Disclaimer in the first chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Claire belongs to ChaosControl7920, a user on DeviantART who I role-play with.
Chapter Seventeen: Cyberpunk
It had been a few days since Roland and Juliette became official, and the two were spending a lot of time together. Everyone thought that the two were cute together.
"Wow, you two are absolutely adorable together," Rochelle let out.
"You really think so?" Juliette asked.
"Of course! You're so lucky!" Rochelle smiled. Prom had lasted all night long, and Rochelle had also been able to get a kiss on the cheek from her crush/idol. "I really hope that I won't have to go to the extremes to ask Miguel to hang out with me again."
"You probably won't have to, since you had to get all those retweets just to go to prom with him," Jacqueline said, fixing her hair. She and François had recently become official too, after another date.
"I hope not," Rochelle laughed softly.
They all laughed softly, as Juliette would turn to see Roland running up to her. "Hey, beautiful," he smiled, kissing her cheek.
"Hey yourself, handsome," Juliette replied.
"I missed your beautiful face in math class," Roland frowned.
"Oh, Roland, I missed your handsome face in history class," Juliette let out.
The two would share a quick kiss with one another.
"Yep, you're adorable," Renée smiled.
"Thanks, girl," Juliette would smile back.
"I'm honestly going to miss this school," Jacqueline sighed.
"I know, I'm going to miss seeing you," Juliette let out.
"Hey, I'm not leaving Paris," Jacqueline let out. She had been accepted into a university not too far from De Sauveterre Academy.
"Thank goodness for that," Juliette would smile.
The bell would ring, causing the students to disperse to their next class.
At a high-tech video game company building...
A young woman would be making her way into the building. She had a fair skin tone, and black hair tied into a messy bun, along with green eyes. She was wearing a royal blue dress, a pair of black leggings with galaxy designs on them, and blue heels. There was a Pokéball keychain attached to her leggings. The woman's name was Claire Edwards. She was an aspiring video game designer, and wanted to show her boss, Salvatore Russo the progress she had made.
As she was heading up to his office, a young woman approached her. The woman had light brown skin and short brown hair, and brown eyes. She wore a cropped blue jacket with a shirt underneath, wide-legged trousers, blue high heels, and a blue beaded necklace. Her name was Iris.
"Hi, Claire," Iris smiled.
Claire blushed a bit when she saw her. Iris was her crush, and she was nervous about telling her how she felt.
"Oh, hey, Iris, how's it going?" Claire asked.
"It's good. Going to see the boss?" Iris asked.
Claire nodded. "Yes. I'm really hoping that he's going to allow me to become a video game designer."
"I hope so! You'd do great among the team of video game designers!" Iris smiled.
"You really think so?" Claire asked.
"I know so," Iris smiled.
Claire blushed again. "T-thanks." She would soon depart, after saying goodbye to Iris, making her way to Salvatore's office. When she arrived, she would knock on the door.
"Enter!" a brisk, male voice called out.
Claire would enter his office.
"Good morning, Mr. Russo," she said.
Salvatore Russo was a man with a light skin tone, blue eyes, and blonde hair that was slicked back with hair gel. He wore a blue suit jacket, along with a white dress shirt, a navy blue tie, and dark blue dress pants. He also wore white socks, and brown shoes.
"Edwards. What can I do for you?" Mr. Russo asked.
"I wanted to show you my progress on the video game that I'm working on, and-" Claire tried to say, before her boss rudely interrupted her.
"You? Be a video game designer? That's ridiculous! Only men can be video game designers!"
"But, you haven't seen my game..." Claire let out.
"I'll take a look at it," her boss rolled his eyes.
Claire smiled, and handed him the USB file, which he put into his computer. After examining it, he grinned. "This is perfect! I'll show this to the designers!"
"Aren't you going to give me credit for it?" Claire asked.
"Nope. I'm going to pass it off as my own," her boss smirked.
"You can't do that!" Claire let out, tears brimming.
"I can, and I will. Like I said, girls cannot be video game designers. If you don't like it, I can totally fire you." With that, he unplugged the USB, and sauntered out of the office and slammed the door, leaving Claire alone to fight back her tears.
A mechanical whir broke the chamber's silence, and ghastly blue light was allowed into the circular room. The moment the light struck the white forms along the ground, the butterflies, now luminescent, took to the air. They filled the dim chamber as a cloud of beating wings, hovering around the figure in the center of the room. It would soon reveal Hawk Moth.
"The negative emotions in this young woman are rising, I can feel it," Hawk Moth smirked. He held out a hand for a butterfly to land on it. Once it did, he corrupted it with his dark power, turning it into an akuma, before letting it go out the window.
"Fly away, my evil little akuma, and evilise her!" Hawk Moth twirled his cane, before letting it stomp on the floor for a bit.
The akuma would fly out into Paris, searching for its victim.
