Ok, so someone commented a really awesome idea and plot for a similar story to the one I wrote, so here it is written out! I wish they had left a name or something so I could give them full credit for this idea they gave me, but since they commented as a guest I can't do that. Guest you know who you are, thank you! If you want to drop your name in the comments, I'll stick it up here so everyone knows it came from you. If not, that's ok too!
Enjoy!
"Hey, Chat Noir!" Someone yelled from the street below. "Why don't you go back to the pound where you were found, so Ladybug can get a better partner!" The guy he was walking with snickered loudly and gave him a high five as they continued on their way.
The sad part? This was the third rude comment Chat Noir had received since they started their patrol only half an hour ago.
"How about you mind your own business and let me deal with my partner!" Ladybug yelled back, infuriated. The nerve of these people, to taunt and criticize the hero who was risking his neck every day just to protect their ungrateful asses!
"Well hurry up and deal with him so you can find someone else. This one's worthless!" The guy yelled back.
Ladybug started forward, but Chat grabbed her by the shoulders and shook his head. "Leave it."
"No, Chat! This is ridiculous! I can't believe the audacity of these people! So what, you show up late to one akuma attack and all of a sudden they all hate you? It's stupid and unfair!"
Chat's ears flattened. "Well, you did get pretty hurt because I wasn't able to be there."
"And that's not your fault," she fumed. "Sometimes we get held up. Just because you weren't at their beck and call doesn't mean they can treat you like this!"
"It's ok, Bug-"
"No, it is sure as hell not okay!" Ladybug yelled, pushing him away. She was so angry she could barely see straight. "You need to start sticking up for yourself! You need to realize that you're being treated like shit, and that it's not right! You can't just keep accepting all of this bullshit-!"
"Ladybug!"
The cry came too late. The akuma she hadn't noticed in her fit of rage had already connected with her yo-yo, and her vision was taken over by Hawkmoth's purple symbol.
"Lady Misery," his deep voice purred. "The citizens of Paris don't know how to respect your dear beloved partner. Join me and you can show them all just how much they need him."
"No! I won't join you, Hawkmoth! I know what you want, and you'll never get our miraculous!"
"Ladybug, you have to fight it! Please, don't let him do this to you!" She heard someone yell faintly in the background.
"Just give me your miraculous, and in exchange, I'll give you the powers to show every single citizen of Paris how strong and capable Chat Noir is."
"You won't win! You never do!" She yelled.
"Then what's the harm in joining me, just for one day? If I lose, you get to keep your miraculous and the world will see that Chat Noir is capable enough to fight Ladybug all on his own. And if you lose, which you said you won't, Chat Noir will still have his miraculous and you'll have the chance to beat me once more. What do you say, Ladybug?"
With Hawkmoth's power taking over her and scrambling her brain while increasing her intense feelings of anger and despair, Ladybug was having a hard time fighting the urge to give in. Her head physically hurt from the strain of resisting, and she was sure she was about to grind her teeth into dust. The problem was, his offer was all too enticing. She knew Chat Noir could handle this on his own. He was smart, and strong, and an amazing super hero. So, what did she have to worry about? She had wanted Paris to respect him, didn't she? What better way than this?
Finally giving in, her shoulders slumped and her hands fell to her sides.
"Alright, Hawkmoth. We'll try this your way."
"What a good little bug," he said, and a wash of purple light encased her. When it disappeared, she was left standing in a reversed Ladybug suit with long, high-heeled red boots and long red gloves.
"No! Ladybug!" Chat Noir yelled. "You have to snap out of it! I can't do this without you, we're a team! I don't want to fight you!"
"Well, that's too bad, Kitty Cat. I've decided this is the only way that Paris will see your true worth. And if you don't fight me, Hawkmoth will get my miraculous, and we don't want that, do we?" She tsked.
Chat Noir shook his head. "No. I won't do it. I know this isn't really want you want."
"Oh well. I'm just going to go find those people who were giving us trouble earlier, show them what happens when they bad mouth my partner." With that, she unhooked her yo-yo and threw it into the air.
"Lucky Charm!"
A large machine gun fell into her hands. A laugh bubbled up from her throat. "I guess I'm getting the fun stuff today! Ciao, Kitty Kitty!"
