To Lyger 0: Looks like that Bat hit… was a home run!

To Anon: Not exactly a traditional chimera. The traditional chimera was a Lion, Goat, and Snake. This is a very specific "chimera."

"What the hell was your guy thinking?"

"Believe me when I tell you that he is not 'my guy,' and I had no idea what he was planning to do until he was already in the process of doing it."

"Where is Night Bat now?"

"I have no clue. But if I did, I would not tell you, Ladybug; I would seize his miraculous myself!"

"You have no right to take the miraculous from those who would guard them!"

"I will remove any miraculous from one who would misuse it!"

"Fair; so why haven't you done it before now?"

"I have tried! You slipped out of my grasp every time!"

"The only grasp you're going to be getting is mine around your throat!"

"Bring it on!"

"Oh, no you don't. You have to deal with me first. Your people stole a miraculous from one of mine, and if it's not returned, I will punt you to the Moon!"

Pegasus rubbed his forehead, listening to Majestia, the Prior, and Ladybug, who had spent the last thirty minutes arguing back and forth. They were all standing in a largely-abandoned warehouse along the Seine, one which the Paris Police had raided several months earlier without success. After the Beasts had begun to merge together, the remaining Lynchpin-ions had approached Ladybug and Cat Noir several blocks to the south and offered their assistance. And this time, Ladybug and Cat Noir had agreed to talk to them. Killer Bee had suggested that they return to the Heroes' headquarters; Ladybug had suggested that she introduce Killer Bee to her fist. Instead, Killer Bee had offered one of the Lynchpin's warehouses as a meeting place. Pegasus had collected Águila Altíssimo, Lupa Gris, Majestia, and Knightowl, and brought all of them here by portal for this "war council." Ladybug, Cat Noir, Sent-Bee, and the Lynchpin-ions, along with Prefect Raincomprix, had been waiting for them when they had arrived. Turing stood next to Pegasus, not moving, cataloguing the proceedings. Pegasus' jaw clenched. While he himself had built Turing's body, the idea that Turing was now an android and no longer the hovering robot as which he had designed him still could catch him off guard.

Águila Altíssimo cleared his throat and rapped the handle of his mace on one of the tables that had been pulled away from the wall for them to sit around. Once the other three had stilled, he began, "Whether Night Bat was operating under your… employer's orders or on his own volition, the result is the same. The Beasts are still out there, and something has happened to them. We are all here for the same reason, no?"

Prefect Raincomprix folded his arms, giving the Mecha-Man designer – who had asked to be called "the Engineer" – a suspicious look before turning his gaze on the Prior and Killer Bee. "I believe that is the case," he allowed. "However, how can we trust that these criminals are going to hold to their word?"

The Engineer glanced at Killer Bee and the Prior and shrugged. "I suppose you can't," he admitted. Prefect Raincomprix narrowed his eyes. "You have already decided that we are criminals and not to be trusted, have you not?" he asked rhetorically, waving his hands. "You won't believe anything I tell you. However, I tell you truthfully that I am a Parisian. I have lived in Paris all my life. My daughter was born and raised here. My wife has already been evacuated to one of your shelters, as has my partner's family. I do not want to see my city destroyed. Nor, I suspect, does Killer Bee, who also lives in Paris. And as for the Prior–"

The Prior interrupted him with a scoff. "My people are as interested in these events as anyone else, given our previous interactions – particularly with the Ox. And while some of my colleagues believe that the Ox is the universe's punishment against miraculous abusers–" Ladybug bristled at that, and the Prior bared his teeth maliciously. "–I remain on the fence."

Lupa Gris sighed heavily, her arms folded. "Fine. So you propose that we work together against this common threat. It is not as though we have many other options, given the circumstances. I appreciate your decision not to bring either of the criminals abusing my miraculous to this meeting. Although after this is over we will have very stern words on that subject."

The Prior sneered.

"On that note," added Ladybug, glaring at Killer Bee, "I believe you have something that belongs to me."

"What, this little thing?" Killer Bee asked, arching an eyebrow and running her fingers through her hair, turning to display her miraculous prominently. "It was so careless of you people to lose it."

