Plagg listened to the woman finish her boring speech. "And you have a shoot at two. Don't be late or your father will have words." The kwami had very mixed feelings on the woman. On the one hand, she was a stooge for his kitten's father, thus strict, stern, and basically had no emotions outside of being a robot. On the other hand, the woman was the only one in the house that gave Adrien attention…. except for the Gorilla guy, but that was just his job as a bodyguard.

"I understand Nathalie." The boy nodded. Sure, he was free as Chat Noir, and a little bit at school, but at home the boy was all perfect this and that, it was honestly a tad annoying. If only Plagg could take him out without risking his kitten's safety. Or cataclysm the entire mansion, that would work too. Hm… maybe he could convince Annasi to 'subtly', adhesion his dad into the sun… then again that would probably take the earth's core along with it. "Will Father at least be home for Dinner this time?"

"He's traveling overseas for the weakened to deal with a particularly annoying upstart. He said it would take it fourty eight hours to shut him up alone."

"Is it Kingsley?"

"... Have you heard anything bad enough that would require me to start soundproofing your room?"

"Nothing more than the usual smashing of tables and the shouting of hell." Adrian shrugged.

"I'm soundproofing the room. I'd rather you not pick up on too many curses, I think your father's escalating." Oh like Plagg wouldn't teach him worse.

"Understood Nathalie." Oooh, if they were soundproofing the room, maybe Adrian wouldn't have to play that annoying piano music all the time to trick his dad into thinking he was practicing. That would be a blessing on his unlucky ears. "Will I be able to at least say goodbye?"

"He already left this morning… I can bring up the web cam if you'd like."

"No… don't bother. If he's already on the move, he's probably too busy for me anyways."

"... I can reserve some time this sunday for your friends to come over, if you wish." See, it was moments like these that made Plagg reluctant to destroy this entire house.

"Thanks, that'd be great." Adrian gave a small smile. "I'll just practice my Piano until the shoot then." He sighed, closing the door and scrolling through his phone to find the piano musical. "Is she gone?" He whispered.

"Let's see." Plagg phased through the wall, and saw the woman already halfway down the stairs. He went back into the room. "Coast is clear."

"Great." The boy went to his computer, pulling up a bunch of files, the top labeled 'FEAST and Inner Demons?' in all bold. "So close … just can't put the pieces together."

"You know, we could totally do something not work related you know." The kwami deadpanned. "You know, like hopping around town and finding the smelliest cheeses to use to make what the Americans called 'grilled cheese'. I don't know what it is, but cooked cheese sounds delightful!" He heard Annasi's holder talk about it once or twice, and Plagg couldn't stop thinking about it.

"We can think about making sandwiches later, Plagg, right now this can't wait." He said, going back to the computer screens. "We've had two thieves come to FEAST and both times the inner demons got involved. Once was when the cat thief tried hiding, and the other was after Batroc broke in."

"I like the first thief's taste." Plagg would always admire another cat in prowl. "But hey, it was only two times. Not like a third thief involving themselves in FEAST suddenly got checked up by the Inner Demons … actually you never ran into those guys again after Batroc."

"A little hard too." Adrien grumbled. "The miraculous cure got rid of any leads we had, and they rarely pop up in public." He turned to another screen. "I have to go with what I have, and what I have is that they're interested in FEAST for some reason, so I've looked up it's history… and I'm getting blanks."

"Isn't it run by that Martin guy your dad gives money to?"

"Yeah, but Martin Li had to found Feast on something. Funds, donations, you don't become an international charity organization out of nowhere."

"He could've found the genie of the lamp and wished for it." Plaag explained. "Though if he did, he's probably suffering some kind of personal consequences… maybe getting robbed is what that's all about."

"Really?" Adrien asked. "So I couldn't find a genie and wish away life's problems?"

"Let me tell you this now kid. EVERY wish has problems with it." He said sternly. "You don't get freebies in magic or life. Especially with genies. They get a sick thrill with messing with people. Saw one guy wish to never go hungry, and the genie stuffed his stomach with so many yams that it exploded."

"Yeesh." Adrien winced. "The point is he had to get the money from somewhere …"

Plagg thought about that. "What if he stole it from the Inner Demons?" He asked. "It would explain why they keep popping up around them.

"That would make sense… no… no Martin's too nice. He's constantly giving to people, he allowed for Peter and his aunt to move here." Adrien shook his head. "Maybe he took a loan from them to get started and hasn't been able to pay it back."

"The heck is a loan?"

