Chapter 2 – Dead to Rights

Chat Blanc searched Ladybug's eyes for answers. How could she put up with a person who doesn't love her? How could she stay with someone like that instead of accepting me? Am I really so awful in her eyes? Why? What did I do wrong? Why couldn't she just give me a chance?

He crouched down, so they were face-to-face. He stretched out his hand, then hesitated. Did he really want to do this?

"Yes, Chat Noir, take her Miraculous!" Hawkmoth goaded him. "How long has she slapped away your love? Now, the high and mighty Ladybug is helpless. Do it! Take her Miraculous!"

But Chat didn't move. On the one paw, he knew it'd be child's play to tear her earrings from her, but on the other... This was his partner, the person he admired most, and the only person he could be himself around. He loved her. Could he really destroy her? Did he even want to?

"No," he said softly. "I don't want to see her hurt…I don't want to hurt her." Chat lowered the paw wielding the cataclysm and leaned away from Ladybug. He stood up and made like he was ready to walk away. Despite Hawkmoth's best efforts, Chat's sour emotions were fading. If the supervillain didn't act quickly, he'd lose the most powerful ally he'd ever had.

His villainous mind raced. "Don't you at least want to see the face of the girl who's rejected you time and again?" He felt Chat pause, and Hawkmoth knew he'd gotten the boy's attention. "Don't you want to see who's really behind the mask?"

Ladybug barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief, before she saw Chat look at her over his shoulder. Slowly, he turned to face her fully, and she watched the pain expression fade, only to be replaced by something much worse.

His pupils dilated, like a cat eyeing prey.

"Chat, please. You have to fight this." She pleaded, but whatever Hawkmoth was saying was more interesting. Chat Blanc's eyes hardened, and his lips curled upward in a twisted grin. He sauntered back to where she lay propped against the wall.

"I want to see." He said, stretching out his claws toward her cheek.

"See? See what" she stalled.

"I want to see the face of the girl who's never given me a chance, who deemed me unlovable. I want to see your real face…" Ladybug could imagine Hawkmoth crowing in victory. It was then that she realized she might be in a no-win scenario. Even if Chat came to his senses and didn't force her to de-transform, it'd been a while since she'd summoned her Lucky Charm.

She didn't know how many spots were left on her earrings, but it couldn't be many, right? How much time do I have? A minute? Two? Even if Chat doesn't do something drastic, I'm still about to transform back! I have to get out of this NOW!

Excited to unmask her, Chat stretched out his clawed hand. Naturally, Ladybug strained to get away from the dark energy, but there was nowhere for her to go. Chat studied her bluebell eyes. Was this the last time he'd ever see them? Was this really the end of "Ladybug and Chat Noir"?

He hesitated one more time. His hand so close to her cheek that it was amazing he didn't touch her by accident. Is this really how it ends for us, M'Lady?

In an answer: No. With his paw only millimeters from Ladybug's face, something flashed in his mind, causing him to freeze. It was so quick that he couldn't identify it at first. Then, it flashed again. A face. Someone he recognized. "Now, Chat Blanc! Take her MIRACULOUS!" Hawkmoth commanded, but his voice was secondary to the powerful flashes of light flooding Chat's mind.

Then, the face appeared again, slower this time. Chat knew that face. He knew those bright green eyes and that golden hair almost as well as he knew his own.

Mom.

Thinking of his mother was like a cold splash of water, bringing him out of his heartache-induced rage and back to his senses. The face appeared again, and Adrien knew that wherever she was, she'd never want to see him like this… She'd be heartbroken if she saw him now… It was enough to bring Chat Blanc Noir/Adrien back to himself.

It was like reality snapped back into place, and Chat was left wondering how he'd gotten into this mess. Here, he was about to kill Ladybug? Never! He… He had to get them out of this. First, he lifted his hand wielding the cataclysm, and discharged it into the wall behind Ladybug's back. He expected to hear Hawkmoth's voice inside his head demanding to know what he was doing, but the supervillain was oddly silent (Instead Gabriel was trying to figure out how… what… why had Chat Noir envisioned his wife? Did Chat and Emilie know each other? Did Chat know it was Gabriel behind Hawkmoth's mask? Was it possible that Hawkmoth and Chat knew each other in their civilian lives…?)

While Hawkmoth was trying to figure out Chat Noir's possible identity, Chat's mind also raced. He looked around. Behind him, Ladybug's yo-yo lay useless. In front of him, through the hole in the wall, he saw a speck of red and black in the alleyway, and he prayed that it might be the Lucky Charm.

