Marinette couldn't believe her eyes and ears. When she had asked Adrien to get Hawk Moth out in the open, this wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind. From what she could hear of what Adrien was saying, he had Akumatized Hawk Moth to be even more powerful than he was already.
"Wait a sec," Rena Rouge said, "did he just turn into Hawk Moth? And did I hear that right? Did he just Akumatize Hawk Moth?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what just happened," Marinette said.
"Ladybug, this is bad. I'm about to transform back."
"Then go. I'll hold him back. Plus, I've got one more trick up my sleeve." Marinette glanced down at the Miraculous box that still hung at her waist. She just had to go find Alix and see if she would accept the Bee Miraculous. "Go! Go now!"
Rena Rouge nodded and ran.
"It's just you and me now, Ladybug," Metamorphosis said. "And here you are, stuck without your yo-yo. What are you possibly going to do to defeat me? Give me your Miraculous before Hawk Moth arrives and things won't be as unpleasant for you as they're going to be. Trust me on this. My father is not a kind man. And look at all these frightened people watching us. We're going to start Akumatizing them one by one, until there's nobody left to help you, or even to give that Miraculous you're holding onto. What does that one do, I wonder?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Marinette said, planting her hands on her hips.
"As a matter of fact, I would," said a deep voice behind Marinette.
Marinette wheeled around. There was Hawk Moth, dressed in black and silver. It was all she could do not to let out a small yelp as she heard dozens of people run away from the scene with shouts of terror.
Cat Noir, I need you! Marinette thought. There's no way I can face two Hawk Moths without you, when I couldn't even face one without getting concussed so badly I forgot about it.
Hawk Moth drew a sword from his cane. Metamorphosis did the same.
"And now," they said, in perfect sync, "attack!"
Marinette backflipped out of the way just in time to avoid her enemies' blades. She realized that at this point, she only had one option: retreat. Until Rena Rouge was recharged and she could give Alix the Bee Miraculous, it was her only choice. She ran as fast as she could, but a black butterfly fluttered past her at an almost impossible speed.
Within seconds, a villain she instantly recognized stepped around the corner.
"Pixelator!" Marinette shouted, reaching for her yo-yo instinctively, but only found herself grasping at air. Her stomach flopped. And then she saw a whole army of black butterflies, flying in all directions.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the familiar sight of some of her classmates—Alix, Rose, and Juleka, who all took off running and screaming. Marinette took off after them, running as fast as she could. "Wait!" she shouted.
But in a flash, all three of them disappeared as the Pixelator's power whisked them all away.
Marinette kept running until she rounded the corner, then gasped for breath once she thought she was out of view. How many dozens more people were being Akumatized while she hid? How am I going to do this? she thought. How, how, how? This is bad. So bad.
There was the sound of sniffling coming from behind the dumpster in the alley. Carefully, cautiously, Marinette walked toward the sound, only to discover Chloe sitting on the ground, smearing tears from her face. Chloe looked up and her whole face brightened.
"Ladybug! You've come to save me!" Chloe jumped up from the ground and threw her arms around Marinette.
Normally, Marinette would have shrugged the hug away. Being touched by Chloe was the last thing on earth she wanted. But a startling wave of tingling shot through Marinette as Chloe touched her, and Marinette immediately recognized it.
An aura.
Chloe could wield a Miraculous.
That thought in itself was terrifying enough—but what seemed even more terrifying was that it looked like, at this juncture in time, Chloe could quite possibly be Marinette's only option. Metamorphosis was too powerful of a villain—he hadn't been kidding when he said he was Hawk Moth's masterpiece. There was no guarantee they could even stop Metamorphosis, let alone face Metamorphosis and Hawk Moth, if he came out in the open according to Marinette's plan.
Beggars can't be choosers, Marinette thought, with a sigh. "Chloe, listen. I need your help." She unhooked the box from her waist and handed it to Chloe. "Chloe Bourgeois, this is the Miraculous of the Bee, which grants the power of paralysis. Will you use it to help me defeat this villain, and then return it to me?"
"You—you want me to be a superheroine? I can't believe this! Ha! Wait until that stupid Dupain-Cheng girl hears about this. She won't ever be able to say anything bad about me again."
Marinette rolled her eyes. "You can't tell anyone, Chloe. It has to be a secret!"
"Oh, right," Chloe said. "Well, I suppose if I must keep my fabulous identity a secret, then I'll just have to. But why do I have to give it back to you?"
"Because it's only temporary," Marinette said. "It's just the way things are."
"All right, fine. So…what do I do?"
"Open it," Marinette said, her patience running short.
