Miraculous: Tales of Blaze and Artemis

MDM: Here it is, the long-awaited Chapter 8!

PokemonFreak90: Finally! I've been anxious to post another chapter! Hopefully, it was worth the wait.

MDM: Sorry for taking so long! I've been pretty busy lately, especially with college and homework. Anyway, finals are coming up soon, and I have to focus. So let's get on with Chapter 8! Roll it!

Chapter 8

Twice the Copies

The following Wednesday, Allen and Bianca were walking along the street after school, intent on stopping by Marinette's family's bakery for a quick little pastry snack and to maybe chat with their friend before they would head back home for the day. They had said to their friend that they would stop by sometime to have a bite to eat.

But right when they were about to enter the bakery, they saw Marinette and Alya running past them from the side entrance of the building, heading back over towards the school in a hurry.

"Whoa, what's the rush?" Allen asked, stopping them in their tracks when they saw them.

"Sorry, guys." Marinette apologized.

"What's going on?" Bianca asked, noticing that they were looking a little frantic about something.

"Marinette left an embarrassing message on Adrien's phone." Alya said, making Marinette blush a bright shade of red when the other two gave her matching dry looks. "So we're going to over to the school to find his phone so that she can delete it before he can listen to his voicemail."

"Oh boy." Allen said, resisting the urge to slap his palm against his face. He and Bianca knew that Marinette must've tried to ask Adrien out on his phone, since she stutters like a broken record when she sees him, and that plan also failed epically.

"But isn't Adrien in fencing practice now?" Bianca asked.

"Which is the perfect opportunity to get his phone!" Marinette insisted, as if it should be obvious.

But right before she and Alya could turn around and head over to the school, they heard, and then saw, Cat Noir whooping loudly with excitement as he leapt from roof to roof and then landed in the park, where a large crowd was gathered in front of a large statue that was covered with a large cloth. The black cat superhero landed in front of the statue in a cat-like pose and waved to the crowd.

"Hey, everybody!" He greeted the crowd with a smile and a wave, making them all cheer loudly at the sight of him.

Both Allen and Bianca flinched visibly at the sight when they suddenly remembered what today was. It was the day of the statue unveiling of the Heroes of Paris! How could they have forgotten?!

"They're unveiling the sculptures for the Heroes of Paris today!" Alya exclaimed excitedly, while from out of her view from behind, Allen and Bianca were miming either hitting their heads against a brick wall or quietly slapping their palms against their foreheads, mentally berating themselves for forgetting about it. "I totally spaced!"

"Me too." Marinette muttered under her breath. But everyone else heard it. Allen and Bianca shared a confused glance with each other. What did she mean by that?

Alya also raised a brow at her best friend. "Uh, you never mentioned going to the unveiling before."

Marinette immediately blanched. "I'm not! I mean, I am! Uh, I mean, I forgot?" She stammered nervously, having a wide and cheesy smile on her face.

However, her jittery response only added to the confusion of the two Canadian students. However, the thought had to be put on the back burner for now.

"Listen. About Adrien's cell phone. What if we go right after?" Alya suggested.

The French-Chinese girl shook her head rapidly. "If we wait after the ceremony, Adrien's fencing training will be over, and he'll have his phone back by then."

"Shoot." Alya muttered, looking back over at the large gathering at the park. "I gotta cover this event for the Ladyblog. I'm sorry, Marinette!"

But then, Marinette smiled widely and more genuinely at her. "Don't sweat it." She said, and then grabbed Bianca's arm, pulling her closer. "Bianca and I can manage."

"Huh?!" Bianca exclaimed.

"You sure?" Alya asked.

"Yes, yes. I'm sure." Marinette assured her.

Bianca shared a glance with Allen, wondering just how she found herself in this situation. Allen just shrugged, not really sure how to respond to that.

"Cool." Alya said, buying it, and then grabbed Allen's arm, which briefly made him blush, unnoticed by her. "Good luck, and stay out of trouble. And don't improv!" With that, both girls grabbed their respective partners-in-crime and then dragged them in opposite directions before the Canadian students could fully comprehend what was happening.

Well, so much for trying to sneak away and try and get to the unveiling. Allen was stuck with his crush, which wasn't a total downside, watching the ceremony as himself and not attending it as Blaze, while Bianca found herself helping Marinette find Adrien's phone and delete an embarrassing voice message.


Soon, both Marinette and Bianca were in the locker room. "We're here!" The French-Chinese girl exclaimed. But then, they both noticed the number of lockers.

"Oh boy." Bianca muttered.

"Which one's his?" Marinette asked, looking around.

Bianca then got an idea. "If you call him, you'll make his phone ring." She suggested.

"Nice one, Bianca!" Marinette exclaimed happily.

She took out her phone and immediately dialed Adrien's number. Just then, they heard the sound of a phone ringing from somewhere in the room. Marinette began trying to pinpoint it while Bianca stood guard at the door, making sure that no one was coming their way.

"Hurry, they're finishing up!" Bianca called out to her.

Just then, Marinette figured out where the phone was ringing from. "Here it is!" She exclaimed, getting Bianca to come over to where she was. She tried to open it, but it didn't budge a bit. "Gah! It's locked!" She fretted.

When she wasn't looking, Bianca's eyes shifted down at the little handbag on her hip and opened it up a little bit. Claaw saw his owner looking down at him, her eyes shifting over to the locker in front of them. She had an idea.

"Let me try." She said, getting in front of the locker so that Marinette wouldn't get a good look at what she was really doing. Then, as quick as a wink, Claaw phased through the locker door with little silver bubbles, and then came back out and back into his hiding place in Bianca's bag after he had opened it from the inside. Then, Bianca opened up the door.

"Got it!" She exclaimed.

Marinette had her jaw agape, looking quite impressed. "How did you do that?" She asked her, thinking that she had done that all on her own.

Bianca just smirked playfully at her, expertly masking her nervousness. "I have my ways." She said simply. Then, she went back over to the door to keep watch while Marinette found Adrien's phone and tried to figure out how to unlock it.

