Le Grand Paris Hotel, Main Lobby, 3:49 pm.

Hawk Moth was surrounded by his butterflies once again, his enemies being forced outside and his two hostages being held to the walls by a number of the darkened butterflies. "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" The villain cackled. "Oh, I love the feeling of justice!"

"Justice?" One of the hostages asked in a Spanish accent. "This is terrorism!"

Hawk Moth turned to face the hostage. "And who are you to assume that I'm a terrorist?"

"Kayla Hernandez. Daughter of a man who spent half his life disarming bombs and breaking terrorists! You're manipulating people's fears to get you want!"

Hawk Moth clenched his cane and the butterflies that pinned Kayla began moving, applying pressure to her whole body and causing some... unusual sensations. Kayla whimpered and quickly struggled to get the butterflies to move away. She succeeded, but the butterflies began pressing down on her neck, choking her.

"No!" The other hostage shouted. "Stop!"

Hawk Moth turned to face the other girl. She had long wavy brown hair, fair skin, and brown eyes. Her clothing was covered by the butterflies. "Why?"

"Because she's done nothing to you. It's not her you want, or you wouldn't have asked for those three people."

Hawk Moth hummed. "You're smart, kid." The butterflies moved away from Kayla's neck and she coughed and gasped for air, then spoke again.

"Why do you want Liam Rejeter? I met him at the hospital this morning. He seems nice, and he's the president's son! You kill him, you're gonna get killed."

"Then I'll be back with my family! Rejeter's father will feel the pain that I feel every day."

"You lost your kids?" The brown haired girl asked.

"Yeah, now I'm getting revenge!"

"I thought you wanted Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous. Are you just not bothering with them?" Kayla said. Hawk Moth whacked his cane on Kayla's head, knocking her out. "Hmph. HMHM. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"


Ladybug, Cat Noir, The Hornet, and Birdy were stood on the roof of the Rejeter house.

"How did he defeat them?" Birdy asked.

"I'm not sure." Cat Noir answered.

"He might have killed them!"

"We'll take him down, Birdy!" Ladybug said.

"I promise we'll take him down." The Hornet stated. "Can you do me a favor and help the students and police while the three of us discuss how we're gonna do this?" Birdy nodded and used his cape to glide down to the street. "Guys, as much as we could kick Hawk Moth's ass with our powers, I think we may have to do this without them."

"Are you saying we obey him?" Cat Noir asked.

"I'm saying we go there like this and those girls are dead. We head over there as Liam, Adrien, and Marinette and we may be able to stall him so that other people can take him down."

"We're the superheroes!" Ladybug retaliated.

"Fine, but I'm going as Liam Rejeter!" The Hornet flew off and landed out of sight behind another one of the houses. Ladybug groaned.

"He got too angry, too quickly just then."

Liam ran out from an alleyway.

"LIAM!" Nathaniel shouted. The two buds ran and hugged each other. "You okay? Hawk Moth's-"

"I know. I'm going."

Ladybug shouted from the roof. "You can't!"

"I'm not letting him kill those hostages, Ladybug. If we give him what he wants, we may be able to stall him."

"And if he just kills you?"

"Then I'll die a moron."

"Not funny, Liam!" Alix shouted.

"I'm going and you guys can't stop me." Liam turned to the direction of Le Grand Paris, only to be halted by Bridgette and Félix.

"But we can," Bridgette said firmly.

"You can. You can let another fucking Terrorist claim some more lives. Or you can let me stall him enough for you and the police to take him down."

"And what would dad say?" Félix asked.

"We don't have time for this. Are you with me or not?" Félix was silent. "Guess not. Maybe Blitzwolf's still on your conscience." Liam walked past Félix.

"Liam," Félix said, causing his brother to stop in his tracks. "You'll never get there fast enough on foot. But I'm taking you myself."

"We're both taking you," Bridgette added. "And if you die, just wait till I get to the afterlife. You'll be in misery for eternity."

Ladybug and Cat Noir jumped down from the roof.

"And what do we do?" Cat Noir asked.

Bridgette pretended she didn't know the civilians under the masks. "Find the rest of the superheroes and prepare to takedown Hawk Moth."

