Miraculous:
Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir
Chapter Fourteen: Don't Let Me Down
Adrien POV
Adrien grinned from ear to ear as he stared up at his ceiling, having already gotten ready. Last night was so different than what we've done before. It was fun but… he shivered, unable to finish the thought. But I can't forget that Marinette didn't really answer my question when I asked her what was wrong. What happened at the beach shook her up, but she seemed like she was fine, even told me she was fine, when I dropped her off. I wonder what changed?
Knowing his Ladybug, she was probably analyzing the fight from every possible angle to find out who the villain was, what they were after, and how to defeat them. "Hey Plagg, did anything from the beach seem off to you?"
Plagg, already stuffing his face with some breakfast brie, chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. "You mean besides the fact that they were a miraculous holder?"
Adrien frowned. "Yeah, I know that disturbed her. Ladybug was so passionate when it came to freeing Nooroo and Duusu that knowing another kwami is under the control of a villain must upset her, but I don't think that was it. It seemed…closer to home."
"Well, you guys usually get some strategy time in when a villain attacks. Then you transform and we kick butt! Maybe she just felt like she got blindsided?" the kwami guessed.
"Blindsided…" Adrien's mind started putting the pieces together and when it clicked, he shot up in bed. "Plagg, that's it! We were blindsided. The villain attacked us in our civilian forms! He knows who we are! He knows our identities!"
Plagg choked a little bit on his last bit of cheese and looked at his owner sadly. "That means he could target any of your friends or family if he really wanted to hurt you."
Adrien grabbed his backpack and rushed to his door. "Come on! I need to speak with Marinette before school starts!" Plagg zipped into his pocket just as the teen took off into the hallway.
Marinette POV
Marinette managed to keep it together during breakfast, but it was obvious in her mother's eyes that she wasn't really fooling them. They knew something was up and were planning on waiting until she said something first. I'm sorry, guys. I love you but I can't tell you this. I won't until I have absolutely no choice. If her parents got targeted, she may have to convince them to leave town for a while after spilling the beans. Whoever was after her could hurt them and Marinette wouldn't, couldn't allow that.
She barely paid attention to the time and arrived at school an entire five minutes early. She would've been proud of herself if she didn't want to run into a corner and hide.
"Marinette!" Adrien's voice made her head look up in surprise. When she saw her boyfriend, her cheeks flushed as she remembered the night before. She'd originally felt guilty for asking him over in his hero form for no other reason than to comfort her. However, Cat Noir was a support pillar and speaking with him, even just his presence, reassured her in ways Adrien didn't. I wonder why that is? They are the same person.
Adrien came up to her and without preamble, wrapped her up in his arm and pulled her tightly close. "I'm so sorry I didn't think about it sooner! How much bigger all of this is than we originally thought!"
Marinette held back her tears, not wanting to make a scene at school, but she felt her throat tighten at his admission. "Shh, we can't speak here. It's too risky. We still don't know who he is."
Adrien pulled back and cupped her cheek with one hand, very similar to how he'd done so the night before. "I know but I have to tell you this: even if he knows who we are, we'll still be able to protect our friends and family. We can prevent any of them from being hurt. He may have been toying with us yesterday, but he'll slip up and when he does, we'll stop him. No matter what, Milady. I promise."
Marinette smiled gratefully and gave Adrien a peck on the cheek. "Thank you, Adrien. Come on. We won't be able to help anyone if we're stuck in detention for being late."
A little bit of Cat Noir came out in the boy when he replied, "If I was stuck in detention with you, it'd be worth it."
Marinette just giggled. He's hopeless.
Lila POV
Lila watched with seething hatred as Marinette and Adrien held hands as they walked up the school steps together. That should be me with Adrien. Not her. Lila had given up speaking to her mirror as Etain had either decided to stop using her as a conduit to affect this time period or, more likely, she had been defeated by Ladybug and Cat Noir.
Lila had had time to come to terms with the fact that Marinette was Ladybug and Cat Noir was Adrien. When Etain first told her, it spurned her with a thirst for revenge brighter than ever before. Now, however, without the witch, Lila had neither the ability to defeat Ladybug, subsequently taking Marinette out of the picture, nor a way to properly woo Adrien. As Cat Noir, he knew first-hand of her deception to the duo when they'd first met.
Seeing them happy, while she was left with nothing—despite all of her efforts—continuously made her angry beyond all belief. Just then, someone bumped into her, breaking her narrowed glare at the school entrance long after the lovey-dovey couple had disappeared inside. "Hey!" she shouted. "Watch it!"
