SAPOTIS.
At night in the city of Paris, almost everything was calm, except for the Césaire family home, where there was some hustle caused by two little twins, who were chased as a game by their older sister, while a certain girl with bluish-black hair was talking to the mother of the little girls and the teenager who was chasing them, on the phone.
"Yes, Mrs. Césaire. The girls are ready for bed... uh, technically speaking." Marinette said while she looked at the scene in the living room with an amused expression. "Yeah, we're good, enjoy the movie!"
With that said, Marinette hung up the phone and looked at her best friend Alya, who had managed to corner her younger sisters Ella and Etta on the couch.
"Come on, bedtime, you little monsters." Alya said as she carried her sisters. "That's enough mischief for one day."
The girls simply chuckled and looked at their older sister as she carried them to their room.
"It's not us, it's the Sapotis!" The girls laughed.
Alya couldn't help but laugh at the words of her little sisters as she tucked them both into bed.
"Off to bed, little Sapotis." Alya said. "You need to rest if you want to be fighting fit tomorrow."
"It's not fair!" We don't want to go to bed!" Snapped one of the twins. "We want to stay up, like you!"
"Yes, we wanna watch the movie and tell each other lots of secrets!" The other twin snapped.
"And what kind of zombies will you be at the amusement park, tomorrow, if you go to bed late?" Alya asked. "Show 'em, Marinette."
At that moment, the bluish-black haired girl at the door yawned, then rubbed her eyes and leaned against the door frame, feigning much fatigue.
"So what's it gonna be?" Boring, sit-down pajama party with the big kids or the super-fun amusement park tomorrow!"
"The amusement park!" The twins shouted.
After saying that, Ella and Etta lay down on their beds and covered themselves with their blankets.
"That's what I thought." Alya chuckled. "Good night, Sapotis."
Alya smiled and leaned down to take the hat off her sister's head, but Etta put her hands on it, stopping Alya.
"Can we keep them on, please?" Etta pleaded.
"Alright, but go to sleep now." Alya said.
With that said, the teenager walked to the door, turned off the light in the room, closed the door and left along with her friend.
Moments later, Alya was putting a jug of orange juice and two glasses on the coffee table in the living room while Marinette had a couple of plates and two silverware.
"You seriously have the technique down with your little sisters, but uh... who are the Sapi... Sapo...?" Marinette said.
"The Sapotis?" Alya asked. "They are little monsters from a Creole fable who are always pulling pranks and making all sorts of mischief."
As Marinette pulled a couple of cantaloupe slices out of the fridge, Alya walked over to her and put a tray on the counter while she pulled out her cell phone.
"Now that we're all alone, I can finally tell you." Alya said, taking Marinette aback. "Ladybug has been around at least since the Pharaohs, but no way can the Ladybug we know be five thousand years old, so I downloaded a great app that analyzed the recordings I had of her talking. Based on the frequencies of her voice, it turns out she's a girl our age!"
At that moment, Marinette swallowed hard and grimaced, just before she noticed that something was missing.
"Um, Alya, the orange juice?" Marinette asked as she gestured at the small table in the living room.
Alya turned around and put her hands on her hip, noticing that the juice jug was empty and lying on the table, which made her shake her head and sigh in exasperation.
"It's not us, it's the Sapotis!" The twins said in unison while they giggled.
Alya wiped her sisters' lips and they laid back on their beds, while Alya chuckled while she shook her head and closed the door to the twins' room again.
Back in the living room, Marinette was setting the plate with the cantaloupe slices on the table while Alya approached her with a calm step.
"What were we saying again?" Alya asked.
Marinette gasped, then mumbled a couple of stutters and ran to the TV to grab three DVDs that were next to its base, to show them to Alya.
"We were about to watch a movie." Marinette said.
Marinette smiled nervously, then looked at the three DVD boxes in her hands, noting that she had a Ladybug movie in front of it, in plain sight of Alya, which made her let out another gasp and place the Ladybug movie behind the other two, smiling sheepishly at her friend.
"Oh, yeah, Ladybug!" Alya said while she grabbed her cell phone. "She's like a high-school girl so to figure out who she really is, all we need to do is find a girl our age, who's always late..."
"Don't you think there's a good reason why she keeps her identity a secret?" Marinette asked.
At that moment, both girls noticed something unusual next to them, accompanied by several giggles, which made them look at the table and see that someone had eaten the cantaloupe slices they had prepared. Such things only angered Alya, who frowned and pouted.
Seconds later, the blogger girl slammed her younger sisters' door open with an angry face.
"Alright, that's enough!" Get outta bed one more time and no one will be going to the amusement park tomorrow." Alya warned in an annoyed tone.
Ella and Etta just chuckled and replied:
"It's not us, it's the Sa...!"
"This is your last warning!" Alya said while pointing at the twins with an accusing finger. "No joke!"
Ella and Etta nodded and closed their eyes, then Alya closed the door for the third time that night and returned to the kitchen, where Marinette was washing the dirty glasses and dishes. Then the creator of the Ladyblog leaned against the counter and looked at Marinette.
"What were you saying about her secret identity?" Alya asked.
"Ladybug needs it to protect her family and friends. Otherwise, the villains could use them to get to her." Marinette said as she turned to look at her best friend.
At that moment, both girls heard a couple of beeps from the TV, accompanied by a couple of giggles, which caused Alya to glare at two little ones who were still awake, as she stormed towards the living room.
Afterward, Alya stood in front of Ella and Etta while she growled in frustration, which made the twins laugh out loud.
"It's not us, it's the...!" The twins tried to say.
"That's it!" Alya snapped as she carried her little sisters.
"Come on, Alya, we won't do it again!" The girls pleaded.
"Yeah?" Well, it's too late!" Declared the young woman in glasses as she took off her sisters' hats. "We'll all go to the amusement park when you can behave!" Some other day!" Now, go to sleep!"
After saying that, Alya closed the door again, hoping that this time it would be the last time she would have to do it that night, while Ella and Etta pouted and teared up a bit.
Meanwhile, in a secret room, the circular window of Hawk Moth's lair opened, revealing the villain in the purple suit and silver mask, who was standing in the center of the room and smirking wickedly.
