Chapter Forty-Three
Plagg twitched as he sat in the bottom of his purse, staring at the akuma alert on the app on his ipod. Marinette was moving fast, winding through the streets as she rushed among the chaos that came with the first akuma in over a month– but it wasn't fast enough. The crowds were too dense, humans were too slow, it was risky being out here in the open untransformed as it was– but far more danger could come if Lady Noire was seen wandering this close to the Guardians' home– they couldn't give Monarch one hint of where they called home.
He could barely let out a sigh of relief as he heard the sound of a small bell ringing– Marinette at last pushing her way into the Guardians' massage parlor. He peered out of the bag, and immediately saw Marianne and Roaar waiting for them. He zipped out as Marianne wordlessly signaled for Marinette to follow her into the backroom, his holder giving him a confused glance.
He just drifted after the kwami and Guardian, and she followed.
Fu was nervously pacing in front of the Miracle Box, his eyes flicking up towards them as they entered. "Thank kwamis, you came," Fu breathed out. "I was afraid you wouldn't bring her, Plagg."
"Of course I brought her!" Plagg said with a huff. "I wasn't going to have her go out there alone!"
Marinette looked between all of them. "What– what do you mean alone?"
"Hello, Lady Noire," a small voice said, Tikki drifting out from behind Fu, offering a smile. "We kind of have a small situation on our hands."
To anyone else, Tikki looked composed– but Plagg could instantly see that was not so. She zipped up to Marinette, offering a warm smile, and Plagg hurried to Tikki's side. Two akumas targeting her holder in a row... that was a mess. Especially that he had been caught up in the danger each time. Except, this time around, there wouldn't be a way to get him away from the akuma; not until it was defeated.
"A few days ago, Crimson Beetle lost one of his earrings," Fu said gravely. "I thought we would have time to locate it before another attack, but as you can see, that is not so."
"He– he lost part of his Miraculous?" Marinette cried. "How– how did he do that? Is he able to transform with just one of them? What–"
"He can't transform with just one," Tikki said, flying up in front of her. "He took them off at night to sleep, and one must have rolled off his bedside table. We've been tearing the room apart, I can sense that it's near, but until we find it... Crimson Beetle won't be able to help you in this fight."
"But I– I can't purify the akuma or heal the city!" Marinette said in panic. "How am I supposed to do this without him?"
"Actually, you can purify an akuma," Fu said, turning towards Marinette– and Plagg's ears flicked up in alarm.
"I... I can?"
"No you can't!" he cried, flying between them, arms spread out. "You can't! Purification is a positive power!"
"That is technically correct," Fu agreed, and Plagg glowered over his shoulder at the Guardian. "You cannot purify the corrupted energy within the akuma butterfly, but you can take it within you, leaving akuma free of the negative energy."
"No she won't!" Plagg cried. "Are you crazy! Have Tikki take in the energy– she's right there!"
"Normally I would do it in a heartbeat, Plagg, but I don't think I should," Tikki said, shifting side to side. "With Crimson Beetle unable to fight, and people in this glitter state, we're going to need a Miraculous Ladybug, and if it comes down to it I might need to be the one to do it– and I don't want to be charged with extra energy if that's the case."
Master Fu looked at Tikki with a frown. "You know that is not an option, Tikki– a kwamis' powers on their own is far too vast for this world to handle. I cannot allow it."
"I know it's risky," Tikki said, antennae falling, and she pulled closer to the Guardian. "But I would be careful, Master Fu, and my Miraculous Ladybug isn't able to cause harm. I would only release the smallest amount I could. You know we can't leave the city like this, or the people affected."
She looked up at the Guardian with a soft smile as he hesitated, the kwami looking far too innocent– and Plagg knew the words coming from Tikki's lips were a lie. Miraculous Ladybug not being able to cause harm! Ha– anyone fully trained in the magic of the Miraculouses would know that was a lie! Sure, maybe it wouldn't destroy, but this city would not be what it was before– it probably wouldn't even be a city, either! Probably turned into a rainforest or something by the time Tikki was done with it!
But Master Fu was never a fully trained Guardian, and Tikki was a kwami the Order had never hesitated to trust. The older man stroked his beard, thinking, and Plagg could see the moment his resolve fell. "I suppose we don't have many options, and considering Cottontail hasn't shown up, this is something we're meant to solve on our own... but that would still leave the corrupted energy within Marinette. Would you be able to purify her?"
Plagg wasn't believing his ears, and for a moment he wondered if this was truly a Guardian standing in front of him. Not only was he suggesting that his Kitten charge her Miraculous with excess negative energy– he wanted Tikki to use an unfiltered Miraculous Ladybug and then purify a human on her own? He knew Fu hadn't gotten his full training from the Order, and for that Plagg was grateful– but even the Order hadn't been completely stupid! A kwami using their powers on their own was risky enough, a last resort that often came with many consequences of its own– but Tikki using her powers? A raw Miraculous Ladybug would be far too powerful for Paris, and if she were to try to purify a mortal, he didn't even want to imagine what could happen!
"I will have everything taken care of!" Tikki said brightly, smiling. "Don't worry, Master Fu, you just leave this in mine and Lady Noire's hands!"
A snarl was building up in Plagg's throat, energy crackling around him with the fury he felt building. He had brought Marinette here to find a safe way to fight the akuma. He had assumed that maybe the earrings had been removed for the fashion show, or maybe somehow Tikki had been able to salvage the earrings from Adrien's golden form, and perhaps at worst Marinette would need to don the earrings herself, but instead, Tikki wanted to put Marinette's very life at risk just because of a stupid identity rule–
"Excuse us for a moment," Tikki chirped lightly, grabbing Plagg's paw and pulling him up towards the ceiling. They phased through to the upper living levels and then up into the attic, where Tikki finally let go of him, turning to face him. "Plagg, listen to me before–"
"I AM NOT LETTING YOU PURIFY MY KITTEN WITH YOUR RAW POWERS!" Plagg roared– a ferocity behind it even with the musical sounds of kwami language. He would easily be heard from down below, even if it sounded like the angry chimes of bells. "I'm not going to let you murder my holder just because yours was stupid enough to yell at an akuma–"
"Plagg, I would never–" Tikki began, switching from French as well.
