Author's Notes:
Back again!
Some review replies:
Tatsurou-san: Hah! "Nega-bug"! I love it! I love it like Don Jr.! Especially in the summer! :D
Tiger Priestess: Well, it isn't Marinette who's Ladybug right now, it's Black Widow who's Ladybug. It stands to reason her costume and yo-yo would be a little different.
Momijifan Low-Ki: I'm sorry you think my idea to do away with the multiple endings is "stupid", but you have to understand that I have more than four dozen active, ongoing projects across three different websites. I've already invested a lot of time on this story, and the ideas I'd come up with for the alternate endings just don't appeal to me the way they did back when I first had them. Dropping the idea was the most practical thing for me to do.
And now, the epic conclusion of Black Widow. There will, of course, be an epilogue later.
Enjoy!
MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: "BLACK WIDOW"
by Mythril Moth
PART FOUR
"I thought I might find you here."
Ladybug stalked into the room. Only she looked...different.
She was taller, curvier, with stiletto heels. Her hair was a short, white bob. Her skin was ashen grey, her lips glossy with black lipstick. Her spotted mask had a distinctive butterfly shape. A large spotted red handbag hung at her side.
Her yo-yo was covered in sharp, serrated blades.
She licked her lips. "Now, tell me where you stashed Adrien," she said. "Then give me your Miraculous and get out. You don't need to see the mess I'm about to make."
Chloé clung to Chat Noir's arm, trembling, her bottom lip quivering as she stared at Ladybug. "A-A-A-Adrichou, wh-wha-wha-wha—"
Ladybug's stride faltered, her eyes tightening as she glanced at Chloé. "Adri—"
"She's delirious!" Chat Noir insisted loudly, stepping in front of Chloé and twirling his baton. "Being Akumatized twice messed up her—"
Ladybug's eyes widened, her lips parting. "So that's how it is," she said, her grey face going pale. "Chat Noir...you're Adrien..." She let out a groan and a soft, rueful chuckle. Which quickly erupted into full-throated, hysterical laughter as she doubled over, clutching her stomach.
"Uhh..." Chat Noir blinked, staring at her in confusion.
"Well this is just perfect," Ladybug said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "And tragic, because I was actually going to spare you, but..." She shook her head and sighed theatrically. "I guess if you're Adrien, that isn't possible anymore..."
"Marinette, what you think you heard, you heard wrong!" Chat Noir insisted.
"Oh, did I, let me think," Ladybug said sarcastically. "Marinette's just a friend, I don't love her, is that about right?"
Chat Noir winced. "You didn't hear the rest," he said.
Chloé snorted. "Who cares what she heard?" she said. "You said it yourself, this Maritrash took Ladybug's Miraculous! Now she's pretending to be Ladybug and you're trying to talk to her like she's your friend?" She put her hands on her hips. "I thought you said you were in love with Ladybug, this is how you show it?"
Ladybug frowned, her eyes shifting from Chloé to Chat Noir. Chat Noir squared his shoulders, glanced back at Chloé, winced, then stepped toward Ladybug. "Ladybug," he said softly. "Marinette. I...this isn't..." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. How could I have known?" He put his hands on her shoulders. "The girl I'm in love with is Ladybug. You didn't hear that part, did you?"
Ladybug faltered, staring into his eyes. She shook her head. "N-no," she said. "You're trying to confuse me." She broke his grip and backed away, whirling her deadly yo-yo above her head. "You...you both have to...have to..."
"The Marinette I know, the Ladybug I love, she'd never forgive herself for this," Chat Noir pleaded. "The Akuma is corrupting you. Please, just...just let me release it..."
Chloé stared back and forth between them in confusion. "Eh? What? Wait, no, this is Maritrash, not Ladybug...right? You said—"
"I think this dumb cat's been saying a lot of stupid things today," Ladybug said suddenly, eyes hard. "I think I need to shave off a couple of your lives, Chaton." With that, she went on the attack, her yo-yo lashing out again and again. Chloé shrieked in fright and dived into her closet as the yo-yo began smashing things left and right.
