CHAPTER 2:

As soon as Tikki and Plagg have eaten enough, Marinette and Blair transformed and rushed over to help Bunnix round up all the time-lost apparitions.

The first apparition they run into was Gorizilla. He was huge and loud and angrily stomping straight at them. A man was desperately trying to run away from him but a stray debris tripped him up. Gorizilla was uncaring of crushing anyone in his path.

They were too far away for Ladybug to swoop down and save the civilian nor could she pull back Gorizilla from this angle. Ladybug was running out of time to save him.

A black sphere crackling with chaotic energy flew past her. It hit the pavement by Gorizilla's feet, trapping him in a pitfall.

Behind her, Blair stood poised with her arm held out in a finger gun. Her visage flickered. Then, it was Chat Blanc who stood there. Stone-faced, arm extended with a Cataclysm ready to fire at her.

"Ladybug! Get the akuma! I'll cover for you!"

Ladybug shook off that vision in her head and refocused on the present. She proceeded to get the civilian to a safer distance.

As promised, Blair did cover for her by sniping at Gorizilla any time he tries to pull himself out of the pitfall. Ladybug tried not to flinch at every Cataclysm that went flying over her head.

Ladybug purified Gorizilla and he turned back into Adrien's bodyguard. She directed him to go to the stadium - that's her plan for now. Get as many time-lost apparitions in one place.

Then the machines around them came to life and surrounded them. Blair clicked her tongue as she and Ladybug stood back to back with their weapons drawn.

Ladybug was about to suggest a plan when Blair yelled, "Cataclysm!"

They were enveloped in a whirlwind of black that collapsed into a wave of black lightning. It wasn't until she realized the wave didn't obliterate anything into dust that Ladybug could breathe again. For a second there, she thought she was done for.

The machines all dropped into useless husks of metal. All vehicles within sight stopped functioning. The well-lit street went dark, as did all the houses. Ladybug figured out that this was a specially fine-tuned Cataclysm that only messed with machinery, like an EMP. But there's no sign of the akuma that could cause this.

A futuristic blimp projected an image far above them - Robustus has hacked the ship from the looks of it.

"Ah Chat Noir! You may think your new powers can best me, but I have plans to work around that! I'll be a real boy and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

The blimp sprouted guns and missile launchers at almost every surface. And Robustus was gloating about how this futuristic ship is resistant to EMP attacks. Clearly, the AI was getting way too excited with his new host.

"We should split up," commanded Blair. "I'll handle Pinocchio up there while you get reinforcements. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

Without looking back, Blair vaulted her way up and taunted the blimp into following her. She was leading the blimp towards the one skyscraper in the vicinity. Ladybug went on her way to the nearest temporary hero's house as her mind wandered.

Blair… she was calling shots left and right. No hesitation, like this is how it's always been for her. She never waited to hear out Ladybug's plans. She just barreled through everything. The annoying part is she's doing well for herself.

The scariest part is how she's been using Cataclysm an unlimited number of times.

No countdown timer to be wary of. None of her attacks wears her out. She can fire away with reckless abandon if she wanted to.

She is as dangerous as Chat Blanc.

Her legs weakened and she leaned on a chimney. Breathing was suddenly a very strenuous thing to keep doing. Her limbs refused to stop shaking.

"You can't just let the holder of one of the most powerful Miraculous go about as he pleases! What if he starts making his own decisions or acted out like Shadowmoth?!"

When Su Han said all that, Ladybug thought he was being paranoid. Imagine, Chat Noir - her kind, loyal, goofy kitten - as someone dangerous? Nothing short of getting akumatized could make that happen! And Ladybug plans to do everything within her power to avoid that. Everything will be fine. She's got it all under control.

But this cat is a wild card. She knows next to nothing about this cat. She can fire off Cataclysms in different ways she's only seen in Chat Blanc and not time out. Even without her Cataclysm, she was a challenge to fight.

Before, she would've brushed off Su Han's warnings with confidence. It's because Chat Noir is nothing like the unstoppable earth-shattering force Su Han fears.

