Chapter 14

A/N: Time for yet another disclaimer to clarify that I have not in fact morphed into Zagtoons or Rick.

I do not own Miraculous Ladybug: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything in the Percy Jackson franchise. I wish.

Well, we made it. We're here. The beginning of the end of season two. It's not the end though- we still have a few more chapter left, with all-original(ish) akuma appearances. Also, true to canon. Percy is an idiot who can't connect the dots. At least not yet. Thank you guys for sticking with the story- I'm still amazed anyone kept reading after Orgins One.

Catalyst

Percy shoots out of bed, hitting his head on the ceiling above him. Ah, the joys of having a loft bed. He scrambles down the ladder, pulling his clothes on and turning to Tikki. "It's Heroes' Day!" he says excitedly. Tikki smiles back at him.

"That it is," she chirps. "What are you going to be doing?" Percy shrugs, pulling on a blue hoodie.

"Same as usual. Macarons for the whole class."

"Any chance I'm included in that?" she asks none too subtly. Percy grins at her.

"Yep. Only fair, seeing as you're the whole reason I can be a real-life hero." Tikki flies into his backpack as he clatters downstairs to the bakery, hugging his dad and kissing his mother's cheek.

"Happy Heroes' Day!" Sally laughed, hugging him with floury hands. Poseidon put a box of macarons into Percy's hands.

"All the usual flavors, plus a special passionfruit macaron for Annabeth. That's what she usually gets, anyways. She could use some encouragement after her dad's death." Percy choked on air.

"What?!" Poseidon looked confused.

"You didn't know? He passed about a month ago. I thought that's why you've been having her over the past week or so. Lovely girl." Percy mutely shakes his head.

"I-I had no idea. She didn't tell anyone- a month ago? She was acting oddly around then, got a new hairstyle too. Pulled back." Poseidon smirks.

"Well, if you didn't know, then my logical conclusion is that you're developing a crush-"

"Bye mom! Bye dad! Love you!" Percy was out the door before he could finish that sentence. "I'm not developing a crush," he mutters, hands in his hoodie pocket. Tikki flies out and nestles against his hand. he keeps speaking, knowing she'll be able to hear him. "Why doesn't she trust us?" Suddenly, he has a revelation. " Holy crap- that person who died who tried to help her was probably him. Shit. Helen murdered him. Oh my God. Helen's not only an abusive, manipulative asshole, she's a legit criminal. No wonder Annabeth didn't want us involved. She needs to get out of there, like pronto. Tikki, what the hell am I supposed to do with this?" Tikki flew up, trying to stay out of sight in his hair.

"Your plan is a good plan. It'll work. Just keep having her over, suggest that Thalia has a sleepover with her." Percy nods, expelling a breath.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that." Tikki pats his cheek and dives back into his backpack. Percy takes a deep breath, heading into the school.


Annabeth's good deed for the day will be not strangling Rachel. Everyone is crowded around her before class, giggling and talking. All because she's decided to confess to Percy today. No one seems to know what's going on, or they're unwilling to tell her. To make today even worse, Kelli's going to FaceTime the class today. Annabeth thunks her head onto the desk. Thalia slides in next to her.

"Sorry that this is happening on Heroes' Day, of all days," she says sympathetically, patting Annabeth on the back. "It sucks that Rachel picked today to confess to Percy." Annabeth choked on air.

"What?" Thalia blanched.

"I thought you knew? They weren't exactly being subtle. I don't know the details, but I'm pretty sure that's what's happening." Annabeth shook her head, leaning in closer to Thalia.

"I had no idea! Why'd she pick today?! Valentine's Day is sort of coming up." Thalia snorts.

"In a few months, yeah. I dunno. A lot of people are getting together today. I have a hot date with Apollo tonight. Will asked Nico out." Annabeth claps her hands.

"My OTP! Finally!" Thalia laughs, knocking her shoulder, and for a few moments Annabeth can forget about everything, Hawkmoth, Luke, Helen, Kelli, Percy's plan. Then Percy walks through the door. She sees Rachel wink at the girls, take his hand, and lead him out into the hallway. Her grin vanishes and she twists her hands around each other. Rachel is smart, pretty, funny, artsy, and not nearly as much trouble as Annabeth. A minute passes, then two, and they both walk in. Rachel looks satisfied, Percy looks flustered and confused, and both those expressions have Annabeth on edge. She strolls down up to Rachel's desk, trying to look nonchalant.