"She isn't going near the akuma butterfly, either– I am not letting another Kitten be infected with negative energy and I will bring down this city myself before she gets even an inch near–"
"Plagg, would you please just listen to me?" Tikki snapped, flying in front of him. "In the name of the Mage– I am not going to purify her myself, I'm not going to let her get hurt– I would never do such a thing and you know that!"
Plagg's breathing was ragged, but he quieted down to let her continue.
"I have a plan, okay?" Tikki said quietly. "A plan that I know will work, but I don't think Master Fu would approve, so I kind of had to... paint things slightly differently. I just need you to play along long enough so he will let us go deal with the akuma and then we can save Adrien and the city."
"What is this plan?" Plagg snapped. "Because, right now, Marinette has it in her head that she can purify akumas– I never even wanted her to know about energy manipulation!"
"Plagg, it is just as risky for Adrien to take in the energy and purify it as it is for Marinette to take in the corrupted energy," Tikki hissed. "So don't you dare act like we are putting her on uneven ground."
"It isn't a problem for your Bug because he releases it immediately with the Miraculous Ladybug," Plagg countered.
"And Marinette will be doing the same," Tikki replied, and Plagg's eyes went wide.
"You... you want her to summon a Black Storm?" Plagg hissed. "A boosted Black Storm, are you out of your mind? I may hate this city, but that doesn't mean I want her to level it!"
"You are going to teach her how to take in corrupted energy, and how to summon a Black Storm," Tikki said, tail flicking. "She will be releasing a Black Storm heightened with corrupted energy– and the disaster summoned will indeed be a great one. Hopefully one big enough so that when I release my Miraculous Ladybug it will have something to counter and not overwhelm Paris."
"...You weren't kidding. You really do want to summon a Miraculous Ladybug." Plagg said, staring at her.
Plagg was still angry– but impressed. Not only that Tikki had lied straight to the Guardians' face and planned to whip out their powers in a way they would not be happy with– but this crazy plan might actually work. A Miraculous Ladybug from Tikki would be... overwhelming, to put it in the most simple way. But if Lady Noire were to release a boosted Black Storm it would give something for the Miraculous Ladybugs to counter, instead of being fully unleashed onto the city... it just might be able to cancel out Tikki's raw power enough to restore everything without it being beyond their control.
"...It might actually work," Plagg muttered.
"That's the plan," Tikki agreed, shifting side to side. "I... I know you didn't want Marinette using any of her other powers, but... but it would only be once, Plagg. And no one else would have to know about it."
Plagg closed his eyes– her ability to destroy anything had been difficult enough for the city to swallow, but if they witnessed what a Black Storm could do... who knew how their already horrible and delicate perspective could shift. And her ability to manipulate corrupted energy... excess energy was dangerous in any mortal body for long periods of time– corrupted or purified. But Tikki was right, her Bug took in purified energy every akuma attack, although it was released quickly enough for it not to take hold. Marinette would be doing the same thing, taking in the corrupted energy, but not keeping it in...
She wouldn't have to depend on anyone else to ease it from her, she would do it herself. There would be no wait, no faltering. It would be in her control. She would be fine, it would all be fine, and they would save Tikki's holder, all right under the Guardian's nose without him realizing what they were fully about to do.
But he couldn't shake the image of another Kitten from his mind, the corrupted energy woven through his very form.
"Plagg?" Tikki whispered.
"Only once," Plagg said in a hoarse voice. "We're only doing this once– then never again."
"Of course," Tikki promised, pressing up against him. "I want both of them safe, no matter what."
"What's… what's happening?" Marinette asked as the kwamis vanished through the ceiling, listening to the unintelligible shouts coming from above– an uneasiness settling within her. Plagg never acted like this– and she didn't know what it meant.
"I'm sure you're well aware how protective kwamis can be," Marianne said with a tight smile. "Back when I wore the ring, Plagg was the same with me using the other powers– he didn't want me doing it."
She had no idea that other powers were even an option until now. "So I really could purify akumas?"
"Purify, no; that was a poor choice of wording on my part," Fu said, sitting down on a stool. "You can free the akuma from the corrupted energy infecting it, though, yes. Strictly speaking, you are able to manipulate energy as a holder of an Alpha Miraculous. You can draw it into you, and channel it with your own powers. The Ladybug purifies the energy, while the Black Cat corrupts it."
"Is… Is it dangerous?"
"All energy is dangerous if there's exposure to it for long periods of time." Marianne replied, heading over to the phonograph, pressing the buttons so the top opened up, revealing the hidden Miracle Box within. "If it isn't released after being taken in, it will be stored within the Miraculous after detransforming, which is where you would run into issues."
"That would not be happening here, however," Fu said, watching as Marianne picked up the Miracle Box, bringing it to him. "Crimson Beetle takes in energy after every fight, but does not keep it, which is completely safe. The kwamis can explain it better than I, however. For now I just need you to choose a Miraculous."
Marinette slowly stepped forward, a hundred questions rang through her mind, but not all could be answered right now. "Miraculous?"
Fu opened the top of the Miracle Box, revealing seven slots within. All were empty, save for two: the comb of the Bee and the bracelet of the Turtle shining up at her.
"Crimson Beetle might not be able to help you, but I will not be sending you out there on your own," Fu replied. "You may select a Miraculous to give to someone you trust, and they can fight alongside you against Style Queen."
Marinette's eyes flickered between the Turtle and the Bee, hesitating.
"Plagg did teach you about the powers of the Miraculouses in the upper box, right?" Marianne asked, and Marinette nodded.
A new teammate. Picking a Miraculous. Picking someone to fight alongside her. It was simple on the surface, yet it felt impossibly big. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the two Miraculouses, because both powers could help against Style Queen. A shield to block her blasts, allowing them to get closer before they were turned to glitter… but while the force shields would Protect them, it wouldn't stop Style Queen.
Marinette's hand wrapped around the Bee comb, and to her relief Master Fu gave a nod of approval. She withdrew the Miraculous, and Fu closed the lid. Marianne brought a small wooden box over, one that looked like a miniature version of the Miracle Box– the same kind of box she had found Plagg's ring in. She took the Bee Miraculous from Marinette, placing it inside, before pressing the box into her hands.
"You need to pick someone you completely trust," Fu said, eyes locked on her. "Someone who can be an ally, who can be trusted with the basic knowledge of a Miraculous, someone who will know that they cannot tell a single soul."
"I... I understand," Marinette said quietly.
