"So, let me get this straight," Adrien said, pacing around Marinette's room. "Right now, our main goal is to get all of our miraculous users to be as strong and capable as possible, and for them to unlock all the secret powers of the miraculous. And so far, Vesperia has been the only one to unlock a new power."

"That's right." Marinette said, running her hand over the surface of the miracle box. All of the kwamis would leave the box and fly around her, looking concerned for her mental wellbeing. "What do you guys think, are your regular users worthy of your full power?" Most of them nodded in agreement.

"Eh, Kim will have to do, I guess." Xuppu said offhandedly. Marinette sighed.

"Xuppu, the power of derision is immensely powerful, and only gets more important the stronger our enemies are. I want you to be honest with me, do you think Kim can do it?"

"Well, do you?" He asked back. Sass nodded. Marinette was first met with a bit of frustration at being put on the spot, but by this point she'd learned to trust herself through the anxiety. She was the guardian, after all.

"Xuppu is right, Marinette. You're the guardian, and we trust your judgment." Sass said.

"Thanks guys. For what it's worth, I think all of you got good users. I was a bit worried about Sabrina until recently, but from what I've seen she might be one of my best choices yet." She said, smiling at Barkk.

"Wait, hold on." Adrien said. "Kim? Sabrina? Like, from class?" He asked incredulously.

"Oh, yeah…" Marinette grit her teeth. "For the most part, I've handed them out to people I know well. Which is… mostly members of our class." She admitted.

"...You didn't give one to Lila, did you?" He asked, dread in his voice.

"Of course not! I'm not an idiot."

"Well, she DID let Kim use a miraculous multiple times, so…" Trixx joked, causing Marinette to wave her off.

"Yeah, and you haven't taken away this poor sap's miraculous yet!" Plagg joked, flying around Adrien's head, who swatted him away.

"So, do you mind me knowing who has what miraculous?" Adrien asked. "If our goal is to train these guys, then having 2 people who can tutor them will help us get through things quicker.

"Do you think you could do that?" Marinette asked, clasping her hands together.

"Of course." He said, walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'd do anything for you. In fact, having another thing to share with you is pretty exciting. You know I love to share things with you, especially things that are important to you.

"Oh, Adrien…" She said, putting her hand on his.

"Oh, Adrieeeeeeen~" Several of the kwamis teased in unison before breaking out into giggles, earning a glare from their guardian. Adrien chuckled - it's like she was their babysitter. It was cute. Well, everything she did was cute, but this was especially so.

"So, who's who?" Adrien asked.

"Well, Kim has the monkey, as you could probably put together. Xuppu and him actually get along a lot better than Xuppu lets on, and Kim's straightforward personality works with the power of derision quite well."

"Makes sense." Adrien nodded, sitting down next to her. Hearing him affirm her choices gave her a warm fluttery feeling.

"Alya and Nino are Rena Rouge and Carapace respectively, but you already knew that." Marinette recounted. "And Zoe is Vesperia."

"I think she was a good choice. I can't imagine many other people who'd be less willing to use the power of subjection for evil than her." Adrien said optimistically.

"Oh, you don't need to flatter me with every step." Marinette blushed, dismissing him with her hand. She wanted him to continue, though, deep down.

"I'm serious, this is actually very reassuring to hear." He continued, sensing she wanted more validation and more than happy to provide. "Besides, it's cool that so many of my friends are my superhero friends, too. Say, is Juleka one?" He asked, excitedly. She patted him on the back, knowing the two of them had grown closer ever since he started helping her with modeling.

"Yep. She's Purple Tigress." She said.

"No way!" The excitement on Adrien's face was palpable. Despite Juleka's shy demeanor, she was fairly outgoing as Purple Tigress, and had always gotten along with Cat Noir.

"And Pigella is Rose." Marinette said.

"For real? That's awesome! That must be why Purple Tigress is constantly flirting with her. I always thought they were cute together, personally. They give me some us vibes." He boasted, more than happy to use the two of them as the baseline for romance. Marinette blushed, flattered, but… unfortunately she couldn't help but recall how things weren't going perfectly with those 2.

"Hahaha, yeah… so, uh, about that… They don't know each other's identities." Marinette said. Adrien, shocked at this, stood up. "Wait, what? So Purple Tigress is hitting on Pigella without even knowing it's Rose?" He asked, offended.

"No, no, no! Juleka thought Pigella was Rose back then!"

"But I thought you said she didn't know!"

"I lied and told her they were different people!"

"Why?" He asked, clutching his head at the sheer chaotic energy of what he was hearing.

"Because!" Marinette threw her hands up. "It's dangerous for them to know their identities! It's dangerous for us to know our identities! I'm only telling you so that I don't go insane and so that you can help me with my mission!"

