Much like your grandparent getting a router to work, defeating Lady Wifi takes too much trial and not enough room for error.
It had been way too easy to figure out where the akuma was hiding. Actually, she didn't even hide at all.
"If you value the life of your father, you'll face me like a woman, Ladybug!" Lady Wifi had sneered into the camera, the mayor paused behind her in frozen fear.
Ladybug could practically hear Chloe's shriek of "DADDY!" at the sight.
Heaving a sigh, she swung over to Le Grand Paris, stopping short at the sheer amount of cops on the scene.
"You! Ladybug! Or should I say, Bourgeois?" One of them stomped up to her, pointing a furious finger at the building. "The mayor's life is in the balance, all because of you!"
"Hey, I'm here to take care of it!" She defended, taking a step back, eyes wide. "Wait, do you actually think-?"
"You'd better! We've been looking the other way on your behavior for years - it'll do you some good to do something heroic for once." With a scoff, he went back to the group.
"Do- do they seriously think I'm Chloe?" Ladybug breathed to herself in disbelief as a few more officers gave her weird looks.
"They wouldn't be the first ones to fall for such a ridiculous theory," Cat snarked as he landed nearby, catching her attention. Leaning on his staff, the cat hero looked on, unimpressed. "You would think they would have common sense, given how helpful you've been in the past, but I guess Chloe is more hated than I thought."
"If the mere thought of me being her is enough for people to treat me differently... me too," she admitted with a shiver. "C'mon, let's just go get this over with."
"What do I do... what do I do...?!" Chloe paced around her bedroom frantically.
Every curtain had been drawn, every electronic covered with sheets or on the balcony out of reach. When the akuma had first made her announcement, she was confused - and then scared, once she had seen her father just barely in view.
"A villain thinks I'M Ladybug..." she muttered, tugging at her hair. "Not that I wouldn't love to be Ladybug... but- but I'm powerless! I can't do anything heroic! All I've got is..."
She trailed off, turning to her closet.
She turned next to her nightstand, where a familiar replica yo-yo sat innocently next to a pair of sunglasses.
Chloe Bourgeois turned again to her closet, and a grin slowly spread across her face.
"I have an idea," she said, dashing for the door.
The hotel was eerily quiet as the two heroes made their way through a window and into the halls proper. Ladybug and Cat exchanged bewildered glances at the empty halls. All to be heard was their muted footfalls and the buzzing lights overhead. As they got into the elevator, the soft music playing over the speakers made them visibly relax.
"It's... quiet," she observed, eyes narrowing. "Too quiet."
"Way to be cliche," Cat teased.
"Something is wrong."
"Yeah, there's an akuma on the loose."
"No, you know what I mean." Ladybug insisted, turning to her partner with a frown. "Considering who she is, I'm guessing her powers involve 'freezing' people in place. But then that begs the question, what else can she do? Rewind? Fast-forward? Refresh?"
"Somehow I doubt Hawkmoth would give her the ability to rewind time as she pleases. That's too overpowered, even for him." The black-clad hero rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall. "And we both know that's too much thought for him to put into one of these."
"I guess." The dark-haired heroine heaved a sigh. "Is it weird to not feel too bad about what happened to Mayor Bourgeois?"
Cat cast her a flat look. "Considering what his daughter gets up to on a weekly basis, I'm surprised you feel bad at all."
"Cat," she admonished. "That's not nice."
"Yeah, and neither is she," he rebutted. "I'm more surprised nobody's raised a complaint about her sooner."
She looked away. Honestly, she couldn't argue with that point.
The doors chimed and slowly opened on the penthouse floor. It was even more silent than the main floors, and as they stepped out of the elevator, they couldn't help the shiver that went up their backs.
"If she's targeting Chloe, this is where she'd be," Cat surmised, looking towards the girl's lavish door. "And because we couldn't get in by her balcony door..."
"She must be barricaded inside," Ladybug nodded, trying the doorknob.
Surprisingly, it turned. She cast Cat a look of alarm before cracking the door open, peeking in.
The room was a mess, sheets from the bed covering Chloe's large TV and every curtain drawn. Clothes were strewn across the floor.
Cat wrinkled his nose. "Huh. This is messier than usual."
Getting the door all the way open, Ladybug walked in and looked around. "She really isn't here?"
"If I were Chloe, I'd either barricade myself in, or..." taking a glance at her ajar closet door, "... maybe I'd disguise myself and try to get outside."
"What? That's stupid, how would she blend..." Ladybug looked at the closet, and finally connected the dots.
"Which means," Cat finished, a grin spreading across his face as he made to leave the room, "we have a Ladybug impostor running around, perfect bait for our akuma."
efficient-novice:
okay so was somebody gonna tell me that some kid from paris actually knows lb's identity or was i gonna have to find that out myself shits gettin grazy
#akumaalert#ladybug#no seriously what is going on#who is ladybug
1,029 notes
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ladybugstan:
guys stay calm! it's just an akuma! there's no way this 'lady wifi' actually knows who ladybug is
#i mean cmon#akumaalert#ladybug#pissoffhawkmoth
309 notes
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krystal-jems:
Holy shit. Ladybug just burst into the mayor's office except it doesn't look like her? why is she blond
#liveblogging#akumaalert#ladybug#impostorbug
1,004 notes
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live-paris-updates:
Stay calm, everyone! Ladybug and Cat Noir have hit the scene!