"They cannot know your identity, and cannot tell anyone of theirs," Fu continued. "Once the fight is over you will return the Miraculous to me, and you may tell us who you have picked. However, just as you do not know who Crimson Beetle picked to hold the Fox, you cannot let him know who you have chosen to wield the Bee– this is to protect your identities from each other."
"Got it," Marinette said, and she tucked away the Miraculous into her purse. Her mind was already racing, not sure who she should pick, or how she was going to face this akuma without Crimson at her side.
"Sorry for the wait!" A voice chirped, and they all looked up to see Tikki and Plagg phasing down through the ceiling. "We got everything worked out, and we're ready to go."
"Yeah, whatever," Plagg muttered, spiraling down to land on Marinette's shoulder. "Let's just get out of here before the city throws a stupid fit."
"You need to explain your power first, though," Tikki said, darting off to land on Marinette's other shoulder. "It isn't too complicated, don't worry."
Plagg let out a long sigh, not speaking for a moment, tail flicking back and forth. "You know the buttons on your baton, yeah? The one you never use?"
"The fourth one," Marinette said, hand going down to her side as if the baton would be there. "The one with that weird black void?"
"Yeah, that one," Plagg said. "Well, that 'void' is the same but opposite of the white light you see coming from Crimson Beetle's yoyo when he catches the corrupted butterfly. The process is simple– once the akumatized object is broken, you open your baton up and catch the butterfly within it. The rest will take care of itself."
"The energy will naturally be drawn into your Miraculous and will linger there," Tikki said. "If the butterfly was filled with positive energy, it would be turned to corrupted energy after you catch it– like how the corrupted energy of the butterfly is purified with the yoyo. After that you can let the butterfly go– and the power will be yours."
"Is it safe?" Marinette asked quietly.
"With what we're doing, yes," Tikki promised. "You don't have to worry about a thing, Plagg and I are going to take care of everything so it won't linger with you."
"Let's get out of here already– I'm sick of this place," Plagg said loudly.
"Sounds great!" Tikki chirped, rising up into the air. "Let's go stop that akuma!"
"There's an alleyway to the north of here," Master Fu said as Marinette uncertainly rose to her feet. "It leads to one of the main roads– and you should be able to find a good place to transform from there. That is the path that Marianne and I take when we go out."
"Got it," Marinette said quietly, reaching into her purse to touch the Miraculous she had been trusted with. "Don't worry, sir, I got this."
She didn't wait for them to walk her out, she had been keeping the city waiting long enough with an akuma on the loose, and with no other hero coming but her, this would fall squarely on her shoulders. The two kwamis hid in her pockets as she headed out into the front of the shop– and she pushed the door open to look out at the Seine.
Marinette followed their instructions, heading to the north, looking for the alleyway that they had mentioned– it was dark and secluded, so the perfect place to tuck herself away in. She glanced about her before she entered, retreating into the shadows when she was sure no one was watching her. Plagg and Tikki immediately came zipping out of hiding, and she held up her ringed hand.
"Plagg, claws–" She began– but was cut off as Tikki pressed a paw to her lips.
"Not yet, Marinette, there's one more thing we're going to need you to do in this fight," she said.
"After you take in the corrupted energy, you're going to have to use one more power to get it out," Plagg said quietly, not looking at her. His paws were crossed as he stared out at the brick wall in front of him. "Your equivalent of Miraculous Ladybug."
"Another power?" Marinette echoed in shock– wondering why she had never been told about this.
"It's called Black Storm," Tikki said, flying back slightly. "It's very powerful, and with you being charged with corrupted energy it is going to be even stronger than it would normally be."
"What does it do?" She asked, eyes flickering between the two of them– sensing the tension between them.
"It summons a Destructive force," Plagg said quietly, not looking directly at her. "It can take on many forms, but it never fails to summon a disaster of some kind. Like Miraculous Ladybug, it can cover a much greater distance than Cataclysm, and should not be used recklessly."
"You want me to– to what?" Marinette whispered, eyes widening. "I can– you're saying– why do you want me to summon disaster?! If it's going to be stronger with this energy why on earth would I ever–"
"Marinette, listen to me," Tikki said, flying in front of her. "We need a Black Storm in order to protect this city– because the Miraculous Ladybug I will be summoning will be far too powerful for Paris to handle. We need something to balance it out, something for my magic to directly target alongside restoring the city."
"I told you before, kid, a Miraculous filters a kwami's power," Plagg said, at last looking back at her. "In this form, our powers are greatly weakened compared to what we can truly master– but even then they are far too vast to use effectively in this plane of existence without risk."
"But it's just healing!" Marinette protested. "Even if it is powerful, it couldn't–"
Plagg snorted. "Tikki would probably end up turning this whole city into a jungle or something if she fired off her Miraculous Ladybug willy-nilly. And the humans having their bodies put into hyper 'healing' mode? We do not want that."
"Marinette, what's going to happen is that you're going to summon a disaster for my Miraculous Ladybug to fight," Tikki explained. "It would get the corrupted energy immediately out of your system, and keep my raw abilities from going overboard. Your Destruction is going to be needed to keep my raw Creation in check."
"It's activated like Cataclysm– you just need to say the words," Plagg said. "You'll want to launch the energy away from you, though; you don't want to be caught up in your own attack after all. Tikki will take care of the rest after that."
"There's nothing to worry about, Marinette, I promise," Tikki said with a smile when she saw her expression. "Just transform, and let's go stop Style Queen. I'll be with you the whole time, and I will guide you through what you need to know. I understand Plagg's powers just as well as him– I know this will work out just fine."
"You didn't tell the Guardians, did you?" Marinette realized. "You would have told me back there otherwise– they don't know we're doing this."
Tikki smiled. "Nothing slips past you, does it?"
"They don't need to know," Plagg said with a snort. "They've been on this earth for, like, two centuries– and we've been using our powers since the beginning of time– we know what we're doing. Probably."
She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, a feeling of fear running through her. "...Okay then. I trust you guys on this– let's… let's do this. Plagg, claws out."
She transformed before she could hesitate any more, and with those words Plagg was turned into a bright burst of green light, being drawn into her ring. The magic danced about her, power surging through her as she transformed into Lady Noire. Her heart was pounding, as it felt like it had been far too long since she had faced an akuma, yet with the familiar hum of Plagg's presence in her mind, she felt herself relaxing slightly. She drew her baton, glancing down at the buttons on it for a moment, focused on the one she never used.
