Shatter Point
By: EDelta88
Rated M for language, violence, adult situations and concepts, and graphic imagery
[Insert disclaimer here]
Chapter 3: Friends Close, Bullies Closer
"Wh-who s-saves Ladybug?" Marinette sobbed so quietly that, for just a second, Alya was sure that she must have misheard her. Then Adrien's reassuring smile cracked, his eyes blowing wide open in surprise or horror, and Alya knew she'd heard correctly.
M̷̧̨̨̦̦͚̋̃̊͐̂̈́͊͗̽̇͋̚͝ͅá̸̜͎͠ȓ̴̳̰̠̔̎̈̉͋͒͋͌́̎i̶̧̦̟̞̖̗̺̜͈͔̝͚͙̺̻̦̻͐n̴̠͖̩̳̠̥̠͓̞̜̖̩̳̈́̇͊̆͊͌́̊̂̓̚̕͝ę̵͙̯͙̹͍̞̲͚͔̳̱̗̈̅͜ͅt̵̮̻͇̀̿́̓̈́̓͝t̴̢̗̝̳̦̘͉͉̲͍͎͙͌͛̂̾́̓͛̈́͋̆͆͒͘͘͜͜͝͝ę̷̟͍͉̞̜͕̦͔̤̐́͝ ̴̢̝̱̫̼̝̖̠̦̈́̿ͅị̸̝̗̪̤̱͈͈̺̻̇̀̐̌̔̀ş̴̢͍̠̠͇̜̜͔̗̦̘̊̒̄ ̶̧̡̨͎̘̱̤̣̜͔͇̐̀̇L̴̢̡̖͇̝̘̆͋͂̈́̉͂͑̈͗͋͛̊͠a̸̛̞̪̖̝̠̭̲̯̩͔̦̫̼̾͋̒̒̒͑̅̽͆̔̈̇̾̌ḑ̵̡̰̬̱̹̪̙͓̪͔̟̜͉́͜y̸̨̛͚͉̳̩͚͍̕ͅb̶̤̹͕̱̀͆̇̓̍̽͜u̴̞̱̬̲͈̗͒͆̎͛̏̆̋͑͐͆̒͝g̸͈̺̳̗̥̰͈̥̲̭̘̏̓̈͑͛̈̌̈̿͊͛͑̔̇̚̚͝
No…
No. No. No no no nononononononono! No!
No one knew as much about Ladybug and Chat Noir as Alya Césaire. Not only was she the LadyBlogger, but she was also Rena Rouge. She knew what they had to go through every day. The things they face? The things that happen to them all the time…
Not Marinette.
Anyone else, anyone!
But not Marinette. Marinette couldn't be Ladybug. Alya didn't want Marinette to be her. Alya wouldn't be able to stand it if that if Marinette… if Marinette was…
M̴̳̞̓̇̋̈́ä̸͎̱͖́͆̆͘͠ͅȑ̴͙̣̟͌̃̀ȋ̵͙̼̰̪͈̂͗ń̵̬́e̷̻̋͛̉̈́̚t̶̡̟͙̮͈́̈́̉̚t̶͚̄̈́ẽ̴̡͉͉́̆̍ ̵̹͙͉̘̼̓̊̂i̵̩̓s̵͙̠̩͛̊̏̀͝ ̵̹́̈́̀L̵̨̛̞̖̀͜ą̸͖͚͈̟̐d̸͍̱̯̿ͅy̵̳͓͓̒b̸͙̣̘͗͐̋̚͝ų̸̛̘̝͚͖̂̀̃͝g̸̘̾
Ladybug was a hero. She was strong and wonderful and clever and so many kinds of amazing and she always, always won, but most of all? Ladybug…
Ladybug wasn't a person, not really.
Ladybug? She's larger than life, but she wasn't real.
Alya could live with that. Because, as long as Ladybug wasn't real? As long as there wasn't a face behind the mask, Alya didn't have to think about what happened if Ladybug didn't win. She didn't have to think about what it might mean if Ladybug didn't come home because Ladybug didn't have parents or friends or people to miss her. As long as Ladybug wasn't real, there was no one to lose.
That was the truth.
That was a fact of life.
Because Alya could live with that.
That was very much not Marinette. Marinette could not go out and almost die every other day because Alya could not live with that. Marinette was hers, her quirky, crazy, sugar-sweet friend that crushed on stupid boys and tripped on air. Marinette had parents and friends and grandparents and half the school was in love with her. But Marinette was real. So, Marinette couldn't be Ladybug because… because then…
It wasn't true.
It couldn't be true.
Alya didn't want it to be true!
M̸a̴r̷i̷n̵e̵t̵t̶e̵ ̸i̷s̸ ̶L̴a̶d̸y̸b̷u̵g̴!̸
But then something in Alya clicked, the world shifted on its axis, and nothing could ever be the same again because suddenly this was too real.
Because suddenly there was a person behind the mask.
Because suddenly there was a kid fighting monsters.
Because Marinette is Ladybug….
