I was going to post this last week, but I was sick as a dog and could barely do anything, let alone post.

So this was a fun one. The last chapter-trilogy kinda burned me out for story ideas... so I decided to just make one big fight scene chapter with a little plot development hahaha. It's fun for what it is, and hope y'all enjoy it!

Chapter Four

United Villains

Gabriel let a rare smile crack across his face as he watched Adrien hug Emilie before he bounded out of the house and down to the car. His wife threw him an approving look. "We've kept him cooped up for too long," she said casually. "He told me about everything when we had breakfast. You should've joined us. It would've been nice."

"I wasn't hungry," he replied simply before heading into his office. "Now, Emilie, for the time being, I would prefer it if you stayed home. At least until we could figure out a way to properly explain this to the media."

"That's one of the smarter things you've ever said," she said. "Idiot."

Gabriel stopped in his tracks, not sure if he heard her correctly. "Excuse me?"

Emilie smirked darkly, sashaying up to her husband and staring directly up into his face. "You heard me, Hawk Moth. Your idiot-ness has always held you back. Seventy-something Mr. Pigeons? Really?"

It became instantly obvious to Gabriel who was in control of his wife. Only one person ever spoke to him like that… and the fact that the voice had just a touch of a familiar accent.

"Dragonus," Gabriel growled. "What have you done with my wife?"

"Remember when I woke her up?" Dragonus said with Emilie's voice. "When I said it wiped away Miraculous knowledge and other illicit dealings you may have made from her mind? Well… it wasn't just that. I left a little backdoor in her mind, just enough for me to see through her eyes and possess her, if need be," the draconian villain explained, then his wife's body tapped her temple. "Playing in the shadows of her mind. She's still in here, but she doesn't know what's going on. Right now, she thinks you're just having a conversation about having family meals again and moving onto fashion topics and design inspirations or some other weird stuff you two talked about."

"Why, though?" Gabriel demanded. "You have the Miraculouses and the spellbook. Why do you still intrude on my life?"

Dragonus tutted and splayed Emilie's arms out. "Simple. I don't trust you. I need you for my final plan, but I don't trust you. You're the wild card here. The heroes are predictable. My Darks wreck some streets, they show up to stop us. But you, especially now that you're de-powered? Suppose you had a change of heart and confessed to everything. Or you decided to discreetly aid Adrien in his heroics. I would find out, but it could be too late to reverse it in my favor."

"So you're using my wife…"

"As a spy, yes," Dragonus admitted. "Oh, don't look so offended, I know you were thinking of something similar."

"Get out of my house," Gabriel snarled. Dragonus shrugged Emilie's shoulders. "Fine. I have to go, anyway. But I'll be watching you, Gabriel."

Emilie blinked twice, staggering just a little. "Oh… I just felt a little dizzy. I'm fine now, don't worry. Anyway, you were saying something about the next fashion show?

Gabriel was tempted to say no. To tell her the truth about everything and warn her. But he didn't know what Dragonus would do. Would he lash out? Put Emilie back in her coma? Or would he be much more direct, and use Emilie to hurt Adrien and ruin Gabriel's life?

"If he really wanted to hurt me, he would've done it by now," he muttered to himself. "He's toying with me. I might as well play along."

"Huh?" Emilie asked.

Panic flashed across Gabriel's face. She didn't know. She couldn't know. He forced a calm look. "Nothing, dear. I was just talking to myself. Got into the habit, you know."

A concerned look flashed across Emilie's face. "Well, we'll work together and get rid of that habit. If there's anything you need to talk to me about, I'm all ears."

Gabriel smiled, but even then he couldn't keep the suspicion out of his eyes. "Yes… I'm sure you are."

"That may have been a bit cruel," Vorath muttered. "Even if he did plan to do something similar."

"Exactly," Dragonus replied as he cracked his fingers and stepped into the warehouse base's safe. "Just because he didn't see that plan through thanks to our timely arrival doesn't mean he shouldn't feel what it would be like to be watched at all times. And think of it as karma for everything else he's done."

"In addition to taking his Miraculouses and consistently thwarting all of his plans?"

"No one ever said retribution had a limit, Vorath," Dragonus said, biting back the wince as he picked one of the scales of his suit off of his forearm and charged it with golden power.

"You're not going to use the Peacock Miraculous?"

"I want to try to cut back on fusions for a little while. Just to keep any detrimental effects in check."

"Your regular powers can absorb some of the excess energy from unification. The safest limit is about four. Anything more than that is when things start to get bad."

"And you didn't mention this sooner because…?"

"You never asked."

"You are somehow so helpful and completely unhelpful at the same time," Dragonus sighed as he placed his newly charged scale in a square keychain he bought the other day. His sentimonster took shape from a blob of golden smoke, streamlining as the smoke receded. The finished product looked somewhat similar to Gabriel Agreste: similar cold eyes, a downturned mouth, sharp facial features and hair that was beginning to go gray.

Though the similarities ended from the neck down. The body was shorter than Gabriel's, more obviously muscular, all clad in a three-piece gray suit with a red tie.

"Congrats, boss," Vorath said dryly. "Your new Hawk Moth faker looks like you threw the old one in the Combitron with an actual businessman afflicted with OCD."

"It doesn't matter what it looks like," Dragonus snapped back. "All that matters is that it behaves as Hawk Moth would. I've already programmed the sentimonster to act like Hawk Moth before we got here, so he'll be dead focused on getting their Miraculous."

"And if he deviates from the plan?"

"That's why I'm holding on to this," Dragonus answered as he flicked the keychain. "I can force him back into line. It's foolproof!"

"Uh-huh," Vorath replied, somewhat unconvinced. "Well, changing topics, you're heading to school in a few minutes. Maybe you should head back to the house."

"Just a minute," Dragonus said. Then he turned to his sentimonster. "Transform into Hawk Moth and be ready for potential negative emotions. Your butterflies are right here," he added, releasing the insects from the pocket dimension he trapped them in only a couple nights ago. Without missing a beat, Dragonus opened another portal and stepped through into his room.

"Dragon Down," he commanded, changing back as crackling gold lightning framed him. Andrew Hendrol picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. "With luck, someone gets akumatized and I'll know my test dummy works."

