To ggbhbh- CONTINUED! ^_^
"Marinette! Over here!" Alya waved her over, bouncing towards her. "Whoa, you look terrible."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Marinette grumbled, catching a yawn against her palm. Alya gripped her shoulder, tipping her head to the left to peer concernedly at her. "Just a rough night." Ladybug had been patrolling all night, looking for any sign of Chat Blanc, but- for someone so eager to even the score- he was nowhere to be found. She was groggy, vicious shadows clinging to her eyes. "Are you OK?"
"I've got a biiiiiiig scoop!" Marinette yawned again, humming tiresomely. "Here, this will wake you up." Alya unlocked her phone and brought up another video. Marinette stared incredulously at this new content. Chat Blanc was sat near the lamp in Alya's room, one leg up and resting on his knee, that malicious grin in place.
"Ladybug," He announced, "I am Chat Blanc and you are a cold-hearted woman. I've enlisted the help of one of your biggest followers to send you this message- meet me at the Eiffel Tower by ten o'clock tomorrow morning and I'll give you the chance to surrender. If you are late... well, I'm sure there are other romantic cities." He sat forward, lips twisting into a snarl. "I will break the heart of every woman in this city, so you all know exactly how it feels!" And with a wild swing of his arm, the lamp smashed to the floor and it all went dark.
"OK, I know it's bad," Alya began, pocketing her phone, "but that's twice I've got an interview with Chat Noir! And Blanc." She added after a second's pause. "And he's mad at Ladybug! Ohohoho, and the plot thickens."
"I worry about you sometimes." Marinette checked her watch, chills splaying over her skin. It was half past ten! "Oh! I've just remembered! My parents are out of town this morning on deliveries and I was supposed to wait- someone's picking a birthday cake up today. I'll be back soon." She promised. Alya laughed.
"You'll forget your head if it wasn't screwed on tight."
"Granted." Marinette raced out, darting around the corner and into a side road. She hid behind a dumpster, freeing Tikki from her bag. "Tikki, spots on!"
Chat Blanc was in the square, staff in hand. He was swinging it in all directions, bursts of crystal light crackling at the tip and erupting towards civilians. Ladybug sprinted towards the chaos, noticing every blast targeted a man. Some, those with women, turned and started raging, screaming all kinds of insults at their other halves, rendering the female stricken and sobbing. Those alone or with friends stormed off in multiple directions, undoubtedly to break the hearts of their loved ones.
"Chat Noir!" She called.
"It's Chat Blanc!" Chat argued furiously, whirling round. His lip curled with utter loathing, eyes narrowed dangerously. "But what would you care?" He continued, trembling with rage. "You never took the time to get to know me! I was only your sidekick!"
"I never thought of you as my sidekick! You're my partner, we're a team!"
"Not anymore." He growled, leveling the staff at her. She dived to the side to avoid the first attack, vaulted over the second. Chat beat his arm, back and forth, torrents of icy hatred chilling the air, reducing anything and anyone it hit to shambles. He roared, frustrated, and charged her, taking a wild bat at her head, kicking at her ankles to knock her flat, throwing punch, swipe, claws, sweeping kick, attack after attack at her. Ladybug deflected as best she could, but he was completely unhinged, snarling, invading. She loosened her yoyo and somersaulted away, trying to draw breath. His staff extended in his hand, his new-found power snapping and writhing at the end. His cat ears twitched, listening. Bared his teeth and lunged.
"Chat! You're better than this! Don't let him control you!"
"No one is controlling me! Not anymore!" His staff cracked against her ribs, knocking her out the air. Ladybug crashed to the floor, landing awkwardly on her arm. Pain splintered up from her elbow and flaring across her shoulder, numbing her right hand. Alarm bells rang in her head and she rolled hurriedly to one side, narrowly missing his weapon impaling her head. Malevolent energy buckled the ground, tendrils snaking towards her. She instinctively scrabbled backwards, cradling her injured arm to her chest. "I don't need you, Ladybug. You don't appreciate anyone, you only care about yourself! You think you're sooo much better than everyone else! What would you be like without your precious Miraculous, huh? You wouldn't be able to fight me then!" Chat pounced. Ladybug fell to one side, feeling his presence whoosh overhead. He recovered quickly, catlike reflexes snapping into action. His claws clamped into her ankle, dragging her back. "You're not going to win this time." He vowed through gritted teeth, pressing his knees on her shoulders and locking her hands above her head. With his free hand, he tipped her head to one side, leaning closer to take her earrings. Ladybug twisted violently, the agony ripping through her arm splashing blinding dots across her vision. He growled at her. She brought her legs up, jamming her knees into his sides and flipping them over, yanking her arms free. With her left, she bashed him in the face. He reeled, hands flying to the bloody nose. She didn't waste this opportunity, fleeing.
"Too close." She breathed heavily, back pressed to the wall. She detransformed, catching Tikki in her good hand. "He's right, Tikki, I can't fight him."
"Marinette, we'll figure this out. For the time being, you need to get your arm seen to."
"Chat needs my help!" Marinette retorted hotly, eyes burning. "Where is his akuma?"
"In his ring."
"But if I take his ring-"
"He'll return to normal. Not Chat Noir normal, civilian normal."
"So, to get his ring, I need to make sure we're not somewhere public."
"Arm first." Tikki pressed kindly. "There's a hospital not far from here. Say you fell on the stairs or from a tree."
"I can't leave Chat though, look at all the women he's hurting." Tikki's small face saddened. "I'm sorry, Tikki, but this comes first." The kwami nodded solemnly, her big eyes roving around their hiding place. Marinette tried moving her fingers, her head swimming with the resultant pain. Tikki saw a line of washing and brightened. She zipped up and dislodged a shirt, whipping around her charge's arm and effectively binding it.
"That should hold for a little while. Ready to go back out there?" Marinette nodded. "Just say the phrase."