"Oh, screw this," Chat Noir muttered as he deflected strikes with his baton. He jumped over to Chloé's bed, stripped off the bedspread, then rushed Ladybug like an angry bull. Dodging and weaving around her deadly, whirring yo-yo, he slung the bedspread over and around her head, then pulled it tight, wrapping it around her body. As she flailed, kicked, screamed, and cursed, he ran for the veranda, slinging her over his back like a sack of laundry, and jumped over the railing. Chloé rushed to the balcony, watching them go with wide eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Chat Noir use his baton to springboard off the street and launch himself across the city.
"Am I too late?" a breathless voice asked from the door to Chloé's suite. She turned around...
Chat Noir tore across the park where he often had his photo shoots, Ladybug slung across his back. Dozens of tourists and Parisians out enjoying the late afternoon sun watched him in excitement and confusion.
"Let. Me. GO!" The bedspread burst into a hail of shredded cloth, and Ladybug laid into Chat Noir with a flurry of punches and kicks, breaking through his guard and sending him skidding across the park. Bystanders screamed in alarm and ducked out of the path of the fight, many pulling out phones to record the action.
"Give...me...the...bag!" Chat Noir grunted between blocks and counters. "I need...to free you...from this!"
"SCREW YOU!" Ladybug landed a rising uppercut to Chat Noir's chin, knocking him flat on his ass. "All the months I've wasted, all the freaking out, all the spaz attacks, all the daydreaming! You took over my life, Adrien! You and Hawk Moth, you...BOTH OF YOU just...just came into my life, and..." She screamed her rage to the sky and lashed out with a vicious swing of her yo-yo which very nearly lopped off Chat Noir's right arm at the elbow. "I never asked to be the target of a crazy supervillain! I never asked to fall in love with a perfect boy I can't even work up the nerve to talk to! And now? I've got him inside my head and you confusing me by being Chat Noir and I just want both of you to go away so I can have some peace!"
Pain filled Chat Noir's eyes. "Marinette," he said quietly. "I...I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I think...I think if you were thinking clearly, you'd know there was no way I could've known. And you think it's been easy for me? We have the same problems, just—"
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM YOU!"
"Yeah, well...you're going to hear it from me!" Chat Noir declared fiercely. "And you're going to give me that bag if I have to take it by force, because I am getting rid of that Akuma so...so you'll turn back into my Ladybug..."
"I can't let you do that, Chat Noir," Ladybug said grimly, tightening her hold on the bag. "Don't you see? I need to end this. I need this Akuma. It's drawing me in. It's drawing me to him. All I have to do is take your Miraculous. Then he'll lure me in and...and I can put an end to this. All of it. Everything. It'll all be over. I'll kill Hawk Moth, then...then I can do whatever I want. Nobody can stop me. I'm invincible. Not you or anybody else can hurt me ever again." With that, she began spinning her yo-yo so fast it left a white-hot circle in the air. Tears streamed from her eyes. "Just hold still, I'll...I'll try to make this quick..."
Something solid struck her in the back of the head, then clubbed her in the knees, and she went down, her glowing yo-yo burying itself in the grass.
"Girl, you need to chill."
Chat Noir blinked, staring in disbelief at the costumed girl who stood over Ladybug. "Volpina?" he asked curiously.
"Psh. Like I'm using that liar's name." Alya fluffed her bushy hair, from which a pair of velvet fox ears protruded. A sleek velour fox suit covered her entire body, with black gloves and boots, white markings at the throat and chest, and a bushy fox tail which swished behind her. She held a long reed flute over one shoulder, and a gleaming pendant hung around her neck: A bright orange foxtail, surrounded by five bright red tails with white tips. Her glasses had been replaced by a dark red fox-shaped mask. "I'm thinking of maybe...Foxy Roux, how's that sound?"