"You know, when two people/business negotiate to lend certain services and goods, in this case money, if the borrowing party agrees to pay back with slightly more than what they took depending on the window of given time." Adrian explained. "People do it for the bank all the time."

"Really? Most people I know just steal it from somewhere." It was how most people made their living.

"Let me put it this way. You give me five blocks of cheese, and in a month, I give you double."

"I would NEVER give you my camebert….okay, maybe I'd give you one piece of it, but I expect two in return."

"See, you got it." Adrian smiled. "So maybe Martin Li took out a loan from the Inner Demons to start FEAST, and he hasn't been able to pay it back, so now the demons keep a close eye on the place to make sure he doesn't try to run off."

"Oooh, like guarding a box of old cheese as it ferments." Plagg nodded at the analogy. "So all we'd have to do is kidnap Martin Li and they'd come running right to us."

"Plaag, we're not going to kidnap somebody, we're heroes." His holder scowled.

"Oh, I get it, we're going to ROB the place to draw the demons out, beat them up, and give back the money. More complicated, but I can roll with it."

"I already got framed with Copycat Plagg, I'm not doing it for realsies."

"Adrien, it's been weeks. These guys aren't gonna come out unless we give them reason to." Plagg said. "So you can either wait for them to blow up people, or put out some nice bait."

His holder groaned. "It's not just because it's FEAST, it's where Peter's aunt works, where he volunteers. I can't just put them in danger like that."

"They're in danger every other day with the akumas, and they're from New york." And Peter was Spider-man, so there was nothing to worry about. "So unless you want to wait for a real crook to robb the place again, you gotta think of something outside the box.

"Breaking news, Richard 'the fly' Dixon has just been reported robbing FEAST, marking it the third time criminal activity has been reported at the shelter." An alert on Adrien's phone went off to announce.

"... I thought Black Cats were unlucky." Adrien said bluntly.

"Well if the Inner demon guys get involved, those people that mess with your quantum shielding, then yeah, I would consider that VERY unlucky." Plagg pointed out.

"For them." The kitten grinned. "Plagg, Claws Out!"

"'Go to France Richard, the police won't have superpowers Richard.' Well Frederick, you're a lying piece of shit!" Richard shouted as he ran through the back streets. This was the LAST time he would listen to anyone at the bar with no name, especially someone who's main gimmick was fucking BOOMERANGS! What the hell was he thinking listening to that idiot!? He should've just been a Maggia goon. Sure he'd do other people's dirty work as a random grunt, but it would've been steady pay!

Now he wasn't just forced to run from three police cruisers, but the mere possibility that at any second, those costumed superheroes would show up out of nowhere. "Come on, come on." All he needed was one car. One empty car. Hotwire it, act casual and normal, and leave the immediate area. That would be easy.

Richard found a lot, with a couple of cars. Nice. Just have to jimmy open the lock, and he's good to go. He pulled out some tweezers, getting to work. Easy now, gently … "Go for the third lock." A voice said.

"Yeah yeah, I know what I'm doing." He turned … seeing a web headed face.

"You know, if you're going to rob cars, try not to dress up like a car thief." Spider-man kicked his feet up. "I go through all this effort to powder my nose and you don't even care enough to try.

"SHIT!" He threw the bag in the man's face, hoping to at least distract him long enough to get some distance….until a metal pole got in his way.

"Language language my friend, what if an innocent little kitten heard the words coming out of your mouth?" Chat Noir said while strolling up to him. "The shame."

"Probably won't be saying anything for a while since the cat's got his tongue now." Spider-man leapt out of the car, sending his chain out to trip him out. "Sup Chat. Good thing you crossed his path instead of mine."

"Hoping his bad luck becomes our good fortune. Running a bit of a theory." He responded, holding Richard's arm. "Chain him up would you, I'm gonna make sure our Lady's on her way."

"You think we need Ladybug for a guy we already caught?" The Web headsaid as he chained up Richard.

"No, since this bozo robbed FEAST, I was hoping we could use him as bait for a little theory I've scratched up." The cat hero answered. "And for the record….again….WHY are you robbing homeless people? That's just low."

"Well it's not like I can rob a five story hotel without you bozos noticing." Richard glared.

"And you thought we wouldn't notice you robbing a homeless shelter?"

"Who cares about a couple of people on the streets?"

"I do." Three voices responded as a spotted girly showed herself. "Chaton, I'm assuming you called me because you want to make sure Spider-man doesn't screw things up."

"M'Lady, we both know he's going to film this anyway." The cat responded.

"Right here!"

"But no. Remember the cat burglar?" He asked. "They stole something, got involved, and the Inner Demons showed themselves around FEAST."