Ladybug lunged forward, though Cat Noir caught her shoulder before she left her seat.

Sent-Bee clenched her fist and started to speak, only to freeze. Taking a breath, she turned to the group. "We can argue all we want, but it's not going to do anything for us. We are on the clock. We need to work together. Even if it's just for now."

"Does anyone have a plan?" asked the Engineer, looking around the table.

"Does anyone even know what it is?" demanded Prefect Raincomprix, his eyes wide. He gave Pegasus a pointed look.

Pegasus frowned. After months of study and research, he had been completely stymied until he had seen the latest drone footage, not five minutes ago. However, suddenly everything had begun to make sense, in a twisted sort of way. He didn't know that he could entirely believe the evidence of his own senses, but that was all he had. Pegasus nodded to Turing, whose eyes lit up, projecting a hologram in the center of the table, showing two images. "I believe I may have an answer to that question," he announced, pointing to the first image. "This is the live feed of the Beast, taken from one of the drones which we left behind." The image was grainy and hazy, the thick green smoke emitted from the Creature's mouth every time it breathed choking the air and making it difficult to see. However, in the center of the cloud stood a monstrous being, almost as tall at the shoulders as the Eiffel Tower, with the face of the Lion set on the body of the Ox, which was covered by the Turtle's shell. It had six Bear legs and paws, and the Scorpion's tail protruded from the back and hung over its shell. As they watched, the Monster let out another poison-tinged roar.

Cat Noir folded his arms. "So… what is it? No lion, now!"

Ladybug frowned. "Puns? Now? You're unbearable." Cat Noir snorted, and she elbowed him. "That… wasn't intentional."

Pegasus nodded to the second image. "This is an artist's rendering of a medieval hybrid monster," he explained. "Called a 'Tarasque'."

Sent-Bee blinked. "So we are fighting a mythological monster. Of course we're fighting a mythological monster." She rubbed her forehead. "This whole thing is utterly ridiculous."

Lupa Gris' eyes narrowed, staring at the two images. "And how do we defeat it? I wonder if Destruction is the answer," she mused, looking at Cat Noir.

"You mean like a Cataclysm to straight-up destroy it?" asked Ladybug, a doubtful look in her eyes. "It might not work on such a mythical/magical monster."

"I tried it on the Ox," Cat Noir supplied. "It did literally nothing. It tried to gore Capricorn right afterward."

"I saw that," Lupa Gris acknowledged. "How is he?"

"He's… recovering," Ladybug allowed, her eyes darting to Killer Bee and the Prior as she said it. Capricorn had detransformed after the battle, and he'd had a bruise across most of his chest, matching a couple of cracked ribs and a concussion. When Pegasus had left, Hato Gozen had been working to revive him via her magic. And no one wanted that information getting back to Night Bat.

"That's good," Lupa Gris replied, smiling in relief.

"Is there a way you can boost your Cataclysm?" asked Majestia.

"There… is…" Cat Noir answered her, grimacing.

Pegasus frowned. Sabrina was 87% certain that they could use an Akuma to enhance Miraculous powers without any negative effects. But that didn't mean a guarantee. And trying to work together without giving the Lynchpin-ions (and the Prior especially) any new information about the miraculous was going to be infuriating.

"It is something we wish to avoid," Ladybug explained delicately. "But we could instead use the Sword," she suggested, raising an eyebrow at Cat Noir.

He nodded. "That could work."

Knightowl hummed, stroking her chin contemplatively. "This Tarasque is an amalgam of different animals," she began, "so the way to defeat it must be to separate the constituent parts."

Majestia quirked an eyebrow and flexed one arm. "I could rip it apart, limb from limb," she offered.

"I seem to recall that that didn't work out too well for you last time," Killer Bee pointed out.

Majestia's eyes narrowed and started to glow red. "Perhaps I should test it out on you," she seethed, a dark look on her face. Killer Bee's lip curled

The Engineer cleared his throat, pulling their attention to him. "The places where the Creatures come together will probably be the weak points," he suggested. "If we target those spots with our best damage dealers, that could pull the Creatures apart."

"Can we do that much damage?" wondered Águila Altíssimo, frowning.