Now, with this new cat, she's beginning to understand.

0-0-0-0-0

Up in the air, Blair Cataclysmed the blimp into dust before it could crash land into the city below. It was raining soot and ashes, but that's better than a fiery death.

Blair slowed down her descent by spinning her staff like a propeller. Tied around her belt in a makeshift pouch was Robustus, completely dismantled. Not quite broken though. If Max Kante were to get these parts, he should have no problem rebuilding him.

Boy, was she glad to have finished studying Adrien's work: Cataclysm for Dummies, Chat Noir's Guide to Mastering the Black Cat Miraculous. The title needs work, but it was a comprehensive theory book that took Blair's already creative uses for Cataclysm to new heights.

Gotta impress the legendary bug hero. Get on her good side. Because this is the great founder of the Neo Order of the Miraculous. This is a once beyond a lifetime opportunity for the ultimate bragging rights! If she can get this Ladybug's stamp of approval… then maybe Blair can put to rest the doubts that's been creeping up the back of her mind.

Upon landing on the nearest roof, Bunnix waved her over.

What does she want to talk about?

0-0-0-0-0

By the time Ladybug calmed down, Rena Furtive found her. She looked worried. The sight of her hunched over, breathing heavily by a chimney doesn't inspire an image of okayness.

"Is everything alright? I mean, other than… well… everything…?" Rena Furtive winced at their surroundings. It was chaos, seeing a T-rex running around and multiple akumas running lose.

Ladybug did her best to convince Rena Furtive she's alright but the fox heroine didn't believe her. Rena Furtive prodded her gently once again. At that look of concern, Ladybug caved.

"I promise I'll explain later. For now, we've got heroes to recruit and time-lost apparitions to round up."

0-0-0-0-0

The apparition sweep ended sooner than expected. It took all -no, more like thirteen and a certain apparition filling in, Viperion had to sit this one out- Miraculous Wielders to do it within less than an hour. As Ladybug recollected the Miraculous she loaned out, the other heroes had questions.

"How did this happen?"

"Where did they come from?"

"Why did one of them look like me?"

"Is this gonna affect the timeline?"

"Who's the new cat?"

"What happened to Chat Noir?"

Some questions were easier than others. She did her best to answer them anyways. Even those she wishes she had the real answers for.

0-0-0-0-0

"Wow! You're from the future?" Alya excitedly asked.

It was down to just the four of them: Marinette, Blair, Alya and Adult Alix. They were at the Eiffel Tower to regroup, recharge, and discuss what to do from here.

"Yes I am. Please don't ask me any questions regarding your life. I'm not supposed to give away spoilers," Blair easily said.

"Can I ask questions about you then?" Alya asked.

"Can she?" Marinette looked to Alix, who was considering it.

Upon coming to a decision, Alix shrugged.

"Your lives don't intersect. She's not related to you. And she's far enough into the future that as long as you stick to unimportant stuff like boy talk, you should be fine."

Alya nodded eagerly.

"Got it."

Blair looked nervously at Alya's eager grin.

"What's your superhero name?"

Blair breathed out in relief.

"It's actually Chat Noire, but I'm alright going by another name. It gets a little confusing considering this generation's Black Cat also goes by Chat Noir."

"Did you name yourself after him by any chance?" Marinette cuts in, curious.

"That would be so cool!" Alya squealed.

Yeah. It would be cool if she is named after her chaton. That would imply he's become a hero famous enough to be remembered over a hundred years later.

"… Actually, I named myself after my father," Blair scratched the back of her head and giggled nervously. "Noir. He's my hero."

The way she says this, anyone can tell there's a lot of admiration there.

"Oh. That's sweet too," Alya said.

After a quick pause, Alya asked her next question.

"Is there a Ladybug in your team?"

Marinette perked up. That's a curious question. She wonders what kind of person would be paired up with this particular cat.

Blair let out a laugh.