But the crowd on the sidewalk had already moved on in both directions and she had no one with which to continue her argument with. Pulling her bag closer to her, she gave her surroundings a once through before crossing the street and heading into the school.
When school was over, Lila continued to watch as Adrien and Marinette walked back out the front of the school, holding hands, as they headed to the park together. I can't allow this to keep going! Marinette crossed me and I swore to her she would regret it. I won't rest until I break them apart and make her pay! It's not even about Adrien anymore, though if he were to be hurt in the process, I wouldn't cry a river. He chose his side. His looks can only take him so far. No one defies me.
As she ducked behind a bush, watching the two take a seat at a bench, her phone rang. The sound surprised her, and she didn't think it was hers because the ringtone wasn't right. Then her purse vibrated as well as she dug into her bag with confusion until she came up with a suspicious looking burner phone. What's this? Then she remembered. That person who bumped into me this morning. Is this theirs? Did they drop it?
When the phone continued to ring, she hesitantly picked it up, preparing to chew the person out thinking they were trying to get their phone back.
"Hello, Lila. Are you not bored spending so much time watching the same show day in and day out?"
She gasped and looked around, trying to see who was watching her. "Who is this?"
"Oh, you won't find me. I'm not there. I can watch much from the comfort of my own room. Who knew a class in computer networking would be so informative about tapping into local city and business security cameras?"
"How do you know me? What do you want?"
"I've been doing my research on you, Volpina…Chameleon…so much experience and yet the world knows nothing of you. And to make matters worse…you still don't have the boy and the girl still lives."
"Have you called me to highlight my failures, or do you have another way to waste the air you breathe? If this is all you have to say, you're wasting my time. I already know what doesn't work, so unless you have any better ideas…"
"Take a look in your purse again. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."
Lila stopped and looked into her bag again. Deeper down, probably dropped off at the same time as the phone, was a very recognizable hexagon box however this one was tan and black in color. Inside was a pair of earrings yet where Ladybug's were studs, these were black obsidian jewels with golden chains that rose up and a cuff attached to the top of the ear. "Is…is this what I think it is?"
"It is. Now, my dear, with the gallant Cat Noir hidden within Adrien, and the undefeated Ladybug being Marinette…if you manage to completely deface and defeat the heroes, then those who hide behind the masks will likewise be broken, leaving them ripe for the pickings.
"Easier said than done. Power versus power, I'd still be outnumbered. Do you have a plan to go with the bling?" Lila challenged.
"I have a plan. Prove to me you can successfully pull it off and I'll bring you in deeper into play. Between the two of us, they won't stand a chance."
Her eyes went wide. "You have more miraculous?"
"…I have many more. Prove yourself worthy and we'll see how else we can equip that clever little head of yours."
"And what shall I call you from now on…partner?"
"Call me…Shadow King."
Marinette POV
"You know, I'm kind of surprised we got paired up for Mrs. Bustier's American History Project," Marinette commented when they sat down on a bench under the shade of a tree. "All those years of pining after you and we never got paired up for anything." She held up a finger, "Unless you count the video game tournament and I sort of fixed that result."
Adrien laughed, "Oh, there were a few times we could've been paired up, but you quickly made switches. I just figured you were somehow afraid of me or intimidated. For example, we could've ended up next to each other heading to New York."
She winced, "Yeah, I was going through some stuff back then. I was trying really hard to be just a friend because I thought that's what you wanted."
Adrien looked up at the sun that shone through the tree. "I referred to you as a friend because that's what I thought you wanted. Honestly, I really just didn't know how to read my own emotions at the time." He snapped his fingers. "You know we did end up together on the star train, you know, before it ended up crashing into Big Ben. Haha." Adrien lifted an arm and draped it over Marinette's shoulder. "And don't worry about American History. I've got this one in the bag. Compared to our French history, American History is really short, only a few hundred years. No less filled with wars though. The fight for resources and dominance over the New World was just as bad as it was for France."
Marinette scratched her head. "Well, I'm glad you feel good because just thinking about all those names and dates is already making my head spin."
"Tell you what," Adrien said. "I'll do the research. You organize the presentation. Your creative spirit is what's gonna get us the A anyway."
She blushed at his praise. "I can do the visuals, but you're definitely the better speaker."
