Agreste car was overturned and smoking, the Gorilla gawking in pure shock. Alya and Nino were trying to shake the echo from their heads, it looked like, and Adrien met her glance. The message was unspoken, but clearly understood. Time to go to work.

"We need to go!" Marinette shouted to her friends. Alya and Nino blinked. "What?!" the brunette asked. "Go where?! Don't ditch us now, guys!" But her shouts were futile as Marinette and Adrien ran off to a secluded corner. A moment later, after she turned her back to help Nino up, Alya watched Ladybug and Cat Noir race to the source of the sound. The stadium.

"We're following them," Alya decided, and she could barely hear Nino yelp as he was pulled to his feet. Not wasting a minute, the two followed the superheroes.


"So, now what?" Skinker asked. Iapallidus tapped his guitar to a steady beat, waiting. "Be ready, head on a swivel, be quiet," he replied. "We're at a strategic disadvantage here. They could come from any direction, and we're sitting ducks."

Skinker chuckled. "The fearless Roulette forgot he now has powers?" he asked. Iapallidus thought for a moment, then smirked as he moved the head of the cobra bracelet back. "You're right, Blackjack. Encore."

A screech came from Skinker as he was snagged by a red-and-black yoyo. Iapallidus whirled around to see Paris's superheroes standing atop the stadium roof, Skinker being pulled towards them. The cobra villain hissed as he pulled the head back. "Encore."

A red flash, then Iapallidus was back to when he first put the head back. Quickly spinning to where he had seen the heroes, the cobra villain blasted a chord from the head of his guitar, forcing them to leap over the blast and land in front of the villains.

Ladybug spun her yoyo into a shield. "A cobra and a salamander…" she said, almost in wonder. Maybe these are the other two from my nightmare. "Looks like Dragonus got himself two more backup dancers," Cat Noir quipped. "These guys don't seem like much of a problem." The two heroes stepped back in surprise when Skinker started laughing crazily.

"Only three things wrong with that little theory," he began. "One, we're not dancers. Two, we're not back up, and three, problem's my middle name. Your fur-st mistake, kitty cat."

Cat Noir grunted. "First Dragonus steals my puns, now you? You crazy lizards really are cold-blooded."

Skinker snarled. "First of all, salamanders are not reptiles! They're amphibians! And secondly, that's Mr. Crazy Amphibian to you!" Then he paused. "No, wait, the name's Skinker, and I will ruin your day!"

"Gemini Zed Five," Iapallidus said quietly. Skinker glanced at his brother in confusion. "This situation looks a bit more like a Solo Gamma Eight-"

Iapallidus cut him off. "The cat's the muscle of their duo, the bug is speed. Take him out first, then the bug can't fight us both off," the cobra villain said. Skinker grinned under his mask. "Okay, now it makes sense. Might want to set a new charge." Iapallidus nodded and moved the cobra head forward, then back, erasing the first charge and making a new one.

"What are they talking about?" Cat Noir asked, then yelped when the two supervillains lunged toward him, Skinker throwing his trident, Iapallidus flipping an ax blade out of his guitar. The cobra villain shot another chord towards Ladybug, forcing her back, then slammed the head of his ax right onto Cat Noir's staff. Cat Noir forced Iapallidus back and dodged an attack from Skinker, swatting the head of his trident away.

Ladybug tried to get into the fight, only for Iapallidus to blast her back with sonic attacks. She grunted as another blast hit her right in the midsection and dodged another one. Cat Noir glanced over to Ladybug as he caught Skinker's trident with his staff. "M'lady, go get backup!" he yelled. "I can hold them off! I think."

"I'll be back soon!" she promised as she swung out of the stadium. Iapallidus and Skinker chuckled menacingly, and Cat Noir glanced over at them. "Quick question, are you two brothers or something?" he asked. The two villains paused, unsure of how to answer, which gave Cat Noir the opportunity to grab the head of Skinker's trident and throw him to the ground and punch Iapallidus in the stomach. Confidence renewed, he twirled his staff and got into a combat position. "Round two."