But it was only a couple of minutes before Bianca saw that the fencing students had finished practice. She then raced back over to Marinette.

"They're coming!" She exclaimed nervously, eyes flicking back over to the door. "Forget the phone!"

"But I haven't erased the message yet!" Marinette said, still trying to figure out Adrien's password...with very little success.

"We're out of time, Marinette!" Bianca said to her urgently. "Just come on!"

Just as the door opened up, Marinette quickly pulled Bianca to hide behind the door, still having Adrien's phone in her hand. Right as the students headed over to their lockers to get their gear, both girls snuck out of the room, Marinette stuffing Adrien's phone into her own little purse.

"I can't believe you just did that." Bianca quietly hissed to her as they began to leave the school.

"Me neither." Marinette whispered, sounding horrified. She had just stolen Adrien's phone!


Meanwhile, the ceremony had gone on, with Ladybug, Blaze, and Artemis never showing up. Allen couldn't sneak away from Alya in order to transform, so he was stuck attending the ceremony with her. Although, it wasn't entirely bad, since he got to spend some time with the girl of his dreams.

When the ceremony had ended, both of them were about to leave the park, along with the dispersing crowd, when Allen noticed that there was a girl about his age, still standing near the statue, looking up at the four heroes. He recognized her as Mirelle, a girl who went to the same school as him and his friends, but she was in a different class. She was also the junior weather girl for the TV station that won the competition about a month before he and Bianca moved to Paris.

There was something about the way she was looking up at the statues that got him curious. While Alya went off on her way, Allen quietly stayed behind and cautiously got closer to Mirelle. He spared a quick glance and saw that Cat Noir was talking to the artisan of the statue, but he didn't think too much about it. He was more concerned about Mirelle.

When he got close enough to her, and where no one could tell if he was eavesdropping, he heard that she was talking to herself. He also saw that she was staring up at one of the heroes in particular: Blaze.

Her hazel eyes were glowing with admiration as she looked up at the statue of the phoenix-themed superhero, soaring above the other three supers, arms out and slightly upward, as if he was about to take flight, his fiery wings on his back.

"He didn't show up." She said, sounding pretty sad about it. She was fiddling around with a homemade bead bracelet that was on her wrist that had red and yellow beads; his colors. "I was really hoping that he would, so that I can tell him to his face. About my feelings for him." Allen's eyes widened in surprise. She liked Blaze? And not just as a celebrity crush? Just then, he saw her fist slightly clench.

"Well, since those two are always together, maybe he likes that wolf girl, Artemis, instead." She said. "Who wouldn't like her? She's brave, she's smart, she's confident, she's strong, she's beautiful. Everything I'm not. If I were more like her, then maybe I could have a better chance with someone as incredible as Blaze."

Then, she walked away, her steps slow and sad, not noticing that Blaze, as his secret identity, had heard everything. He was looking a little pale, his jaw slightly dropped, and he was almost about to keel over. His conversation with Bianca when they were fighting against Rogercop a couple of days ago came back into his mind.

He had said that he was going to keep his heart open, even though Bianca had made it clear that she had a very different opinion about his choice. Mirelle definitely liked him, but then, his best friend's words about his decision came back to him. It seemed like Mirelle only liked Blaze, the mask, and not the real him, because she didn't even know who Allen even was, even though they went to the same school. With Alya, she liked both sides of him, even though she didn't know that they were one and the same.

For the first time, maybe I'm finally seeing what Bianca means by that. He thought, before he decided to head back home.


When Allen got back home and went into his room, Fenixx came out of his hiding place in his owner's fanny pack. "Well, looks like you got yourself an admirer." The Kwami said.

"And yet, I'm not feeling what I thought I might feel if I learned that another girl actually liked me like that." Allen said, sitting down onto his bed.

Fenixx zipped over to him. "But Allen, Alya also only likes Blaze, because that's the only version of you that has the courage to express your feelings for her. As Allen, you're just an average guy. So how is what Mirelle's saying any different?"

"Because Alya knows Allen Flint as well." Allen answered. "And maybe he can't tell her his feelings, unlike Blaze, but at least she does like him as a friend. With all of my weird quirks and all. At least for now. Mirelle doesn't notice Allen, even though we go to the same school. It's only Blaze that she has her sights set on."

"But you said you're keeping your heart open. Why not give her a chance to know the real you, too?" Fenixx asked.

"Well, Alya knew Allen first. Mirelle only knows Blaze." Allen reminded him, before sighing heavily. "Plus, you know how Bea feels about us sharing secret identities. She would definitely be against showing who I really am to a stranger. If she knew who I am, she might change her mind about me and then tell the press about it. I just don't really think that it's worth the risk."

Fenixx was silent for a few moments before nodding his head. Now his owner was starting to understand the personal importance of keeping a secret identity.

Just then, Allen felt his phone vibrating in his pocket with a news alert. He opened it up and he was shocked by what he saw on the screen.

"WHAT?!" He shouted. "Cat Noir?! And Artemis?! Stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre?! That can't be true!"

Fenixx came over to what his owner was shouting about, and his own jaw dropped. "That can't be right!" He exclaimed.

"I agree." Allen said, putting his phone away and getting off of his bed. "I know those two very well and we both know that they're not thieves. Let's see if we can get to the bottom of this copycat case."

He then punched the air with his right arm. "Fenixx, Flames Up!" He exclaimed.

With a flash of gold light, Allen became the superhero Blaze and immediately flew through his open bedroom window and over towards the Louvre. Hopefully, Bianca saw it as well and was already on the job, hopefully before the police suspected her and Cat Noir as thieves.


Meanwhile, Bianca had just seen that same news report and she was steamed, to say the least. "Okay, not only are those two fakes, but they're terrible fakes!" She shouted.

"This is new, though." Claaw said, coming up next to her to get a better look at her phone's screen. "Hawk Moth never sent out two Akumas at the same time before."

"This will be a first, but I'll say this..." Bianca said, clenching her fist while holding her pendant in it. "There's only room for one wolf in this town!"

She then let go of the crescent-shaped moonstone, determination gleaming in her amber colored eyes. "Claaw, Let's Prowl!" She exclaimed.