"'I don't want another peep out of you!' 'Wash your hands!' 'Clean your room!' Kids should be able to do whatever they want to do... and however they want to do it." Hawk Moth said.
As it was custom, one of the many butterflies that hovered around Hawk Moth landed on his hand and the villain covered it with his other hand, imbued it with dark energy and turned it into an akuma.
"Fly, my little evil one, and akumatize them!" Hawk Moth ordered the akuma.
The akuma went out the window and flew quickly to the Césaires' apartment, where Marinette and Alya were sitting watching TV and still deep in talk about Ladybug.
"Well, if I knew who Ladybug really was, I'd keep it a secret. I would even help her." Alya said. "Like, say, if you were Ladybug, I'd cover for you. When you needed to transform in school, go fight the baddies, you know?"
"Oh, yeah? Well if I was Ladybug, I wouldn't even tell you to protect you from "the baddies," you know?" Marinette said with a mocking tone.
"You serious?" If I was Ladybug, I'd totally tell you, because I tell my best friend everything!"
"You are right, Alya, you should always tell your best friend everything. So, come on, spill the beans, are you actually Ladybug?" Marinette asked in a joking tone.
"Right, like I'm telling you! Nah-ah!" Alya replied with a smile.
At that moment, both girls started to laugh, while in the twins' room, Ella and Etta were fighting over one of the hats that Alya had taken from them, not noticing that the akuma that Hawk Moth had sent was entering the window.
"It's mine!" Etta said.
"No, this one's mine!" Ella replied.
"No, it's mine!"
At that instant, the akuma merged with the hat that Etta and Ella were holding, causing it to turn black as a luminous figure appeared before the shadowed eyes of the Cesarean twins.
"Sapotis, I am Hawk Moth. Your big sister's telling you what to do?" Well, I'll let you be as michievous as you want." The voice of Hawk Moth said in the girls' minds.
"And do whatever we want? Like stay up all night and go to the movies? And eat lots of desserts, drink orange juice and still go to the amusement park?!" The twins asked in unison.
"Yes, yes, but calm down!" Hawk Moth said. "From now on, no one will ever be able to punish you, because it will always be another Sapotis' fault. All you have to do is to take Ladybug, Chat Noir and Spider-Man's Miraculous, and give them to your good friend, Hawk Moth, ok?"
"OK!" The twins agreed with a malicious smile.
At that moment, the girls were enveloped by a dark aura, which slowly transformed them.
Meanwhile, back in the living room, Marinette and Alya were watching TV, when they suddenly heard some hustle coming from the twins' room, which made Alya growl in anger.
"That's it!" Alya said as she got up from the sofa. "I've totally had it with these kids!"
Alya furiously walked to her younger sisters' room and said:
"Don't even try to blame this one the...!"
However, the words got stuck in the brunette girl's throat, who was stunned as she saw two little red monsters with yellow eyes and wearing some kind of skirt and a purple propeller hat, wreaking havoc in her sisters' bedroom.
"Sapotis...?" Alya muttered incredulously.
The monsters smirked widely and leapt towards Alya, knocking her down and leaving the room, where they quickly stood on the coffee table in the living room to eat the cookies on the plate above it, causing Marinette to let out a gasp and get up, standing on the couch, feeling fearful and confused.
"Maybe you were a little too strict with them..." Marinette said.
Suddenly, the Sapotis doubled in number and scattered to continue to wreak havoc on the Césaires' apartment, scaring Marinette and Alya.
"Normally when you're firm with kids, they don't turn into monsters!" Alya said.
After saying that, Alya saw one of the Sapotis teasing the fish with a straw, so she tried to take advantage of his distraction to catch him. However, the little monster saw her and dodged her, causing Alya to fall face down on the ground.
Meanwhile, the Sapotis who had dodged Alya landed on the refrigerator door, which he opened, revealing four other Sapotis.
"They're multiplying after they eat!" Marinette said.
"Window!" Shouted a Sapotis.
The Sapotis smirked as Alya watched them with concern that they might wreak havoc on the city.
"Marinette, the window!" We can't let them out!" Alya yelled.
Marinette gasped, then tried to catch one of the Sapotis and close the window without success, only managing to fall to the ground and serve as a springboard for the Sapotis.
All the little monsters jumped out the window and began to scatter through the streets of Paris, ready to cause mischief as they went by.
Back at the apartment, Alya was wearing a pot as a helmet while she tried to attack a couple of the Sapotis with a book, but they evaded her, which made Alya think her efforts were useless, so she thought of a new plan of action.
"Marinette, take care of these two!" We've got to bring them back!" Alya said as she ran out of the apartment.
Marinette tried to catch the two Sapotis who stayed in the apartment, but they soon escaped and jumped off the balcony, causing the pigtailed-girl to frown in decision and her kwami to come out of her hair.
"Time to transform!" Marinette said decisively. "Tikki, spots on!"
On the other hand, once she got to street-level, Alya gasped when she saw the multiple Sapotis causing mayhem left and right.
After seeing this and noting that there would be no way to save her little sisters in a conventional way, the girl ran to a nearby alley while a little fox-like creature emerged from her hair.
"This is bad!" Alya said. "I have to save my sisters!"
"I know, now you can help, Alya." Trixx said.
"Yes... it's time to test my new powers..." Alya said as she pulled her Miraculous out from under her pajama top. "Trixx, let's pounce!"
Meanwhile, not far from there, Mary Jane Watson was talking animatedly with her friend Angelica Jones, the X-Woman known as Firestar, over Skype, about their most recent gossips.
"So you and Bobby are already dating?" Mary Jane asked. "Cool! I always knew you'd end up together, you guys make a nice couple."
"Yeah, although Bobby is much more reserved and shy than even Peter, at least he and Gwen always chatted confidently with each other." Angelica laughed.
"And to think that Bobby is much more talkative and outgoing than Peter."
"The silent ones are always the ones that surprise us the most, they're almost always like that." Angelica said. "And what about you, MJ? A little birdie told me that you've flirted with Adrien Agreste, when will you claim him?"
"Adrien is nice and handsome, although the competition for him is quite tight."
"Who are you and what did you do with MJ Watson? The real one would never say something like that."
