Chapter 2 Bubble Trouble
Marinette, stuck in a bubble above the action, saw Shadow Moth move onto the porch and into the apartment.
"Oh no, Tikki! Everything is ruined," she said. "I have to transform, but I don't want everyone to see me. Maybe I can get some cover if I get down to roof level."
She began to rock and push the bubble down. Just as she reached the rooftop, Chat Noir arrived.
"Marinette, are you all right?" he asked. "Don't worry, Ladybug and I will save you. I've been trying to call her but no answer yet. Have you seen her?"
"Big problem, Chat Noir! Shadow Moth is in the Césaire's apartment with a sentimonster copy of the Bubbler. They have Alya cornered. She has the Fox Miraculous and they may get it from her, so don't trust what you see. Probe everything with your pole."
"Alya has the Fox? She's Rena Rouge? You know that for sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," said Marinette, a bit reluctantly.
"Thanks for the recon. I'll break you out right now so you can get to safety, Marinette."
"Don't waste your Cataclysm. And don't use it on the Sentibubbler – it will just make him go berserk."
"I'm heading in there. Tell Ladybug when you see her."
Marinette sighed. Too many secrets were coming out, which could lead to the Chat Blanc scenario. There was no time and it couldn't be helped. Going in to face Shadow Moth, Sentibubbler, and illusions with no backup would be a suicide mission.
"One more thing. Please grab this bubble and take me down to an alley, so I can join the fight as Ladybug."
"W-what? You're Ladybug? Why did you wait until now to tell me?"
"I'll explain later. The situation is desperate; I need to transform but the whole world can't see. Once I do, I can get out of the bubble by myself."
"Yes, m'Lady" said Chat Noir, staring at her with love in his eyes.
He extended his baton to ground level. Gripping the pole with his legs, he grabbed the bubble and slid down.
"I'll go get the villains," said Chat Noir. "I'll see you soon, Bugaboo."
"You'll see a different form of me. I have an idea."
Chat vaulted away.
"Tikki, spots on!"
Ladybug sent her yo-yo up to the top of the bubble. "Lucky Charm!"
She received a spotted metal cooking pot with a handle.
Ladybug reached into her yo-yo and drew out the Horse Miraculous glasses. She put them on and Kaalki appeared.
"Kaalki, I have a question. Can you find a person even if they are hidden by an illusion?"
"Indubitably," said Kaaki. "I have a perfect sense for location."
"Once we unify, I want you to portal me above and behind Shadow Moth."
"Not a problem."
Ladybug hoped so. Hitting London from outer space had been rough, but this was a much shorter hop.
"Tikki, Kaaki, unify! Voyage!"
Pegabug's portal opening showed the Césaire twin's room. It seemed to be empty but she knew better.
She had seen Shadow Moth holding a coffee cup earlier. There was no reason for that unless it was the amok object, to control the sentimonster.
As Pegabug jumped in, she swung the cooking pot at the place where she thought the hand holding the coffee cup should be.
BANG!
"Ouch!" said Shadow Moth, dropping the cup. The illusion was broken – he was visible and so was Alya, unconscious on the floor.
Pegabug landed on her feet and grabbed the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous off of Shadow Moth's chest. (The effort of unifying three Miraculous at once was more than he was used to, so his reaction speed was off.)
She didn't have time to try to get the Fox necklace off, too. Instead, she grabbed up the coffee cup as Shadow Moth lost two of his transformations. He was now in an orange and white masked costume.
"Sentibubbler, release Chat Noir safely if you have him!" Pegabug commanded. "Then lower your hostages safely to the ground and release them from their bubbles!"
"Yeah, okay," said Sentibubbler.
Pegabug heard a faint flute sound beside her. She cursed to herself as she realized that as an adult he had the ability to force one power use after another without a recharge. She tried to attack the invisible villain but missed.
"Chat Noir, stop the Fox before he gets out!"
It was too late. Through a combination of illusion and stealth, the villain who would now call himself Mort Rouge managed to get away.