"Works for me," Chat Noir said. "But...but how...?"
"I'll fill you in later," Foxy Roux said as Ladybug started to stand up. "Get that Akuma!"
"I WON'T LET YOU!" Ladybug screamed, whipping her yo-yo free and spinning it in a wide circle, forcing both Chat Noir and Foxy Roux on the defensive. As they circled her warily, looking for an opening, she smirked. "Oh, but what's this?" she taunted. "Alya has a Miraculous now? Or are you another fake?"
"I'm as real as it gets, girlfriend," Foxy Roux said. "I screwed up back at the river, but I am not messing this up again! I want my friend back!"
"Yeah? Well I want my LIFE back!"
"You never lost it!" Foxy Roux retorted. "When in all the time I've known you have you lost anything, hmm? When you got grounded that one time? When you forgot to sign things you tried to give to Adrien? Because everything goes your way except for when you get in your own way! And girl, you are getting in your own way right now!"
"Nnnngghhhh...!" Ladybug clutched at her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "Stop...stop CONFUSING ME!" She leapt into the air and lashed out with her yo-yo, forcing Foxy Roux to retreat. Chat Noir took advantage of the opening to launch himself at Ladybug, kicking her in the ribs and wrapping an arm around her neck, dragging her to the ground and plowing her into the grass. Before he could grab her bag, she kicked free and threw him at Foxy Roux with a furious snarl.
Foxy Roux broke right, swatting Ladybug's yo-yo off course as she tried to impale Chat Noir through his unprotected back with it, then dashed forward, angled low to the ground, and played a fast, frolicking tune. In bursts of blue flame, dozens of illusions of Foxy Roux and Chat Noir filled the park.
"You think this stupid trick will work on me?" Ladybug snarled. "I already know these stupid tricks, Alya!"
"That's what you think," Foxy Roux said with a smirk as the real Chat Noir rolled to his feet and leapt to her side.
"I hope you've got a lucky rabbit in that fox suit," he said, rubbing his neck and wincing. "With both that Akuma and the Miraculous, she can take twice as much damage, and I already brought a Métro entrance down on her head today. I don't know what else I can do to her without killing her that'll actually give us an opening, and...and I kinda don't want to beat the crap out of the girl I love, you know?"
"I'm working on it," Foxy Roux said as Ladybug whittled down the crowd of illusions with her yo-yo. "For now, we just need to keep her busy, buy time."
"Oh, sure, buy time," Chat Noir said, folding his arms and nodding. "This is LADYBUG. You don't buy time fighting Ladybug!"
Foxy Roux slapped him upside the head. "Yeah, she's Ladybug, and you're Chat Noir, and you want to save her, right? You two need to have a big long talk about relationships and feelings and WHOA—" She leapt clear as Ladybug's yo-yo sliced through the gap between them, eyes wide. "Yeah maybe right now's not a good time to stand around talking!"
"You THINK?" Chat Noir extended his baton and ran at Ladybug, intent on using it as a lance. While she braced for his frontal assault, Foxy Roux darted around to the side, whirling her flute over her head, producing a long, low-pitched whistling sound that filled the air.
Ladybug tensed, eyes tracking both opponents. As Chat Noir approached, she jumped straight up, slinging her yo-yo out at his head; he dropped to his left, planting the end of his baton and slingshotting around it, throwing himself skyward in a rising kick that caught Ladybug in her chest. She grunted as she was thrown clear; Foxy Roux jumped straight up behind her and slammed her flute into Ladybug's back, driving her back to the ground. Both heroes dropped down, landing heavy blows to Ladybug's vitals as she fell.
"This is for your own good, girl!" Foxy Roux cried as she slammed an elbow into Ladybug's back, then tried to scissor her legs in a leglock.
Ladybug wasn't having it. She started spinning like a top, kicking Foxy Roux away; her yo-yo struck out randomly, driving both heroes back. She sprang to her feet, snarling, her furious eyes glaring murderously at them. "So this is it? This is what my friends do to me?"