With a flash of silvery light and ice, Bianca became Artemis and immediately headed over to the Louvre. When she landed on a building that overlooked the glass pyramid, she heard someone land next to her. She turned over to look and saw Cat Noir, and she quickly took on a defensive position to see if this was the real Cat Noir or the copycat.

"Don't worry, it's really me." He said, pushing away any doubts she might've had that he was the fake. "I guess you saw the news report, too."

"Yep." Artemis said bitingly. "And I'm gonna send that little fox in wolf's clothing back where she belongs!"

"Easy there, wolf girl." Cat Noir said. "Let's see what we can find from the scene of the crime, then maybe try to figure out who those two posers really are."

"You really think they'll believe us if we tell them that we're the real deal?" Artemis asked him, looking down at the squad of police officers stationed in front of the Louvre.

"Let's find out." With that, Cat Noir jumped down towards the ground, Artemis following him.

I guess we're not waiting for Blaze and Ladybug. She thought to herself as she and Cat Noir approached the guards.

As she expected, they were all apprehensive of their appearance. "Whoa! Easy, tigers!" Cat Noir said, holding his palms up in peace, not wanting to pick a fight with them, and Artemis following his lead. "You've got the wrong cat! And the wrong wolf. Those thieves are impostors. We're the real Cat Noir and Artemis!"

Officer Roger held up his hand, holding back the police and ordering them to stay where they were. Maybe he actually believed them.

"Let us check out where the robbery took place." Cat Noir offered. "We do have a knack for finding clues. You know, animal instincts."

"Of course." Roger said. "Come with me. Thanks for your help, you two."

The two heroes followed the main police officer down into the Louvre, right to the scene of the crime. Both heroes entered the exhibit, looking around very carefully to see if there was any evidence that they'd missed.

Just then, Cat Noir did find something. He picked up a little lollipop stick that had the end of it slightly chewed on. Artemis came over to him to look at it.

"What's that?" She asked.

But before he could answer her, they both heard something closing behind them. They whirled around and saw that Roger had pushed a button on a remote control, and the bars closing the exhibit immediately came down, trapping them inside.

"Hey!" Cat Noir exclaimed, quickly taking the lollipop stick and racing to grab the bars, along with Artemis. "We're the real deal here! We're way slicker than those guys."

But Roger just ignored them and started talking in his walkie-talkie as he walked away. "The dog and the cat are in the slammer. I repeat, the dog and the cat are in the slammer."

"Just great." Artemis muttered. So much for anyone else but each other, and most likely their respective partners, believing that they were innocent.

But at least the police forgot something. They both had magical powers that could easily break them out of the so-called cage that they found themselves in.


Meanwhile, both Ladybug and Blaze had just arrived at the Louvre. They landed on the ground and saw the mayor talking with the police.

"Mr. Mayor, this is ridiculous." Ladybug said, coming up to him, along with Blaze. "I'm sure that there's a simple explanation."

"You know that Cat Noir and Artemis would never do anything like this." Blaze added. "Especially Artemis."

"The dog and the cat are in the slammer, you two." Roger informed them, coming up to the two supers and the mayor.

Ladybug walked up to the head policeman. "Don't think you're gonna keep him in there-"

"Now, now." Roger cut her off, holding out his palm and stopping her in her tracks. "Leave it to the experts, Ladybug. We've got it under control."

Both Ladybug and Blaze just scoffed. They were the superheroes and the police were thinking that they could contain their partners, who have superpowers, and not even try to listen to them and see if they're telling the truth? Unbelievable!


Back inside the museum, Cat Noir had already activated his Cataclysm and then brushed his hand along the bars. They all immediately rusted, becoming much easier to break. He and Artemis then got a running start, then both of them kicked the rusted bars away and immediately headed towards the entrance of the Louvre. But when they got to the main exhibit floor, they saw that an entire squad of police officers were waiting for them. Neither of them had time for this.

"Thanks for the warm hospitality, but we gotta split." Cat Noir said to them with a polite little bow and a smile before he and Artemis slowly grabbed their weapons from behind them. "So...I'll just say this one more time. You've got the wrong cat!"

"And you have the wrong wolf!" Artemis added as both of them started knocking officers down to the floor, making their way out of the Louvre.


Back above ground, an officer had contacted Roger via walkie-talkie. "Cat Noir and Artemis are getting away!" He informed frantically.

Immediately, Ladybug and Blaze pushed past Roger and the mayor, heading inside the museum, with the head of the police force behind them. When they got to the main floor, they saw that all of the officers were down, some of them having ice blocks either around their feet or their arms.

"Well, if they're so innocent, then why are they running away?" Roger asked the other two superheroes.

"Well, if you were wrongly imprisoned, wouldn't you run?" Ladybug asked him, her hands on her hips. Blaze just narrowed his eyes at the police officer while crossing his arms.


Back above ground, Cat Noir and Artemis decided to split up so that the police force could split up as well. Artemis managed to find a suitable hiding place on top of a building, behind a stairwell entrance, and began calling her partner.

Blaze heard it on his end just as Ladybug heard her yo-yo chirp with a call from Cat Noir. Both heroes snuck away from Roger and headed back over to the stairs. While Ladybug talked with her partner, Blaze turned on the screen from the hilt of his katana to show Artemis's face.

"Artemis, what the heck is going on?" He asked her. "Why does everyone think that you and Cat Noir have changed to live your lives as thieves?"

"I don't know." Artemis answered him. "You know that I don't pull practical jokes like that. I'm a wolf, not a coyote."

"Aren't coyotes also known as "prairie wolves" in the USA?" Blaze asked.

"Very funny." Artemis said on the other end. "But Cat Noir and I are gonna find the real culprits who robbed the museum and save our tails."

Just then, the wolf-themed superhero heard Cat Noir shouting as he was being chased by a helicopter. The sight of it coming towards her made her flinch.

"I'll get back to you later!" Artemis said to Blaze before she quickly ended the call and she and Cat Noir took off running.

