Okay, here we go! This takes place directly after the events of the last chapter!
With André no longer mayor and Chloé on her way out of Paris for good, Marinette's mood is through the roof with happiness! But...
And didn't anyone find that Pokémon Easter Egg funny? Anyway, let's get to work.
Song(s) Included with/without modifications:
Crocodile Rock - Elton John
Every channel and TV station went wild with the news of Mayor Bourgeois' resignation in response to Cat Noir and Argos' demands. People were cheering, talking about it, and the sounds of everyone's approval was ringing through the air.
"It's about time that old fart stepped down! He's been mayor for too long!" "Too bad it got to the point of Cat Noir and Argos threatening him to get it to happen - he should've just announced he wasn't running for re-election and left it at that." "He wasn't a terrible mayor, but he could've been better. Look at what happened with Project Oxygen." "And they're right: his bitch daughter should've been charged with so many criminal counts! Just to show nobody's above the law."
One news camera crew even went to the Dupain-Cheng bakery and asked them about what happened with Mayor Bourgeois, especially how Chloé treated their daughter.
"We're not gonna lie: André's hotel is one of our biggest clients, especially for large functions." Sabine spoke, sounding a bit surprised.
"Even though he didn't mean any harm, Cat Noir did kidnap our daughter. But we also can't deny that it's thanks to him and Argos that our home and work is still standing," Tom commented. "So, I'm grateful to Cat Noir and Argos, and I'm not gonna miss André Bourgeois as mayor."
"Neither will I. And he's a doormat parent," Sabine commented with a sigh. "Because of him, Chloé's been able to torment Marinette for years without punishment. Every time someone said or did something to stop it, Chloé would just scream for her dad, nothing would get done, and Marinette would suffer even more. She should've been dealt with like this years ago! Chloé owes Marinette a court-ordered apology and punitive damages, too."
"Once again, Cat Noir and Argos have our thanks." Tom said in agreement, hugging his wife by her waist.
Marinette, for her part, was still red-faced and dreamy-eyed and she was on cat-shaped cloud nine. The juxtaposition of his tenderness the night before against the harshness and destructive tendencies he exhibited? There was just something about that dangerous edge that tickled at her heart. Was it scary at first, yes, but with a power like his, it was expected. And for him to go this far just to get Chloé to stop persecuting her? Her love of fairytales may have been talking with these thoughts. She had to remind herself that it wasn't about her, but the whole city.
"Marinette?" Adrien asked, a chuckle to his voice. "It's over."
Marinette came down to Earth before shaking her head and saying, "What? Where?"
She saw she was still clutching at Adrien's shirt. Her eyes got wide, she instantly let go and backed off, her movements shaky.
"Oops, sorry!" Marinette spoke.
"No worries, as long as it made you feel safer." Adrien responded, still red in the face.
"It did, thank you," Marinette responded. "I'm still processing all of this... Did this just happen?"
Adrien laughed and said, "It sure did. Now Chloé won't be able to hurt you anymore."
"Sh... She won't, will she?" Marinette spoke, thinking about her feline beau.
"No." Adrien said, smiling at her.
Her face had a wide, ear-to-ear grin and she was giddy. Marinette was very close to jumping and squealing at the top of her lungs with joy.
"About the ice cream, Marinette... You still wanna-" Adrien began to ask, only for his phone to ring. He pulled the device out of his pocket and saw Félix was calling. "Actually... Um, rain check on the ice cream?"
"Sure thing, Adrien. We can find time to celebrate this with everyone later." Marinette said, her bliss palpable.
Adrien had to force himself to pull away from her. She was just so damn cute, but he knew he had to get to his cousin. He jogged off.
"You got distracted by your precious blue-eyed princess, huh?" Plagg teased, sounding unamused.
"I know, I know..." Adrien said with a wince, pink in the cheeks. He caught sight of another head of blonde hair with green eyes a few blocks away. He dashed over to Félix.
"Hey, thanks for covering for me back there." Adrien confessed to Félix once they met up.