"Yeah, to help you snap out of this!" Foxy Roux said. "You'd do this for us!"
"Ladybug, please," Chat Noir pleaded. "Just...just end this..."
"I INTEND TO!" She lunged at Chat Noir, yelling a wordless battle cry as she aimed a vicious spinning kick at his head. He dodged, but she twisted around in mid-kick and snagged his ankle with her yo-yo, dragging him to the ground. As he fell, she darted in, grasping his right wrist. He struggled to pull free, but she was stronger; her gloved fingers probed for his Miraculous.
"Uh-uh!" Foxy Roux said, bodily tackling Ladybug from behind and rolling across the ground with her. She grabbed the bag hanging from Ladybug's side and gave a mighty tug, tearing the strap clear from her shoulder. She threw it at Chat Noir, who grinned as he caught it and tore it in half.
"NO!" Ladybug cried. The Akuma flapped loose, beating its wings and taking to the air. Ladybug screamed as oily purple mist crawled over her body. Her yo-yo launched out, snagging the Akuma...
The mist retreated, leaving the still-Akumatized Ladybug standing there, hunched over, gasping for breath. She glared at Chat Noir and Foxy Roux from beneath her white bangs.
"Let's see you get the Akuma now," she growled.
Chat Noir and Foxy Roux stared at each other, eyes wide. "HOW?!" Foxy Roux cried, pointing at Ladybug.
"I don't know!" Chat Noir said, shaking his head frantically.
Hawk Moth laughed darkly, eyes wide with wicked delight. "Incredible," he breathed. "I may have completely lost control of Ladybug, but she's completely lost control of herself! She will remain corrupted by my Akuma forever!" He paused, frowning. "But no...I can't have this. If Ladybug is no longer under my control, then the Miraculous..." He clenched a gloved fist. "This is not what I wanted. I have no choice..."
The shutters irised shut, leaving the cloister in darkness as Hawk Moth's footsteps echoed across the cold floor.
Ladybug prowled around the perimeter of the park. Chat Noir and Foxy Roux stood in the center, back to back, slowly turning, watching her warily. All around the edges of the park stood rubberneckers, news reporters, and a phalanx of police officers who were trying in vain to control the chaos.
"So what do we do now?" Foxy Roux asked.
"I...I got nothin'," Chat Noir said grimly. "I mean, I guess we try to get the yo-yo away from her and hope one of us can figure out how to purify the damn Akuma, but..."
"Or at least get it out of there and keep her from doing that again," Foxy Roux muttered.
Ladybug spun her yo-yo in a wide circle, then let it fly with a yell. Chat Noir and Foxy Roux separated, rolling across the ground, evading it; it swept back around and looped around Foxy Roux's middle, dragging her across the grass. "GAH!"
"ALYA!" Chat Noir cried. He lunged at Ladybug, baton separated, striking repeatedly with both hands, but she weaved between his strikes effortlessly even as she swung Foxy Roux around, bouncing her across the park. She leapt into the air and threw Foxy Roux at Chat Noir, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a tangled heap.
"Not this again," Foxy Roux groaned as she landed with her face in Chat Noir's groin.
"Ah, not that I don't appreciate the thought, but this is a bad time and you're not the girl I—"
"Do you really want to go there with me right now, catboy?" Foxy Roux demanded flatly as she pushed herself off to the side and sat, cross-legged.
"Sorry," Chat Noir said, adopting a similar pose and watching Ladybug warily as she stalked toward them, hips swaying. He sighed. "I can only think of one way out of this now, but even if it works...it's a total loss."
"I may be able to come up with something, but I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this," Foxy Roux said. "I've got bruises in places I didn't know I had places..."
Chat Noir snorted. "Some life, this, non?"
"Are you two done being pests about this?" Ladybug asked archly as she stood over them. She held out a hand to Chat Noir. "Ring," she demanded.
