Scene 31 - Astrocat in Space
As they exited the atmosphere, Astrocat tried to remain focused on the mission. He needed to remain focused to prove to Ladybug that he was still fit to fight. He could not mess this up, or upset her with his usual playful antics.
But as the burning air fell away and they drifted toward the upper orbit, his thoughts drifted to a darker place. The fact that Ladybug had trusted Viperion when she no longer trusted Chat was a painful blow, but an understandable one. Viperion had a key power that she needed. But the fact that Viperion was also Luka Coeffaine, didn't help. Ladybug had originally chosen Adrien to wield the snake miraculous, and he had failed. Luka saved the day, in her eyes.
And the way her face looked when she thought Luka might have been hurt, when he didn't reply on the radio… Adrien didn't think he was the jealous type, but when it came to his Ladybug, all bets were off. Had Ladybug trusted Luka more because he was the boy she had feelings for all this time?
Adrien didn't hate Luka. Luka was a really nice guy! He was fun, and understanding, and… had just broken up with his girlfriend. Adrien remembered Nino confirming that Luka and Marinette had decided to be just friends after the incident when Vérité had attacked Marinette and her family. Is that why Ladybug had said she couldn't be with the guy she liked? He was dating someone else? Maybe that was the real reason she refused to give Marinette back the mouse miraculous, perhaps she was jealous.
And now Luka was single, maybe Ladybug had planned on making her move. Maybe she had even told him her identity. She had already told the mysterious Scarabella, after all. Adrien briefly thought that maybe he could help Marinette and Luka get back together, to keep Luka out of the picture, but he realized he didn't like that idea much either. Adrien respected Luka, but, well… Marinette was one of his best friends, and he kind of thought she could do better than Luka. Not that Luka was a bad guy… but he just didn't think they were a good fit.
Astrocat closed his eyes, trying to clear his head. What was he thinking? Luka was his friend, and Ladybug was his partner. He trusted them, he shouldn't be jumping to conclusions like this. His best bet was to just follow Ladybug's lead and be the best Chat Noir, or in this case Astrocat, that he could be.
They approached the satellite, and Cosmobug directed him to a panel on the side below one of the solar panels. He popped open the door, and held up his own timer that he had synced with hers before they took off.
Cosmobug programed in the correct time, looking to Astrocat's timer until it hit exactly 01h05, when she executed the command on the control panel. From this high up, they couldn't tell if their efforts had been successful, but Astrocat knew his lady could never fail.
She tossed her lucky charm, and he watched in awe as the magical ladybugs surrounded them and then took off in a stream, circling the earth faster than he would have thought possible. They did not only gather in Paris, but seemed to hit every continent, making him wonder how much damage Sass's power had caused, and how widespread it could have been.
Well, they had done it. Astrocat hoped the successful mission had at least earned him an honest conversion with Ladybug, without the snake miraculous, on his continued use of his own miraculous. Whatever she decided though, he knew he had to accept, and he couldn't get upset about it.
Cosmobug held out her fist for their customary fist-bumb, and Astrocat gladly returned it.
"Bien joué!"