"Let's go," Tikki said, flying up into the air. "I'll go ahead and scout– we're going to want the element of surprise on our side with the powers Style Queen has."
Tikki flew out of the alleyway, and Lady Noire crouched to jump after her, but felt something digging into her side. She paused as Tikki flew out of sight, reaching into her pocket– and found the box with the Miraculous she had put in her purse was now there. She pulled it out for a moment, knowing the Bee Miraculous was inside– and she was going to have to give it to someone.
But who?
Plagg suddenly became much more alert in her mind, knowing what the box meant– and she could sense his disapproval already. He would not want the Miraculous near any of her friends, but there was no one else she felt she could give it to. The temptation to take the Bee to one of her parents was strong, but she knew that wouldn't be a good choice. If they learned anything about the magical world, gained any sort of understanding about the Miraculouses, she didn't think she'd be able to keep her secret from them. The temptation to cave would be far too strong with them.
She could give it to Lila, but it was hard to think that was a good idea with Plagg's raw disgust raging in the back of her head. Kagami would be a wonderful option– she already had natural fighting skills, but was her judgment of Kagami a fair one? She thought highly of her, but was that just because of the dates they had been on? She didn't want to make a wrong choice just because of a potential bias in her mind.
Then there was Alya... who did not want anything to do with Marinette right now– but she wouldn't know it was Marinette approaching her. There was no way Alya would turn down the chance to be a superhero, right? Even if Lady Noire was the one offering it? And if Alya held a Miraculous, saw a kwami, knew how the powers worked and were granted... maybe she'd be able to look at Lady Noire in a different way. Understand what was happening instead of her wild guesses. Perhaps Alya's trust in her could stay on at least one side of the mask.
She didn't want to lose it at all.
The thoughts ran through her mind, the choices seeming to clash against each other– and a sharp pulse of Plagg's emotions reminded her that she needed to go. They didn't have time to stand here, they needed to find the akuma, and it would be a waste of time if Tikki had to come back for them. So she stuffed the Miraculous back into her pocket, extended her baton, and leapt up onto the rooftops.
It felt strange to run across rooftops, especially in broad daylight. She had gone out a few times during the month of Monarch's silence, but she tried to stay out of sight then. Now she was racing across for all to see, eyes turning up towards her.
A glance at the news on her baton screen let her know that Style Queen had put up camp at the Eiffel Tower, all the people she had turned to glitter scattered about on the platform and the beams, as if showing off her collection of statues. The most frightening of them all though was the platform where Adrien rested– covered in a golden dome, his form slowly crumbling.
"Come on out, Gabriel Agreste~" Style Queen taunted to the news helicopters above, having let them draw close enough to put her on camera. "Before this little son of yours is nothing but gold dust!"
"It is unknown if Gabriel Agreste is aware of the state his son is currently in, the Agreste Manor appearing empty from the outside." A news reporter standing outside of the Agreste home said on the screen. "No one has been able to contact Gabriel Agreste, and many of his employees that were working today at his show were caught up in Style Queen's attack."
"Find the akuma, take in the energy," Lady Noire whispered to herself as she made her way towards the tower. "You can do this."
"It has been several weeks since an akumatized victim has last taken to our streets," the report carried on from the baton. "We ask people to stay clear of the Eiffel Tower, and we beg for our heroes to come soon..."
"We need to reverse this before anyone fully crumbles," Tikki said gravely as they arrived near the tower, kwami hovering by her shoulder. "Since they're in an inorganic state, they technically aren't being harmed, but there is a limit to that, and if they reach that point they will be beyond my powers."
Lady Noire felt dizzy, the image of her friends that were hit flashing through her mind, and she forced herself to focus. "G-go up there and see what you can find, Tikki. If you can figure out where the Butterfly is then tell me immediately."
"Of course," Tikki said, zipping off towards the tower.
Lady Noire looked down at the streets, at those watching in fear, before letting out a sigh. She grabbed her baton, letting herself vault down to the ground, as the distance from here to the tower was too open to vault across it unnoticed regardless.
She heard whispers as she landed, which quickly rose as more people noticed her. She shivered slightly as eyes turned towards her, and she was afraid to see their expressions– but she only saw relief when she looked out at them.
"Lady Noire– you're here!"
"The heroes are finally here!"
"What took so long?"
"You have to save Adrien again!"
"Where's Crimson Beetle?"
"He's–" she started to answer before composing herself. "I can't say, I don't want to give away Crimson's position. But there's nothing to worry about, we have a plan in motion to defeat Style Queen."
They didn't need to know that 'we' meant her and the kwamis rather than Crimson.
"What does it mean now that akumas are back?"
"Why weren't you here sooner?"
"What does Monarch want?"
Lady Noire closed her eyes. "I must ask that no one go near the tower, we cannot risk anyone else getting turned to glitter."
She forced herself to move forward, she was wasting time if she waited here. She leapt across several cars, moving forward towards the tower. She didn't stop as more questions were thrown at her– but she did pause as she saw a policewoman waving her down.
"Yes?" She asked uncertainly, she needed to move, she couldn't hang about–
"A young girl went to the tower, I wasn't able to stop her. It was that one that's always reporting– the one with the Beetleblog."
Lady Noire's widened at this. She knew that Alya loved to film akumas, but this was risky even by her standards. The box in her pocket felt heavy, and it seemed her decision had been made. She nodded at the police officer, promising to look for her, before heading off towards the Eiffel Tower.
She kept lower to the ground, both to hopefully keep out of Style Queen's view, who was still calling up to the news helicopters above. Also, starting from the bottom of the tower meant she could keep a constant eye out for Alya, who would've had to take the stairs with the 'broken' sign that hung over the elevator doors.
Lady Noire jumped the first time she encountered a golden statue as she began her climb, thinking it was Style Queen waiting to attack. Instead, she was face to face with a golden Chloe, a look of fear frozen on her face. To Lady's horror, her arms were mere stumps, a pile of glitter at Chloe's feet as her form slowly dissolved. It was a horrible sight to see, even with the face of one she had never liked in front of her. And to realize that Chloe's own mother had done this to her, and seeing how she had treated both her daughters…
Style Queen had to be stopped, and too much time had passed with her trip to the Guardians. Lady Noire used her baton to push herself up towards the beams, climbing up across the metal to the higher parts of the tower, eyes scanning the stairs as she hurried towards where Style Queen lurked.