"Or something goes wrong or too right and your fake Hawk Moth turns on you."

"Why are you so pessimistic today?"

Vorath just grunted. Andrew shrugged in return as his kwami flew into his hoodie pocket and they set off for the day.

"Yesterday's talk with your dad didn't really convince me," Marinette said in low tones. She, Adrien, Alya, and Nino were huddled near the corner of the school courtyard, away from prying ears. "Felix's outburst seemed too… unlike Felix, for me. And just before we left, Marc said Felix wasn't lying."

"Felix has always been really good at tricking people," Adrien said quietly. "One time when we were little, he and I swapped clothes and pretended to be each other. We had my parents fooled for two days. If he really wanted to, he could lie and cheat and do more damage than Lila. He probably has. And considering what else he did… I'm not sure I trust him."

"Besides, didn't Marc say that Mr. Agreste wasn't lying, either?" Alya added. "I know I shouldn't believe every first source, but when you have an empowered lie detector superhero who can sense every lie… maybe we can really cross him off the list?"

"Or maybe we were talking to the wrong person," Nino suggested. "I mean, if they were both telling the truth. What if - and just hear me out, cuz it's gonna sound nuts - what if it was his assistant dudette? Y'know, Nathalie? What if she was Hawk Moth the whole time?"

"Nope," Adrien replied. "She got captured by the Collector."

"And the fact that Hawk Moth is a man," Alya added. "Nino, I love you to pieces, but I don't want to know how you got to that conclusion."

"It's plausible!" Nino nearly yelped. "Just think about it. Hawk Moth and Mayura had the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses this whole time, right? What if she created a sentimonster of some guy and gave him the Butterfly Miraculous?"

"If I may," Wayzz said as he popped his head out of Nino's backpack. "It might be worth it to mention that Duusu's holders could only make one sentimonster at a time."

"And we've seen other sentimonsters before, so that can't be what happened," Marinette added. Nino just shrugged. "Well, I'm confused and out of ideas for what happened back there. And I know it's not the Gorilla dude, so there aren't many people in that house that could be Hawk Moth."

"Maybe we're looking in the wrong place," Alya suggested. "What if the real Hawk Moth used Gabriel as a cover to throw us off? And he got Felix involved for whatever reason?"

"Which brings up another question: what would Felix have to gain?" Marinette added.

"Or what would Felix have to lose, if he was intimidated by Hawk Moth?" Nino said morbidly.

Before anyone could comment on how dark Nino's suggestion was, the sound of someone falling and dropping a box caught the whole courtyard's attention. From the looks of it, Mr. Damocles had tripped over his own shoelace and lost his grip on a box he was taking up to his office.

"Oh no! Please be alright, please be alright!" he yelped as he got to his feet and moved as fast as he could to the box. A sigh of relief escaped him once he was sure no harm had befallen the package.

"Are you okay, Mr. Damocles?" Marinette asked as she and the others moved closer to him. Their principal merely chuckled and swept some imaginary dust off the top of the box.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. I was more concerned with my package, you see. I've been saving for this particular pack of…" he paused, biting his lip. "Important documents for a while now. Yes, and I need to review them quickly! So, I'll be up in my office, and you all should be getting to class! Chop chop, move along!" Mr. Damocles didn't wait to see if they moved along at all, instead quickly moving up to his office and slamming the door.

The other students who had gathered to watch their principal's performance dispersed the second it was over, leaving Marinette and her friends alone again.

"Maybe he's Hawk Moth?" Nino suggested weakly.

Three pairs of eyes threw a quick glare at him as he held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, I know, he was Dark Owl, but it's better than nothing!"

"How about we figure this out later?" Adrien said. "We've got physics in about a minute and Ms. Mendeleiev's been a little irritable lately… we should probably move."

The collective dread of annoying their abnormally short-tempered science teacher firmly set in their minds, the four set off at a jog for class.

"And voila!" Mr. Damocles said proudly as he stepped back and admired his new collection. Knightowl stood - as always - at the center, Majestia and Sparrow flanking his idol's left and right sides, and Victory, Doorman, Uncanny Valley, and the other heroes filling out the rest of the shelf.

"See that, Albert? It took me nearly six months and cost more than I'd like to admit, but it's finally done! Isn't it glorious?"

"Yes, sir," Mr. Damocles's AI answered. "Most glorious. Though it may serve you well to not keep them on display all the time. The probability of the glory of your collection being distracting is exactly ninety-five point seven five percent."

Mr. Damocles sighed. "Perhaps letting that Max boy tinker with your programming wasn't such a good idea after all, if you're going to be such a killjoy about it." He moved behind his desk and sat down, rifling through some of the papers he left from yesterday. Something about faulty electronics downstairs from Ms. Mendeleiev.

But the allure of the collection caught his attention again, and he couldn't help but notice how dull they looked in the slight shadow the office cast.

"Albert," Mr. Damocles said slowly. "Activate the display lights."

"Are you certain, sir?" Albert asked, a note of concern in his computer generated voice. Another upgrade by Max. "The electrical issues haven't been fixed yet, and rerouting power to unnecessary-"

"Just do it," Mr. Damocles interjected. "It'll be fine." He glanced back down at his papers for a moment. "I'll set up an appointment for the electrician in a moment."

"Turning on display lights," Albert responded. The soft lighting kicked in a second later, bathing his figurines in a warm glow.

"Perfect," Mr. Damocles whispered as he returned to his reports.

Five minutes later, the sudden sound of bullet-quick knocking nearly made Mr. Damocles fall off his chair. "Come in!" he called. As soon as he did, the door swung open, revealing a royally upset Ms. Mendeleiev as she stalked in and stomped towards his desk.

"Ah, Ms. Mendeleiev, what an unexpected surprise," he said nervously. "What brings you here-?"

"Spare the pleasantries, Damocles," she nearly growled as she slammed her hands on his desk, scattering paper everywhere. "I sent in that maintenance report a month ago, and you haven't done anything about the lights yet?! Explain yourself!"