"Oh, merde," Alya breathed, paralyzed in shock as the truth she'd been avoiding for so long finally, irrefutably asserted itself. Her hand flew to her mouth as she choked down a scream. She felt sick. She wanted to scream and puke and break something because this was so incredibly unfair. Not Marinette. Anyone but Marinette. Marinette of all people didn't deserve this. "Oh, fils de pute!"
Who saves Ladybug?
Those words, those whispered, whimpered, heartbreaking words would haunt Alya Césaire's nightmares for the rest of her life.
It wasn't fair and Alya wanted to crawl into a hole and cry.
Then Adrien smiled, his body language shifting to something Alya couldn't quite understand as he cradled Marinette so very tenderly, stroking his thumb over her cheek and whispered in her ear in a move that was so intimate that Alya could have mistaken it for a scene from a romance movie.
The image was ruined by the blood trickling along Ariens fingers from where it was seeping out of Marinette's hair.
Alya didn't hear what Adrien said, but she did see how it affected Marinette. One second, she was a blubbering wreck, then her eyes were wide, hesitant. Like she wasn't daring to hope…
"Ch-chaton?"
'No…' Alya thought desperately. No, the world couldn't be that cruel.
But it was.
"Let go, Princess," he whispered to her, with a sad smile. "I'll catch you, purromise."
As soon as Adrien answered her, Marinette's entire demeanor shifted.
'No! Not like this!' Alya raged, angry tears like drops of acid pricking at the corners of her eyes as, for a split second, Marinette came alive and it was Ladybug bleeding in Adrien's arms and it wasn't fair! Her friends didn't deserve this! Where was the justice in this? After everything they'd done? All the people they'd helped?! They were supposed to share their identities under the moonlight with fireworks in the background and—
The glowing mask vanished—
Marinette lunged, breaking out of Alya's hold and clamping her hands around either side of Adrien's head as she whispered something faster than Alya could follow.
Alya's eyes went wide, flicking confusedly between her friends, trying to decide—
Marinette's body flashed white, shining like the sun.
"No!" Adrien cried.
"Whoa!"
"What in the world!"
Alya blinked rapidly, clearing the spots just in time to see Adrien's pained grimace as he reluctantly released Marinette, allowing her to sink to the ground.
"Adrien?!" someone cried as the boy sprinted out of the room like the hounds of hell were chasing him as Marinette collapsed into Alya's arms.
Then Hawkmoth's mask was back, glowing an ominous purple as a moment passed in silence…
"Who the hell are you?" Marinette mumbled as she looked around, confused. Almost like…
Alya's heart sank as Marinette's eyes skated over her without a hint of recognition.
Marinette looked like she didn't know what was going on.
Marinette keened weakly, curling into herself as much as possible as Hawkmoth's magic slowly crept up her body.
"Mon dieu," Miss Bustier murmured, her hand clutched firmly over her mouth in horror.
"What the hell just happened?" Alix demanded.
"She doesn't know who Hawkmoth is?" Kim wondered.
"My analysis shows a drastic change in Marinette's body language," Markov explained. "She also showed reactions consistent to confusion at the presence of Miss Rossi and Miss Césaire. She exhibited a similar action to Rose but seemed to recognize her after approximately one point two two seconds."
"Rose cut her hair the summer before Alya transferred to Francoise-Dupont," Max mused as he stared down at Marinette, clearly fascinated as gears turned in his head. "So, whatever just happened somehow compromised her memory?"
"As fascinating as this is," Chloe drawled, "you peasants should really make yourselves scarce."
"What?"
"Chloe—"
"No. Everyone out," Chloe ordered, uncharacteristically stoic as she stared down at Marinette. "We don't know how she's going to react once she finishes transforming."
"But-"
"Why should we—"
Chloe sneered at them. Not her usual cruel, mocking sneer but an angry, venomous disgust that froze them all mid-protest. "You imbecilic fools just raked the goodiest goodie-two-shoes to ever exist over the coals based on the most utterly ridiculous circumstantial evidence," Cloe lectured them, giving her hair a contemptuous little flick "You publicly humiliated her, questioned everything she stands for, and punished her without the slightest investigation or consideration of how grossly out of character every part of this narrative is."
No one could bring themselves to meet her gaze.
"Congratulations," Chloe drawled, her words like poison. "Really, I mean it. Bravo! Beau travail, everyone. You have all accomplished in a day what I haven't managed in years and broken Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I hope you're prepared for what comes next…"
The students and staff exchanged nervous looks as people started hastily ducking out of the room.
"Alya," Nino whispered, kneeling next to his two best girls. "Babe, you got to let go," he told her gently, trying to pull her off of Marinette.
"No," Alya whined, clutching desperately at her friend. "I can't leave her."
"Babe, you have to," Nino told her, slowly prying her arms open. "Alya, c'mon, we have to go!" he hissed, half dragging Alya away from Marinette.
"But—"
"We can't help here," Nino told her, giving her a meaningful look as he pulled her toward the door.
But we can help if we can get away to transform.
Alya gave a watery grimace as she understood what he was trying to tell her. In order to help her friend, she would have to abandon her. Stomach churning, Alya turned to give Marinette one last look, letting the image burn itself into her memory before following Nino out.
