"What's the matter chaton? Scared?"
Chat looks the young woman in the eyes "Hardly"
She hops down gracefully from the wall she's been standing on, dusting off invisible dirt as she straightens. "All I need is your miraculous, Chat. Is all this destruction worth it, when we both know that the outcome is inevitable? Ladybug isn't here to save you."
Chat tightens his hands into fists. "She'll be here."
The akuma throws her head back. Laughs. "I don't think so, Chat."
A growl emanates from Chat's throat, low and dangerous. He bars his teeth. Spits. "Listen, Imp Perfection, I don't know who you are, but if you've so much as touched a hair on Ladybugs head, so help me God there will be hell to pay."
Imp Perfection looks him dead in the eyes, and he flinches at the strange familiarity of her eyes. She smirks. "Oh, chaton, I didn't need to. She disposed of herself"
"You're lying. Ladybug is more than capable of taking care of herself. Someone like you couldn't possibly beat her."
"I didn't have to beat her. She simply saw reason. Now she doesn't have to worry about her loved ones. My loved ones"
My loved ones...
"...My lady?"
She gives him a wry smile "Hey kitty".
Oh no... Oh God, please, no...
He doesn't want to believe it, but the longer he looks the more horrifyingly obvious it becomes. She's wearing a the same suit she's always worn, only now her colours have been inverted, and she's sporting a miniskirt that swings as she walks. He can see the outline of padding along her forearms, shins, and upper body, indicating some sort of armour. She's wearing heels, black stilettos that look sharp enough to break skin without too much effort. As he looks closer, he notices a small purse hanging from a strap across her shoulders. Unlike the rest of her outfit, it's a light pink, and Chat immediately decides that it's housing the akuma.
"Ladybug... What has he done to you?"
"Done to me? Only shown me how powerful I could be. Something I would never be with the likes of you, Chat" She spits his name like an insult, and he flinches, reminds himself that this isn't Ladybug. Ladybug cares for you, even if it is only as a partner-
"Now look at me. I have the power to guarantee that nobody I care about gets hurt. I can decide what's fair and what isn't. I can be judge, jury, and executioner." She pauses, and Chat watches in horrified awe as the distinct pink outline of Hawkmoth's influence illuminates her face. "But enough talk. I need your miraculous, and I'm going to give you one last chance to hand it over before things get ugly."
Chat gives her one last desperate look, before closing his eyes. He sets his jaw, and when he opens his eyes, they seem to almost burn in the dying lights of the setting sun. He unhooks his baton, swinging it out in front of him. "With all due respect, My lady..." Catching the end of his weapon, he sinks to a crouch, readying himself for the coming fight. "We've worked together long enough for you to know my answer."
Imp Perfection glares at him, but he meets it with his own unwavering gaze. Snarling, she unhooks her bandalore. "So be it" She growls, before whipping her weapon towards Chat. He barely flips out of the way before the metal shell slams into the concrete hard enough to crack it, and before she retracts it, he notices the metallic glint of blades sprouting from the body. He tears his gaze from the crater left just in time to block another strike. The bandalore wraps around his baton, locking them in a stale mate until they simultaneously yank, sending both weapons clattering to the edge of the roof behind him.
Not missing a beat, Imp Perfection leaps at Chat, launching kicks and punches so fast she's practically creating her own whirlwind. Blocking and dodging, Chat waits for an opening before lashing out, catching her in the middle and sending her stumbling back. He feels a grim sense of satisfaction run through him – although she's always been the more powerful one, years of him distracting for her has given him an edge over her in terms of hand-to-hand combat. A glance at the infuriated look on her face tells him she's come to the same realization.
"Alright, enough games. Time to finish this."
He watches as she reaches down, opening the purse hanging at her side. A swarm of small, blood-red... things fly out, swarming her and shielding her from view. When she re-appears, she's holding something in her hand. He registers that its red, and spherical, before she's pitching it at his head. He flips back, landing next to his baton and grabbing it. The projectile crashes into the rooftop beside him and bursts, splashing the roof with an acidic smelling liquid. As he watches, the roof slowly disintegrates as it's eaten by the acid. Cursing, he retreats, dodging the corrosive bombs as he tries to think of a plan. Glancing back, he sees that he's only got about 10 more feet before the roof ends, with no others nearby to offer an escape route. He turns back just as Imp Perfection tosses her last bomb, and he darts forward, sliding under it and attempting to sweep her legs out from under her as he passes.
Unfortunately, she has all the speed and agility of Ladybug, and leaps over his legs, twisting to land on his ankle as he passes. There's a sickening the sickening sound of bones being broken and displaced, and Chat lets out a cry as he skids to a stop behind her. She gives him a cruel grin as he drags himself to his feet, using his baton as a crutch. Looking down, he notices they're on a skylight. He takes his baton and smashes it though the glass, shattering it. They both drop, falling into what appears to be an abandoned part of a mall. Imp uses her bandalore to catch a support beam while Chat let's himself fall. He waits as long as he can, and when he's about to hit the floor, he tucks himself into a roll, plunging into the darkness of an empty storefront. Ducking behind a cash register, he stays still for a moment, confirming that he's properly hidden, before turning his attention to his ankle.