"How'd it go?" she asks Rachel in a low tone. Rachel blinks at her.

"How'd what go?" Annabeth knits her eyebrows.

"Uh, confessing to Percy?" Rachel stares at her, and then bursts out laughing.

"Confessing to Percy? God, that's what you thought I was doing? Oh, honey." Annabeth is getting annoyed. Can't Rachel jsut speak straight?

"Then what was that about?" Rachel leans closer to Annabeth.

"I told him that I used to have a crush on him, but now I just want to be friends." Annabeth's breath leaves her. Not a confession.

"That sounds rather pointless," she manages. Rachel shrugs.

"Maybe. But it gave me closure. And for what it's worth, you guys would make a cute couple." Rachel pats her on the shoulder and pops her earbuds in, humming. Annabeth stumbles back down to her desk, closing her eyes until class starts. Way to give her a mini heart-attack, Rachel. Mr. Blowfis comes in, hooking up the T.V.

"Alright, class. Let's put away our phones. Hello, Kelli!" he says to the screen. Kelli is up, and while she looks blurry, she's still giving a toothy smile.

"Hey guys!" she says brightly, with a cute little wave. Annabeth's opinion of her only got worse after Volpina, even if she was controlled by Kronos. She was one of their worst akumas, and Kronos can't control everything. Helen was a particularly awful akuma as well, and people like Apollo and Thalia really weren't super bad akumas, just persistent. Annabeth slouches in her seat as the rest of the class greets her. She twists subtly, looking at Percy to see if he, too, is part of Kelli's fan group. He has an annoyed expression on his face and she raises her eyebrows before remembering herself and turning back around.

"What good deed are you preforming for Heroes' Day?" Mr. Blowfis asks. Kelli smiles wider, if that is even possible.

"I'm going to be flying to the Middle East with Prince Ali and providing water to those poor African children," she says sweetly. Behind her, Percy snorts, and Annabeth is tempted to do the same.

"Kelli, do you mean you're flying to Africa?" Annabeth asks, with a raised eyebrow. Kelli smiles back at her. She looks like a shark.

"Oh, of course. Pardon me." Annabeth wants to push forward, but she leaves it. She can't fight every battle, and sooner or later Kelli will be exposed. She sits back in her seat, just realizing that she had been edging forward, and listens to her classmate's tales of their good deeds.

"Annabeth, what about you?" Mr. Blowfis asks.

"I signed up to volunteer at a local animal shelter, same as you Persephone," she says, nodding to her bubbly classmate. Mr. Blowfis nods at her and then turns to Percy.

"What about you Percy?" he asks. Percy gestures to the macarons sitting on his desk.

"You'll all get one of these, and then I was thinking that I could bring food to a Heroes' Day picnic in the park," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. The class squeals and starts clamoring, all but Luke. He's staring at her, with an odd smirk on his face. She frowns at him and turns away. Mr. Blowfis claps his hands, drawing their attention back to him.

"Very nice. Now, I think the news station was covering a Heroes' Day parade for Luckybug and Lady Jinx, let's turn that on. Goodbye Kelli, and happy Heroes' Day!" Kelli clicks off and they turn to the news. Floats are parading down the main roads in Paris and Percy hands out the macarons as they watch. A black blur lands on one of the floats and the camera zooms in. Lady Jinx. Percy smiles brightly. Annabeth, looking up, chokes on her macaron.

"Looks like Lady Jinx came to join the parade," Aeolus says off screen. "She looks hurt- perhaps an akuma?" The camera gets closer and she comes into the picture even clearer. She's banged up, holding an arm that looks hurt and wiping blood from her nose. Still, she spins a staff. A figure lands behind her and Percy gasps. It looks exactly like Luckybug, but wrong. His red and black pattern is inverted and his hair is tipped with red. "Is that Luckybug? What is he saying?" The class quiets down as does the crowd, creating the perfect space for every word to echo throughout the classroom.

