Chapter 8: Crisis (II)

There was an eerie sense of stillness outside the warehouse. Not a single soul was in sight; dry leaves strewn across the concrete yard would rustle like the flapping of butterfly wings when a slight breeze blew across the empty grounds. To the ordinary citizen, the place was abandoned but Marinette knew what evil lurked within. The occasional clang of metal on metal that disturbed the silence of the place was her proof that a great battle between the forces of good and evil were well under way. As she stepped onto the warehouse grounds and made her way towards the main building, she hunched herself to maintain a low profile and stayed in the shadows as much as possible to avoid being noticed by any of the increasing numbers of Akumas flying overhead.

The sheet metal walls by the side of the main building's entrance suddenly deformed outward with a crunching sound while a short metal baton flew through the open door and landed close to her feet. Without breaking her stride, she bent down to scoop the weapon up and then made her way into the building, pausing outside the entrance only to cast a glance skyward one last time. She didn't like what she saw, but the battle within was more important.

The inside of the warehouse was certainly a lot noisier than the outside. Perhaps all the soft fabric acted as soundproofing material that dampened the sound of battle. There was also a constant fluttering of wings permeating the entire warehouse as flocks of butterflies—both white and black—flew in serpentine formations, spiralling to and fro, occupying every nook and cranny. Ladybug swung from an overhead beam, narrowly missing a flight of black butterflies that had launched themselves towards her at the command of Hawk Moth. The supervillain himself stood calmly within the eye of the butterfly storm, hovering atop a platform of white wings while directing them with his walking stick.

Chat Noir groaned as he climbed out of the teenager-sized deformation on the wall. He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head rapidly, stopping only when he noticed Marinette standing by the door. "Mari…?"

Marinette tossed Chat Noir's baton back to him. "I think this belongs to you."

"What the hell are you doing, traitor?" Ladybug scowled as she swung across from one end of the building to the other while avoiding fast-flying Akumas. She landed on a soft platform of neatly stacked piles of plain-coloured cloth and spun her yo-yo in a wide arc, capturing several butterflies in the process. The main flock withdrew to avoid her follow-up swings, fluttering just barely out of reach while waiting for the perfect moment to strike back.

"Ah, the final pawn has returned to the board. All three pieces are now back in play. The clock ticks towards zero hour and the endgame is about to commence," Hawk Moth said. With a subtle gesture of his jewel-encrusted cane, the doors behind Marinette suddenly slammed shut. The flickering shadows between the gaps around doors and windows, and the flapping of wings outside, strongly hinted at heavy Akuma presence outside the premises.

Ladybug landed beside Chat Noir and deftly swung her yo-yo around like it was some kind of performing act. "Congratulations Hawk Moth, you've just trapped yourself in here with us."

"That's not the point, Ladybug. We need to be outside, helping people instead of fighting inside," Chat said. He slowly inched his way towards the exit. He held his arm out to the side, both as a shielding gesture towards Marinette while at the same time ushering her to move back out with him.

"No, Chat." Marinette gently pushed his arm out of the way and stepped forward. She stared at the supervillain and steeled herself to face him again. "There are no more Akumas attacking the city. You've called them all back here in order to help you fight. There was never a moral dilemma to begin with. If Chat Noir and Ladybug had left, you would have let your Akumas go wild. But since they decided to stay and fight, you've brought them all back. That was your bluff all along and I've called it."

Hawk Moth's laughter was both loud and frightening at the same time. Marinette felt a shiver run down her back as the entire warehouse echoed with the flapping of wings. The Akumas outside nearly blotted out all of the sunlight that came in through the windows. "You truly are a Ladybug, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

"What the hell does that even mean?" Ladybug muttered.

If looks could kill, Marinette's stare would have snuffed the life out of the supervillain already. "Why does that matter to you?"

"Absolutely nothing, girl. You don't have a Miraculous. You aren't a threat to me. But this confirm that you are indeed another Ladybug from another timeline. Perhaps one where you and your other Chat Noir lost and now, you are trying to right your wrongs?" Hawk Moth's eyes widened and his lips curled upwards in delight as if things started becoming clear to him. "So, you decided to leave and fight my supervillians. You tried to help those poor, innocent civilians outside. Let me guess—you lost. That is why you've come crawling back here, to convince this timeline's Ladybug and Chat Noir to stand and fight instead. This is your flashpoint—the critical moment from your very own history—the very mistake which you are now trying to right."