He hisses as he tests his weight. The tight fit of the leather offers a good amount of support, which he's grateful for, but he won't be doing any acrobatics anytime soon. He unhooks his belt-tail, wrapping it tightly around his ankle for more support, before securing it and testing it again. Still not good, but better.
"Come out, kitty. You can't hide forever"
Pressing himself against the wall, Chat peers over the counter and spots Imp Perfection lowering herself from the floor above. She scans the storefront, passing over him completely. He's confused until he remembers. She doesn't have night vision. So he has a bit of an advantage.
She mutters something under her breath, before reaching into her purse again, drawing out something he can't identify. Curious, he watches as she points it at the opposite storefront window. There's a large crack, and a small ball of light bursts from the object, screaming through the air and shattering the glass.
A flare gun. Great.
As he watches her successively shoot every storefront, he realizes that her power is a corrupted lucky charm, granting her whatever she needs to get what she wants. However, unlike lucky charm, she can apparently draw as many things as she wants from it, one at a time, and she knows exactly what to do with it when she gets it. He presses himself down further as a flare shatters the display a couple of shops down the hall. If he's going to do something, it's going to have to be soon. He has to figure out how to get to the akuma.
The storefront next door is lit up, and Chat braces his bad foot against the wall behind him. As he feels the flare rocket past him, he launches up, vaulting the cashier and charging Imp, who freezes momentarily, before leaping back, landing nimbly on the rim of an escalator before flipping backwards, running up the handrail while Chat limps after her. She doesn't stop until she's on the third floor.
Gritting his teeth, Chat half-hops, half-limps up the steps. Coming over the rise, he barely dodges a hit from Imp, ducking around her and grabbing her other wrist. He yanks; almost manages to grab her purse. Unfortunately, the twisting proves to be too much for his ankle, and it buckles. Taking advantage of his predicament, Imp twists herself around, using his arm to judo-flip him over her shoulder, slamming him into the ground. He gasps, trying to refill his lungs, before she's grabbing him by his collar, easily lifting him up and pinning him against the guardrail. His baton flies out of his hand, tumbling over the guardrail to land uselessly three floors down.
"Game over, Chaton. Now give me your miraculous."
Chat Noir coughs, a trickle of blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. "My lady..."
"I'm not your lady"
"Yes, you are"
"I'm not!"
"You are. I know you're in there, Ladybug. I know you're fighting it. Just please listen to me."
She doesn't release her grip, but she also doesn't seem to be ready to kill him just yet, so he continues. "You'll always be my lady. Hawkmoth can tell all the lies, manipulate all he wants. But nothing can change the fact that, like it or not, you're my partner. And I'm yours."
He looks at her, and he can see the battle going on behind her eyes. He reaches up, tugs on her wrists (because it's getting hard to breathe). Looks her dead in the eye. "Hawkmoth may be influencing you, my lady, but you're still Ladybug. You're still the girl who brings cookies to our patrols, who rescues cats from trees and helps the elderly across the street. You're still the girl who never backs down from anything. You're still the girl I fell in love with."
She falters, and when she speaks, her voice seems to be just a bit smaller, a bit less venomous. "Love?"
He smiles, but it looks more like a wince. "Yes, my lady. I've loved you for awhile now."
Her face hardens again. "You don't love me"
"Yes I do. I'll love you forever"
She tightens her grip on his collar. "You're lying".
"I'll like you for always"
He silently activates cataclysm, reaching for the purse by her side with his other hand. She doesn't notice, distracted by the turmoil in her mind.
"As long as I'm living"
Her hands are trembling, and she swallows hard, silent tears tracing paths down her cheeks. She looks scared, and in that moment Chat sees Ladybug for the first time. Not the superhero, but the girl. The girl who looks scared to death at the thought of losing someone close to her. The girl who thinks she's not strong enough to protect them. It breaks his heart.
"My lady you'll be"
Her grip on his collar loosens, and Chat takes his chance, grabbing for the purse.
His fingers close around the strap, but the sudden movement startles her, and Hawkmoth manages to regain control. She snarls, tugging him back from the guardrail before slamming him back into it. The sudden movement causes his other hand to swing back into the rail, which disintegrates as cataclysm corrodes it. It gives way, and Chat topples back, wrenching him from Imp's grasp and snapping the purse strap.
He falls.
For a split-second, all he can hear is the wind whistling in his ears as the three floors pass.
Then, there's a sickening thud, accompanied by a quieter crunch as Chat slams into the concrete floor, and he gives a strangled cry. He vaguely wonders, through the pain, where the crunch came from, but then he feels a sharp pain cut through the throbbing, and he realizes that he's fallen on the shattered glass from the guardrail. The edges of his vision go blurry, but he forces himself to stay conscious.
