Narrator: The best of friends...
(Alya shows Marinette a funny post of Ladybug. They laugh.)
Narrator: Can become... the worst of enemies!
(Rena Rouge fights against Mariposa.)
Narrator: Will good continue to win against evil? Miraculous! Coming up next!
Really went TV show up there. Anyways... enjoy the chapter!
Another day... Another Akuma Attack...
While Queen Bee, Rena Rouge and Azula Paonne deal with the villain-of-the-day, Chat Noir, Carapace and Ladybug were going up against the Butterflies.
"Is it me, or you're being more Chat-ty than usual?" Mariposa teases, earning an eye-roll from her "mentor".
Hawk Moth never understood what his "protégé" sees in the leader of heroes. To be honest; he admires the cat hero's sense of justice.
It's the mistake of his predecessor he could never forgive.
The younger Butterfly made another Chat-related pun, earning more groans from both the cat hero and her "mentor". Sometimes he wishes his dear, sweet niece would crush on a normal, every-day teenage boy. Like Adrien Agreste.
Somehow she manages to subdue Chat Noir in a waltz-like position. The Team leader was saved from the awkwardness of it all by Ladybug's yo-yo.
Mariposa glares at Ladybug as she clutches her bruised right hand.
Meanwhile, Azula threw her fan at the snake charmer villain, knocking his snake-like flute out of his hands. It took longer to purify the Akuma on account that everyone, including the Butterflies, had unknowingly turned the fight into a serious, kinda ironic, game of Hot Potato with the akumatized object.
"Why don't you bad guys just give up?" Ladybug taunted.
"And miss out on messing with you guys? As if!" Mariposa shot back with a grin, "Besides; You could never win against us."
"What?!" Queen Bee exclaims, "We beat you everyday."
"And yet... we're still here." Mariposa gave a mocking bow to the heroes before she and Hawk Moth disappeared in a swarm of white butterflies. Ladybug could only glare and growl at where the villains once stood.
"Ugh! Who do those Butterflies think they are, akumatizing someone early in the morning?!" Lila complains as she, Adrien, Chloe and Sabrina walk to school.
"Don't ask us." Adrien shot back, "We've been fighting them for months and we're still nowhere near taking back the Butterfly Miraculous."
"They're probably making fun of us while thinking of a new plan right about now." Sabrina bitterly remarks.
"Team Miraculous is the BEST!" Marinette watches the recent Akuma Attack on her phone, smiling widely as her favourite group of heroes valiantly defeated the villain-of-the-day, "Why do the Butterflies have to do their dirty work early in the morning? Don't they care about the welfare of how people start their day?"
"Yeah." Zen replies nervously as he walks beside her, "If only they knew..."
"If I had superpowers, I would teach those two villains a thing or two about messing with the people of Paris!" Marinette declared, punching the air, and eventually a nearby post, which, upon impact, slightly bruised her right hand.
"We should head to the nurse before going to class." Zen suggests as Marinette clutches her bruised hand.
"Nah. The pain subsided." Marinette assured after a few seconds. She notices a few of her classmates and waves at them.
Today's Akuma Attack made Adrien a little bit grumpy. That immediately disappeared when Marinette waved at him.
Marinette... Her undying loyalty and faith in the heroes make defeating every day Akumas worth it.
Why is it that whenever she wants to talk to Adrien, she always have to get in the way?
Lila glares as Adrien waves back to their No. 1 fan. She suddenly notices Marinette's bruised right hand.
Earlier today, she just bruised someone's right hand with her yo-yo...!
Lila's glare intensified as she watches Marinette enter the halls of school.
Ms. Mendeleiev had assigned the class an experiment. She paired Juleka with Marinette. Juleka was carrying beakers to the table when she suddenly tripped, sending the beakers flying.
Luckily for her, Marinette caught them just in time. Meanwhile, Lila was too busy watching her to focus on how much of the chemical she was pouring on top of the other.
No one got hurt, but the entire lab was filled with smoke.
During Gym Class, everyone was instructed to run 5 laps around the field. By the second lap, everyone was slowing down and panting heavily.
Marinette, on the other hand, just kept running with a smile on her face. Lila panted heavily, but nevertheless glared.