Ladybug didn't have to look far for allies, finding Alya and Nino just outside the stadium. "There's no stopping you two, is there?" she asked as she landed in front of them. Quickly pulling the Fox and Turtle Miraculouses out of her yoyo via the Miracle Box's connection, she handed the jewels to the couple, who quickly transformed to their respective hero selves.

"Is it a new akuma?" Rena Rouge asked. "Or Dragonus?" Ladybug shook her head. "Two new Darks, a cobra and a salamander," she replied as they raced back in, then gasped as she watched the two supervillains punch Cat Noir into the wall. "You two take the salamander, I'll handle the cobra," she added quickly. The two auxiliary heroes nodded, then ran to challenge their opponent, Carapace throwing his shield at Skinker.

When the salamander villain noticed the shield coming towards him, he dove and rolled to his feet. "Well, looks like they're going Gemini Zed Five on us, Iapallidus!" he yelled to his brother.

Iapallidus hissed in annoyance. "Thank you, Captain Obvious!" he yelled back. "Just give them a hard time and we'll call it a day." Skinker chuckled. "With pleasure," he said sinisterly as Rena Rouge and Carapace got closer.

"Diversion!" he called out, then his tail detached from his suit, transformed into an explosive. Skinker quickly hefted the tail and threw it at the heroes, detonating it before they could dodge. Sticky black sludge exploded over the two heroes, and the force of the blast sent them to the ground. Rena Rouge tried to get up, but the sludge had her and Carapace stuck to the ground.

"What is this stuff?!" she asked as she and Carapace struggled to get off the ground. Skinker chuckled darkly. "A combination of road tar, rodent glue, and that gum you find under a desk or chair at school," he replied, then laughed as the heroes' eyes widened. "Amazing what you can find in the back alleys, isn't it?"

Meanwhile, Ladybug and Cat Noir tag-teamed against Iapallidus, who could barely keep up with the two of them. The two heroes kicked him right in the chest, sending him to the ground. Quickly sending a burst of sound at the two of them, he mentally cursed himself. Why did I set it up then!? Quickly turning off the charge he had previously made, he turned on a new charge right there.

"Teammates down! We need backup!" Rena Rouge yelled. Ladybug and Cat Noir glanced over and nodded to each other. "Cataclysm!" Cat Noir cried out, the black destruction power bubbling in his hand. He quickly raced to where the auxiliary heroes were stuck and managed to destroy some of the muck binding them to the ground. Iapallidus winced when the three heroes started ganging up against Skinker, who was regenerating a new tail.

"Encore!" In a red flash, he was back to when he set his timer. Right as Rena Rouge and Carapace called for backup, Iapallidus unleashed an entire sonic barrage right into Cat Noir, slamming him against a wall and pinning him under the onslaught of sound. When he was satisfied Cat Noir wouldn't be getting back up for a while, he turned to Ladybug.

"You'll pay for that!" she yelled as she lashed out with her yoyo. Iapallidus expertly dodged and blasted another chord at her.

"Sorry, bug, but I left my wallet at home," he quipped back. "Maybe you'll take a performance as payment!" He played the same barrage again, but this time, Ladybug dodged.

"Lucky Charm!" she called out, a pair of small wire cutters dropping into her hands. Not wasting a moment, she rushed towards Iapallidus, the cutters open. Right as he switched to his ax to attack, she cut the strings of the guitar, releasing the tension on the strings and sending them snapping at the cobra villain, quickly moving out of the way before the strings hit her.

Iapallidus screamed in pure and total pain when the strings hit him on the hand with the force of a whip, causing him to fall to his knees and Skinker to break off his taunting of Rena Rouge and Carapace and rush over to his brother.

"You okay?" he asked urgently. Iapallidus groaned in pain. "It hurts so bad! I thought this suit was invulnerable!" he yelled. Skinker helped Iapallidus up, and threw one last glare at Ladybug before putting his finger to his helmet. "Boss? We need an evac!" he yelled into his communicator. A moment later, a golden portal opened beneath them, sending the twins tumbling through and landing at the feet of the others. Dragonus quickly closed the portal before the heroes could follow.


