After a boring two hours, Marinette finally finished her physics homework. She didn't think any of the answers were right, but she worked hard on them. That would hopefully be enough to satisfy her teacher. She yawned and got out of her chair. She opened her window and took a breath of fresh air. There was a calm breeze that put Marinette at ease. It was a pleasant night.
"Tikki, I want to transform and call Chat Noir. Tonight might be a good time to hang out for a little bit. God knows I need a break."
Tikki nodded in agreement. "I'm tired after just watching you do all that homework," the little creature giggled.
"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette transformed into Ladybug and jumped out of her bedroom. She stood on her rooftop and pulled out her yo-yo. Immediately, she called Chat Noir. She was sure he would be just as eager to meet up. It was rare they got to spend some quality time together and not have to fight akumas. They were good friends and it was normal for them to hang out when they weren't working. Chat Noir liked to call their little outings "dates", but she preferred to call them "friendly get togethers".
A green phone icon appeared on the yo-yo signaling that it was calling Chat Noir, but there was no response. "That's weird," Ladybug frowned, hooking her yo-yo back onto its string around her waist. "He usually answers right away. Maybe he's busy tonight." She didn't know much about Chat Noir's civilian life, but it seemed like he had his hands full often. He had mentioned having a part-time job, but he never said what exactly he did.
"I guess I'm going alone…"
That would be okay too. It would be relaxing just to run around Paris and see the sites. That was one advantage of being Ladybug. It never took her long to get anywhere and she could see Paris's greatest monuments from the best views. Most people aren't allowed to casually sit on top of the Eiffel Tower after all. It was one of the perks of being a superhero.
Ladybug swung through the sky, admiring the nightlife beneath her. People were out and about even though it was a weekday. Paris was a city whose lights never went out. It warmed Ladybug's heart to see people enjoying themselves. That was what she worked so hard to protect. The innocent smiles of all the strangers she had never met.
That was when she noticed a giant crowd of people forming in front of the Eiffel Tower. There were news vans and people had their phones pointed towards the top of the tower.
"What's going on?" Ladybug thought. "Is there some kind of show?" It wasn't unusual for shows to be hosted at the tower. Ladybug had watched Mylene's dad perform there once. She blushed as she remembered that moment. Adrien sat next to her the entire time.
Ladybug watched the crowd and suddenly realized that this was no normal gathering. People were shouting and pointing to the top of the tower. Her eyes traveled up and she saw a white speck at the tower's peak. That speck was a human and in his hands was another person who was dangling for dear life over the ground.
"An akuma?" Ladybug wondered as she advanced closer. She jumped off the roof she was on and threw her yo-yo at the tower.
Its string wrapped tightly around the metal base and pulled her towards the scene. "Ladybug!" People shouted as they saw Paris's heroine appear. These people all look frightened. What was going on?
Ladybug scanned the crowd and recognized a familiar face. Alya. She would know what was going on. Somehow, Alya always managed to find herself at the scene of trouble. She was probably here to report something for the Ladyblog.
"Excuse me, miss?" Ladybug said as she pushed through the crowd to her friend. Alya looked at Ladybug with wide eyes. "L-Ladybug!" Alya exclaimed with a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're here. Someone needs to stop Chat Noir and save Mr. Agreste!"
Ladybug froze in shock. What did Alya just say? That was Chat Noir up there? And why did he have Mr. Agreste? It was obvious that this had become a dangerous situation.
"Please convince people to leave," Ladybug said, putting her hands on Alya's shoulders. "This could get messy and I can't have anyone getting hurt. Can I trust you with this?"
"Anything for you," Alya nodded. Ladybug winked and thanked the girl. It was good to have the people of Paris on her side when she needed them. It made her job so much easier. Ladybug ran towards the tower and hoisted herself up. She made it half way when she heard Chat Noir's voice echo through the air.
"Hello, everyone! I hope you're having a good time watching. This is only a preview of more than is to come."