Everyone in Dance Class gathered together to watch Marinette dance beautifully. She leaps so high up into the air they were afraid she would fall and break parts of her body.
Luckily for them, she landed safely, and gracefully, on her feet and did a pose, earning her a round of applause.
Someone hiding inside a trash can did not agree with them.
Why did she think it was a good idea to hide in a trash can in the first place?
It was lunch time. Lila followed Marinette outside. Just as her blue-haired classmate put her tray down, she spots a small white butterfly hovering before her and allows it to land on her finger.
This was it! This explains everything! This-
"What are you doing?"
Lila flinched before dragging Alya behind the bush she was hiding. When Alya saw Marinette, she warns Lila, "If this is a scheme against my friend, which has something to do with your obsession with you-know-who-obviously... I'm telling his dad what Ladybug really did to Prince Daring last Saturday."
"He was all over me!" Lila protested in whispers, "I am just now certain that Madam Class Representative is our 'favourite' Public Enemy No. 2!"
Alya took time to process what she just said. Once she did, she laughs, making it clear to Lila that she doesn't believe her.
"Alya?" Marinette heard her friend's laugh and found her hiding behind a bush, "What are you two doing over there?"
"Nothing!" Alya replies, still laughing. Her laughs mellowed down, "Lila was just telling me a very funny joke. So funny, I suddenly can't remember what it was all about!"
Marinette raises an eyebrow. She helps her friend out of the bush, "Well... whatever it was, maybe you can tell me after lunch."
She fails to notice Lila shooting daggers at her. The Italian girl couldn't believe one of her teammates didn't believe her. Then again... she was "friends" with that little faker(!).
At least the others will believe her.
Lila frowns and crosses her arms in disappointment. The Team have agreed to meet up at Adrien's mansion for study session and training. When she got there, she told everyone else her speculation. And they laugh hysterically at her.
"I knew Chloe would 50% believe me or not. But you guys?" She shot her arms forward in disbelief.
"Giiirrrl!" Sabrina lifts her glasses to wipe away a tear, "You're talking about the girl who secretly helped us countless of times."
"The same dudette who distracted a bunch of knights just to save our backs." Nino, who fell on his back earlier and was laughing on the floor, added.
"The very same girl who helped clear our names when we were framed by an Akuma." Adrien adds as he helps Nino up.
"And why would she want to beat up her beloved heroes- especially Queen Bee - on almost a daily basis?" Chloe points out. She suddenly realized what she just said and groans, "Great. I suddenly find her likeable."
"She's playing us." Lila insists, "She's buttering us up so that we'll get too mellow to counter her surprise attack."
"Who's buttering you up?"
Lila turns to the source of the voice. Finally. Someone who will believe her.
"Marinette, Sir." She gives her best worrying look, "We believe she's Mariposa."
Gabriel's eyes widened in shock. Marinette...? Mariposa...? The daughter of two of his dearest friends...?
He has always seen her as a sweet, kind, and generous girl; always lending a hand to those in need... Always helping her parents at the bakery...
He recalls one particular moment when the families of those who were lost on the Phantom Night gathered together in order to pray for the safe return of their love ones. He was among the families, along with Adrien, Nathalie, and the Gorilla. Marinette was also there, with her uncle and grandparents.
He remembers how sad, how down-casted she looked. Her head was bowed down, but he could see the tears flowing down.
He then remembers the time when he was Akumatized into the Collector; How brave she was to reach out to him, begging him to not succumb deeper into the Butterflies' control.
He manages to address one of his pupils calmly, "Do you have proof?"
Lila wishes he didn't ask that. It was bad enough her teammates didn't believe her. Luckily, she does have proof.
"She was talking to a white butterfly." She shows a picture on her phone.
"Ever since the Garden Club replanted, a lot of butterflies have been landing on many people." Sabrina points out.
"Especially Zen." Nino added, remembering how Zen was covered from head to toe with butterflies. (He swears that guy was more animal magnet than chick magnet.)
Lila looks offended, "We're suppose to be a team! And teammates-!"
"Should have concrete proof of their claims." Gabriel interrupted with a serious tone, "Don't just jump into conclusions Mademoiselle Rossi. Or you'll have to face the consequences."
