Chapter Two
Adrien grabbed Lila's wrist and pulled her out of the room, he didn't stop until they were in the boiler room so that there was less chance that they would be interrupted or overheard. He looked at Lila, his face serious, while hers was that of fake concern.
"We both know Ladybug would never give you her Miraculous so how did you get it?!"
"Adrien how could you say that?" She looks at his look of disbelief and her mask slips, revealing her smirk. "Oh alright. I was out walking and then these earrings fell from the sky, I picked them up and took them home. When I put them in, this creature came out of them and told me about the Miraculous and how it works." Adrien frowns but doesn't say anything. "And now I can be a better Ladybug than the old one ever was."
"What about Chat Noir? He'll never work with you!"
"He will if he wants me to purify the Akuma." She smirked and flips her hair as she starts to walk away. "I'd love to continue this riveting conversation but I have fans to get back to. Toodles!"
Once she was gone, Plagg flew out of his pocket and looked grim. "This is bad kid. If what she said is true then we could be in real trouble if an Akuma attacks. I wish Tikki was here, she would know what to do."
Adrien thinks for a moment, he realises that the Miraculous Lila was wearing was active but Tikki was nowhere to be seen. "I don't know for sure but I think Tikki might be around but not close enough that someone will notice her. Plagg for once I'm going to let you go around school on your own. See if you can find Tikki and if you do, see if there's a way to help her, in the meantime I'll keep an eye on Lila."
With the plan set, Adrien goes back to class, while Plagg sneakily flies around the school. Eventually he goes to the roof and there sitting on the edge is Tikki, crying.
"Hey Sugarcube." He says tentatively, which makes Tikki turn around. "We know about the-" Before he can finish what he was about to say, Tikki hurtles into him sobbing.
"Oh Plagg. It's horrible! She, she ordered me to stay close, do nothing to attract attention and to only come to her if an Akuma attacks!" Plagg pats Tikki's head lovingly and sets them both down on the ledge of the roof.
"It'll be ok, Sugarcube. My kid knows and we'll think of a way to get you back. You're not alone Tikki and pretty soon you'll be back with Pigtails and this will be like a bad dream." Tikki sniffles and hugs closer to Plagg who accepts it. They stay together for a long time before the bell rings, they reluctantly break away from each other. "I have to get back to my kid and tell him but we'll be back. I promise." Plagg quickly flies away, heading back to the classroom where Adrien is one of the last people inside, when Adrien is the last person, Plagg comes out of hiding. "I found Tikki and you were right. That witch is making her stay close to her but far enough away that Tikki can't ask for help."
Adrien frowns at what Plagg told him. "Plagg, does she feed Tikki?" From the look on Plagg's face, Adrien realises that he probably didn't ask. "What does Tikki eat? I'll get her something and we can think of something while we eat."
"Anything sweet is usually fine for my Sugarcube but I know she really likes the cookies from Pigtails' parents bakery."
"You mean Marinette? That's actually a good idea! I can see how Marinette is doing and get something to eat for Tikki." They head to the bakery and while it is slightly busy, Adrien can see Tom Dupain working behind the counter. "Hello Mr. Dupain. How is Marinette?"
Tom looks at Adrien and smiles. "She's doing better, they still have her on some medication to keep her calm but if all goes well, she should be home by the end of the week. Sabine is with her so she's not on her own"
"That's great to hear! I was so worried about her." Tom smiles at the boy who his daughter had a crush on. "Anyway I was wondering if I could some of your cookies?" Tom grabs a couple of cookies from the shelf and gives them to Adrien.
"On the house."
"W-what no! I couldn't possibly take them without paying!"
"Adrien, it's fine. I overbaked this morning so I have plenty left. Think of it as a thank you for worrying about Marinette." Adrien reluctantly accepts them.
"Thank you so much!" He leaves quickly and runs back to the school, transforming before making his way up to the roof. Tikki is exactly where Plagg said she would be, de-transforming and giving Plagg his cheese he goes over to Tikki, also making sure that no one can see him and gives Tikki the cookies. She sobs again, this time into Adrien's shirt, mumbling her thank you over and over again.
Once Tikki has calmed down and eaten some of the cookies, she perks up looking at Adrien and Plagg. Adrien looks into the courtyard and sees Lila surrounded by their classmates who is speaking animatedly to them. "We need to get the Miraculous away from Lila but how?"