Chat Noir finally caught up to her thirty minutes later. But in that time Ladybug had used her lucky charm twice more, receiving a rocket launcher and a flame thrower in that order. She had used those along with the machine gun to wreck havoc on the beautiful city of Paris, which now lay crumbling and burning.
As he landed on the street behind her, he caught the chilling sound of her laugh as she aimed the rocket launcher at a car, fired, and watched the car explode. A second laugh bubbled up from her chest and echoed in the empty shell of the street.
"I know you're there, little kitty. Have you finally decided to fight me?"
"No," he said, voice firm. He stood tall and waited for her to turn around. "We're going to get you out of this, Ladybug. Please, you're stronger than this. You don't want to hurt people."
"Oh but I have." Her smile was gruesome and he fought the urge to look away. "All those people who have been tormenting you? I found them and cut them all down like the weeds they are. I'm going to purge Paris of scum, if you don't stop me."
"No! Ladybug, you're the hero in this story! Not the villain! You're supposed to save them, not kill them!" Chat was so horrified his legs felt like they'd collapse underneath him.
"Well then they should have treated you like the hero you are!" She screamed, throwing the flame thrower to the side. "Now fight me like a hero!" She cast her Lucky Charm once more, this time catching a large sword. She charged him and, not wanting to get cut in half, Chat raised his baton in defense.
"Bug! Stop! You know I'm no good without you! You're my leader, my hero, don't make me do this!"
"It's too late for that now, Chat Noir. Fight me and destroy my akuma!"
She grunted as she pressed forward, her skill with a sword just as good as Chat's fencing skills. He was hard pressed to keep up with her, even as he only played defense. He refused to use offensive maneuvers, believing he could talk her down.
"Ladybug, remember who you are! You have a family and friends who love you, don't do this to them! I love you! You know we're nothing without each other, so come back to me!"
"That's not the point of this! You need to show Paris that you can hold your own! Fight me, damnit! Fight me, or I'll destroy everyone and everything in this God forsaken city!"
Chat managed to get away, using his baton to shoot up to a nearby rooftop for a breather. "Please, remember who you are!" He shouted down to her.
Ladybug shook her head sadly at him. "You're not understanding. How can I make you understand? I'm doing this for you, can't you see? It's simple- all you have to do is defeat me and you'll get the adoration you deserve!"
"I don't care if Paris adores me! I don't even want them to! As long as you know I'm worthy, that's all that matters to me."
"Well screw that!" Ladybug tossed her yo-yo into the air for a final time, and Chat was horrified at what she produced.
A large nuclear bomb appeared beside her, a timer already ticking down the time that was left.
"No..." Chat whispered.
"This bomb will destroy the country in five minutes if you don't defeat me. So you better get to work, Chat Noir. This timer cannot be turned off, so if you want to save Paris you'll need the old Ladybug back with her miraculous Ladybug power."
Chat immediately jumped down from his rooftop perch and charged her. She had taken it too far, now. He couldn't let her nuke all of France just to prove a point. But he was afraid; he had no idea how he was going to defeat Ladybug alone.
And she certainly wasn't making it easy for him.
For every swipe he got in, she got two. For every punch he landed, she managed three. For every inch he gained, he lost four. And soon three minutes had passed, the timer flashing red and the beeping accelerating. But even if he got her akuma, then what? He couldn't cataclysm it or they wouldn't be able to cast the miraculous cure and get rid of the bomb.
Ladybug sighed and pretended to yawn as she kept fighting him off with her large sword.
"Come on, Chat. You can do better than that." A thought occurred to her and she knocked his baton from his hand easily. "Why don't we give up on France, Kitty? Power up as Astrochat, and I'll become Cosmo Bug, and we'll fly off somewhere else. And the best part, we'll finally have defeated Hawkmoth! We can start over somewhere new, and everyone will be forced to love you or end up like France!" She declared evilly, a laugh working it's way up her throat.
"No!" He gasped, lunging for his baton as she kicked it farther away. "Ladybug, please! If you want me to win, help me!"
"Hmm. I suppose if you convince me to hand over my akuma, you'll still have proved to Paris that you're really a hero worthy of their respect. Well, get started, you have less than two minutes left."
Now on a time limit, the words flew from his mouth.
"You don't want to kill your family, do you? Your friends? What about the children who run around in Chat Noir onesies and play with my action figure and scream my name when they see us on patrol? What about the fangirls who run after us, screaming for a picture, a signature, a kiss? Do all of those people deserve to die because a few assholes don't like me?"