Lila was speechless. She wanted to protest, but was wise enough to keep her mouth shut. She didn't bring the topic back up during the Team meeting, but she still couldn't let go of the day's events that led to her revelation.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but don't you think your jealousy is getting out of hand?" Sabrina pointed out during study time.
This made Lila look up from reading her text book, "What are you saying?"
"Well last week you tried to frame Marinette for a chemical mishap during Science Class." Alya points out.
"Lucky for us, she was smart and quick enough to use a ruler to open the windows and save us from inhaling the chemicals." Nino added.
"And that time you faked an injury just to get her to do the heavy work?" Chloe reminded, "Gotta admit; Never knew someone could finish an entire chapter and craft a diagram in one day."
"It's Marinette." Alya points out, "She always have time to craft."
"And bake." Plagg drools, fantasizing one of his favourite Camembert Tart courtesy of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery.
"What are you guys saying?" Lila asks suspiciously.
"Don't you think your jealousy is getting in the way of wrongfully accusing an innocent person for one of our long-time enemies?" Adrien asks.
"First of all; I am not jealous!" Lila angrily slams her book on the table, "Second; We finally have proof of Mariposa's civilian self and you guys don't believe me."
"That wasn't even concrete proof." Sabrina points out.
"Just one picture isn't enough to say a thousand words." Duusu adds.
"Then we'll get more pictures." Lila insists, "A hundred-!"
"Why are you so insistent on believing that Marinette is Mariposa?" Wayzz questions.
"Why are you guys still defending her?" Lila shoots back.
"She's been supporting us since Day 1." Alya reminds everyone of their first debut as heroes, "She was there the same time Mariposa was there."
"She can't be two people at the same place and at the same time." Chloe points out, "She can't even be in two places at the same time."
"It's part of her powers." Lila kept insisting, "You guys are just being too stupid to look pass that-!"
"Okay that's it!" An angry Sabrina stops her, "This jealousy is getting out of hand."
"Marinette is too good of a hero to be Miss I'm-A-Pretty-Butterfly-Princess, but you're too ungrateful to see the awesome things she has done for us." Nino angrily points out.
"For Pete's sake! She even sacrificed her life for us." Alya adds.
"Literally." Trixx emphasizes.
Lila groans. She knew Marinette was too good to deceive her friends to fall for her facade, "And what if she's really Mariposa?"
"If she is, shame on us." Adrien replies, "If not, shame on you. Besides; If she really is Mariposa..."
The doors of the church were pushed open, revealing the beautiful Bride, happily carried in the arms of her handsome Groom. Everyone in the pews were cheering internally as they watch the lucky couple walk the aisle.
Nino wipes a tear from his eye, happy that his bro was about to tie the knot with the woman of his life. Chloe was bawling her eyes out, but no matter how much tears were ruining her mascara, she was happy for her dear childhood friend. Sabrina was shedding less tears than her, but was still happy for her friends. Alya cried as she took pictures of the happy couple.
The only one who wasn't happy on this momentous occasion was Lila. Flanking both her sides were the Gorilla and Nathalie. Every now and then, they would check up on her while watching the happy couple.
Suddenly the doors burst open, and a powerful wind knocks down the Bride and Groom. When the Groom regained his senses, his Bride was now in the arms of another man.
"I object to this union." Hawk Moth announced before crashing through the roof of the church, taking the Bride with him.
"NO-!"
"OOOOOOOO-!"
"Did my do have to be that neat?" Nino complains as he watches his friend scream.
"Do I have to cry that much?" Chloe complained as well.
"That's years later. Why do I still have that old model of my phone?" Alya adds.
"There were some inconsistencies in the last scene." Sabrina points out. Lila agrees by nodding her head.
"And where were we?" An annoyed Plagg asked, his fellow Kwamis floating beside him.
"Is he fantasizing about his dream wedding gone wrong?" Gabriel asks from his office.
"Yes!" The Team, sans Adrien, replied.
The next day, Marinette was reading one of her text books while on her way to school. She was too busy reading to notice the incoming car...
Luckily for her, Zen pulled her away to safety.
"Just a normal every-day girl." Nino affirms as he and his teammates watched the scene.