"Sorry," Chat Noir said cheekily. "I'm not giving you a ring until I propose, but I don't see that happening until you get over this mood swing."
Ladybug sighed. "Well then, that's a shame...I was almost starting to think about not killing you, but if you're not gonna be a good kitty, then—" She trailed off, stiffening. She turned away, eyes wide. "Unbelievable..."
Chat Noir and Foxy Roux stood up, keeping watchful eyes on Ladybug. "What now?" Foxy Roux wondered.
Ladybug smirked. "Looks like I don't need your ring after all, Chaton," she said.
Chat Noir was about to ask what she meant by that, but then he saw and heard what was approaching. His eyes widened.
A cloud of butterflies swarmed through the park like a living tornado. They peeled away to reveal a tall, dark figure. He wore a dark purple suit and a shiny silver cowl which covered everything but his mouth and his cruel eyes. In one hand, he held a dark cane with a clear jewel at the top. A pink butterfly brooch glowed on his shirt.
Foxy Roux stared at him. "What is this, another Akumatized?"
"No," Chat Noir said, his mouth suddenly dry. "No, I don't think so."
Ladybug turned, one hand on her hip, idly twirling her yo-yo. "Well, it's so good of you to come to our little party," she said. "Hawk Moth."
"Ladybug," Hawk Moth said, inclining his head. "Chat Noir. And a new player in this little game. I must say, I wasn't expecting I would ever need to meet my enemies face to face."
"That was always gonna happen, you monster!" Chat Noir snarled. "Release Ladybug!"
Hawk Moth smirked. "Do you really think I would, even if I could?" he asked. "As much as I hate to say it, the one in control of this situation is Ladybug. I never expected her willpower to be..." He closed his eyes. "So intense. So divine. Yes..." His eyes snapped open. "If not for the fact that she stands directly between me and my prize, I would be..." He clenched a fist. "Impressed. But no." He glared hatefully at Ladybug. "Your Miraculous. I will take the earrings!"
Ladybug smirked. "Sorry, I don't think they'd look good on you," she said. She lashed out with her yo-yo; Hawk Moth blocked with his cane. "If you want the Miraculous, you'll have to take it by force! Oh, but you can't, can you? You're at your limit, even now," Ladybug said in a mockingly sad tone. "How many Akuma have you made today? Three? Your Kwami must be almost out of power, and you've lost control of the only one you still have active."
Hawk Moth narrowed his eyes. "Don't underestimate me," he said in a low, dangerous snarl. "If this is to be our final battle, then it is time I unveil my ultimate power!"
Chat Noir tensed; at his side, Foxy Roux readied her flute, fighting to control her trembling. "Man, if I knew my first time in action would be the final boss battle," she muttered.
"Hah!" Ladybug laughed. "This should be exciting. What are you gonna do, flap us to death?"
Hawk Moth smirked nastily at her and raised his cane skyward.
"SWARM."
Dozens of jet black butterflies exploded out of his cane, covering the park in darkness. The people milling around the edges screamed. Chat Noir and Foxy Roux tensed. Ladybug watched calmly, still swinging her yo-yo at her side.
The butterflies filtered out into the crowds, who the police were now trying to force back. The screaming and chaos stilled as the butterflies sank into every civilian and police officer. They all turned in unison, dark black butterfly marks spread across their expressionless faces.
Hawk Moth smiled grimly. "Come to me, my army. Come, and take the Miraculous!"
"This is bad," Chat Noir said, extending his baton and tightening his grip. At his side, Foxy Roux readied her flute.
Ladybug yawned. "This is the best you've got? Really?" She shook her head. "This wouldn't stop a wet fart!" Leaping high into the air, she launched her yo-yo at Hawk Moth, who stepped away, keeping a firm grasp on his cane.
"Ah, but you'll have to go through them to get to me," Hawk Moth said as he retreated into the crowd...all of which transformed into exact copies of Hawk Moth, right down to his cruel, superior sneer.