"You're welcome, but this is one of those things Master Fu warned us about. Not letting our feelings get in the way of the job." Félix spoke.
Adrien winced in embarrassment before telling him, "I know, I know. I bumped into Marinette right before we were set to start..."
"And you couldn't find a good excuse to get out of there in time," Félix finished before giving him a smirk. "I saw her hanging on to you for dear life back there, Adrien."
Adrien nodded, defeated. His face was still red and he couldn't shake the feeling of Marinette in his arms as Adrien rather than as Cat Noir. And for once, it was on her own volition, rather than someone forcing them together.
He sighed and said, "It was a dream-come-true, Félix. I couldn't wake up from it. And she looked so happy."
"I hear you, cousin, but we can't get sidetracked. Now that we've done this, it's only a matter of time." Félix said, getting serious.
Adrien's face deflated. He spoke, "I wouldn't be surprised if she was the first one..."
Félix scoffed in disgust before saying, "That wouldn't be fun."
"Then we'd better do it. Tonight." Adrien stated. Félix gave an agreeing nod.
"I saw what happened on the news! Cat Noir even mentioned you by name! This day just keeps getting better, girl!" Alya said over the phone.
"It does, doesn't it?" Marinette added as she kept skipping through the streets. "I say we gather the whole group and have a party tonight!"
"Amen to that, Marinette!" Alya agreed. "This is gonna be so much fun!"
"I can't wait to celebrate!" Marinette giggled.
"Neither can I!" Alya laughed.
"See you tonight!" Marinette said as she hung up, spun on the balls of her feet again, and began skipping home, while sending a group text to her friends, telling them about their plans.
That evening, Marinette was humming and dancing around her bedroom, getting ready for the party. They were having it at the Eiffel Tower, just so they could avoid Chloé. Marinette herself had put a dress out on her chaise lounge and was looking through her jewelry pieces to decide what else to wear. She had paper bag on the lounge, too.
She heard a knock at the top of her skylight door, and she smiled up at it. She ran up the stairs to her bed and climbed out. Cat Noir was standing there, the picture of casual.
"Bonsoir, ma Princesse." He greeted.
"Hi, kitty." Marinette greeted back, a bit shy.
The way he looked in her eyes, filled with affection...
Marinette's heart went a mile a minute, her cheeks went pink, and she squealed with delight. She flew into his arms and they hugged. Marinette nuzzled her cheek against his chest, his body heat warming her up and giving her a sense of safety - one she never would've gotten from him in the past.
"Thank you so much for what you did today!" Marinette said before standing on the balls of her feet and kissing his cheek. "Thanks to you, I won't have to worry about Chloé picking on me ever again."
Cat Noir was stunned silent, a goofy smile on his face and a blush barely hidden under his mask. He hugged her back.
"I saw you in the crowd at the Hôtel de Ville today. Sorry if we scared you with that." He apologized.
"I... I admit that I got freaked out," Marinette confessed. "But I'm sure you had a good reason... Even though it's not up to you and Argos who does and doesn't get to be mayor."
"True, that's why Argos and I are gonna stay out of the upcoming elections. No endorsements from us. We just wanted M. Bourgeois out of office for everyone's sake." He spoke.
"I'm glad it worked," Marinette spoke to him. "Our friends and I are actually having a party tonight to celebrate! Fireworks and all!"
"Sounds like fun!" He laughed before looking back at her.
"Oh, it will be. With Chloé and her mother leaving Paris, people will be a lot happier." Marinette giggled.
"I... I'm glad, but... We need to talk." Cat Noir began, sounding serious.
Marinette's heart paused and she looked up at him, worried.
"That's never a good way to start off a discussion. You're not breaking up with me, are you?" Marinette asked, starting to panic. "Wait, are we even an item? We haven't made it official!"
"Nothing like that," He reassured with a weak chuckle. He took a deep breath. "But it is important. Listen... Argos and I need your help. You and Kagami. He's filling her in right now."
"What? You need our help?" Marinette asked.