"Who... likes to collect things from us." Adrien adds uncomfortably, remembering what Chloe mentioned when they were fighting Evillustrator.
"Honestly... I'm okay with that." Sabrina remembers that time - the time when Marinette showed appreciation for her alter-ego. No one had ever shown high admiration for her before until she became a superhero. Sure it was just her magical self, but it was nice to know that someone like Marinette was grateful for all the wonderful and heroic acts she performed.
And yet... ever since Lila voiced her suspicions... whenever she looks at Marinette's face, she could also see the masked face of the one who constantly makes fun of her alter-ego, her Sentimonsters, and her sense of fashion in an almost weekly basis.
Sabrina didn't want to believe Lila's bias and jealous claims, but she also doesn't want Marinette to be wrongfully accused of such claims. A tall stack of books in her arms, making it almost hard for her to see her way, she approaches her classmate. When she was just a short distance from her, the redhead tripped. As she expected, Marinette caught one of her fallen books, and her, just in time.
"You okay Sabrina?" Marinette asked in concern.
"More than okay. After what you did." Sabrina thought in relief.
Chloe knew what her friend did, and it made her approach the two and grab few of Sabrina's books from her arms, "I'm so sorry Sabrina. If I wasn't so slow, I would have helped you sooner."
"Wow Chloe." Marinette sounds surprised and impressed, " Last semester, you couldn't even carry one textbook to help anyone. Guess Queen Bee turned out to be a great role model."
Chloe mentally wishes her classmate didn't see the faint red shade that appeared on her face. The way Marinette smiled was not like the smile of the self-absorbed maniac who just loves to mess with her fashion sense.
Lila's suspicions was not contagious, yet Nino finds himself approaching Marinette with a look of betrayal, "Why didn't you tell me my last music was tasteless?"
"What?!" Marinette gave a sheepish smile, "Where did you hear that from?"
A memory of Carapace catching Marinette admitting to her uncle that the last of Nino's music she had listen to was tasteless stops Nino from replying. After recollecting his thoughts in order not to reveal any classified information, he finally replies, "Akuma Attack."
"It's not that I think your last music was tasteless..." Marinette tries explaining herself, "It's just... I didn't want to hurt your feelings and your music was too precious to complain about."
Nino wanted to keep pretending to be disappointed, but the honesty in Marinette's voice made him remember the times she helped support his music, "It's cool Dudette. It's not like you meant to hurt my feelings. Or call me 'lame'. Or 'Shellhead'. Or 'Slow Joke'. Or tried to break every bone in my-!"
His trip to Mariposa-Bruising-Him-Physically-And-Mentally Lane was stopped by Alya's foot on top of his. His forced smile to hide the pain was Alya's cue to hesitantly test her friend.
She didn't want to. Alya knew her since her first day in school. Her classmate was so brave standing up to the Butterflies, and has hated those villains since Day 1. Both Marinette and Mariposa were there at the same time, yet her experiences in reading comics and watching shows about heroes made her think of a bunch of ridiculous theories; Separated twins, doppelgängers, clones, alternate universe, etc.
There was only one way to settle this, and the answer lies in her phone.
"I don't know about this Rena Rouge fanart, Girl." She looks at a recent post in the Miraculous Blog, pretending to be skeptical, "It makes her look like a bad guy."
Marinette gasps in disbelief, "Alya Margarita Césaire! You of all people should know the many selfless sacrifices Rena Rouge made just to protect this town from the real bad guys!"
Alya was touched, and was almost close to crying as her best friend enumerated her alter-ego's heroic deeds. She even mentioned the time Rena Rouge helped stopped the villain who had the power to slow people down. All her alter-ego did was trip the villain so that Azula and Chat can stop him, but Marinette made it sound like she was the true hero of that day.
Ignoring how envious he was of his crush praising his teammate instead of him... Adrien approaches Marinette. The moment she looked at him, he starts fantasizing their Wedding Day...
Which then fast-forwards to events where he'll have to fight his future wife in an almost daily basis without her knowing her future husband is one of her mortal enemies.
Well that ruined his wedding fantasy.
