To Rose Tiger: Some people just don't know when to give up.
To Lyger 0: I'm sure the Tarasque would be happy to oblige, given have a chance…
To Anon: Unfortunately, just about everyone else is occupied at the moment. And remember, there are two "Bees" running around…
"Ladybug!"
Ladybug stared, shocked, into Killer Bee's cold eyes as, between them, Cat Noir landed with his arms outstretched. Killer Bee let out an infuriated shriek, driving the Venom-impregnated top home, piercing straight through the miraculous-created suit and into the shoulder. Facing Ladybug, Cat Noir's eyes bulged out, a mixture of surprise, pain, and confusion frozen on his face, his mouth open and eyes stuck, locked onto Ladybug's. Ladybug's own eyes shot wide open, staring back into Cat Noir's now-frozen face for a long moment. What had just happened? Where had he come from? Last she had known, Cat Noir had been perched on the Tarasque's back near the edge of its shell, trying to find the weak spot which he had struck with two Cataclysms during their previous fight. But now here he was: locked in place, putting himself between her and the danger, as he always did. Everything else around them had faded into the background – the shouts of their teammates spread around the Tarasque's nest, the green poison swirling around them under the influence of Kamikaze and Valkyrie, the bellows and roars of the Tarasque. Ladybug's eyes drifted over Cat Noir's shoulder to take in the shock and rage on Killer Bee's face, her top still stuck in Cat Noir's shoulder blade. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl around them as Ladybug's gaze turned back to Cat Noir and she met his eyes. Still his face was frozen in that final expression, his eyebrows wide and arms outstretched, putting as much of himself between her and Killer Bee has he possibly could have. All he could move were his eyes, which shot past her, up at the Tarasque.
Suddenly the situation snapped back into focus as the Tarasque's bellows mingled with another sound. The metal cords wrapped around its legs creaked and groaned. Killer Bee finally pulled her top out of Cat Noir's shoulder and drew it back, poised to strike. Ladybug gasped, as the cords finally snapped with a sonic crack, uncoiling rapidly and spinning around the Tarasque's legs too fast to react. One cord struck Ladybug in the arm, deadening her elbow and knocking her spinning to the ground to land on her side, as another whipped straight at Cat Noir. Killer Bee leapt and back-flipped over a third cord, landed next to Cat Noir, and flicked her throbbing top at Ladybug as she pushed herself up to her knees. With seconds to spare, Ladybug ducked under the top and rolled out of the way, putting distance between herself and Killer Bee. The whipping cord hit Cat Noir in the lower back, sending him crashing forward to land on his chest in the rubble. A protruding piece of rebar missed his eye by centimeters. The Tarasque threw its head back and roared. Its tail swung from side to side as it stretched its legs. One back paw rose above Cat Noir, still immobilized by the Venom.
"Cat!" screamed Ladybug, flicking her yo-yo out to wrap around his waist and hauling him back toward her, seconds before the Tarasque's paw came down with a crash, right where he had been moments earlier. His rigid body hurtled toward Ladybug, spinning through the air out of control. She held her breath, all her focus on Cat Noir. "Please, please, please, please–" He had only crossed half the distance when, with a snarl, Killer Bee lunged toward Ladybug, hurling her top at her. Ladybug shifted Cat Noir's body in midair, batting the top away. She snatched Cat Noir, hugging him tightly around his upper body below the armpits. Catching her top, Killer Bee threw it again, aiming over Cat Noir's shoulder at Ladybug's face, but Ladybug lifted Cat Noir the slightest bit. With a wet squelch, the top connected with his collarbone. His eyes widened further, watering from pain. "Sorry," Ladybug grunted, pulling him backward, away from the Tarasque and away from Killer Bee. The earth shook beneath Ladybug's feet and she stumbled, bracing herself against Cat Noir to keep her balance.
"Perfect Little Ladybug can't save everyone, can she?" taunted Killer Bee, chasing after her. "Can't even save your mangy stray!"
Ladybug grimaced, looking around for relief from Killer Bee's assault, but everyone she could see close by was focused on the Tarasque. Taureau Dechaine and Big Blue stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the Tarasque, wrestling to hold one of its legs in place. Standing on Taureau Dechaine's shoulder, Multiplice spun her jump rope as a shield, deflecting stray blasts of fire vision behind them. Killer Bee stalked closer, and Ladybug backpedaled away from her, nearly losing her footing on the mass of detritus littering the ground. Cat Noir's dead weight was heavy on her shoulder; carefully she placed him on the ground against an upright slab of concrete. Killer Bee's top lashed out at her, and she rolled backward over the concrete, sheltering behind it. The top crashed straight through the concrete centimeters from her face.
Above them, Joey, Hoda, and Rugindo Leoa stood on the Tarasque's back with Knightowl, who looped his grappling hook around the Tarasque's tail midway down its length and pulled it to one side as it struck out at Coyotemaria. The sharp stinger brushed past Coyotemaria, narrowly missing her head but still connecting with her shoulder. She stumbled, yelping in surprise, and tumbled to the side, falling off of the Tarasque's head and only barely managing to grab onto its mane to slow her descent, kicking off of it and flipping to land outside of its range. Turning in Knightowl's direction, the Tarasque bellowed and swung its tail back and forth twice before throwing it with all its force in the direction opposite Knightowl's grappling hook. Knightowl braced himself against one of the ridges in the Tarasque's shell. "I can't hold it!"
With a growl, Joey and Hoda both grabbed Knightowl around the waist, trying to hold him down, but the force pulled all three of them off their feet, swinging them around in the air. Knightowl growled, the sound turning up at the end. Hoda let out a snarl, grabbing both of the others and holding them tightly. "I've got you!" she shouted, her words almost drowned out by the Tarasque's roars.