Adrien leaned over and gave her a very Cat Noir-like grin. "So, you're saying I'm more talented with my mouth than you are?" Her blush deepened and she suddenly couldn't speak. Adrien bent over laughing, covering his stomach with both arms as his eyes teared up. "Oh, that was totally worthy it!" He hit her with his elbow and winked. "Look, concerning other things." Getting her attention anew, he lowered his voice. "We can't let whoever it is makes us paranoid or jumpy. I was thinking about it last night and if they'd really wanted to hurt our friends, they could have several times at the beach. They came for us. I think it's personal."
"So, the person is someone we know but who also knows we're…" Baby August and his mother walked by and Marinette stopped to waved at the little baby. "Well, our other selves."
Adrien nodded. "All we can do is live our life and counterattack when they strike. You're brilliant, Marinette, and I have no doubt you'll figure out who is against us and then we'll take the offensive. Like you always say, we can't jump into battle before we know all of the facts. It's just this time instead of trying to find an Akuma, we'll be trying to figure out the person."
She consented, not being able to fight the logic, and stretched her arms, breathing in the fresh clean air. Everything in time, I guess. That's what Master Fu would say. No matter how long it took us to fight Hawk Moth, he never doubted we'd be able to figure it out and never rushed the process. I should keep that in mind when I get antsy to start a fight.
Adrien POV
When Marinette let out her breath, it still sounded sad and depressed. She was too deflated at the situation to argue back. What can I do to cheer her up? Adrien tapped a finger to his lips. "I was thinking, Marinette. We have an entire week to work on our project, so there's no rush. I have piano and Chinese this afternoon, but tomorrow I don't have any photo shoots or extra lessons in my schedule. Thankfully, Father's been easing up on me in lieu of all these extracurriculars I've been mixed up in."
"Heh, too bad he couldn't have done that when it was him we were fighting. I can't believe you juggled everything as best as you did back then," Marinette commented.
"You had just as many things going on as I did." Adrien took hold of her hand. "How would you like to go shopping tomorrow? I know some very nice high-end fashion stores you probably don't get many opportunities to see."
Marinette's expression brightened. "As amazing as that sounds, my boyfriend offering to go shopping…"
"And carry your bags."
She laughed, "I would love to, but I have to watch Manon for Mrs. Chamack tomorrow after school." She winced up at him. "I'm sorry…"
Adrien's shoulders drooped but then he straightened again when a poster pinned to a nearby tree caught his eye. "How about this? They're having a magic performance at the park tomorrow." He pointed at the posted as he spoke. "Call up Alya and Nino. They can bring the twins and you and I can handle Manon? That little girl loves me."
Marinette's eyes shone with all the love she felt for him and she quickly pulled him into a hug the way she would with Cat Noir when he said just the right thing at the right time. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"
He returned the hug and replied softly. "I ask the Fates that myself every day."
Marinette POV
"This is gonna be fun! Be sure to thank Adrien for me for the idea!" Alya said over the phone the next day after school.
"You can tell him yourself when you see him. Show starts in an hour. We'll meet you there." Marinette hung up and smiled. Who knew something as simple as a kid's magic show could get her so excited?
"Marinette! When are we gonna leave!?" Manon pulled on her clothes and looked up with her baby doll eyes.
"Soon, Manon. We're just waiting for Adrien and then we'll all head to the park together!" No sooner had she said that than her mom knocked on her door and lifted it up. "Marinette, Adrien's here and he has a present for you," she whispered. "Seems pretty nervous about it, too."
"Huh?" Marinette went downstairs, Manon hot on her heels. When she came upon Adrien, he definitely looked nervous and was trying to pretend to look at the arrangement of macarons in the display cases. "Hey Adrien, you're early. What's up?"
Adrien looked up at Marinette but when their eyes met, he quickly blushed and looked away. "I was thinking of ways to make today special and since we didn't get to go shopping, I figured I'd get you this." He brought up a white box with a simple blue ribbon around it. It was clear it was a clothing giftbox.
Marinette smiled warmly and took the box from him gently. "You didn't have to but thank you. Today is already special because I get to spend it with you. After all the time it took for us to really find each other, I'm grateful for every moment."
She heard her mom hold back a squeal and withheld the urge to roll her eyes. "How about I go try this on then, hm?"
"What about me?" Manon stomped her foot. "No one every remembers me!"
"That's not true. What's this?" Adrien leaned forward and pretended to pull something from behind Manon's ears, revealing two blue ribbons for her pigtails. "Mr. Azeem isn't the only one who knows magic."
Manon's face lit up and she jumped for joy. Marinette's mother laughed. "I'll help put those in your hair if you want while Marinette gets changed?"