"I said competition because I'm taking this as a challenge, Angie, not because I gave up." MJ laughed.
"Excellent, that's the Mary Jane I know."
"Although nah, I don't think it will get to much, honestly, I have my eyes on someone else."
"Oh, do tell!"
"No, you'll think I'm a silly girl." MJ said with a blush.
"C'mon, tell me!" I promise you I won't laugh."
"Fine... It's... Chat Noir..."
Angelica couldn't help but have to stifle a giggle, which made the other redhead blush and glare at her.
"You said you wouldn't laugh!" MJ snapped.
"I'm sorry!" Angelica laughed. "I'm not laughing at you, it's just... I didn't peg you as the type to fall for superheroes."
"It's because of what he's been through, I've met him head-on and well... the truth is that he's a great person, he's strong, brave... and I gotta admit, way hotter than Adrien Agreste."
"Well, if there's someone in this world who can make a superhero fall in love with her without being a superhero herself, is you... Well, you, Miss Potts and the nurse who has dated Thor."
"I hope so, I feel like Ladybug doesn't appreciate him like she should."
"Well, you already have an entry there then, MJ, you just need to take advantage of it and show him that there's someone who really loves him."
"I'll do that." MJ said decidedly.
"That's my friend, well, I gotta leave you, I don't think Wolverine would be very happy with me if I'm late for his class."
"See ya, take care and say hi to Bobby for me."
"A'ight, you say hello to Harry and Pete for me."
The video call ended and the redhead from Montoursville smiled as she closed her laptop, then looked at herself in the mirror as her kwami came out of the small drawer that MJ had arranged for her as a room.
"In my opinion, your conversation went well, Your Majesty." Pollen said politely. "And forgive my impertinence, but my room doesn't block noise very well."
"Don't worry, little one, I won't get mad because you spy on me, after all, you have to be with me, so you don't have many options than to listen to my conversations and see my actions." MJ said as she offered a honey candy to her kwami.
"You are very kind, Your Majesty." The kwami smiled while she took the candy.
"I told you already, Pollen, you can call me MJ, Red or Mary Jane, you don't need to be so formal, after all, we're friends, right?"
"Of course we are, Your... I mean, MJ."
MJ chuckled as Pollen ate the candy on her little paws, however, a couple of screams suddenly stopped the tender moment between the girl and her kwami, so the redhead quickly looked out the window and saw how a bunch of bed creatures were duplicating and spreading chaos everywhere, which made MJ look at her kwami decisively.
"I think we will have to finish our talk later, Pollen." MJ said decidedly. "I've gotta help."
"Of course, Your Majesty, I will follow you wherever you go." Pollen agreed firmly.
"Pollen, buzz on!"
On the other hand, in an apartment that belonged to Tony Stark, Peter Parker was sitting on his bed while he played Ultimate Mecha Strike III against Harry, managing to dominate the fight despite the fierce battle that the Osborn heir dished out
"You won't win this one, Parker!" Harry said.
"Don't even dream about beating me, Osborn!" Peter replied.
"Peter, I don't want to alarm you, but according to Nadja Chamack, who apparently never sleeps and is a terrible mother because she leaves her daughter alone for a long time, there are some kind of miniature, self-duplicating monsters, wreaking havoc everywhere throughout Paris." K.A.R.E.N. said suddenly.
"I'm busy right now!"
"What?" Harry said.
"K.A.R.E.N. said something to me...
"Is something wrong, du...?"
Suddenly, the light in the apartment went out, which made Peter growl in frustration.
"Dammit!" Peter yelled as he took off his headphones. "What's going on?"
"It's what I was trying to tell you, the city needs Spider-Man." K.A.R.E.N. said.
"There's an akuma on the loose, go get it, kid." Leopardon snapped as he came out of his drawer.
"*Sigh* Why can't I have calm moments with my friends?" Even after I was turned into a giant mutant spider two days ago!"
"You can complain later, go save the city, idiot!" The kwami snapped.
"Don't talk to my father like that, you flying rat." K.A.R.E.N. snapped at Leopardon.
"Don't call me like that, K.A.R.E.N., it's weird..." Peter sighed as he stood up. "It's hero time, I guess. Leopardon, webs on!"
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Harry Osborn tried to get his best friend on the phone, but apparently the call didn't reach him and the video game they were playing showed that Peter was offline.
"Damn!" Harry said. "Something bad must've happened, I better get my armor..."
With that said, the boy tossed the videogame controller onto his bed and hurriedly grabbed his backpack, slung the straps over his shoulders, activated his armor, and flew out the window, immediately finding some alerts about the Sapotis in the HUD of his helmet.
Finally, inside the Agreste mansion, Adrien was watching the news, watching the exact moment when the Sapotis had invaded the broadcaster and replaced Nadja Chamack while she talked about the creature invasion, which made the young blond man stand up.
"I think we better take care of this, Plagg." Adrien said before noticing the absence of his kwami. "Plagg?"
In that moment, the little black cat-like creature was flying at full speed from one side of the room to the other, putting all his pieces of camembert into a cabinet.
"These food thieves are real dangerous! What are you waiting for?!" The kwami said before he closed the cabinet.
"Plagg, claws out!"
Several minutes later, the city was in chaos.
No matter what anyone did, the number of Sapotis only increased with each passing second and each caused a different uproar.
So, while one of the Sapotis was playing with the lights of a stoplight, Ladybug descended head down with her yo-yo and Chat Noir used his staff to rise to the level of the Sapotis.
"It's forbidden..." Ladybug said.
"... to play around with traffic lights." Chat Noir said before he knocked the Sapotis down.
After being knocked down from the stoplight, the Sapotis tangled itself in its cables and Ladybug dropped to ground level to snatch its hat and break it, causing the little monster to disappear.
"You're just in time, Kitty." Ladybug said as Chat Noir dropped down to street level.
"How did you know to destroy the monster's hat?" Chat Noir asked.
"I... uh... trial and error."
"But no akuma's been released."
"Of course not, 'cause that monster was a clone." Said a familiar voice.
At that time, Spider-Man and American Son made an appearance, landing alongside their teammates.
"According to what I saw, the monsters multiply every time they eat, which will make it difficult for us to stop them." American Son said.