"Give yourselves up, you two!" A police officer ordered them from the helicopter with a megaphone. But the two supers on the run didn't stop and then went deeper into the city.

Ladybug, Blaze, and Officer Roger got out of the Louvre just in time to see the helicopter fly away from the premises.

"Aren't you two gonna go after them?" He asked the other two superheroes.

"Uh, we'll leave it to the experts." Ladybug said teasingly, mocking Roger's words from earlier.

"Á plus!" Blaze teasingly bade them farewell in French before he and Ladybug took off to the skies.


Artemis and Cat Noir managed to split up again, the latter flying down into the subway system with a whole line of police cars after him, crashing into each other in a poor attempt to try and follow him. Artemis had a helicopter after her, so she had no choice but to quickly jump into the Seine and swim along underwater until she found a large enough bridge to hide under, letting the helicopter pass by.

About fifteen minutes later, Artemis got a call from Cat Noir and she answered it. "Cat, where are you?" She asked. "We've gotta find these fakes and clear our names. Fast!"

"I know." Cat Noir answered. "Meet me up on the top of Francoise Dupont High School. I think I have a suspect on who's my copycat."

"Okay." Artemis replied before hanging up and immediately heading over to the school, being mindful to not be seen by anyone who might tip off the police, or by the police cars or helicopters who were patrolling either the streets or the skies.

When she got to the school, she found Cat Noir already waiting for her on the roof, staying out of sight. "So what did you find out?" She asked him.

"Since you, Ladybug, and Blaze weren't at the ceremony earlier this afternoon, I was the only one attending it." He began.

Artemis lightly flinched at the reminder. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about that." She said apologetically. "I found myself in something that I couldn't get out of, so I couldn't make it."

"It's okay." Cat Noir said, then continuing. "But the sculptor there, he just kept on raving about Ladybug, hoping that she would show up so that he could fawn over her."

Artemis felt a sneaking suspicion crawl up her spine and she glared at him with annoyance. "You didn't. Please tell me that you didn't." She said.

"I know, I know!" Cat Noir said, holding his hands up. "How did I not see that jealousy coming a mile away?"

"Yours or his?" Artemis asked him dryly, crossing her arms against her chest.

Cat Noir narrowed his own eyes at her. "First my Kwami and now you?" He asked her.

Artemis just shook her head with exasperation, holding a hand to her forehead. Well, that explains his copycat's Akumatization. But what about hers?

"Did you figure out anything about my fake?" She asked him.

Cat Noir shook his head. "Nope. I was hoping that you did."

But then, he had a thought. "Hang on. If I remember correctly, over at the ceremony, there was this one girl who was staring up at the statue of Blaze. Mirelle, I think. She was voted to be the junior weather girl over at the TV station. I remember her because another girl was akumatized because she lost to her a couple of months ago, before you and Blaze showed up."

"Okay. Keep going."

"She was looking up at the statue of Blaze and she had this look in her eyes. I recognized that little look of longing: she has a crush on Blaze. And not a celebrity one. She was pretty disappointed that Blaze didn't show up and when she looked at the statue of you, she seemed…both sad and…a little jealous."

Artemis's eyes widened in shock. "Wait! She thinks that Blaze and I are a…thing?!" She squawked. "Okay, now that's just weird. Blaze and I are partners like you and Ladybug, but we're just friends! Best friends! Neither of us have an attraction to each other!"

She then groaned in exasperation and annoyance, beginning to pace back and forth in front of Cat Noir. "Well, I suppose that since you flirt with Ladybug all the time and I've seen that there are lots of people who ship the two of you-"

"Wait, what?!" Cat Noir shouted, a fierce red blush peeking out from under his black mask. But Artemis ignored that as she continued ranting.

"-They suspect me and Blaze to be an item waiting to happen as well!" She exclaimed. "People can be so weird sometimes."

She looked back over at Cat Noir and saw that he was still paralyzed with shock. She groaned in annoyance and then slapped his shoulder, making him yelp.

"Ow!" He exclaimed.

"Focus, Casanova." The wolf-themed superhero said.

"Don't you mean, 'Cats-anova'?" He asked teasingly, but there was no smile on his face as he held his stinging shoulder. The wolf did appear to have some claws.

Artemis narrowed her eyes at him. "Not the greatest time to be making puns." She said before getting back to the situation at hand. "Do you know where those two might be? Or at least your copycat?"

Cat Noir nodded. "I just learned where his studio is." He said, holding up his baton. "Come on. Chances are, if they are working together, they might be at the same place."

Artemis nodded in agreement before they both took off to the skies, being wary that the police were still hunting for them.


Across the city, Ladybug and Blaze were still looking for their respective partners, wondering where they had gone to hide from the police. Just then, they were called by them, all of them set into a group chat of sorts. Both Cat Noir and Artemis appeared to be inside some kind of warehouse.

"Cat Noir, Artemis, where are you guys?" Ladybug asked them.

"We found their den." Cat Noir answered them.

"Who?" Blaze asked.

"Our copycats." Artemis answered simply.

"I'm not getting either of you." Ladybug answered.

"You're not the only one." Blaze added.

"If either of you had been there this morning, you'd know what I'm talking about. I had enough trouble filling Artemis in and dealing with her reaction." Cat Noir answered.

"Hey!" Artemis shouted at him in indignation.

"Tell me and Blaze where you guys are, and we'll meet you there." Ladybug said to her partner.

"No, this is between me and him." Cat Noir said, shaking his head. "I got myself into this mess, so I'm gonna get myself out."

"And I'm sorry, Blaze." Artemis said to her partner. "But this is something that I have to do myself. However, this isn't your fault. It was just all a misunderstanding." Both of them then hung up on their partners.

"Blizzy? Blizzy!" Blaze shouted into the hilt-like phone device of his katana.

Ladybug was lightly grumbling under her breath, but the phoenix-themed superhero could hear little bits and pieces of them. "Why must he always do this?" She mumbled. "He just has to be so annoyingly chivalrous."

The red-and-black-spotted superhero then turned on the tracker signal from her yo-yo and saw that both Cat Noir and Artemis were luckily in the same place, somewhere at the other side of the city.