"Mari, is this true?" Chat Noir said.

Ladybug gasped. "So when you were trying to take my earrings…"

"All that doesn't matter now," Marinette said. She held her fist tightly and close to her heart, so close she could almost feel every single rhythmic beating through her chest. It was the feeling of being alive. It was a feeling that reminded her of who she was, and all the people she held dear to her. "I'm done wallowing in the past. It doesn't matter who I was and what I did. What's important is now. You're going down, Hawk Moth. It doesn't matter if you go down by my hand or by another Ladybug's, but one way or another I'll see it through all the way."

"Bold words, Miss Dupain-Cheng. You think you're trying to be a hero and do the right thing, don't you?" There was a sneer on his face, mocking her, challenging her. "But let me ask you this: How do you think you ended up here? You think everything you did was all that heroic? No, you're just as much a villain as what you all label me as. That's right, girl. There's nothing altruistic about your need to set things right. By merely existing in this timeline, you're living proof that you've already done deeds no hero would have done. Who's the villain now, Miss Dupain-Cheng?"

"Shut up!" Chat Noir slammed his weapon down onto the concrete ground, creating a large spidery crack that spread out from the point of impact. "Don't talk to Marinette like that. She's nothing like you at all. Absolutely nothing. You don't get to try and twist things with your words. You—you're the villain here, and you're going down today!"

The supervillain pointed his cane at the three of them. "Then come. Fight me. Show me what you can do."

"I'll wipe that smug look off your face," Ladybug said as she threw her yo-yo at his outstretched hand. With a flick of his wrist, he bat the projectile aside before it could even begin to wrap around his weapon. The yo-yo spun out of control and wrapped around the railing of the adjacent walkway. She used this opportunity to pull herself up to the same level as the supervillain.

Chat Noir launched himself into the air and took a swing at Hawk Moth. The supervillain ducked underneath the sweeping blow and took a step back. As Chat landed on the platform, Hawk Moth lashed out towards his feet, forcing him to leap away.

Now both Ladybug and Chat Noir were on the same platform as Hawk Moth. They flanked him from both sides with Chat rushing in from the left while Ladybug approached from the right. Chat had his baton extended into a short staff and lunged at the supervillain like a fencer. Hawk Moth leaned forward to meet the attack, parrying the staff with his cane and pushing himself closer to the black-clad superhero. Chat shoved back but was met with a boot to the chest, sending him stumbling backwards.

Hawk Moth immediately spun around and snatched Ladybug's yo-yo out of the air, as if he knew what she was doing. As if he had eyes behind him. Marinette gasped as she began to realise the number of Akumas that have been building up indoors, creeping in through the cracks and then hiding inside corners and in blind spots all over the warehouse. She ducked underneath a landing in between the stairs that connected the ground floor to an upper walkway and began observing the Akumas inside the building. Their eyes were his eyes, she thought.

Up ahead, Hawk Moth still held on to Ladybug's yo-yo and yanked the girl towards him. Chat Noir began to charge from behind, but his advance was halted by a wall of black wings that suddenly sprang forth in front of him. Ladybug, on the other hand, let herself be pulled closer to the supervillain. She raised her free hand and balled it up into a fist, ready to strike, but Hawk Moth seemed prepared, knowing her intent in advance. He lazily tilted his head back to avoid the wild swing and then brought his cane down on her. There was a loud crack and Ladybug yelped in pain. She scrambled away from the supervillain just as Chat Noir finally cleared his obstacle and raced towards him.

Chat Noir's baton met Hawk Moth's jewel-encrusted cane as their duel began in earnest. They both fought like fencers; Chat Noir certainly borrowed a lot from Adrien Agreste's fencing lessons but Hawk Moth also responded in kind. He was also clearly an experienced fencer but there was also this annoying grin on the supervillain's face, as if he was enjoying the fight. As if he was just toying with the black-clad superhero. Irregardless, Chat Noir's advance grew even more aggressive as he continued to jab, swing and thrust his way towards the supervillain. Even though he could not get past the supervillain's ironclad defence, he still managed to push Hawk Moth back so he kept pressing forward while the supervillain seemed content in being on the defencive, giving up ground and retreating into the main office.

As the duelling pair disappeared into the office, Marinette pulled herself up onto the landing and ran towards Ladybug. She was still sitting on the ground with her legs splayed out to her sides. Her yo-yo lay by on the metal grilles. "Ladybug…"

"Shut up. This is all your fault."