The three walked over to the police cars and got in one of them. As they walked, Liam stopped at the police van that Callum Terrence had been put into.

"You know, if it wasn't for the cuffs, I'd be shaking your hand right now."

"For putting you in the hospital?" Callum asked.

"For giving Chloe Bourgeois a wake-up call." Liam turned and saw Fire Ant's backpack being loaded into another police car, then got into the back of one with Bridgette next him and Félix driving. The car set off. Ladybug and Cat Noir addressed those who were left.

"Police!" Ladybug shouted. "Get the students to City Hall. Then head to Le Grand Paris. Liam Rejeter's in over his head." Birdy walked over to the duo with Nathaniel and Alix.

"These guys have got something they wanna tell you." Birdy said before he stood back to let Nathaniel and Alix speak.

"I think there's something wrong with Liam," Nathaniel said. "He's been having mood swings in the past month. And I know what caused them. But he should've been fine now. There's something..."

"Maybe it's puberty." Birdy said. "They can cause mood swings and he looks due for a growth spurt." Alix, in a blind rage, punched Birdy in his goggles and broke his lenses.

"Puberty doesn't make you that angry! He's been manipulated by Hawk Moth before and it might be happening again!"

"Calm down!" Cat Noir said. "We'll go and follow him. But Félix can keep him in check. In the meantime..." Cat Noir noticed Rose, Nino, and Alya returning to the crowd of students. "In the meantime, try and get a hold of Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste. Liam's just one of the people he wanted. And DON'T GO TO THE HOTEL!" Alix and Nathaniel gasped and slowly walked back to the rest of their classmates. Cat Noir turned to Ladybug. "We better head him off and join him."

"What?!" Ladybug was surprised.

"We are Ladybug and Cat Noir with or without the costumes. And if Hawk Moth sees us, he'll kill Liam."

Ladybug sighed. "I'll follow you on this one, but please don't make me regret it."


Cat Noir and Ladybug set off for Le Grand Paris. Arriving, they transformed back into Marinette and Adrien before approaching the main entrance. The police car arrived and Liam opened the door to get out, but Bridgette grabbed his arm.

"Be careful, Liam." She quivered out of her mouth.

"I will. And I'm sorry for bringing... him up."

Bridgette nodded and let him leave. Félix waited in the car as the three teens entered the hotel. Bridgette spoke to Félix. "We need to tell Liam the truth."

"How do you think he'll react?" Félix responded. "He wasn't too happy with us telling him to stay away from here. We drop a bombshell like that and he'll go berserk."

As Félix and Bridgette argued, Marinette, Adrien, and Liam entered the hotel lobby. They all saw copper barrels around the lobby that were wired with bombs. Liam saw the two hostages being pinned high on the wall by black butterflies. He saw Kayla and gasped.

"Kayla Hernandez!" He shouted. "The girl from the hospital!"

"She could use one right now." Hawk Moth chuckled, emerging from the pillar near the reception desk. "And she'll get one if you willingly sacrifice yourselves."

"Why are you going to kill us?" Adrien asked.

"Your parents caused my family's death in Canberra! The Prime Minister covered it up and said that Blitzwolf caused it, but I know he was lying because he asked for MY gun to kill Blitzwolf!"

"We know what happened," Marinette responded. "And there was also Melodie, Kid Mime, Mercury, Sparrow, and Gavroche. You've already killed Gavroche."

"He didn't have any children, so I had to make do with him."

Liam got angry. "You're a disgrace to your family!" Hawk Moth snarled and Hawk Moth's butterflies released his hostages and pinned Marinette and Adrien to the walls instead. Kayla slowly stirred and woke up, with the other hostage next to her. Kayla wore blue denim jeans and a denim jacket over a black track hoodie, black sneakers, and fingerless black gloves. She saw Liam and recognized him instantly. Then she looked around and saw the bombs, each with a red light that indicated armed. The other hostage remained with Kayla.

"Kayla?" The girl called out quietly. "My name is Laura. We need to get out of here."

Kayla was fully awake. "You go. I've seen my dad's methods of these types of bombs. I can disarm them."

"You've been hit over the head, you'll have a concussion!"