Adrien mentally shakes the thought out of his head. Marinette and Mariposa were just two very, different people. Marinette is sweet and kind; Mariposa is sassy and diabolical. Marinette is a pure-hearted princess who looks out for others; Mariposa is a spoiled brat who thinks Paris is her personal playground. Marinette respects peoples' personal spaces; Mariposa likes to get near Chat Noir...
Actually, it might not be that bad of idea IF Marinette is Mariposa. But she's NOT, and everyone has to accept that.
Someone just couldn't accept the fact that Marinette is NOT MARIPOSA!
Ladybug suddenly just appeared out of nowhere and almost attacked Marinette with her yo-yo. She missed and Marinette ran away, confused as to why one of Paris' greatest heroes is attacking her.
Everyone within the vicinity, who just witnessed one of their heroes attack an innocent civilian, gasped in disbelief. The girl didn't even looked akumatized. So why does it look like Ladybug wants to shred her to pieces?
Adrien and his friends watch as their teammate ran after her "nemesis". They just couldn't believe one of their own would go as far as attacking a civilian in public just to prove a point. An unjustifiable point that is.
They transformed and went after both of them. They could hear Marinette telling Ladybug that she wasn't Mariposa. Of course the spotted heroine wasn't listening and kept trying to capture her with her yo-yo.
She manages to land a hit on the poor girl's wrist. The same wrist she wore her precious bracelet on. The impact unclasped the bracelet from her wrist and it fell on the ground.
"This has gone too far enough!" Chat stopped Ladybug's yo-yo with his staff.
"She's a villain!" Ladybug angrily insists.
"She's been helping us you psycho!" Azula defends.
"This is not how a hero acts!" Rena scolds.
Ladybug scoffs, "And she does? She doesn't even have powers at this state! She's just a weak, powerless busybody who should stay away from superheroes' business!"
Everyone else within the vicinity, including the heroes, gasped louder than the last group of witnesses. Marinette could feel her eyes watering up. All she ever wanted was to help her city's heroes, and now one of them is calling her weak and labeling her as a villain.
Someone claps. Rena Rouge knows that clap; the clap of a villainous mastermind.
Ladybug looks up and couldn't believe her eyes. She refuses to believe her eyes!
"This has got to be your best performance yet, Bug." Mariposa hovered in the air with a smug look on her masked face. A white butterfly lands on her finger, "Just one last teeny, tiny detail to add to make it more... astounding!"
She kisses the white butterfly, turning it black, then sends it to a broken Marinette.
"NO!" Chat rushes to use his Cataclysm on the Akuma, but he was too late.
Everyone could only watch with horror as Team Miraculous' No.1 fan was transformed into a black-clad, masked villain. The new villain-of-the-day grabbed Chat by the wrist of his destruction-energized hand.
Chat suddenly feels his strength diminishing, as if... she was draining him of energy.
The destructive energy emitting from his hand disappeared. His akumatized dream girl tossed him aside, resulting in him to form a large crack on the wall.
Azula Paonne threw her fan at the villain, but she dodges it swiftly and pounces at the peacock heroine like a cat. Just like Chat, she could also feel the villain draining her of energy. Luckily for her, Queen Bee kicks the villain off her.
While Queen Bee went to check on Azula and Chat, the rest of the heroes chased after Masquerage. After Chat regained his senses, he plans to go after Mariposa and Masquerage, but then he suddenly trips. He gets up, only to trip again. Once he gets up, he shakes off every negative feelings (doubt, anxiety, fear that the love of his life is one of his greatest foes, etc.) off of him.
Then he trips again. On top of Queen Bee.
Unmindful of the awkwardness her teammates were in, Azula contacted the others via her hand fan, "Guys! Where are you?"
She could hear fighting from the other side, complete with the sounds of bones cracking, and Carapace screaming like a girl whenever he is tossed in the air. (He keeps denying that fact.)
"Not a good time for a phone call!" Rena Rouge replies. After that, the peacock heroine could hear the sound of glass breaking.
"In the L-!" Carapace couldn't finish. The connection was cut off after that.
Even if her teammate couldn't finish, Azula knew where they are, base on the sound of gla-!
The peacock heroine clutches her suddenly-aching head. And for some reason, just a second ago, she knew where the others are. But now she doesn't?
Masquerage did drain a bit of strength from her. Could she have also-?!