"Yes. Um... I do have another present for you, but this has to be a secret between the four of us," Cat Noir started, again, sounding business-like. "Your gal-pal... Um, Alya Césaire, right? The redhead with glasses and tan skin, correct?"
"Right, that's her." Marinette confirmed.
"Yes. Alya can be allowed to know what's happening if it helps you with your stress, but otherwise, nothing about this gets out to anyone. Understand?" Cat Noir instructed.
Marinette gave a firm nod.
"Okay..." Cat Noir spoke with a sigh. "It's a long story..."
He began telling Marinette the entire truth. What he and Argos were truly doing, how they got their powers, Master Fu, everything.
"Let me get this straight: you and Argos have been trying to make Paris more emotionally prosperous and resilient as a preventative measure? All while looking around for someone to replace Master Fu and take up another jewel? Is that the main reason you got Mayor Bourgeois to step down?" Marinette questioned.
"Right. With the Butterfly Miraculous still missing, we can't predict what might happen. If it's in the wrong hands, it could mean armageddon. Normally, Master Fu would've sent out the Ladybug Miraculous in tandem with mine to maintain balance and fix any damage that the villains create. He couldn't find a good person to don the earrings, though. And he immediately gave it to Argos because Master Fu doesn't trust himself with it." He explained.
He gave Marinette an expression that was both pleading and stone-faced at the same time.
"He needs a successor." Cat Noir added.
"But why not you or Argos?" Marinette asked, her heart beginning to pound.
"There are specific, non-negotiable qualities in a person that are required for the guardianship. One of those is the innate, natural instincts that tell you who can and can't be trusted," Cat Noir admitted. "Leadership skills, creativity, a heart of gold, a strong moral compass."
"So where do I..." Marinette began, only for her to connect the dots. "No way, you're asking me?!"
"Right," Cat Noir said. "The three of us discussed it: we want you to become Tikki's owner, and Fu's heiress to the guardianship. He'll train you to take over, including how to decode the grimoire."
"But I can't!" Marinette said in panic. "I can't be a superhero, never mind a guardian of anything! I mean... I'm just clumsy, boring, plain Marinette!"
"Marinette, there's nothing about you that's plain or boring! That's one of the reasons I've been keeping my eyes on you! I wouldn't have-" Cat Noir insisted.
Marinette's heart stopped and her breath caught. He'd been "keeping an eye on her" because of that? What about his presents? The flowers? The notes? Even the picnic the night before?! How he used her name when calling for the mayor's resignation?! Did he even care about her?!
"So... You... You only got close to me so you could drag me into your work?" Marinette asked, sounding betrayed. Tears were forming in her eyes.
Cat Noir flinched.
"The notes, the presents, talking to me, the sweet nothings...! You... You..." Marinette began, looking up at him with angry, hot tears. "Weren't there any feelings behind all of this?! Were you lying to me this whole time?!"
Cat Noir face-palmed before sighing to calm himself down. He reached his hand to Marinette's wrist and looked her dead in the eye. He came closer to her and gave her the lovesick kitten look he'd given her before. Marinette's heart melted.
He hugged her and said in her ear, in the most tender voice ever, "No. Trust me, I'm one smitten kitten and I won't deny it. I truly do love you, Marinette, and I can't be accused of anything else."
Hearing him tell her that he loved her was overwhelming - in all the right ways.
"A... Are you being serious right now?" Marinette asked, her heart pounding at the words of love he spoke. She felt the pain fade away, the pressure of his hug soothing her.
"Like a stroke." He murmured.
"Then..." Marinette asked, tears beginning to leak out from the emotion.
"I've seen it all in you, Marinette. You're perfect for the job," He said in her ear, not bothering with the pun. "We need you. Paris needs you. Possibly the whole world."
She felt a weight drop onto her shoulders, but somehow, it didn't feel so heavy. Maybe because her kitty was there with her? Maybe because she was being assured that she wasn't alone in this?
Marinette looked up at him, tears running down her face.
"I'll do it." Marinette said, a firm nod.