"I hate how much sense that makes!" Adrien lamented, sitting back down. He took a deep breath before chuckling a bit, letting some of the tension out. "You must have it rough having to watch all that."

"No kidding." She laughed.

"But now you won't have to bear that pain alone. You can always complain about how irritating it is to watch with me."

"Thanks, Kitty-cat." She said, giving her darling a peck on the cheek.

"At least there isn't any other love drama going on, right?" He asked. The pained look Marinette gave him didn't exactly exude hope. "Marinette…"

"So… Ivan is Minatorous and Mylene is Polymouse."

"And let me guess," Adrien said, rolling his eyes. "They don't know each other's identities despite being a couple and being huge fans of one another?" He asked sardonically.

"Bingo. Sabrina is Miss Hound, Kagami is Ryuko, and Max is Pegasus."

"Alright, alright." Adrien nodded along.

"And, so, fun fact! Marc? He has a biiiig crush on Nathaniel. Problem being that Nathaniel is Caprikid. And has a crush on Roosterbold."

"And let me guess, Roosterbold is Marc?"

"Yep, just like us."

"I am so sorry, Marinette. Next thing you're gonna tell me that Luka is Viperion."

"Wait, how did you know?" Marinette asked, dumbfounded.

"Oh, well, Zoe seems to be getting along with him really well, recently." Adrien said. "What are the odds that they form some sort of wild love square like we did back in the day?"

"Please, Adrien, I highly doubt that's gonna happen. P…Probably." She said, a sense of dread filling her.


Zoe was sitting on the deck of the Couffaine residence, strumming some guitar chords. After a bit, she put it down, a big smile spreading across her face. "Look at that, I actually did it!"

"You didn't just do it, Zoe, that was beautiful." Luka told her. He was sitting across from her, watching his pupil with a proud look on his face.

"B-beautiful?" She asked, blushing.

"Yeah, your music has this soft, delicate quality to it. You're treating your guitar as if it's someone precious to you."

"Well… you gave it to me, so…" She said, looking down.

"Oh, so you're just scared about breaking it?" He joked. "That would explain why you're so gentle."

"N-NO!" She said waving her hands, letting go of the guitar. It was propped on the ground, but began to tip over. She dove to try and catch it and then feverishly checked to assure herself it was undamaged, earning a chuckle from Luka. "...Well, okay, maybe a little. I don't wanna break it, obviously."

"Well, that's good." He joked.

"But…" A soft look returned to her face. "When you played that music out on the street, on the bench, and it totally transfixed me… I realized how beautiful music could be when it's used to express emotion. I wanted… to be really true to myself, you know?"

"Well, the true you is very beautiful then." Luka complimented her. Her blush deepened.

"...Hey, Luka, I was wondering if - "

"Oh, geez, look at the time." He said, getting up, his eyes on his phone.
"What's going on?" She asked.

"I got a date to catch. Lost track of time. Catch you later!" He began to walk away, not seeing the look on Zoe's face as her heart sank. She turned away from him as he jogged off, not wanting him to see her like that, but - "Oh, and Zoe!" He called back at her.

"Uh, yeah?" She asked, forcing a smile and turning to him.

"You can take that guitar home to practice."

"Okay! I'll bring it back in one piece!" She called back.

"Nah, keep it! I think you could do a lot of good with it." He said, giving her a wink before jogging off.


Zoe sat in her room, trying to play her guitar, but every time she began it didn't come out right. She couldn't recreate that beautiful sound she made when she was with Luka. It just wasn't the same. It just… Oh, was she crying?

Till then, she had mistaken the heavy feelings in her chest for frustration at her music, but no, it wasn't the music making her frustrated; her frustration was ruining her music. She was mad. She hated that she was mad, she didn't want to be mad, but she wanted Luka to herself. He'd been such a light in her life, he'd done so much to cheer her up… Oh, who was she kidding? She was developing feelings. What point was there in dancing around it? She wanted to stay up all night making music with him, and she wanted it to mean as much to him as it did to her. For her to play the song in his heart, and move him like he moved her on that day…

Also man it'd be nice to like, kiss him and all of that stuff.

"GAH!" She put the guitar down and laid down on her bed, grabbing her hat and pulling it over her eyes. "Why does my heart have to be like this?" She complained. Being in love was supposed to be fun, right? Why did it keep stressing her out? She wished she knew something she could do… well, actually, she did. Taking off her hat, she pulled out her phone and texted Alya, asking if she was down to talk about romance. Within 2 seconds Zoe's phone was ringing, causing her to almost drop it. "WAH!" She fumbled to keep the phone in her hands before answering. "H-Hey, Alya!"

"Okay, spill, who is it?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Zoe asked unconvincingly.