#akumaalert#ladybug#chatnoir#liveblogging
13,484 notes
The door to the mayor's office rattled with a loud thump. Lady Wifi looked up, startled, as she heard a loud yelp and a cuss behind it: "Ow, merde! How does she do this?!"
"Ladybug?" The akuma questioned.
"Just- a second, hang on..." The door opened normally, revealing a red-faced girl in the familiar red-and-black spotted costume, rubbing her knee. As she gingerly shut the door behind herself, she pulled out a yo-yo and declared, "Your evil deeds are through!"
"I'd like to see you try," she sneered, cackling in delight as she pulled out her phone.
The Ladybug worked quick, blonde ponytail swishing as she blocked the pause symbols flying her way with the item. Ducking beneath another, she moved for a high kick.
Lady Wifi yelled, dropping the phone as she held her nose. "You-! You hit me in the face!"
"Serves you right, for all the damage you've done," she scoffed, kicking the phone out of the way. "Now hand over your akuma!"
The girl's eyes darted to the phone for a second, before her face twisted into a sneer. "I don't think so," she hissed.
In a split second, the blonde yelped as a hit to the gut made her fly back towards the wall. She hit it with a painful grunt, and before she could get her wits about her and get up, she was stuck against the wall with her hands locked.
"Wh- what the-?!" She struggled feebly, kicking out as the akuma got closer.
"Finally, this is my moment!" Lady Wifi giggled with glee, turning on the livestream and pointing it towards herself and the struggling would-be heroine. "Hey Paris, it's your girl again! I've finally gotten Ladybug right where I want her... now to reveal who she really-!"
"Lady Wifi!" Ladybug announced, kicking the door open with her yo-yo twirling in her hand, pointing right at her startled form. "Your evil deeds are through! I'm pinging you to justice!"
There was a beat. Lady Wifi, Chloe, and Cat Noir (who had just walked in behind her) all gave her exasperated looks.
A bead of sweat rolled down her face. "Uh... ha ha... get it? C'mon, I had to think really hard about that one."
"Leave the jokes to me," Cat responded flatly, patting her on the shoulder before getting into a stance. "Time to LAN me an akuma!"
This time even Ladybug gave him a deadpan look, and Lady Wifi groaned aloud, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Hawkmoth, can I just go home?" She asked as the mask flashed before her face. "If I have to deal with horrible puns this entire time, I quit."
"Don't you dare, Lady Wifi," Hawkmoth snarled in her ear. "The Miraculous! Now!"
"Ugh, fine." Rolling her eyes, she reached for her phone. "Looks like an identity reveal will have to wait, viewers. I've got a bug to squish!"
"Cat, leave her to me," the heroine instructed, countering the symbols as they flew at her. "You try to find a way to help- er..."
"We're all well aware it's Chloe," Cat flatly replied, kneeling beside the starstruck girl. "Whoops, spoiler alert: the blonde in the Ladybug outfit is just a cosplayer. And all of Paris rioted."
"Less talking, more helping!" She yelped, bending backwards to avoid a pause icon as it hit the wall and shattered.
Rolling his eyes, the hero turned to Chloe. "Where in the world did you get a costume this accurate? If you'd gone the extra mile and gotten a dark wig, I'd have a hard time telling you and the real deal apart."
"I have one," she insisted, struggling against the icons as Cat tapped them with a finger. "I just... didn't have time to put it on."
"Of course you do," he blithely agreed, standing back up.
live-paris-updates:
Ladybug and Cat Noir have made it to the mayor's office! Turns out that blonde ladybug was just a fan!
#akumaalert#ladybug#chatnoir#liveblogging
19,393 notes
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0urr0y4lh!ghn3ss:
holy SHIT did ANYBODY just see them BREAK THROUGH THE WINDOW? THEY'RE DANGLING! SOMEBODY HELP THEM!
keysmash-keys:
unrelated but ur user is sending me
0urr0yalh!ghn3ss:
alas i cannot escape the homestuck B) also WHATTHEFUCK THE BLONDE ONE JUST SLAPPED THE AKUMA IN THE FACE?
#akumaalert#ladybug#chatnoir#STILL SCREAMING
9,102 notes
"The phone!" Chloe yelled, catching Cat's attention as she rubbed her sore wrists. "The akuma! It has to be, right?!"
"It would seem so," the hero observed with narrowed eyes, setting her down on the rooftop. "Well? Any Lucky Charms?"
"All I got was this trampoline," the heroine's brow furrowed, puzzled. "What the heck am I gonna do with a trampoline?"
"Look out!"
Chloe dove for the heroine, dragging her down to the rooftop with a grunt as another symbol whizzed by overhead. For a moment, she sighed in relief - and then let out a squawk of panic, scrambling to help her up. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! Are you okay, Ladybug?"
"Just peachy," she grunted, rubbing her sore shoulder. "If the akuma's in her phone..."