"With all of us together, I think it is possible," Knightowl replied with a nod.

"After studying the footage of your fight in Newark, I have an idea," the Engineer began, giving Knightowl a deferential nod. He pulled out a flash drive and passed it to Pegasus. "Do you think you can find a couple of people who can use a variation on this design?"

Plugging it into his horseshoe, Pegasus gave the design a glance before sending a quick message to Markov and Iron Maiden. "I doubt we have the time to test it properly, but we can make the attempt."

"But we will have to make every hit count," Knightowl warned them. "We can't afford faulty equipment."

"Maybe we can buy ourselves more time," Sent-Bee suggested.

"We have to immobilize it," Ladybug announced. "Any way we can, we hold it in place so the others can hit it."

Killer Bee scoffed. "Why do you need anything else?" she asked. "Let me sting it and freeze it in place."

"Not much can penetrate its hide, so Venom might not cut it," Ladybug objected, eyes narrowed.

Killer Bee smirked. "You can always buff me up the same way you were going to do for Cat Noir…"

"Oh, hell no!" Sent-Bee interjected, smacking the table. "There is no way in hell that we are giving you that kind of power!"

"Even if it means the city?"

Ladybug folded her arms. "We will work with you to stop this thing, but we're not going any farther than that with our 'partnership'." She looked around the table. "I think if we can get them separated, we may have enough allies – here and around the world – to drive them back to their resting places. Prefect, can your men keep the area clear?"

Prefect Raincomprix nodded firmly. "Absolutely, Ladybug," he assured her. "We will keep the civilians out of the way and clear a sufficient perimeter for you to fight this… Tarasque."

Ladybug nodded. "Then in that case, we will move an hour after we finish here, unless the Tarasque threatens the city before then."

After another thirty minutes of finalizing their plans, the rest of the group began to disperse. Ladybug and the other heroes left the warehouse to find an unobserved side of the building where Pegasus could open a portal back to the Mansion without being spotted. The Lynchpin-ions dispersed, with the Engineer remaining at the warehouse to work on his construction project. Prefect Raincomprix put a hand on Pegasus' shoulder as he was stepping out of the warehouse. "Can I have a moment to discuss… heavy weapons deployment?" he asked.

Pegasus nodded and turned to Turing. "Make sure our allies are apprised of the situation and the plan, and ensure that everyone is in position for deployment once I return," he instructed him before opening a portal for the others to return to the Mansion. Prefect Raincomprix led him off to one side, out of earshot of the other heroes and villains. "What can I do for you, Prefect Rai–?"

Roger held up his hand and shook his head, cutting Pegasus off. "I'm not talking to you as a police prefect right now," he told him, a serious look in his eyes. "I'm talking to you man-to-man, as a father to his daughter's boyfriend." Pegasus' eyes widened. "Please keep her safe today. I'm counting on you"

Pegasus nodded. "Of course – you know that I will."

Roger grabbed both his shoulders and squeezed, almost to the point of pain, looking deep into Pegasus' eyes. "No, I mean it, Max," he insisted, his mouth set in a thin line. "For eighteen years I've done my best to keep Sabrina safe – even when Hawk Moth was making that virtually impossible. Over the last couple years, you know I've only had… mixed results… what with everything that's been going on. But I've tried as hard as I can. And then I found out she was… well…" He gave Pegasus a conflicted grimace. "And I'm proud of her, don't get me wrong – what father wouldn't be proud? But I can't protect her when she's… herself. And now we're facing this… this thing, and I don't know what's going to happen when it moves, or when it attacks, or when we try to stop it. All I know is that I can't keep her safe in the face of this threat. I can't worry about her and everyone else in the city all at the same time. Irene is at the City Hall shelter with government officials and their relatives, but Sabrina could be in the thick of it. So I'm entrusting her to you. She loves you. She trusts you – in a way, even more than she trusts me. So please: make sure she stays safe."

Pegasus looked Roger in the eye, seeing the pain and fear and worry there. Slowly, Pegasus nodded, his mouth set in a firm line, and placed his hands on Roger's shoulders. "I promise, Roger. She will be safe."

AN: So, did anyone guess "Tarasque" for what the "Colossus" would actually be?