"Yes, I was there, and I rember it because Spidey flirted with a crimminal."

"For the record, Spider-bites, I did not flirt with her." Spider-man talked to his chain…which has some kind of screen on it.

"He flirted with her before we knew she was a criminal." Chat Noir corrected. "In the clear."

"Ladybug's just jealous that my criminal admier was hotter than hers."

"I at least didn't flirt with Copycat!" Oh would these idiots shut up!?

"Then a week later, Batroc shows up, steals from FEAST, and the Inner demons do … something to him." The cat guy continued.

The Spider instantly seemed to change tones, his face looking serious. "You think there's a connection?"

"I'm thinking that the Inner Demon have some kind of personal interest in FEAST itself." Chat noir nodded.

"I'm not entirely sure." Ladybug said. "The cat thief stole from the demons. FEAST was just a cover she used."

"But Batroc wasn't. He robbed FEAST first, THEN got a power upgrade from the demons." Chat Noir said. "Why would a superpowered gang go out of their way to do that if they DON'T have some kind of stake in this?"

"Hmm … it's a charity." Spider-Man said. "I've seen it a couple of times in New York, especially around Kingpin groupies. It's a way to deposit dirty money and funnel it into clean money."

"But Martin Li wouldn't do something like that." Ladybug argued.

"He wouldn't have to. As long as one man 'handles' the money the right way, the head would be innocent … heck, he could even be turned into a fall guy." The web head growled as his hands gripped tightly. "Extortion…on a man who's done nothing but help people….."

"Wait, there was another thief that stole from FEAST…..FEDRICK YOU ASSHOLE! YOU TOLD ME NO ONE HAD ROBBED IT BEFORE!"

Everyone turned to him. "… So, who's Fredrick?" Spider-Man asked.

"Just the idiot I am NEVER TRUSTING AGAIN!" SCREW THAT BOOMERANG HEAD.

The sound of sirens rang out, as four cars surrounded them. A man walked out. "Spider-Man."

"Officer Raincomprix, loose weight lately?"

"… Gonna ignore the jab. Thanks for the help, we'll take it from here." No … he was arrested … the end …

"Actually, we really need this guy's participation in something." Chat Noir said. "We can let you in on the details, but we need him with us."

"Uh, how about no." The man said… the man that would take him to jail…where he would be charged not only for robbery… but for coming here illegally with a fake passport… all because of FREDRICK! "This is the extent of authority you're allowed, I know THAT much about the Good samaritan act."

"Can't we at least stick with him as you ride along?" And these heroes were just going along with it. Not fair, not fair, not fair. He was going to be arrested, and it wasn't even his fau-His soul was awakened.

"Human Fly, I am Hawkmoth." YES! He heard about this on the way over here. About the man in the shadows that made villains….he was about to get super powers! "You've been caught in the Spider's web like a common prey, but now I'm giving you the power to be the predator. To show the heroes and all of Paris who the real pests and lowlife of society truly are!" This would change it, it would change it all! "All I need are the miraculous of those heroes … do you accept?"

"I accept Hawkmoth!"

"Wait what?" Everyone shouted as he broke free of the chains.

"I am no longer a mere criminal for money … I am … the Human Fly!" He cackled as he buzzed in the air, his body transformed into something much bigger, his eyes gained more pupils, and he grew multiple arms..

"Oh come on!" An officer shouted. "We can't even arrest people without them being akumatized!?"

He felt Hawkmoth speak through him, his face glowing with energy. "Yes! And I shall continue to do so until Ladybug and Chat Noir hand over their miraculous! This city will never have peace until then!"

"You know, if you're going to rip off Cronberg movies, Hawkmoth, the least you can do is make him sound like Jeff Goldblom! Just saying, go all the way with your rip offs!" Spider-man shouted.

"Hahah, how's this for a rip off!" He spat out a liquid that melted a car. "Oooh nice!" He spat many globs into the air. "I'd move those officers if I were you, heroes, I predict acid rain today!" Human fly shouted as he flew off.

"Weird, he didn't stick around." Chat noir scratched his head. "Usually without Chloe around, they stick to the main target of us."

"We focus on that after moving them!" Spider-Man screamed, grabbing police officers as globs of acid fell back to the ground.

"What are you doing? Catch their miraculous!"

"Relax Hawkmoth. I'm not gonna stand around while a bunch of cops fire at me, you didn't give me super endurance. I wanna lead these heroes into my own little web." Human fly explained as he flew off. "You can have their little jewels after I've melted it from their own skin and bones!"