Cat Noir smiled with confidence as he handed her a small, octagonal box.
A few hours later, the party was in full swing. Marinette, known for having a tardy streak, used that to her advantage to arrive "fashionably late." She went into the venue, and she saw all her friends having fun. A ball pit, Nino was DJ-ing, a trampoline, and much more.
"Marinette!" Alya called as she ran over to her best friend. "I was wondering what was taking you so long!"
"Sorry, Alya. I had a furry guest." Marinette responded with a laugh and a wink.
"Oh, I se- Girl, are those new earrings?!" Alya asked, noticing Marinette's new black stud earrings. "Did he give them to you?"
"Shh!" Marinette said, waving her hands in "push down" motion. "Okay, yes, he did, but..."
"Marinette." Caline said as she approached her student.
"Hi, Mlle. Bustier! I have a present for you!" Marinette said as she handed her teacher the paper bag she brought.
Caline took the bag and she lifted its contents out. It was a women's work suit, all in white with golden accents to it. But what stuck out was that there was a new mayoral sash with gold fringes, and in the white part, "Mayoress Caline Bustier" was stitched in, also in gold.
"Oh, Marinette..." Caline said, on the verge of happy tears. "Me, as mayoress? I'm only a teacher."
"You'd be great at the job," Marinette insisted. "We've been talking about getting you to run for months!"
"Yeah!" Myléne agreed as she came upon the scene. "I'm sure everyone in Paris would love to have you! You'd be an incredible Mayoress!"
"We'll help with your campaign, too!" Alya added.
"Oh, girls..." Caline said as she opened her arms for a group hug.
"Marinette!" A voice called, and Marinette looked up to see Adrien coming over to her.
"Hi, Adrien." Marinette greeted.
"I'm glad you're here," Adrien said with a smile. "I was thinking you weren't going to show."
"Of course I was, but you know how I am. I have a bad habit of being late." Marinette spoke as she left the group hug.
Adrien laughed before asking, "So, how about a dance?"
Marinette mentally put Cat Noir's clawed glove on his outstretched hand. It vanished in a few seconds. But she gave him a smile and said, "Sure!"
She put her hand in his and the two of them went to the dance floor. Marinette looked at the clutch purse she had, and saw her new little friend, her kwami, Tikki, looking up at her and nibbling on a macaron.
Marinette looked over and saw Kagami hanging out with Félix. The two of them were also ready for a dance, and they were both smiling. They came onto the dance floor.
Up on the bandstand, Nino put on some funny sunglasses, like Elton John, and switched the tracks.
The four of them began dancing freestyle, with smiles and laughs.
"I remember when rock was young. Me and Suzie had so much fun! Holding hands and skimming stones! Had an old gold Chevy and a place of my own!"
Adrien did a fast-paced underarm turn with Marinette, meanwhile Félix kept holding hands and moving his feet to the music in front of Kagami, making her laugh. The two pairs were dancing and having a lot of fun.
"But the biggest kick I ever got was doing a thing called the Crocodile Rock! While the other kids were Rocking Round the Clock, we were hopping and bopping to the Crocodile Rock!"
Adrien brought Marinette closer and the two of them were dancing together like it was Dancing With the Stars. Kagami was letting loose for a change, laughing out loud and having a great time. Even Félix was smiling more naturally than usual.
"Well Crocodile Rocking is something shocking when your feet just can't keep still!"
They kept dancing, laughing, and having fun.
Adrien kept looking at Marinette with loving eyes, which she didn't notice.
"This is so much fun!" Marinette laughed.
"It is!" Adrien agreed as he once again spun Marinette around before dipping her down. She looked up at him and giggled. He responded with a laugh, too. He pulled her back up.
"The Crocodile Rocking was out of sight!"
The song wrapped up, and it seemed like all was right with the world.
But the merriment was broken when loud screams were heard from outside. Marinette ran over to the railing and saw a large trail of what looked to be solid gold heading for the tower.
The news app rang out and Marinette pulled it up.