"Ladybug! It's funny how he also goes by Ladybug," in a lower voice, she added, "Ehehe… Though that's sorta my fault, slapping that on him when he couldn't decide on a name and it just stuck."

Marinette shot Blair an unimpressed look. Wow. She's always been kinda bossy, huh?

"What's he like?" Alya asked.

"He's like a big red boy scout: helpful, polite, a total goody two shoes… He's also a naggy loudmouth, easy to ruffle up, fun to tease," Blair snickered for a bit. Once she calmed down, she added with a soft smile, "And hardworking and compassionate to a fault. A hero through and through. I couldn't ask for a better partner."

Marinette took this all in like a mug getting filled with hot chocolate. Regardless of how she feels about this cat, there's something so heartwarming to hear about another Ladybug and Black Cat pair getting along.

"… Do you like him or something?" Alya just had to ask, already smelling a trail for a ship.

"Of course I like him! We wouldn't be good friends if I didn't.~"

Somehow, Marinette gets the feeling Blair is playing dumb just to mess with them. She can't possibly be as pure and oblivious as Adrien! This girl can talk circles around Su Han. Who's to say she won't do the same to anyone else?

Alix on the other hand is pinching the bridge of her nose, muttering under breath. "Of all the Black Cats, we just had to get the gremlin…"

Marinette felt vindicated.

"Hey, Marinette," Blair said. "For what it's worth, if my bug finds your cat, he'll be in good hands."

… That's honestly reassuring.

Alya's curiosity was not sated and so she pressed on with a different question.

"How about the fox! Is there a fox super hero?"

Blair's eyes practically sparkled at the question.

"Yes! He's my twin brother, Blake! He goes by the name Renard Rouge."

"You and your brother both have French hero names yet you don't understand French?" Marinette asked.

Blair shrugged. "What can I say, we're French-Italian but we suck at speaking both. We're pathetic excuses for French people."

"I didn't mean to sound like I'm judging you! I mean, I'm half Chinese and can't speak a lick of the native language! Not like I never tried to learn, but I still trip over the pronunciations-"

Blair cuts Marinette's ramblings off with a raise of her hand.

"It's cool. I get what you mean."

"How is he as a fox?" Trixx piped up as he flew over to settle on Alya's shoulder.

"He's doing great at illusions, but his talent lies more into masking people's presences."

Alya raised a brow at the distinction Blair is implying. Before she can ask any more questions, Alix cut in.

"Let's cut this 20 Questions short. You're getting into classified info territory."

Alya slumped over, a little sad her impromptu interview ended right when she's learning something interesting.

"It's getting late. We should all be going home and get sleep while we can," Alix said.

"What about you?" Marinette asked. "With time still glitching, you're stuck here."

"I've already made arrangements for myself. I'm more concerned about Blair."

All eyes fell on the future's Chat Noire.

"Maybe she could stay in my room?" Marinette suggested, but thinking about it some more, "At least, for the night. Is it possible for you to hide elsewhere during the day though? My parents would ask too many questions if they find you and…"

At the mention of parents, Blair's eyes widened.

"Actually, we've got a bigger problem," Blair said. "Chat Noir's… family. They're not supposed to suspect a thing at this point in time, right?"

Blair throws a meaningful look at Alix, who nodded back. She'll back her up.

"Yeah, that could be a problem. Any ideas, Kitkat?"

This is a risky idea, but it's the best they could do. They've talked about this. All they needed to do is to convince Marinette to let it happen.

"Actually, I do," Blair looks to Alya.

Marinette doesn't like the sound of that.

0-0-0-0-0

Cataclysm for Dummies, Chat Noir's Guide to Mastering the Black Cat Miraculous

It's a comprehensive theory book on the powers of the Black Cat Miraculous. It comes with detailed and colorful diagrams, personally illustrated by Ladybug. The book covers all the moves and uses for Cataclysm that Chat Noir came up with over the years based on Science and Advanced Physics. It's an eye-opening guide for intermediate kittens to look into and understand there's more to the Black Cat Miraculous than basic destruction.