"Don't keep me impatient, Human Fly, or you'll go back to the lowly bug you used to be."

Ladybug swung after the akuma with Spidey and Chat by her side. "So, Spidey, you're the bug expert. Any ideas on what we're dealing with?"

"Says the ladybug themed hero? My my, how little knowledge of your own anatomy." Would it be wrong if she tried to drop him into the nearest trash can? "Alright, we're dealing with a human sized fly, so that mean's corrosive acid spit to digest food, flight, and depending on if we're dealing with a horse fly, or a deer fly, sharp teeth and the instinct to bite out of our necks."

"Don't forget the compound vision." Chat pointed out. "Almost an omnidirectional point of view on his end."

"Meaning a sneak attack is nigh impossible." Ladybug lamented. "We'll have to be direct and upfront. Spidey, I believe that's your territory."

"Well he is a criminal … maybe it's time Spider Cop puts on the badge once more." Dear god no.

"… How do we arrest him?" Chat asked. "If he's just going to be angry and furious … he'll get akumatized again."

"Times like these we need to use resort to the less subtle method of knocking his lights out." Spidey said. "We knock him unconscious, the police take him, and hopefully by the time he wakes up, Hawkmoth's not looking for a repeat like with Mr. Pigeon."

"Four times with that one." Ladybug muttered. "How about we go for what he's after? That Fredrick guy?"

"That can refer to anybody, and while that's an american name, I'm not sure how much we can gleam off it and search all of Paris, if the guy's even in Paris to begin with." Spidey countered.

"Then should we start looking for banks?" She asked. "I can't think of much he'd want other than revenge or money."

"You think he'd go after FEAST?" Chat suggested.

"Nah, he's power tripping." Spidey noted. "He'd go after whatever Paris has for 'big gain'."

"Big gain…..wait, Spidey, remember what he said before?" Chat's eyes widened. "He said he couldn't rob 'five star' hotels with us around."

"Yeah….and what's the most well known luxurious hotel in all of Paris?" Ladybug took a second to process that question.

"Seems like we'll have to rescue the bratty Princess once more." She grumbled. Chloe….why the HELL did Chloe always end up being the center of everything!? Even when she wasn't involved she got shoved in somewhere!

"Eh, on the brightside, pretty sure we're close to getting a free coffee somewhere for all times we save her." Spidey chuckled.

"Like you need more coffee." Chat snorted. "You know caffeine is how spiders get drunk right? Should we send you to Coffee Anonymous?"

"Depends. Are we going to send you to Catnip anonymous? You have to get that chipper attitude from somewhere."

"Like I would ever have that, M'lady is the only drug I need."

"Easy there kitty, or I may be forced to cut off your supply." Ladybug chuckled back. It was small moments like this where she could actually appreciate something good about this hero gig. "So if their heading to the Boegious hotel, then we'll probably hear Chloe annoying cry for help right about-"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! MY SHOES MELTED!" Chloe crying in pain…. sometimes life could be too sweet.

"You know those shoes could be solid gold right?!" Spidey shouted as he slammed through the window … only to be immediately shoved right out by the Human Fly, who took to the air as they spat at the three of them. "What, not a fan of someone pointing out the flaws in your short term planning?"

"Not really short term, now those cops won't try and shoot me down." The freaky villain laughed with that disturbing buzz in his voice. "And I got you three morons right where I want you."

"You mean in enough open for us to move around and jump out of the way?" Chat noir laughed, using his poll to shoot him upwards, right into the villains chest, who then grabbed him by the leg.

"No, for me to have open space as someone who can fly." He laughed as he tossed Chat into a rooftop. "You can't beat me heroes, I have the high ground!"

"You underestimate my power!" Spidey snickered, jumping upward and sending out his chain around the man's neck. "Come into my parlor, said the Spider to the fly."

"You can't trap me this time, spider!" They flew into the air, dragging Spider-Man along for the ride.

"I should have stuck my feet to the ground!" Spidey shouted as he dragged through a wall.

"Once again, leave it to me to save your thorax." Ladybug shot her yo-yo around his four extra limbs…and got carried off as well."

"Someone counted their spots before they took off!" Spider-Man shouted as the human fly crashed through a building wall, dragging them through and making them hit the debri on the way, sending several tables, lamps, and all assortments of furniture into their faces.

"Get ready for a buzzzy landing!" Human Fly exited the building flying lower to the ground and smacking the two of them against some cars.

"... Ow… Ow… I really… I really… REALLY hate bugs… and I hate the irony even more." Ladybug groaned out.