"Okay, that was definitely unexpected," Rena Rouge said after Ladybug cast the Miraculous cure. "They take one hit and then leave? I thought they'd be stronger than that." Carapace nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty strange," he replied.

Ladybug and Cat Noir glanced at each other. "I'm going to guess those two have been partners for a long time," Ladybug said. Cat Noir nodded. "They definitely act like they're partners. Better partners than Alphaux and Crocdown were," he replied, then he heard Ladybug's earrings beep. "We should go, m'lady," he added.

Ladybug smirked. "Got somewhere to be, kitty?" she asked teasingly. Cat Noir returned her smirk. "Yep, and there's someone special waiting there for me," he replied. Rena Rouge and Carapace glanced at each other in confusion, wondering what exactly the city's main defenders were up to.

Right after Cat Noir leapt off, Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Carapace headed for a secluded corner of the stadium, where the two auxiliary heroes returned their Miraculouses. "Thanks for your help, you two," Ladybug said gratefully. Alya and Nino shrugged. "It was nothing, really," Alya replied. "Always happy to help."

"Good, because we might need the auxiliary heroes permanently, now with five Darks running around," Ladybug replied. "I'm going to consider it, but you should hear a response from me within a few weeks, tops." Another squeal began to erupt from Alya, and Nino chuckled. "She just found out our best friends are unofficially dating, and now she might end up being a superhero full-time," he explained. Ladybug giggled a little. "Well, let's hope Shadow Moth doesn't ruin this plan," she replied. "Bug out!"

Nino and Alya watched as Ladybug swung over the rooftops, then smiled as they headed back to the Pont de Arts. When they finally reached it, Marinette and Adrien were enjoying a second round of ice cream from Andre, since the sonic blast had ruined their first batch.

"Okay, where did you two disappear when the blast came?" Alya asked the two of them. Marinette and Adrien glanced at each other and shrugged. "I went to call my father, to make sure everything was alright with him," Adrien replied. Marinette snapped her fingers. "And I called my parents, just in case something went wrong at the bakery! Yeah, my dad said the blast blew a few croissants away, but nothing too major."

A bead of sweat trickled down Marinette's neck as Alya contemplated what the raven-haired girl said, but Alya just shrugged. "Well, good that you two called home," she replied. And Marinette could swear she thought Alya meant something other than call home.


Dylan groaned as he rubbed his sore hand. Even though the Miraculous cure had undone the effects of the guitar strings snapping his hand, it still stung. "Please let me teach her a lesson when we see them again," he told Andrew darkly. Alex chuckled. "You kinda have to wait in line, man," he replied. "I got first dibs after she subdued me with that crazy dog whistle trick. My ears are still ringing."

"That's not the plan right now," Andrew said. "If you want revenge for what she did, you can have it later."

Jack groaned. "Later, later, later! That's all your plan is right now, isn't it?" he asked, annoyed. Andrew faced the window leading out onto the balcony. "We're not at full strength, and even if we were, there aren't enough people who'd be willing to fight them so we can hand out every Dark Miraculous. I can only think of one person who might be willing to do it, but her loyalties are up in the air as of late."

"So we're essentially outnumbered?" Ryan asked. Alex shook his head. "No, we can outnumber them. I can generate a whole lot of clones if I want to, maybe outnumber the heroes two to one for each."

Andrew nodded. "Exactly. We're not going to be outnumbered totally, but definitely hindered. I want a full team for this plan. I need one."

"A sixth member," Dylan deduced. Andrew nodded again. "We've never been at such a strength since Melissa was on the team. And the Dark Miraculous I have in mind for this person… well, let's just say, it could help with my master plan once that rolls around."