"Come on." She said to Blaze, who nodded his head.


In the warehouse, Cat Noir and Artemis each saw a figurine of their respective animal, along with a note for each of them. The black cat hero picked up the note and read it aloud.

"Cat's in the bag?" He said, sounding confused.

Artemis had just finished reading the note addressed to her. "Revenge is a dish best served cold."

But before she could ask Cat Noir about it, both of the boxes, where the figurines were placed on, burst into clouds of smoke, making them cough and shut their eyes. When the smoke cleared, both of them found themselves trapped in chains. However, with Artemis, there were large metal cuffs covering her wrists and hands.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir shouted, calling out his superpower.

Suddenly, an eerily perfect carbon copy of the black cat superhero, from the wild blonde hair right to the cat-like belt, quickly placed a wooden plank in front of his hand, wasting his power and rotting the piece of wood to sawdust.

"I don't get what Ladybug sees in you." Copycat said with a sinister smirk on his face. Well, at least the voice was different. "A fool who so easily falls into my trap."

"Okay, that is messed up." Artemis said, feeling a little creeped out at how scarily similar Copycat is to the original Cat Noir.

Cat Noir backed away from his villainous copy and tried to reach for his staff. But then he felt that it wasn't there.

"Looking for this?" Copycat mockingly asked him, holding it in his hand. "Which one should I pick up? My one or my one?" He reached behind him with his free hand and then pulled a similar copy of the original's staff.

Artemis tried to slide her bow down her body so that she could pass it to Cat Noir, but then a silver blur snatched it off of her. "Thanks for that." It said.

The blur came up next to Copycat, revealing a shockingly perfect clone of Artemis herself, right from the fake wolf ears on her head to a perfect copy of the original's silver bow that was strapped onto her back.

"Now that is scary." Cat Noir said. "Who are you supposed to be? Copywolf?"

"The name's Omega to you, tomcat." The sinister copy of Artemis barked at him, making him jump.

"Omega, huh?" Artemis asked. "That makes sense. Omega wolves are known as the followers to the alpha wolves, who are the leaders of the pack."

Omega growled at her and then walked up to her and said, "Well, when I'm done with you, there will be only one alpha wolf, and that will be me!"

Just then, Cat Noir's staff and Artemis's bow started ringing. Omega suddenly started acting all shy and nervous, making Copycat roll his eyes. He then answered the call from Cat Noir's staff.

"Ladybug, hurry up." He said to her, keeping his eyes on Cat Noir. "Artemis and I have caught the impostors at Théo Barbot's workshop."

"Blaze and I will be there in thirty seconds." She answered.

"Don't come here, Ladybug!" Cat Noir shouted, hoping that she could hear him from her end. "It's a trap!" But Copycat had already ended the call.

"Too late, Cat." He said, putting the staff away. "Ladybug and Blaze are on their way, which was our plan all along." He then turned over to Omega. "Isn't that right, Omega?"

Omega's answer was a simple smirk, which counted as a confirmation as the black cat copy smirked back at her. Artemis tried again to remove the cuffs around her hands, but couldn't, as she narrowed her eyes at her copy.

"They won't be duped." Cat Noir said confidently. "They know us too well."

"I know you well, too." Copycat said as he took out an oddly purple-colored newspaper clipping from his pocket, which had a picture of Ladybug soaring gracefully on it. That had to be where his Akuma was. "And from now on, she'll love me, not you!" He then glared hatefully at the original black cat hero, pointing at him with his staff.

"Love me?" Cat Noir asked him, wondering what in the world was he talking about.

Artemis dryly glared at the original black cat hero. "You didn't..." She said to him, hoping that he didn't say anything stupid, even though she already took a guess that it might've been the cause for his Akumatization. And she thought that girls were more prone to emotions than boys. But she supposed that it doesn't really matter anymore. What's done was done. But then, she saw a knowing smile form on his face, replacing the nervous grin from earlier.

"You're right! She loves me!" He exclaimed, pushing away Copycat's staff from his face. "That's why she'll be able to reveal your true identity!"

Artemis raised a curious brow. That cat was up to something and she hoped that it was a good one this time. Otherwise, he could be betting his identity and his reputation.

"And when Blaze gets here, I'll show him that I'm more worthy of him than you are!" Omega shouted, getting the real wolf superhero's attention.

Artemis just blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?" She asked her fake, although she already had a hunch as to what it was.

She spared a glance over her doppelganger and saw that there was one little difference between her and Omega. There was a simple, purple-stringed bracelet around her wrist that had red and yellow beads on it, the purple from the string appearing to be slowly leaking into the beads. Those were Blaze's colors.

"You don't even realize it, do you?" Omega snarled. "You take him for granted and you don't even realize how lucky you are to have him even look in your direction! What does Blaze even see in you?! You don't deserve him! I do!"

The real wolf's amber eyes widened in shock. It seemed that Cat Noir's suspicion about the reason for Omega's Akumatization was really true. It sounded likely, but she was kind of hoping that it was something else.

"And the awkwardness continues." Artemis muttered before glaring at her doppelganger. "At least I know him. Well enough that he won't be fooled by some cheap clone of me."

Both of the superhero fakes immediately tackled the originals down onto their backs, pure hateful glares on their faces. Both of the imposters were about to take the ring and the onyx pendant away from them when suddenly, Ladybug and Blaze came into the warehouse from above, running towards their respective partners and their copies. Cat Noir and Artemis were relieved that they made it in time, although cutting it a little close.

Copycat and Omega both had stars in their eyes when they saw the respective object of their affections heading in their direction. "There you are." Copycat said as he stared at the beautiful ladybug-themed superhero. Omega didn't really say a word as she saw the handsome phoenix superhero coming towards her.

Ladybug came to a stop in front of her partner and the imposter, although she wasn't sure which was which. "Cat Noir! He really looks like you!" She exclaimed.

"That's because I am me!" Cat Noir said to her from his spot on the floor.

Blaze repeatedly looked between Artemis and Omega, obviously shocked and confused as to who was who. "Now that's freaky." He said.