"Just go, Laura! Liam can stall him so you can escape." Laura reluctantly snuck out through the fire exit. Kayla snuck behind a bomb placed behind the reception desk. As she proceeded to work on disarming the bomb, Hawk Moth moved towards Liam and pressed the tip of his swordstick on Liam's chest.

"And how would you know that, boy?!"

"Because I was told all about it. And how everyone who was on that team was broken by that event. Erickson and his wife, Félix, and Bridgette, Mime and Mercury. They gave up that life afterward and Félix and Bridgette kept on trying to help people. Félix is a detective and Bridgette is a firefighter. Mime and Mercury regret it every day. Hell, Mime admitted that they were, at that point, villains. But there is something else." Kayla disarmed the bomb, its red light switched off and proceeded to the second one to the left of the staircase. Marinette and Adrien noticed Kayla but remained silent. "What would you tell your family if they were here? Right now, seeing you about to murder three teens for something their older relatives did years ago?"

Hawk Moth lowered his sword. "I'd tell them that I was doing it because they lost their lives because of your relative's stupidity."

Kayla successfully disarmed the second bomb. In order to get to the third bomb, she had to cross the stairs and one turn from Hawk Moth would expose her. Knowing this, Liam demanded something from Hawk Moth. "Look me directly in the eyes and tell me that your family. Wife, children, whoever you lost." Kayla snuck over and began working on the third bomb. "Look me in the eye and say that they would be okay with you slaughtering three high school students because some relatives of theirs took down the world's most wanted terrorist." Hawk Moth looked directly into Liam's eyes, giving Kayla the time to disarm the third bomb and move onto the final bomb next to the hotel elevators. As Hawk Moth looked into Liam's eyes, he spoke.

"My family would be okay with me slaughtering three high school students because some relatives of theirs took down the world's most wanted terrorist."

Liam was wide-eyed. So were Adrien and Marinette.

"I guess there's nothing we can do," Marinette said.

"No, there isn't." Hawk Moth replied. Kayla had finally disarmed the final bomb and grabbed a baseball bat signed 'Jagged Stone' near the stairs and began sneaking up on the supervillain.

"Then could you at least tell us your real name?" Adrien asked. "If you're going to kill us, then that information goes with us anyway."

Hawk Moth huffed. "Alright. My name is Stan Billiton. And since you're gonna die..." Hawk Moth clicked his fingers and Adrien was pulled in front of him. "Your mother was easy to fool. I really wanted to kill her. But she reminded me of my own wife too much. So, I sent her to the little town of Hartlepool in England. Too bad you'll never see her again."

"Yeah, nothing we can do about it." Liam interrupted. "You didn't say anything about her though." Liam shifted his chin and Kayla struck Hawk Moth on the back of his head, knocking him out.

"How do you like it?" Kayla asked, knowing she wouldn't get an answer. The black butterflies released Adrien and Marinette from their grasp, but Marinette was now hanging on. Adrien quickly got underneath her to catch her, and she let go. Liam checked on Hawk Moth.

"He's down for the count." Liam looked at Kayla. "You okay?"

"I think I got a concussion." The Spanish girl answered. "But I'll live."

"I was hoping to see you again, Kayla. Just didn't think it would be like this."

"You were hoping to see me again?"

"Yes. Let's get Moth Boy into a cop car and I'll explain why. Actually, you guys go ahead and get some medical attention. I'll see you out there when the police take this guy in." Adrien, Marinette, and Kayla nodded and walked out into the street where Félix and Bridgette were waiting in a car. Liam turned Hawk Moth over so he could see his face. "I once saw Gabriel Agreste and was ready to beat him up and cuff him because I thought he was Hawk Moth. Since then, you have used a teenage boy to put people in hospital, attack and almost kill my brother's friends, plus my brother and his girlfriend and then you unleash your evil onto Gabriel Agreste to try and get him to kill his own son, then you send Fire Ant to steal Nooroo back, and you wire this place to blow and take two innocent girls hostage!" Liam grabbed Hawk Moth's swordstick and jabbed it into his shoulder. Hawk Moth remained unconscious. "Scumbags like you deserve to rot in hell! If I took your life right now... Ha. Everyone would know, nobody would care." Liam pulled out his gun from his sleeve. "Non-lethal, not from a distance anyway."