"I could always Cataclysm her, that way she would be a bother again." Plagg says nonchalantly while eating his cheese. Both Tikki and Adrien look horrified at the suggestion. "What?! It was just a suggestion."
Tikki shakes her head affectionately and smiles for the first time in days. "We are not going to do that you silly cat! But if we could somehow get her to renounce the Miraculous, then you could use them Adrien. At least until Ladybug returns."
"Yeah but how can we do that, calling her out won't work since it hasn't worked before. I never should have told Marinette to just ignore her." Adrien sighs.
"What if we just don't help." Plagg says. "Hear me out. At the next Akuma attack we'll go there but we just won't do anything. If that brat wants to be Ladybug so bad, she can be but that doesn't mean she gets to have Chat Noir as a partner. Obviously we'll step in if things get too hairy but otherwise she'll have to fend for herself."
Tikki ponders for a minute before smiling. "That's actually a good idea and I'll see if I can do anything on my end to make it harder for her to fight.
They all smile. "Sounds like we have a plan, now all we have to do is wait for an Akuma to attack." Adrien grimaces at what he just said. "Never thought I'd be looking forward to an Akuma attack. Soon after the bell rings and Adrien goes back to class letting Plagg and Tikki be together so that she isn't lonely, however after school, Adrien and Plagg leave, leaving Tikki who had to return to Lila.
Tikki was miserable, hoping an Akuma would attack soon so that she could be away from the brat faster. She got her wish a couple of hours later when a large Akuma came crashing through the streets. The Akuma alert sounded on Lila's phone, she looked at Tikki before shouting the words "Tikki, Spots on!" Her costume while similar to Ladybug's was slightly different with her costume being a yellow/orange colour instead of Ladybug's normal red, her bangs were behind her ears making it look like she had pigtails and the rest of her hair was folded behind her head so only her bangs were shown.
She traverses across the city until she reaches the Akuma, smiling as she sees Alya close by filming the encounter, she looks up and on a rooftop nearby is Chat Noir. She goes over to him and starts to make a plan. "So here's what's going to happen, you're going to distract the Akuma since that's all you're good for while I-"
"No" Chat noir says cutting her off aggressively.
"No? What do you mean no?"
"No as in I'm not going to help you. You're not Ladybug and therefore I don't have to help you." He leans against the railing that's on the rooftop. "Have fun though."
"You're really going to let this Akuma run wild?! I thought you were a hero."
"I am but you're not and I will help if the situation calls for it. How about a deal though. If you are able to take the Akuma down without asking for my help, then I will accept you as my new partner and fight crime together, however if you need my help then you will give me Ladybug's Miraculous."
"That's it, you just want Ladybug's Miraculous? Nothing else?"
"Yep and I'll sweeten the pot too, if you win. I'll tell you my identity." Lila eyes widen at the thought, not even the real Ladybug knew Chat Noir's identity.
"Fine! Get ready to tell me who you are kitty cat because once I'm done here, we are going to have a very long chat." She swings off the rooftop and heads towards the Akuma. Chat Noir waits until she is no longer visible before bringing his baton to his ear.
"Did you record all that?"
"I did but I don't know why you wanted me to. Lila is Ladybug's best friend. It's why she trusted Lila to help in the first place. And another thing Ladybug isn't going to be happy to know you revealed your identity to someone." Chat Noir scales down the building and picks Alya up, they head towards the Akuma before Chat Noir drops her down. She's close enough that she can record the fight but far enough away that she won't be caught in the crossfire.
Chat Noir himself lands on a lamppost watching as Lila struggles to hold the Akuma in her yo-yo strings. "What's the matter Fakebug? You seem to be having a spot of trouble." He smirks when he sees her grit her teeth.
The Akuma throws Lila into a wall before turning to Chat Noir but Chat Noir holds up a hand in surrender. "I'm not here to fight you…yet anyway." He points to Lila who is slowly getting up. "Unless she asks for my help, I'm just a bystander today."
The Akuma turns back to Lila before charging at her, she barely dodges and keeps stumbling back. The Akuma keeps attacking her, giving her no chance to fight back. A lucky hit sends her flying back and even Chat Noir winces but still does nothing to help.
Lila stands up and stomps her foot before looking at Chat Noir. "You know pussy cat, here!" She takes the earrings out and throws them towards Chat Noir, who leaps to catch them. "I just wanted to be a hero and help my best friend! But it's not worth the trouble!" She runs off leaving Chat Noir and the Akuma dumbfounded before they look at each other and start fighting.