Marinette reached out to Ladybug but the superheroine shied away from her. "Ladybug—Alya, please. I know you're still angry but you're still my friend and I care about you both."

Ladybug turned around and rested her back against the railing. She lifted her arm; the string and loop to her yo-yo dangled from her finger but the rest of her hand was limp. "I doesn't matter anymore. I think he broke my hand."

"Let me see."

"Not your problem." Ladybug winced as she withdrew her hand, holding it closer to her body. "Get out of here before it's too late."

"That's not going to happen. Now are you going to let me help you or not?"

"Help, how?" Ladybug squirmed and pushed herself away as Marinette tried to lean closer. "Oh, maybe you want to take my Miraculous and see if you can fare better and defeat Hawk Moth yourself?"

Marinette sighed. Her friend's words were as sharp as a razor but she would not allow them to cut her. "Alya, I—I realise how wrong I was. No matter who I was before, it was still wrong for me to try and take your Miraculous and I truly regret it. I was selfish and for that, I am sorry. I may have been Ladybug elsewhere but in this world, I am not. You are. So you need to pull yourself together and get back into the fight. Adrien needs you. I need you. All of Paris needs you."

Ladybug looked away. "You say that, but what good is a Ladybug who cannot even swing her own yo-yo?"

"Then use the other one." Marinette reached out to caress her friend's injured hand, before moving on to her finger, slipping the loop of the yo-yo off it and then transferring it to the other hand. "In this world, you're Ladybug, not me, and you deserve your moment of glory."

"You know I'm not that good with this hand."

"How on earth did you manage to handle Pixelator is beyond me." Marinette chuckled. "I'm sure you'll manage. After all, you're the one with the super powers here. You have all the good luck that you need on your side."

"Actually—"

A crash and a scattering of glass interrupted the pair. Chat Noir flew out of the main office window and landed on the dusty floor below. Hawk Moth stood at the broken window and tossed the metal baton out. It spun in mid-air and landed beside Char Noir's prone form with a metallic clatter. "You're a good fencer, but not good enough," the supervillain mocked.

"Chat!" Marinette sprung to her feet and ran down the nearest stair. She reached him as Chat Noir had begun to pick himself up. "Chat, are you hurt?"

"Marinette, you need to get out of here." Chat Noir held out his hand, gesturing for Marinette to stay back. "It's too dangerous to be here now."

"I will, but not before you defeat Hawk Moth."

"No one is going anywhere," Hawk Moth said as he re-emerged out the door of the main office. The Akumas that had been gathering all across the warehouse began to swarm around the supervillain, forming a dark cloud of pure darkness. He raised his cane and pointed down at Marinette and Chat Noir, its jewel now bubbling with an unspeakable mass of black, writhing magic. "It is now time to end this amusing folly. I will pry your Miraculouses off your dead bodies afterwards."

The swarm of Akumas began to flap their wings faster and faster, becoming more agitated as Hawk Moth spoke. Marinette could feel an overwhelming sensation of pure evil permeate the entire warehouse. She got up and stood in front of Hawk Moth with her back against Chat Noir. "On second thought, I think we all need to get out. Now."

"You can say that again," Chat Noir said as he reached up to hold Marinette's hand. She thought that he just wanted help to pull himself and obliged, so she was surprised when he suddenly pulled her to the ground, taking her place in her stead. "Sorry Marinette, but a hero's got to do what a hero does." He formed a shield with his baton, already anticipating whatever the supervillain was planning to unleash upon them all.

"Lucky Charm!"

Marinette snapped her head towards Ladybug and found her red spotted friend palming a can of aerosol spray. She had a confused look as she stared at the can, then took one look at Hawk Moth and smiled. She threw the can at the cloud of Akumas above the supervillain and then followed up with a strike with her yo-yo. Her off-hand attack went wide but she spun it around for a second go, puncturing the can after it had dropped somewhat lower than she originally intended.

The can exploded when its contents were forcibly ejected from the rupture. The blast unleashed a mist of chemicals that engulfed both Hawk Moth and his cloud of Akumas. The supervillain clutched at his face and screamed. Black butterflies dropped to the ground in droves as the pesticide-like contents took its toll on the swarm. However, not all of the swarm was affected by the mist. The remaining Akumas began to pulsate in dark energies, about to burst at any moment.