"Well, I- uh, you see, I've been very busy!" he stammered, trying not to cower in front of his raging colleague. Ms. Mendeleiev straightened, just a bit, and by pure chance she caught sight of the figurines in the secret compartment.

"Busy, you say?" she responded sardonically. "Do you mean the I-blew-months-of-my-salary-on-plastic-immoblie-dolls kind of busy or the playing-superheroes-again kind of busy?" She pinched the bridge of her nose, the edge of her temper dulling. "Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the good you do for the people, sir. But you are still the principal. This is your job. Prioritize Françoise Dupont, not your quote-unquote 'superhero career.' I expect the light situation to be resolved soon. Good day." With that, she turned on her heel and left the office, slamming the door shut behind her.

For a moment, Mr. Damocles just sat there, numbly taking in what the irate teacher had said. A despondent sigh escaped him. "I guess she's right, Albert," he said as he flicked off the switch for the display lights. "Close the compartment."

"Please repeat. I was unable to understand."

"Of course you weren't," Mr. Damocles sighed again as he moved to close the cabinet himself. "Oh, if only I was able to commit full-time to my Owl days."

He didn't notice the dark purple butterfly fluttering closer to his Knightowl figurine until it sank into the statuette.

"Dark Owl, I am Hawk Moth," the supervillain whispered into his mind. If he were in his right mind, Mr. Damocles would've noticed the slightest difference in Hawk Moth's voice. "Your first outing may have ended in your defeat, but the Owl always flies again. I'm returning your powers to you, as well as granting you the ability to bring your newest figures to life as your team! All I ask in return are Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, Hawk Moth," Mr. Damocles answered, letting the dark smoke eclipse his form and spread around the office, cloaking Albert and the figures surrounding the infected figurine. The ether receded, revealing Dark Owl, the corrupted Albert, and the fourteen new villains created from the statuettes.

"Tell me who you all are now," Dark Owl commanded. The first of the fourteen stepped forward, her dark brown, orange, and black ensemble clashing with her pale skin and dark brown locks. "Ignoblia, Commander Dark Owl," she answered simply. "I'm ready to start wreaking havoc whenever you are."

"Starling, sir," the Sparrow lookalike said, his dark jacket flecked with dark, vibrant greenish-blue feathers. "Awaiting your orders."

The other corrupted counterparts introduced themselves in turn - Tyranny, Valet, False Entity, Quicksilver, Hail, Tornado, Kudzu, Injector, and Agents Orange, Green, and Purple - all of them proclaiming their absolute loyalty to him. A dark, ecstatic smile spread across Dark Owl's face.

"Command of my own team of supers," Dark Owl mused as he closed the wall map panel, hiding the infected Knight Owl statue. "I think I could get used to that. Now, everyone, onto business. We have a lot of work to do, namely heroes and villains to defeat so we are the only supers in Paris. Here's the plan…"

"So let me get this straight. You think Andrew managed to get his hands on the Butterfly Miraculous and he's using it to akumatize people?" Jack asked, his voice barely a whisper. He glanced around the art room where he, Alex and the twins were hanging out before their classes started.

Alex nodded. "Either that or he's using his draconites. Though if that's the case, I do find it odd that he went into the vault to get the Dark Hornet when he could've just fished it out of his sword handle. Or taken control of a rapidly deteriorating Lichkaiser."

"Maybe he just needed a moment alone?" Ryan suggested, though the waver in his voice implied he didn't believe himself. "I mean, that was kinda like what happened with Magnus, just not as… violent."

"Like he didn't have a personal hand in letting Lila fall to the Princeling Black knockoff?" Dylan challenged.

"We don't talk about Princeling Black," Alex growled.

"Either way, while it does sound believable - if it's true, good on Andrew for putting the old Butterfly dude in his place - why didn't he tell us?" Jack questioned. "Does he not trust us or something?"

"Because he doesn't trust how we'd react," Dylan answered. "He knows our lines just as well as we know his… or as we thought we did. I'm cool with fighting Paris's heroes. They're pushovers, anyhow. And Vorath did tell us about how the last Ladybug wielder he knew basically condemned our kwamis to long-term imprisonment. I don't mind giving a little retaliatory justice. But going out of our way to cause pointless damages? Nuh-uh."

"I'm with you, bro," Ryan said. "Though I don't mind breaking a few things. It's a weird kind of therapeutic, honestly."

"Getting back to the main point," Alex interjected as he steepled his fingers. "We do need to figure out a boundary. A line. I'm sure we all see the writing on the wall here. Andrew's courting the slippery slope. And despite the way he says he hasn't lost sight of the ultimate goal - to fix the world as we know it should be - we all know that if he goes down that slippery slope… it may be in our best interests to put him down, if we have to."

"Are you saying we… have to betray him?" Jack asked apprehensively. Once the words left his mouth, all four of their kwamis poked their heads out, listening intent.

"It's less of a betrayal and more upholding our own moral standards," Dylan clarified, throwing a dark look at an inquisitive Naaga. "This is only in the case of Andrew starting to rant about how he's a god or something. The powers he gets from the final victory go to his head, for example. Alex and I crunched the numbers, and we could theoretically suppress him long enough to depower him and figure out a way to slap some sense back into him."

"What about Lila?" Ryan asked.

Alex sighed, a slightly amused expression on his face. "Oh, the wonderful things we can do with a clone army," he answered vaguely.

"That sounds like you've got a different plan than what I imagined," Dylan muttered.

"So it's settled, then?" Alex began, brushing aside Dylan's comment. "Do we agree on what we've planned?"

The other three boys glanced at each other, then nodded in unison. "What about them?" Jack asked, gesturing towards the kwamis.

"Oh, we're with you," Howll said immediately. "Vorath has a bit of a bad habit of not reining in his holders. But you should be fine."

"Indeed," Snapp confirmed.

"Cool," Ryan muttered. Then the sound of a crash echoed in the courtyard. Jack got up and peeked out the door. One uneasy breath later, he made his way back to the others.

"We've got a doozy. Whoever's got the Butterfly struck again," he reported. "This time, it's a color-swapped version of the New York Stuck-Ups."