"Nadja Chamack, live above Paris! The strangest thing is happening! Someone who looks to be Chloé Bourgeois is stomping around Paris, and every step this person is taking is turning the area into solid gold. Not only that, but every time she kicks someone, they turn into a golden heel with diamonds, and the shoes are singing!"
The feed zoomed in to the person at the epicenter of the chaos. Sure enough, it was Chloé, who was visibly enraged. And it looked like she'd been turned into a gold statue, given horns, and had diamonds all over her body. And it looked like her eyes were solid white light, and she was not in any happy mood.
Like Nadja reported, every stomp Chloé made, the surrounding area turned into solid gold. Cars, buildings, trees, everything was turned into gold and diamonds. As for the people, anyone who tried to stop her or get close to her to figure out what was happening, she kicked them, and they turned into a golden heel with diamonds for eyes and they were singing.
"Chloé, you're so pretty, I'm just a shoe! What a pity! Sole Destroyer is your name! Crushing us is your vile game!" They sang. Chloé cackled every time.
'Is this one of the super villains that Cat Noir warned me about?! And it's Chloé?!' Marinette thought, cringing at the shoes' singing.
"And this supervillain, calling herself Sole Destroyer, is heading for the Eiffel Tower, calling for the blood of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Cat Noir, and Argos!" Nadja reported.
On cue, Chloé burst into the dance, and everything around her turned into solid gold and diamonds. Eying Marinette, she hollered out, "DUPAIN-CHENG!"
Marinette stood her ground, meanwhile everyone else looked panicked.
"What do you want, Chloé?" Marinette asked.
"I'm not Chloé anymore! I'm Sole Destroyer, and I'm going to crush YOU! This is payback for getting those two utterly ridiculous boys to force my daddy to step down!" Chloé hollered.
"I didn't do anything. I never asked them to intervene," Marinette stated, staying calm. "They did that on their own volition."
"That's shit!" Sole Destroyer hollered as she approached. One hard step on the floor and everything was turning into gold. "You're so resentful that you got them to threaten my daddy! You're not allowed to do that! As one of the elites, it's my right to push you around and make you miserable!"
Marinette once again sighed and said, "You're the petty one, Chloé. A strong woman once said, "Don't be distracted by emotions like anger, envy, resentment. These just zap energy and waste time." What's wrong with me taking that advice?"
Sole Destroyer tried to kick at Marinette, only for Adrien to pull her away in time.
"We gotta get out of here, Adrien!" Félix said as they stood up and met the girls' eyes.
"Marinette, get to safety!" Adrien called.
"You too, Kagami!" Félix spoke as the boys ran off.
Caline saw that the emergency exit was intact, and she hollered out, "Everyone out in an orderly fashion, now!"
Alya picked up a golden and diamond-encrusted chair and threw it at Chloé to distract her. Meanwhile, everyone else was evacuating.
Marinette and Kagami looked at each other and gave a nod.
"Can't you accept you've lost, Chloé?!" Alya hollered as she took up another chair (also made of gold) to protect herself.
"Alya, come on!" Marinette shouted as the girls ran out of the emergency exit. Rather than follow the group, the trio ran into a secluded area and stooped down.
"Looks like it's showtime," Marinette said to Kagami. "Ready?"
"Let's go." Kagami added as she and Marinette let their kwamis, Longg and Tikki, out of hiding.
"Wait, what are-?" Alya asked, surprised at seeing the kwamis.
"We'll explain everything later, Alya," Marinette spoke. "For now, go find Nino and get out of harm's way. Don't say a word about this to anyone!"
Alya looked at the girls before giving them a firm nod and saying, "You can count on me."
The girls smiled. Marinette stood up and said, "Tikki, spots on!"
Kagami called, "Longg, bring the storm!"
The girls transformed, and they each had a distinct suit and mask. Marinette's was a simple, red and black-spotted jumpsuit with a black turtleneck and a domino mask with black spots.
Kagami's was crimson and black with gold accents, and her chest had three element symbols - water, wind, and lightning - she had red horns on her head, and a mask. Her eyes were golden and she had a sword on her back.