"Girl, you're in love, aren't you? Why else would you send me that text?"

"Well, I'm not sure I'd say in love, necessarily…"

"Zoe."

"What?"

"Zoe."

"Fine, I'm falling for a guy, alright?"

"There we go! Now go and tell your good friend Alya who it is. Come on, I'm dying to know!" Alya prodded. Zoe could practically hear her vibrating. She was nervous, but Alya's enthusiasm put her at ease. It was nice to know that she wasn't causing Alya any trouble by asking for help.

"Well… You know how Luka's been giving me all these guitar lessons?"

"No WAY!" Alya cheered, all but munching on her nonexistent bag of popcorn. "You're telling me that we're about to see a romance between the two people Marinette left broken-hearted?"

"Heheh, yeah, uh, with any luck." Zoe said, her voice softening. "He's just so… kind, and gentle, and supportive. And that soft way he looks at you makes you feel like everything's going to be okay…"

"Oh, man, you got it BAD. So, when are you asking him out?"

"I… Well, that's the problem." Zoe said, starting to deflate. "He's going out with someone right now."

"Wait, like, right now right now?" Alya asked. "I know he's been using that dating app to try and find someone."

"Yeah, he actually left our lesson early to go meet her." Zoe said, clearly feeling rejected. This got a snicker out of Alya. "What?"

"Come on, he's never met this person before and you're acting like he's head over heels for her. He's giving you guitar lessons for free, Zoe, he may not be into you but you have way more of a foot in the door than whoever this girl is."

"But, what if their date is going really well right now? What if she's like, perfect for him?"

"You sound just like Marinette, you know that?" Alya asked her. "Come on, how good could their date possible be - " Alya was interrupted by the sound of a text coming from Zoe's phone. " - Who was that?"

"AH! IT'S LUKA!" Zoe yelped.

"Answer it!"

"O-okay!" Zoe put Alya on speaker before going to the text to read it out. "...Hey, Zoe, Date ended early. We can continue the lesson if you want."

"Say yes! Say yes!"

"Alright!" Zoe nodded. She began writing out her reply. "I'd love to! Actually, I'm trying to write a song, and I want to know what you think of it… Do you want to come over?" She narrated as she typed it out before sending.

"Oh my god, are you going to sing him a love song?" Alya teased her.

"What, no! It's just… a song… well, I don't know. He's seemed bothered by something, recently, and, I wanna tell him he can talk to me, and I'm just trying to find the…" Zoe said, blushing. She got another text. "He says he's heading over right now!" She cheered.

"Perfect! Ahhh, Zoe, this is awesome! I take back what I said about you being like Marinette, she would have taken months to get to this point. You NEED to tell me how it goes, alright!"

"Okay!"

"Well, best of lu - "

"WAIT!" Zoe stopped her.

"Wh-what's up? Everything okay?" Alya asked, worried.

"I just… I just wanted to say thank you." Zoe said, shrinking back a bit. "It's just… really nice to have a friend helping me at a time like this. You're always there for me, even when I'm a huge mess, and… I want you to know how incredibly grateful I am."

"Oh, you're making me blush, girl!" Alya laughed. The two of them giggled. But there was one person who wasn't having a good time. Right outside Zoe's door, her half sister was knelt down, listening with her ear to the door with a deathly grimace. Of course, right after that fencing girl took Chloe's best friend, her half of a sister was having the time of her life with a some new friend and some stupid boy. It wasn't fair.

"GAH!" Chloe got up and stormed off, looking at her phone. She'd been texting Sabrina nonstop for a hours, and all of them were left on read.

Ladybug, Sabrina… everyone always left her on her own, didn't they?

"MOOOOMMMYYYYYYY!" Chloe burst into the room her mother was in while the supermodel was busy at her vanity.

"Chloe, can't you please keep it down? Mommy is very busy right now."

"I need you to ground Zoe and keep her from having her dumb boyfriend over!"

"She has a boyfriend?" Her mother asked, sounding surprised and slightly amused at the scandal of it all.

"Yes, and she - "

"Hold that thought, dear." Aubrey said, holding out her hand as she looked at her phone. "Oh, I need to get going. Be a dear and wait to tell me more later. Or, you know what, don't worry about it, just find someone else to tell." She said, getting up and walking off, not even looking Chloe in the eyes once.

Even her mother was leaving her for other people. Rage and sorrow filled Chloe's heart as she clenched both her fists. She closed her eyes and reached out her mind to try and see if a certain someone would help her…

"Well now, what's this? I go to find a new villain and it seems someone's volunteering! And it's an old friend, too~" Chrysalis's voice rang in Chloe's head.

