Marinette carefully packed the Fox Miraculous into its box. "Thanks, Alya," she said. "Or should I say, 'Rena Rouge'? Now, I have to go before I de-transform."
"We'll see each other soon, right?" Alya said.
"Absolutely—as long as Cat Noir is out of commission, I'll need your help again. I—"
Marinette stopped short as she watched the school building crumble in the distance. The sound of wailing sirens and screams floated through the air. "Oh, no. Hawk Moth has Akumatized somebody, for sure." She handed the box back to Alya. "I gotta go. Meet me by that collapsed building in about five minutes."
"Five minutes? Why so long?"
"It'll take that long for our Kwamis to recuperate. Now I really have to go!"
Marinette ran around the corner just in time to de-transform away from Alya's eyes. She let out a sigh of relief, clicked open her purse, and handed a cookie to Tikki. The little Kwami ate ravenously.
"Poor Adrien," Marinette said. "I hate having to use him this way—and I'm pretty sure that's not what Cat Noir meant when he said to go to Adrien for help. I wonder if it's Adrien who just destroyed that building—and I hope that nobody was inside…oh, Tikki, what if I made the wrong play here? What if we all made the wrong play?"
"Don't worry, Marinette," Tikki said, between mouthfuls of cookie. "You've got Alya, and you still have the Bee Miraculous to hand out."
"Yeah, but I don't know who to give it to. I know once we have Hawk Moth in the open, we can paralyze him to take his Miraculous, but who would be a good choice?" Marinette thought for a moment. "Alix. Alix is really brave and tough. She'll be up to this challenge, for sure. Assuming she wasn't hurt in the building collapse. And assuming she can use the Miraculous, and assuming…oh, Tikki, it's all assumptions! What am I going to do, what am I going to do?"
Tikki wolfed down the last bite of cookie. "Have the Bee Miraculous ready to go, and transform! We have to meet Alya at the school building."
"You're right." Marinette swallowed back her fear. "Tikki, spots on!"
Once transformed, Marinette hooked the Bee Miraculous to her yo-yo and ran as fast as she could to the site of the school. She arrived just as the building next to it was collapsing. She gasped when she saw who was standing next to the destroyed building.
"Ladybug," Cat Noir said. "You showed up just in time."
"Cat Noir?" Marinette gasped. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, you only wish I was Cat Noir. You only wish you had an ally to help you fight me."
"Wait. You're not Cat Noir, you're the victim of an Akuma!"
"I'm not just the victim of an Akuma. I'm Metamorphosis—Hawk Moth's masterpiece. You have no chance of defeating me on your own."
"Good thing she's not on her own, then!" Rena Rouge leapt down from the rubble of the school. She ran to Marinette's side. "You think this one's Adrien?" she whispered.
"Possibly," Marinette said. "Probably. There's got to be some way we can find out."
"Even if it is two against one, I'm feeling pretty lucky," Metamorphosis said. "Metamorphosis!"
Marinette's jaw dropped as in a flash of light Cat Noir disappeared, only to be replaced by Ladybug.
"I think the bigger question is going to be finding where his Akuma is," Marinette said, frowning. "I thought maybe it would be in his baton, or his ring, but now…now I'm not sure."
"And we still don't know if this is Adrien," Rena Rouge said. "If it's not, your plan is bust."
"What are you two girls whispering about?" Metamorphosis called out, in Ladybug's voice. "Wondering where my Akuma is? You'll never find it. It's too well hidden. Lucky Charm!" Pink magic swirled in the air, an exact copycat of Ladybug's power. The object fell into Metamorphosis's waiting hands: a massive, evil-looking sword that looked exactly like the one Antibug had produced back when Chloe was Akumatized.
"Ladybug, what do we do?" Rena Rouge said nervously.
If only we had Cataclysm right now, Marinette thought. Oh, Cat, I feel so lost without you… She shook her head to chase the thought away. She had to figure this out.
"So you've got a fancy sword and can mimic my powers," Marinette called out. "Big deal. Now you've got five minutes before you de-transform."
"Not so," Metamorphosis said. "I can use the power as many times as I want. Lucky Charm!"
More magic congealed in the air and another sword, this one smaller, appeared. "Excellent. Two handed combat. Let's go, Ladybug…and whatever your name is."
"It's Rena Rouge, and I'll teach you not to forget it!" Rena Rouge shouted. She started to charge, but Marinette caught her by the hand and held her back.
"No. This is just what Metamorphosis wants. I know it's a little early, but…" Marinette's voice dropped to a whisper. "Let's give Metamorphosis about a hundred of us to fight."
"I like the way you think." Rena Rouge held the flute to her lips and played a few notes. "Mirage!" Suddenly, the whole area was filled with about a hundred Ladybugs and a hundred Rena Rouges.
"Come and fight us," the illusions called tauntingly. They all held their weapons up, ready to strike.
"You think that's going to work on me?" Metamorphosis shouted. She (or he, Marinette still wasn't sure at this point what pronoun was appropriate, and asking Metamorphosis for their preferred pronoun seemed like a waste of time) laughed wildly. "Metamorphosis!" In a flash of light, the supervillain became the Evillustrator, who with a quick swipe of his iPad made all the illusions disappear at once. "Metamorphosis!" He (or she) then shifted into Rena Rouge, whipped out the flute, and played a few notes. "Mirage!" A hundred Ladybugs appeared, all wielding the swords. They all charged Marinette and Rena Rouge at once. "Metamorphosis!" The villain was Ladybug once more, wielding the swords. She (or he) disappeared in the crowd of charging Ladybugs.