Cat exchanged a look with her, and he grinned. "Destroy the signal, destroy the phone, grab the butterfly," he surmised, readying his bowstaff. "Leave it to me."
"Wait! I wanna help too," Chloe insisted, clasping her hands together.
Cat heaved a quiet sigh, looking back at where the akuma floated overhead. "Distract her."
Nodding rapidly, she responded, "Got it! Be right back!" and ran back towards the dining hall. Or, at least, the huge hole in one of the windows overlooking the roof.
Cat blocked another flying lock symbol, glancing back towards where Chloe had gone and did a double-take when she reappeared with stacks of plates.
"Really? This is your best plan?" He incredulously balked.
"This is the best I've got!" She grunted, setting the stack on the ground and picking up the top one. "Unless you've got a better idea, you mangy cat, I'm actually helping!"
Raising his arms in surrender, he watched as she readied her aim.
A plate went flying in the air like a frisbee, and the akuma froze it midair with a wide-eyed, shocked, "You're throwing plates at me now?!"
"Good work, Chloe! Keep it up!" Ladybug praised, turning to her partner. "Think you can make it?"
"Give me some credit; if there's one thing I know, it's jumping to conclusions." Sending her a wink, he jumped onto the red-and-black trampoline and gave it an experimental bounce. Nodding in approval, he announced, "Get ready!"
"I've had enough of you, Chloe Bourgeois!" The akuma shrieked, just as a plate hit her in the knee. "ARGH! That's it, I'm putting you on pause!"
"Dishes the best you can do?" She taunted. Then, a second later, she huffed, aiming to throw another one. "I blame you for that one, cat."
Ignoring her, he bounced a few more times - and then a particularly strong one sent him flying through the air.
"Cataclysm!" He managed to say, his hand sparking to life with black energy.
"What are you-?!" Lady Wifi balked.
"HEY!" Chloe yelled. "Eyes on me, locker thief!"
"YES!" Ladybug hollered, watching as his fingers caught on the signal antenna.
In only mere seconds, the entire thing turned black and dissolved in pulsating black chunks - and Lady Wifi tapped frantically at her phone as the symbol beneath her feet disappeared and she fell with a scream. Cat Noir landed in a roll nearby with a grunt, smirking at his handiwork.
"Alya!" Ladybug cried, rushing over with her arms extended.
She arrived just in time - Lady Wifi crashed to the rooftop, bringing the heroine down with her as her phone skidded across the ground. It came to a stop just under Chloe's foot.
"Connection," she crushed it with a sound stomp, relishing in the purple butterfly flying free, "terminated."
Grunting, Ladybug tossed her yo-yo with a triumphant, "Gotcha!"
Chloe watched in amazement as her idol swiped the butterfly. Tenderly, she let it free once it was purified, watching it flutter off for a moment before tossing the trampoline in the air. She mouthed the words along with her: "Miraculous Ladybug!"
After the swarm of ladybugs disappeared into the troubled winter sky, Alya sat up, rubbing her eye and squinting. "How did I get here?"
"You were akumatized," Cat stated as Ladybug helped her up. "Chloe got you suspended, remember?"
"Oh, right." Her confusion immediately soured, and she sent a nasty look at the cosplayer. "Even if I was wrong about you being Ladybug, it doesn't mean you have the right to get me suspended!"
"Uh, I have a pretty good reason to get you suspended! You tried to go through my locker!" Chloe insisted, propping a hand on her hip. "You could have just asked me!"
"You wouldn't have told her anything," the cat hero irritably snapped.
"You don't know that!" The blonde spluttered. "If Ladybug had asked me, I'd answer!"
"There's no doubts there," said heroine muttered under her breath before she turned to her friend. "Alya, what you did was wrong. Going through other people's stuff like that will only get you in trouble."
"I know... I'm sorry..." she huffed a sigh, wrapping her arms around herself as the chill set in. "I just... I wanted to find out something about you. Nobody knows who you really are - you're such an enigma that there's entire Reddit threads dedicated to trying to figure out who you are under the mask!"
"There are... Reddit... threads...?" She blanched.
"And tumblr blogs," she added grumpily. "And Twitter accounts, of course. All I wanted was one interview. Just one. And if it did turn out to be Chloe under the mask... well, I'd have a lot of questions to be answered."
Chewing on her lip thoughtfully, the hero exchanged a glance with her partner. After a moment's thought, she spoke up, "Cat, could you get Chloe back to her room? And let Mayor Bourgeois know everything's okay."
"Got it," he answered, gesturing to the girl. "C'mon, let's hurry up. It's cold out here."
"About time," she complained, begrudgingly wrapping her arms around his neck and letting him scoop her up.
Ladybug rolled her eyes, but a tiny smile crept onto her face nonetheless. Seems she was back to normal.
Once the two were gone, she handed the girl her phone back. Alya looked up, surprised, as she asked, "What do you say to a proper one-on-one?"
the-ladyblogger:
EXCLUSIVE! New one-on-one interview with Paris's hero, Ladybug!
#ladybug#ladyblog#interviews
39,292 notes