Ladybug tapped her chin in thought. "Alright, you've convinced me." She smiled and shrugged, tossing her sword high into the air with flair, yelling, Miraculous Ladybug!"
The magical bugs swarmed the broken city and the ticking bomb, erasing all the proof of what had transpired. After using her lucky charm once more to create another yo-yo, Ladybug walked over to Chat and handed him her original yo-yo.
"Go ahead. Cataclysm it."
With a deep sigh that this had worked, and that Ladybug had finally given in (he suspected she would have given in at the last second no matter what he said), Chat took the yo-yo from her and called forth his own power. The weapon disintegrated in his palm and the akuma flew out. Purple darkness receded from Ladybug, and her suit was back to normal. She collapsed into Chat's waiting arms, her head falling against his chest.
"Chat..." she whispered, grabbing his arms tightly.
"I know," he whispered back, holding her. "But right now you need to catch that akuma and purify it."
She nodded against him before pulling away and snapping her wrist, sending the yo-yo flying through the air. The akuma didn't stand a chance.
With a white butterfly flittering off behind her, she collapsed back into her partner's arms with a sob.
"I- I can't believe... Can't believe I did all that! Oh, Chat! The things I did! All those people I hurt, that I- I killed..." she trailed off in horror, huge ugly sobs wracking her body.
Chat pulled her closer and rubbed her back. "Shh. It's all over now. You're not going to hurt anyone again. I'm here. I've got you."
"Hawkmoth akumatized me, Chat! I was just so angry..." She trailed off in sobs, holding onto him tightly.
"My Lady, you don't need to get so angry over what everyone's been saying about me. I know what you think, and that's all that matters."
She shook her head. "Imagine what would have happened if I hadn't been akumatized to protect you? What would have happened if I had gotten akumatized for any other reason, and I had truly wanted to fight you?"
Chat bit his lip. "Well, just, uh... Don't get akumatized again?"
Ladybug wailed. "It's happened once, who's to say it won't happen again and be ten times worse? What am I going to do?"
"I don't know, but I think I know what you do need to do right now," Chat said.
"What's that?" She asked tearfully, peering up at him.
"Sooo... Ladybug... You're here to tell us about what happened this afternoon?"
Ladybug sighed as she sat before her best friend, Chat Noir by her side.
"I wanted to make a public apology for what happened. As your protector, I should constantly be on guard against Hawkmoth. But I get angry and upset just like all of you. Chat Noir is the best partner I could have asked for. Sometimes he jokes around, and sometimes there are things going on in his civilian life that make it hard for him to get away to fight an akuma. But I know he'll always come through for me. And he loves this city and all of you in it. So when I saw all the hate he was receiving, and witnessed the harassment that some of you delt out, it enraged me. I'm truly sorry for everything I did while akumatized and the fear I caused, but I need you all to know that I won't stand for this treatment of my partner."
Alya nodded. "Thank you, Ladybug. I can't speak for everyone, but I accept your apology and understand the circumstances that led to your akumatization. I would also like to make a public announcement to everyone to respect Chat Noir. Our heroes can't do their jobs if they're constantly being pestered with hateful comments. Chat Noir, do you have anything you'd like to say?"
Chat nodded. "I just want everyone to understand that what happened earlier was not Ladybug. She would never purposefully hurt the citizens of this city, but had indeed been akumatized. I don't care what people say about me, but I ask you all to trust in Ladybug's judgment and to not push her to her limits again. I was just as afraid of losing our city's great protector as the rest of you were, and that is not something I wish to go through again. Thank you."
"Thank you, Chat Noir, Ladybug. You heard it here, everyone; Ladybug apologizes for her akumatization and Chat Noir asks us to not make things harder for the heroes who risk their lives for us."
Ladybug and Chat shared a look as Alya wrapped up the video stream.
"I hope that works," Ladybug said.
Chat threw an arm around her and led her away. "Don't worry, they'll understand. Most of them have been in your shoes before, and done some pretty bad things."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She kicked her foot against the asphalt as they walked into the setting sun.
"Now, what do you say to getting some ice cream for the hard day we've had?"
Ladybug looked up at Chat with a soft smile. After what had transpired that day, she was seeing him in a new light. She was realizing that she felt more deeply for him than she had previously thought.
"Yeah. That sounds great."