"Looking at this, maybe he doesn't have it," Ryan muttered. Alex elbowed him. "Or he used a different power or something to give the Butterfly a wielder under his control."

"Doesn't matter at this point," Dylan said as he watched the only others in the art room - the teacher and a handful of students - run away from the chaos the villains were beginning to unleash. "We'll grill Andrew about this later. Right now, I want to finally smack some of those uptights around."

"Agreed," Jack said quickly as he fidgeted with his bracelet. "Dibs on the fake Sparrow."

"As long as I get to shank Doorman," Alex interjected.

A dark grin spread across Ryan's face. "Is it Darkin' time, boss?"

Alex nodded. "Oh, yes, it's most certainly Darkin' time. Let's transform and call up the others. If Andrew really did create this one… we might have to thank him for it."

"Look at me now, Mendeleiev!" The sound of Dark Owl's yells echoed into the classroom as the United Villains tore up the school around them. "Maybe now I can prioritize my quote-unquote superhero career. Mwahahahaha!"

"He wasn't this hammy last time, was he?" Adrien asked, his voice barely a whisper. Marinette shrugged. "Last time, he didn't have a team," she said. "Maybe an ego boost?"

"Wouldn't the more important question be 'how do we get out of here?'" Alya demanded. "Dark Owl has the entire school pinned down, Ms. Mendeleiev won't let us leave, and we have no idea when the Darks will show up."

"Get the United Idiots! They might not be the real deals, but I don't care! They're real enough to get their egos blunted! Summon the Pack!" Alphaux's voice rapped out orders to the other Darks. Three replies met his commands, all of them some variation of a bloody threat, two of them punctuated by Crocdown and Skinker calling on their powers.

The students, in spite of Ms. Mendeleiev's protests, flocked to the windows to watch the fight. Alphaux was facing off with a black and red Uncanny Valley doppelganger, his arm-mounted claws scratching into the android's steel skin. Crocdown exchanged punches with an inverted Victory, neither making much progress against the other's shields. Iapallidus and Skinker ganged up on Dark Owl, putting him on the backfoot and making him unable to command his subordinates effectively, all while Alphaux's army of wolf clones tore into the rest of Dark Owl's servants.

"Looks like the Darks are doing our job for us," Nino muttered. "Even if they are kinda… going nuclear on Dark Owl and his dudes."

"Oof," Alya winced as she noticed one of Alphaux's clones slash the evil Sparrow's arm. "That's gotta hurt… Duck!"

Alya's cry ringing through the room, the entire class dropped to the floor as one of Alphaux's clones was thrown through the window, showering broken metal and glass over the tables.

"Is everyone alright?" Ms. Mendeleiev called. "If you're okay, make your way slowly and calmly to the back door! Get outside, I'll meet you there!"

As if drawn to her voice, the Alphaux clone snarled at the teacher, stalking slowly towards her… before Alphaux whistled. Heeding his alpha's command, the clone leapt out of the room and back into the fray.

Pandemonium erupted as the students scrambled to get out of the science room despite Ms. Mendeleiev's protests, some exiting through the back door, others taking their chances through the main door, or - in the case of Kim - leaping through the broken window and out into the courtyard.

Marinette grabbed Adrien's hand as she led the two of them and Alya and Nino out into the courtyard. Hugging the wall and dodging errant blasts of energy and thrown bodies, they managed to get outside of the building.

"Go hide and transform," she said quickly. "Meet up with the others inside. I'm going to see about the rest of our allies."

"Did you give Kagami her powers full time?" Adrien whispered in her ear. Marinette nodded. "I'll tell her. And I already told Nino and Alya everything, so… no need to whisper, kitty."

"It's a hard habit to kick, I get it," Alya teased. Nino chuckled. "Well, we need to transform. Meet you guys in a minute!" he called as they slipped into a bush.

"We need to transform, too," Adrien said quickly. A small smile crossed his face. "Y'know how we kinda go through that transformation sequence thing? What if we did it together? Would it be a dance?"

"Is that really important right now?" Plagg demanded. "Enough with the romance-y stuff!"

"Maybe," Tikki answered, ignoring Plagg's protests. "Though I do agree with Plagg, this doesn't seem to be the right time."

As if it were on cue, another one of Alphaux's clones came flying out of the building, landing right next to Adrien and Marinette. It came to its feet with a snarl and bounded back into Françoise Dupont.

"Yeah, you're right," Adrien agreed. Then he quickly kissed Marinette's cheek. "Though I would like to try it at some point soon, m'lady," he purred before slipping behind the cover of the stairs.

Marinette sighed. "He thinks he's so cute when he does that."

Tikki popped her head out of her purse, aiming a teasing glance at Marinette. "You think he's cute, too."

"I won't deny it," Marinette chirped back as she slipped behind the cover of a pillar. "Tikki, Spots On!"

"Any reason in particular the others are on the warpath?" Lila asked as she and Andrew slipped into the relative solitude of the boiler room. "I haven't seen them that fired up… ever."

Andrew sighed, fidgeting with his ring. "It's… complicated. You remember how I told you about our hero antics back home, right?"

"I'd never forget."

"Well, as it turns out, of all the things Nashville is famous for, superheroes aren't one of them," Andrew continued, and Lila noted a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Even when we saved the world from mind control gas and predatory parasite goo, no one outside city limits paid attention. It was always United Heroez this, United Heroez that, oh, NYC has the best superheroes, on and on. And they got movies and action figures and one of them is the literal President… while all we got was a bad comic book and city funding."

"So this is less of a 'cement-our-villainy' thing and more of a 'we-lash-out-at-the-nearest-similar-thing'?" Lila asked, suppressing a chuckle. The idea of Jack and Ryan throwing a tantrum over their circumstances made sense, but the image of Andrew, Alex, and Dylan - the three most level-headed of the bunch, it seemed - joining in was just the slightest bit ridiculous.

"Yeah, pretty much," Andrew groaned, pinching his brow. "And there's two things I'm worried about. One, Alex's clones are getting a little bit more aggressive than I would prefer. You saw how it nearly attacked Mendeleiev."

Lila nodded, even if she believed a scratch or two could make the teacher a little less crabby. "And two?"