"Yes, that makes it more difficult to guess which is the original that was akumatized." Spider-Man said.
"Well, we have no time to lose, we must save the city." Ladybug said.
The heroes nodded and rushed into combat, destroying the hats of several dozens of Sapotis, hoping that one of them could be the original.
Meanwhile, in Hawk Moth's lair, the villain saw through the eyes of one of the Sapotis how they tried to defeat Spider-Man, Ladybug, Chat Noir and American Son, but they managed to defend themselves with all they had.
"Get those Miraculous or there will be no more mischief!" Hawk Moth snapped.
"Miraculous!" The Sapotis shouted in unison.
Almost immediately, all the Sapotis in the area left their destruction and antics to charge against the heroes, who were slowly being cornered by the massive number of Sapotis around them.
"There's too many of them!" American Son said.
"We have to resist!" Spider-Man said.
The four heroes nodded and tried to get the Sapotis as far away from them as possible, but just before they did, two battle cries were heard and the four looked up to see two red-haired girls in superhero costumes pounce on the Sapotis, the first wearing a fox-like outfit and the second wearing a bee-themed outfit.
The girl in the fox costume threw what appeared to be some sort of flute against the Sapotis, while the bee girl used something that looked like a spinning top to break the hats of the little monsters in the same way that Ladybug had done.
After the initial attack of the newcomers, American Son came out of his stupor when he was attacked in the face by a Sapotis who threw a stone at him, which the armored hero responded with a rain of micro-missiles that hit the hats of the remaining Sapotis accurately.
After the Sapotis disappeared, Chat Noir smirked at American Son.
"You should've started with that..." Chat Noir said.
"Yes, but I only keep it for emergencies, it's not easy to recharge it and I must use it wisely in the middle of the battle, think of it as Ladybug's Lucky Charm, your Cataclysm or Spidey's Spider Bite." American Son replied as he released the empty shells of his micro-missiles.
"Anyway, thanks for your timely intervention, new girls." Spider-Man said.
"No problem, wall-crawler." Said the girl in the bee suit.
"And where did you guys come from?" Ladybug asked.
"Well, I'm a local citizen, a few days ago I received my powers and decided that I would use them for good, like you." Said the girl in the fox costume. "I am... uh... err... Rena Rouge! Yeah, you can call me Rena Rouge."
"And you can call me Queen Bee, peasants." Said the girl in the yellow suit while she posed, before laughing out loud. "Ok, bad joke, I'm not that pretentious."
"Well, good thing you showed up because we need all the help we can get to end this." Spider-Man smiled.
"Wait, you two are using Miraculous?" Ladybug asked.
"Yes." Rena Rouge and Queen Bee answered in unison.
"I hope that doesn't mean you stole them..."
"I doubt very much that they had stolen something and gone with the only ones who'd recognize magic jewels just by seeing them." Spider-Man said. "So let's go save the city, then we'll figure out where their Miraculous came from."
The team of heroes nodded and they all jumped in different directions, trying not to get too far away from each other, attacking the Sapotis left and right.
Meanwhile, in the secret headquarters of Hawk Moth, the villain in the purple suit was looking out his window at how two new heroines had appeared.
"New heroines? Where do so many Miraculous come from?" Hawk Moth said. "No matter, that will only end up favoring me in the future, Sapotis, attack them! It doesn't matter if they are six now, they have no chance against you! Get all their Miraculouses or there will be no more mischief!"
Again, the Sapotis turned against the heroes, but this time, all the little monsters in the city turned against them.
After several minutes of fighting, the Sapotis kept coming and although the six teenage heroes could keep them at bay, the circle of Sapotis that surrounded them was closing more and more.
"This doesn't look good at all!" Chat Noir said. "There are still too many!"
"We can't keep going like this, we've gotta end this now!" Ladybug said before she threw her yo-yo upwards. "Lucky Charm!"
At that moment, a small horde of ladybugs emerged out of nowhere and materialized an old-styled, red teapot with black spots, which confused Ladybug a bit.
"A teapot?" Ladybug wondered.
"Great, we can complement our defeat with a nice tea." Queen Bee said sarcastically.
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Queen Bee." Chat Noir laughed.
Ladybug paused for a moment while she looked for a way to use her Lucky Charm to save Alya's little sisters, but after several seconds, she couldn't see any way to use the teapot.
"I don't know how to use my Lucky Charm!" Ladybug said.
"Wait a minute, I think I know what it means!" Spider-Man said as he wrapped several Sapotis in a giant web-ball. "I saw a teapot like that in Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum!"
"What are you talking about?" Rena Rouge asked.
"That's it!" Ladybug said." Master Fu has one too!"
"It must be a clue for you to contact them!" Queen Bee said.
"Go ahead! We'll keep the Sapotis busy!" American Son snapped.
Spider-Man and Ladybug jumped away from the group and swung away from the battle, while Chat Noir, American Son, Rena Rouge, and Queen Bee still fought the Sapotis.
After a couple of minutes, the Queens teenager arrived at his room and grabbed the Avenger ID from his desk, turned on the communicator, and said:
"Avenger Identification. Keyword: Wall-Crawler."
"Incorrect keyword. Access denied." Said the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. through the ID.
"Webslinger."
"Access denied."
"Webhead."
"Access denied."
"Ugh, I'm gonna kill you for this, Mr. Stark..." Spider-Man growled. "Underoos."
"Voice signature accepted. How can I help you, Spider-Man?"
"Contact Doctor Strange."
The ID beeped, then Doctor Strange's face appeared on the small screen of it.
"Spider-Man, it's quite late for you..." Doctor Strange tried to say.
"I know, I know, but I'm in trouble." Spider-Man said. "There's an akuma, we thought that Ladybug's Lucky Charm was a clue to contact you and Master Fu, there are two new heroines and..."
"I see, so you already met them."
"Did you know about them?"
"Of course I did, I gave them the Miraculous of the Fox and the Bee myself."
"Oh, great, but it sounds like there's you're not telling me."
"You will find out from Ladybug anyway, so I'll just tell you." Strange sighed. "I stole the Miraculous from Master Fu's house, but before you judge me, keep in mind that I know a lot about the events that will happen in the future, and if I risked stealing those Miraculous and giving them to two girls, it was because they must have them so that events don't spin out of control and we have greater chances of success, plus Wang Fu and Cassandra Webb refused to give you more support to keep the Miraculous safe."