"Thanks mom!" Marinette dashed back upstairs and excitedly closed the door behind him. "Adrien bought me an outfit! Oh, Tikki! That boy knows exactly what to do to cheer me up!"
The little kwami laughed. "This is the first time a boy has bought you clothes, huh?"
"Not only that, but I'm sure it'll be amazing because he also knows fashion!" Marinette took the box and ducked into the bathroom.
Adrien POV
Adrien was tickling Manon when he heard his girlfriend walk down the stairs. What he'd picked out wasn't anything fancy, since all they were doing was going to the park, but he tried to pick something out that screamed Marinette. She wore cute blue short overalls with a white short sleeve shirt. The shade of blue perfectly matched her eyes and matched the blue ribbons he gave her for her pigtails. They, of course, matched Manon's which the little girl was eager to point out.
"Marinette! We're twinsies!" She came up and hugged her babysitter.
Marinette laughed and lifted her up on her hip. "We sure are! Now what do you tell Adrien?"
Manon threw her arms up. "Thank you!"
His girlfriend looked up and blushed when she smiled, making her look absolutely adorable. "Thank you, Adrien." To add icing to the cake, she leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek. Now it was his turn to blush.
He took Manon from her and put the little girl on his shoulders. "Just make sure I get a picture of you at the park so I can memorialize your cuteness. I have to start making my own Marinette shrine to match yours." This got her to laugh and together they headed to the park.
Lila POV
Lila watched from a nearby building as Marinette, Adrien, and their herd from friends and brats arrived at the park with around twenty other parents and kids. The crowd gathered in front of a little stage that had a curtain drawn blocking the impending magician from their view.
Her phone rang and she slowly brought up to her ear.
"You remember what the goal is, right?"
She nodded and a sneer grew on her face. Her free hand came up to caress the right earring. "Destroy Ladybug and Cat Noir in the public's eye and Marinette and Adrien will be quick to follow." She licked her lips.
"Then get to it."
Lila hung up and turned to the little kwami floating by her head, hidden in the shadow of the building. It was a small cat-like creature, yellow with black circles on its fur. "Huwezi, let's run!"
Marinette POV
Even while holding Manon on his shoulders, Adrien was able to hold onto Marinette's hand the entire way to the park. The woman in her couldn't help but imagine the two of them grown with a child of their own doing this exact same thing. She hadn't thought about it before, but Adrien was great with kids. There was that time with Manon in the park when they'd taken pictures and again when he always helped with August as Cat Noir. He was really comfortable with children even though he was an only child himself.
Honestly, with my smile and his eyes, our children would have me wrapped around their little finger with their baby doll eyes. She closed her eyes and giggled.
"What's so funny, Marinette? Care to let me in on the joke?" Adrien glanced sideways at her, instantly making her legs so wobbly.
"Oh, it's nothing. Normal teenage girl fantasies." She winked at him.
Adrien glanced up a Manon and blushed. "Don't worry. Teenage boys have them, too. Well, this teenage boy does." He leaned in carefully and whispered. "I think you'll make a great mother one day."
It was Marinette's turn to blush however it quickly faded away when she saw Alya and Nino were already at the park. She waved to them and Adrien put Manon down so she could play with the twins, Ella and Etta. Nino even brought his little brother, Chris.
"Great weather for a magic show, right my dude and dudette?" Nino greeted, fist bumping Adrien.
"Totally! And I love magic shows!" Adrien exclaimed. "I used to practice card tricks in my room all the time when I was little."
Alya elbowed Marinette. "You look awesome, girl. When did you get that outfit? I don't recognize it."
Her face flushed again. "Adrien bought it for me…"
Her friend's eyes went wide and she gave it another look, walking around Marinette with a critical eye. "It's perfect. It accentuates all of your best features." She playfully hit her friend's butt and laughed when the blush deepened. "Oh, today is gonna be so much fun!"
Marinette gave her a gentle shove back and joined in the laughter. "Come on. The show should be starting soon." The girls gathered up the kids with the help of the boys and came up to sit down in the grass before the stage. A few minutes later, Mr. Azeem came out dressed in the usual magician's black tux with a sparkling red bowtie.
"Magic has always existed, even in the days of old! While few know its secrets, there are some who…" He ran one hand over a fist and when he opened the fist, a dove flew out and over the crowd. "Have seen it and learned a thing or two." When it was about to land back on his expecting arm, the bird miraculously vanished from midair.
