The entire school was in chaos. Streams of students poured towards the exits, splitting and recombining as they passed through stairwells and other chokepoints. In all that chaos, it was easy for Marinette to simply duck sideways into a classroom.
"Tikki, spots on!" she shouted. She could barely hear her own voice above the din, but apparently her kwami could still hear her well enough, because the familiar rush of the transformation surged through her. She opened her eyes just in time to see Cat Noir appear at her side in a flash of green lightning.
She glanced around for a moment. Both the doors were still blocked off by crowds of hurrying students. If they tried to go out in that, they'd be so crowded they'd be almost helpless. Instead, her yo-yo whipped out and smashed through one of the windows. She burst into a run and leapt through the window, trusting in her suit to protect her from the jagged shards of glass. She crashed through the window and tumbled out to land in a crouch on a strip of grassy lawn. In front of her, the students that had already made it out the exits on that side of the building burst into cheers.
She rolled quickly to the side, and a moment later her partner dropped down where she had just been, landing in a very feline four-legged crouch.
"So," he commented, straightening up. "What do you think we're dealing with? Antibug 2: Electric Boogaloo or some new and exciting villain?"
"No idea," admitted Marinette. "Could be one, could be the other. Only one way to find out." She turned and leapt up onto the roof, Cat Noir right on her heels.
Best field of view up there, she thought. Lets us see where Chloe's got to, and what this incarnation of her can do.
I hope this doesn't mean we're going to end up fighting her every day we come to school. That would get old very fast.
Moments earlier
Up until the scream, Rose had thought it was going to be a good day. She'd gotten a good night's sleep, there were muffins for breakfast, the weather was nice, and best of all, Adrien and Marinette were kissing and wearing matching rings! The kiss was so adorable, and the rings so sparkly, that Rose couldn't refrain from a few squeaks of happiness and a little bouncing up and down with excitement. Of course, it was kind of a downer that Chloe had gotten so angry and attacked Marinette, and Rose had even felt a little bit sorry for Chloe when Adrien had given her that lecture. She'd looked so broken.
Of course, that should have put Rose on high alert. Chloe had looked exactly the way Rose had felt when Chloe had torn up her letter to Prince Ali, and she knew perfectly well where that had gone, even if she couldn't remember her time as Princess Fragrance. She wished she did sometimes, just a bit. Not that she wanted to remember trying to mind-control Prince Ali with her evil perfume, but the way it had apparently made everyone under its influence sing sounded so adorable!
But she hadn't made the connection, not until Sabrina had screamed "AKUMA!" At which point she and Juleka bolted for the rear door. They'd made it out into the hallway, and Juleka had promptly pulled the fire alarm. Which was really clever, since it was really the only way to get the entire school evacuated in a hurry, but it was also really loud. Which of course it had to be to do its job, so Rose supposed she couldn't really complain. She did put her hands over her ears, though.
"ADRIKINS!" Even with the racket of the fire alarm and her hands over her ears, Rose could hear that shriek. "WHERE ARE YOU, ADRIKINS!? YOUR BABYDOLL IS LOOKING FOR YOU!" Rose twisted around to take a look just as the classroom door burst open and the akuma stormed out.
Babydoll, which was apparently what the akuma was calling herself, reminded Rose of nothing so much as a Chloe Barbie. She was somewhat taller than Chloe and unnaturally slender: wasp-waisted and with stick-thin arms and legs. Her skin was hard and smooth and shiny, like plastic, and her hair seemed to be of a piece with her head. Her clothes were unaltered, save for having shifted shape a bit to fit her new proportions. And perhaps creepiest of all, her eyes looked like they'd been painted onto her face. They were flat and blank and unblinking, and didn't seem to move to let her see different things in her field of view.
The akuma's head tilted back and forth as if it were surveying the rapidly evacuating crowd, then its plastic lips quirked in a little smile and it leapt, soaring in a huge arc through the air.
Oh no oh no oh no! thought Rose frantically as she realized where the akuma was about to land, but it was too late. The akuma landed right next to her, and Rose had just enough time to shove Juleka to safety before a plastic hand closed around her wrist and held her fast. She heard Babydoll saying something, but she couldn't make it out over the noise of the alarm. And then Babydoll's other hand tangled in her hair and twisted her head around to face Babydoll, and the akuma leaned in and pressed a kiss to Rose's own lips.
For a moment, Rose felt an odd cold numbness radiating out from where the akuma's lips met hers, and then she knew no more.
Shit, thought Cat Noir. He and his Lady had made it to the overlook over the inner courtyard just in time to see Chloe's akumatized form force a kiss on Rose. A wave of transformation seemed to wash over Rose from that kiss. Her skin grew hard and smooth and shiny, her hair melted into a single piece, and her eyes grew flat and blank. A moment later a second doll, this one even more recognizably Rose than the other was Chloe, stood in Chloe's arms.
Well, I guess that answers that question, thought Cat Noir as he leapt from his perch on the roof to land in the rapidly-emptying courtyard. His Lady's yo-yo came whipping out to bounce off the Chloe-doll's head, and she spun to glare up at Ladybug where she still stood atop the roof.