"But... I don't know if it's a good idea to antagonize Master Fu and Ladybug."
"I took that into account too, Spider-Man, believe me, this little confrontation between the two of us, and Ladybug and Master Fu is necessary to create a good bond with them."
"That sounds quite contradictory..."
"I know, but you have to trust me."
"Fine, but only because I'm not in a position to judge others for stealing."
"That is enough, now, about the heroines, you must prevent Ladybug from taking their Miraculouses at all costs, as I already told you, they're necessary for everything to happen as it should."
"Okay, Doc, I'll do what I can." Spider-Man said. "Anything else I should know?"
"For the moment that should be everything." Strange said. "But don't forget, you can fully trust both Rena Rouge and Queen Bee, and you must do everything possible so that Ladybug also trusts them."
"You put too much trust in me, Doc. No... I don't know if I can..."
"If I have confidence in you it's because I know who you are, Peter, I have seen who you will become and various of your achievements."
"I hope I don't disappoint you."
"You will not, and about the Sapotis, they need to find a way to restrict them and show them that not everything is as it seems."
"Great, more riddles..." Spider-Man sighed. "I suppose asking you to go to the point is useless."
"Yep."
"Well, I'll have to figure out what that means, I have to go back to the fight."
"Trust yourself and your partners, Spider-Man, I wish you luck though you don't need it."
Spider-Man put the Avenger ID back into his desk drawer and left his room through the window, as he swung back to the fray.
On the other hand, Ladybug detransformed in a nearby building and went to Master Fu's hiding place, knocking on the door and waiting for confirmation so that she could enter.
"Come in." Master Fu's voice said in a solemn tone.
Marinette entered the old man's house and smiled, but after she noticed Master Fu's grim expression, Marinette's smile disappeared.
"Is something wrong?" Marinette asked.
"I am afraid so, Marinette." Fu said. "There is a serious problem."
"What happened?"
"Doctor Strange stole two Miraculous."
At that revelation, Marinette gasped.
"So that's why there are two new heroines..." Marinette said.
"This is a serious problem, Marinette, you must retrieve those Miraculous at any cost. Having so many Miraculous in circulation is too dangerous, you may be able to ask them to help for now, but as soon as it is over, you have to get those Miraculouses back."
"I understand, Master, I will."
"And above all, keep in mind that Spider-Man will probably try to avoid it, since he and Doctor Strange are in constant contact."
"Don't worry, Master Fu, as soon as I explain what you said to me, I doubt that Spider-Man will side with Doctor Strange."
"I wish I could be as optimistic as you, they both share the same type of relationship as you and I, he sees him as a mentor."
"Even so, I will not let the Miraculous be in danger."
"Thank you, Marinette. Now go save Paris, those little monsters are a big deal."
"I will, and as soon as we defeat this akuma, I'll bring the stolen Miraculous back here." Marinette said as she went to the window. "Tikki, spots on!"
Ladybug opened the window and jumped out of it, swinging back to the fight.
Meanwhile, Chat Noir, American Son, Rena Rouge, and Queen Bee were going through the city, eliminating as many Sapotis as they could, but to their disgrace, for each one they destroyed, two more appeared.
"These things are just as annoying as HYDRA!" Queen Bee said.
"Right, cut off one head and two more shall take its place!" Chat Noir said. "We will definitely get along just fine, Queen Bee!"
"Focus on the fight or they'll defeat us!" American Son snapped.
At that moment, a bunch of Sapotis leapt from nearby buildings and piled on top of the four young heroes, managing to knock them down and hold them against the ground.
"That's it, Sapotis!" Hawk Moth said in the minds of the little monsters. "Now you just have to take the Miraculous from the new heroines and Chat Noir, and destroy American Son's armor! Without them, Spider-Man and Ladybug will have no chance to beat you!"
The Sapotis smirked and pinned the heroes down, then they tried to break through American Son' suit, while a few more brought their mischievous claws closer to the Miraculous of Queen Bee, Rena Rouge and Chat Noir.
But fortunately for the heroes, American Son was able to create an electric pulse to free himself from the Sapotis that tried to disable his suit, while Spider-Man and Ladybug landed nearby to free Queen Bee, Chat Noir and Rena Rouge.
Once they were free, the heroes stood up and were surrounded again.
"There's too many of them!" Spider-Man snapped. "We must fall back!"
The young heroes nodded and jumped away from the battle, reaching the roofs of nearby buildings and dodging the Sapotis on their way.
After several minutes, the heroes reached the Eiffel Tower, at the place where the heroes used to gather, from where the teens looked at the chaos unleashed by the Sapotis.
"This is very bad..." American Son said.
"Yes, it doesn't matter if the six of us work together, we won't be able to destroy them all or deakumatize them." Chat Noir said.
"We have to try, we can't just let the Sapotis destroy the whole city." Rena Rouge said.
"What did the elders tell you?" American Son asked.
"Hey!" Ladybug snapped.
"I meant it respectfully."
"Fine, Master Fu said something pretty bad about you two."
With that said, Ladybug looked at Rena Rouge and Queen Bee in a bad way, causing them to look at her in confusion.
"The Master told me that you stole your Miraculous." Ladybug said.
"What?! No!" Both heroines said.
"My kwami told me that Doctor Strange had chosen me to be the bearer of the power of Restraint." Queen Bee snapped.
"Same with me, I'm no thief." Rena Rouge said.
"I trust you, Strange told me that he gave you the Miraculous because Master Fu and Madame Web didn't want us to have backup." Spider-Man said.
"And Strange stole the Miraculous, putting these girls and the Miraculous themselves in danger." Ladybug said.
"Strange knows what he's doing, he used the Eye of Agamotto to see the future and made the best decision for the six of us."
"This isn't right, having so many Miraculouses out there is dangerous."
"It's more dangerous for the Goblin or Hawk Moth to get our Miraculous for not having enough backup."
"We have the Avengers."
"They're too far away to give us support when we need it."
Ladybug growled and Spider-Man reciprocated with a scowl, until Chat Noir separated them both.