"I don't entirely have control over the new Hawk Moth I made. He's just a sentimonster using the powers, and I have the scale that created him. I can destroy him instantly if I need to, but that could be a bit suspicious. The same way hiding for a minute to control him is also suspicious."

Lila just shrugged. "I don't see the problem there. If he's just like our previous Hawk Moth, it'll be fine. If it gets out of control, snap it and be done with it."

Andrew sighed. "I guess you're right. It doesn't matter much, either way. I decided to exert a little more control over future iterations after I saw that my decoy somehow created fifteen supervillains at once."

A small smirk crossed Lila's face. "Well, at least that means there's plenty of fighting to go around. Dennos, Deadlights On!"

"Vorath, Dragon Up!" Andrew commanded as golden lightning raced up his form. Dragonus turned to Maladea, and she could sense the smile behind his mask as he opened a portal onto the school's rooftop. "May I have this dance, my dark belle?"

"Of course, my princely beast," Maladea purred back as she took his hand and they stepped onto the roof together. The romantic moment - in Maladea's own opinion - was slightly dampened by the sheer brutality of the three-way fight that took up almost the entirety of the courtyard. Dark Owl and his minions were fighting off the heroes as the other Darks tore into the mass of akumatized villains and the Miraculous team alike.

Maladea's eyes flitted around the battlefield. Much to her own chagrin, she'd never gotten a good look at any of the heroes… besides Ladybug and Cat Noir, of course. But some subtle things hadn't slipped past her. She noticed some of the looks the heroes gave to each other, as if they knew each other on more intimate levels. Then a flash of reddish-orange and black caught her attention. A new hero, it seemed. One who looked like a… chicken?

"Who's that?" she asked, pointing at the unfamiliar hero. Dragonus shrugged. "Dunno. Either way, he showed up during the whole Lichkaiser debacle. But he's got the Rooster Miraculous, which means…" A dark sigh escaped him. "He's probably got some crazy self-buff."

"Fun," Maladea snarked, drawing her knives. But she didn't jump into the fight just yet. "Y'know, it is a little odd how quickly the heroes showed up," she said slowly. "And so many of them, too. We were in the boiler room for, what, a couple minutes?"

"Maybe they just got here fast," Dragonus suggested quickly as he drew his sword. Maladea knew that tone. She must be onto something. He wouldn't have been so quick to reply otherwise.

No more beating around the bush, she decided. "Are some of the heroes our classmates?" she demanded.

Almost immediately, Dragonus whirled around and pulled her away from the edge of the roof, nearly stabbing himself on her blades. "Lila, honey, dear, my dark princess," he began quickly. "I love you so much. But that's not a question I can answer, for the good of everyone here."

"They are, aren't they?" she pressed on.

"Okay, fine, yes. The others have some idea of it, too. But please, for everyone's sake, don't act on this knowledge. I already took a big enough risk telling the others the extent of what I know."

"Do they know who Ladybug and Cat Noir are?"

Dragonus paused for a moment. "No," he finally replied. "They don't know. Or I don't think they know. But that doesn't matter."

"I think it matters," Maladea interjected. "I'm still the new one of the bunch! And you keep putting your trust in them, you all have these big backstories, and I feel like the outsider of the group… and I don't think you trust me!"

The words left her mouth before she even realized what she said. Dragonus's wings dropped. He took a deep breath as he steepled his fingers.

"Maybe you're right on some parts," he admitted. "But I do trust you. Why else would I tell you about the Butterfly and Peacock if I didn't?"

Maladea glanced away. "You're right, too. I'm sorry I snapped."

"We'll talk later," Dragonus said, turning away from Maladea. "Let's just… get rid of this Knight Owl rip-off." Without another word, he spread his wings and flew down into the fray.

Maladea sighed despondently, then steeled herself and leapt into the fight. Hopefully Ladybug will arrive soon. If I'm lucky, I can tear the truth out of her.

"Is everything alright over there, kitty?" Ladybug asked.

Cat Noir's panting echoed as a rush of static from her phone. "More or less," he replied, sounding a little short of breath. "The Darks were already doing the most damage to Dark Owl's villain team before we got here. On the other hand, they seem to want to be the only ones doing damage to Dark Owl's villain team. We're able to get a few good hits in here and there, but Alphaux's wolf clones are holding the majority of us back. Ryuko arrived a couple minutes ago with King Monkey and Pegasus, and they're helping push back the wolves, but we could really use a Lucky Charm!"

"I'm on my way with Viperion," she said, glancing back at the snake hero as the two of them bounded over the rooftops. "And depending on if I can find her, I'm going to bring one more into the fight. If my plan works, we might not even have to fight Dark Owl ourselves."

"Got it," he said quickly before she heard him yelp. "Sorry! Crazy wolf! Talk to you later, bugaboo!" His connection cut off.

"He'll be alright," she muttered to herself as she let Viperion catch up.

"You said something about a plan?" he asked quickly as they approached Françoise Dupont.

Ladybug nodded. "Your Second Chance is a big part of it. Right now, make sure Pegasus hasn't used his powers. If he did, keep him safe and tell him to recharge. Don't set your power until I tell you to."

Viperion nodded quickly as he leapt into the building. She followed him in, pausing slightly to take in the fight around her before lashing out and shattering a wolf clone's necklace as she made her way over to Cat Noir.

"Glad you decided to join the party, m'lady," Cat Noir quipped with a smile as he pushed back the evil version of Majestia and the wolf clones trying to maul her, then quickly kissed her cheek. "What's the miraculous plan this time?"

"I need to find Sa- ah!" Ladybug yelped as she rolled away from Maladea's divebomb. "What was that for?!"

"Oh, the usual," Maladea sighed. Ladybug could've sworn the chimera villainess sounded almost bored. "Dragonus is being cryptic about things while the others are trying to get petty revenge on the next best thing." She paused for a moment as Crocdown's voice echoed around the courtyard. "This is for the limited series!"

"But that's not important, Ladybug," Maladea continued. "It's been too long since you and I fought. I intend to change that… and maybe get a few answers to the questions Dragonus has been cryptic about. Backstab!"