"Tch...!" Chat Noir spat. "We can't let him get away!"
"I wasn't planning to!" Ladybug shouted, launching her bladed yo-yo into the swarm. Foxy Roux gasped and ran forward, using her flute to knock it to the side.
"Girl, NO!" she cried. "You can't—! These are innocent people!"
"Like I care!" Ladybug shouted. "I'm done caring about anything except putting an end to all of this!"
Hawk Moth's laughter rang out. "Yes! Give in to your hate, Ladybug! Fall! Become a villain, reviled by the city you love! Feel their hatred, every day of your wretched life!"
"That's NEVER going to happen!" Chat Noir yelled. "Ladybug...she's the most amazing...most selfless..." His entire body shook with rage. "She'll never become a monster like you!"
"SHE ALREADY HAS!" Hawk Moth roared. "By her own choice! She has EMBRACED evil! She has WELCOMED darkness into her heart!"
"You're wrong!" Foxy Roux yelled. "Ladybug would never turn her back on her friends! She's the one on who we ALL depend!"
"Hmm, no, pretty sure that's somebody else," Ladybug said lightly as she dropped down on Foxy Roux, slamming both knees into the crown of her head. Foxy Roux dropped like a sack of potatoes. Before Ladybug could recover from the follow-through, Chat Noir tackled her, pressing her flat to the ground. She struggled underneath him, but he held firm. "GET! OFF OF ME!" Ladybug snarled.
"No," Chat Noir said softly. "This is over. Purify the Akuma. Come back to me, Marinette."
"HE'S GETTING AWAY, YOU STUPID SON OF A—"
Chat Noir slammed Ladybug's face into the dirt, muffling her. "I don't care," he said. "There'll be another day. He can't hide from us forever. But this isn't the way. This isn't the way our story ends. Our story ends with me, standing beside the Ladybug I love, fighting Hawk Moth together. Partners. For Paris. For our friends. For everybody we care about. For justice."
Ladybug went still. "A-Adrien," she whimpered. "It...it hurts..."
"I'm here for you, Marinette," Chat Noir said softly, stroking her hair. "Just let go. Let it all out. Come back to me, Bugaboo. I need you. I...I can't go on without you." He gently rolled off of her, then slowly pulled her to a sitting position. He gazed into her eyes. "I love you. Please...please come back to me."
Ladybug's eyes widened.
Her lips trembled.
Her yo-yo fell from her grasp.
The top opened, and a bright white light spilled out.
A tiny white butterfly flapped into the sky, climbing higher and higher.
Hawk Moth swore under his breath as his Miraculous let off a second beep. He glanced left and right, snarling.
He was out in the open. He had no more power. With Swarm in effect, he couldn't use any of Nooroo's other powers.
And Swarm wouldn't end until his Miraculous timed out.
"Gotcha," a female voice called. He skidded to a stop, growling as his path was blocked by a dozen Foxy Rouxs, all standing in a line. He turned around to look behind him, and there were a dozen more.
He bowed his head, smirking. "Clever, but your illusions won't fool me," he said. "Only one of you is real."
"Ah, but which one?" Foxy Roux taunted. A blur crossed Hawk Moth's path, and he doubled over as a flute slammed into his stomach. Before he could track the blur, he staggered from a kick to his back. He spun around, but saw only the rows of illusory foxes staring back at him. He snarled as he looked to his left, then his right, seeing nothing but more of the same.
"Tch...! No, this...this is not how it ends!"
"You're right," a new voice intruded. "It's not."
Hawk Moth looked up, eyes wide, as Ladybug-cleansed of the Akuma, her dark hair shining and her skin vibrant and freckled-and Chat Noir dropped down from above. Ladybug's blue eyes shone with confidence and righteousness. Chat Noir smirked as he landed in a casual lean, his tail lashing slowly behind him.