Alya who had been recording, runs out of the alley she was in picking up a rock as she heads towards the fight. She throws the rock at the Akuma gaining its attention which allows Chat Noir to knock it over. Chat Noir runs towards her and picks her up before running from the fight.
"Hey! The Akuma is that way!" She says from his shoulder pointing towards the Akuma that is getting further away. He pulls a manhole cover from the ground and places Alya down so that they can both go down and he covers it back up.
Once he feels that they are safe, he looks at Alya with a serious expression that she's never seen before. "Alya I need your help and without Ladybug we don't have the power to purify the Akuma." Alya squeaks excitedly figuring out where this is going. "So I'm going to use the Ladybug Miraculous and I want you to borrow my Miraculous."
"Wait what?" She figured he would lend her Ladybug's Miraculous for this fight not the other way around.
"I've used both Miraculous before and you were great during your time as Rena Rouge so I can trust you with my Miraculous."
She shakes off her shock and smiles. "Ok but how are we going to do this? You need to power down first." He smiles and points further down the sewer.
"There's a split in the sewer a little further down, I'll go one way and you go the other. Once I've powered down and given Plagg some food. He'll bring my Miraculous to you and then we'll find the Akuma and stop it."
"You're smarter than you look."
"Maybe Ladybug is rubbing off on me." He smirks before running down the sewer with Alya following behind. Once the reach the split they go separate ways and Adrien powers down giving a cookie to Tikki once she appears and Plagg his cheese. Once both Kwami's are fed, Plagg takes the ring to Alya.
Once transforming into Mister Bug, Adrien waits for Alya to appear, his jaw opens in shock. Alya's suit is very similar to when his lady wore the Miraculous but her hair is in a messy pony tail making it look like she has a mane like a lion. She moves towards him and using two fingers to close his mouth.
"Careful handsome, you'll catch flies doing that." She smirks at him before heading towards the exit.
"So any thoughts about a name?"
"Call me Lyon Nwa."
He nods and they make their way to the street, they can hear crashing in the distance and head towards it. The Akuma looks like it's having a temper tantrum, throwing cars around and just shouting for Chat Noir to appear.
"Sorry but Chat Noir couldn't make it today, let me introduce the lovely Lyon Nwa. And I'm Mister Bug. And who are you my dear Akuma?"
"I am Strong Arm and I will take your Miraculouses!" He picks up a car and throws it at them.
"So an Akuma with super strength. Shouldn't be too hard right?" They dodge more things thrown at them.
"Don't be too sure. If he grabs you then he could do some serious damage." He looks around before deciding what to do. "Lucky Charm!" He shouts throwing his yo-yo into the air and a mirror falls into his hands. "This takes me back." He says thinking about the first time he was Mister Bug. Looking around he makes a plan. "Okay I'm going to be the distraction, I'll use the mirror to blind him and you Cataclysm the ground beneath him." Lyon Nwa nods and moves away. He starts to wave at the Akuma. "Yoohoo! Come and get me."
The Akuma charges at Mister Bug but before he can hit him, a flash of light cause him to veer to the side and before he knows it, his feet are trapped in the floor. Mister Bug walks up to him and takes his wrist brace, breaking it and out flies a butterfly. Mister Bug catches the butterfly and purifies it before throwing his Lucky Charm in the air and healing all the damage the Akuma made.
Lyon Nwa and Mister Bug pound fists with a "Pound it!" before Lyon Nwa runs off towards the alley and Mister Bugs helps the civilian to his feet and pointing him in the right direction to go, he heads back to the alley to find Alya there, already changed back. She hands him his Miraculous back and hugs hims, which he returns.
"Thanks. I didn't think I'd ever get to be a hero again so thanks."
"Thank you Alya. I couldn't have done this without you. And thanks to today I know someone who will make a great temporary holder of my Miraculous if I ever need it." Alya blushes before punching him lightly in the arm.
"Oh my God, you're embarrassing me but thanks. It's nice to know you trust me that much to use your Miraculous." She takes out her phone and sees the time. "I have to get home soon but see you around Chat Noir." She waves as she runs down the street.
Adrien transforms back soon after, he takes off the earrings and hands them to Tikki. "Be careful on your way home this time." Tikki smiles and snuggles into him in affection. "Plagg, go with her to make sure she gets home alright." Plagg nods and they both head towards Marinette's house with Adrien heading towards his mansion with a smile on his face.