Twin green bolts of energy fired out of her dagger blades. Ladybug managed to duck and pull Cat Noir down before the beams could hit them. Luckily for the heroes, the bolts managed to hit Dark Owl's Majestia villain, whose fist immediately started attacking her.

"What is this?!" she roared. "Ignoblia's fists do not attack her! No one attacks me without punishment!" The villainess immediately started wrestling with her hand as the heroes glanced over at her.

"I guess Dark Owl's powers didn't make the copies as smart as their originals," Cat Noir said slowly. Ladybug nodded absentmindedly as she glanced back at Maladea.

"I need to go find… our next member," she said quickly. "You can handle her, right?"

"Probably," Cat Noir replied weakly as he twirled his staff. "Hurry back, though. Please."

"I'll try," Ladybug promised as she raced out of the battle. Please let her be here, please let her be here.

She was lucky. Ladybug managed to find Sabrina in the locker room, hidden in one of the lockers next to Chloé.

"Ladybug? Is that you out there?" Chloé's voice rang out of the locker.

"Yeah, it's me," Ladybug replied quickly. "I need Sabrina for something important. Can you just… stay here, and keep yourself safe?"

Chloé didn't respond for a few heartbeats. Then her voice echoed out of the locker again. "As long as you promise me she'll be safe."

"Don't worry. I won't let anything bad happen to her."

Ladybug's answer seemed to satisfy Chloé. "Go make me proud, Sabrina!" she called out as Ladybug pulled Sabrina away.

"What do you need me for?" she asked timidly. Ladybug let a small smile spread across her face as she pulled out her yoyo. "Did you ever want to be a superhero?" she asked as she pulled out the Dog Miraculous.

Sabrina immediately blanched. "Oh! I, uh… I'd love to, but… you see- I… I don't know."

Ladybug laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Isn't your dad the police lieutenant?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"He's an everyday superhero. And so are you, if you've put up with Chloe for so long. Before she changed for the better, I mean."

"That's kinda true. Don't tell her I said that!"

Ladybug nodded. "And I need you for one very specific job. Dark Owl's focused on fighting off the Darks and us heroes. Meaning that he isn't paying attention to whatever's going on wherever his akuma is."

Sabrina seemed to put together the idea in her mind. "You mean-"

"Sabrina Raincomprix, here is the Miraculous of the Dog, which grants the power to fetch and return whatever your ball has touched. You will use it for the greater good. Can I trust you?"

Sabrina hesitantly reached out and put the collar around her neck. "Yes," she decided as Barkk materialized in a flash of orange light.

"Hi, I'm Barkk! The kwami of Adoration! I'm so happy to have a new holder, you and I can play ball! All you have to say is, Barkk, On the Hunt!" the canine kwami yipped, her overly-eager attitude surprising Sabrina and making the redhead step back in just the slightest.

"Simmer down, Barkk," Ladybug said quickly. "Let's not spook Sabrina." She turned her gaze back to Sabrina. "You can transform when you're ready."

Sabrina nodded, then she yelled, "Barkk, On the Hunt!"

Once the orange light faded, Sabrina was clad in a brownish-orange jumpsuit. A white heart-shaped patch outlined in black was right in the middle of her torso. Her shoulders were black, which faded into brownish-orange as it moved down her arms, her hands covered in white gloves. Her leggings faded from the brownish-orange of her torso to black thighs and white knee-high boots. A half-white, half-orange mask covered her face. An orange beret topped with dog ears was perched on her head. Her ball was placed in a pocket on her waist.

"Ooh… this looks nice!" she said appreciatively. "I think… no, that wouldn't work… How about… Traquemoiselle!"

Ladybug smiled a little. "Perfect. Let's go. If we're lucky, nothing terribly bad has happened since I came to find you."

"What are you waiting for?" Dark Owl heard Hawk Moth growl in his mind. "Finish them and bring me their Miraculouses!"

"What do you want me to do?!" Dark Owl demanded. "The Darks are attacking everyone here! I can't fight them off and steal the heroes' jewelry!"

"Then take them all and bring them to me!" Hawk Moth ordered as he cut off the link. Dark Owl set his jaw, then turned to his army.

"New orders! Get the Darks' magic jewels along with the heroes'! Then we will be the sole super beings of Paris!" he commanded. His fellow villains roared in agreement as they pushed back against the measured strikes of the Miraculous team and the furious onslaught of the Darks.

Dark Owl chuckled darkly as he watched his enemies almost fall against the new vigor of his team. He quickly glanced around the battlefield, checking each of the opposing teams. Ladybug disappeared from the fight a few moments ago, but he'd seen her duck into the school. Recruiting an ally, perhaps? It didn't matter in the end.

Then he fixed his gaze on the pocket of the Darks fighting, paying special attention to the horrible cobra and salamander who nearly tore him apart, only letting up their assault to attack an incapacitated Ignoblia. The wolf and crocodile were trying to weaken his allies, while that squid-bat-lizard girl was soaring above and strafing anyone she could.

Wait… that's five. Where's -

As if he had summoned him with his thoughts, Dragonus pounced on Dark Owl from behind, and the older villain heard the horrible shiick of claws or talons or some other sharp object extending from the Dark's free hand.

"Well, then," Dark Owl heard Dragonus hiss in his ear. "Let's figure out where those orders came from." Then the needlelike claws stabbed into the back of his neck.

Dark Owl nearly screamed. But he didn't feel anything. And everything was starting to slow down. The frantic, functional part of his brain recognized that he was being injected with some kind of anesthetic… Then he realized Dragonus was sifting through his mind, almost like he was searching for something.

"Come on, stop resisting," Dragonus commanded quietly. "This'll start to hurt if you keep fighting." Dark Owl tried to throw Dragonus off of him, but he couldn't move his arms, and his mind was starting to get foggy.

"Gotcha," he heard Dragonus mutter ominously. "Now to have a little chat with your benefactor."

"N- no," Dark Owl tried to retort, but he didn't recognize his own voice as he faded out of consciousness.

"What is Dragonus doing to Dark Owl?!" Ladybug yelled to Cat Noir as she and Traquemoiselle raced out of the locker rooms and back into the fight, kicking away the fake Uncanny Valley and tossing the Doorman doppelganger into one of the Agents.