"Hold on!" Knightowl let go of the grappling hook just above the Tarasque's back. The Tarasque lumbered forward, knocking Knightowl and the rest to one side, out into open space.
Seeing this, Rugindo Leoa raised her hand. "Cur-Lion!" she bellowed, sending a pulse of energy at Knightowl. Slowly the three of them stopped falling, and Rugindo Leoa swung her fist around, dropping the three heroes on the ground a dozen paces from the Tarasque. As they landed, the Tarasque turned its gaze on them, its eyes burning red.
With a piercing scream, Majestia spun around and dropped down on the Tarasque's head, driving her joined fists into its temple and pushing it further in the direction it had been turning. The Tarasque opened its mouth in a snarl. Suddenly, Ngarayap grew back to normal size on its snout and looped her grappling hook around the Tarasque's mouth, pulling it shut. Majestia punched the Beast again as Ngarayap pulled back on her grappling hook, bracing against the Tarasque's snout, directly between its eyes. It sent twin gouts of flame past Ngarayap on either side, and her hair began to smolder on the ends. Suddenly, the Tarasque shook its head furiously, sending Ngarayap flying straight into Iron Maiden, who grabbed Ngarayap by the arm, sending them both tumbling through the air. Ladybug jumped up, throwing her yo-yo out to loop around Iron Maiden's ankle, and pulled her back, arresting her momentum as her arm grazed one of the buildings forming the perimeter of the nest.
"Get back here!" snarled Killer Bee, her eyes flashing with hatred. "I'm not done with you yet, Ladybitch!"
Her top lashed out again at Ladybug, who released Iron Maiden to rocket upward over the building. But Ladybug quickly lost sight of her as she cartwheeled away from Killer Bee, flipping and spinning back to her feet as the top came within a hair's breadth of her hand. The Tarasque roared, thrashing around and turning in their direction. Behind her, Cat Noir still lay motionless on the ground beside the shattered concrete slab against which she had placed him. Ladybug's eyes widened in terror, her breath caught in her throat. The Tarasque's paw brushed against Cat Noir's arm and neck. Ladybug looped her yo-yo around his wrist and jerked it as hard as she could, pulling Cat Noir back to her.
Before he could reach her, Killer Bee threw herself at Ladybug with a feral growl, fingers outstretched and reaching for Ladybug's eyes. Ladybug fell backward as she landed on top of her and kicked out with both feet, knocking Killer Bee aside. Somersaulting backward to her feet, she dove to her right, away from Cat Noir, putting Killer Bee between them. The Tarasque bellowed, its tail swishing through the air above their heads and lashing out toward Mecha-Man, catching him in the chest and sending him crashing to the ground a dozen meters from Ladybug. Killer Bee's top throbbed and pulsed, and Killer Bee drove it in toward Ladybug. Only a meter separated them. Ladybug had to block it, but she couldn't let go of Cat Noir – not with the Tarasque so close! She needed something – as if on command, a black-spotted candy box appeared in front of her, and Ladybug snatched it out of the air, holding it up just as Killer Bee's top connected with it and poked through the top. Ladybug twisted the box, deflecting the top to one side, and hurled the box away from her along with the top. Killer Bee howled in frustration. Ladybug yanked on her yo-yo string, and Cat Noir launched toward her, hitting Killer Bee in the back and knocking her to the ground. Ladybug snagged him out of the air and tossed him over her shoulder, springing back away from Killer Bee, who pulled herself back up to her feet. "I've had to watch you for three years: perfect Ladybug," Killer Bee seethed, clenching her fists. "Paris' hero." She scoffed, spinning her top to one side. "What a load of bullshit! They don't know you the way I know you! Nothing but a vengeful, petty, spiteful little bitch! All the power in the world, and you use it for this? I could do such a better job with it, if I had your power."
Ladybug's eyes narrowed. "You think you can be trusted with power, after this?" she retorted, dodging a flying top and looping her yo-yo around one of the Tarasque's legs, pulling herself up off the ground and swinging around under the Tarasque with Killer Bee in hot pursuit. Releasing the first leg, Ladybug nearly lost her grip on Cat Noir as she dropped almost to the ground, but snatched his wrist at the last moment before catching her yo-yo in one of the ridges of the Tarasque's shell on the other side and swinging out into the open. Her toes grazed along the ground, and she tumbled to the ground away from the Tarasque, narrowly avoiding Fin and Coquette, who turned to her in shock.
"What–?" Fin's eyes shot wide open in surprise as Killer Bee struck him in the back with Venom.
Pushing him to the ground, Killer Bee leapt over Fin and landed right in front of Ladybug, slapping Coquette callously across the face. "You're not getting away from me that easily. I'm gonna smack you like a bug!"
"Leave her alone!" shouted Coquette, brandishing her mask.
Killer Bee scoffed, hurling her top at Coquette, who batted it aside. "Don't get in the way!"
Ladybug scrambled backward, away from Killer Bee, looking around desperately for Cavalière Lavande. Killer Bee ducked a kick from Coquette and jabbed at her with her top, only for it to get snarled in one of the eye holes of Coquette's mask. Coquette jerked the mask back, nearly pulling the top out of Killer Bee's hands, but Killer Bee leapt on top of her, catching her around the neck with her thighs and driving her into the ground before jabbing her with the top and sprinting after Ladybug. Ladybug spun around, twirling her yo-yo defensively, Cat Noir still balanced over her shoulder. Suddenly, Sent-Bee rocketed overhead on her jetpack, dropping to the ground between Ladybug and Killer Bee and landing in a crouch.
"Get him out of here!" Sent-Bee ordered Ladybug, brandishing her yo-yo in one hand and synth-Venom gun in the other. "Leave the pest to me."