"That's what I said!" Artemis said to her partner.

Ladybug and Blaze shared a wary glance between each other. This was going to be a little bit tricky, since they could be taking on the wrong person and then compromise their identities, not just to them, but also to Hawk Moth.

"Where is his Akuma?" Ladybug asked the two black cats.

Copycat held out Cat Noir's hand, the one who had his Miraculous, which had dwindled down to four paw pads left. "Inside his ring, of course. Grab it."

Blaze then turned over to the two wolves in front of him. "Where's her Akuma?" He cautiously asked them, seeing which one would respond.

"In her pendant." Omega said after nervously clearing her throat. "You'd better get it. This alpha wolf doesn't need an omega shadowing her."

Ladybug was about to touch the ring on Cat Noir's hand when it beeped out a second time, leaving only three pads left. "He even has the same powers as you." She said.

"Simply amazing, isn't it?" Copycat said, his eyes still focused softly on the beautiful superhero in front of him.

Ladybug was about to grab the ring when Cat Noir stopped her. "If you don't believe I'm the real Cat Noir, ask him about our love for each other." He said.

"Uh…" Ladybug trailed off in confusion and awkwardness, wondering what he was talking about.

"Have I ever lied to you, Bugaboo?" He asked her with a playful wink.

Blaze remembered that Cat Noir had called Ladybug that same nickname earlier, back when he and Artemis had contacted them after they had escaped the police. Although he was paying attention to his partner, he still heard it in the background while they were talking.

He then turned over to the two wolves. "I trust you and only you explicitly." Artemis said to him. "You know that I don't play tricks like that, Fireball. I'm a wolf, not a coyote."

Something ringed in the back of his head. He had heard that same remark from Artemis earlier that day. He then had an idea on how to figure which one was the fake. And it seemed that Ladybug had the same idea as well.

She leaned in close to Copycat's face, smiling flirtatiously. "I hope that you didn't tell him about us."

"What?" He asked her, his cheeks faintly turning a pinkish color under the edges of his mask.

"That we're...you know, we made a secret promise?" Ladybug asked, lightly tapping the tip of his nose before slightly leaning in closer to him.

Blaze then smiled over at Omega. "Good job on the capture. What do you say you and I...meet up later?" He asked her.

Omega's cheeks turned bright pink. "Uh, wh-what do you mean?" She stammered nervously.

"Come on." Blaze teased her. "You know what about everyone thinks about us. After all, we are partners, right?" He then slightly inclined his face closer to her, making her blush turn from pink to red.

Both fakes shared a nervous glance with each other out of the corners of their eyes, not quite sure what to do with their superhero crushes that were flirting with them. Finally, they both spoke.

"Uh, yes! Of course!" Copycat said, smiling at the red and black-spotted superhero.

The smile on Ladybug's face turned from flirty to confident. "We never made a promise. Copycat!" She said, pointing at him, revealing him as the imposter.

Blaze copied Ladybug's confident smile on his own face. "I think you mean partners as like a team...Omega!" He exclaimed, backing away from her.

Now that both of the imposters had their identities compromised, a jealous glare came over their faces as they faced their respective rivals. "I love you, Ladybug!" Copycat proclaimed before grabbing Cat Noir by the collar of his suit. "I'm way better than this mangy alley cat!"

"And I love you, Blaze!" Omega shouted, immediately pushing Artemis's face down further on the ground. "I'm better for you than this so-called perfect wolf!"

Both Ladybug and Blaze just rolled their eyes. "Sorry, but liars are losers." Ladybug said. "Cat Noir may annoy me to pieces, but he's never lied to me."

"Thanks for the compliment." Cat Noir said. "I...think."

Then, he managed to briefly tuck his legs and then land a kick in his copy's stomach, making Copycat release him and then back away to take a fighting stance at the other end of the warehouse.

Blaze then turned over to Omega. "First off, I don't date liars." He said, crossing his arms. "Second, Artemis and I are just friends and nothing more. Sometimes we don't always see eye to eye, but a liar is the last thing that she is."

"I told her that you're not that easy to fool." Artemis said to her partner with a smile before she raised a leg and then kicked Omega off of her.

The wolf copy flipped over to her fellow doppelganger, a matching hateful glare on her face. Then their faces were both briefly outlined with the telltale butterfly neon mask, which meant that Hawk Moth was communicating with them. Then, the neon purple masks vanished when he was done.

"If we can't have you, then nobody will!" Copycat said for both him and Omega as he raised his hand in the air. "Cataclysm!" The fake black cat soon had black specks and bubbles around his hand.

Ladybug just smiled confidently, holding up her yo-yo. "Let's wrap this up! Lucky Charm!"

When she tossed her yo-yo up in the air, a swarm of magical pink and red ladybugs came together to form her Lucky Charm and the object landed in her hands. "A spoon?" She asked aloud. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"You'd better figure it out and fast!" Blaze said to her quickly. "We've got incoming!"

Ladybug looked up in time to see Copycat charging forward, his supercharged hand about to touch Cat Noir. Thinking quickly, Ladybug grabbed Cat Noir's chains and then held them up in front of him. When his fake's Cataclysm touched them, the chains immediately turned to rust. After they had disintegrated away, the real Cat Noir was free and punched the fake back over to the other side of the warehouse, barely missing Omega as a dust cloud appeared from the broken bricks of the wall.

"Excellent job, Milady." Cat Noir said to his partner.

Ladybug gave him a little playful wink. "Where's his Akuma?" She asked.

"Photo in his pocket." Cat Noir answered before his ring let out another warning beep. Two pads remaining. "Let's make it snappy."

Then they heard Copycat laughing. "You're going to change back before me." He said, holding up his hand as the dust began to clear, revealing that his own ring had only just started the countdown.

As Cat Noir and Ladybug began to tangle with Copycat, Blaze was about to see if he could find a way to free his own partner when Omega suddenly tackled him to the ground. "She's nothing without her bow!" She said, making Blaze take notice of the two bows strapped across her back. He tried to reach for it, but the wolf fake kicked him in the stomach, sending him further away.