"YOU!" she shrieked over the howl of the alarm, one hand coming up to point accusingly. Before she could do anything, Cat Noir clocked her on the side of the head with his staff, knocking her sprawling. But before he could take advantage of her brief incapacitation, the Rose-doll lunged at him. His staff whipped out and he caught the Rose-doll in mid-air, sending it flying through the air to smash into a wall.
He spun around to confront the Chloe-doll once again, and barely refrained from letting out a groan as he saw the akuma drag Alya out from under the stairs.
Seriously? he thought, before leaping forward to bring his staff down with all his might on the akuma's outstretched arm. He thought he saw the plastic of her skin crack a bit under that blow, but it failed to force her to let go of Alya. A moment later, his Lady's yo-yo wrapped around Alya's waist and pulled her up towards the roof, with the akuma holding on as if for dear life.
He was about to jump up after them when he spotted the Rose-doll running towards him out of the corner of his eye. As he turned to face it full on, his jaw dropped slightly.
Dear God. I guess the subsidiary dolls aren't as durable as the actual akuma.
The Rose-doll was littered with cracks where he'd smashed it into the wall. It didn't seem to have noticed, though, which somehow made its blank stare all the creepier. It lunged for him, and he leapt out of the way, then sprang up to the second floor. The Rose-doll followed suit, leaping up towards him in a single bound.
Cat Noir winced, gritted his teeth, and swung.
Please let Ladybug be able to fix this.
Caught once more in mid-air, the Rose doll went flying across the room to smash against the wall on the far side. Cat Noir glanced quickly up to see his Lady spinning Alya and the Chloe-doll around in circles like a hammer thrower, apparently trying to shake the Chloe doll off with centrifugal force. Unfortunately, the tactic had proved only partially successful. The Chloe-doll couldn't get close enough to kiss Alya, but she was maintaining a death-grip on the Ladyblogger's wrist.
Have to do something about that, he thought. Suiting action to thought, Cat Noir leapt up, twisting in mid-air to grab the edge of the roof and flip himself up. A quick glance down showed him that the Rose-doll was even worse hurt than before. Not only were there a lot more cracks visible, but several chunks of Rose-colored plastic, a couple of them disturbingly large, were lying inanimate on the ground near the far wall. The Rose-doll itself continued to mostly ignore its injuries, though a couple of the missing pieces seemed to be slowing it down. In particular, it seemed to be missing part of one of its feet, which was giving it a definite limp.
Hopefully it won't be able to get up here when it's that broken. And hopefully Ladybug will be able to fix that.
He turned to the other roof section, where Ladybug was still spinning Alya and Chloe in circles.
"Batter up!" he shouted, and as the Chloe-doll came whistling by again, he swung with his staff as hard as he could. That finally proved enough to dislodge the akuma, sending it flying back into the now-empty courtyard. Marinette let her spin lapse a tad, causing Alya to skid across part of the roof before coming to a halt. Adrien saw Marinette wince, and a moment later winced himself as he spotted bloody scrapes on Alya's hands and legs.
But there was no time for recriminations, as the Chloe-doll came leaping up out of the courtyard to land next to Ladybug on the roof. Ladybug's yo-yo was still tangled around Alya, it would take her a moment to get it back, and the akuma was right on top of her…
Cat Noir leapt across the corner of the courtyard and hit the akuma with all the force of his leap and his staff, sending her sprawling on the rooftop. He dived into a roll and came up on his feet, with the akuma between him and Marinette. Behind Marinette, he could see Alya crouched on the roof, phone in her hands. Ladybug had just retrieved her yo-yo and promptly launched it up in the air with a shout of "Lucky Charm!"
Cat Noir hurled himself forward, attacking the akuma in a flurry of staff-blows.
Need to keep the akuma busy until Marinette gets the Charm and figures out what she's supposed to do with it, he thought.
Speaking of which – leg sweep – what's the akuma hiding in? Chloe doesn't – Jump, blow to head – have anything in her hands, and – duck, side kick, backflip – she isn't wearing any new jewelry. I'm pretty sure it was my rejection that akumatized her, which – charge, go low, bodyslam, whoa-get-out-of-there, Ok-that-was-way-too-close, blow to head – doesn't help much.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the Rose-doll pulling itself up onto the roof. "Look out, Milady!" he shouted, quickly pointing. He saw his Lady's eyes whip around in the correct direction before he was forced to turn all his attention back to fending off the Chloe-doll's attacks.
Ok, the akuma's almost got to be in either – block, block, dodge, blow to body - her clothes or her necklace, everything else seems to be a part of this form's body, even her sunglasses. Clothes don't make any sense, but I think the necklace – duck, OW!, cartwheel – was from her mother before she disappeared. Akuma – jab, retract staff – might bond to it if she was feeling abandoned again.
"Ladybug!" he shouted, "I think the akuma's in her necklace!"
A few moments earlier
They were finally at close-quarters with the akuma, it was distracted and wasn't holding onto anyone, her partner was on hand to keep it busy, and her yo-yo was free. Marinette wasn't going to get a better chance than this one.