"Times like these…. I wish I had an actual web." Spider-Man grumbled as he shook off the fall. "That way all I'd need to do is catch him…. once and he's spider chow."

They watch him fight with Chat Noir, who tried to swat him with his staff. "A web … maybe what we need is to keep him in place, set up a net between my yoyo and your chain." She thought aloud. "Trap him between the lines, and locate his akuma.

"Alrighty then. You text Chat the plan, I'll go move some lampposts to make the ends of our human sized volleyball court." You know what, she didn't have to interact with Chloe, she could deal with the jokes. "Yo, Human fly! Shouldn't you be swarming around a garbage can right about now, gotta imagine your new diet leaves you with much to be desired!"

"I don't know, what does that say when you're looking pretty tasty!?" The akuma shot back, now flying at Spidey.

"Says that you're as blind as a bat I'm afraid!" If there's one thing you could count on Spidey for, it was to annoy everyone around him.

Ladybug began throwing her YoYo around, setting up the web. Intricate, detailed, make sure he'd have enough room to get tangled in. She took a look at her surroundings. Spidey and Chat were distracting the Human Fly, the civilians evacuated safely, the roads were clear … other than one armored truck. Police?

"Excuse me, sir, you need to leave!" She tried to gesture them out of the way, trying to convey the message that they'd make the situation worse, as the vehicle got closer and closer … until she could see the driver seat … where a man with a demon mask sat. "What-?!"

She didn't get a chance to react fast enough as the Inner Demon goon took out a glowing black and white baseball bat and SMACKED her across the street into a wall. "You should've stayed out of the way, little bug."

"Sorry, I just have this little habit of interfering whenever villains pop up. It's a bad habit I'm trying to break." She sarcastically groaned as she stood back up.

"Congrats Chat, you were right, and win the million dollar prize of two enemies for the price of one." Spidey shot out as he landed on the ground next to her, chain at the ready.

"What's my prize? I'm not picky. I'm more than happy to settle with kicking the caboose of whoever laid a claw on m'lady." Chat smirked as he grabbed the Human fly by the wings. "Hope these weren't important-ahhh, falling down, descending, black cat down, I repeat, black cat doooooowwwwwwwnnn!"

She sent out her Yo-Yo, catching the cat and fly as she pulled them into a wall. "Chaton, keep him down if you can. If not, grab his akumatized object." She watched the demons exit the van. "Spidey, with me."

"So a beetle, a spider, and some demons walk into a bar.." The web head started to quip as he sent out his chain to grab one of the glowing mallets.

"You're starting to overuse that joke." Chat said as he held the Human Fly down.

"I know, just trying to figure out which scenario the joke officially jumps the shark." Spidey smirked as Ladybyg sent her yo-yo to knock out one of the glowing backs. "Remember, they can only channel that energy through objects. Take them away and they can't use it."

"Not today, arachnid." The swordsman one spoke up. "Today you face … our leader." They watched as the demons moved, weapons ready … but didn't walk to them, simply opening the back of the armored car … as someone walked out. A man with black skin, not like Nino, but pitch black as if the night itself was looking at her. The suit they wore was as white as snow, along with their hair.

"So, you're the leader of the Inner Demons." Marinette narrowed her eyes, trying to ready herself for anything. He didn't look the most intimidating or most gangster like, in fact, the suit gave off more of a professional vibe, but with all the energy he was giving out, energy capable of hurting them beyond their magical protection, she didn't want to take unnecessary risk.

"Gotta say, I think you had a problem at the drycleaners." Spidey said, although his voice was lower than normal. "All the black of your suit went right into your skin, and possibly your heart." He responded, his chain tightened around his wrist.

"That's assuming he has a heart to begin with." Chat Noir glared, popping out his claws.

"If this is about the night FEAST was attacked, let me assure you of one thing." The man replied, his voice distorted. "The men who were responsible for that atrocity have been removed from our line of work."

"That's a real fancy way of saying you killed him." Spider-Man said with a growl.

"Well if you don't want to beat around the bushes, then yes, I played a part in his death." He responded without a hint of remorse. "I drained away all his hope and left nothing but fear until he took his own life."

He… he…. "That still doesn't explain your interest in FEAST." Ladybug held in a gag. "This is the third time your men have gotten involved."

"I go after the scum of the earth you heroes refuse to touch, no matter how filthy my hands get." He responded. "It was a mistake, you know. Letting Batroc walk."

"He's in prison." Chat stated firmly.

"His legs are still working, aren't they?" The glowing bastard responded back. "You heroes do Paris a service in eliminating the threats Hawkmoth throws, but even the three of you with all your power can't eliminate the root of corruption. That's where me and my services come in."