The crowd made ohh and aww sounds, however it was the clear look of bafflement on the magician that gave Marinette a bad feeling. "Was that supposed to happen?" she whispered to Adrien.
Before he could answer, the magician then disappeared right from the middle of the stage. Adrien narrowed his eyes. "Somehow, I don't think so."
Marinette stood up, quickly passing Manon to Alya. "Alya, be on your guard. Something isn't right."
"What do you mean?" Alya looked around and gasped. A child from the audience disappeared a moment before her surprised mother did.
Adrien got to his feet too and went on full alert. "I see something moving, taking them, I think."
"You sure?" Marinette went back-to-back with Adrien, regardless of the present company.
"Call it a feline instinct."
That was enough for her. Over her time as Ladybug, she'd come to realize that while it wasn't magic working outside of the suit, exactly, her attention to detail and observation as Marinette was becoming heightened. It wasn't Ladybug level, but if Adrien said he saw something, she'd bet her best design that being Cat Noir had given Adrien heightened senses above a normal human. "Can we get out of here?" she asked her partner.
Alya and Nino didn't waste words and instead added to the circle, placing the kids in between them.
"Marinette, I'm scared. What's going on?" Manon whimpered.
Chris, completely unperturbed by the situation, crossed his arms. "This is just some gimmick by the magician. I'll bet they're all in on—"
"Chris?"
Alya turned to see Nino looking for her brother a second before he too disappeared. Almost everyone in the crowd was gone. "Okay, we just gotta stay calm. Ladybug will—" Then she vanished.
Finally, it was down to Marinette and Adrien, alone in the middle of an empty park.
"One, two, three. Eyes on me."
Both turned and saw a woman appear in the middle of the stage. She had brown hair left in a wild mane behind her. Her outfit was a yellow bodysuit with brown semi-circles all over it. She had pointed cat-ears and a tail. A cheetah… Marinette thought. That explains the disappearing acts. "Who are you and what did you do with our friends!?"
"Let's not play dumb. I'd much rather play a game," she replied coyly.
Adrien clenched a fist. "Excuse me if I don't feel much like in a gaming mood. Bring our friends back, now!"
"What happens to them is up to you." She opened her arms and spun around. "Find your friends in five minutes or they all die! See you at the finish line!" Her form wavered and then it disappeared.
"I think my eyes are adjusting to her speed which means once we transform, we may stand a better chance against her." Marinette took off into the closest alleyway without saying anything to Adrien. She knew he'd be hot on her heels.
"A better chance but will we be fast enough?" he questioned.
Marinette smirked. "You'll see. Tikki spots on!"
Adrien followed suit. "Plagg, claws out!"
Once transformed, Ladybug brought out her bug phone. "I figured something like this might happen, even when we were in a crowd. I couldn't risk not being prepared so I put a bug trace under the back of Manon's overalls. If it turned out nothing happened, then I'd simply remove it later." She nodded, spotting the location. "They're at that construction sight to the northeast of town." Closing her bug phone, she tapped the middle button and dug into the light the way she would a purse when it opened. She carefully brought out two additional miraculous. "We're gonna need these if we're to compete with her speed." She handed one to Adrien and held out the other one. "Tikki! Fluff! Unify!"
Cat Noir POV
"Plagg! Kaalki! Unify!" He combined the powers and immediately felt his head swim. He swooned a bit and put a hand to his head.
Ladybug supported him and helped steady him until he stood straight again. "It can be disorienting at first. I almost passed out when I first tried it," she admitted.
"Heh, you'll have to share the tail with me sometime, Milady." He winked and pulled out his baton. "But later. We don't have time to spare. It's gonna be close as is."
"You're right. If I'm correct, the fact that we can use our normal powers twice means we should be able to use our unified powers at least that many. We need to neutralize her quickly once we get there."
"Lead the way, LB."
She nodded and twirled her yoyo, taking off into the sky. With his baton he was right behind her. With her using the power of Burrow, she should be able to teleport right next to their villain and catch her off guard. With the power of Kaalki's portals, he could technically do the same. However, until they knew what the miraculous was, they wouldn't be able to trap her for very long. Remove the miraculous, you remove the threat.
"Do you think this is the same person who attacked us at the beach?" he asked.
"No, which is what confuses me. I was pretty sure the person we were dealing with was male based on their laugh, but that was underwater. I could have been wrong."
"But you rarely are." They were coming up on the construction site and for some reason, newscast helicopters were already swarming around the incomplete building. All that had been done was the steel support structure and a few wooden platforms scattered throughout the multi-floored skyscraper.