She moved past glitter statues of Zoe, Kagami, Aurore, Luka, others– and many people she didn't even know. All were in varying states of crumbling, but thankfully mostly whole. Lady didn't see any sign of Alya– golden or otherwise– nor any sign of Adrien. She expected Style Queen to strike at any moment, faux ears flicking as she went.
When she heard the sound of talking she drew up around one of the beams, baton out as she listened, but it was not the loud demanding voice of the akuma. She peered out, and saw Alya on one of the platforms straight above, filming on her phone.
"This is so awful," Alya whispered as she walked by a golden statue. "This one makes a dozen people caught in the attack, and there's still a way to go. Crimson Beetle, Lady Noire, please hurry."
Alya lowered her phone for a moment, before taking in a sharp breath. It was easy to see just how shaken she was, seeming to need the moment to compose herself before she continued recording. Lady Noire watched her, before grabbing the box with the Bee Miraculous from her pocket, jumping up onto the platform that Alya was on.
Alya let out a scream as she landed, wheeling around to face her. The two stared at each other in silence, Alya's hand over her chest as she breathed heavily.
"I thought you were Style Queen," Alya panted, closing her eyes. "Oh gosh, you nearly gave me a heart attack. Wait, no, I mean Style Queen would've, n-not you of course, glad to see you and C-crimson are here, Style Queen is–"
"Why did you come up here if you're frightened of meeting Style Queen?" Lady Noire finally asked. Her voice sounded monotone to her ears, her mind wanting to ask Alya so many questions.
None of them were for Lady Noire to say, however.
"I, um–" Alya began, and Lady could see the same girl she had encountered in the alleyway after her akumatization– frightened, with no words to say. "No one else was here, and my friends, they were hit, and I just–"
"Would you like to help them?" She asked, hand tightly holding the box with the Miraculouses.
"I–" Alya began, and hazel eyes widened. "Behind you!"
Lady Noire wheeled about, clutching the box to her chest as a blast of golden light flying past her head by mere inches. She looked up to see Style Queen lurking on a beam above, her scepter aimed at them.
"Two new little statues for my collection," she cooed, pointing the weapon again. "Don't mind if I do."
The staff glowed, and Lady Noire leapt down onto the stairs. She was forced to keep moving as blast after blast was fired. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she was hit, and in her mind Plagg urged her to keep moving.
"Well, Monarch, do you want your tacky costume jewelry or not?" Style Queen asked, and Lady risked a glance over her shoulder, but there was no mask on the akuma, nothing to show that Monarch had something to say. "Whatever, I don't mind adding this stupid alley cat to my collection."
Lady Noire dropped down from her beam and onto the platform as another blast was sent her way. She drew her baton, grabbing Alya, and vaulting higher up the tower. She tried to move as quickly as she could, but with a passenger and the tight confines of the tower she was running out of places to duck away as more attacks were fired after her. She dove down onto a lower beam, Alya clinging to her for dear life. Shouts and cries were being sent her way, and Style Queen fired her attack once more.
A tensed Alya went completely still in her arms as the light hit her, warm skin instantly turning cold as gold dust engulfed the blogger. Made of nothing but glitter, Alya immediately crumbled in her grasp– glitter, baton, and box all falling from Lady's hands as she tried to grab Alya. She reached for them as they fell, and she painfully crashed into the beam below her, all outside of her reach.
"No!" Lady Noire cried, but Style Queen raised her scepter, drawing the golden glitter to her. With a wave of the weapon the statue of Alya reformed back down on the platform, beginning to crumble like the others– but at least she wasn't immediately dust.
"Now where is that nasty bug?" Style Queen mused as the staff was aimed at her once more, the end glowing gold. "I need both to complete the collection."
"Crimson, now!"
Style Queen wheeled about as she shouted this, and Lady used the moment of distraction to dive down where the baton and Miraculous had fallen, desperately searching for them. She sprang from beam to beam, hearing the akuma's shout of rage upon realizing she had been tricked. She spotted her baton on one of the beams. Lady scooped it up, and was about to carry on down lower in search for the Bee, when a burst of gold swooped by her, the glitter materializing into Style Queen.
"Now where are you heading, stray?" She sneered, aiming her scepter, forcing Lady Noire to move again.
She tried to make her way back down to the lower parts of the tower, but Style Queen kept zipping in front of her, cutting her off as she tried to turn her into glitter with the blasts of light. Lady managed to barely avoid the last one, leaping up higher. This seemed to be where the akuma wanted her to go, forcing her up the tower, slowly giving her less and less room to maneuver. She gritted her teeth, abandoning her desperation to reach the dropped Miraculous. She had no one to give to it anyways.
It would just be her with this akuma.
"Lady Noire," a voice whispered in her ear, and she felt Tikki on her shoulder. "I think the akumatized object is with Adrien. He's holding a rose that's out of place!"
Lady Noire gave a nod, Adrien's outfit hadn't had a rose on it, and she clearly remembered the golden rose that had been in Audrey's hat. The akuma being with Adrien would also explain why Style Queen was making them stay at the top of the tower– after all, she couldn't go far from her akumatized object without her powers weakening.
She watched as the akuma materialized again, and from the few seconds she was solid she saw there was no rose on her hat, confirming what Tikki had said. Lady Noire couldn't stop to watch for longer, not with Style Queen determined to turn her to gold. She did a flip, landing on another platform of the tower, panting. Style Queen took shape on the opposite side, cooing at her.
"Poor little kitty cat, all alone," the akuma said, leaning against her scepter. "Out of practice too, hmm? Did that nasty bug of yours get squashed? Or does he just not want to back you up?"
She didn't offer a reply, instead charging forward, slashing her baton at Style Queen. The metal cut clean through her, glitter flying, before it swiftly was drawn back to the akuma, leaving her fully formed. Lady tried not to let her surprise show, turning and lashing out again, only to watch the same thing happen.
"I'm invincible!" Style Queen cackled as she reformed with ease. "Nothing can touch me! Might as well let me make you into a beautiful statue, hmm?"
"No thanks," Lady said with a forced grin. "Glitter is the absolute worst."