"You're talking about murder." Spidey stated.

"And that's why I and my demons alone are taking the responsibility needed for it."

Responsibility…..He freaking dared?! "You know nothing about responsibility!" Ladybug shouted in accusation. "Taking away lives, corrupting people to the point where they lose their sanity, there's nothing responsible about it! You're just another criminal who thinks about nothing and no one but himself!"

"I'd watch that tone if I were you Ladybug, I'm being respectful here."

"Respectful!? We don't even know who you are!" Chat shouted.

"You all can call me …"

"Mr. Negative." It was a risk coming into the open like this … but it needed to be done. The heroes were too close to Li. He needed to push them away with a firm hand. "And it would be in your best interest for us to remain civil."

"Civil…from the man calling himself Mr. Negative." Spider-man rolled his eyes. "You're not exactly inspiring sunshine and puppies with that name."

"I look like a photo negative. I'd rather not hear it from the man in a spider suit calling himself Spider-Man." He pointed out. "And I am not trying to be factitious. I am offering for us to remain in a… symbiotic relationship of sorts."

"What?" Ladybug asked, anger and a bit of bafflement on her face.

"You continue taking out Akumas, saving people, all the heroic things. But you'll leave. The demons. Alone." Mr Negative told them sternly.

"And you'll continue you wave of catastrophe, killing anyone that gets in your way and turning them into super charged, super maniacs." Chat growled, his voice indicating his use of a pun was completely accidental in this case.

"I make sure that anyone who ends up on the wrong side deservesit." He explained."For example, the filth you're holding down right now." They pointed down on the 'human fly'.

"Watch it pal, or you'll get acid on that pretty white suit of yours, along with your blood!" The Human Fly buzzed, trying to fly out of Chat's grasp as a purple butterfly symbol appeared on his face. "No, don't take away my power, I got these bastards! The human fly is the true predator in this jungle full of prey!"

"So the coward who uses victims for his work is listening in, is he?" Mr Negative asked. "The bastard, attacking teenagers and children alike, manipulating them for his own, selfish, greedy desires." The man began walking forward.

"Hey bud, don't come any closer." Spider-man warned, twirling his chain to form a shield.

"Relax, my offer still stands, just eliminating the scum, and the pawn of a bastard with no heart or soul."

"I AM NOT A PAWN!" The akumatized villain broke free, flying straight at him. "I AM A SUPERVILLAIN!"

"Listen well Hawkmoth." He spoke, walking up to the monster that flew at him with sharp mandibles … and touching its head. "This is my town." The purple energy shifted, as the pathetic criminal fell to the ground, a white butterfly floating in the air. "So make sure to pay your respects well."

"... You… you de-akumatized him." Ladybug's eyes widened. "You… you…"

"Afgggh." The now glowing former-villain coughed violently, as the goon's surrounded him in a protective manner.

"What are you doing to him!?" Chat Noir shouted.

"Helping him realize." Mr Negative stated. "His morality is inverting. Every crime he's ever committed, every sin, is now in the mind of an innocent and noble soul who wouldn't steal from a puppy." He leaned down. "And you want to atone, don't you?"

"Please … pleeeaseeee …." They begged.

He held out his hand, as his topman handed over their blade. "Then atone with senbuku. Take your own life as retribution for your past deeds."

"ADHESION!" Spider-man shouted, sending out his hand and getting the man out of the way, slamming into him and getting sent back into the broken wall.

"... What did I say about getting in the way?" He asked, glaring at the chain-using hero.

"We heard you the first time, and we're not buying what you're selling." Ladybug swung her yo-yo as Chat did the same with his staff. "No one trying to do good would take away someone's free will and force them to kill themselves. We're not going to stand by as you spread your brand of evil all over paris, Mr. Negative."

He sighed, motioning his men to stand back. "So be it. No one can say I didn't try to show reason." Mr Negative raised his blade … and swung forward, unleashing a wave of white lighting and black flames, constantly inverting in colors as they raced to the spotted hero, tearing up the street underneath its tidal might.

"M'lday, watch out!" Chat Noir pushed her out of the way, getting hit by the blast as Ladybug fell off to the side. "AGGGGGGGGH!"

"CHAT NOIR!" The girl shouted out in horror.

"Now isn't really the time to focus on others." He responded, sending out a second swing right at the spotted hero as the wave of energy launched.

"MOVE!" Spider-Man grabbed the girl with a chain, pulling her out of the way as it launched. "YOU BASTARD!" He launched himself forward, throwing a punch as Mr Negative dodged.