Ladybug recognized this as the voice of her partner, but at the same time, it wasn't. This voice sent a chill down her side. It was full of rage and disgust. "What happened to him?" Ladybug bit her lip. Had an akuma gotten to him? What had caused him to become this way? "I have to help him! This isn't like him at all!"
Ladybug continued up the tower when a flash of color came falling past her. It was the body of the person Chat Noir had been holding. Alya claimed it was Gabriel Agreste. Ladybug let go of the tower and soared through the air. She extended her arms out to the falling man who looked rather content for falling to his death.
"Grab my hand!" she cried, desperately trying to reach his body. Mr. Agreste was a heartless man and a cruel father, but he didn't deserve to die. Nobody did. Mr. Agreste eyes widened when he saw Ladybug attempting to rescue him. "How ironic…" he thought. Still, he didn't want to die yet. He hadn't accomplished his goals and he had to save his son.
Mr. Agreste reached out his hand and Ladybug gripped it firmly. She pulled him close and protected him with her body. He was heavier and larger than her, but she would manage. Ladybug pulled out her yo-yo and swung it back towards the tower. It wrapped around a metal beam and Ladybug swung down with Mr. Agreste against her chest. The yo-yo slowed their descent and the pair landed on the ground. Ladybug set Mr. Agreste down. She noticed that his face was red and he appeared nervous as he should have been.
"What happened?" Ladybug demanded to know. She didn't have much patience with this man already. "Is that Chat Noir up there?"
Mr. Agreste was silent. He simply shook his head and buried his face in his hands. Ladybug was stunned. Gabriel Agreste was the pinnacle of perfection. He always remained emotionless, but right now, she thought he might fall to pieces. There were tears on his face and he was missing his glasses. He was covered in cuts and bruises. Ladybug thought she could have been looking at another person entirely.
"I need to know what happened," Ladybug repeated firmly. This wasn't one of those silly akumas attacks where she could summon her lucky charm and everything would be better. She wouldn't be rolling her eyes at Chat Noir's ridiculous puns and exchanging a confident "good job" with him at the end of it all. This was more serious. If that was Chat Noir up at the top of tower, there would be trouble.
"This is my fault," Mr. Agreste sighed, still covering his face with his hands. "What a fool I am. I gave him those powers and look what it's done to me. Look what it's done to him." Ladybug listened closely to his words.
At first, it didn't make sense. The only person who had the ability to grant people superpowers was Hawk Moth. That's when it clicked.
"You…" Ladybug snarled bitterly. This man that sat on the ground before her was the cause of all of Paris's troubles. It made complete sense like the final piece of a puzzle had finally been snapped into place. Who else could be such a villain besides the most heartless man in Paris? What were his goals, his motivation for his vendetta against her and Chat Noir? What reason did a fashion designer have for needing her miraculous?
Her heart sank as she remembered this dastardly man was Adrien's father. It would crush Adrien's soul to know his father was a supervillain. Adrien was a righteous and kind boy, nothing like his father. Ladybug vowed to keep this a secret from him. Adrien could never know. It would destroy him entirely.
Mr. Agreste finally looked up at Ladybug and she instinctively covered her miraculous with her hands. If this was a trap, she wouldn't let Hawk Moth escape with her miraculous. Mr. Agreste grabbed onto her leg and rested his head against her knee. She flinched, ready to attack, but Mr. Agreste didn't fight. Instead, he began to quietly sob.
"Save him. Please save him."
Ladybug gazed up at the tower, realizing Chat Noir was still up there. She didn't know why Mr. Agreste cared so much about Chat Noir. Perhaps they had some relationship she was unaware of, but it wasn't important now. Her partner needed her and she would be there to protect him.
Ladybug shook Mr. Agreste off her leg and climbed up the tower. "Please still be there," she prayed. "I'm coming for you. I'll save you, kitty." She hoisted herself onto the highest point of the tower and stepped onto the metal platform. In front of her was a familiar figure clad in white. She walked towards him with a nervous frown.
"Chat Noir."
The cat swerved around and gave Ladybug a terrifying smile. "So you did come?" he taunted. His tail moved around like an excited cat's. "I thought you wouldn't make it."