Chloe opened the box, and a glowing golden orb emerged. Then a little bee-like Kwami appeared. "Hello, my queen," the Kwami said. "I'm Pollen, and I'm your Kwami. I am what powers your Miraculous."
"Oh my gosh, it's so fabulous," Chloe said, pulling out the Miraculous and putting the comb in her hair. "I'm so getting a duplicate made."
"Whatever makes you happy," Marinette mumbled.
"Now what?"
"You just say, 'Pollen, bug on,'" Pollen said, smiling.
"All right!" Chloe said. "Just watch, Ladybug. You are so not going to regret this."
Why do I feel like I am? Marinette thought.
"Pollen, bug on!" Within seconds, Chloe was transformed. She looked down at her form. "Absolutely fabulous!" she squealed.
"Forget about how fabulous it is and help me beat this villain. Follow my instructions, will you?"
"Totally, Ladybug. Oh! What's my superhero name? Can it be Queen Bee? It totally fits my regal presence."
"Sure," Marinette said wearily. "All right, Queen Bee. Here's the deal. I need you paralyze Hawk Moth. He is the one in black and silver, not purple and silver. Got that?"
"Got it. Paralyze Hawk Moth."
"But we have to be careful. There are Akuma victims all over the place. And Hawk Moth is a really powerful fighter."
"No problem, Ladybug. Just leave it Chloe Bourgeois."
"You mean Queen Bee."
"Whatever, it's all the same."
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Let's go."
She ran back down the length of the alley and peered around the corner, only to find that there were dozens of Akumatized victims milling around the area. It would only be a matter of time before they came down the alley, too.
"Psst, Ladybug!" said a voice from above.
Marinette looked up. "Rena Rouge! You're back! This is perfect. I have the perfect plan, and our new friend Queen Bee is going to help us carry it out."
"You have other friends besides that stupid Cat Noir?" Queen Bee said.
Marinette glared. "Don't you dare call Cat Noir stupid. He's my best friend. Now. In order for this plan to work, we need to lure Hawk Moth into this alley, where Queen Bee will paralyze him. Got that?"
Both of the superheroines nodded.
"Then let's go. Charge your power, Queen Bee!" Marinette said.
"Venom!" Queen Bee shouted.
Marinette turned to Rena Rouge. "Quick! Rena Rouge! Make Queen Bee invisible."
Rena Rouge played the magical notes on her flute. "Mirage!" She flung the energy toward Chloe, who disappeared.
"Now, don't move, Queen Bee, or you'll break the illusion. Wait until we have Hawk Moth over here, and then do your stuff."
"Got it!" Queen Bee said.
Marinette rounded the corner of the building. Every single Akuma victim stopped in their tracks and stared at her. "All right, Hawk Moth, Metamorphosis! I'm surrendering my Miraculous to you. But only on the condition that you free all these people from your Akumas once I have—and you have to personally come take them from me. I'm defenseless, after all."
"This is such an obvious trap," Hawk Moth and Metamorphosis said, as one. "You could be an illusion, created by Rena Rouge. And that Miraculous that was at your waist is gone. Come here to us, away from there, and you'll put the earrings in our hands yourself."
"Fine, if that's what it takes to get you to leave all these people alone!" Marinette said. Slowly, she walked across the street toward where Hawk Moth and Metamorphosis stood. The Akuma victims stood by. Some of them laughed. Marinette made it halfway before she stopped. Her whole plan hinged on getting Hawk Moth close enough to Queen Bee to paralyze him so she could take his Miraculous.
She took another hesitant step forward. How was this going to work? How?
"Adrien, listen to me," she said. "You've saved me in the past—you saved me from that horrible spider villain, Arachnid. You almost died for me. And you agreed to get Hawk Moth out in the open, and you've done that."
"What is she talking about, Metamorphosis?" Hawk Moth said.
"Sorry, Father. It's true what she says. I did agree to do that, and so I did, even though you'd Akumatized me. But it's the only thing I agreed to. There's still no way she can beat us."
"Adrien, help me again," Marinette said. "I need your help to beat him. It's the only way to set your father free."
"You're a fool if you think I'll help you now, Ladybug," Metamorphosis said. "For the first time in my life, my father is my friend now, my ally! I won't let you take that away from me." He grinned. "Are you ready for the ultimate irony?" He leaned in and whispered into Hawk Moth's ear.
Hawk Moth grinned too, a wicked grin that made Marinette shiver.
"Adrien, you have to fight it! You have to fight off this Akuma!"
"No, Ladybug. It's you that has to fight now. Metamorphosis!"