Le Faisan reached out to the iron gate surrounding the Agreste mansion and snapped off a four-foot length of metal. "This will do nicely," he said smugly. "Let's go take what is rightfully ours." Le Faisan and Serket kicked in the front door of the mansion, sending the doors flying into the foyer. Le Faisan demanded, "Gabriel Agreste! Show yourself!"
Snake Noir, Ladybug, and Le Papillon emerged from the office and stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the foyer. Ladybug spoke. "Glad you could make it. Give us the girl and your Miraculous!"
"We don't want trouble, Ladybug… yet," hissed Serket. "We just want Gabriel Agreste. Now." She brandished her was-sceptre.
Le Papillon spoke up. "What do you want with Gabriel Agreste?"
"He's the Guardian of the Miraculous," Le Faisan snorted. "We have come to usurp him and take back what is rightfully ours."
"Rightfully yours? Explain yourself," Ladybug demanded.
"I should have been Guardian!" The venom in his voice was palpable. "Your precious Fu Wang destroyed the Order of the Guardians! I would have kept the traditions alive and kept the Miraculous safe! You… you don't even know what he did!"
Ladybug stepped slightly forward and raised her voice. "I know he was bullied by the Warriors of the Order! I know he made a terrible decision that cost the lives of every member of the Order! I know he's regretted it all of his life and searched to right his wrongs!"
"Not every member of the Order… I survived. I made it through… and for the past one hundred fifty years, I have searched for him in order to right his wrongs. He never should have lost the Miraculous. He never should have given them to children! Everything that you have gone through for the past two years has been his fault… and he knew it! He was ashamed of what he had done, and was ashamed of his choices! He was ashamed of you!"
Ladybug stood as tall as she could. "No… he was proud of me. He trained me well. He trusted me to protect Paris. And now, I'm going to stop you, too!" She launched her yo-yo at Le Faisan, who casually knocked it aside with the rod he had taken from the gate.
"Do your best, Ladybug…" Le Faisan sneered. "It won't be enough,"
"We meet again, Chat Noir," Serket hissed, twirling her was-sceptre. "Was feeling my Sting once not good enough for you? I've got plenty more where that came from!"
"It's Snake Noir, actually, Serket… and if you think I'm going to give you the advantage of knowing where I am by running my mouth… you're in for a big surprise!"
"I don't need to hear your voice to know where you are! I've studied fighting for long enough that I could fight you in a dark room. You may have super powers, but I have super powers and more experience! You don't stand a chance!"
Snake Noir extended his baton to about three feet, hooked his lyre where his baton was, and took the fencing stance. "En garde," he snarled. "May the best fighter win."
"You're conceding defeat already, then? So much the better," Serket smiled and assumed the en garde position. "Prêt… Allez!"
The two fighters whirled around in a blindingly-fast series of feints, thrusts, and parries.
Le Faisan advanced on Ladybug, staff twirling. Suddenly, a large hole opened up in the ground, trapping Le Faisan up to his waist! A dot from a laser beam appeared on Le Faisan's forehead and slowly moved down to his chest, then back up to his forehead.
"DO NOT MOVE," a mechanical voice intoned. "THE AUTHORITIES WILL BE HERE SHORTLY. ANY ATTEMPT TO BREAK FREE WILL BE DEALT WITH SEVERELY." A small array of rockets revealed themselves from a panel next to the stairs, targeting the trapped villain.
Ladybug looked questioningly at Le Papillon, who simply shrugged.
"I've got an idea," Ladybug said, running over to Le Papillon. "Snake Noir could use some help against Serket, and there's a prisoner that needs to be rescued. She's been under the influence of a butterfly before, so it's a natural fit. What do you think?"
"Ladybug, I hardly think this is the time to ask my opinion… but I agree." He opened the top on his cane and quickly snatched the white butterfly that attempted to fly away. He cupped his hands, and light purple bubbles enveloped the butterfly, leaving neon purple streaks down the edges of its wings. He released it in the direction of Kagami. "Fly away, little enzeru," he urged.
Kagami looked up from the corner where Serket and Le Faisan had left her. Her eyes widened as she saw the butterfly closing in on her, and she briefly struggled. Ladybug caught her eye, smiled, and mouthed "it's OK" while giving her a thumbs-up. Kagami relaxed slightly but still flinched when the butterfly came into contact with her ring. A purple energy signature flared up around her face.