"Okay, we'd better step in! Let's go!" Marinette, now Ladybug, said as she took her yo-yo and started spinning it to use it as a shield. Ryuko now had her sword in hand.
Sole Destroyer, in sheer outrage, was stalking the party and kicking people, turning them into singing shoes.
"DUPAIN-CHENG! YOU STUPID CAT AND DUMB PEACOCK! GET OUT HERE AND FALL TO MY FEET!" She hollered. "YOU OWE ME FOR RUINING EVERYTHING!"
"Chloé, stop this!" Mlle. Bustier ordered as she ran forward to try and calm the girl down. "You're out of control!"
Sole Destroyer glared at her. Seeing the homemade mayor's suit in her former teacher's hand, her eyes widened and she screeched, "Mayoress CALINE BUSTIER?! RIDICULOUS! UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!"
She kicked the redheaded woman and turned her into another singing, golden heel.
More of Marinette's friends were watching, not sure what to do. Some of them were hiding under tables and quietly coming up with a plan, others were trying to get out safely.
"Now, where is that utterly ridiculous baker girl?!" Sole Destroyer demanded.
Instead of getting Marinette to answer, she heard someone shouting in battle cry. Cat Noir was falling at her, his baton over his head, and ready to smack her over her own head with it.
Sole Destroyer tried kicking at him, only for him to extend the baton to knock her in the face and make her lose balance. He landed and did a low knock to knock her down.
She looked up at him and growled. She tricked to kick up her foot at him, but Cat Noir took her by the ankle and threw her over his shoudler before maneuvering out of the way. The girl stood, glaring at Cat Noir in anger, and she lunged at him to try kicking him again, only for Argos to jump with a drop-kick to her face. She faltered and backed away a few steps, dizzy.
"Thanks." Cat Noir said as he stood up.
"You monsters!" Sole Destroyer screamed. "You ruined my whole life!"
"Did we, or did we just force karma's hand?" Argos questioned, a smirk on his face.
Sole Destroyer screamed in anger before trying to kick both boys. But her legs were wrapped in a yo-yo string. She fell onto her back, her feet up.
"Not so high and mighty now, are we?" Ladybug said as she stepped onto the scene, confidence in her gait and her smile.
Sole Destroyer looked up and asked, "Who the hell are you?!"
"Ladybug," She spoke, smiling. "Nice to meet you, Mlle. daughter of the former mayor."
This only pissed Sole Destroyer off even more, finding a way to her feet and breaking from Ladybug's yo-yo string.
"I'll crush you like the worthless insect you ar-" Sole Destroyer screamed as she tried kicking at Ladybug, only for her to do a back-spring to dodge. She stood tall and gave the girl a smile.
"So, turning people into singing shoes? How pathetic can that get?" Ladybug teased.
Sole Destroyer ran at Ladybug and did a flying kick at her, only for Ladybug to side-step out of the way. Sole Destroyer landed on the floor before tumbling onto her back.
"You little-!" She began, once again running at Ladybug, only for the girl to use her yo-yo to fly up and dodge.
Behind her, Ryuko had her sword drawn. The sight of the blade stopped Sole Destroyer.
"What?! Two of you?!" Sole Destroyer asked.
She tried kicking at the sword, only for Ryuko to put it away, lean back to avoid the shoe, and then she jumped to do a roundhouse kick at Sole Destroyer's face.
"Nice job, Ryuko," Ladybug spoke. "Now, let's put this gaudy girl to bed, shall we?"
"Now you're talking, M'lady!" Cat Noir said as he stood up, and Ryuko drew her sword.
Sole Destroyer did another flying kick again, but all four of them jumped out of the way.
Ladybug looked around, and she said to the group, "Follow me!"
She used her yo-yo to zip away. Cat Noir used his staff to get up and follow Ladybug, meanwhile Ryuko and Argos used their agility to follow them.
"So, you think you can run from me, can you?!" Sole Destroyer cackled as she ran out after them.