"Perfect timing." Chloe said. "I need you to make sure people stop leaving me. They should all just pay attention to me and LOVE ME!" She shouted, stomping her foot.

"Oh, what a beautiful cocktail of emotions you're feeling! This might just be my masterpiece. Don't worry, my queen, your akuma is already on the way."

"Good, and make it snappy!"

"Of course, only the fastest and most efficient service for you, Ms. Bourgeois." Chrysalis said, not able to hide the smug satisfaction in her voice. Before too long, an akuma flit through the window and made its way over to Chloe, flying into her phone. "Black Widow, as you know, I am Chrysalis. Are you tired of everyone you love leaving you all by your lonesome? Of them deciding to live their lives in ways that leave you cold and isolated? I will give you the power to make their decisions for them. All you need to do is give me 2 little presents."

"Yeah, yeah, Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous, I get it!" She said, purple energy covering her, turning her hair pitch black with a red streak and giving her fangs, her clothes morphing to become web-themed versions of her usual outfit. She stormed out into the hall, powerwalking after her mother.

"Ugh, Chloe, I told you, I'm busy! Can you please wait for - OW!" Her mother yelped in pain as Chloe leapt forward and bit down on her mother's arm. "Ugh, Chloe, that is SO unsanitary! You don't have rabies, do you? I… I…" Aubrey stumbled back, suddenly dizzy. Chloe unlatched her jaw from her mother's arm and stepped back.

"I don't have rabies, mother. Unfortunately for you, I have something much, much worse." She gloated. Aubrey fell onto her rear, back against the wall, her strength progressively fading from her.

"Wh… what is this… I can't… I can't move… I…"

"Oh, that'll be over soon enough. Give me a sec, just making some adjustments." Chloe said, fiddling on her phone. A UI with her mother's face on it showed up, with a variety of sliders and other inputs. "And alright, I think that when you wake up… you're going to love me and shower me with affection!" She said, bitterness in her voice. Aubrey felt her consciousness slowly fade away…


"Oh Daaaarling!" Aubrey sang as she danced into her husband's office at their home.

"Wh - Aubrey, what is going on?" He asked, startled.

"Oh, I just wanted to give you a surprise!" She said, doing a twirl as she went behind his desk.

"Oh, a surprise? What kind of surprise?"

"Just close your eyes~" She said flirtily, covering his eyes from behind. "I promise it'll be wonderful."

"Ohoho, well, alright…" He said, starting to get excited. He waited for a bit, until…. A sharp pain shot through his arm as he felt someone bite him. " - WHAT THE - " He jumped up, pushing Aubrey off and opened his eyes. He saw his akumatized daughter before him, and began to feel nauseous, stumbling back and falling into his wife's arms. "Wh… What is happening to me?"

"Oh, don't worry, we're all just going to be a happy family!" Aubrey cheered. She turned to Black Widow. "Isn't that right, my little sugar plum?"

"That's right! Now all of you are gonna treat me like I deserve!"

"I… I don't feel so good…" Andre said, starting to lose consciousness.

Outside the door, someone was listening. Luka was curious what had been going on with Chloe's recent change in hair-color, and he was glad he investigated. Things were bad. He put down his guitar and made a dash for Zoe's room. He had to warn her.


Zoe strummed her guitar, humming a melody to herself. "I can't dry your eyes if you don't…" She started to sing before stopping. She started again, singing that line again and again in different ways, trying to find something that felt right. She began to feel like she had it, and went to start playing again, when -

"Zoe, we need to go!" Luka had barged into her room. She got up, startled, putting her guitar down. Before she could process this, Luka had run up to her and grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her out of the room and towards the stairwell.

"What's going on?" Zoe asked, flustered and concerned.

"It's your sister. And, well - "

"Zooooeeeee! We need to have a family meeting!" They heard Andre call from down the hall.

"Wait, if there's danger, then we need to help my family!" Zoe protested, tugging her arm to try and stop Luka, but he didn't slow down.

"Chloe already got them!" He warned her. "We have to get out of here and warn Ladybug!"

"Wait, Chloe was akumatized again?" Zoe asked, sure it was somehow her fault. Oh god, why was she so cruel to her during the fight against Queen Wasp?

"Yeah, she can change people's minds by biting them." Luka told her as they ran down the stairwell, the sound of Andre running towards them echoing from above.

"Wait, really?" Zoe asked, concerned. Seems Chloe's powers… were somewhat similar to Zoe's. "She… She didn't get you, did she?" She asked. Despite the concern in her voice, she couldn't help but hold onto his hand even tighter. He gripped back, letting her know he was there.

"No, but that caution is good." He said. "Keep yourself safe."