She gains another headache. What was she just thinking seconds ago?
"Did you get where they are?" Queen Bee asks.
"I..." Azula was unsure to reply, "I have no idea."
"When in doubt, follow the sound of stuff breaking." Chat grinned and grabbed Azula's hand. He leaps into the air, and fell on his face. Azula collided with his back.
A confused Queen Bee could only say, "Need a lift?"
In some Akuma Attacks like this, Rena Rouge wishes her best friend wasn't smart enough to figure out which chemicals to use to hinder the heroes' efforts to purify her. She was only half as knowledgeable as her friend. So imagine the fox heroine's surprise when her opponent was able to make it rain inside the laboratory without turning the sprinklers on.
Masquerage manages to find a tank of liquid nitrogen which she uses to freeze the floor, trapping the heroes in instant ice. They were half frozen, but while they can still move their arms and heads, their bottom parts were stuck to the ground.
"Maybe she's not Mariposa..." Carapace states, only elbowed by Rena Rouge, "She's definitely NOT Mariposa. But does she have to be evil-genius smart?"
"That's what villains do!" Ladybug snaps angrily.
Mariposa chortles, pointing at Masquerage, then at herself, "You think, she's ME?"
"Stop trying to deceive us!" Ladybug snaps at the villain, "You duplicated yourself just to trick us into thinking you're some sweet goody-two-shoes while the other you cause chaos wherever you please!"
Mariposa looks impress, "Wow. That's some interesting theory you came up with. One teeny, tiny detail: My power's transformation. Not duplication. If it were, I would have created an army of villains! And they would kick your butts miserably! (Laughs, then sighs.) If only..."
While Mariposa daydreams with a soft yet maniacal look on her face, the heroes were disturbed at just the thought of fighting an army of akumatized villains.
But Mariposa just said she can't duplicate herself... So no villain army.
That also means Marinette and Mariposa are DEFINITELY two DIFFERENT people!
Ladybug couldn't accept it. Mariposa was lying. She and Marinette were the same person. She was deceiving them all and only the spotted heroine could see through her lies!
All that rage and frustration gave her the strength to break free from the ice. She charges at Masquerage, yo-yo violently spinning ready.
Masquerage just grabbed the spotted heroine by the arm and tosses her aside, knocking down a shelf full of laboratory apparatuses on top of her. For Carapace, there was something familiar about how Mariposa's lackey executed that move. Meanwhile, Ladybug's crash alerted Chat, Azula and Queen Bee, which led them to the laboratory.
"At least we don't have to go to the library." Queen Bee remarks.
Chat rushes to free Rena Rouge and Carapace. Unfortunately for him, he slips on the ice, making him collide with the wall on the opposite end.
Queen Bee was confused, and a little bit annoyed. Chat was never this clumsy. She swings her trompo, releasing Rena Rouge and Carapace from the ice. Reunited, the 6 heroes then surround Masquerage.
"Oh no. I'm surrounded. This isn't fun anymore." Masquerage pouts. She suddenly grins sinisterly, "Guess it's time to even the playing field."
A familiar blue feather appears in her hand, surprising Azula and giving her a headache. Her akumatized classmate sends it flying towards Mariposa. The younger Butterfly raises the tip of her sword-stick, allowing the feather to land and merge with it.
Seconds later, a part of the wall of the school crumbles. From it, a large shadow flew into the sky. The dark purple monstrous-sized butterfly creature flaps its mighty wings as its creators stood proudly on its back.
"People of Paris get ready!" Masquerage announces, "The party of the century is starting rightnow!"
At that moment, every civilian began screaming in terror as the wings of the monstrous butterfly flap, creating strong winds that blow away and/or destroy buildings.
Chat Noir and his teammates could only stare at the horror before them. What in Miraculous just happened? And how can they stop this?!
I, HATE, MIRACULOUS!
It used to be so fun and heartwarming, but the writers HAD to ruin it with the last two episodes of Season 4.
I'm sticking to fanfictions. If they intentionally plan to make the show bad and make us write better fics just to get new ideas to make the show better... SHAME!
Anyway... This is gonna be a two-parter. I just realized one page wasn't gonna cut it. Guess I could see this as a special, considering the villain-of-the-day.