"I don't want to fight you, Luckybug!" Jinx says, backing away. Luckybug smiles at her, a cold, cruel grin.

"Lucky for you, I'm Antibug," he declares, and the class gasps. Percy rubs his eyes, hardly believing what he's seeing. Aeolus voices his thoughts almost perfectly.

"Luckybug, akumatized? Could it be?"

"This is fake," he mutters, looking around. "It has to be." Annabeth turns, nodding at him.

"Yeah. No way this is real."

"I don't want to hurt you." Jinx continues on-screen. "I don't want to do this." Antibug's face contorts and flickers before settling on a smirk/scowl combo.

"What Kronas wants, Kronas gets." Jinx wipes away a tear and sets her face.

"Then I'm sorry. You leave me no choice. Cataclysm!" she shouts, rushing at him. He lashes his yoyo at her, binding her non-destructive arm to her waist and jerking her forward. He grasps her hand and her eyes widen. More tears flood out and he wipes them away gently.

"You leave me no choice as well, m'lady. See you in hell." He slams her hand to her stomach and begins laughing lowly as she disintegrates slowly, eyes looking up at him in horrible shock. And then she's gone, floating out across the streets. Aeolus starts cursing and wails begin echoing in the streets. Annabeth stands up angrily and snatches the remote, turning the T.V. off with a click. Nobody moves to stop her. Persephone starts crying.

"Is Jinx dead?" she asks. Apollo turns on her and Percy realizes with a jolt that tears are coming from his eyes as well.

"No, Persephone, Jinx is somewhere out there re-forming. What do you think?" he shouts. Hades stands up angrily.

"Shut up." Apollo snorts, turning away.

"Whatever." Mr. Blowfis wipes his brow with a hand.

"I think, in light of current events, class should be let out early. Class dismissed." The class begins flooding out and Percy watches Luke climb into a fancy van and speed off. He turns and there's Annabeth. She's heading the exact opposite direction from him and he catches her hand. Anything to distract him from his partner, who probably died thinking that he killed her. But he also needs to tell Annabeth that he knows.

"We need to talk," he says, looking into her eyes with his own. She focuses on them: large, pleading, green-ish blue. She sucks in a breath. As hard as she's trying to move on, he keeps dragging her back.

"Yeah. Sure. Coffee, my treat?" He nods.

"Sounds good. Where to?" Annabeth thinks on this. She remembers a cute little café Teddy took her to, to practice her sign language.

"Éveillé. It's this way." She leads him through winding roads, down alleys and finally to a café nestled in a corner on the Seine. She leads the way in, taking him up to the counter and pulling out her own cup form her bag.

"The usual for me. Percy?" Percy scans the menu.

"Uh, same as her." The barista and Annabeth exchange glances but she jots it down anyways.

"Can you make that two usuals with a muffin?" The barista nods, setting out a muffin on a plate. Annabeth thanks her, handing over money and guiding Percy over to a table. He folds his hands, looking nervous.

"What's your usual?" he asks, deciding to start with a bit of an icebreaker. She snorts.

"Medium dark coffee with seven pumps vanilla, extra whipped cream." Percy chokes on the half of the muffin he cut for himself. He coughs into a napkin.

"Seven pumps?!"

She rolls her eyes. "Yes. Problem?" She arches her eyebrows, daring him to make a statement.

"The fact that I ordered it," he mutters. She takes a bite of her half of the muffin, shrugging.

"I didn't force you to." He shakes his head, disbelieving.

"Right. Anyways, I, uh, found out about your dad…" he trails off as her head snaps up. She narrows her eyes at him, hard grey.

"What'd you do, search up 'dead people close to Annabeth Chase'? I don't believe it." He backtracks quickly.

"No! God no! I put in a passionfruit macaron for you because I know you like it and my parents commented that they were glad you were cheering me up, after your father passed. I would never do that Annabeth, and I'm really sorry I found out at all. Please believe me. But I understand why you need to get away from Helen even more. Annabeth, she's insane. She's going to kill you if you stay with her. We need to do our plan quickly, and I don't like it, but-" Annabeth sighs, dropping her foul look.