"Isn't there one last thing to do?" Alex asked. Andrew took a deep breath and turned away from the window. "Dylan, Ryan, do you two swear to help me with my plans?" he asked. The twins nodded. "Of course," Dylan replied. Ryan chuckled. "The fearsome fivesome, am I right? Now and forever."

"So, who's our number six going to be?" Jack questioned. Andrew smirked. "I think I have just the person in mind. But we're going to have to do a little work beforehand. Either way, I think you guys should probably be getting home. Your doppelgangers aren't going to fool everyone forever." Andrew transformed into Dragonus and quickly opened some portals for his friends to leave through, meeting up with their parents.

"We have a way to fix the damaged Miraculous," Vorath said when Andrew transformed back, "but for Blobbo's mental state… The damage is too great. Even if we fixed his Dark Miraculous, the sheer pain and agony he feels would whiplash onto anyone who wears it, shattering their psyche." The draconian kwami watched his wielder pick up the Dark Grimoire. "What are you doing with that?" he asked.

Andrew chuckled. "I will never, never understand how the old Guardian was unable to decipher his spellbook," he began. "All he needed was the most powerful Miraculous of the Box it came with, didn't he?" Vorath paused, then nodded. "Yeah, if only for the power… Oh, that's what you're doing."

"Precisely," Andrew replied as he opened the spellbook to the third section of the back. "Convenient for the Guardians to have a spellbook that needed to be locked away, so they could put all the dark secrets into it." Vorath floated over to his partner's shoulder, reading the text. After Andrew had infused it with a little of his power, the coded scripture had turned to perfectly legible English text, perhaps a little archaic, but still easily understood.

"Alright, Dark Secrets, spill the beans," Andrew muttered under his breath as he flipped through the book. "Let's see, how to sever a connection between Guardian staff and Miracle Box… how to build a link to the spirit world… how to win at gambling every time." Andrew and Vorath glanced at each other, then shrugged. "Maybe later," Vorath suggested.

"How to corrupt and purify souls… ah, here we are! How to reformat a kwami's mental structure," Andrew read. "Warning: this process will require the kwami's animal form to be remade along with the mental structure, if the mental structure was damaged by the power of the Black Cat."

"Well, that's also in the book, so that can be found out," Vorath said. Andrew nodded and closed the grimoire. "We'll have to wait a little bit, but it should be before the end of the month," he replied. "I need to do some thinking, Vorath. Can I be alone for a moment?" Andrew watched as his kwami nodded and flew into the Dark Box.

Andrew turned towards the window again, watching as the clouds drifted over the moon. I am so lucky, he thought to himself. I have more power than I possibly could have dreamed of, I freed the Dark Box, and soon, very soon, I will have accomplished a feat only the most experienced guardians have attempted. His thoughts turned to his adversaries on both sides. Shadow Moth will be easily dealt with, assuming I can persuade him enough to give him what he wants. As for Ladybug and her little friends… Well, I have a plan for them. And they'll never see it coming. "Gather your allies all you want, Bugaboo," Andrew whispered to himself with a smirk. "Because you'll be giving me exactly what I want."


Tikki gazed out into the night as Marinette slept, watching for any signs of Dragonus or his four new allies. A sense of dread came over the kwami as the wind whipped through the streets of Paris, making her shiver. That dread focused itself into her thoughts. Dragonus is more powerful than any Dark has been before, she thought. He has our powers. If he really wanted to, he could call upon his ultimate power, and maybe fix the one kwami who could tear the heroes apart.

Little did she know how wrong, and how right, she was.


Now we're picking up speed! There were a few things I wanted to introduce this chapter, but it got a little long and crowded and the things I had in mind deserve a good explanation, so they got cut from this (don't worry, those things will be coming either next chapter or next story, IDK). Like I said above, if you catch all the references, I'll give you a shout-out and you can brag to all your friends (tho you'd probably have to be a nerd's nerd to get all of them). So, as always, stay safe, healthy, and get vaccinated again!

Update: I'm not gonna be able to post next week because I'll be away from my computer. So... ooh, cliffhanger!