"If there's any consolation today, it's that I dried out that witty reserve." He responded, sending a kick into the hero's stomach before punching them in the face hard enough to send them flying down the street.

"What good is this going to do in the long run, Negative!?" Ladybug shouted, wrapping her yo-yo around his arm and pulled herself closer to deliver a punch to his face.

"I'm balancing the scales of injustice that plague the world." He stated, delivering a shock through the weapon wrapped around his arm. "Some men help the poor, I punish those who would pick on them." He swung at her with his sword, managing to get a gash of blood on his blade. Those suits must be durable, anyone else would have had their spine severed with that maneuver.

"You…you…you get your filthy hands off of her!" Chat noir stood back up, patches of his suit being torn from the previous attack as he clawed away at his back. "It doesn't matter how much you 'balance' the scales, you're not a good guy here! You'll NEVER be seen as the hero!"

"I never aimed to be one." He sent out a simple strike of his hand, and smacked the child in leather down to the ground. "I'm neither hero of villain, I am an equalizer, black and white, the yin and yang rolled into one." He grabbed the ladybug by the arm and slammed her into the cat hero's body. He glanced down at the two heroes … "Ràng zhīzhū máng qǐlái." He ordered his men to keep the Spider busy.

They nodded, firing off at the chain-slinger as they moved to intercept his movements. "Chat…. Lady…. Get… get out of there!" Spider-man tried to swing towards, them, only to get forced into the ground by a energy baton,

"Cat…cat…cata….catacl…AGGGGH!" Mr. Negative grabbed the boy by the wrist before he could fish.

"Lucky….lucky CH-" And he stomped on the heroine's hand before she could through it up, seizing both of them by his grasp."

"One of you destroys, while the other makes…. Creation and destruction … you're a yin and yang … just like me." He noted, lifting them up.

"We're … nothing … like you." Ladybug got out.

"Not yet … but soon." He began charging his corruption. "Two helpers for the price of one … much appreciated." And implanted it. Soon, there would be two more demons, stronger than most could hope to-

Hope

He twitched. Wait … that wasn't right.

Fear

"Something's off." He should connect with them, with their minds and souls.

Purity

Red lights poured off of Ladybug, onto his arm.

Corruption

Green streams of energy followed from Chat Noir the same.

Light

Constantly swirling with each other, mixing, matching, complementing, existing in harmony, existing in peace…. was… was it possible? Could true peace and balance be achieved?

Dark

Suddenly it was overwhelming… the universe creating so much at a time that it crushed whoever got in the way… if it wasn't constantly crumbling into dust and decaying into nothingness. They violently opposed one another, chasing for their eventual end goal.

Creation

The abyss peared into him, and the elysium gazed into him. Two forces gazing down at a mortal so puny and insignificant it should have disintegrated from their eyes alone.

Destruction

Creation…destruction… light… dark… hope, despair, luck, karma… this… this was beyond anything he's ever dealt with before! "This isn't right … this isn't light and darkness … it's deeper than myself!" He tried to let go, but it was no use, he was already a puppet to the forces at work, to the forces that danced and swirled around them in dimensions unknown to the human psyche.

"Bāngzhù lǎobǎn!" No, it's too late, run!

"Chat, Lady, hold on!" Spider-man sent out his chain and wrapped it around the two, pulling himself forward to pry them away. "Let go, you maniac!"

"I can't stop it, I can't stop it!" Flashes of white, black, red, and green flew all over the place, engulfing the area around them. "Balance, balance, balance, therealwaysneedstobebalancetherealwaysneedstobebalancetherealwaysneedstobebalance-!"

FOOOOOOMMMM

Adrien was at a loss. One minute he was pushing Ladybug out of the way, the next … darkness … inky, endless, darkness … the sweet, silent caressing of unconsciousness. He knew he had to fight it, to wake up … but it felt so peaceful compared to the pain he felt before.

"Chat …" What was that … "Chat …" Peter … was that Peter talking to him? "Chat …" What would Peter be doing in the middle of a fight… oh crap, did he destransform in the middle of a fight? Crap, that would be hard to explain… then again, he could blame this on crazed rabid fans… but then again, his father would likely never let him leave the house ever again if he gave that excuse. "Earth to Chat Noir, this is Spidey calling from home base, is anybody there, over?!"

"Oh … how weird …" He slowly started to open his eyes, wincing at the light. "You sounded … like Peter … some reason …" Adrien's head was a mess.

"Ah…who's Peter?" Spider-man asked, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. "I think you hit your head a little too much on the way out of that explosion….and I think through a costume shop while you were at it."