Style Queen's face turned to rage at this statement, and she knew to run before Style Queen could even form an attack. Blasts of gold were sent after her as she raced across the platform, eyes sweeping across the tower. Style Queen did appear to be untouchable, and pausing to try to get the akumatized object might just be the single moment Style Queen needed to zap her. She needed a way to stop her first, one that didn't depend on using the Bee.
She grabbed a French flag that was hanging on the tower, turning to face Style Queen. She used the wide cloth as a shield, letting it take the next blast shot her way. The burst dispersed as it hit the flag, but the cloth didn't turn it to gold itself.
Interesting.
It made some sense, however. So many blasts had hit the tower in her dodging, but the metal hadn't turned to glitter either. It seemed it needed to hit something living, perhaps, and would only transform it and things in immediate contact. It was like the transformation of the Miraculouses– things on her like her purse transformed with her, yet the box with the Bee Miraculous had not.
Now would have been the perfect time for a Lucky Charm. She risked a glance for the Ladybug kwami who had been with her not long before, and found the little being clinging to her braid. They made eye contact, and Tikki shook her head before she could even ask– she would not be summoning anything. Lady ducked behind one of the statues as Style Queen struck, wondering if anything hadn't been turned to gold with them, anything that could be used. Her eyes swept across the platform: she saw Alya's fallen phone, an umbrella, a backpack, a water bottle… perfect!
She rolled out from behind the statue, running on all fours towards the water bottle. She snatched it up, glad to hear the sloshing of water within. She dropped the flag as she sprang up into a beam, unscrewing the lid.
"Enough hiding, mangy beast!" Style Queen snarled, appearing below her. "Time for you to–!"
Lady Noire dumped the water down into the glitter akuma below, her form instantly falling apart where water hit her, washing the glitter away. Style Queen letting out a shriek as it looked like her face was melting. For once, the akuma didn't instantly reform, glitter clinging to the water drops as they fell.
"Take me to Adrien," Lady Noire said to Tikki.
The kwami let out a nod, flying up to a higher point of the tower, Lady Noire right behind her. She didn't know how long she had before Style Queen could draw the glitter out from the water, so she didn't have a moment to waste. Tikki phased through the metal, Lady being forced to loop around. She landed, and found herself looking at what appeared to be a golden force shield, Adrien lying within the sparkling dome.
Tikki looked down at him in pure worry, and Lady's face reflected the kwami's. Like everyone else turned to glitter, Adrien was crumbling– but he was by far the fastest she had seen yet, nothing but his chest and head remaining– it was unsettling to watch, especially knowing it was truly him underneath.
Like Tikki has said, there was a golden rose with him, placed in his mouth, something that most certainly hadn't been at the show.
"Cataclysm!" She cried, feeling the dark energy surged through her, cracking about her hand. She laid it against the golden barrier– which instantly turned to glitter, falling down about them like snow.
"Stay away from him!" Style Queen shrieked, a golden storm surging up from below the tower, churning angrily.
Lady Noire snatched the rose from Adrien just as Style Queen reformed, face still distorted from the water. She snapped the rose in half, the akuma freezing up as the rose dissolved into glitter in her hands– a dark butterfly flying from the powdery remains.
Dark bubbling energy surrounded Style Queen in the same instant, melting from off her, leaving Audrey in its wake– whose eyes flashed about angrily. Lady Noire instantly leapt across several beams, pulling herself higher and away from the horrible woman, heart pounding as she processed the fact that the fight was over.
"Gah," Lady Noire muttered, trying to brush the golden dust that clung to her away. "I really do hate glitter, it gets everywhere."
"Lady Noire, the akuma!" Tikki called, pointing. She followed the kwami's gaze, watching the dark butterfly flutter upwards. "Hurry, catch it!"
She fumbled for her baton, looking down at the glowing buttons. There was no time to waste, even with the sense of unease she felt, and she pressed the fourth button, which quietly clicked below her touch.
The top half of her baton slid open as if to display the communicator screen, but instead a black gaping void stared up at her, pulsing with a dark light– the same as the first time she had pressed this button. She had once tried to touch the light, and even with the months that had passed she still remembered the feeling of wrong that it had sent through her. A feeling that couldn't quite be described.
"Lady Noire!" Tikki cried again, snapping her out of her thoughts. Her head whipped up, and she saw the butterfly was beginning to fly up and out of reach.
She jumped into a higher beam, pressing the button to expand her baton. She swung it like a net towards the butterfly, scooping it up within the void. Immediately the baton snapped shut around it, trapping it within. Shivers ran through her as she did so, and she sensed a powerful shift. The same kind of feeling she got when she sensed Crimson near, though it was nothing like the warmth she felt from him.
This feeling was deep and churning, almost like the power she felt from a Cataclysm, though this didn't seem to crackle and burn, but rather, it seemed to pulse within the baton– and the green on her ring seemed to glow brighter, humming with the aura as it seemed to draw it in. The ring seared, though not with heat, and she found herself letting out a small gasp.
Then all was calm.
She looked at the ring, which no longer hummed with the energy she had just taken in. Her sense of the beyond didn't seem to be present anymore. She half-expected for the corrupted energy to be twisting through her form from what had been described to her, but this had not been anywhere near as bad as she had expected. She let out a small breath she hadn't known she had been holding, before pressing the fourth button once more– opening up the void. From the blackness crawled out a pure white butterfly, which took to the air with the flick of its wings.
It was over. She had defeated the akuma– alone.
She had done it.
"Good job, Marinette!" Tikki said warmly, the kwami zipped up to her with a bright smile. She was startled to hear her name, even though she was aware that the kwami knew it. She returned the smile, holding out a hand for her– which still gleamed with glitter. Tikki landed in it, looking up at her. "I just need you to summon Black Storm now, are you ready?"
And just like that, the feeling of relief was gone.
The prospect had sounded awful from the moment they had suggested it, and that feeling had not gone down in the slightest. She paled, and Tikki frowned slightly at this. Plagg's presence in her mind wasn't helping either, and she looked down at her ring. Summoning a disaster… not only did that sound impossible, the thought was sickening. How could something like that be asked so casually of her? On her own city, her home?
"What will happen?" She whispered.
Her ring beeped, and Tikki laid a paw against her hand. "It doesn't matter what you summon, it won't even last for a minute. I'm going to immediately cancel it out, no one will be hurt."
That didn't change the fact that she had this ability she had never been told of. That she was going to be unleashing something. What if it went wrong? What if it wasn't countered like Tikki believed? Then this would all be her fault!