"Babe?" Nino whispered worriedly as all emotion slowly drained from Alya's face.
"Let's just get out of here," Alya replied through grit teeth as she stalked toward the door, her mind far away as her hands curled into quivering fists as her best friend's blood leaked between her fingers. When this was over? After they saved Marinette? She was going to hunt Hawkmoth like a rabid dog.
"Chloe?" Sabrina whispered when everyone else had left.
"Go," Chloe told her. "I'll be fine, I think. For once, I didn't do anything to her."
Sabrina's eyes flicked nervously down to Marinette. "This is going to get ugly, isn't it."
"I'll be fine," Chloe responded. "I'm Queen Bee, after all."
"But…"
"Go, Sabrina," Chloe ordered.
And then Chloe was alone with her nemesis… All alone with her hero.
From the floor, Marinette watched her with equal parts curiosity and apprehension. She clearly recognized Chloe and didn't understand why the girl who had bullied her for years was acting so strangely.
"I never would have guessed it was you," Chloe mused, staring down at Marinette with the most alien mix of anger, disbelief, and… wonder. "I should have though, shouldn't I? Our everyday Ladybug? Mon dieu, we are all ridiculous, utterly ridiculous."
Marinette scowled, frustrated. "I d-don't—" she stammered, struggling to speak under the weight of the dark magic infecting her body.
"No, you wouldn't understand, would you? Not now," Chloe observed. It was like she was seeing Marinette for the very first time as Hawkmoth's magic sluggishly overtook her. "Not after whatever magic you did to make yourself forget."
Marinette never broke eye contact, even as the magic started up her neck.
"Whatever else he tells you? Whatever happens? Remember that you're a hero," Chloe told her seriously as Marinette stared back with wide eyes. "No, you are the hero. You are Ladybug. You are the baddest bitch in this city, and you are stronger than him!"
Marinette struggled to keep her eyes on Chloe as the magic reached her face. "W-why—"
"Because you believed in me when nobody would have and you gave me a chance to be better," Chloe explained softly. "And now I'm going to believe in you, Marinette."
It might have been a trick of the light, but Chloe could almost convince herself that Marinette smiled at her.
Whmm!
With a rush of air and an ominous hum, the cocoon of dark magic closed around Marinette.
For a moment that felt like an eternity, Chloe stared down at the churning blackness that had stolen Ladybug from them. "I guess it's my turn to save you," she mused, feeling raw and hollowed out as the magic slowly condensed. Then with a shaky sigh, she turned and stalked out of the locker room.
Omake: More Than a Miraculous
Weeks Earlier…
"I can't be Queen Bee anymore, can I?" Chloe sighed, staring down at her hands in defeat.
Ladybug stared at her with a pained expression like she was trying to find the right words to explain the situation.
"You don't have to say anything," Chloe muttered sullenly, eyes screwed shut as her hands curled into white-knuckled fists. "I-I get it! It's my fault! I screwed up. Now I'm a liability."
There was a tired sigh and then…
Chloe's head whipped up as Ladybug took a seat next to her. "What are you-"
"You will always be Queen Bee," Ladybug told her sternly.
"Wh-What?" Chloe stammered.
"You heard me," Ladybug replied, unmoved. "Maybe it will never be safe to give you any Miraculous ever again. Maybe I'll find another holder for Pollen, but there will never be another Queen Bee."
There will never be another you.
Chloe was speechless, staring at her idol.
"You are more than your Miraculous, Chloe. The Kwami may give us super suits, but we choose to be heroes. You chose to be a hero. So, with or without the powers, you are Queen Bee and never doubt that you were good at it. No one can ever take that away from you," Ladybug explained, poking a finger into Chloe's chest above her heart to emphasize her point. "You helped so many people and you could help so many more if you stopped fixating on being a superhero."
"What?" Chloe demanded, bewildered.
"You can't fight an akuma anymore, we both know that's too dangerous now that Hawkmoth knows who you are and is actively targeting you, but so what? You don't need powers to be a hero."
"I don't follow."
Ladybug sighed, tugging at her hair in frustration. "You are rich and well connected, right? According to the internet, those are the best superpowers you can get."
"That's stupid."
"I mean, kind of? But not really," Ladybug sighed. "I'm not good at explaining this. You're friends with Adrien Agreste right? Ask him. He's a total weeb and would be able to explain this better."
Chloe groaned. "But if I actually ask him, he'll talk my ear off all day! You can't do this to me, Ladybug! He has charts! And spreadsheets!" Chloe whined, looking genuinely terrified at the prospect of submitting herself to her friend's quantitative analysis of superheroes. "…Can I just risk Hawkmoth?"
Ladybug just laughed as she got up to leave.
A/N
So, a point of clarity, Marinette's Akuma in this story is NOT Princess Justice… I have a completely different idea for that that I'm playing with.
Also, I swear I didn't set out to traumatize everyone. Honest, I didn't… but, uh, yeah. Everyone is kind of in the shit here and not prepared for it and these bits are sort of writing themselves?
Next Chapter! We catch up with Adrien as he prepares for the fight of his life and we get our first look at Akumanette!