"Put the gun down, Liam," Félix said from the door, standing in a position so that no one could see what Liam was about to do. "It's over. He's lost." Liam took some heavy breaths through his teeth. "He's corrupting you with the akumas. You kill him and he gets what he wants and no gets justice for what he's done to them." Liam's breathing became controlled and he saw what he was about to do. Liam's eyes widened and he held the gun out to Félix.

"Take it!" Liam shot out of his mouth. Félix grabbed the gun and Liam walked outside.


The former Quantic Kids stood while more police officers barged into the hotel with guns live rounds aimed at the villain. Adrien was being held by his father, Marinette was being hugged by her parents and aunt, and Kayla was embracing her parents. Liam took notice of nothing. He kept walking until he was on the bridge over the water. When he was there, he chucked last meal over into the waters below. Liam looked at his hands and saw that they were trembling. When he turned his head to his left, he saw Kayla stood there.

"That's affected you really badly, hasn't it?" She asked.

Liam became pale. "It did. It really did."

Kayla walked and stood right next to Liam. "What happened? While you were in there on your own with Hawk Moth?"

Liam felt like he was going to be sick again. "I-i-i." Liam turned and looked Kayla directly in the eye. "I stabbed him with his cane and then..." Liam gulped, started breathing rapidly and tears began streaming. "I-i pulled out a gun from my sleeve. I had so much rage." Liam clenched his fists. "I really wanted to kill him. Wipe him off the face of the earth. If my brother didn't come in, I'd..." Kayla pulled her sleeve over her hand and wiped Liam's tears for him.

"If anyone else was there, I think they would've gone through with it."

"But I've been raised by my brother for the last... I've lost count. I know I'm better than this. And I'm wondering why I couldn't restrain myself?" Kayla turned Liam round and hugged him, his head resting on her shoulder, her head resting on his.

'It's because these akumas are proving more painful than I thought!' Polistes said in Liam's head. 'Take the watch off, Liam. Right now, I'm doing you more harm than good.' Liam pulled his right sleeve up and saw his watch, smoking.

"Is that on fire?!" Kayla shouted.

"QUIET!" Liam responded. He removed his watch, wincing in pain. Kayla gasped as she saw the damage when the watch was removed.

"Oh my god!" The girl whispered. The watch had left a deep second-degree burn on Liam's wrist. The watch actually took pieces of Liam's flesh as it detached. Liam caught it and put it in his pocket. "Sorry, Liam, but an infection will kill you. I NEED A MEDIC! THIS BOY'S BEEN BURNED!" Mercury ran over to Liam and Kayla and immediately saw the burn.

"Hospital! NOW!" Mercury said. With no time for argument, Liam was swept off his feet by Mercury and they disappeared. Marinette ran over to Kayla.

"What just happened?" The bluenette asked the girl.

"He removed his watch, it was emitting smoke! There was a huge burn mark on the entire wrist! The watch had flesh attached to it!"

Marinette gasped and covered her mouth. "Then where-?"

"Hospital. We need to tell his brother!"

Marinette nodded. "Come on!" Marinette and Kayla ran back and everyone was concerned.

"Marinette, what's going on?" Sabine asked her daughter.

"Liam. He's-"

"He's got a second-degree burn on his wrist!" Kayla panicked. Félix walked out of the hotel. "His watch was on fire! That superhero's taken him to the hospital!"

"Calm down!" Marinette said. "He'll be fine. But, Félix, Bridgette, when that superhero comes back..."

"We know," Bridgette said. At that moment, Mercury returned.

"Doctors are saying they can treat it. He's at Hôpital Cochin."

Félix nodded, then Hawk Moth was dragged out of the hotel. Félix swiped the Moth Miraculous from him and pocketed it.

"You will never get it back." The detective said. Hawk Moth transformed back into the copy of Gabriel Agreste."Stan Billiton? You're under arrest for numerous counts of terrorist activity." Stan was put into the back of a police van and Félix and Bridgette got into their car and drove off to the hospital...