"Paris is a big city," Tikki said softly, looking out at it with a smile. "With so many people, and while Miraculous Ladybugs do spread out over such a large range, it's the extra energy from the akuma that lets Crimson heal the whole city with ease."
But she wasn't about to release a healing light, but a disaster.
"For your first Black Storm to be heightened with similar energy is a tall order, and I understand why you would see such as frightening." She smiled up at Lady Noire. "But you have to remember these powers were crafted to be used by holders, to be controlled by who was chosen. Black Storm is a tool that many great Black Cats have used for good, and I'm sure you'll do the same if you choose to use it in the future. But we aren't worrying about that right now– right now you need to worry about an ancient primordial being altering everything you know about your home and turning it into an untamed wilderness."
Lady let out a small laugh at this description. "Trying to make yourself sound dangerous?"
"It would be foolish to think I wasn't," Tikki replied.
It made her want to laugh again, the idea of this adorable little kwami of healing and Creation being a potential danger– yet she also knew that a kwami wasn't something to brush off. Plagg was adorable himself, and probably the most powerful thing in the city. Something far too powerful with even a sliver of their power.
"Alright," Lady said quietly, voice more steady than she felt, but she couldn't stand here and give more time for the statues to crumble. "Let's… let's get this over with." She looked at Tikki. "You promise the city will be okay after this?"
"Your power will be the reason why," Tikki said, and Lady pushed herself to her feet.
She closed her eyes, listening. There was the sound of distant helicopters, which had retreated when Style Queen's attacks had begun to be fired in all directions in her attempt to hit her. She could also hear Audrey's snapping voice far below, as if demanding to know what happened. Finally, there was just the gentle breeze of the wind, perhaps the only thing that didn't feel intimidating as she stood there.
Plagg was alert in her mind as she cupped her hands together, and she wasn't sure of how the power would manifest. She didn't let this be her biggest concern, though, as this was not the first time she had used a new power, and far from her first time using Destructive energy. The only thing she had to go off on was Plagg's earlier suggestion to launch this power away from her, however one was supposed to do that.
"Black Storm," she whispered, bracing herself, and instantly she felt the same presence of energy like when she summoned her Cataclysm. She tried to draw in as little as she could, to not let this power overwhelm her. She was used to tapping in to just as much energy she needed, something she had long mastered, but it was not the Destructive energy that flooded her.
Her ring burned, the energy she had claimed from the akuma surging forward as the words left her lips, joining the Black Storm as it manifested in her hands– dark and churning, like dark thunder clouds in her palm. She could feel the power behind it, crackles of green electricity seeming to zip through the haze, but it didn't hurt at all. She couldn't help but watch it, sensing it pulse and grow, the dark clouds seeming to spiral up her arms as it expanded.
Lady Noire's alarm came as she realized that she couldn't stop it as it grew, the energy not responding to any attempt to reign it in. She knew she couldn't dismiss it, she never had been able to with Cataclysm– but never had it been out of her control before she released it!
"Plagg!" She cried, and he twisted in her mind as it climbed higher. "Tikki!"
"You shouldn't restrain it," Tikki said, her calmness not matching Lady's fear. "It's not a Cataclysm, it should instantly be released."
The Black Storm was now up to her shoulders, the green lightning flickering across her form. It didn't hurt, but that didn't rid it of the sense of danger. How did she release it? Touch it to something? But Tikki said it wasn't like a Cataclysm!
She thrusted her hands forward hoping for something to happen, and immediately the dark haze was funneled forward with a pulse, being drawn away from her. Green lightning crackled about it once– before the Black Storm vanished with a blinding flash, small embers drifting up and away in the air where it had been. She let out a gasp as she collapsed down into the beam, staring at the cinders as they were rushed away in a powerful wind, gone.
"What… What happened?" Lady Noire asked, looking at Tikki in confusion. "Was that it? D-did I do it wrong? What–?"
She fell quiet, watching as Tikki tensely looked out at Paris, eyes following something Lady could not see. Her own eyes flickered across the city, at first seeing nothing. Plagg was alert though, and she felt herself holding her breath as she looked out at the city.
Her throat closed up as she saw the smoke rising.
At first it was in the distance, a column of smoke and ash rising up from a building. Flames licked about the roof, pluming up as the fire suddenly swelled– and it wasn't the only place where the fire had formed. Beyond the building, another was lit with flames, and as she turned, she saw the same with closer buildings, trees, cars– smoke curling up into what had been a clear sky. Fire seemed to be leaping from rooftop to rooftop, spreading out faster than she could watch it appear.
Her hands clapped over her mouth, the taste of salt in her mouth as tears stung her eyes. She had been told a disaster would be summoned… but nothing could have prepared her for this horrible sight. Her city rapidly becoming engulfed, the sudden noise that was filling the air. People who had been sheltering from the akumas flooding out from the buildings, sirens whirling as the crackling of flames seemed to grow far too loud.
She had done this.
Lady Noire stared at the orange flames, the mere moments feeling like an eternity. She couldn't move, she didn't dare move, she couldn't understand the words that were being spoken near her, not even registering Tikki's voice as she sat there frozen.
"Miraculous Ladybug!"
Pink light flooded Lady Noire's vision, the dazzling surge of energy rushing skywards. Pink overtook orange, the light blanketing the city in an instant before it poured down. She could sense the same warmth she always got from Crimson's presence, except now it seemed to burn against her aura, like the fire she had summoned was sweeping through her.
The searing light plummeted down towards the earth, waves of pink touching down onto rooftops and streets. Bright red crackles of light zigzagged out from where they landed, weaving and waving at blinding speeds. Fire was swept away, this energy pulsing in the wake. She closed her eyes, the pink and the burning light all around her. Thousands– millions of small shapes hummed in the air, countless ladybugs made of pure energy swarming about in a swelling mass. She could feel them moving across her– on her skin, the tower, across every surface. They were warm, burning, seeming to leech her exhaustion and peel away bruises as they scuttled across her.
It was too much, this warmth was anything but such. She clawed at her form, trying to sweep the ladybugs and the light away from her.
"Release Plagg!" A voice called in her ear, sounding urgent. "I need his aura, hurry!"
She did not want to detransform and lose the protectiveness of the suit as the searing Creation pulsed about her. She did not want to lose the churning energy of Plagg's presence and be lost to fire-like burning rays– but she did as Tikki said. She uttered the detransformation words, savoring the last of the destructive energy that fell around her, leaving her to clutch the cool metal of the tower as waves of burning energy danced about them.
"Not as bad as when you had chocolate," Plagg chuckled somewhere to her left. Marinette opened one eye and saw Plagg grabbing Tikki's paw, pulling her up into the blinding pink, before a ripple of new energy went through the air, and the burning Miraculous Ladybugs seemed to pause– before it was all drawn inwards.
She watched as the healing light spiraled up towards where the kwamis had vanished, magical ladybugs fluttering up as they seemed to be swallowed away, the rampant Creation being consumed as quickly as it had spread.
Marinette clung to the beam, feeling exposed as she sat there hundreds of meters in the air. It took her a moment to realize that it was over. That the warmth was from the June sun and not a burning pink sky, nor was there smoke or flames, or any sign of the horror she had seen before. She looked up to see the kwamis spiraling down towards her, green and pink light pulsing about them, and Tikki looking flustered.
"Got it under control, hmm?" Plagg asked, tail swaying.
"I-it wasn't that bad and you know it!" Tikki cried.
"I mean, everything looks about right," Plagg mused, glancing out at the restored city. Marinette followed his gaze, before instantly regretting it, seeing the huge drop below her and knowing there was no magical transformation on her. "Um, those trees were there before, right?"
"I'm not Order, Creation is meant to spread and grow!" Tikki snapped, face buried in her paws, as if she didn't dare look. "I thought Black Storm would be enough!"
"It was, mostly," Plagg replied, his green glow starting to die down. "We might have made the Storm too small, but I mean, it's still Paris? But hey, I'm not seeing any glitter anymore!"
"My–" Tikki began, but Plagg shoved a paw in her mouth.
"Hey. Kid," Plagg said, looking down at her as Tikki shoved his arm away. "You okay? Everything feel normal?"
"Just feel like I'm about to fall," Marinette muttered. "Please. Recharge. Let me transform again."
"We're good to go right now," Plagg said casually, which didn't make sense since she had used two powers. "Hmm… you might need a haircut, kid, looks like it gained a few inches."
Marinette's hand flew to her hair at this statement, before letting out a yelp to grab the tower again as the realization of where she was hit her all at once. She called out to transform immediately, Plagg laughing as he was drawn back into his ring, and as she became Lady Noire once more her fear of the drop below melted away, the height feeling like something much more natural. The fall no longer seemed dangerous, and she pushed herself to her feet.
Tikki was staring at the tower, frowning at a ladybug crawling up the side, made of light. She grabbed it, the energy disintegrating as it was drawn to the glow about Tikki.
"Are you okay?" Lady Noire asked.
"Oh yes," Tikki replied. "Very exhausted, I needed Plagg's help to help me… stop the power, so to speak?"
"Stop the faucet from flooding?" She asked, remembering the analogy that Apex had once given her.
Tikki chuckled. "Yes, I suppose that's one way to put it. But instead of a flood, it was just a mere drop of power, but one that kept coming." She looked out at the city for a moment. "I'm going to go back to Crimson soon, but we should go check on those who were glitter first."
The kwami didn't wait for an answer, turning and zipping into Lady Noire's pocket to hide. She swallowed, hand going to her other pocket, wondering if the magic had brought the Miraculous back, but she felt nothing. Perhaps it had been taken back to the Guardians? She'd have to keep an eye out for it.
She hopped down from the beams, making her way towards the platform and stairs, where others had gathered. There was Audery, Alya, Adrien, and several workers– all of whom were fully formed without a single gleam of glitter in sight. And if Adrien was fine, that meant everyone else on the tower had to be, since he had been in the worst state.
"You!" Audrey barked, pointing a finger at Lady Noire. "Are you the reason the elevators are broken? Fix them, now!"
"Th-they were like that before I even got here," she stammered out, startled that this was the first thing being thrown in her face.
"I'm not walking down!"
"Can someone please tell me what happened?" Adrien asked, looking the most panicked out of everyone. "Was the akuma purified, is the butterfly still out there?"
Tikki flittered in her pocket, and Lady Noire forced herself to take a deep breath. She was the only one here, and the victims needed comfort. She couldn't let Audrey Bourgeois intimidate her or let the presence of those she knew in her everyday life let her fall back. She jumped down and landed on the platform with everyone, eyes turning towards her.
"The akuma attack is over, and everything has been restored," she told them, standing up straight. "Audrey, you were akumatized, but Monarch has no more control over you."
"What about the butterfly?!" Adrien asked, stepping towards her, and she blinked at him in surprise. "What happened to it?"
"Everything has been taken care of–"
"Where's Crimson Beetle?" Someone else asked.
"He– he went to go check on the show where this all started?" She offered.
"Are akumas going to be attacking again now?" Alya asked.
Lady Noire turned away, trying to make herself calm down. She wasn't used to being the main focus with civilians, Crimson was the one that knew how to handle questions like they were nothing. She had too much that she needed to do– she had to make sure everyone else on the tower had been transformed back safely, see where the Bee Miraculous ended up, get back to the show before anyone else noticed she was gone–
"Lady Noire?" A quiet voice asked, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Adrien approaching her. "Are you okay?"
"I am," she said with mustered confidence, forcing a smile on her face. "Just thinking, is there anything I can help you with?"
"It's my father," Adrien said quietly, sounding slightly shaken. His eyes kept darting around the tower, scanning over her. "He– he's going to be worried about me. Is there any way you can get me back to the showhall, please? My phone is back there so I have no way to contact him."
She hesitated, her mind already racing with what she needed to do– but she also knew just what Adrien's father could be like. How he must have been reacting with his son targeted in the last two attacks, and what that could mean to Adrien. So she nodded, extending her baton, and holding out her arm.
Adrien didn't hesitate to let her carry him– it was far from his first time. She picked him up with ease, ignoring the protesting shouts from Audrey about the broken elevators– and leapt off of the tower. Her baton stretched out below them, hitting the ground and vaulting them off towards the distant buildings. For a moment, the memory of smoke and fire flashed through her mind– and she shuddered as she landed.
She took off across the rooftops, trying to shove the memories in her mind, and ignoring Plagg's churning presence as she carried Adrien back to the fashion show.
