"Hey. Cat-Man. Catch." Switcheroo hurled the boomerang at Chat Noir.

It hit him in the chest and his breath was knocked out of him with an audible "Oof!". The boomerang ricocheted off his chest and struck Ladybug, before bouncing back towards Switcheroo who caught it.

"Excuse me? What was that for?" Marinette asked brusquely.

Switcheroo narrowed her eyes with a grin. Peter suddenly didn't feel so sure about it any more.

"Switch."

There was a blinding flash of light and Peter closed his eyes, shielding his face with his hand. When he opened his eyes he was shocked by what he saw.

Ladybug and Chat Noir were... Different.

Marinette was no longer Ladybug. She was- Chat Noir. She stared down in shock, looking at the black suit. Her hair was also considerably longer now. Not looking unlike a tail.

"Ouch. I haven't worn earrings in ages- hold on, what?" Chat Noir, on the other hand was now- Ladybug, his own shocked expression mirroring his partner's.

"That's your power?" Peter asked. "That's hilarious! Why didn't you use that on any of the guards like ten minutes ago? It would've been so helpful!"

"Oh I did. It's just that if they're all wearing the same guard uniform, it's not going to do much, is it?"

"Ah. Right," Peter responded.

A few seconds of silence passed.

He glanced at Marinette. She didn't look as amused as he was. "So uh- how long does this last? Do you- are you gonna change them back later or does it reverse itself?"

Switcheroo hesitated briefly. "Oh it just- yeah, I'll turn them back when I want to." She turned to him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I jus- I don't know- just asking I-"

Marinette's voice interrupted the converstion, "I know you're having fun here, and think this joke of yours is hilarious, but if an Akuma appeared right now, we'd be severely vulnerable-"

"Vulnerable? How so?"

"Well because you switched our Miraculouses. I am not experienced with Chat Noir's Miraculous. Obviously. And I'm sure he does not know how to use mine-"

"Given enough time I'm sure you'd be able to figure it out." Peter interrupted cheerfully, and Marinette glared at him, fidgeting with the ring on her hand.

"It's not funny when you are messing with the safety of Paris."

"I don't think we're messing with the safety of Paris here, it's just a joke-" Peter hesitated, thinking about it for a few seconds. "Yeah, whatever." He turned to Switcheroo, "You should probably switch them back now. They're kinda vulnerable."

"Oh?" Switcheroo raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. So if you could just-"

"Yeah, nah."

"Is that- is that a yes? Or a n-"

"No."

"N- what? Why?"

"Uh. Because they're trying to steal the alien-capsule-thing!" She gestured towards them indignantly.

"Yeah, sure, but can't you just-"

"And besides, I wanna take the Miraculous thingos. Tell 'em to hand 'em over."

"They're not just going to give it to- wait what?"

Switcheroo glanced at Peter with a grin, "You heard me. If they put up a fight you can fight the lad and I'll take on the other one." She outstretched her hand towards them. "Oi! Kitty-Bug and Lady-Cat! Give me your Miraculouseseses things!"

"Spider-Man!" Marinette snarled, holding up her staff in a defensive position. "I knew I couldn't trust you!"

"What?! No-I- you!" He spun to face Switcheroo. "You- you lied to me!"

"No?"

"Yes?" Peter felt like an idiot for not seeing it coming. It was so obvious. "You said you weren't an Akuma!"

"Hey- n- no. I never said that. I said that my goal was not to steal the Miraculouseses thingos, and it wasn't." She guestured to the capsule. "This was. Although I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with it. However, obtaining the Miraculouses is a nice side-quest. Extra points." She looked at Peter, placing a hand on his shoulder. She almost seemed sad. "Y'know Spidey-boy, I wish it didn't have to come to this, but you are just getting in my way."

"What-" Peter hesitated in surprise as the boomerang was lightly tapped on his chest. Peter froze. "You- n-wait!"

"You must understand. I need to do this."

In his peripheral vision Peter saw the boomerang strike someone else- Chat Noir.

There was a blinding flash of light (and a sudden searing pain in his ears) and Peter crumpled to the ground.

Without thinking, he lifted his mask up to the edge of his eyes, rubbing his ears. He froze, feeling... earrings on his ears? He withdrew his hands. They seemed to be slightly wet with something. Blood?

"Hey Easter Bunny! Did you really have to switch my suit with his? i never wanted earri-oof!" A kick from a powerful hind leg sent him sprawling backwards. He groaned quietly. Ouch. I did not see that coming. Peter stopped. Hold on, why didn't my Spider-Sense tell me-

"Spider-Man! Watch out!" Marinette's voice snapped him awake. He rolled to one side, not dwelling on which. Switcheroo slammed into the ground where he was moments earlier. He stood up quickly and backed away towards Marinette and Chat Noir (who was wearing his suit).

"Spider-Man!" Marinette hissed, "Use your Lucky Charm!"

"Uh, okay, right, uh, so, how do I activate Lucky Charm-" There was a flash of light and something- (a teapot?) appeared in his hands. "Oh. I got it! Now what do I do with-"

Marinette took the teapot from his hands. "This means something. YouwontknowwheretogosoI'ltakeit. Don't get defeated while I'm not around!" She leapt away, not lingering a moment longer.

"Uh, did you catch a word of that?" Peter asked Chat Noir.

"We need to wait it out till she gets back."

"Okay. Cool. So uh, what do I do about this?" Peter gestured to his ears, which seemed to be beeping quietly.

"You're going to detransform in five minutes. You better go hide."

"Wait, what?"