"Enough." The cat hero snapped. "We shouldn't fight each other."
"But you don't understand, Chat Noir, it's dangerous that many Miraculous are in circulation."
"Yes, I understand, My Lady, but it's not time to argue between us."
"Also, if you three have your Miraculouses all the time, why'd it be so bad for the two of them to keep them?" American Son asked. "I mean, it's not as if the world wasn't full of superheroes, also, according to what we have seen, the two of them are really trustworthy and know how to use their abilities, not to mention that even a rookie like me had the opportunity to keep my powers."
"Ladybug, I don't want to cause any problems, if you really think it's a bad idea, I'll give you my Miraculous back." Rena Rouge said before she made the attempt to take off her Miraculous.
"Rena, no." Queen Bee snapped as she stopped Rena Rouge. "Look Ladybug, I don't know who Master Fu or Doctor Strange are, but I do know that Strange trusted us and our kwamis too, not to mention the kitten, the webhead and the tin man, so I ask you as a friend, don't insist. With the Green Goblin on the loose in the city, along with that Doctor Octopus guy, believe me that you guys are gonna need all the help you can get."
Ladybug felt between the sword and the wall. Not only did the entire newly-formed team of heroes appear to be against her, except for the still hesitant Rena Rouge, but they were also managing to convince her, but she had made a promise to Master Fu and she had to keep it.
"I can't allow it." Ladybug said.
"And I can't allow you to take those Miraculouses, Strange told me that it's necessary that the two of them have them so that the future won't be in risk." Spider-Man snapped.
"How can you be so sure that Strange isn't wrong?" What if what you said doesn't happen?"
"Good ol' Doc knows more about time than anyone, if he says something will happen, it's almost 100% sure it will."
Ladybug sighed in frustration and nodded in acceptance.
"Okay, I don't like to admit it, but I think Doctor Strange is right, although we still have to know what the hell are we going to do to stop the Sapotis, we don't have much time before they find us and become completely unstoppable." Ladybug said.
"Well, Strange told me a riddle and from what Queen Bee said, I think it has to do with her abilities and Rena Rouge's." Spider-Man said before he looked at Queen Bee. "You said your power was Restraint, right?"
"Yes, that's what my kwami told me." Queen Bee replied.
"And what is yours, Rena?"
"Illusion." Rena Rouge replied.
Spider-Man grunted a bit as he put a hand over his chin, thinking for a moment until he snapped his fingers.
"I got it, Ladybug, can you use your Lucky Charm again?" Spider-Man asked.
"For what?" Ladybug asked.
"Strange said and I quote: 'You must find a way to restrict them and show them that not everything is as it seems.' So ultimately, our new friends here are the key to defeat the Sapotis."
"I hope you're not wrong."
"Makes two of us, then."
With that said, Ladybug took her yo-yo and threw it upwards.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug yelled.
At that time, a small horde of ladybugs emerged from the heroine's yo-yo, creating a red unicycle with black dots.
"A unicycle?" Ladybug wondered.
"Well, let it not be said that we're not willing to do circus stuff to save the city." Queen Bee said.
"No, I think this is part of a puzzle." American Son said.
Ladybug looked everywhere and turned her attention to an abandoned garbage truck at the foot of the most iconic tower in France, Spider-Man's web-shooters, American Son's suit, Rena Rouge's flute, Chat Noir's staff and Queen Bee's spinning top.
Quickly, Ladybug gestured the others to follow her and jumped from the Eiffel Tower to the ground, stopping her fall with her yo-yo, then she ran to the garbage truck and smiled as she noticed several traffic cones, some rakes and a couple of trash cans in the back.
"I have an idea, but I need a transport and an alley." Ladybug said.
"You got one." American Son said before he took flight by a few inches.
"Excellent, you four take all of this and stay out of sight of the Sapotis."
With that said, Ladybug gestured at the trash cans, rakes, and grabbed a traffic cone while she handed Spider-Man the unicycle, after which they both nodded.
"Be careful." Spider-Man said.
"You too." Ladybug replied.
"We'll have to stay in touch." Rena Rouge said.
They all nodded and pulled small earpieces out of their weapons to put them on their ears.
After this, the heroes nodded, Ladybug climbed on American Son's back and he flew away, while Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, Queen Bee and Spider-Man took the objects that Ladybug had signaled and set out to find an alley.
Meanwhile, Ladybug managed to squat on American Son's back and took the traffic cone to use as a makeshift megaphone, with which she yelled:
"Hear ye, hear ye! Sapotiland, the amusement park of the future, is about to open!" Ladybug yelled. "Mischief of all sizes are permitted in Sapotiland! All-you-can-eat desserts! Fountains of orange juice! Big-kid movies and videogames!"
"Ah, so you plan to use their child mentality to make them fall into a trap, you're very smart." American Son said with a chuckle.
"And you just realized it?" Ladybug asked ironically.
At that moment, all the nearby Sapotis who heard the false news from Ladybug smiled widely, believing the lie that Ladybug had invented and began to follow the two heroes, while inside the Hawk Moth's lair, he felt desperate, as more and more Sapotis were believing Ladybug's lie.
"No!" Hawk Moth yelled. "Don't follow them! It's a trap!"
As Ladybug and American Son flew over the city, luring the Sapotis into the trap, on the roof of a building next to a somewhat narrow alley, Spider-Man, Queen Bee, Chat Noir and Rena Rouge were trying to put the plan into action. makeshift Ladybug, only they couldn't take the wheel off the unicycle with the traditional method, which was making Spider-Man impatient.
"Argh, forget it, give me that thing." Spider-Man said before he took the unicycle.
Without further ado, Spider-Man broke the frame of the unicycle and the bar that held the wheel in place, then handed the wheel to Chat Noir and the latter introduced his staff in the middle, twisting it slightly and smiling as Queen Bee snapped the tip of the rakes they had taken. After she was done breaking the rakes, Spider-Man and Queen Bee grabbed them and stuck them to the wheel with some webbing, while Chat Noir talked to Rena Rouge.
"Alright, Rena Rouge, time to try your power." Chat Noir said.
"I've never tried it before, I sure hope I don't mess up." Rena Rouge admitted. "This is all new for me.