Chat Noir spun around and covered Marinette in a protective embrace while Ladybug lashed out at another walkway dangling overhead the swarm. She struck a pair of support beams, destabilising the platform. It shook briefly, then dropped onto the platform below, collapsing onto Hawk Moth and his black swarm. Unfortunately Ladybug was also standing at the other end of the platform, and so she tumbled down to the ground with it.

Marinette felt Chat Noir's embrace loosen for a moment, and then he suddenly stiffened. She felt a dark wave flood the entire ground floor, coursing through the warehouse like a concussive force. The impact made noticeable impressions on the warehouse's sheet metal walls, crushed machinery and flinging textiles aside. Metal support beams dropped from overhead, some landing dangerously close. Marinette was forced to shut her eyes and hold her breathe as the destruction around her kicked up a thick cloud of dust and other airborne particles.

When the cacophony of destruction had finally ended, Marinette opened her eyes and squinted at the bright noon sun that shone down on her. The roof of the warehouse had given in, along with almost two thirds of the surrounding walls. She was surrounded by a mess of fallen, disfigured metal beams and sheets. It was a miracle that none had crushed them both. Her clothes were soaking wet and she wanted to ask Chat Noir to move aside, only to be taken aback in horror when she realised that it was his blood that stained her clothes.

Marinette cradled Chat Noir in her arms. The back of his costume had been completely dissolved, no doubt by whatever dark energies that the Akumas had released in their final throes of destruction. Without the protection of his suit, a pair of metal rods that fell from above had pierced his upper body and abdomen. He coughed when he tried to speak. "M-Mari… nette… a-are you h-hurt?"

She bent down and let her tears drip on his face as she whispered close to his ear. "No, Chat. Thanks to you, I'm not hurt at all."

"I'm glad," he said with a raspy voice. "Did—did we win?"

She tore her gaze away from the boy and surveyed her surroundings once more. Hawk Moth was nowhere to be found. He either lay, crushed by the metal, or had somehow escaped and would be back another day. She hoped that the former were true but until the police arrived to investigate, there was simply no telling just what had happened to the supervillain. "I—I think so."

"Good." He closed his eyes and rested his hands over his chest. His breathing slowed and even as Marinette's eyes watered even more, his chest eventually stopped moving altogether.

A creak of metal made her heart jump. Underneath a pile of metal sheets and rods, she spotted a spotted red gloved hand. Ladybug pulled herself out from underneath, using only one hand as leverage. She gasped at the sight of Chat Noir in Marinette's arms and, with a sudden surge of determination, forced her way through the wreckage and stumbled out towards them. "A-Adrien?"

Marinette looked up at her friend, all teary-eyed, and slowly shook her head from side to side. She gently ran her fingers through the boy's blond hair and let her tears drip down onto him. "I'm so sorry, Alya."

Not again… That thought played endlessly in her head even as the police arrived to canvas the scene of the battle.

Over the next few days, Marinette stayed at home. She spent most of her time in her room, only coming out for regular meals or when friends had come to visit. It wasn't that she was depressed. It wasn't that she was sulking after everything that had happened. No, it was the constant hounding of reporters and paparazzi that forced her into a temporary recluse. After all, she and Ladybug were the only two people at ground zero to the hottest news in Paris, France, and probably the world too, and she was already sick of it. She could not spend a single moment of her life in peace. It was all because the police had found the supervillain crushed under metal and concrete and soon, their identities were plastered all over the news. Even unrelated magazines and newsletters featured their stories as if it was the only newsworthy thing worth printing. As the only civilian witness to the incident, everyone wanted a piece of her story. Everyone wanted an exclusive interview. The whole world wanted her to talk about things she preferred to be left unsaid.

And so she was trapped by her own fame (or infamy, as sometimes she might call it). It had gotten so bad that she had to enlist the aid of her friends just to sneak out during the day, if only to visit Nino at the hospital. Yes, that foolishly brave young boy somehow managed to survive his encounter with the Crocopine, though the amount of stitches on him and the big, fat cast around his leg attested to the great danger that he faced that day. Even when she did manage to see him, they had to keep their interactions short because sooner or later, some gossip channel or paparazzi would catch wind of their rendezvous and scurry to the hospital like ants converging on the last drop of honey on Earth.