"Alright. Let's warn Ladybug!" She said, trying to find determination. They burst out of the hotel lobby and out onto the street, Zoe pulling out her phone. "Let's go in opposite directions so she can't go after both of us. We'll both post about this on social media." She suggested.

"Good thinking." Luka said, pulling out his phone. "Stay safe, okay?"

"Oh, I'll be fine." She said with a wink before running off. He ran off in another direction. Andre burst out of the hotel and began to run after… Luka.


Marinette sat cross legged on her bed, whimsically humming in anticipation. Soon, she heard a knock from the door to her roof. "Wow, who is that?" She asked, 100% knowing who it was. She was giddy with excitement.

"Just your friendly neighborhood superhero." She heard a suave, professional voice call from above.

"Well, come in, then!" She said. From above came Cat Walker, Adrien's other Cat-alter ego. He gently leapt onto her bed, kneeling in front of her and giving a bow.

"It's my honor to meet you. I hear from Ladybug you're the holder of the mouse miraculous.

"Why yes I am!" Marinette said, feigning surprise. "But why did she send you my way?"
"Well - " He handed her the mouse miraculous. " - Ladybug has instructed me to give you all the guidance and instruction you need to be the best superhero you can be."

"Oh, really? But I would hate to be of trouble~" Marinette put the necklace on. Cat Walker grabbed her hand and gave her a knightly kiss on it.

"It is my pleasure to be at your beck and call, princess." He said, his voice getting low. Marinette let out a frantic, giggling exhale of true gremlin-esque thirst.

"Alright then! Mullo, get squeaky!" She said, transforming. Adrien broke character for a bit and bounced a bit at seeing the Multimouse costume. Marinette felt the giddy excitement of her partner through the vibrations in the mattress and bounced as well, reciprocating the emotions without either of them having to break up the roleplay. "Now, what is it that you need to teach me?" She asked, scooting closer.

"Why, Ladybug told me to let you decide. Anything you feel you're lacking in, I will do all in my power to assist you in improving." He responded, scooting closer as well.

"Well…" She said, playing with her hair. "I have always wondered… whether or not I was a good kisser…"

"Oh, is being a good kisser important for being a hero?" He asked, feigning surprise. "I had no idea."
"I mean, how do we know it's not?"

"That's a fair point. You're as intelligent as you are stunning." He complimented her. She giggled, dismissing him with her hand.

"Oh, stop it."

"As you wish." He said, ceasing all compliments and continuing to stare amicably at her, not a word out of her mouth. The two sat there in silence as she realized he was messing with her. She shot him an irritated glare, with him wiggling his eyebrows in response. Yep, it was still Cat Noir down there. Honestly, that just made her want to kiss him even more.

"Well… aren't you going to show me?" She asked, closing her eyes. "How… to be a good hero."

"As you wish." He said, leaning in. He gently cupped her cheek in his hand and brought his lips to hers. They were… tense. She sat there, stiff, not reciprocating in the slightest. He pulled away, concerned. In all their time together, Marinette had always been so comfortable when kissing him. It's almost as if…

"Heheh…" She giggled. Ah, that was it, she was playing up her role. She wanted to be taught. She opened a single eye to check on him; he responded by rolling his eyes, indicating he was cottoning on. She closed her eye again, wiggling with excitement.

"Multimouse, the key to a good kiss…" He whispered, leaning in close again. "Is the same as fighting an akumatized villain."

"Hehe, yeah?" She asked, amused by the comparison, but deeply shook by the soft tone of his voice.

"Indeed." He confirmed, tenderly stroking her soft cheek. "It's to trust your partner. And also to trust yourself." He said.

"But what if I do the wrong thing?" She asked.

"Not possible." He said. Multimouse began to lean her cheek into his hand as he continued to caress her, a bit like a cat herself, nuzzling up against his palm. "That's good." He said, getting even closer. "Now, do you trust me?"

"With everything~" She shuddered.

"Good. And I you." He said before going in for a long, deep kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He embraced her and pulled her tight up to his chest.

Marinette's phone buzzed.

Multimouse gently nibbled on Cat Walker's lip, prompting a gasp from him. He leaned in further, slowly pushing Multimouse onto her back -

Her phone buzzed again.

She ran her hands through his hair, trying to memorize every -

Buzzzzzzzzzz

"WHAT IS IT?" Multimouse yelled in frustration, pushing Cat Walker off of her and onto his back, reaching for her phone to check it. Her kitty nearly fell of her bed but managed to stumble to a steady position.

"It's probably nothing." Cat Walker said, trying to reassure her.

"...It's an Akuma."

"...Maybe it's a weak Akuma?" He suggested, trying to grasp for any silver lining.