"Riposte… You have been used to terrorize Paris on more than one occasion. Now is the chance to save Paris from Serket and Le Faisan. Will you help?"
"Yes, Le Papillon, I will." Light purple bubbles enveloped her as her bonds burst and the silver-and-red form of Riposte appeared.
"Go help Snake Noir, Riposte!" Ladybug yelled. She turned her attention to Le Papillon. "Thank you for being willing to do that. How does it feel?"
"Ask me again after we defeat these two," he responded. "Look out!" he shoved Ladybug out of the way as a rocket launched toward where Le Faisan had been seconds before! Papillon ran over to the wall and pressed a hidden button, causing the rocket arsenal to deactivate. He turned around to join the battle, only to be met in the chest with a crushing blow from a metal rod!
Le Papillon staggered. Even with the protection that the Miraculous gives me, I can feel that he packs a heck of a punch. Le Faisan began twirling his staff. Le Papillon attempted to feint in with his cane to block the staff and gain an advantage on the villain, but the staff was spinning too fast. His cane was caught in the spin and was pulled out of his hand! Serket reached up and grabbed it with her left hand, and immediately went on the offensive against both Snake Noir and Riposte!
"Naturally, you must expect me to attack with Capo Ferro," Snake Noir said, advancing on Serket's left. "I know that you're not left-handed, though!"
"What are you doing? Can you not be serious for more than five seconds at a time?" Riposte said, on the opposite side of Serket.
"No matter! I can beat both of you!" Serket spun in place and parried both Riposte and Snake Noir's attacks. "You should remember who you are up against! Sparring with you taught me all of your tricks!" She reached out and kicked Riposte away, who bounced off of the foyer wall and slumped to the ground, stunned. Serket blocked Snake Noir's staff and forced it above his head, exposing his face and midsection. She hit his jaw with the butt end of her was-sceptre, causing him to fall to one knee. In one swift motion, she brought the other end of her sceptre down across the back of his head, knocking him flat on the ground. Snake Noir lay there motionless as Serket laughed in triumph.
Ladybug screamed. I can't let Adrien get beat up like this! She moved toward him, but was stopped by the memory of his voice. "You wasted an opportunity. I know what I signed up for when I took the Miraculous. You don't need to protect me - we're a team out there." She glanced back at Le Papillon, who was attempting - and failing - to wrest control of the staff from Le Faisan. Riposte had regained her feet and was making her way toward Serket, who was raising her was-scepter above her head to strike another blow. I should help… she thought as Snake Noir suddenly rolled forward and under Serket, stood up behind her, and trapped her in a full nelson! "Looks like this snake can play possum, Serket!"
Serket growled, lifted her leg behind her and mule-kicked Snake Noir, forcing him to release the hold. "You think you can best me? I'd like to see you try!"
Riposte and Snake Noir redoubled their efforts and attempted to press their advantage against Serket.
"One down, one to go!" Le Faisan left Le Papillon in a crumpled heap on the ground and turned his attention to Ladybug. "You're distracted, Ladybug! You should be worrying about me, not them over there!" He swung his staff at her stomach.
She bent backwards to bridge underneath it, then propelled herself forward and landed a kick to his face. "I know they can handle themselves, Le Faisan… but your thirst for vengeance will consume you. That is why you will lose."
"You are mistaken twice over, Ladybug," he grinned. "Vengeance is over there. I! I am the embodiment of Justice! And I will take my rightful place as…"
"The only thing you will do is give your Miraculous to the Guardian! Hand it over!" Ladybug interjected.
"Never! Justice Fire!" With those words, intense flames shot from his hand towards Ladybug.
She twirled her yo-yo rapidly to block the attack, but was unable to stop the magical flames. "No!" Ladybug yelled as the fire broke through her yo-yo shield and consumed her. She fell to one knee, unable to breathe. Good thing this transformation protects me from fire, otherwise, I'd really be in bad shape!
"Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home! Your house is on fire and your children all gone!" Le Faisan cackled as he advanced on the fallen hero.