Looking up, he sees Imp Perfection, now back fully under Hawkmoth's control, peering down at him, a wicked grin on her face. However, it quickly drops as Chat offers her a pained smile and lifts the purse to her chest.
She shrieks. "NO!"
He sees her drop off the ledge, catching it with her bandalore as she lowers herself, but she's not quick enough. Just as she reaches the floor, he takes the purse in his hands and, with what strength he can muster, rips it.
He feels the energy rush out of the purse as the cursed butterfly emerges. Before it can escape, he closes a hand over it. He feels a burning sensation as he absorbs the negative energy, coursing though his limbs and his heart. Suddenly, it dies down, and he's left tired and aching, lying in a growing pool of his own blood as he watches the purified butterfly flutter through the broken skylight above him.
He distantly hears the bubbling sound of Ladybug's akumatization leaving her, and hears her groan. It's quiet for a few seconds, before there's a gasp, and a hurried "Spots On!" Footsteps grow louder and suddenly she's there, dropping to her knees beside his head and gingerly lifting it into her lap. He looks up and sees her, dressed in spotted red and back to normal and beautiful and he laughs weakly. His hand making it halfway to her face before dropping weakly to his chest, but he's smiling, relieved.
Ladybug, however, seems to share none of his sentiment as she lets out a cry, tears streaming down her cheek as she takes in his glass-ridden back and legs twisted at odd angles. She brings a shaky hand to press against her mouth, trying to stifle the sobs wracking her body. "Oh God, Chat" she chokes. "What did I do to you?"
Without waiting for a response, she unhooks her bandalore, bypassing Lucky Charm in favour of going straight to Miraculous Cure. The bright light envelops the mall, repairing shattered windows and the broken guardrail. It swarms him, and he feels the glass shrapnel disappear from his back and his ankle straighten, bones rearranging and repairing. When the light finally dissipates, his wounds have been healed, but the still tired from the fight and unstable from blood loss. He grins up at his partner.
"It's good to have you back, my l-" is all he manages before she's on him, clutching him to her chest as she sobs, desperate apologies jumbling together.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I should have been stronger, I should have fought it, I should never have listened to Hawkmoth, and I almost killed you and oh my god Chat, I'm so sorry-"
Her rambles stutter to a stop as Chat wraps his arms around her waist, hands settling on the small of her back as he presses his face into her stomach. He's shaking with relief, the fear of losing her to Hawkmoth that had been ignored for the sake of the fight coming back with a vengeance.
They stay like that, holding each other and crying, before Chat pulls back, smiling weakly at her. He struggles to sit up, and with Ladybug's help manages to sit cross legged. Of course, Chat being Chat has to try to push it, and he immediately tries to stand, but Ladybug grabs him from behind, dragging him back down. She presses her forehead into his back, hiding her face even though he can't see her anyways. Steadying her breathing, she pulls back and moves to his side, ducking under his arm and helping him to his feet. Silently, they begin to limp to a nearby window.
By the time they make it to the window, Chat's recovered enough to haul himself up and out. He ends up in a darkened alley lit only by the faint light from a streetlamp at the end. He hears Ladybug land behind him, and braces against the wall as a wave of dizziness washes over him. As it passes, it seems to take the last remnants of his aching with it, leaving him steady but tired.
He feels Ladybug come up beside him, and he turns his head to look at her. She's looking down, toeing the ground with her foot, and she won't meet his gaze. He puts a hand on her shoulder, and she stiffens, but still doesn't look at him. Sighing, he takes her chin in his hand and gently turns her to face him "My lady... Please tell me you're not beating yourself up for what happened."
Her bottom lip trembles, and she looks at him, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "How can I not, Chat? I was weak, I let Hawkmoth take control of me! I almost killed you! Hawkmoth almost won! I-"
Chat presses a finger against her mouth, effectively shushing her. "My lady, you're one of the strongest people I know. I can't imagine what happened that let Hawkmoth control you, but I know you were feeling inadequate. I'm not going to press for details, but just remember that you will always be good enough. For me, for Paris, for anything. Never let anything convince you otherwise."
Ladybug gives him a watery smile, and he reaches up to swipe at the tears gathered in her eyes. She laughs, smacking his hands away and rubbing her eyes with her fists. She hears a beep and drops her hands to see a pad disappear from the paw on Chat's ring. He gives her an apologetic look, unhooking his baton. "I guess that's my cue to leave."
Straightening, he begins hopping slightly to get his blood flowing, shaking out his arms and his head. He takes a few paces and is about to vault up onto the roofs when he hears Ladybug call his name. He turns back.
She's biting her lip, and her face is a bit red "I just... wanted to thank you. For saving me"
He grins at her "What are partners for? Besides, I didn't do much. You saved yourself"
And he's gone, launching himself up onto a nearby rooftop and running off in the direction of his home, more than ready for a long rest.