Once they got a safe distance away, in an area untouched from Sole Destroyer, they hid and the four of them got to talking.
"Any idea where the akuma might be?" Ryuko asked.
"The akumatized object doesn't necessarily have to be on their person. But it could be on her sunglasses." Argos speculated.
"If not, we'll have to keep looking." Ladybug responded.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Cat Noir asked Ladybug.
"Give me a second. Lucky Charm!" Ladybug called as she shot her yo-yo up into the air. Out of a flurry of ladybugs, a red and black-spotted bag of dry cement landed in her hands. "The hell? Cement? What am I supposed to do with this?"
Ladybug sighed before standing up and looking at her surroundings. What lit up in red with black spots in her vision: the Seine, her teammates, and the cement bag. Realizing that the only things that were turned into gold were solid...
"Here's the plan, guys." Ladybug said as she whispered the details to her team.
As Sole Destroyer kept walking around the city, kicking people and turning everything in her path to gold, she kept looking around in anger, trying to find the heroes.
"Yoo-hoo! Over here!" Cat Noir called, a fair distance away.
"Ha! So you finally show yourself, you mangy alley cat!" Sole Destroyer spat as she started stomping over to him.
"You know, Chloé, for someone who thrives on power, is this seriously you at your best?" Cat Noir asked, a taunting expression in his smile. "Turning people into singing heels and Paris into solid gold? You know the Midas Touch - or rather, step, really isn't that great."
"Ugh, just be quiet, you filthy mongrel!" Sole Destroyer shouted as Cat Noir took a step back.
"I'm just saying... Without your dad's power, you're pretty weak, aren't you?" He teased.
"Weak? Weak?!" She screamed.
"Na-Na-Na-Na boo boo!" He teased, turning around and patting his butt and sticking his tongue out in taunting.
She screamed in anger and ran at him.
"NOW!" Ladybug shouted.
Cat Noir casually side-stepped and Sole Destroyer ended up stepping in something soft.
"Ew!" She screamed as she looked down and saw she'd stepped in cement.
Ladybug used her yo-yo to wrap Sole Destroyer up and keep her down.
"And there's more where that came from!" Argos said as stood atop a sentimonster that looked like a huge cement-mixing robot of some sort, with the cement mixer being the monster's hand. Ryuko was next to him.
"Ready?" He asked her, giving her an affectionate smile.
She smiled and returned the expression before saying, "Yes. Water Dragon!"
Ryuko put her hand to her chest area and the water symbol began shining. She turned into a stream of water and went into the water repository in the sentimonster. It got mixing, and the sentimonster's mouth began pouring out more wet cement on Sole Crusher.
Ladybug retracted her yo-yo just as the cement fell onto Chloé. It buried her up to her shoulders, rendering her unable to move. She began struggling, and trying to get out from the cement, which was drying fast.
Ryuko, still in water form, came out of the sentimonster and changed back. Meanwhile, Argos snapped his fingers to dispel the sentimonster. The two heroes landed on the ground, with Argos carrying Ryuko in his arms. She giggled in response.
"Now, I'll take those. Yoink!" Cat Noir spoke as he plucked the glasses off of Sole Destroyer with his ring hand. "Cataclysm!"
In an instant, the glasses turned into ash, and a black/purple butterfly flew out. In black-purple bubbles, Sole Destroyer had changed back into Chloé. She was looking around in confusion before asking, "What the hell am I doing here?!"
Ladybug caught the butterfly with her yo-yo. When she released it, it had turned white and it flew off.
"Bye-bye, little butterfly," Ladybug said before taking up the leftover cement sack. She threw it in the air, shouting, "Miraculous Ladybug!"
The magical ladybugs once again appeared in the sky, and they went all over Paris. All of the damage their fight had created was repaired. EVERYTHING had been fixed. All the golden buildings were turned back to normal, and every singing shoe turned back into the people they once were. It was like nothing happened at all.
And the cement pile Chloé was in vanished, too.