"I know. I know she's awful. The plan will work." He sighs, grabbing her hand.

"No, Annabeth, you don't understand. I- I don't want you getting hurt. I want you to be safe, Annabeth I couldn't live with myself if she hurt you, God forbid-" his breath catches, unable to say it. Kills you. He plows forward. "I just- stay safe, okay? Get out if it's too much. I need you to be okay, because I lo-"

"Your orders." The barista appears, cutting off whatever he would've said. He knows exactly what he would've said. I love you. And now he feels like a traitorous scum because what right does he have, loving Annabeth? She clearly wants nothing to do with him, and there's Jinx. God, there's Jinx. His smart, capable, brave, loyal, kind, beautiful partner. He's told her that he loves her, at least in his mind. His dead partner. And the horrible thing is that it's true. He does love 's always going to love Jinx and now that she's gone...her doesn't want ot think about it. But another painfully smart, brave, resilient, beautiful blonde girl snuck into his heart. And now he's a horrible person. He drops his head into his hands as Annabeth takes his drink form the barista.

"Are you okay?" she asks gently. He buries his face deeper in his arms. What did he do to deserve this? "I'm going to be fine, Percy. Don't worry about me." He snorts.

"'M not." She nudges his elbows.

"Is it about the coffee? Honestly, it's not that bad. I drink it sometimes, so you can too." Percy stands up quickly. He forgot all about the idiotic picnic he offered to host.

"I'm really sorry Annabeth. You've been awesome, really awesome, and I'm an awful person for trying to discuss a heavy topic like this and then leaving, but I need to go. See you at the picnic?" Her smile falls a little, but she hoists it back up.

"Yeah, definitely. Take your drink. Tell me what you think." He grabs it, lifting his backpack over his shoulder.

"You know it." He walks out, heading for his bakery. He lifts the cup to his lips, eying it doubtfully before shrugging and downing it. Besides the scalding hot burn, it's exactly the kind of drink Annabeth should like. Dark flavor mixed with sugary sweet. A scarlet butterfly flutters by as he wipes his mouth.


Luke-Catalyst- frowns as he leans against his staff.

"And why can't I transform into Kalapin? Like, right now? Catalyst has done his job and turned you into upgraded Kronos. I want to be an actual villain, with actual powers and stuff." Kronos, or Helen- it's blowing his mind that Helen Chase is Kronos- scowls.

"No. Don't until you have to, we need a surprise advantage. Is that clear?" Catalyst nods sullenly.

"Yep. Crystal. You got it. I'll just be here, watching for your mistakes and waiting for you to pay up." He mutters the last bit as Kronos launches herself out of the window, smashing it as she goes. Catalyst supposes that it won't matter if Luckybug and Lady Jinx win as usual. He detransforms, huddled in a corner and patting his kwami absent-mindedly. Duusuu is decent company. Luke never thought he'd be on the villain's side, but here he is. The villain of the story. As he digs the palms of his hands into his eyes to stop his tears from pouring out, he hopes that Annabeth will be worth it all.


Luckybug is not having a great day. Apparently, Kronos got an update? Whatever. And now it looks like there are thousands of akumatized Parisians flooding the streets. He can't do this alone, doesn't want to do this alone, and so he's currently sitting on a random rooftop, waiting for Jinx. Praying for Jinx. He called her. She didn't respond. But she has to be alive, she can't be dead. As the minutes pass, he gets more and more uncertain. A thud sounds on the roof and he whips around. There's Jinx, combing her hair over to the side and smirking at him.

"Hey, bug." If she was going to say something else, she never did, as she's cut off by him crushing her in an embrace, for once non-romantic. He steps back, just looking at her.

"Don't ever do that again."

"No promises," she laughs. Her expression turn serious. "We need backup."

"Agreed. Shellona, Alepou, and a third?" Jinx nods, tapping her chin. Shellona. She remembers delivering the Turtle miraculous to Thalia as her brother Jason got akumatized and tied Apollo up.

"Good choice. Anyone in mind for the third?" Luckybug thinks for a second and then his face lights up.

"Oh, yeah. I'll go get him and you cover Shellona and Alepou." She coughs, suddenly awkward.

