Chapter 5 - Lady Luck and Chat Blanc

Before Chat could rake his claws across her face, Ladybug swiftly kicked him back and jumped away. She reached for her yoyo and yanked it up and down a couple times before spinning it beside her. The weapon lit up the room with an eerie pink glow that was also reflected on the floor, the mirrors, and Chat's white suit.

"I don't want to fight you," Ladybug admitted. She didn't know whether that was a good or bad move. She didn't want to back down and make herself look weaker, but she also thought that maybe being more emotional could snap him out of it.

"Because you know I'm too strong?" Chat joked, twirling his baton in his hand.

"No," she replied. "It's actually the opposite."

Chat scowled and then sprinted over to her. He leaped into the air and then slammed his staff down as hard as he could. Ladybug jumped out of the way in time, but she still felt the breeze and rush of metal as it grazed her face. The baton hit the ground with a crack, leaving a dent in the wood. He looked up, his eyes burning with rage and fury.

He did this a few more times, each time getting more and more reckless with anger. Though he was growing furious, his attacks were getting less and less accurate. Because of this, Ladybug was able to evade each blow, but she was too busy with trying to get out of the way to fight back.

Once she got a good distance from him, she threw her yoyo. The first time flew just past his face and surprise him. Unfortunately, he was able to block every throw with a simple flick of his staff right after that. She aimed at him one more time and let it fly, hoping that even if it didn't hit him, some more of her luck would kick in and do something. It soared towards Chat at an incredible speed, but still not fast enough for him to be unable to snatch it out of the air. He quickly yanked the string right from ladybug's fingers and shoved the weapon into his pocket.

"Enough of this stalling. I want a real fight," He spat.

He leaned back a ways before launching his baton at her like a javelin. Ladybug jumped out of the way when the staff zipped past her head, and rolled across the ground before stopping against a tower of chairs.

After retrieving his staff, he ran towards her with it at the ready. Ladybug swung her leg around and hooked the leg of the bottom chair with her foot. When Chat got close enough, she pulled hard, causing the tower to tumble to the ground. Chat tried to stop, but still managed to stumble over the chairs, dropping his baton in the process.

Ladybug scrambled to her feet and scooped the baton off the floor. Chat watched with a mix of anger and amusement as she snapped the baton in half over her knee. Sparks shot from the ends of it for a few seconds, and Ladybug threw the pieces to the side once they stopped.

Chat shook his head and then ran for her again as the purple butterfly lit up his face. He listened intently as he swiped his claws at Ladybug. They only touched her once, catching the sleeve of her suit and making a clean slice down to the glove. The purple butterfly was quickly replaced with another one of his sick smirks.

Ladybug watched in horror as Chat's hands were swallowed in magenta fire once again. He continued to swipe his claws and throw punches with little success. He was furious and full of rage, but still wasn't quite good enough. Ladybug, who didn't want to hurt him, continued to push and kick him back when she could. They were evenly matched. The fire made things a bit harder for ladybug, and she could feel fatigue beginning to weigh her down, but she wouldn't let herself give up until he was back to normal.

Ladybug knew his fighting style, and she watched him carefully enough to evade most of his attacks. So when he threw his hand forward, she was able to easily jump away.

She hadn't realized how close to the back of the room they had gotten, and suddenly saw that Chat slamming his palm into the wall wasn't an accident. He grinned as the flames swallowed up the wall. They lit up his eyes, face, and suit with a flickering orange color.

She froze with terror as he jumped from wall to wall, lighting up each side of the room until they were trapped in a smoldering box of flames. Some of the smoke was able to escape from the broken window, but it began clouding up the room quickly. Ladybug felt it inside of her lungs already and tried to stay alert as she coughed it all out.

Her breath was quickening, and she could feel herself begin to panic. The heat was only hurrying the process. She needed to stop him soon, but she couldn't bring herself to even thinking of hurting him.

She heard a thud above her and looked up to see two magenta eyes glowing through the smoke. He was crouched in the rafters, and let out a dark chuckle before jumping down to her.

She was dizzy from coughing and weighted down with exhaustion, which gave Chat the perfect opportunity to rake his claws straight across Ladybugs face. She yelped with surprise, and the tears came shortly after. She stumbled backwards, and Chat chuckled once again. He laid his hands on her shoulders and effortlessly threw her to the ground.

"Please," she whimpered. She felt something warm run down her neck and knew it was too thick to be tears. "Chat- Adrien, I know you are in there. Please come back."

Chat bent over her and made a mocking pouty face. "You know that's not going to work Ladybug. Now that I'm stronger than you."

"Is that what this is all about," she whispered. The roar of the flames around her was growing louder. It was hard for her to concentrate. "Because you thought I was better than you?"

"Maybe. But look and see who's the real superhero now?"

"You aren't acting like a hero," she spat.

Chat glared and then crouched over her. He took her face in his hand and pointed it to his. Maybe at one point, he would feel something when he looked deep into her sky blue eyes, but now it was only a numbness and excitement. He felt powerful.

"If you… disappear tonight, they will never suspect me."

She couldn't help but like a fearful whimper escape her lips. "You wouldn't."

He smirked and pulled his hand back. the tips were stained crimson. She suddenly noticed the bracelet from yesterday, that was now a purple color, tied around his wrist. She wondered if that was what the akuma flew into. It had to be. His other hand was still burning with magenta flames, and Ladybug watched it carefully.

"Is this all because of what happened yesterday? When you found out?"

"It's because this entire time, I've been treated like a joke. I'm fed up with it. I'm fed up with being the sidekick."

"But we were always a team, Chat. I thought you knew that. Just because I was able to cleanse the akuma doesn't mean that I was any better than you. I always needed you, and you always needed-"

"Maybe in your eyes," he hissed. "But it's different for me." He looked surprised as the purple butterfly appeared around his face again, and then gave an annoyed expression after a few moments. "Let me talk," he spat as he waved the purple butterfly away.

"You don't know what it feels like to be continuously rejected. You don't know what it felt like to always be the butt of the joke and the sidekick."

"But I've always loved you," Ladybug whimpered, the tears returning to her eyes. "I've loved you for years, Adrien. That's why I was always so nervous around you in school. And I was even starting to love Chat too. But now, you are the same person, and I can say for sure that I love you. The only thing holding me back was our secret identities. But now we know, and we can be together."

Chat looked surprised, and blinked a few times before shaking away the expression. "No. It's too late," he mumbled. He lifted his burning hand and pointed it at Ladybug's face. "You have two options now. Either join me, and become my sidekick, or disappear.