Suddenly, Le Papillon tackled Le Faisan, putting himself between the source of the fire and Ladybug. He rolled Le Faisan onto his stomach, smothering the flames and giving Ladybug a chance to recover. Once the flames were extinguished, Papillon climbed off of Le Faisan, clutching his chest and gasping for breath. Ladybug went to move toward him, but he shook his head and pointed to Le Faisan urgently.
"Riposte, compound attack to opposition!"
Riposte followed Snake Noir's lead to tie up Serket's sceptre and Snake Noir used his staff to knock Le Papillon's cane from her hands! While Serket struggled to get her sceptre back in position, Snake Noir was able to free his lyre, strum it, and call "Snake charm!"
A brilliant beam of light hit Serket and she went rigid.
"Remove your bracelet, Serket, and hand it to me," breathed Snake Noir.
"No!" Le Faisan shouted. "Justice fire!" The chirp of his Miraculous told the story: he had already used his power once. He watched helplessly in disappointment as Serket removed her bracelet and de-transformed. Tomoe Tsurugi handed the Scorpion Miraculous to Snake Noir.
A red-and-yellow kwami with a scorpion tail suddenly appeared nearby. "Master?" Namma addressed Tomoe. The kwami looked at the Scorpion Miraculous and up to Snake Noir. "What have you done?!" Namma demanded, eyes burning.
"That's one down! Great job, you two! Lucky Charm!" A giant red-and-black spotted magnet fell from the air, and Ladybug ran over to grab it. "What am I supposed to do with this?" she mumbled to herself. She turned it around, and Le Faisan's staff immediately leaped out of his hands and stuck to the prongs of the magnet! "Oh," Ladybug said. "That's it?"
"That's nothing, fool!" Le Faisan laughed. "I didn't train for my entire life to have something as simple as losing my weapon defeat me! My greatest weapon is my mind… no matter what the Order of the Guardians thought so long ago!" He launched himself at Ladybug with blinding speed and tackled her, sending the magnet and attached staff flying. Ladybug's Miraculous chirped. "You see? We're in the same boat now… when these five minutes are over, one of us will be the victor… and one of us will be the victim. And I'll tell you this: I'm much more confident in my chances as a trained warrior, even without my Miraculous, than I am in yours as a teenage girl!"
He's right… I'm no match for him in hand-to-hand combat. The costume enhances my strength, agility, and resistance to damage, but he's studied fighting for decades whereas I play Ultimate Mecha Strike III. Ladybug groaned as Le Faisan connected with a punch, sending her staggering backwards. She looked around the foyer for inspiration. Her eyes kept coming back to the fallen doors that had been kicked in at the start of the confrontation. Wood shouldn't bend that way… should it? Her eyes widened at the realization and she bolted for the giant magnet.
"You want my staff? I'll just take it from you, and destroy you with it!" Le Faisan cackled.
Ladybug picked up the magnet and handed it to Snake Noir. "Take the staff, Kitty, and be ready to throw the magnet back to me," she whispered. While Snake Noir and Riposte worked to get the staff off of the magnet, Ladybug lured Le Faisan to the center of the room, dodging and feinting so he couldn't score a direct hit on her. She stepped backward over the rubble from the villains' entrance and yelled "NOW!"
Snake Noir threw the magnet to Ladybug, who brought one of the prongs down on the chest of Le Faisan, pinning him to the door! As Le Faisan struggled to free himself, Ladybug leaned forward and ripped the Miraculous from around his neck, causing him to de-transform. There was a yellow flash of light, and a kwami flew out of the pendant. This kwami had a brown body with small wings, a white neck, and a blue head with a red circle over his face.
Ladybug took the magnet off of Mr. Chou, freeing him. "Papillon, Snake Noir: please secure these two while I go recharge. You can release the butterfly from Riposte, too." She tossed the magnet in the air and called for her Cure, which righted a small amount of damage from the battle, but none of the destruction caused by Serket or Le Faisan. Ladybug disappeared into Gabriel Agreste's office, closing and barring the door behind her. "Spots off," she said, then reached into her purse for a cookie for Tikki.
"Great work, Marinette!" Tikki said around a mouthful of macaron. "What are you going to do about all of this?"
"That's what we're going to discuss, Tikki - as soon as you're ready to go."