As he tried to put together a plan, he realized that Hawkmoth was probably listening in on his every thought right now. He needed to lose his akuma. But, how?

"Uh, Hawkmoth?" Chat asked. No, if I'm going to stand a chance of fooling him, I need to sound more assertive. He waited another moment, but there was no response from the villain. "Hawkmoth, I don't want to use your weak cataclysm on her. I want to use my own. I need you to remove your Akuma, so I can do that." Still there was silence, and Chat was seriously worried.

This isn't going to work, is it?

In the evil lair…

Hawkmoth couldn't figure out how Chat Blanc could possibly have thought of his wife at that pivotal moment. Furthermore, why had he done it? Was it an untapped power of the Black Cat Miraculous to supply, not only the physical power to destroy things, but also the knowledge or insight to destroy a person as well?

"Sir," Nathalie said, getting his attention. "What happened? Is everything alright?"

"Chat N… Chat Blanc, he was thinking about… my wife."

"That's not possible, sir."

"You think I don't know that?! The only way for him to think of her is if his Kwami supplied him the information, or if…"

"Or if Chat Noir knew her so intimately that he'd think of her at this crucial moment."

"Hawkmoth?" This wasn't Nathalie speaking. It was Chat Blanc communing with him.

"Wh-What? Why haven't you taken her Miraculous yet?" Hawkmoth demanded, but his voice sounded shaky. Nathalie recognized it as the tone her boss used when he was worried (most often, about Adrien). He's off-balance. She thought. This was the closest he's ever come to having the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous within his grasp. But just like every other time, something unexpected was keeping him from his goal. Not this time.

"Sir," she said, "allow me to go out as Mayura. Together, we will guarantee your victory." Hawkmoth studied her briefly and gave a curt nod. As she ran off to retrieve the peacock Miraculous, he silently second-guessed his decision to let her use it. A broken miraculous was dangerous, and he couldn't imagine losing her.

Distracted by his doubts, he didn't detect Chat Noir plotting against him.

Chat tried to keep himself together as he repeated his request. Why hadn't he heard me the first time? What? Was he sidetracked or something? Chat found that unlikely. It was more believable to think that somehow Plagg had weakened the connection for a few moments. "I said that I want to use my own cataclysm on her, my real one. It'll do more than just immobilize her. It'll destroy her, and my eyes will be the last she ever sees…" Was this offer too much for Hawkmoth? "If you're worried, my cataclysm won't damage the Miraculous themselves, just the Lady wearing them."

There was a long pause. "Fine, Chat Blanc, but be aware, I DO have eyes in the area. I WILL be watching." Chat couldn't resist a chill snaking down his spine. Then he held his breath until the black akuma left his ring.

Chat Noir breathed a heavy sigh of relief. They'd all but won. If he was calm, Hawkmoth wouldn't be able to re-akumatize him even if he wanted to.

"Chat?" Ladybug asked.

Chat ALMOST said, "I'm back. I'm sorry. Let's get your yo-yo and Lucky Charm, and capture this Akuma, and defeat Hawkmoth…" but then, he remembered that Hawkmoth was probably watching their every move. He had to stay in character or else Hawkmoth might drive the Akuma to multiply and Akumatize all Paris with Chat Blanc copies.

He only hoped that his partner would catch on to what he was doing.

Chat Noir stood erect and began to pace the room casually. Ladybug had expected him to finish her off quickly. But like a cat, she thought darkly, he's going to take his time, so he can enjoy playing with his prey.

Still she had to TRY to reach him.

"Chat Noir, I need you to get my yo-yo and Lucky Charm before Hawkmoth re-akumatizes you. He's going to try. And we need to stop him before it's too late." Chat Noir's eyes widened slightly, and she thought she'd gotten through to him, but then he glanced around (almost like he was afraid they were being watched).

Not for the first time, he looked over her shoulder towards the alleyway beyond the rubble. Calmly, he strolled past her. In the alley, he picked up something that she couldn't see, before returning to pace before her. "So, you really love him?"

"What?" Ladybug asked. She'd been focused on identifying the thing he'd picked up.

"This other boy who's so much better for you than I am? You really love him?"

Ladybug hesitated. How should I answer? Being honest got him akumatized last time. Should I lie if it's the only way to buy time? She glanced around. She couldn't go anywhere with two bum legs and a limp arm (not to mention what? Seconds? A minute before she changed back?).

She had no choice: she had to stall, but she didn't want to lie. "He's an amazing boy."

"And he loves you?"