Marinette whirled her yo-yo, breaking the illusions one at a time. "Be careful! We don't know which one is the real one!"
"You got it!" Rena Rouge called back.
A very real collision hit Marinette's whirling yo-yo as one of the Ladybugs swung her sword. "There you are, Metamorphosis," Marinette said. "What good are all these illusions to you now?"
The Ladybug just grinned. "Metamorphosis!" In a flash of light, Cat Noir stood before her. "Cataclysm!" Metamorphosis swiped the charged hand through the air right at Marinette's face. Instinctively, Marinette raised her whirling yo-yo to defend herself.
"Got it!" shouted Metamorphosis, as his (or her) hand brushed across the yo-yo.
In horror, Marinette watched her yo-yo disappear in a cloud of ash. Without her yo-yo, how could she do Lucky Charm? How could she purify the Akuma? How could she do anything? Panic threatened to swallow her up.
Metamorphosis's hand was still charged with dark energy. He (or she) swiped again. Marinette did an aerial flip out of the way.
"You're totally helpless now, Ladybug," Metamorphosis said. "Now give me your Miraculous."
"No she's not!" Rena Rouge swept in and struck Metamorphosis so hard on the head that he toppled over and hit the ground.
In a flash of light, Adrien lay on the ground, massaging the top of his head. But everything about him seemed different. He was rage-filled, and the anger looked so foreign on his usually gentle features. One of his shoes was black.
It is Adrien, thought Marinette. So I can't take his Akuma, not yet. He hasn't gotten Hawk Moth out in the open yet. But how…how is this going to work without my yo-yo?
Adrien lay on the ground with anger coursing through him. He couldn't believe he had let Rena Rouge get the drop on him like that. But both of them were going to pay. Ladybug would be helpless without her yo-yo, and Rena Rouge was going to transform back soon. He struggled to his feet, laughing wickedly. Taking Ladybug's Miraculous would be a cinch now, and then he could go retrieve the Cat Miraculous.
A sudden voice deep inside him clamored loudly. I must get Hawk Moth out in the open.
Adrien scowled. He wanted to silence the voice. Nothing was more important than taking Ladybug's earrings and getting the ring. But as he looked at Ladybug, her eyes alight with the beautiful fire of determination, a feeling swept through him.
I love her, he thought. And I promised her I would get Hawk Moth out in the open. I promised. But I don't need Hawk Moth's help. I can defeat Ladybug on my own. But I know I must get him out in the open. How do I…what if…what if…
What is going on, Metamorphosis? Gabriel's voice echoed inside of Adrien's head. Why have you stopped fighting?
A grin twisted Adrien's face. "Metamorphosis!" he shouted, focusing with all his might on one particular supervillain's form: Hawk Moth. In seconds, he had taken the form of his transformed father.
Good thinking, Metamorphosis, Gabriel's voice said inside of Adrien's head. Now you can Akumatize as many villains as you want. You'll have an unstoppable army.
"Yeah, starting with one person in particular. Somebody full of negative emotions," Adrien said. He snatched a butterfly out of the air, clasped his hands around it, and smiled. "A man who is grieving the tragic loss of a wife, a man who has gone positively insane with negativity and anger over his repeated failures to seize the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous. Perfect prey for an Akuma, don't you think, Hawk Moth?"
Don't you DARE.
Adrien smirked. "Fly away, Akuma—and darken his heart!"
The Akuma fluttered away.
You idiot boy. Do you really think you can Akumatize ME? I'll strip you of your powers right now if you don't stop.
"But what if it works?" Adrien said. "If I Akumatize you, you'll have whatever powers I give you, and we will be an unstoppable army. We'll get the Miraculous for sure."
Gabriel blinked his eyes in disbelief. Did Adrien really have the sheer audacity to think that he could Akumatize him, Hawk Moth, who had given Adrien those powers in the first place?
But on the other hand, Adrien had a point. If Adrien could give him unlimited uses of his power to Akumatize people, then both of them could work to create an endless army of people to overwhelm Ladybug and her new allies. But he would also be surrendering his autonomy to Adrien. He had already risked that with Simon Says, and the results had been disastrous.
Come on, Father, Adrien said. Think about it. Do you really want to take my powers away now, when we're so close to cornering Ladybug? Just think about how much more powerful I can make you.
Gabriel chewed on his lip. He only had seconds to decide whether or not to go through with this. "Fine, but only if you'll give me the powers exactly as I say: you must give me the power to produce as many Akumas as possible."
You got it, Hawk Moth, Adrien said.
The Akuma fluttered into Gabriel's observatory. He held out his cane and watched as the Akuma disappeared into it.
Instantly, he had a splitting headache. He listened as Adrien's voice echoed loudly in his head.
Super Moth, I am Metamorphosis. And I am giving you the power to Akumatize as many people as you possibly can. All I ask in return is that you come and fight here beside me—and that we can be a true Father-and-Son team.
"That's all you're asking?" Gabriel said. A sudden feeling of warmth went through him. "Very well, son. I will come and fight beside you, and together, we will bring back your mother from the dead." A wave of magic swept over Gabriel's body, changing his outfit from silver and purple into silver and midnight black. Gabriel grinned.
This was perfect. There was no way Ladybug could escape—not now.