"What happened to you?"
"Nothing. I'm paw-sitively purr-fect."
"This isn't you, Chat Noir."
Chat Blanc clicked his tongue in disapproval. "That's not my name anymore. I prefer Chat Blanc. It has a much nicer ring, wouldn't you agree, my lady?"
"I think I liked your name better before."
"I think you're starting to become a little annoying."
Chat Blanc raced up to her and grabbed her neck. His claws dug into her throat. She grasped his arm in a useless struggle to get him off. He was choking her.
"Did you come to stop me?" he asked, cocking his head. "That would be disappointing since I have a lovely offer for you." His voice retained its usual flirtatious nature while still remaining menacing. It was terrifying.
He let go of Ladybug and she fell to the ground, gasping for air. She coughed and gave him a dirty glare. "What might that be?" she scoffed. He flipped his hair and offered her his hand. She grabbed it and he pulled her back to her feet. "I'd like you to be my queen."
"The queen of what, you stupid cat?"
Chat Blanc paced around Ladybug, putting her on edge. She couldn't predict what he would do next. "I'm a modest mam with simple goals," Chat Blanc mused. "I want to change this world for the better and now I have the power to do so." He gestured at the butterfly miraculous on his neck. Ladybug gasped when she noticed it. He must have stolen it from Hawk Moth. With the power of two miraculouses, Ladybug worried that Chat Blanc would be undefeatable.
"I want to make this a world where people can be happy. Where I can be happy," Chat Blanc continued. "That's where you come in." He grabbed Ladybug's chin and admired her face. "You look lovely as usual by the way, especially under the moonlight." He ran his claw along the outline of her face. Her jaw clenched as she felt his hand. It was cold.
"My part of that happiness depends on you, my lady. I love you with all my heart. Won't you join me?"
He extended his claw out and had a loving expression. It reminded Ladybug of when Nathanael was akumatized. Despite being a villain, he retained his kind heart and showed outright affection for her as Marinette. But he had tried to kill someone as violently as Chat Blanc had. His face right now was one she couldn't trust.
"I must refuse," Ladybug slyly grinned. "I don't date felines." Chat Blanc hissed as his hand shrank back.
"I'll have you either way," he growled. "Dead or alive!"
He lunged at her, prepared to rip her to pieces. "Not good!" Ladybug thought as she dodged his attack. In order to defeat him, she would have to purify his akuma and take away both his miraculouses. That was easier said than done. She couldn't tell where the akuma was. Normally, it stood out since it buried itself inside an important object, but Chat Blanc didn't seem to have anything. He had on his ring, the butterfly broach, and nothing more. Where could the akuma be hiding?
Chat Blanc took another swing at Ladybug with his claws. Fortunately, he missed. Ladybug realized that Chat Blanc was already looking fatigued. There was sweat on his face and he was breathing heavily. All this power was pushing his body to its limits. If he didn't stop soon, he might collapse completely. "This is my chance!" Ladybug smiled.
She pulled out her yo-yo, planning to wrap Chat Blanc in it. She threw it at him, but he knocked it away effortless. "That children's toy won't work on me," he laughed. "We've been together too long. I know all your tricks."
He began to step backwards and politely bowed. "Anyways, it's time for me to take a cat nap. We'll continue this later, bugaboo. I hope you'll come around and see things my way."
With those final words, he took off in a hurry, his body quickly fading into the distance. Ladybug decided against following him. She didn't know what to do anymore. A fight would be pointless if she couldn't find his akuma.
She returned to the ground where most people had left. Alya had done her job well. Speaking of her, she was still waiting around. When she saw Ladybug, she ran over nervously. "Are you okay?" she asked. Ladybug noticed that she wasn't filming the attack as usual. Even Alya knew that this situation was more dangerous than normal.
"I'm fine," Ladybug smiled softly. "But Chat Noir isn't. Don't worry though. I'll fix things as soon as I can. Is Mr. Agreste okay?"
Alya nodded. "Someone called him an ambulance and they took him to the hospital. I don't know much more than that."