"Want to tango, bird boy?" She asked, slightly swinging her hips in a flirtatious manner before taking a battle stance.

Artemis resisted the urge to gag at the poor attempt of flirting and then looked over at the shackles that were around her hands. She had really only tried out her power once, and she had the use of her bow to use it before. But maybe...she didn't need it to activate her power? It was worth a shot, she had nothing to lose by trying.

"Flash Freeze!" She exclaimed. Immediately, her shackles quickly started having frost appear all over them as the icy power began to overwhelm them. "Come on, come on!"

Finally, with a blast of icy power, the warehouse was coated with frost, along with a couple of icicles beginning to form on the beams of the roof. Everyone stopped fighting in time to see that Artemis had vanished, her shackles frozen and destroyed.

"What?!" Omega shrieked.

Just then, there was a rough pulling on her back as Artemis grabbed her from behind, pulled her bow off of her, and then punched her in the face, sending her flying into the other side of the warehouse.

"No need to get so fired up about this." She said to her doppelganger, twirling her bow in her hand before grabbing the bowstring. "I'll admit, though, you're pretty good. But there can only be one snow queen in this city."

Omega snarled at her before charging into her. The two of them engaged in a bit of a brawl between daggers and bow while Blaze would sometimes intervene with his katana.

When she would get a bit of a breather, Artemis would check her pendant. Already, a section of the moon had changed from its transformed black onyx color back to its dormant color of moonstone white.

After a few minutes of fighting, everyone realized that the copies were pretty skilled in combat. "They're pretty good." Ladybug observed as Cat Noir was wrestling with Copycat, both of their staves dropped to the floor.

Blaze dodged another swing from Omega before putting some distance between them while Artemis took her turn at her fake. "But this can't go on forever." He said. "We're on a triple time limit!" He pointed over at her earrings, which had only four spots left.

After another minute, Ladybug swung her yo-yo and it quickly tied itself around the wrist of one of the Cats. "Hey, it's me!" He exclaimed.

"He's lying! I'm the real one!" The other one said.

Ladybug groaned in frustration. "Ugh, now you're both annoying me to pieces!" She shouted before coming up with an idea. "Show me your ring! How many pads do you have left?"

The Cat Noir that had his wrist tied up confidently showed Ladybug his ring, which had only one pad left. The other Cat held back his, trying to hide the remaining three blinking pads. Now knowing who was the real Cat Noir and who was Copycat, Ladybug retracted her yo-yo.

"Cat Noir, scratch attack!" She exclaimed.

"Gladly. I love a good cat fight." He then let out a fierce meow before engaging Copycat in hand-to-hand combat.

While everyone else was fighting, Ladybug was scanning the room, wondering how to use her Lucky Charm. Everything became black and white as she looked around the area for other tools to use. Soon, she saw Cat Noir's staff, then a nearby wooden rod, her yo-yo, and the spoon, all of them highlighted in red with black spots against her monochrome vision. Knowing what she needed to do, Ladybug scrambled around to get the things that she needed.

Finally, Cat Noir managed to get Copycat in one place. But the fake pushed him off, the real cat landing on his back. When Copycat tried to tackle him and pin him down, Cat Noir managed to stop him by planting his feet into his chest before he would grab him. With a cheeky little wink and a smile, he managed to unzip the pocket that held the photo.

"Time to go akuma fishing!" Ladybug exclaimed, showing off her completed makeshift fishing rod. Then, she threw it at Copycat, the makeshift hook latching onto his belt.

Catching onto her plan, Artemis backed away from an attacking Omega before she got sliced across the face. "Grab her bow, Blaze!" She shouted over to her partner as she split apart her own bow and put one of them away for the time being.

Blaze nodded in understanding and then began to parry with Omega. After a few swipes of blades, he managed to get both of her daggers away from her. Then, suddenly, Artemis appeared above both of them, smiling cheekily. Then, she showed them that she had transformed her dagger into a ribbon wand, an icy blue ribbon dangling from the end of it. She swung over at Omega, and the ribbon quickly tied itself around the doppelganger wolf.

Then, both superheroes pulled the fake superheroes up towards the ceiling with a hard tug. Then, Ladybug swung by each of them, swiping the photo away from Copycat and then the bracelet from Omega.

When she landed back on the ground, she tore the photo and then snapped the bracelet, each of them in half. From the remains of the objects, two separate Akumas fluttered out of them and began an attempt to try and escape.

"No more evil-doing for you, little Akumas." Ladybug said as she pulled out her yo-yo and opened it, revealing the sparkly pink inside of it. She then swung it around, catching both purple butterflies in one full swing. When she brought it back to her and opened it up, two pure white butterflies emerged and flew away. Then, Ladybug took the spoon that she used to build the makeshift fishing rod.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" She exclaimed, throwing it up into the air, turning bright pink as it did. Then, it transformed into the usual swarm of magical pink ladybugs. It then flew throughout the entire city, restoring everything to what it was before, the stolen painting back in its proper place, and everything that was broken in the warehouse had been repaired.

Finally, the two victims each had a cloud of purple and black ooze envelop them before they were changed back into the sculptor, Theo Barbot, and Mirelle. Theo was about to fall to the ground from his trapped position, but Cat Noir caught him while Artemis carefully lowered Mirelle back to the floor.

"Nice catch!" Ladybug said to her partner.

Cat Noir sighed as he carefully put Theo on the ground and came over to red-and-black-spotted superhero. "I'm so glad you could tell the real cat from the fake one." He said to her.

Ladybug just shrugged. "Once I figured out which cat was really in love with me, it was a no-brainer." Her comment made Cat Noir rub the back of his head sheepishly while the other two heroes just slightly winced at her words.

But then, Cat Noir heard his ring beep out. He only had seconds left. Blaze hurried over to the black cat superhero.

"Heal Flame." He said, grabbing his hand and placing a finger on the surface of the ring. Little flames circled around his finger and then seemed to disappear as it hit the ring. When the little wisps of fire receded, he removed his hand, and the ring showed that all five pads had been restored.