"Right … explosion …" He groaned. "Last I checked … we weres fighting … Negative …" Adrien tried to focus as his head began to clear … although it still felt a bit … fuzzy. "He hurt Ladybug … punched me … darkness."

"Yeah, it spread everywhere. We got buried underneath the sewers." Spider-man cracked his head. "I ended up timing out underneath the debris. Luckily no one else was around. I think the Inner Demon's booked it."

"Great….not only are they bastards, they're cowards too." Chat shook his head.

"If it's any indication, Mr Negative was at the center. I think he might be more damaged than you … especially if we run on the theory you're covered in his blood."

"Wait, what!?" That cleared out the fogginess he was feeling in his brain. "I'm covered in what!?" He checked his costume….it was red, COMPLETELY red, from the leather belt tail to the tip of his claw. "AHHHH!" He freaked out, falling back on the ground. "No, no, don't tell that explosion killed him!"

"Plus side, we got you out of the concussion." Spidey grinned.

"NOT FUNNY!"

"Relax, I carried you." The hero said. "It's definitely not blood … or paint actually." He stated. "Almost like your suit itself is red."

"… That's ridiculous Spidey, how can my suit change color?" He asked. "Plagg said the only suit my ring could make was my own, and besides, adding a color like red would defeat the whole 'Noir' part of my name."

"Although it would make us all red heroes … yo Ladybug, if you can hear me, give a groan of pain!"

"Ugh….why did I have to wake up to your annoying voice first?" HIS LADY WAS ALIVE!

"M'LADY! Don't worry, I'll find you!" He followed the sound of her voice. "You didn't get Mr. Negative's blood on you too, did you!?"

"Wait, you WHAT!?"

"Yeah I know, it scared me to and …" He trailed off … as Ladybug stood there … with a black suit, and green polka dots. "… M'lady … look down."

"What, is a piece of his guts on my…" Ladybug looked down…and slowly came to her realization. "I…ah…." She looked at her arms and legs…which all had the same green spotted pattern. "..Uh….."

Spidey came around, noticing the situation. "… I don't think any splatter job or accident can get so many circles that perfect." He muttered.

"WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO OUR COSTUMES!?" Ladybug shrieked, looking down at herself, before staring at him. "Why are you red! Why am I black and green!?"

"Relax, M'lady, it's just….some kind of…wardrobe malfunction…I think." Chat tried to suggest. "Maybe if we detransform, we can ask our kwami's what's wrong." He bowed.

"Right…Stay here, I'll transform around the corner….NO PEEKING!" She shouted, runnhind behind a wall.

"Relax, you're not blonde, so you're not tempting." Spidey waved off with a smirked.

"Does being blonde have to be a requirement for you?" Chat asked, hoping that the lighter mood would make things go smoothly.

"Blonde or Redhead, but I find red heads to be just a little too fierce and feisty."

"So what you're saying is that you would totally ask out that Alya girl?" Chat smirked.

"If she didn't constantly throw herself into danger, yes." He shrugged. "Not a complete loss, we have a professional relationship."

"I wouldn't exactly call her complaining about a broken computer professional." Ladybug deadpanned from behind the wall. "Okay…Tiki, Spots off!"

He took a breath. "Plagg, Claws In."

"Wait, you didn't hide-!" Spidey tried to call out….as a silence filled the air. "...Huh, didn't think these magic powers would fluke on us.

"Plagg, Claws In." He repeated. "… Plagg, Claws In!" Adrien repeated more desperately. "Claws in claws in!"

"Tikki, Spots off! Spots off, spots off!" He heard his lady shout over and over again, only for her to come back out, with her new costume still on. "I can't destransform, I'm stuck like this!"

"Okay, let's try something else." Spidey said, slight panic in his voice. "Talking to the kwami directly."

"How the heck do we do that if we can't transform back!?" Chat yelled in a panic.

"It's called being bored on patrol and experimenting with your tool after learning it's a psychic phone." Spidey grinned while snagging Ladybug's YoYo. "Just open it up and press call-"

"HEUSJWHZ]\%[.]\#[!\*!" The device shouted out, before Spidey threw it to a wall.

"...Wrong number?" Chat tried to joke.

"Chat, this isn't the time to tell spidey level bad jokes, something's wrong with our powers!" Ladybug shook his body.

"Humor is how I cope with terrifying situations!" He exclaimed, pulling out his staff. "How am I supposed to-" The tool flopped in his hand. "… OH COME ON!" Was ONE thing going to be right today?