"UUUUGGGGHHH! Why NOW?" She whined. "Mullo, unsqueak! Tikki, spots on!" She transformed, fuming that her alone time with her kitty got interrupted. Cat Walker, truth be told, was flattered that she was so mad things got interrupted, but he didn't really like seeing her angry. Well, she was cute, but he'd rather she be smiling. "Come on, Cat Noir, let's go!" She growled, going onto the roof to swing away. He followed after her, trying to think of something to cheer her up.


Zoe stopped in an alleyway, catching her breath, now pretty certain that no one was going after her. She took out her phone, about to call Luka to see if he was okay, when Ladybug landed right next to her in a huff, alongside… Cat Walker? The substitute Cat Noir from over a year ago? What was he doing here?

"Who's this?" Zoe asked.

"It's Cat Noir, duh. Is that important?"

"I - Nevermind." Zoe shook her head. "Right now, Luka's in danger! I think Chloe's drones are chasing after him!"

"Alright, then there's no time to waste." Ladybug said, handing Zoe the Miraculous of the Bee.

"Um, should… he know I'm Vesperia?" Zoe whispered.

"Huh? Why not - " She turned and looked at Cat Walker. Cat Walker. Shit. Adrien hadn't changed back into Cat Noir. "OH! YEAH! Haha, that's just Cat Walker. Don't worry he's, uh, subbing in for Cat Noir today. He's cool, he can be trusted."

"Well, if you say so, Ladybug. Pollen, buzz on!"


"Get him!" Black Widow yelled, running after Luka down the street. Everyone on the street was running away from her.

"On it, Dear!" Her parents responded, rushing forward to try and grab Luka. He managed to slip away, jumping over a bench to trip them up.

"Ugh, you guys are useless! Utterly useless!" Black Widow scolded them as she kept giving chase to Luka, catching up to him.

"Black Widow, your powers have already been revealed on social media by that boy, it's too late. Focus on getting more slaves." Chrysalis ordered her.

"Ugh, you're so bossy!"

"But I also won't be leaving you. I'm here to help, aren't I?"

"That may be true, but soon, no one will leave me! Even Zoe's little boy toy will be treating me like royalty!" She yelled, pouncing on Luka and pinning him to the ground. She leaned down to try and bite his arm, but -

WHAM!

The spinning top of the bee miraculous flew threw the air and struck Black Widow in the head, knocking her off Luka. The villain got up and looked to the rooftop, seeing Vesperia, reeling her top back in. On either side of her was Ladybug and Cat Walker.

"Sorry, Chloe, but I'm not sure that's sanitary." Vesperia taunted her. "Now I think we both know how this goes down. You've never been a match for me and never will be, so just stand down!"

"UGH! YOU WON'T BE SAYING THAT WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!" She retorted, climbing up the side of the building Vesperia was on at an alarming rate. The three heroes jumped back as Black Widow leapt onto the roof and towards them, swiping several times with her hands. Vesperia blocked a few attacks, giving Ladybug an opening to swing with her yoyo. It was dodged, but this sent her jumping towards Cat Walker, who knocked her into a chimney with his staff. Black Widow slid down and landed on her rear, looking up as the three heroes approached her. However, at this moment, a feather drifted down from above her and landed in her phone.

"Black Widow, I am Iridios. Since your powers have been revealed to the whole city, the only way to make them sit still and let you sink your teeth into them will be with the help of my sentimonster. He'll make all of your friends-to-be easy prey, like flies in a web. Come out Arachne!"

"Oh, come on!" Ladybug threw up her hands. "Fine. Cat N - Walker, Vesperia, you take care of them. I'll get Luka to safety." She said before jumping down into the alleyway. Meanwhile, the amok in Chloe's phone gave birth to a sentimonster. A giant, pitch black spider with dripping jaws and 3 compound eyes cast a shadow over the people on the roof: standing on its legs it was at least 20 feet tall, and its body was 15 feet long. It inhaled a bit before spewing a thick stream of spider silk at the heroes. They dodged out of the way as the surface of the roof was covered in sticky white webbing.

"So, this is the first time we've fought together!" Vesperia commented, landing on the street with Cat Walker and twirling her top around. She used it to deflect another blast of webbing.

"Oh, uh, yes. Of course. I am… Cat Noir's understudy." Cat Walker improvised.

"Geez, do I have one too?"

"Uh, unlikely."

"Any reason you don't fight more often?"

"Oh, well, uh, I hear from Ladybug that Cat Noir's jokes are needed for team levity."

"Wait, Ladybug thinks Cat Noir's jokes are funny?" Vesperia joked in response. It was meant to be a well meaning rib at a good friend, who wasn't there to hear it. But, alas, he was there to hear it. He didn't expect that one to sting so much.

"We should save the chit chat for after we deal with that!" He said, point at Arachne as it ran across the rooftops. "It's going for civilians, not for us!"