"I, uh, don't know who Alepou is," she admits. Luckybug steps to the edge, drawing his yoyo.

"Apollo Cesaire. You'll find him!" he shouts, taking off for Chiron's. Damn right she will. So many things suddenly make sense. Jinx begins laughing as she launches herself after Luckybug.


Luckybug rolls his eyes as Leo continues gibbering. He thought that maybe, just maybe, Leo would be chill about something that definitely needs to be taken seriously. But no.

"Names! I need a name!" he exclaims, turning on Luckybug.

"No shit." Leo frowns, puckering his lips as he thinks.

"Can I be-OH WAIT. I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW." Luckybug resists pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What. What is it."

"Can I be...Beeyoncé?" Luckybug stares at him for a moment in shock.

"No. God no. You are not being-" he pauses, mildly nauseated at the idea of Leo flying around Paris in a Beyoncé-style outfit. "-Beeyoncé. Transform and maybe you'll get an idea."

"Say, 'Pollen, let's buzz!', my king! Your special power is Venom, say it to paralyze someone!" Pollen adds helpfully. Leo slides the comb beneath his hair.

"Pollen, let's buzz!" he shouts. A yellow flashes lights up the room and when it fades, Leo stands in front of them in a basic black bodysuit not unlike Jinx's. Hightop yellow converse-style shoes cover his feet and he sports a yellow bomber jacket with white fuzz around his upper body. Antennae curl from his hair now with yellow highlights and dark aviation goggles cover his face. He smirks, twirling his yellow-and black trompo.

"Yellow Jacket. Last offer." Luckybug shakes his head, opening the doors of Leo's mom's workshop.

"At least it's better than Beeyoncé."


Jinx steps away from Shellona and Alepou, appraising the newbie next to Luckybug.

"Who're you?" Yellow Jacket gives a small two-fingered salute.

"Yellow Jacket, at your service, my queen." Luckybug slaps the back of his head.

"No flirting with the cat." Yellow Jacket may have rolled his eyes, or winked. It's hard to tell under his aviation goggles. Jinx laughs, releasing some tension.

"Let's introduce you to the rest of the team." Jinx leads the way over to Shellona and Alepou. Ever since they discovered each other's identities, they've been sneaking sickeningly sweet little glances and giggles at each other. Jinx bumps Shellona with her hip. Shellona turns, running a hand through her spiky black hair hair. Jinx honestly loves her suit design. She has a green shield on her back, yes, but the rest of her suit is covered in little neon green, dark green, and green-ish yellow plates. She has really sturdy green boots and gloves slightly less bulky than boxer's gloves. Plus, kneepads and elbow pads which Jinx would Cataclysm for. "Oi, lovebirds, meet the newbie."

"I think you mean the new-bee," Leo smirks. The rest of the team collectively sighs.

"Anyways- Yellow Jacket, meet Shellona and Alepou. Shellona's defense, so be nice, and Alepou's just a sneaky little shit." Luckybug gasps.

"Oh, so now you curse, in front of the kids!" He squishes Shellona and Yellow Jacket together. Jinx blinks at him a couple times and shakes her head.

"No. I'm not doing this, not right now."

"We're not getting a divorce, don't you worry," Luckybug mock-whispers. Jinx turns on him ,losing her cool.

"Stop joking! This is serious, this is more akumas than we've ever faced, all with different powers! I don't- we cant't-" Jinx cuts herself off, shaking as she tries to pull her face into a more heroic, Jinx-like expression. Shellona hugs her.

"You're right about one thing. This is serious, but you, me, the guys, we're seriously awesome. We're gonna kick their asses. We got this. I'll have your back, Luckybug's back, Alepou's back, hell, even Yellow Jacket's back. We can do this. What's the plan?" Jinx hugs her back and Luckybug stands taller.

"We just have to take them out. We know where their akumas are, it won't be super difficult. Just try to save your powers. You guys ready?" The team approaches the edge of the roof, peering down at the chaos in the streets.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Yellow Jacket says confidently.

"Let's rock and roll."


A/N: Aha a cliffhanger. Next chapter should be up around next week or so. Thanks for reading!