"I'm not sure and I don't think it's good, but this is our chance to finish this!" Cat Noir called back. "Ready for your purr-fect plan when you are, m'lady!"

"Good! Pegasus, Viperion, over here!" Ladybug ordered as she lashed out at some of Dark Owl's villains and a couple of Alphaux's clones, pushing them back as the critically-needed members of her team converged on her position.

"Here's the plan," she said quickly as she threw aside another clone. "Pegasus will open a portal to Mr. Damocles's office, then Viperion will set up a Second Chance. Traquemoiselle will then throw her ball at any object in the office and summon it with her power. If we found the akumatized object, we'll break it. If we don't find it on the first try, Viperion will reset everything and we'll keep going. Everyone else has to defend us while we get the akuma. Got it?"

Her team nodded quickly, then split up to continue the fight.

"Voyage!" Pegasus yelled, opening a portal to the principal's office.

"Second Chance!" Viperion said quickly as Ladybug nodded to Traquemoiselle. "The akuma was in the computer last time, try that first," she advised.

Traquemoiselle nodded once as she lightly tossed her ball at the computer. "Fetch!" she commanded once the ball returned to her hand. The desktop monitor teleported into her hands, startling her and making her drop it and shatter the monitor. But no akuma emerged from the wreckage.

"Nothing," Traquemoiselle reported, right as Valet caught a glimpse of the heroes next to the broken monitor.

"Hey!" he yelled. "What are you doing with that?!"

"Viperion!" Ladybug yelled.

"Second Chance," Viperion said quickly, resetting the battle before any of Dark Owl's cronies could react.

"It's not in the computer," he whispered. Ladybug nodded, then turned to Traquemoiselle. "Try one of the owl paintings, maybe?"

Traquemoiselle nodded once as she tossed the ball closest to the right, then called it back. She ripped it in half. "No akuma!"

"Second Chance!"

"His desk?"

"Nothing there, either! And it wasn't in the lamp! That broke when I called the desk over!"

"Second Chance!"

"Where could it be?!" Ladybug groaned as she lashed out and shattered the pendant of one of Alphaux's clones.

"There's a seventy-five percent chance that your Lucky Charm could help us find the akuma!" Pegasus yelled as he threw the horseshoe-boomerang at Dark Owl's Agents. "Of course, there's a twenty-five percent chance that it'll be something to help tie the villains down while we look."

"That's better than going through everything in his office!" Ladybug called back as she called down her Lucky Charm. A Knight Owl comic fell into her hands.

"Maybe I was wrong about the chances," she heard Pegasus mutter sheepishly as he pushed back two wolf clones and Kudzu. Ignoring the comments, Ladybug glanced into the portal, gazing right at the wall map on the far wall, imagining the compartment behind it… and the statuette she'd used the first time to defeat Dark Owl.

"I know where it is! Traquemoiselle, use Fetch on the far wall's map! Viperion, don't reset unless something goes terribly wrong! Everyone else, keep the villains busy!"

Not even waiting for an answer, Ladybug leapt through the portal, right as Traquemoiselle threw her ball and summoned the map back to her hands, revealing the corrupted figurine standing alone on the shelf. Barely wasting a moment, Ladybug grabbed the figurine, leapt back through the portal as she threw the statuette to the ground, shattering the plastic. The akuma fluttered out, completely vulnerable to Ladybug's capture.

"Bye bye, little butterfly," Ladybug said quietly as she glanced around the battlefield before throwing the comic book into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Once the healing wave had spread through Françoise Dupont and Mr. Damocles was brought to safety with his new figurines, the heroes turned to the Darks, weapons gripped tight, all expecting the fight to continue.

"Now why did you have to go and do that?" Dragonus sighed. "We were resolving some of our own personal conflicts, and you went and ruined our fun."

"Even if the majority of the villains were just statues given life, Dark Owl was still Hawk Moth's victim," Ladybug replied. "And whatever that 'personal conflict' of yours is, it isn't an excuse to attack someone like that."

"As much as I hate to say it, Ladybug's got a point," Maladea added. "I know you're upset with the United Heroes - as stuck-up as they are - but revenge on proxies isn't nearly as fulfilling."

Dragonus sighed, then glanced at the other Darks. "I suppose you're right, even if I don't entirely agree with it. Let's move. We've got things to discuss later and places to be now." He turned back towards Ladybug, and even though she couldn't see his face, she could sense some ideas were churning in his head. "So, villainous pleasantries as per usual, we'll meet again, next time you won't be so lucky, all that stuff, I have something I need to do. Skinker, smoke bomb, please?"

"Alright," Skinker grumbled, detaching and detonating his tail into a cloud of black smoke. Once the cloud cleared, the Darks were gone.

"You know, if the Darks ever decided to stop being evil, they could make great stage magicians," King Monkey remarked. A few of the other heroes nodded in agreement.

"While that does sound really funny," Ladybug saidas she turned to her team. "We'll all need to recharge. Everyone I gave a Miraculous to today gets to keep them permanently. Hawk Moth's villains are getting stronger and the Darks are getting bolder. I'd feel a lot better if at least someone with powers was able to keep a situation under control until backup arrives. Traquemoiselle, I'll talk to you personally in a moment. Everyone else can go back to what you were doing before all this happened."

Cat Noir winked once. "You heard m'lady. See you guys later!" he called as he vaulted away. The other heroes split up, leaving Traquemoiselle and Ladybug to move back into the locker rooms as students poured back into the school.

"That was… odd, to say the least," Vorath muttered in his wielder's mind as Dragonus stalked into the warehouse base's safe. "I would've thought your sentimonster could keep control of Dark Owl. At least he didn't turn out like Lichkaiser."

"Indeed," Dragonus replied, his upper lip curling into a sneer as he marched over to the sentimonster version of Hawk Moth. "What was that for?" he snarled. "Dark Owl suddenly started going on about taking the Dark Miraculouses. You were supposed to leave us alone."

"I did it to make sure Dark Owl would succeed," the fake Hawk Moth said matter-of-factly. "Your allies were tearing into him with a vigor I was unaware they possessed. It was necessary."