"You head after the villain. I'll take care of the sentimonster. This is my specialty." Vesperia said, narrowing her eyes and giving chase. Her venom… it could let her take control of that thing, right? She wasn't sure how she felt about doing that to something again, but… she had a responsibility. She needed to do what she could.

She ran through a plaza… and saw a bunch of people trying to free themselves from webbing. They would be easy prey like that. But Arachne was getting away…

"Hold on, I'll get you out of there!" She said, running past everyone and swinging her Yoyo, cutting away at the webbing and helping people get out. She freed everyone around her… but that spider was out there rampaging still. Going way faster than she could free people.

Venom was the only thing she could do. She had to use that power again.


"Get back here!" Cat Walker called at Black Widow, chasing her through the alleyways, but he was stopped when a group of people jumped at him from either side, grabbing onto his arms to hold him in place.

"Get away from our friend!" They said. Damnit, Black Widow had gotten to them. He started to beat them off of him, trying his best to be gentle, but by the time he had freed himself from their clutches, Black Widow was already way ahead of him, gnawing on the arms of all sorts of people caught in Arachne's webbing. He kept giving chase, doing his best to catch up with her, but soon even more of Black Widow's new "friends" were running at him from behind to slow him down. For now, though, he was outrunning them, and he was catching up with her…

"TAKE THIS!" He yelled, swinging his staff at her as she was inputting parameters into her phone to program the married couple she had just bitten. She got struck and sent flying next to a fountain. Cat Walker leapt after her and slammed his staff down on her, but she rolled out of the way in time to dodge it. She got up and blocked several more strikes from him as he pushed her back.

"Who even ARE you, anyways?"

"I'm Cat Noir's understudy, Cat Walker, pleasure to make your acquaintance!" He said, sweeping her legs with his staff and then pouncing onto her. He tried to jab his staff into her mouth to keep her from biting, but she held it back with her hands.

"Why does that annoying feline even HAVE an understudy!"

"Because he's an invaluable member of the team!" Cat Walker insisted.

"Ugh, he's just so annoying!"

"No he's not! He's brave and cool and really funny!"

"...Wait a minute, are you hot for Cat Noir?" Black Widow asked. Cat Walker dropped his staff in shock.

"...Wha - "

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" The married couple from before grabbed him from behind, holding him in place. He tried to beat them off in time to get away, but Black Widow lunged forward and bit his shin. He cried out in pain… and began to feel woozy. The married couple let him fall to the ground, where he struggled to keep moving in spite of the spreading poison.

"Damn it…" He cursed.

"Now, to see who Ladybug decided to replace Cat Noir with while he had his little holiday." She said, reaching down and pulling the ring off of his finger, revealing him to be…. "ADRIKINS?" She asked, shocked. "How were you Ladybug's SECOND choice? Ugh, she really has no taste. That's it." She went into her phone. "From now on, you're completely OVER Cat Noir! Now, Adrikins wants Black Widow to be his best and only friend!"

When Adrien woke up, he saw his best friend in the whole world, Black Widow, standing above him, offering him her hand. He took it, standing up. "Sorry about that, Black Widow." He said amicably.

"Oh, don't worry about that." She said. "Just put this ring back on and help me get rid of Ladybug."

"Ugh, Ladybug? I have to go fight her? Yuck." He said. "At least I don't need to fight that Cat Noir. He's SO lame."

"I know, right?" Black Widow agreed.

"You're SO much cooler." He said, putting the ring on. "Now: Plagg, Claws - "

"Wait, stop!"

"Why?" Adrien asked.

"I'm curious… can you decide what you look like when you transform?" She asked.

"I can, yeah."

"What if… you transform to look like Cat Noir." Black Widow said maniacally. "And use that to trick and mess with Ladybug!"

"You are BRILLIANT! She'll never suspect that Cat Noir was actually Cat Walker the whole time!"

"I know, I'm just the smartest." She boasted.

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien said, turning into Cat Noir. Except, in this case, Adrien was brainwashed to believe he wasn't Cat Noir, and was instead Cat Walker pretending to be Cat Noir, the man he once loved.


Vesperia continued to run after the sentimonster, reluctantly ignoring people as she went, until she eventually noticed she was running by a particular place… it was the place she listened to Luka play his guitar for over an hour, where he saved her from her dark thoughts… where she started to fall for him.

She noticed that, right here, by the Seine, Arachne had stopped and turned to face her. And, at this moment, she felt something hit her on the side of the head: It was Cat Walker's staff. It knocked her onto the bench, dazing her. Arachne hurled a stream of webbing at her, leaving her completely immobile. She looked to where the attack came from, and saw Cat Noir looking down at her, smiling smuggly. But why was it Cat Noir and not Cat Walker?