"Lucky Charm!" she shouted, tossing the yo-yo upwards. A surge of energy shot down her arm and up the string, and the disk of the yo-yo began to spin rapidly, throwing off the familiar sparks of light in every shade from red to pink to white. All those sparks came together in a flash, and Ladybug raised her hand to catch…
A fishhook? What do I do with a fishhook?
"Look out, Milady!" Her eyes leapt to her partner, then followed his outstretched hand to see the Rose-doll pull itself up onto the roof, stagger to its feet, and come limping towards her and Alya.
First things first, she thought. She spun her yo-yo a couple of times, then lashed out, wrapping the Rose-doll up in the unbreakable cord.
Now what? she thought. As cracked as she is, one more good hit or drop would probably smash her to bits. I'll have to land her on something soft. Then she heard Adrien shout, "Ladybug! I think the akuma's in her necklace."
Ok, necklace, fishhook, what do those have to do with…
The solution seemed to flash across her vision. Of course! Ok, I need to be over there, and I need my yo-yo. Which means I need to do something about the Rose-doll.
"Just keep the akuma busy for another minute or so!" she called back. "Almost got this!"
With a quick yank, she sent the Rose-doll flying past her and off the roof. A perfectly-timed twitch of the yo-yo caused it to come undone from around the Rose-doll, sending the doll plummeting (hopefully) onto the soft grass below, and sending the yo-yo back into her hand. A quick toss looped the yo-yo around a handy chimney (or something of the sort), and she leapt up and out. The pull from her string turned her jump into a loop, and she landed on the same roof once again. Only now she was behind the akuma. Adrien shot her a quick grin, and continued to press the akuma with a masterful chain of staff blows.
Marinette quickly slipped the ring of the yo-yo cord off her finger and twisted the shank of her Lucky Charm fishhook around the ring. A couple of tugs confirmed that the hook was securely attached.
Perfect, thought Marinette. Now, let's go fishing.
She carefully played some line out from the yo-yo, then began to spin the hook-tipped line above her head. Long practice with the yo-yo made it easy to send the hook exactly where she wanted it, and she snagged the akuma's necklace on the hook and yanked.
The akuma let out a startled shriek as the necklace snapped and fell from her neck. Before she could grab it, Cat Noir caught it on the tip of his staff and flicked it across the roof between the Chloe-doll's legs. Marinette brought her yo-yo down like a hammer, smashing the central sphere. Marinette jammed the yo-yo's ring back on her finger (trying to ignore the pressure from the shank of the fishhook against her finger), even as the akuma peeled out of the broken sphere and tried to flutter away.
"No more evildoing for you, little akuma," murmured Marinette as she drew her finger along the top of her yo-yo. The case obligingly split open, and she began to spin it around to build up momentum.
"Time to de-evilize!" she shouted as she let the yo-yo fly, snatching the akuma out of the air. The top snapped shut, and the yo-yo flew back and smacked into her palm. She felt the pulse of purifying energy leap from her earrings through her body and into the yo-yo. "Gotcha!" she crowed.
"By-by, little butterfly!" she said cheerfully as she tapped the top of the case. It split open again, and the now-purified butterfly fluttered away to… wherever they went. She hoped it wasn't back to Hawkmoth.
And now for the moment of truth, she thought as she untwisted the fishhook from the yo-yo's ring.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" she shouted, tossing the fishhook up in the air. It split apart into a dozen swarms of glittering ladybugs which shot this way and that. With a quick sigh of mental relief, Marinette saw one swirl around Alya, leaving behind healthy cinnamon skin where there had been bleeding scrapes earlier. Marinette had been just a little afraid that something as…mundane… as skinned hands and knees wouldn't catch the attention of the Ladybug magic.
A roiling wave of black-and-purple energy washed over the Chloe-doll, leaving behind the normal Chloe Bourgeois. Adrien dodged around the bewildered-looking Chloe and approached Marinette. He raised his eyebrows and puckered his lips slightly.
Marinette was tempted for a moment, but shook her head and then tilted her head towards where Alya crouched behind a chimney, smartphone in hand. Cat Noir smiled and nodded his head slightly. His fist came up, and Marinette's met it in mid-air.
"Pound it!" they chorused.
But despite her external jubilation, Marinette was still on edge.
Ok, no sign of an akuma so far, but it might take longer than this for Chloe to recall that Adrien and I are dating and for the akuma to get here.
If an akuma does show up, I'll need to recharge in a hurry. I've got cookies in my lunch, but I'd need to figure out a way to get to that. If we have any real length of time, I'll be fine. As soon as the alarm dies down and we go back in, Tikki can sneak into my backpack to get at the cookies. But Antibug proved that one akuma can come within minutes of another being defeated. If that happens, we're in trouble. Be very hard to sneak in without someone noticing.
As if to underline her worries, her earrings gave one of their warning beeps.
"What am I at?" she murmured to Cat Noir. She'd known herself to miss one of the beeps in the heat of battle, and had almost gotten exposed a time or two. And unlike with Adrien's ring, she couldn't see her earrings.
"Four spots," he murmured back. "Still time."
"Ladybug!"
Oh right, got Alya on my case too. In both my identities now. God Almighty, please watch over me. I'll need it.