The rest of the time though, Marinette hid in her room. Occasionally she would sit down and begin to knit. She intended to make a veil, or at least something to hide her face when she managed to sneak out without attracting members of the press. At other times, she would speak to Plagg, though they didn't really talk much. The only reason the black cat kwami was in her care was because Ladybug left Adrien's ring with her and took off without saying a single word. Perhaps the arrival of the police on that fateful day prevented them from speaking further about it. Or perhaps Ladybug planned it that way, leaving at the right time so that she couldn't protest the act. Either way, she could not even understand why Alya did the things she did. Regardless of her motivations, Marinette had a kwami with an insatiable appetite for cheese to take care of, and so she did just that to pass the time.

Marinette's parents, on the other hand, did not question why their daughter suddenly started making more cheese than bread in the kitchen. They probably chalked it up to it being her method of coping. Probably.

Alya had it much better, Marinette had thought, even though the girl was still grieving over the loss of Adrien. Still, the girl could easily walk outside without getting hounded by the press as her secret identity remained intact. Marinette did not speak much to Alya though; perhaps she still could not bear to face her friend as a part of her blamed herself for all the trouble that she had caused. Still, the girl would drop by the bakery to say a few words that were passed on through her parents. It was, at least, a way for them to remain in touch with one another and she had her parents to thank for it.

On the day of Chat Noir's funeral, all of Paris stood at a standstill. It was as if nearly every citizen in France had come all the way to the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, if only to catch one last glance of the famous superhero who gave his life for Paris and to pay their final respects. For some, it was a day of mourning and for others, a day of celebration—Hawk Moth has been vanquished, even if it was at a great cost. For many, the tomb of Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir was also a huge tourist attraction. The Mayor of Paris had contracted for an exquisite sculpture of the hero to be made and erected over the Agreste mausoleum, and today was the day that this work of art would be unveiled to the public for the very first time. As for the supervillain himself, no one wanted to speak of the man even though the world already knew who he was. They'd rather talk openly of the hero Adrien Agreste while silently cursing the enemy of Paris in their hearts.

Marinette quietly pushed her way through the enormous crowd, keeping her head down and hidden underneath the veil that she had completed during her times in isolation. Her designer sunglasses not only helped to protect her eyes from the hot morning sun but also to hide her identity from prying eyes. All she wanted to do was to say her final goodbye; nothing more and nothing less. However, when she had finally arrived at the tomb, she found the area to be unsurprisingly hounded by members of the press, famous celebrities and other well-to-doers and good-for-nothings. She didn't want to attract any attention to herself, so she kept to the shadows and waited.

By noon, the crowd at the cemetery was still at full force. It was only the threat of rain later in the afternoon that slowly dissuaded the rabble from staying longer. It was nearly evening when the crowd had finally dispersed, leaving Marinette all alone with her former partner and love of her life. The little bouquet of pink carnations that she had kept close to her all this while were no longer in pristine condition after surviving the brunt of the day's fully-packed activities but, to her, it was the thought that counts. She knelt down only to gently lay the flowers onto his lavish, exquisitely crafted tomb before standing again. With her head bowed and her eyes closed, she thought of Adrien. She reminisced all the days she had spent with him. The good, fighting supervillains and protecting the people of Paris, and the bad, with all her nervous stuttering around the boy model.

The light drizzle began to turn into a heavy downpour but Marinette paid no heed to the weather. She was calm; at peace. Perhaps she was even ready to move on with her life, after coming to terms with herself and getting the closure that she so dearly needed all this while. The pitter patter of the rain drops hitting an umbrella held above her head interrupted her silent soliloquy. She was vaguely aware of another girl standing beside her, dressed in a heavy brown coat and veiled hat.

"How are you holding up?" Alya asked.

"Okay… I guess. Your hand?"

"Better."

Marinette reached into her coat and palmed the cold, metal ring that was Chat Noir's Miraculous in her hand. She didn't know why she even brought it with her in the first place. She was most definitely not going to simply leave it at the tomb. It just felt like something she needed to bring. For closure, perhaps. Either way, she no longer had any reason to hold on to it. It was time for it to return to its caretaker. She held it up to let her eyes gaze upon it for one last time. "I suppose you're here to take this back."

"No. It's yours now."

Marinette turned to stare at her friend. "You know I can't, Alya. After all that I've done, I don't deserve this."