"I don't think I believe you," Dragonus growled. "Perhaps I put a little too much of the original into my decoy."

Hawk Moth's face cracked into a dark smile. "Smartest thing you've said, boy. Not long after you left, I became intrigued about my creator. So I found your escapades on the Internet, and I slowly came to the realization that if you were to succeed, I would no longer need to exist. And I simply can't allow that."

"Dark Owl and his army were intended to subdue you and the Miraculous team before either of you could become a threat to me. I could then use the wish to make sure you never became a threat… by erasing the Dark Miraculouses from existence," Hawk Moth finished.

Dragonus chuckled darkly. "Clearly you don't know anything. Never monologue your evil plan to the one person who can destroy you."

Hawk Moth's smirk grew. "Well… I was born this morning."

"I release you from existence."

The Butterfly Miraculous clattered to the ground as the sentimonster disintegrated. Dragonus picked up the brooch and regarded it for a moment, then he made up his mind.

"Dragon Down." Golden lightning snapped down his form, Vorath flitting to Andrew's shoulder as the boy slipped the Butterfly Miraculous into his pocket.

"You're taking it with you?" Vorath asked, a nonexistent eyebrow raised. "Wouldn't that start the problem we were trying to fix all over again?"

"I've come to the conclusion, Vorath," Andrew began as he stepped out of the warehouse, hands folded behind his back, "that I can't trust my own creations if they aren't directly under my control. Even now, I'm unsettlingly sure that the others would turn on me if… everything were to spiral in a way they might not agree with. Keeping Nooroo's power with me at all times is the only way I can maintain some control of the situation."

"I see," Vorath replied, a touch unsettled. Andrew didn't seem to notice or care as he called on his transformation again. Dragonus opened another portal, this one leading to the Françoise Dupont restrooms. Once he slipped through and transformed back into his civilian self, Andrew discreetly stepped out of the locker rooms and slipped back into class. Luckily for him, Ms. Mendeleiev didn't notice.

Lila, on the other hand, did. "Where were you?" she whisper-hissed. "The others started asking questions, and you're lucky I was able to fool them."

"Taking care of some business," Andrew whispered back. "I'll tell you later."

"It's always later."

Andrew sighed a little. She had a bit of a point. "Fine. Tomorrow afternoon. I'll tell you where we'll meet up."

"Fair enough," Lila muttered back as Ms. Mendeleiev started class again.

And I'm going to have to figure out what to say, Andrew thought darkly to himself. Hooray.

"How many more Miraculouses haven't been given a holder yet?" Adrien asked quietly as he and Marinette sat on her balcony, watching the stars and sharing a blanket.

Marinette silently counted out the ones in her head. "Well, I gave Luka, Kagami, Kim, Max, and… well, Sabrina, their powers permanently along with the rest of the team, so… two. The Goat and the Rabbit. The Rabbit's definitely going to Alix, and I know who I'm giving the Goat to. What's on your mind, kitty?"

Adrien shrugged. "Nothing, really. Just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, didn't it?" Marinette teased. Adrien smiled back, planting a kiss on her forehead. "With you, m'lady, I don't have to worry about any of it. Besides, I think I have a pretty good guess about who's going to get it."

"Really?"

"Well, there's only two people in our class who haven't gotten a Miraculous yet, and I have a sneaking feeling you aren't going to give it to Andrew. So that leaves Nathaniel."

Marinette chuckled once. "Who knows? Maybe I'll give it to Chloe just to mess with you."

"I know you wouldn't do that."

Marinette sighed. "You're right. It's going to Nathaniel. As much as I know Chloe's making an effort to get better, she won't accept any Miraculous other than the Bee. As for Andrew…"

"You don't trust him, do you?"

"Honestly, no. We suspected he was Dragonus, and that ended up being wrong. But I just have a hunch that something's off about him. He's… well, not antisocial, but he definitely seems to like keeping his distance from the rest of us. And Dragonus seemed to know him a little too well. Add to the fact Dragonus's allies appeared in Paris around the same time Andrew's friends did."

Adrien set his jaw. "What do you want to do, m'lady? Because I'm with you every step of the way."

Marinette smiled a little as she stood up. "Once we give Nathaniel the Goat Miraculous, we can use his power to make some kind of tracker for the Dark Dragon powers. Then we find Dragonus. If we're lucky, we find out his true identity and unmask him to the city. Unlucky, we catch him transformed, but if he's alone, we'll all be able to defeat him. Then we end his reign of evil before he can do any more damage."

Adrien mimicked her smile as he rose and moved next to her. "Sounds like a plan, bugaboo."

"I thought we agreed to not do that anymore."

"You like it, though, don't you?"

Marinette blushed a little as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh, yes," she answered as she kissed him. Adrien tenderly massaged her shoulder blades with his thumbs as he kissed her back.

Eventually they broke apart, resting their foreheads on each other as bliss-filled smiles spread across their faces. "I have to go soon," Adrien whispered.

Marinette nodded once. "Be safe, kitty," she replied, kissing him one more time. Adrien kissed her back. "I will," he promised as he transformed and vaulted away.

Marinette smiled one more time as she slipped through her skylight, watching as her partner bounded over the rooftops.

A couple author's notes: I made Dark Owl the baddie for this chapter since he's been reakumatized in Season 5 and I thought "Hey, how would my Nashville characters feel about the United Heroez in New York?" which led to the Darks' undying jealousy of the group. I decided to give Sabrina the Dog Miraculous here since she'll need it sooner or later for the last few chapters/story, and I kept her French name bc IT'S SO MUCH BETTER AND THEY DID SABRINA SO DIRTY IN PENALTEAM (Granted, I didn't do much better for her, and all the other heroes also got done dirty, but plot requires what plot requires :P)

So, a quick timeline: 4 more chapters here, then the next story is the grand finale for the current Tales of the Dark Miraculous! I'm so glad y'all decided to join me on this journey, and I'll end up saying it again later. As always, tell me whatacha think, and until next week, stay safe, healthy, and squeeze the lemons life gave you back into life's eyes.