"Thank goodness…" Ladybug sighed. A headache was beginning to form from the stress. Already people had been seriously hurt. With Chat Blanc's twisted delusions of change, she feared that he wouldn't hesitate to hurt more. He needed to be stopped immediately. "I need to go," Ladybug said, waving to Alya. Alya waved back and watched Ladybug swing into the distance.
Ladybug returned home and detransformed into Marinette. Tikki flew out of her earrings and sat down on Marinette's bed. "What do we do, Tikki?' Marinette asked. She hoped that in Tikki's thousands of years of existence, something like this had happened before. Her kwami had to be able to offer some advice. Tikki shook her head in disappointment.
"I don't know. No one has ever had the power of two miraculouses before. It's unheard of. I would tell you to deevilize his akuma, but even I couldn't tell where it is."
"Awesome…" Marinette groaned. They were back at square one. Neither of them had a good solution. It seemed like the only way to stop Chat Blanc was going to be an old fashioned fight to the death which Marinette wasn't willing to take part in. She wouldn't sacrifice her friend that way. She would find some other way to save him.
Marinette's phone began to ring. It was a call from Alya. Marinette answered the call, knowing exactly what she was going to hear. "Marinette?" Alya shouted from the other side of the line. "Have you seen the news? Chat Noir has gone crazy!"
"Yeah, I saw…" Marinette sighed. "It's pretty scary. Hopefully, Ladybug will deal with things quickly."
"Hopefully, but she seemed kinda nervous earlier. I could tell something was wrong."
"Oh, you talked to her?" Marinette said, feigning ignorance. "Yeah." Alya confirmed. "I was at the site of the attack."
"You know I don't like it when you get involved like that. It's dangerous. You could get seriously hurt."
"I know, Mari, but this was different. Normally, there aren't any problems. Ladybug and Chat Noir swoop in and save the day, no problemo. But tonight, it wasn't like that. She was scared and he was absolutely terrifying. Paris's superduo has been broken up. I don't know what she can do."
"She's Ladybug," Marinette replied confidently. She had to sell the idea that Ladybug will handle the problem. It would do no good to have Paris scared. "She can do anything. Everything will work out. Promise. Anyways, we should get to bed. We have that French Lit quiz tomorrow."
"You're right. See you tomorrow morning." Alya hung up and Marinette set her phone down. She rubbed her temples in exhaustion. "Why do I have the feeling this is going to get so much worse?" she moaned. She stood up and paced around her room.
"Why did he get akumatized?" she asked Tikki. "Something must have upset him…" Tikki watched her partner walk around her bedroom. Marinette was desperately trying to think of what had caused Chat Noir to be possessed by an akuma. Marinette gasped as a certain thought crossed her mind. "Oh no…"
"What is it?" Tikki asked. "Did you think of something?"
"What if he got upset about my accidental confession? God, I'm such an idiot. This is all my fault."
"It's not your fault, Marinette," Tikki said, flying over to her friend. She sat on Marinette's shoulder and nuzzled Marinette's face. "Chat Noir didn't seem that upset. There must have been something else too. Don't take all the blame. You'll tear yourself apart."
"But Tikki…" Tears formed in the corners of Marinette's eyes. She couldn't help but think this was all her fault. She hurt Chat Noir's feelings even if it had been by accident. Now she was being forced to take responsibility. She was the reason her beloved partner had turned into an evil villain.
"Marinette, you should get to bed. Like you said, you have a quiz tomorrow. Lighten up! Everything will be fine." Tikki had a confident smile and clapped her hands together. Marinette nodded and changed into her pajamas. She got into bed and pulled up the sheets. Before going to bed, she checked the news on her phone. Sure enough, Chat Blanc was everywhere. People wondered what had caused him to go berserk and why Ladybug hadn't stopped him yet.
"Marinette," Tikki frowned disapprovingly. Marinette sighed and turned off her phone. She plugged it into its charger and set it aside. She laid her head against her pillow and closed her eyes. A good night's sleep would help her sort through her thoughts and calm down. Marinette wished that tomorrow would be a better day.