The fox illusions disappeared in puffs of smoke, leaving three heroes surrounding Hawk Moth on all sides. His Miraculous beeped again.
"No escape," Ladybug said firmly. "It ends now, Hawk Moth."
Hawk Moth scowled. "Does it, now," he said darkly. "I know your secret, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. If you take my Miraculous, if you turn me over to the police, the world finds out you're Ladybug. And then what? Do you think you can live your normal life with that hanging over your head?"
Ladybug faltered. "I...! It...it doesn't matter..."
"Doesn't it?" Hawk Moth asked with a cruel sneer. "Your parents, what about them? What's going to happen when the world finds out who Ladybug is? Even in defeat, I win. You lose everything."
"You're wrong," Chat Noir said firmly. "Everybody loves Marinette. I love Marinette. I'll never let anything happen to her, to her family. She doesn't lose anything. Ladybug always wins! And you, Hawk Moth..." He narrowed his eyes. "You've just lost everything."
"We'll see," Hawk Moth said, closing his eyes. He stood straight, leaning on his cane. "Well...I suppose this is it," he said conversationally, smiling. "I can't get past you heroes. I'm out of power. My Miraculous is about to time out, and my Swarm won't catch up to us in time." He opened his eyes. "I guess you win. Get ready for your reward."
Bright pink and purple light washed over his body, erasing the silver cowl, the cane, the purple suit. The teen heroes watched, anxiously, as the transformation and its magic faded away.
Foxy Roux's jaw dropped, her eyes wide behind her mask.
Ladybug went pale.
Chat Noir gasped, sinking to his knees in shock.
The man who had tormented them for the better part of a year straightened his ascot and jacket, his eyes hard behind black-rimmed glasses.
"I believe this is a stalemate," he said calmly. "You children know who I am. I know who you are. I know you are intelligent enough to understand that revealing my identity to the authorities would have...disastrous consequences. And I don't believe any of us are foolish enough to go after one another in our own homes." He clasped his hands behind his back. "This is not over, Ladybug, Chat Noir. Our game continues. I will have your Miraculous. If I have to tear this entire city down around your heads, I will have them."
"...why?" Chat Noir choked out.
"I have my reasons," the enemy of Paris said, turning his back to Chat Noir. He pulled his phone from his breast pocket. "Send my car," he instructed sharply. "Make arrangements, I'm going to London for two weeks." He paused, then added, "Keep to the usual schedule while I'm away. No deviations."
He turned to regard the heroes dispassionately. "Well?" he demanded. "It's over for today."
"Like HELL IT IS!" Chat Noir snarled, rushing forward, only to be jerked to a halt by Ladybug, who had grabbed his tail. He turned, glaring at her.
She shook her head, eyes full of tears and pain. "Not today, Minou," she said softly. "Not today."
"But...!"
Chat Noir's Miraculous beeped. Ladybug's followed a second later.
"Let it go," Ladybug implored. "It's not over yet." She glared at her enemy. "It's only just beginning."
He smirked and inclined his head respectfully, then turned and calmly walked away.
Foxy Roux stared at his retreating back, then at her friends. "We're...we're just letting him get away?"
Chat Noir sighed, no longer struggling. "I guess we are," he said roughly. Ladybug let go of his tail and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He turned into her embrace and buried his nose in her hair.
"Come home with me, Chaton," Ladybug said. "We...we have a lot to talk about."
"Yeah..."
"You know, Chloé knows who both of us are now," Ladybug said reproachfully as she turned back into Marinette.
Adrien winced as he changed back into Chat Noir. "Merde... I forgot all about that." He blinked. "Wait, you remember?"
Marinette winced. "Yeah," she said. "I remember everything." She wrapped her arms around herself. "It's...it's gonna take a while to get over this one, Minou."
Adrien drew her into a tight hug. "We'll get over it together," he promised her.
"Together," Marinette agreed, taking a deep, hitching breath. "Let's...let's go home."
À SUIVRE...
Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged.