Miraculous Weasel CH 5
Copycat
A Tang Ri Shan Fanfic
Reminder: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug, or any characters apart from my OC.
Enjoy!
"Yes Dad, I'm heading for the unveiling now" I said into my phone as I felt the car gently take a corner, making me lean over in my seat slightly.
"Will your sister be joining you?" My father asked.
"No, I asked Chloe if she wanted to come, and she refused." I answered.
"Really?" My father sounded surprised. "I was certain she would want to come."
I let out a giggle. "I know, she's been fawning over Ladybug so much you'd think she'd be all over the chance to meet her in person, but no, she really didn't want to come, and I sure didn't want to force her!"
"No one can force Chloe to do anything." My father commented, making me laugh out loud.
"I know, she's too high and mighty!" I replied, and we both chuckled. "So, yes, I'll be there, but first I'm gonna swing by my friend Marinette's house. She lives pretty close to the park where the unveiling is gonna be. I'll be in the crowd with her and my friends." I told him.
"Very well," I heard him sigh, "It's probably for the best anyway, it would be rather crowded in front of the cameras with you, me, Theo, Ermine, Ladybug, and Chat Noir around the statues."
"Remind me again, Theo is the name of the sculptor that made the statues being unveiled today, right?" I asked.
"That is correct. Theo has been working diligently on the statues for weeks. He is very excited to reveal them to the people of Paris."
And I'm just as excited to see them, I thought with a smile.
"Okay dad, I've gotta go, but I'll see you after the unveiling, okay?" I said.
"All right, see you later, Alice." My father hung up.
"Bye, dad." I said as I also hung up.
Seconds later, I felt a faint tapping on my lower chest and glanced down.
"So, where are we going, exactly?" Minkk, my kwami, asked from where she was sitting in my lap.
"Over the past few weeks, a sculptor has been working to create life-sized statues of Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Ermine. His work is being funded by the city of Paris, as a kind of tribute to all the work they do." I explained, keeping my voice down so the driver couldn't hear me. "The sculptures are being unveiled today in a city park, and Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Ermine have all been invited to attend the unveiling."
"Wow, a statue made in your honor!" Minkk's face lit up. "It sounds simply divine!"
I giggled at my kwami's excitement. "It is a great honor to have a monument dedicated to yourself." I admitted, feeling my smile grow.
"But…how will you be able to get away from Marinette and your friends to attend the unveiling as Ermine?" Minkk asked, looking a little confused.
I smirked. "Oh, I won't actually be with them. I only told my father that as a cover, so he won't get suspicious if he can't find me during the unveiling., and if any of my friends actually do show up, I'll just tell them that my father asked me not to be with him during the ceremony."
Minkk's eyes widened. "Wow, pretty sneaky." She chuckled. "You're a natural at deflecting attention."
"Well, weasels are pretty wily" I giggled as well. "Besides it's not a total lie. I will be there, just...not the way he expects." My comment made the both of us chuckle quietly.
Suddenly, I heard my cell phone vibrate and picked it up. Seeing that it was Alya, I answered it. "Hey Alya, what's up?"
"Hey Alice, um…you got a minute?" The tone of Alya's voice caused my smile to fade.
"Sure, what's the problem?" I asked.
"Well…it's Marinette." The girl paused. "You know, I think it'd be better if she talked to you herself. Hang on."
I heard muffled voices on the other end of the line and then I heard Marinette say my name.
"Alice?"
"Hey Marinette, is everything okay?" I asked, feeling a little concerned now. Alya and Marinette both sounded worried about something. Of course, Marinette tended to worry about everything, but if Alya was worried too, then something was definitely up. Plus the fact that they wanted to talk to me was another red flag.
"Um…well…" Marinette also paused, and Minkk and I exchanged a glance. Minkk just blinked at me, confused. "You…you and Adrien, are good friends, right?"
I snorted in surprise at her question. "Well, I would certainly hope so. We do work together, after all."
"So, you tell each other everything, right?" Marinette asked.
I bit my lip, glancing down at Minkk again. "Well, I wouldn't say everything, but we try to be as honest with each other as possible." I answered carefully, trying not to lie any more than I had to. "Why do you ask?"
"It's just…I think…I think…" Marinette sounded like she was torn, like she wanted to reveal something important but something else was stopping her from doing just that.
"Marinette, just spit it out. Whatever you need to say, I'm sure I can take it." I promised her.
For a moment, there was silence at the other end, and I bit my lip. Maybe I was being a little too forceful. Marinette was a pretty timid girl after all, at least when it came to...certain people.
Just as I was opening my mouth to say something else, Marinette suddenly blurted out "IthinkErmineandAdrienlikeeachother!"
My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. Was Marinette saying that my best friend, and my superhero alter ego liked each other?
"Hello? Alice?" Marinette's voice snapped me back to reality.
"I'm...sorry, could you repeat that? It sounded like you said you thought that Ermine and Adrien liked each other." I said.
Minkk looked up from my lap, her eyes wide. I shrugged my shoulders at her.
"That is what I said." Marinette replied.
"And…where are you getting this idea from?" I asked.
"Well…you saw how she acted at Adrien's birthday party. She flirted with him on stage, in front of everyone and even kissed him on the cheek."
My memory flashed back to that particular incident and I winced. True, I had flirted with Adrien at his birthday party, but that was mainly to distract Nino, who had been akumatized into a supervillain called the Bubbler, and keep him occupied while Ladybug recharged her miraculous.
However, I did have an alternative reason for doing so. It had been to teach Ladybug a lesson, because she had wasted her Lucky Charm while trying to keep Adrien and my sister apart during the party. It had made me wonder if Ladybug had a crush on Adrien. I could certainly see why she would. Adrien was very attractive, and lots of girls in the city had fallen for him. Many of them were jealous of me as well, ever since word had gotten out that the two of us were modeling partners. I had already started getting hate mail from some of them, which Minkk and I often read aloud in funny voices for our own amusement.
The thought of that made me frown. I really hoped Ladybug wasn't one of those people. It would be a lot harder to work with someone who secretly hated me, even if she didn't know that she was working with such a person, since none of us knew each other's civillian identities.
As I silently stewed in uncertainty, Marinette kept speaking. "And then, remember the following day, when Adrien was wearing that scarf? I made it for him, but Adrien said that Ermine gave it to him."
I felt a twinge of guilt at that. I had gone back to Adrien later that day to apologize for how I had acted at the party. While there, I had seen Gabriel's assistant, Natalie, take a present that Marinette had delivered and give to Adrien. No doubt Adrien must have assumed I had left the present there as part of my apology.
"I dunno, Marinette." I said, trying to keep my guilt out of my voice. "That seems pretty circumstantial to me. I did see her flirt with Adrien, but I thought she said that was just a ploy to attract the attention of the Bubbler, right? I remember Ladybug confronting her about that."
"Oh yeah, she did, didn't she?" said Marinette, and for some reason, the girl sounded a little embarassed.
"And as for the scarf, that was your birthday present to Adrien, right?" I continued.
"Uh huh."
"Did you put your name on the present?" I pressed.
"Well…." Marinette paused, and I shook my head, but a faint smile crossed my face as I saw a way out of this.
"I'm gonna take that hesitation as a no, since, if you had, Adrien would never have mistaken it for a gift from Ermine." I said smoothly.
I heard Marinette groan, and even caught a faint chuckle from Alya.
"Well, I can honestly say this, Marinette. If Adrien and Ermine do have feelings for each other, it would be news to me. But if you really wanna know the truth, just give him a call."
"What? But…but what would I say?" Marinette asked, the sudden panic in her voice all too clear.
"Just greet him like a friend, strike up a conversation, and then casually work your way to the question you want answered." I replied, then glanced up to see we were approaching the park. "Listen, I have to go, but good luck with your phone call." I said, before hanging up and signaling Minkk to hide in my purse.
The car stopped and Phillip, our driver, came around to open the door for me. "Thank you, Phillip." I said as I got out. "You don't have to wait for me here, I'll call you if I need to be picked up again."
Phillip nodded and moved to get back into the car while I slowly made my way towards the park gates. Glancing around, I suddenly ducked around a parked car, hiding myself from view from the crowd that had already assembled in front of the sculptures. Using the car as cover, I darted across the street, after checking for oncoming traffic, of course, and darted behind a pillar.
As soon as I was out of sight of the park, Minkk came out.
"Ready for the ceremony?" I asked.
Minkk nodded. "How extravagant! To go to a ceremony being held in your honor!" She gushed.
"Technically, it's not just for me, but it will be nice to get a little hero worship." I admitted.
"As long as you don't let that worship go to your head, like your sister does." Minkk warned, but I could see humor in her eyes.
I pretended to look insulted, placing my hand over my chest and giving a dramatic gasp . "My dear Kwami, you wound me! You know how I strive to stay as far away as possible from the path Chloe has chosen!"
"Woo-hoo!" As Minkk and I both giggled, I suddenly heard a joyful cry come from above. We looked up to see a familiar figure in black jump from the rooftop above us. "Yeah-ha-ha!" Chat Noir yelled as he used his stick to vault over the park fence and land in front of the statue. "Hey, everybody!" He greeted the crowd, who cheered in response.
"Wow, if that's the kind of hero worship you were speaking of, I can see why you would be so eager to gain it." Minkk said teasingly as I chuckled at the cat's antics.
"He's always been the most vocal of the three of us." I argued, but I still smiled. "Still, now that he's here, it's time for Ermine to make her entrance."
"You know what to do." Minkk nodded at me.
"Minkk, Showtime!" I called out. Minkk dove into my belt buckle, and I was enveloped in white light, a furry bodysuit replaced my clothes, a sleek tail sprouted from above my rear end, my blonde hair grew and tuned white, and a white mask appeared on my face, my eyes turning electric blue.
My transformation now complete, I darted out from behind the pillar, and leapt across the street. Landing on the park fence, I paused scouting out the best way to make an entrance.
From my perch, I saw a man with a small stick in his mouth come up to my partner. Hmm, that must be Theo. I thought.
"Excuse me, Chat Noir, but Ladybug and Ermine aren't here." I heard him say.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be here any minute." Chat Noir replied. "Besides, I can handle this situation alone for now. I'm the one in charge anyway, you know."
I snorted in amusement as I leapt off the fence, wrapping my whip tail around a light pole to pull myself along. I flipped over the shrouded statues and landed in front of them, striking a gymnast's pose, to the delight of the crowd.
"You? In charge?" I said sassily as I turned to face Theo and Chat Noir. "Don't make me laugh, kitty."
"And where have you been?" Chat Noir asked, frowning at me.
"Well kitty, there is this trendy thing called being fashionably late." I purred, flexing my glove-claws at Chat Noir in a flirt-like way. "We ladies tend to be a lot better at that then men." I added before flicking the bell on his costume with my finger.
Chat Noir snorted and rolled his eyes, while I chuckled.
"Speaking of ladies, where is our illustrious leader?" I asked, glancing around.
"I haven't seen her." Chat Noir said, looking around as well.
"I hope she gets here soon." The sculptor said, and I glanced at him. He seemed anxious about something. Seeing my look, he added "I…I want to ask her to autograph this photo." He showed me a newspaper clipping with a picture of Ladybug mid-swing.
"Ah, you must be Theo." I grinned. "I take it you're a fan of Ladybug, then?"
"Am I!" The sculptor exclaimed. "She's amazing. She's so brave and smart. Um…not that you and Chat Noir aren't as well, but there's just something about Ladybug, the way she always seems to save everyone…"
I giggled at the sculptor's praise of our partner. "Believe me Theo, I understand, and your admiration is well deserved. Ladybug is the very reason our team can exist. None of this would be possible without her."
"Yeah" Theo's gaze fell to the photograph in his hands and a smile of utter longing appeared on his face, causing me to chuckle again.
Unknown to either of us, Chat Noir was glaring in our direction, but stopped when my father walked up to us. "Any sign of Ladybug?" He asked.
"None, Mayor Bourgeois." I replied, frowning in confusion as I glanced around. Ladybug had to know about the unveiling, what was keeping her? "Let me try calling her." I took out my whip and extended the tip of the handle, which served as a communication device, similar to an iPhone. I knew Chat Noir had one in his staff, and Ladybug had one in her yo-yo.
I selected Ladybug's picture and called her. It rang and rang, but there was no response. Eventually, I was forced to give up.
"Well, she must either be too busy to answer, or she's in civilian form and can't hear my message." I concluded, folding away the phone feature of my whip. Our communication devices, while state-of-the-art, would only work if we were in superhero form. When we were in civilian form, there was no way we could contact each other, or at least, no way that we had been able to establish without revealing our identifies to each other, and that wasn't going to happen.
My father glanced around uneasily. "Perhaps the ceremony should commence. It might bring her here faster." He suggested.
"Please, just wait one minute more, Mayor Bourgeois." Theo begged. "She's going to come, I can feel it!"
So we waited, but there was still no sign of Ladybug. I saw disappointment on the faces of Theo and Chat Noir.
"Maybe we should get started." I said finally. "Ladybug must have a civilian commitment she can't get away from, otherwise she would have been here by now."
My father nodded at me, then stepped forward to present to the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you all for coming out today!" I felt a smile cross my face as my father's words caused everyone to stop what they were doing and give him their full attention. My father may be a bit of a pushover, but he was a great political speaker. "We gather here, in this park, to honor a group of true heroes. These are people that have dedicated their time, and their efforts, indeed, they have risked their very lives, to protect us from Hawkmoth, and his legion of supervillains. Therefore, it is only proper for Paris to pay homage to those that protect us from such evils." He gestured towards Theo, who yanked on the tarp, pulling it down to reveal… "Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Ermine!"
"Wow!" My eyes widened in awe as I gazed at the sculptures. They were breathtaking!
Theo had managed to capture the three of us in heroic poses. Chat Noir was in the middle, crouched down with his left hand on the ground, and his right arm sticking out sideways. Ladybug and I appeared to be leaping over him. Ladybug was caught in the act of tossing her yo-yo with her left hand, her right arm also spread out, as if for balance, while I was framed in the position of raising my whip up above my head with my left hand, the tail of my weapon trailing down towards my back. My right arm was curled under me, my fingers curled into claw shapes, and my tail was curved up towards my raised hand.
All in all, the statues looked so lifelike I half expected them to jump off the pedestal. Theo had done an incredible job!
"These statues are amazing." I heard Chat Noir say, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him talking with Theo.
"Ladybug didn't show up." Theo said, sounding very disappointed. "I just wanted to express my adoration for her, to let her know that everything I had went into making these statues, especially hers."
I chuckled as I listened to Theo's words. Ladybug would be touched to hear this.
"I'm sure she'll understand. I'd be happy to tell her." Chat Noir offered.
"It's not just that, though." Theo continued. "I'm sure if she took a little time to get to know me, she would see how much we have in common. We've both fully devoted to the things we love."
I giggled at that. Poor Theo, this guy had it bad.
I heard Chat Noir chuckle as well. "Hey look, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but actually, Ladybug and me, we're a thing, you know?"
Wait! What? My head whipped around at Chat Noir's words, my jaw dropping. Since when were Ladybug and Chat Noir a thing?
Theo also looked surprised. "Really?"
Chat Noir nodded looking rather smug. "Oh yeah, we're like this." He crossed his fingers. "But don't worry, I'll be sure to pass along your compliments to her the next time we hang out." The way he said those last two words made my heat sink down to my feet. I knew Chat Noir had a massive crush on Ladybug, but I had no idea Ladybug returned his feelings. She had always dismissed his advances in the past. At least...that's what she had always told me.
Theo didn't say anything else, he just spun on his heel and stalked away, an angry expression on his face.
Seeing Theo angry made me angry too. Time to get some answers.
"Now just hold on a second, Kitty!" I stalked up to Chat Noir.
Seeing the anger on my face, Chat Noir's grin faded. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"Since when are you and Ladybug a 'thing'?" I asked, narrowing my eyes, as I jabbed my finger in his face. "Last I checked, she wasn't interested in anything beyond our partnership bond."
Chat Noir blinked and stumbled backwards, clearly caught off guard by my accusation. "Um…well…" He stammered, looking a little embarrassed.
My eyes widened as a sudden, horrible thought set in. "Kitty, please tell me you didn't lie to that sculptor just because you were jealous of his admiration for Ladybug."
Chat Noir's eyes widened. "What? N-no I would never…" He stammered, but I had been around Chat Noir long enough to know when he was trying to dodge a question. The tone of his voice, and the fact that he didn't seem to want to meet my gaze, quickly confirmed my suspicion.
"I don't believe it." I hissed, my eyes narrowing. "Last time it was Ladybug, this time it's you, I'm starting to wonder if I'm the only one on this team who isn't ruled by their feelings for other people!"
"Huh?" Chat Noir blinked at me, but I had already turned away and started running towards the park fence. "Wait, what were you saying about Ladybug's feelings?" I heard Chat Noir call after me.
"That's none of your business, Kitty!" I called over my shoulder as I jumped onto the fence and used my whip to swing up onto a rooftop and dash away from the park.
As I made my way across anther rooftop, I felt so mad it was like my whole body was shaking in anger. Char Noir had played with the feelings of both Theo and me, not that he knew that last part. But still, it was wrong! As I dropped into an alleyway in preparation to change back, I made a silent vow not to speak to Chat Noir directly until he had apologized to that sculptor; I would talk to him by phone all the time if I had to.
Phone! That word reminded me of Marinette's call to Adrien. I wondered how that had gone. I chuckled as I landed and looked around to see if there was anyone else around. Seeing no one, I spoke my de-transformation phrase: "Show's Over".
A white ring of light appeared around my waist and split, one moving down, one moving up, transforming me from Ermine back into Alice Bourgeois.
"Wow, that was a pretty cold shoulder you gave Chat Noir back at the park." Minkk said, after she appeared in front of me. "I thought you liked him."
"I do, Minkk." I said as I stepped out of the alleyway and began making my way back towards the park to meet my father. "But he lied to that sculptor because he was jealous of the man's admiration for Ladybug. It's not right to play with someone else's feelings like that."
"His feelings, or yours?" Minkk smirked as she dove into my purse.
I frowned down at her. "Very funny." I said dryly as I heard Minkk giggle.
To distract myself from the situation, I decided to call Alya.
"Hello?" Alya answered after I dialed her.
"Hey Alya, it's Alice. I'm just calling to see how Marientte's phone call to Adrien went." I said.
I heard Alya chuckle over the phone. "Oh, it was a train wreck! She got his voicemail, so she started saying 'uhh hello, Adrien's voicemail, this is Marinette, who, uh, has a message for you, of course you, uh, probably realize that, cause…it's your phone!"
"Stop." I shook my head and held up my hand, as if Alya could actually see me. "Just stop. It's too embarrassing to hear anymore."
"No wait, it gets better." Alya continued. "After she thought she'd hung up, she said 'Hey hot stuff, this is Marinette, I'd ask you on a date to a movie, but I've got such a crazy crush on you that the only way I can talk to you without foaming out of the mouth is over this stupid phone'."
I giggled. "Wow that's…wait…thought she'd hung up?" I beamed in on something Alya said, and my eyes slowly widened. "No! Are you saying that…?!"
"Yep, Adrien's voicemail caught the whole conversation!" Alya confirmed my suspicion, and I burst out laughing.
"Oh my gosh! That is so embarrassing!" I chortled. "Adrien is going to flip out when he hears that!"
"Not if Marinette has her way." I heard Alya say, and I paused.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, and I heard Alya yelp in surprise.
"Oh, you heard that? Um… well…" She stammered and I frowned.
"Alya, Marinette's not about to do something crazy, is she?" I asked.
"Oh no, of course not." Alya said, but her tone sounded just as fake as Chat Noir's had been and I sighed in exasperation.
"She's doing it right now, isn't she?" I asked.
"Relax, she'll just wipe the message from Adrien's phone before he can hear it." Alya said quickly. "It's completely under control."
"Why does that not relax me?" I muttered quietly before speaking up so she could hear me. "Just keep me in the loop, will you? And make sure she doesn't do anything else she'll end up regretting!"
"Will do." Alya assured me. "Listen, I gotta go."
"So do I, actually. Talk later." I said as I saw the park come back into view. Hanging up, I accelerated my walking speed until I was entering the park gate. By now, most of the crowd had gone home, but I was pleased to see that my father was waiting by the statues.
"Dad!" I called, rushing over to him. My father looked up and smiled when he saw me.
"Alice! There you are!" He exclaimed. "I was looking for you in the crowd, but I didn't see you!"
"I…got a view from Marinette's place!" I said, thinking quickly as I pointed towards the bakery. "You can pretty much see the entire park from her rooftop."
Technically this wasn't a lie, and I saw my father nod as he examined the top of the building.
"So, do you have any idea why Ladybug didn't show up?" I asked, trying to draw him away from the topic of me.
"I have no idea." My father shook his head. "The sculptor was so very disappointed."
"Pity." I felt my lips harden into a frown at the memory of the sculptor's face, first when Ladybug no-showed, and again when Chat Noir…"Um...These are magnificent pieces of artwork." I said quickly, cutting off that line of thought as I admired the statues.
"Indeed. Theo should be quite proud of his accomplishment." My father nodded, admiring the statues as well, before looking at me. "Well, I'm heading back to the hotel, can I offer you a lift?"
"I'd like that, thanks!" I grinned and the two of us headed back to the waiting limo.
As we drove back towards the hotel, my dad and I talked about a lot of things, both connected to myself and to him. I found that my dad was way easier to talk to than my mom, and unlike my mother, my dad actually showed genuine interest in what I had to say. He beamed when I told him about how well I had connected with Marinette, Alya, and Adrien.
"'I'm so glad you've been able to make friends so quickly since you arrived in Paris." He said. "I think this is a sign that you were meant to live here."
I smiled at him, but deep down, I wasn't so sure. Sure, Paris was a great place to live, but I had been born and raised in New York City, and I still felt a special connection to it. I still had a pair of friends in New York that I web-chatted with on a weekly basis, and there were times when I did find myself missing the iconic New York skyline.
My thoughts were suddenly shattered by the ringing of my father's phone. He quickly answered it.
"Hello? Yes, this is him." Suddenly, a look of shock crossed my father's face. "He did what?"
I glanced up at him, confused. My father's face morphed from shock to concern as he continued speaking. "Are you certain it was him? Yes, I know I…But he's one of the…yes, yes, I understand. You have my authorization as mayor to proceed." My father hung up, now looking crestfallen.
"Dad, what's wrong?" I asked, now feeling a little concerned myself.
"Apparently Chat Noir has just stolen the Mona Lisa from the Louvre Museum." My father replied.
"Say what?!" Now it was my turn to look shocked.
"I know, I don't believe it either, but apparently he just walked in there, and took it, right in front of multiple witnesses and in full view of the security cameras." My father said, now fiddling with his phone. "Look here." He showed his screen.
I glanced over to see a news report playing.
"And in some astonishing news, there's been a spectacular theft at the Louvre. Amateur video shows without a shadow of a doubt that the thief is none other than the famous hero, Chat Noir."
I felt my jaw drop in surprise and confusion for the second time today as I saw Chat Noir snatch the paining from its position on the wall. Turning to face the camera, he said "This painting is the cat's meow.", before running away, cackling.
"I don't believe it." I said under my breath. Not only was he stealing, but his jokes had gotten worse too!
"Officer Roger has asked me to meet him at the museum right away, would you mind terribly if we made a side trip?" My father asked.
My mind whirred. I needed to get out of this car and transform back to Ermine to help Ladybug figure this out. She was probably going to be just as confused as I was when she found out about this. But how to ditch my father?
The answer came to me in a flash. "Actually, could you just drop me off here?" I pointed to an upcoming intersection. "I can take a bus back to the hotel. I wouldn't want to delay or distract you."
I saw relief come over my father's face as he nodded and leaned forward to give instructions to Phillip. I saw back, smiling at my own cleverness.
The limo came to a stop, and I hopped out. "Good luck Dad, and don't worry. I'm sure everything will sort itself out."
"I hope you are right, Alice. I'll see you back at the hotel." My father nodded and rode off. I waited till he was gone, then dashed into the nearest alleyway.
"What is with that cat?" I exclaimed as Minkk flew out of my purse. "First, he lies about his relationship with Ladybug, and now he's stealing artwork?"
"Maybe he's trying to get Ladybug's attention." Minkk suggested. "It's been said that love can make you do stupid things."
I chuckled, thinking back to Marinette and the embarrassing message she was trying to erase from Adrien's phone. Knowing her, Marinette had probably stolen Adrien's phone so she could get into it and delete the message.
"This isn't just stupid, it's insane." I commented, shaking my head. "But, we're not gonna get any answers just standing around here."
Minkk nodded, grinning. "I'm all charged up!"
"Minkk, Showtime!" I called out. Minkk flew into my belt buckle, and I quickly transformed into Ermine.
Using my whip, I swung across the rooftops until I arrived at the Louvre. The museum was surrounded by police, and I saw that Ladybug was already there, speaking to my father.
I swung over and landed near them just in time to hear Ladybug say, "Mr. Mayor, this is ridiculous. I'm sure there's a simple explanation."
"I sincerely hope you're right Ladybug." The mayor nodded, but did not look reassured. "Because if not…"
"Ladybug!" I called, causing both of them to look up.
"Ermine!" Ladybug grinned at me.
"Let me guess, you heard about the Mona Lisa theft too?" I asked as I walked up to them.
"Yeah," Ladybug said, shaking her head. "I just can't believe that our Chat Noir would do something like this."
"Neither can I" I agreed, my hands on my hips. "A theft of a famous painting, in broad daylight, in front of multiple witnesses? Chat Noir may by an idiot, but he's not that dumb."
"Idiot?" Ladybug looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"You'd understand if you'd been at the unveiling earlier." I replied, my face darkening at the memory, then I turned to Ladybug. "Where were you, anyway?" I asked. "A lot of people were disappointed when you didn't show."
Ladybug looked away guiltily. "I know, I'm sorry. I had a…personal matter to attend to that couldn't wait."
"That's what I figured." I said, "Were you able to attend to it?"
"I was in the middle of it when I heard about the theft." Ladybug replied, but she still didn't meet my gaze, which made me raise an eyebrow. Why did she look so guilty?
Just then, Agent Roger, Sabrina's father, walked up to us. His eyes narrowed a little when he saw us, before his gaze turned to my father. "Kitty's in the slammer, Mr. Mayor." He said, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder towards the museum.
My eyes widened. Did that mean what I think it meant?
Ladybug crossed her arms. "Don't think you're gonna be able to keep him in there—"
The officer held up a hand. "Now, now, leave it to the experts, ladies. We've got it under control." I snorted at this. While the majority of Paris accepted the three of us as heroes, there were some who were still skeptical of us, and Officer Roger was one of these people.
"I don't know if you've forgotten, sir." I said, my eyes narrowing, "But when it comes to super powered individuals, we're the experts." I gestured to Ladybug and myself.
The officer's eyes narrowed back at me, and he opened his mouth to retort.
"That is enough, from the both of you! We already have one hero who may have gone rogue, and I would rather not have a second!" My father came between us, his tone surprising me as he gave both me and Officer Roger a hard look. He wasn't normally this forceful.
"Sorry." I said, backing off. I saw Ladybug shake her head out of the corner of my eye, her hands on her hips, and felt guilty. For some reason, I seemed to be a lot more aggressive, or maybe I just had a lot less patience, when I was Ermine than I was when I was Alice.
"Attention all officers! Chat Noir is getting away! Repeat, the suspect is running!" The walkie-talkie on the officer's belt suddenly squawked, drawing everyone's attention to it.
Ladybug and I glanced at each other, each of us probably thinking the same thing. Had Chat Noir used his cataclysm to escape whatever trap the police had set for him? If that was the case, we needed to find him now!
Roger took off running towards the museum, with the three of us on his heels. We burst through the doors and dashed down the stairs towards the part of the museum where the Mona Lisa had been displayed. But when we got to the main level, all we saw were at least a dozen police officers on the floor, groaning, and a rusted security gate that was missing a few bars.
"Oh my!" My father exclaimed as he took in the damage.
"'Under control' huh?" I sassed, looking at Roger.
"Well, if he's so innocent, then why is he running away?" Roger asked, turning to us.
"Well, if you were wrongly imprisoned, wouldn't you run?" I countered.
"Ermine, enough!" Ladybug snapped, and I reluctantly backed off.
Roger glared at me and yanked his walkie-talkie for his belt. "Requesting assistance, I repeat, requesting assistance." He began barking orders. "All officers in pursuit of the suspect be advised…"
Just then, I heard a faint beeping coming from Ladybug's yo-yo. Figuring it was probably Chat Noir, we glanced at each other, then turned away from Roger and dashed back up the stairs to answer the call.
Chat Noir's image appeared on the screen that extended from Ladybug's Yo-yo.
"Chat Noir, what is going on?" Ladybug said as we climbed the stairs.
"You know I'm innocent, don't you, bugaboo?" Chat Noir asked, and I rolled my eyes. Was now really the best time to be flirting? And why was Chat Noir only calling Ladybug? I had a communication device too!
"Stop playing around and calling me bugaboo, this is serious!" Apparently, Ladybug felt the same way I did about how Chat Noir was handling the situation.
"Attacking the police was a stupid move, you know that, right?" I cut in, moving the screen so that Chat Noir could see me. "It just makes you look even more guilty."
I saw Chat Noir frown at me on the screen. "Hey, I was wrongly imprisoned, Ermine! What would you have done?"
"Escaped without attacking the police!" I responded. "That would have…"
"Hey, cool it you two! We don't have time for this!" Ladybug scolded, shooting me a dark look, and I grimaced, realizing that my anger at Chat Noir right now was probably not helping.
"Sorry, so what's the plan now?" I asked as we made our way back outside.
"I'm gonna find the real culprit and save my tail." Chat Noir said. "I'll get back to—Whoa!" He suddenly glanced up, and I heard what sounded like a helicopter, both from the screen, and from in front of me.
"Huh?" Glancing up, I saw a helicopter hovering over a nearby building. As I watched, it suddenly began flying away from us.
"Give yourself up, Chat Noir!" I heard someone yell over a megaphone from that direction.
"Well? Aren't you gonna go after him?" Ladybug and I turned to see Roger standing behind us, an expectant look on his face.
Frowning, I opened my mouth to say something, but paused when I felt Ladybug elbow me in the ribs. "Um…I think we'll leave that to the 'experts'." She said before turning to me. "Come on!" She motioned before swinging away with her yo-yo. Snorting with amusement at the scowl on Roger's face, I used my whip to follow her.
"So, any ideas?" I asked as we leapt from rooftop to rooftop.
"Try to keep up with Chat Noir and see if we can help keep the police off of him." Ladybug answered.
"Won't that make them come after us too?" I asked.
"You have a better plan?" Ladybug countered, gazing at me.
I wracked my brain, trying to come up with a situation. But I had at admit that we didn't have much to go on. From the way Chat Noir was talking, it sounded like he was being set up, but since neither of us knew Chat Noir's real identity, there was no way we could prove that. All we had was his word, and that alone wasn't gonna convince anyone.
"No" I said finally, which seemed to close the conversation.
The two of us raced across the rooftops in the direction Chat Noir had fled, trying to catch up with him, but there was no sign of our black-clad partner anywhere.
"I hope the police didn't grab him." Ladybug muttered nervously as we finally paused after traversing twenty blocks.
"We would have heard about it if they had." I assured her, but deep down, I was starting to feel nervous myself.
Suddenly, Ladybug's yo-yo beeped again, and I watched Ladybug answer it. Chat Noir's face appeared on the screen. It looked like he was inside a building.
"Chat Noir, where are you?" Ladybug asked while I silently fumed and looked away. Why was he only calling Ladybug? Was this his way of getting back at me for what I said to him at the park?
"I've found his den." Chat Noir said.
"Who?" Ladybug asked.
"My Copycat." Chat Noir went on.
His what? I whipped around. What Chat Noir saying what I think he was saying?
"I'm not getting you." Ladybug sounded as confused as she looked.
"I think Chat Noir's saying there's a duplicate of him running around, an evil twin of sorts. That must have been the one who stole the Mona Lisa." I said, walking over to where Ladybug was.
"Ermine's right, and if you'd been there this morning, you'd know what I was talking about too." Chat Noir spoke up.
I felt my eyes narrow as the memories of what had happened in the park came flooding back. "Don't patronize us! I'm still mad at you for what happened at the unveiling!" I snapped, grabbing Ladybug's yo-yo so I could glare at Chat Noir.
"What exactly did happen?" Ladybug asked.
"Never mind that!" Chat Noir said quickly. "It doesn't matter. What does is that I've got this guy pegged."
"Well? Are you planning to tell us where you are so we can help you?" Ladybug asked.
Chat Noir shook his head. "No, this is between me and him. I got myself into this mess, so now I'm gonna get myself out. I'll call you back later." With that, Chat Noir hung up.
"Chat? Chat!" Ladybug tried to re-establish the call, but there was no answer. "Urgh! What is with him?!" She groaned, before turning to me. "And what's with you, for that matter?" She demanded. "You've been acting rather grumpy today."
I ignored her, my mind whirring. Something that Chat Noir had said was making me wonder. If there really was a 'Copycat' running around, an evil impostor of Chat Noir, then there was probably a connection between the two of them. Probably someone that held a grudge against Chat Noir. But who would hate him that much? And why had Chat Noir also mentioned the unveiling? I felt like there was something I wasn't quite getting.
"Ermine?" I blinked as Ladybug waved her hand in front of my face. I looked up to see her gazing at me with a look of confusion. "Please, tell me what is going on!"
"Well…" I paused, trying to think of the best way to explain my thoughts.
Suddenly both my whip, and Ladybug's yo-yo began beeping. We were both getting a call.
Chat Noir's face appeared, and I raised an eyebrow. Why was he calling both of us now? "Ladybug, Ermine, hurry up. I've captured the impostor at Theo Barbot's workshop."
My eyes widened. That was the name of the sculptor! My mind flashed back to the last time I had seen the man, after he had stormed away with an angry look on his face after swallowing Chat Noir's lie about Ladybug. That was the connection! His anger must have drawn an Akuma to him, which turned him into Chat Noir's evil twin.
I clenched my fists in anger. How had I missed that?
"We'll be there in thirty seconds." Ladybug replied.
"Don't-!" I heard someone else start to say, but the call cut off before they could finish.
"Well, that's karma for you." I muttered as I collapsed my whip screen.
"Karma?" Ladybug asked, now sounding a little annoyed. "What does that mean? Are you finally going to tell me what's going on?"
I sighed before explaining. "Theo Barbot is the name of the sculptor who created those statues of us that were unveiled today. He told Chat Noir and me that he was really hoping you would come." I grinned. "Seems he's a big fan of yours."
"Oh really?" Ladybug grinned as well.
I chucked. "Yeah, anyway, it seems that our little kitty got a little jealous of the sculptor's admiration of you, and told him that you and he were 'a thing'."
"What?" Ladybug's eyes widened.
"Yep, he said that the two of you were 'like this'" I crossed my fingers that way I had seen Chat Noir doing it.
"That is so not true, and Chat Noir knows that!" Ladybug exclaimed, now looking angry herself.
"I know!" I nodded. "That's what I told him! Well…" I paused, looking a little embarrassed. "More like snapped at him. The two of us kinda parted on bad terms this morning. Maybe that's why he's only been calling you mostly."
"Oh, I see." Ladybug nodded.
"Anyway, it looks like I wasn't the only one who was angry at what Chat Noir said." I added.
"Huh?" Ladybug tilted her head.
I turned to face her. "How much to you wanna bet that this 'impostor' Chat Noir keeps talking about is really an akumatized Theo?" I said bluntly.
Ladybug looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Akumas are drawn to negative emotions, right?" I continued. Ladybug nodded. "Well, the sculptor looked pretty mad after Chat Noir had spoken with him, what if there was an akuma nearby, and it transformed the sculptor into an exact copy of Chat Noir?"
Now Ladybug's eyes widened. "So, Chat Noir basically caused all this?" She said, before groaning in exaggeration. "Oh, that cat!"
I shook my head, sighing. "Yeah, we really need to do something about his crush on you." I said, but the instant the words had left my mouth, I felt guilty. I had no right to say that, especially since I had a crush on Chat Noir myself. I didn't want my personal feelings to get in the way of the team, so I had been trying really hard to bury my crush. Maybe that's why I had gotten so angry at Chat Noir.
"Come on, we can worry about that later, right now we need to go help Chat Noir." Ladybug said, using her yo-yo to jump off the rooftop. Pushing my feelings of guilt deep down, I used my whip to follow her.
After a few moments, we arrived at Theo Barbot's gallery, and saw an open skylight. Nodding at each other, we swung onto the roof and slipped in through the opening. Hearing voices up ahead, Ladybug and I jumped to the floor and dashed into the main area of the gallery, where we found Chat Noir standing over…Chat Noir?
I blinked in surprise. At first glance, the two figures looked exactly alike in every physical aspect. Their hair, their masks, their outfits, all looked identical. They both even had highly pleased expressions. In fact, the only difference between them that I could see was that one of them was wearing chains around his wrists, and the other wasn't.
"There you are." Said the one without chains as we ran up to them.
"Huh, looks like you were right about there being a 'copycat' running around." I commented, crossing my arms.
"Wow, he really does look like you." Ladybug added.
I nodded. The two looked even more identical as I got a closer look at them. They had the same eye color, the same hairstyle. Honestly, it was starting to creep me out a little.
"That's because I am me!" The trapped Chat Noir exclaimed.
I raised an eyebrow at the trapped Chat Noir's tone. Then my gaze landed on the smug expression on the other one's face. Doubt crept into my mind. Something wasn't right.
"Where's his akuma?" Ladybug apparently didn't share my concerns, because she didn't even look at the other Chat Noir.
"Inside his ring, of course." The other Chat Noir replied. "Grab it."
Ladybug reached out for the ring, but paused as the captive Chat Noir's ring beeped, a warning that came after a miraculous' powers had been used.
"Wow, he even has the same powers as you." Ladybug commented.
"Simply amazing, isn't it?" Chat Noir commented.
Ladybug reached for the ring, and I felt my pulse quicken. Alarm bells were beginning to go off in my head. Don't ask me how I knew, maybe it was the look of terror and betrayal on the captive Chat Noir's face, or maybe it was the almost evil grin that the other Chat Noir was sporting, but I suddenly had an overwhelming feeling that Ladybug was making a mistake.
"WAIT!" I shrieked, sticking my hand out, causing everyone to jump.
"Ermine, what is it?" Ladybug asked, having frozen in mid-action.
"I... think…" I stammered, suddenly not feeling as confident as I had a minute ago. But then I saw a look of pure relief appear on the captive Chat Noir's face, and an annoyed expression appear on the other one's face, and I steeled my resolve. "I think we're being tricked." I said, looking at Ladybug.
"What do you mean?" Ladybug looked confused.
"I mean, Chat Noir claims he's caught the impostor, but how do we know it isn't other way around?" I said slowly, narrowing my eyes at the unchained Chat Noir, who blinked in surprise, his smug look long gone.
"Ummm…." Ladybug desperately looked from one Chat Noir to the other.
"Ermine's right, Ladybug." The captured Chat Noir spoke up. "If you still don't believe I'm the real Chat Noir, ask him about our love for each other."
"Huh?" Ladybug looked even more confused than ever, but her hand dropped to her side.
"Have I ever lied to you, bugaboo?" Chat Noir asked with a wink.
My heart sank upon seeing this, but a sense of relief washed over me all the same. Only the real Chat Noir would act this flirty with Ladybug.
Apparently, Ladybug had reached the same conclusion, because she suddenly leaned towards the non-captive hero. "I hope you didn't tell this faker about our special night." She said sweetly.
"Wh-what?" The hero stammered, clearly caught by surprise.
"You know, that night we met on the Eiffel Tower, just the two of us, and we revealed our secret identities to each other." Ladybug continued, speaking in a flirty tone, but now I knew she was only saying this to call out the impostor. If there really had been any such meeting, I would probably have heard about it by now.
"Uh, yes, of course!" The hero quickly nodded, "I could never forget our special night!"
"We never had such a night," Ladybug straightened up. "Copycat!" She declared, pointing at the impostor.
"Busted!" I piped up, smirking triumphantly at the impostor, who glared back at me.
The fake's glare softened, however, when it landed on my partner. "I love you Ladybug! I'm way better than this mangy ally cat!" He snapped as he grabbed the real Chat Noir.
"Oh, please, you're just a pale imitation of Chat Noir, and you know it!" I snapped. Sure, I was still angry at Chat Noir for causing all this, but that didn't mean I was gonna stand back and let someone insult him like that.
"That's right, and besides, liars are losers." Ladybug added. "Chat Noir may annoy us to pieces, but he's never lied to us." Ladybug added.
"He doesn't annoy me." I muttered under my breath.
"Thanks for the compliment, I think." The real Chat Noir said to us.
The impostor growled, clenching his fists. "If I can't have you, then nobody will! CATACLYSM!" He cried out, raising his right hand, which was suddenly charged with destructive energy.
"Let's wrap this up! LUCKY CHARM!" Ladybug threw her yo-yo straight up, a swarm of magical ladybugs flew out, swirled through the air, then disappeared, leaving a spoon behind.
"A spoon?" Ladybug looked confused as she caught it. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Look out!" I warned as Copycat lunged at us. Thinking quickly, I darted forward and grabbed the chains holding down the real Chat Noir and jumped up, holding the chains in front of my like a shield. As I hoped, Copycat's hand touched the chains, rusting them away to powder, freeing the real Chat Noir and using up the impostor's power.
"Excellent work, Ermine!" the real Chat Noir commented as he stood up.
"No problem, now it's my turn. ANIMORPHIX!" I cried, activating my own superpower. A halo of white light emanated from my belt, filling the room, and I could feel my body begin to shift. I felt myself get on all fours, my nose and mouth fused together and elongated. My ears moved towards the top of my head, and I felt a tail sprout above my butt.
A few seconds later, the light faded and I fell to the ground in the form of a large white wolf. I threw back my head and let out a howl.
"A wolf? That's gonna help a lot!" Ladybug commented with a grin. I nodded back at her, feeling pleased with my animal form as well. I felt powerful, like I could run forever, and I felt strong enough to take on a hundred Copycats. Growling, I stalked forward towards the impostor, who backed away.
"Where's his akuma?" I heard Ladybug ask the real Chat Noir.
"Photo in his pocket." Chat Noir replied, and my eyes focused on the two pockets in the chest area of the impostor's uniform. Sure enough, one was open, and one was closed. I heard Chat Noir's ring beep behind me. "Let's make it snappy."
"Ha ha ha!" The impostor started to laugh. "You're going to change back before me!" He cackled before twirling both sticks.
"Less chit chat, more combat!" I snarled, before lunging at the impostor. I lunged at the impostor, who held up his sticks to block me. My wolf jaws snapped shut on one of them, and I twisted to the side. The impostor cried out in surprise as the weapon was ripped from his grasp.
As I darted off to the side with the impostor's weapon still in my mouth, the real Chat Noir lunged at the copycat, but the impostor simply grabbed Chat Noir and threw him back.
Ladybug, deciding to join the fray, jumped over the falling Chat Noir and three her yo-yo at the villain. But Copycat used his remaining stick like a baseball bat and batted the weapon away. Undaunted, Ladybug twisted her body so that her feet were facing forward and spun around like a drill. I saw the impostor's eyes widen as he realized what Ladybug was doing, but it was too late for him to get out of the way.
"OOF!" Copycat grunted as he was knocked back by Ladybug's kick. Seeing my chance to help, I dropped the weapon and lunged forward with a growl as the impostor landed on his back. Seeing me coming, he quickly flipped to his feet and jumped out of my way, only for Ladybug to suddenly appear in front of him and lash out with her foot. He blocked the kick with his remaining stick, then a punch, then another kick, then he shot forward with his other hand, trying to grab her. Ladybug jumped over his hand, landed on his back, and kicked off, using the impostor as a springboard to leap up to one of the support beams, while I lunged at the impostors now unprotected back.
But somehow, Copycat was able to grab me in midair, his hands clasping my front paws, and the next thing I knew, I was flying in a completely different direction. I hit the wall with a yelp and a loud thud and slid down to the flood, feeling somewhat dazed.
"He's pretty good." I had to admit, shaking my head to clear the stars from my vision.
"Yeah, I'd have to agree." Ladybug agreed from her position in the rafters as she watched the real Chat Noir engage the Copycat again.
I heard the real Chat Noir growl as he continued his attack, but the impostor managed to dodge both of his punches, then jabbed out with his own hand, catching the real Chat Noir in the chest and shoving him backwards. Chat Noir stumbled and fell over, but he rolled to land on his knees.
"You don't have to rub it in, you know!" He glared at us.
"Ha!" The Copycat gloated. "I told you I was better than him!"
No sooner had he finished speaking when Ladybug's yo-yo suddenly wrapped around his stick and yanked it out of his hands. "But I'm better than the both of you!" Ladybug boasted as she used her yo-yo to toss the stick to the real Chat Noir.
The hero caught the weapon with a chuckle and made a 'come and get me' motion to his impostor, who growled and glanced around. Spotting the stick that I had dropped earlier, he lunged for it.
"Oh no you don't!" I growled, charging at the impostor. But he got to the stick before I could get to him. Grabbing it, he somersaulted backwards, smirking at me.
Growling, I started to lunge at him, but froze when I heard Chat Noir call. "Out of the way Ermine, he's mine!" I glanced behind me to see Chat Noir walking towards us, his stick raised, almost like a sword.
Realizing that he was probably the better choice to battle this impostor, I reluctantly backed off, watching carefully as the two lookalikes proceeded to duel with each other, their sticks flashing and jabbing like swords. As the duel continued, I could see that each combatant's attacks were getting more and more ferocious. Finally, they both struck each other so hard that each of their sticks went flying. Undeterred, the two Chat Noirs began pummeling each other with their fists, neither side giving an inch.
Seeing that Ladybug had jumped down from the rafters and was watching the battle closely, I trotted over to her.
"So…any ideas?" She asked as we watched one Chat Noir swing at the other, only for the other to block it and swing back.
"I guess, we just…wait and see who wins." I said. "But how will we know which one is the real one?"
No sooner had I finished speaking than one of the Chat Noirs suddenly caught the other one by surprise, showing him back. As the unlucky one staggered and fell to his knees, the other lunged forward, his fist raised.
I heard Ladybug gasp next to me and saw her yo-yo shoot out to wrap around the victor's wrist.
"Hey, it's me!" Chat Noir complained when he saw what had stopped him.
"He's lying! I'm the real one!" The other one shouted.
I grit my teeth in annoyance, how many times was the impostor gonna play this game?
Ladybug must have felt the same way because she groaned. "Ugh, now you're both annoying me to pieces!" She glanced at me. "Ermine, you're a wolf, use your sense of smell to see if you can find the real one!"
"Right!" I nodded at Ladybug, then leapt forward until I was within a few feet of the fighting heroes, who were both eyeing me warily. I sniffed in the direction of one Chat Noir, then the other.
No good, I couldn't detect any difference in their scent. Whoever the impostor was, he even smelled like Chat Noir. Not…that that was a bad thing, to be honest. Chat Noir's scent was…intoxicating, especially now that I was a canine. It smelled like…pine trees and ocean breeze, but there was something else there, a subtler smell that seemed strangely familiar…some kind of...cheese?
Focus! I mentally snapped myself out of my stupor. I could daydream later. Right now, I had a job to do. But since both Chat Noir's smelled alike, how was I going to be able to tell them apart? In desperation, I glanced up at one of the Chat Noir's and my eyes fell on his ring, which was flashing and showed only one pad.
Wait a minute! I thought, as I realized something. The real Chat Noir would have fewer pads than the impostor. The fake had even bragged about it.
My head swung to the other Chat Noir, searching for his ring. As if realizing what I was doing, the hero frowned and tried to hide his ring, but not before I saw three flashing pads on it.
"He's the fake!" I said, baring my teeth at the impostor, who growled back at me.
"Good call, Ermine! Chat Noir, scratch attack!" Ladybug ordered.
"Gladly. I love a good cat fight. Meow!" Chat Noir threw himself at the impostor, with me right behind him.
Growling, the impostor blocked Chat Noir's attack, before shoving him back towards me. I dodged my partner and lunged at the impostor, but he jumped up, just missing my fangs, and I suddenly felt his foot strike me on the hindquarters, knocking me off balance, and I fell to the floor with a pained yelp.
"That' wasn't a very nice thing to do!" I heard Chat Noir comment as I tried to stand up. My hindquarters hurt a lot, but the pain was bearable, and hearing Chat Noir's concern was nice.
"Please, she's a dog! They don't get along with cats!" The Copycat sneered as he blocked another of Chat Noir's punches.
"I know at least twenty videos on the internet that would prove you wrong, buster!" I growled as I readied myself for another attack.
"Time to go akuma fishing!" I heard Ladybug say. I glanced around to see that she had combined her yo-yo and the spoon with Chat Noir's staff and a wooden rod, all taped together into a contraption that resembled a fishing pole. I tilted my head, not quite sure what Ladybug was planning, but then, as I glanced back at the fighting heroes, my gaze landed on the remnants of the bracket that had held Chat Noir while he was chained up, and I suddenly understood.
Growling, I stalked forward, watching the fighting heroes very carefully. I only had one shot at this, and the angle had to be just right.
Seconds later, I saw the Copycat duck under one of Chat Noir's attacks and lash out, catching him in the chest. Chat Noir fell onto his back, and I surged forward, growling angrily.
The Copycat saw me coming and darted to the side, just as I had hoped he would. His foot caught on the bracket and he tripped. With a cry of surprise, he fell, right on top of Chat Noir, who raised his feet at the last minute, so that the impostor landed on them instead.
"Huh?" the Copycat's eyes widened as he realized what had happened, while Chat Noir grinned and winked at him. While the impostor was distracted, I lunged, aiming for the pocket that held the akumatized photograph.
I saw impostor gasp as he noticed me coming, but Chat Noir grabbed his arms and held him, while my wolf jaws snapped shut over the pocket. I felt the cool metal of the zipper between my teeth and yanked my head, hearing a satisfying ziiiiiiip as the zipper was pulled down by my movement.
"NO!" I heard the Copycat yell as Chat Noir suddenly kicked the impostor backwards. But instead of going back, the Copycat went up, hoisted to the ceiling by what I realized was the string of Ladybug's yo-yo.
A dark purple object fluttered from the impostor's pocket. Ah ha! I thought triumphantly as I marked the photograph's progress, then jumped up and snatched it out of the air, chewing the object to pieces in my mouth.
I practically gagged as a foul taste flooded my mouth. It tasted so bitter and so…nasty! I was so busy coughing and cringing that I almost didn't notice the akuma fly out of my mouth and away from me, but Ladybug did.
"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma." She said, whirling her yo-yo around. "Time to de-evilize!" She threw her Yo-yo, capturing the akuma. "Gotcha!" she cheered as the yo-yo flew back into her hand. She opened it and a white butterfly popped out and flew away.
"Bye bye, little butterfly!" Ladybug waved, and I growled as I watched the insect escape out the skylight. I had a feeling that the akuma was returning to Hawkmoth. If only there was some way we could track it!
"MIRACULOUS LADYBUGS!" Ladybug invoked her second power, and a swarm of magical ladybugs emerged from the yo-yo, zipping around us and filling the room. Some of the swarm headed out the open window, no doubt to return the stolen Mona Lisa from wherever Copycat had hidden it, while the rest of the swarm swirled around each of us. As the swarm cleared, I could feel the pain in my hindquarters suddenly leave me and even the horrible taste in my mouth was gone as well.
But I could still remember that bitter sensation that had assaulted my taste buds, and I had a feeling that taste was going to stay with me forever.
As the ladybug swarm disappeared, my body was suddenly haloed in white light, signifying my transformation back into human form. Sure enough, when the light faded, I was human, and I rose to my feet, checking over myself.
"Ermine, are you okay?" I looked up to see Ladybug dart over to me. "Copycat kicked you pretty hard."
"Meh, I'm fine." I waved her concern away. "But the pain I felt from his kick wasn't nearly as bad as the taste of that akumatized object. Ulghh!" I pretended to gag, sticking out my tongue.
"Oh really?" Ladybug asked, giggling.
"Yeah, it tasted so nasty!" I continued to rant as Ladybug continued to laugh. "That's the last time I let anything akumatized anywhere near my mouth!"
"YIKES!" A sudden yelp made us both look up and I realized, to my horror, that I had forgotten about Theo. Now de-akumatized, and no longer being supported by Ladybug's yo-yo, he had fallen from the ceiling towards the hard floor below. But before Ladybug and I could move, Cat Noir dove forward and caught the sculptor just before he hit the ground.
"Nice catch!" Ladybug commented as the two of us ran over.
"I'm so glad you could tell the real cat from the fake one." Chat Noir replied as he set Theo down on the ground.
Ladybug giggled. "Once I figured out which cat was in really in love with me, it was a no-brainer."
Biting my lip to dampen down my feelings, I decided to check on Theo, who was now sitting up, holding his head. "Are you alright Mr. Barbot?" I asked.
Theo looked up at me. "Ermine? What…what am I doing here?" He glanced around, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "Ladybug?"
I followed his gaze and saw that Ladybug was now walking towards us, while Chat Noir was sprinting in the other direction.
Where's he going? I wondered, then I realized that Chat Noir was probably about to transform back and smiled. Now maybe Theo would learn the truth about what was going on, with no jealous kitty to interrupt things.
"I'm sorry I couldn't make it this morning, Theo." Ladybug said as she knelt beside us. "I had…something important to take care of."
When Theo's expression didn't change, I felt like I should add something. "You see, in addition to our hero duties, we have civilian commitments too." I explained. "Commitments we need to attend to in order to keep our identities safe. You understand, don't you?"
Theo smiled and nodded. "Yes, I understand completely." He said to me before turning to Ladybug. "Would…you be willing to autograph this for me?" He asked, holding up the restored picture.
Ladybug beamed. "Of course I can! You've got some real artistry here. You've really captured my essence." Taking a pen from the sculptor, Ladybug signed the picture with a flourish, causing me to toll my eyes.
"Thank you, Ladybug." Theo said as he took the picture back. "And don't worry. I also understand what's going on between you and Chat Noir. It's okay"
Ladybug's eyes widened at this, and she glanced up at me. I gave a firm nod. Theo needed to hear the truth and it would sound best coming from Ladybug herself.
Ladybug nodded back, then looked back down at Theo. "Mr. Bardot, I'm not sure I understand. What do you mean by 'the thing between me and Chat Noir?'" She asked.
Theo looked confused. "You and Chat Noir are…close, aren't you?" He asked. "I mean, Chat Noir said you were…a thing."
Ladybug snorted and shook her head. "Chat Noir and I are partners, and nothing more. That being said…" She quickly added, upon seeing a somewhat eager expression appear on Theo's face. "I'm afraid my heart already belongs to someone else, and I need to be faithful to that person. You understand, don't you?"
Theo seemed to deflate upon hearing this and my heart ached for the poor guy. His crush had just been crushed, and not in a very subtle way. But, as painful as this was, it had to be done.
After a moment, Theo looked back up and nodded. "Yeah, I understand, and thanks for being honest with me, Ladybug."
"No problem." Ladybug said, then, to my surprise, she leaned closer to Theo. "However, I do feel kind of bad for missing out on your unveiling so…" She suddenly leaned over even more and kissed Theo on the cheek. "…I hope this will help you accept my apology."
My eyes widened in shock, as did Theo's as his hand slowly rose to cup his cheek.
"Wow, and I thought Chat Noir was a flirt." I said teasingly. "Who knew you could be such a minx, Ladybug?"
Ladybug giggled as we straightened up. Then Ladybug's Miraculous began to beep, followed by mine seconds later.
The two of us exchanged a glance, and nodded at each other, then Ladybug turned to Theo.
"We have to get going. Thanks again Mr. Barbot!" She said before dashing towards the open skylight.
"See you around!" I waved goodbye to the still-dazed-looking sculptor before dashing off after Ladybug. Using my whip, I swung up after my partner and climbed through the skylight.
I found Ladybug waiting for me.
"Thanks for helping with the explanation, Ermine." She said.
"Of course," I replied, crossing my arms. "I just hope this civilian commitment you spoke of was as important as you say."
Ladybug's smile faded for a moment, and what looked like panic crossed her face, but it was gone a second later.
"Trust me, it was." She said, and as her miraculous beeped for a second time, she added "And it's time I got back to it. Bug out!" She said in farewell before running off.
"Good luck!" I called after Ladybug, who waved to show she had heard me. Then I dashed off in a different direction.
After checking the clock on the screen in my whip, I used my tool to swing back towards the hotel. I landed in an alleyway near the building, just as my miraculous beeped again.
"Show's Over!" I said, and I swiftly transformed back into Alice.
"Well, I think that went over very well." Minkk said as she flew out of my belt buckle and landed in my waiting hand.
"If you say so." I said as I rummaged around in my purse, before pulling out a wrapped chocolate bar. I broke a piece off for Minkk, and then had a piece myself. "C'mon,I'd better get inside before my dad wonders what happened to me." I said, stuffing the chocolate back into my purse. Minkk nodded and dove into my bag as I jogged towards the hotel.
However, it turned out I needn't have bothered. My father was too busy feeling relieved over the returned Mona Lisa to wonder where I had gone, and I was able to easily dodge his questions. Feeling tired and put out, I decided to head to bed right after dinner, having already finished my homework. My father, in the middle of a discussion with what sounded like Officer Roger, just nodded when I told him.
I went up to my room, changed into my pajamas, and then lay on my bed with a sigh.
"Alice, is something wrong?" Minkk asked from her position next to me.
I sighed again. "I don't know Minkk, I've been trying to bury my feelings for Chat Noir, but when he lied to that sculptor...they just...came back up again." I admitted, feeling my face flush a little. "I was really mean to Chat Noir today and I feel like a real jerk about it now."
"Yeah, you were a bit of a jerk." Minkk admitted, causing me to give her a flat look. "But it sounds like you weren't the only one acting with jealous feelings today." She quickly added.
"Yeah, Chat Noir can be an envious little monster when he wants to be." I chuckled. "He even has the green eyes down!"
Minkk blinked, looking confused. "What do you mean?"
"It's an old saying." I explained, "Whenever someone feels envious of someone else, we say they've been bitten by the green-eyed monster of jealousy."
"Oh, now I get it!" Minkk giggled. "And his jealousy rubbed off on you, so I guess he did 'bite' you, in a way."
My smile faded at Minkk's words and as she turned out the light and I rolled over and closed my eyes, I found myself thinking about Chat Noir and I. I loved him, but he loved Ladybug, who appeared to have a crush on Adrien, who was my best friend and partner.
Oooh! Why did life have to make things so complicated?
Speaking of life, I wondered if Marinette had succeeded in doing something about getting her embarrassing voicemail message out of Adrien's phone. He had called earlier from his house to say that his phone was missing and to ask if I had seen it. I told him I hadn't, but I had chuckled as I hung up, shaking my head with a smile. Marinette must have stolen Adrien's phone after all. The only question now was, how, and when, the girl would return it?
Sure enough, As I entered the classroom the next morning, the first thing I saw was Marinette slip out of her seat. While Adrien was talking with Nino, the raven-haired girl slipped something into Adrien's bag.
As Marinette returned to her seat, I started towards them. Alya spotted me, and I silently raised an eyebrow before motioning, with my eyes, to Adrien's bag.
Ayla gave me a sheepish smile, and I rolled my eyes, causing her to chuckle.
"Oh, Hey Alice!" Nino said as I drew even with them, causing Adrien to turn around.
"Hi Alice." His face brightened when he saw me, and I smiled sweetly at him as I headed past his desk.
"Hey Adrien, I…Oops!" My foot 'accidentally' hit Adrien's bag, which tipped over, and his phone fell out.
"Huh?" Adrien glanced down, and his eyes widened when he spotted his phone. "What in the…?"
"I'm so sorry, Adrien!" I apologized,
"My phone!" Adrien straightened up, device in hand. "But I already looked in here a thousand times!" He exclaimed in confusion.
Nino chuckled. "You need some time off. Hey, I know, let's go to the movies tonight, all three of us."
"Hey, that's a great idea!" I grinned, then caught the eye of Alya and gave her the tiniest of nods.
"Hey you guys, mind if a few friends tag along?" Alya called, causing the boys to turn to face her.
"Sure thing!" Nino said as I nodded in agreement.
"The more the merrier." Adrien added, causing Marinette to literally jump for joy.
I caught Alya's eye again and winked. The girl winked back at me and we exchanged grins. We hadn't given up yet. We were going to see Adrien and Marinette get together if it killed us!
And Cut!
Honestly, I was planning to do Timebreaker first, but when Dynaman suggested a possible opening for the next chapter I found that it fits in better with Copycat, so I decided to go with this instead. As always, special thanks to Draconos 13 for being my beta-reader.
Before I say anything else, I have a request to make. From now on, I would appreciate it if you would PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS ABOUT A STORY IN THE COMMENT SECTION OF THE STORY THAT THEY ARE ABOUT! I know that some of you have posted reviews for this story in other stories I've written, such as the Water Dragon, and while I loved the comments, the fact that they were not about that particular story was kind of annoying. Lovely, but annoying.
Ok, lets keep moving! First of all, let me say I'm glad that so many of you want to see this story keep going. I will try my very best not to disappoint you!
This one is a short chapter, primarily because I didn't really see how I could expand it without making it sound long and boring. Besides, I think the twists I threw in are pretty good anyway. I really liked how Ermine blew up at Chat Noir, especially after she admits she's been trying so hard to bury her feelings for Chat Noir. The irony of this was not planned when I started writing this chapter, and I like how it just fits in so nicely.
In terms to something Draconos 13 posted, I, too, have always wondered what kept Ladybug and Chat Noir from figuring out each other's identities. References are made to both characters having similar appearances (Ladybug and Marientte both have blue eyes and black hair, while Adrien and Chat Noir both have blonde hair) and behaviors (Both Marinette and Ladybug seem to act funny around Adrien, while both Chat Noir and Adrien are allergic to feathers), but no effort is made by either to identify the other.
I suspect this is because these heroes tend to have mirror personalities then they do in civilian form. For example, Marinette is klutzy and babbly in civilian form, but poised and determined in hero form, while Adrien is quiet and reserved in civilian form while loud and jokey in hero form. I've actually started doing a bit of that myself with Alice's character. She is more kind and patient in civilian form and more aggressive and temperamental as Ermine. Whether or not this will become a concept later on, we'll have to wait and see.
BTW, PopperPaper's mention of a 'love square' was rather interesting. I've never heard this term before and I'm not sure I understand it. Anyone wanna clarify it for me?
Well, I think that's it for now. My stomach is pushing up against my backbone, so I'd better go get something to eat. Keep reading and responding if you wanna see more, and don't be afraid to suggest things you want to see. I just may end up incorporating them into future chapters!
Until Next Time!