The foursome came together, and they all shared a fist-bump, shouting, "Pound it!"
"So, you two got yourselves some utterly ridiculous girlfriends?" Chloé snorted in disgust.
Instead of responding to that question, Argos said, "Shut up. You have a flight to catch."
"Indeed. And someone's waiting for you there, too," Ladybug spoke before looking over to her friend. "Ryuko? Care to be her escort?"
"Why, yes. Wind Dragon!" Ryuko shouted as she turned into a high-speed breeze. In a cyclone, she picked Chloé up and began leaving with her.
Ladybug and Cat Noir looked at each other with smiles.
Around ten minutes later, Ryuko brought Chloé over to a gold-plated plane on the tarmac. She dropped Chloé like a stone. With a loud off, Chloé landed on her stomach, wrecking her hair, breaking her sunglasses, and causing her clothes to get dirty.
When Chloé looked up, Marinette was there, looking down at her with a blank expression.
Chloé gave a wicked smile. With a scoffing laugh, which slowly descended into insane, maniacal laughter. Marinette didn't move.
"I-I... I haven't lost! Not yet!" Chloé wheezed.
She looked up at Marinette with a crazed expression, one of her eyes twitching and her face red.
"I can still bring you down with me! You think you can step all over me?! Make me miserable just because some super-humans like you for whatever, stupid reason? You're just a pathetic baker girl! You'll never have that right! No matter how much money I'm forced to pay you and your parents, I'll never apologize! You-" Chloé insisted.
"Shut up, Chloé," Marinette said to cut her off, her tone of voice dark and business-like. "Are you that conceited to assume that because you've lost all power over us, that I'm going to do to you what you've done to me all these years? Give you a taste of your own medicine, as much as you deserve it? No. Who do you think is the one who got the superheroes to bring you here instead of dropping you in a jail cell to rot?"
Chloé's eyes bulged out in shock.
"As I said earlier, "Don't be distracted by emotions like anger, envy, resentment. These just zap energy and waste time." If you think I'm going to resent you for the rest of my life just to feed what little ego you have left, you're wrong. I'm not gonna waste my time and energy stewing over what should've happened a long time ago. Because I know that justice is being served now. Delayed gratification feels incredible." Marinette spoke.
Chloé's eyes widened at Marinette, speechless. Marinette's face didn't change, but she took a deep breath.
"Let's be honest, Chloé: you should've known your dad couldn't be mayor forever," Marinette stated, her tone still calm. "And Mlle. Bustier, someone who you tried to use your power to hurt, is in the running for that job now. Poetic justice, isn't it? You're the one who's ridiculous, Chloé. Utterly ridiculous. Besides, you should be happy."
"Happy?!" Chloé screamed at Marinette.
The pigtailed girl only gave Chloé a blissful, blasé, carefree smile, like the whole world was sunshine and rainbows.
"You're going to New York to live with your mom - something you've always wanted. Isn't that great? Have a great life!" Marinette said, as if Chloé was going on a dream vacation.
Cat Noir, with a chuckle and a smile, he scooped Marinette up in his arms and used his baton to leave the tarmac.
Chloé screamed, "Get back here, Dupain-Cheng! I'm-!"
She felt a hand on her arm and she got yanked to her feet. She looked up to see her mother, who was not looking very happy.
While her feline knight carried her away, Marinette watched as her long-time bully was being dragged onto the plan by her mother. The brat was kicking and screaming, shouting for release, only for her to be pushed into the plane, Audrey following her. As the plane's door shut, Marinette felt a huge rush of satisfaction and relief. She giggled before snuggling into Cat Noir's embrace. He chuckled back, holding her close with affection.
"Don't be distracted by emotions like anger, envy, resentment. These just zap energy and waste time." - Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Okay, that's end scene for this chapter. Now, before you ask, this is not the end of the story. We still have a few loose ends to tie up.
Coming up, Marinette and Kagami fill Alya in. Then Marinette meets Master Fu and begins her training to become the guardian of the Miraculous. And just in time, too. A ghost from the past is back!