She hesitated, debating between the complicated truth and the much easier lie. "He doesn't love me." She finally admitted. "We're just friends." That part was painful to confess, but as hard as it'd been for her to say, it'd clearly hurt Chat Noir much more. Watching his reaction, she decided to give up on telling him the truth. All it ever did was cause him pain. Over his shoulder, she could see the Akuma flutter closer. If the truth brings nothing but trouble, maybe a lie will work better.

"But now I see that you, Chat Noir, you're the one I belong with. You're the one I really love."

Chat Noir stood there in shock. One moment, he's facing the fact that Ladybug wasn't even dating the guy she's been fawning over. The next, she's saying…

"You… love… me?" Chat said,. Had he heard her right? Was this a dream or was this real? Ladybug smiled at him, and his heart skipped a beat.

This was the best day of his life.

It would be a day he'd remember forever.

It'd be the beginning of something wonderful.

It was… It…

It wasn't true, was it? A dark cloud interrupted Chat's jubilation, and no matter what he wanted to believe he, he couldn't shake it. He knew. He knew she was lying. As painful as it'd been to hear her tell him the truth, hearing her lie was much, MUCH worse.

Chat wasn't even sure how he knew she was lying. One part of him wanted to believe her so badly. But that part couldn't override what his heart knew: that it wasn't true.

She didn't love him, and a nasty voice inside his head wondered if she ever would.

Ladybug watched a tear spill out of the corner of Chat's eye and down his cheek. He's waited so long to hear these words, and now it's not even real. She thought, convinced that Chat had bought her act. I'm sorry, Chat, I'm so sorry, but I need to serve the greater good.

"I don't know how I could be so blind." She went on, "It's you Chat; you're the boy of my dreams." She tried not to laugh comparing the annoying Chat Noir with the perfect Adrien Agreste in her thoughts, but then she saw the Akuma getting even closer.

Wait, why is it drawing closer? Shouldn't the negative emotions be evaporating?

"Chat, I need…"

"STOP, Ladybug, just stop." Chat said, a little too forcefully. "I know you don't love me…" Then, he noticed the proximity of the Akuma, and he panicked. Lifting his gaze back to her, he realized he was in no state emotionally to resist akumatization. There was only one way to keep the butterfly from re-infecting his ring. "Cataclysm!"

But the black bug was undeterred. Chat looked back to the love of his life, and a desperate plan fell into place in his mind.

"You may not love me," he repeated. "But I will always love you."

Then, time seemed to slow down.

With one hand, Chat Noir flipped the Lucky Charm he was holding in the general direction of Ladybug. With the other, he selflessly pressed the dark energy into his own chest.

"NOOO!" Ladybug cried, but it sounded far away. From Chat's perspective, the room was spinning, and he began to faint.

He'd expected the cataclysm to kill him, and if he'd had any other Kwami, it would've. But there was a reason Plagg was ranked only after Tikki in terms of power. This was his destructive energy they were dealing with. And if anyone could survive absorbing it, it was him.

He could almost imagine Hawkmoth screaming with rage that his most dangerous Akuma victim had outmaneuvered him. Surely, such an act of self-sacrifice would guarantee Chat couldn't be turned back into Chat Blanc, right?

Still, the dark energy brought him to his knees. Hunched over, he saw his ring tick from five to four… from four to three…

Uh-oh, I don't have minutes! Adrien panicked. I have seconds before I change back. The last thing I need is Hawkmoth's spies telling him my true identity. He looked over to Ladybug who was crawling towards where her Lucky Charm landed.

She'll be fine. I need to get out of here. Chat thought. He raced through the hole leading into the alley. Then, he launched over the nearest row of houses. He jumped again, colliding clumsily with a distant building's roof. Weak from the cataclysm to the chest, he tumbled down until he was hanging by his fingertips from a drainage pipe.

He struggled to pull himself up, as his ring beeped urgently, but he was too weak.

Fortunately, help was on its way. A swarm of Ladybugs filled the sky undoing all the damage caused by Chat Blanc. In a flurry of wings, Chat's body was completely healed, although he was still hanging from the drainage pipe. He felt a rush of relief as he tried to pull himself up onto the roof again. Unfortunately, the drainage pipe wasn't meant to support that much weight, so it tore away from the building a little.

Chat realized that the easiest solution was just to let go and fall harmlessly to the alley below...

But sometimes Chat's timing was as bad as his luck.

He'd just released his grip on the pipe when his ring gave a final beep, and he de-transformed.

Adrien Agreste fell four stories, hitting head with a sickening crack on the cement below.

Author's note: This story has been collecting dust on my computer's hard-drive for months because for the longest time this was where it ended. I couldn't figure out what happened next, fortunately, I came back to it recently, and inspiration hit.