"Here come Ladybug and Cat Noir! Will they be able to save the citizens in time!?" A news reporter questioned in a loudspeaker. It wasn't Nadja Chamack. Chances were, if it had been, she wouldn't have been so levelheaded with a clear voice knowing her daughter was down there in the crowd of twenty or so people.
"We're here, whoever you are, so let the people go! It's us you want!" Ladybug challenged.
"Nope, I've changed my mind!" The supervillain laughed and dashed into the crowd, pulling away a little girl Cat didn't know. She ran to the edge of the building and dangled the little girl by her ankle. She couldn't have been older than four years old. "Let's see how well you play fetch!" Then she dropped her.
"NO!" Ladybug instantly leapt off with her yoyo after the girl.
Knowing she would be successful, Cat Noir growled and took the fight to the villain instead. "No more messing around! These are people's lives you're playing with!"
Completely ignoring him, the villain ran into the crowd—he could just barely follow her form with his feline eyesight—as she grabbed Chris of all people and threw him off a different side of the building.
"Chris! No!" Nino cried out.
"Voyage!" Cat Noir shot a fist forward, opening a portal to the floor just below where Chris went flying. He was able to jump through and extend his pole out, giving Chris something to grab onto a second before Cat pulled him in and away from the edge.
Above him he heard several more people cry out as one by one, the villain tossed them over the edge of the building. There was no wait time, no chance for the heroes to get back to the roof, no feasible way for the heroes to save everyone. Cat Noir's body froze as he saw life after life fall and he could do nothing to help them.
Holding Chris close, the little boy screaming and crying in his arms, Cat Noir shot up with his baton back up a floor at about the same time Ladybug did with the little girl. Cat Noir was angry, and could've cataclysmed the villain right then and there, but then he saw the tears in Ladybug's eyes. She was angry, but he could see her heart was broken in her failure.
"How could you!?" Ladybug demanded, getting only a smug smirk in return. "Whatever grudge you have against us, is it really worth the lives of all these people!?" Only about half still remained, including their friends however the twins were nowhere in sight. Alya and Nino looked at Cat Noir and Ladybug with complete disbelief. They couldn't process their heroes had failed them.
The villain laughed and shrugged. "I achieved my goal, for today at least. The world saw Ladybug and Cat Noir fail. No one will believe in you now. I look forward to hearing what lies you come up with to tell yourselves to help you sleep at night. What will those who have lost loved ones do?"
Ladybug put the girl down and let out a fierce battlecry unlike anything Cat Noir had ever heard from her before. It made him release Chris, who ran to Nino crying, and jolted him out of his anger. "Burrow!" She leapt through a white portal and appeared at the villain's side, firmly punching her in the face.
The villain was tumbling and teleported away with a growl. "That wasn't a very good idea! You've already lost!" To prove her point, the villain warped and grabbed Alya next, throwing her off the building without a moment's hesitation.
"Alya! Burrow!" Ladybug leapt through and a second later, with a second burrow created, she reappeared with Alya. Alya fell to her knees in shock. Ladybug wavered and would have fallen over if Cat Noir hadn't rushed to her side.
"You have to stop. You've already pushed yourself too far."
She gripped her arm, still clearly not able to stand on her own. "I was wrong. I should have used Sass. I need to go back in time."
"What!?" Cat Noir's jaw dropped. "You can't do that! You told me using too many powers would make you go insane! And you haven't activated Sass so you can't—"
Not hearing him, Ladybug dug into her bugphone and pulled out the bracelet. "Sass! Tikki! Unify!"
"No, don't!" Instead of transforming, green electricity lanced out of the bracelet zapping Cat Noir back several feet and causing Ladybug to spasm. She screamed and grabbed hold of her head. "Ladybug!" Cat Noir cried out and ran forward just as Ladybug suddenly went limp and fell to the side. He caught her in his arms and lowered her safely to the ground, holding her as close as he dared. "Ladybug, wake up, please." She didn't move.
The villain raspberried and laughed, slapping her knee with joy. "That worked out better than even Shadow King thought!" She looked up and saw the helicopters buzzing everywhere. "And they got it all on tape." She blew Cat Noir a kiss and waved goodbye. "My work here is done." Then she ran off and disappeared.
Unsure of where to take her without causing too much of a scene, he punched forward and said, "Voyage!" A portal opened leading to his room. He gently picked up Ladybug, giving Alya one last look of sorrow hoping she would understand, then he stepped through and disappeared.