"Have confidence in yourself, Rena." Queen Bee said while she helped Spider-Man to stick the tips of the rakes to the wheel. "We believe in you.
"You just have to visualize in your mind the illusion you want to create." Chat Noir said before he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. "And it's not to rush you, but the tin head and My Lady are on their way.
Rena Rouge nodded, took her flute, twirled it in her hand, and brought it to her lips a few moments later, making a curious tune with it. At the other end of the flute a small ball of light formed, after which Rena Rouge smiled and took the flute to throw the ball of light onto the end of her flute.
"Mirage!" Rena Rouge shouted as the ball of light shot out of her flute.
The ball of light hit the ground and exploded in a blinding flash of light, which materialized the image of a spectacular amusement park, managing to make the very few Sapotis who doubted Ladybug's lie and those who had believed it without hesitation, be perplexed and amazed to see the illusion of the amusement park, which made them all run after Ladybug, looking to get to the false place.
"Let's go! Follow me and I'll take you right to the entrance!" Ladybug said while she smiled widely.
At that moment, Hawk Moth felt frustrated and desperate, because despite talking to the Sapotis and trying to make them see reason, the illusion that Ladybug's friends had created, had made it impossible for him to fight to control the little akumatized monsters.
"It's a trap! Don't follow Ladybug! Seize her Miraculous!" A desperate Hawk Moth roared.
The Sapotis ignored what the villain ordered, while they still ran after Ladybug and American Son, who went down the alley and then flew up to the roof where Queen Bee and Rena Rouge were, while Chat Noir jumped into the alley, managing to jam his staff with the wheel in the middle of the alley and exit from it back to the rooftop using the momentum of the wheel spin. Almost immediately, the Sapotis filed into the alley, while Spider-Man stood at a strategic point on the rooftop to shoot web-balls at the makeshift machine, keeping it in a constant twist, which was catching and throwing the hats of the Sapotis as they passed under the wheel, straight to the heroes, who caught them with the trash cans.
Once all the Sapotis lost their hats, Ladybug and Queen Bee threw their weapons at the ends of the street where they had tricked the Sapotis, creating a pair of barriers with the strings of their weapons, while Spider-Man sealed the alley where they had taken off their hats with his webs, and while Rena Rouge undid her illusion.
The Sapotis gasped when they saw Sapotiland disappear before their eyes and was replaced by an ordinary building, while they were cornered by the heroes.
"American Son, Chat Noir, your turn!" Ladybug said.
"Gladly, My Lady." Chat Noir said. "Cataclysm!"
Chat Noir used his special power against one of the hat-filled trash cans, easily destroying them, while American Son did the same with the other one with his repulsor rays.
The Sapotis were rapidly disappearing until only two remained, as an akuma emerged from the ashes of one of the destroyed trash cans, making Ladybug retract her yo-yo.
"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma." Ladybug said as she threw her yo-yo at the akuma. "Time to de-evillize!"
The yo-yo returned to its owner's hand and she caught it.
"Gotcha." Ladybug said before releasing the akuma. "Bye, bye, little butterfly.
At that moment, Ella and Etta returned to normal, feeling somewhat confused by what had happened, but having no memory of what they had done as the Sapotis.
On the other hand, Spider-Man retrieved the makeshift gadget with which the Sapotis' hats had been removed, and handed it to Ladybug as the new team of heroes gathered in front of the girls who had been akumatized.
Ladybug took the wheel and gave Chat Noir his staff back, then the girl in the mottled suit tossed the wheel up.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug shouted as the wheel exploded in the usual horde of ladybugs that repaired all the damage caused by the akumas.
Immediately after, Rena Rouge tried to get closer to the twins but a beep made her look at her Miraculous and see how a part of the fox's tail turned black.
"I think you better go." American Son said. "Don't worry, we'll make sure the little ones get home safe and sound.
"Thank you..." Rena Rouge sighed.
"We better go, we don't have much time left." Chat Noir said.
"I'll lend the tin head a hand to take the girls home, I do have transformation time left." Queen Bee said.
"But... their Miraculous." Ladybug said.
"Ladybug, we've been through this, please..." Spider-Man said with a pleading look.
Ladybug sighed and looked at Spider-Man, before he heard the beeps indicating that her time was almost up.
"The Master won't like this..." Ladybug blurted out. "I hope you know what you're doing, there's too much at risk with all this."
"I know that, and it's not the first time that I put my neck on the line for any of you nor will it be the last, and if I could, I'd do it again."
"What does that mean?"
"Mr. Stark was mad at me about American Son and the New Goblin, but so far, American Son has proven to be an invaluable member of this team."
"Sorry..." American Son said. "It seems that I still do nothing but cause trouble..."
"It's not your fault, and as I said, I'd do it again."
"And as I said, I hope you know what you're doing..." Ladybug snapped.
With that said, Ladybug tossed her yo-yo and swung away from the scene with a bitter taste in her mouth, while Spider-Man sighed and did the same with a web-line.
Rena Rouge and Queen Bee felt guilty about what was going on, and for a moment, Rena Rouge thought about going after Ladybug to deliver her Miraculous to her, but because that could make her discover Ladybug's identity and expose her own secret identity, she decided it'd be better to leave as soon as possible. So Rena Rouge jumped away, while Chat Noir followed suit but in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, American Son turned to Ella and Etta with a sigh and said:
"Well, girls, do you want to tell me where you live?"
"Mister robot, you scare me a bit, but you look cool." Ella said.
"Thank you, little one."
With that said, Ella and Etta jumped into the arms of the young heroes and giggled a little as American Son and Queen Bee carried the girls home.
Minutes later, Ladybug arrived near Master Fu's hideout, quickly detransforming to feed Tikki and head to the old man's home.
Once there, Marinette entered with a guilty expression, which made Master Fu look at her with an upset expression on his face.
"They convinced you, did not they?" Master Fu asked.
"It's just... they're right..." Marinette said. "Doctor Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme and the Eye of Agamotto helps him see the future."
"It helps him see the possible future, but nothing is completely certain."
"I know, but we also need all the help we can get."