Cat Noir breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

Blaze smiled at him. "No problem. But that was a little too close for comfort."

The other male superhero just nodded in agreement. "Yeah." He said, then turned over to Ladybug. "Better help the fellow out. His crush just got crushed." He then turned around to leave. "That makes two of us." He whispered under his breath. Then, he jumped up and left the warehouse through the roof.

Ladybug was confused by him leaving so soon, but Blaze and Artemis had a feeling that Cat Noir being there for the moment probably wouldn't be the best move. Then, they heard Artemis's pendant give out its third warning.

"I think we need to take our leave as well." Artemis said, and then they headed out of the warehouse, leaving Ladybug to tend to the victims.

When they were outside and then landed in a nearby alley, Blaze turned over to his partner just as they transformed back into Allen and Bianca.

"I'm sorry that I had to act that way to...you, basically." He said. "But I needed to be sure who the true Artemis was. Can you ever forgive me, Bianca? And promise that you won't tell Alya what happened? I could lose her forever..."

"Don't sweat it, I know what you were doing." Bianca assured her best friend with a wave of her hand, and then placed it on her shoulder. "And plus, it was Blaze flirting with a fake Artemis, not Allen Flint flirting with some other girl. You're not going to lose her, Hoops. Both as a friend and as someone who you want to be with."

"Still, Mirelle is proof that some people think that because we fight side by side, we have a thing for each other." Allen said, and the two of them both cringed with discomfort at the thought. "How are we going to clear up this misunderstanding?"

"Well, maybe the next time some reporter asks that question, we can say that we're not romantically connected." Bianca suggested. "We're just friends and partners."

"Good idea." Allen agreed with a smile. "Maybe it would also help if I told them that I was already in love with someone else...named Alya."

Bianca just narrowed her eyes at him and then shook her head, removing her hand from his shoulder. "Nope. Sorry, Romeo." She said firmly. "No mentioning anything like that. Because if Hawk Moth knew who the girl of your dreams is, then he'll send Akumas to capture her and use her as bait to lure you out. I know that you like being the hero for her, but is it worth risking her life unnecessarily?"

"Hey!" Allen exclaimed, sounding offended. "I wouldn't say what her last name is! Besides, do you know how many other people named 'Alya' there are in France? They wouldn't know that it's our Alya."

"Maybe. But is it really worth the risk?" Bianca asked him. "You could put other innocent people in danger because of your stupid little slip-up! Do you really want to be held responsible for that?"

Allen was silent for a few seconds, taking in her words. "Well...I guess not."

Bianca realized that maybe she spoke a little too forcefully and she gave her best friend a reassuring hug. Allen could feel, from her embrace, that she felt sorry for speaking like that to him, but he supposed that she did have a valid point. He didn't want to see an innocent put in danger because of a slip-up.


The next morning, Allen and Bianca were entering the classroom, ready for the first class, even though Ms. Bustier wasn't there yet. As they were passing by Adrien and Nino, they could hear their conversation.

"Maybe you dropped it somewhere." Nino said to the blond model as he searched through his school bag.

"Well, if I did, then whoever has it found it in the boys' locker room." Adrien said. "I was checking my voicemail in there during fencing practice."

Allen and Bianca shared a wary glance with each other as they stopped on the stairs. The latter had told the former about her little misadventure with Marinette yesterday and he had laughed out loud at the mental image of sweet, innocent little Marinette actually stealing a phone. Hopefully, the Chinese-French girl managed to figure out a way to return Adrien's phone to him.

But then, they thought they'd seen Marinette quickly place something in Adrien's school bag, accidentally knocking it over. She managed to retract completely just as Adrien took notice of it. He bent over to grab it, and then found something in it.

"What in the…" He muttered, and then reached in to pull out his missing phone. "I already looked in here a thousand times!" He exclaimed, wondering how that happened.

"You need some time off." Nino said, thinking that his best friend needed to chill out, probably what led Adrien to "misplacing" his phone. "Hey, I know. Let's go to the movies tonight." He suggested.

That was when Alya played her part to be the best wingwoman to her best friend. "Hey, dudes, mind if a few friends tag along?" She offered to the boys sitting in front of them.

"Sure thing!" Nino accepted.

Judging from the overjoyed look on Marinette's face as she faced her crush, who was smiling at her, Allen and Bianca both smiled at the thought of their friends hanging. But then, the latter spoke up.

"Hey, guys." She said, getting their attention. "Mind if Allen and I join you guys for that movie?"

The foursome were a little surprised that the shy Canadian girl was the one who had made the offer, not of the offer itself. But then, Marinette and Adrien smiled at her.

"Sure!" Marinette said.

"The more, the merrier." The blond model added.

Both Allen and Bianca smiled at them before they left to go and take their seats before their teacher arrived. When they sat down at their shared desk, the former turned over to his best friend.

"Glad to see that you're opening up to people again." He said. Bianca just shrugged with a little smile, silently saying, "Don't mention it".

But then, Allen noticed something. He'd be there with Alya, and Marinette would be there with Adrien. He was kind of sensing a pattern there.

"So...when are you going to find a guy that you love?" He asked her, changing the subject and a teasing little grin forming on his face.

His best friend responded to that with a dry glare. "Not anytime soon." She said, shaking her head. "Plus, I still don't think I'll ever be mentally ready to even look for someone special."

(At that moment, somewhere in Paris, a certain blue-haired guitar player let out a sudden sneeze.)

Allen lightly winced, knowing that Bianca did have a point there. She was still a little on edge around some people, particularly guys. Well, only time would tell.


PokemonFreak90: Looks like Allen has another girl crushing on his superhero persona! Unfortunately, it looks like it just wasn't meant to be, between them.

Little does Bianca know that her own "special somebody" is out there in the city, just waiting to meet her!

MDM: Yeah. But I doubt that their love story will be a lot more complicated because of whatever Bianca's going through. What do you guys think?

Well, that's all for this time! We'll see y'all later! Please leave a review about what you think. They are highly appreciated. And remember to stay healthy!

Got to fly! ;)