She didn't have time to figure that out: Arachne was running away, and Cat Noir was following after it. "Damnit…" she muttered. She turned to look in the direction she came from: Black Widow was running by all of the webbed people Vesperia had failed to save, biting them one by one. She was making her way over towards Vesperia.

Vesperia struggled, trying to break free, but it was all in vain. She was stuck, completely helpless… And soon, Black Widow was standing above her.

"Well well well, if it isn't my replacement. Still think you're better than me?"

"I know I am, Chloe."

"It's Black Widow."

"You'll always just be Chloe." Vesperia growled, hoping to psych her half sister out and buy time for a solution.

"Well, you're gonna be singing a different tune once I bite you. In fact, you're going to be singing the praises of Queen Bee!"


"Ladybug, I'm by the Eiffel Tower. Come and help me take out this Sentimonster!" Cat Noir said into his staff, leaving a message for Ladybug. Before long, she landed right next to him in front of the Eiffel Tower, right in front of Arachne, spinning her Yoyo.

"Cat Noir, you're back!"

"Yeah, I ran into Cat Walker earlier." He said. "He gave me back my miraculous." Ladybug rolled her eyes, assuming this was a joke.

"Yeah, yeah, well, things are going alright. I sent some other heroes to help Vesperia take down Chloe, now we just have to - " She stopped. She noticed Cat's face sour when she spoke ill of Chloe.

"Her name is Black Widow." He spat.

Ladybug gasped. "Wait… you're not Cat Noir." She said.

"Heh, looks like you found me out." He said with a smug smirk. He snapped his fingers, causing Arachne to go on the attack, firing webbing that Ladybug had to dodge. Cat Noir then ran at her, swinging repeatedly with his staff. "IT WAS ME, CAT WALKER, THE WHOLE TIME!"

"Wait, WHAT?" Ladybug asked, doing a flip over him while dodging more webbing. "What are you talking about? Cat Walker and you - "

"I'm OVER Cat Noir!" Cat Noir told her. "I used to think I loved him, that he was the man for me, but now I realize that I, Cat Walker, deserve so much better than him! Better than you!"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Ladybug asked, chewing the scenery, so exasperated she nearly got hit by webbing, instead swinging away to safety, landing on the branch of a tree. "Wait, did Chloe get to you?"

"And she'll get to you, too! Now give me your miraculous!" He yelled, running at her.

"Oh, I've HAD IT WITH VILLAINS TAKING CONTROL OF YOU! LUCKY CHARM" She yelled, leaping down and activating her special ability. Her Lucky Charm turned… into a hot air balloon. Somehow, she instantly knew what to do.

She used her yoyo to block a blast of webbing from Arachne and then dodged a swing from Cat Noir. In a swift motion, she wrapped her yoyo around him and then leapt into the hot air balloon, carrying him. It began to fly off, away from the sentimonster, and over the streets of paris. Arachne shot webbing at it, but it just barely missed, the duo of superheroes flying out of its range.

Cat Noir struggled in his bindings, seated inside the balloon. Ladybug knelt down next to him, knowing what she had to do. "Hey, Kitty Cat, I have a question."
"What is it?" He asked, venom in is voice.

"Do you trust me?" She asked.

"No way in hell."

"Well I trust you. Always." She said, caressing his cheek before leaning in for a passionate kiss. Cat Noir's eyes went wide. Till now, he had always imagined Cat Noir doing this to him. But this… this was so much different than he imagined a kiss would be. It was so tender, soft, and inviting. Her lips were so warm. He couldn't resist leaning into the kiss, closing his eyes and letting his mind go blank.

She wrapped her arms around him, seeming to know just how he wanted to be held, and scratched him behind the ears in that place he just loved to get scratched. It was heavenly, he didn't want it to end. But, after what felt like the most fleeting eternity, she pulled away, leaving him a changed man. One questioning his loyalties.

"I can't believe it." Cat Noir muttered. "I… I just got over Cat Noir. And now I think I'm falling for Ladybug."

"Then let me ask you again. Do you trust me?"

"I… I think I might."


"Time to become my biggest fan!" Black Widow taunted as she leaned down to bite Vesperia. However, she was knocked aside: A spinning lyre, thrown like a boomerang, had collided with her, knocking her away. She turned to see Viperion running towards her. He stood between Vesperia and the villain, getting into a combat stance.

"Viperion!" Vesperia cheered. He turned to face her, giving her a bright, comforting look.

"Don't worry, I'm here for you." He said.

"Well she's not the ONLY ONE WITH FRIENDS!" Black Widow yelled, her army of drones surrounding Viperion. Viperion nodded at Vesperia, turning his bracelet's dial.

"Second chance."