"And that is why I would lend you the other Miraculous, but now I will not, I can not allow them to be with someone who believes that doing the same thing as Hawk Moth and the Green Goblin is good."
"But..."
"Marinette, I think you should go.
With that said, the Master put away the Miraculous Box again as Marinette left his home, feeling sorry for what had happened. As the pigtailed girl walked towards the exit of the building, Tikki got out of one of her pigtails and said:
"Are you ok?" Asked the kwami.
"No, Master Fu was angrier than I thought he would be." Marinette replied. "I dunno, Tikki, I don't know what's right or wrong in this situation, both have good points."
"Neither do I, but I think this time we have to trust Doctor Strange, the Guardians have a position of importance regarding to the Miraculous, but the Sorcerer Supreme has a higher rank."
"I just hope this doesn't cause us problems in the future..."
Marinette sighed and hid, then transformed once more and headed to her friend Alya's home, where the latter could see American Son and Queen Bee come out the window after leaving their little sisters in the living room.
"Alya!" Ella and Etta said.
"Aww, little Sapotis, you're ok." Alya said with a smile as she ran to hug the twins.
"Alya, I flew with American Son!" She said.
"And Queen Bee is great!" Etta said.
"Oh yeah?" Alya asked. "And what do you think of the other new heroine?"
"Who?" The twins asked in unison.
"Story of my life..." Alya muttered hurt.
"What?"
"Nothing, forget it." The reporter said before picking her sisters up and carried them to their room. "Well, I think you had enough mischief for today, little monsters, so now please, I ask you two to go to sleep."
At that time, the twins laughed and said:
"It's not us, it's the Sapotis!"
Alya growled in frustration, but then sighed and looked at her younger sisters while she chuckled.
"Ok, I gave you the foot for that." Alya laughed while shaking her head. "But seriously, go to sleep."
The young reporter laid her sisters on their respective beds, tucked them up and kissed them on the forehead, smiling when she saw them yawn and finally fall into Morpheus' arms.
After that, Alya returned to the living room and sat in one of the couches, feeling overwhelmed by everything she had experienced that night, thinking deeply about her new powers, Spider-Man with Ladybug's argument, the so-called Doctor Strange and Master Fu, and all of that led her to wonder how someone like her was important enough for the future to lead a superhero to steal her Miraculous and cause so much fuss.
Upon seeing his distressed owner, Trixx flew out of Alya's hair and looked at her with concern.
"Are you okay, Alya?" Trixx asked.
"No, I... I don't know what to think..." Alya sighed. "I've always wanted to be a superhero since I read those Majestia and Captain America comics, but... I never believed that having superpowers was so... troublesome..."
"At least you have friends to lean on, Alya, and you certainly proved that you're worthy of owning my Miraculous."
"I wouldn't be sure..."
"Have confidence in yourself, Alya, Doctor Strange was not wrong when he chose you. You are smart, brave, but above all, trustworthy."
Alya sighed and leaned back in the chair with her gaze towards the ceiling, being besieged by her thoughts.
But fortunately for her haunted mind, something caught her attention enough to snap her out of her thoughts.
"Where the hell is Marinette?" Alya wondered aloud.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door carefully, which caused the fox kwami to hide in Alya's hair and the reporter to open the door, smiling as she found herself in front of her best friend.
"Ah, Marinette, I was just wondering where you had gone to." Alya said.
"Sorry, I tried to go after your sisters but I got lost a few blocks away." Marinette gasped.
"Don't worry, as always, Ladybug and her friends managed to save them, my sisters are asleep so you have to try not to make noise."
Marinette nodded and tiptoed into the apartment to avoid making noise.
On another side of the city, Queen Bee arrived at her bedroom window, entered it and undid her transformation, plopping onto the bed, while Pollen fell beside her, feeling a little tired.
"That was quite an adventure..." Mary Jane said.
"You can say that again, Your Majesty... I mean, Mary Jane..." Pollen said.
"I think I'm being too hard on you, little one, I don't like it but if you prefer it, you can call me Your Majesty."
With that said, MJ turned a bit and opened her nightstand, grabbing a honey caramel to give it to her kwami, who took it and began to eat it calmly, while her owner looked at the ceiling of her room again with a single question in mind.
"Am I really so important that this Doctor Strange stole my Miraculous to give it to me?" MJ wondered aloud.
"Do not underestimate yourself, Your Majesty, all Miraculous bearers have been of utmost importance for the life on Earth." Pollen said.
"That's what you think, but honestly, I don't know if I really am as important as Doctor Strange said. Although without a doubt, I will try to prove that he's right. If not, all the trust he put in me would be for nothing."
"That is the spirit, Your Majesty!"
Mary Jane chuckled and caressed her kwami's head with her finger, only to fall asleep shortly after.
On the other hand, Spider-Man entered his room and sighed heavily as he detransformed.
At that moment, both the boy and the kwami sighed and plopped down onto the chair in front of the desk, making a turn to end up facing the window.
"That was new." Peter said.
"You'd be surprised to know how many times I have seen this scenario." Leopardon released.
"No, I don't think so, with you anything is possible, so sincerely, nothing you've lived surprises me anymore."
"Whatever you say, boy, I bet that's not true." Leopardon said.
"Anyway... Do you think Doctor Strange has made the best decision? Because the last time I made such a drastic decision... Well, you know what happened."
"Hmm, it is difficult to know, but Strange is not like Stark, he wouldn't take risks without knowing that he can exceed the expectations. So I'd say that most likely yes."
"I'd like an answer that doesn't seem like you're trying to distract me that you basically evaded my question."
"And I'd like to tell you what you want to know with total certainty but... even the Eye of Agamotto is incapable of showing us what will happen with certainty, even though that's one of the most powerful objects in the universe."
"I suppose we'll have to find out the hard way, just like always." Peter sighed as he laid on the bed. "Good night, Leo."
"Rest, idiot."
"Stop calling him that." K.A.R.E.N. snapped.
"Make me, talking computer."
"Go to sleep already! The last time you two fought, Aunt May grounded me without video games for two weeks..." Peter snapped as he rolled onto his stomach on the pillow.
As Peter began to sleep, Leopardon went to his little drawer to get some sleep, while K.A.R.E.N. turned off the lights and devices of its creator.