Alya only smiled. She seemed conflicted, with only her eyes betraying a hint of sadness in them. "I never got the chance to ask, Marinette. In your world, when you were Ladybug, how was Adrien? Was he alive and well?"

Marinette shut her eyes and tilted her head down. She couldn't say it. She couldn't—wouldn't—answer her friend's question. What could she possibly tell her? That Adrien was also dead because of her? The tears were already trying to force their way through her eyelids when she felt her friend's hand on her shoulder.

"Marinette?"

"I'm sorry, Alya." Marinette whimpered. "I'm so useless. Whether I am Ladybug or not, disaster always comes to everyone around me. I might as well be the one who died in their stead."

"You wanted these, don't you?"

Marinette opened her eyes to find the pair of Ladybug earrings being pushed into her hand. She opened her mouth to protest, but Alya already pressed her hand shut around the jewels.

"This world is a lie, isn't it? It only came to being because of some mistake that you made. That's why you came here. That's why you did all the things that you did. You only wanted to fix things. So fix this lie. Make everything right again. Be the hero that Adrien thinks you are. Perhaps then, and only then, can I truly move on now that Adrien no longer draws breath here in this world."

"Alya, I—I don't know if I can." Marinette shook her head. "What if I just make it worse? I can't just keep altering the world over and over again for our own selfish reasons. Hawk Moth was right. I never should have caused all this. Everything that has happened until now is my fault and, for both the good and the bad, I have to take responsibility and accept it all. I certainly don't deserve to be entrusted with this power."

"And this is the very reason why I think you do," Alya said. She continued to smile even though her eyes were already beginning to wet. Still, she held her hand tightly around Marinette's, disallowing her from returning the gift. "Don't let Hawk Moth's words get to you, Marinette. He may be right, but only in his own twisted logic of what's right and what's wrong. You were never the villain in the first place. I've already come to terms with that fact. You're a good person at heart. Adrien saw that. I think I see it too. You just need to learn to forgive yourself."

Marinette managed to eke out a soft smile. "Adrien said that to me once. Alya, how do I forgive myself when I don't even trust myself to?"

"It's just a feeling. Perhaps echoes from a once forgotten timeline trying to reestablish itself?" Alya shrugged. She crouched briefly to scoop up a small handful of soil from the ground before standing up again. She stared at the damp, earthen soil in her hand for a moment before tossing it towards Adrien's tomb. "This world was a mistake. I'm beginning to sense it now, as if my real self is somehow screaming at this false shell of me, telling me to do the right thing. Maybe I'm just grasping at straws, trying to rationalise my own despair. Maybe I'm having an identity crisis. Or—or perhaps there is a sliver of truth in what I'm feeling. Either way, they are all point me to the same thing. They want me to do the right thing for you and so, here I am, doing just that. Marinette, correct that mistake. Be the Ladybug that you claim to be."

The red kwami materialised in the space between the two of them, her face looking down and sullen. She turned to Alya and said, "Alya, I trust your decision and wish you all the best. You have been a both a good Ladybug and a great partner." She then spun around and met with Marinette's gaze. "I hope you will live up to your promise, Marinette. You now have the power of gods in your hands."

Marinette nodded. She opened her hand and studied the Miraculouses in her palm. "I'll do everything in my power to make things right. I promise… even if I'm not exactly sure how."

"Please make a world filled with Camembert," Plagg said as the tiny black cat materialised beside Tikki, only to get smacked on the back of his head by the red kwami.

"That's not how it works, you stupid kitty!"

Marinette chuckled. "Stupid kitty. I called Adrien—Chat Noir—that sometimes."

"Then don't keep your stupid kitty waiting," Alya said as she playfully shoved Marinette in the shoulder.

Marinette slipped the ring around her finger and closed her eyes. She could already feel that familiar tingle of magical energy as she affixed the pair of ladybug stones to her ears. She remembered the words that Master Fu had said to her once: I have only been wrong once in my life. When I made the decision to hand out the earrings of the Ladybug and the ring of the Black Cat to two very promising youths of Paris, I promised myself that I would not make the same mistake twice. I have yet to decide if I can call this one a mistake or not.

Don't worry, Master, Marinette thought. You were not wrong. I won't disappoint you ever again.

Whoever controls the powers of Creation and Destruction at the same time will achieve absolute power, Wayzz had said. Whoever wielded such power would become a god. Hawk Moth thought so. Even Tikki just said so.

I don't want to be a god, she thought. I just want to be a hero.