Claire sunk to her knees, sitting against the closed office door. She was crying. She couldn't believe that this had happened to her.
The akuma would phase through the glass window, and approached the crying woman. It fluttered down to the Pokéball keychain, and absorbed itself into it, turning it a dark purple.
Claire's face would immediately darken, the area around her face becoming a darker shade of moderate vermilion. A light butterfly mask would also appear.
"Cyberpunk. I am Hawk Moth. I'm granting you the power to turn Paris into your own video game. People who stand in your way can be placed under your control with VR headsets. In exchange, bring me the Miraculouses of Ladybug, Cat Noir, Lionne and Ocelot. Do we have a deal?"
"Oh, we definitely do have a deal, Hawk Moth," Claire smirked darkly. The butterfly mask would fade away, as she stood up, and the dark ether would cover her body, transforming her into a villain. When it faded away, Claire looked completely different. Her skin tone became silver, and her hair turned red, dip-dyed pink at the bottom. Her eyes turned a brighter green, with black surrounding them. She would have tattooed lines along her neck and arms as if she had some kind of robotic implants as part of her body. She would wear a tight fitting blue blouse with a good view down her bra, and torn black jeans with three inch heels. The Pokéball keychain turned into a Dusk Ball.
She kicked the door down, to the shock of the other employees.
"Where is Mr. Russo?" Cyberpunk asked robotically.
"Claire? Is that you?" a female employee asked.
"Claire is gone! Cyberpunk has replaced her! Now answer my question! Where is Mr. Russo?!" Cyberpunk demanded.
"Like we're gonna tell you!" a male employee let out, glaring.
Cyberpunk growled at this. "Well then, it looks like I'll have to resort to drastic measures." She took out multiple VR headsets.
"VR headsets? Please, what's that gonna do?" a second male employee mocked.
Cyberpunk simply smirked, and threw the VR headsets, and they would attach themselves to their heads! They would activate instantly. Only Iris didn't get a VR headset, as she had managed to run away to hide somewhere else. She would take out her phone, and activate the akuma alert alarm.
"Now you're under my control," Cyberpunk smirked.
"We obey only you, Cyberpunk," the brainwashed employees let out.
"That's right, you do. Now, come, my army!" Cyberpunk demanded, leading the way to the boardroom. The brainwashed employees would march after her.
In the boardroom...
Salvatore Russo would be presenting Claire's video game as his own, boasting and bragging to the other designers.
"Mr. Russo, this is an excellent game!" one of the designers let out.
"I know it is. I designed it," Mr. Russo bragged.
Suddenly, the boardroom door was kicked down.
"Hey, what gives?! This is a private meeting!" Mr. Russo snapped angrily.
"He didn't design it. I did!" Cyberpunk glared.
"Wait, what?" another designer let out. "But Mr. Russo said that he designed it!"
"He's wrong! He's lying to you! I'm the original designer! My name's on the USB!" Cyberpunk shouted angrily.
The first designer looked at the USB; which was labeled with the name: 'Claire Edwards.'
"Hold on...Claire Edwards?" he questioned.
"Her? She's just a measly woman who I use as an intern," Mr. Russo smirked, ignoring Cyberpunk.
Cyberpunk would grab him with her new superpowered strength. "Think I'm weak now, boss?!"
"Edwards?!" Mr. Russo was shocked.
"Your pathetic intern is gone now! I'm Cyberpunk! And now, I'll be getting my revenge on you!" Cyberpunk let out, throwing Mr. Russo roughly to the ground.
The akuma alert alarm would soon be set off. "What's happening?!" Cyberpunk demanded.
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Mr. Russo shouted.
The game designers screamed, as they ran out of the office building, their boss trailing behind them.
"Get them, my minions!" Cyberpunk demanded.
"Yes, Cyberpunk," the army droned, as they chased after the boss and the game designers.
The akuma alert would go off.
"Oh no, not another akuma," Juliette frowned.
Roland cupped her chin. "Don't worry, princess. The heroes will save the day."
"Yeah, you're right. We should go and hide," Juliette would smile softly.
Roland kissed her quickly, and would go off to hide. Juliette would also go to hide. She would find an empty classroom to hide in, and would let Leena out of her hiding spot. "Alright, Leena, it's time!"
"You know what to do!" Leena smiled at her holder.
"I sure do. Leena, LET'S ROAR!"
Leena would be absorbed into the barrette, which turned gold, and looked like a lion's paw. Juliette's eyes turned hazel, and became cat-like, and her platinum blonde hair was taken out of its braid, turning auburn, and becoming straight. Her clothes would be soon be replaced with a sleeveless golden and strapless dress that reached to her knees, and golden arm-length gloves with black claws on them. She also had long black boots, that had a golden lion logo on the back of each boot. A golden belt would be wrapped around her waist, and it had a long, lion tail attached to it. There were two holsters on her dress; each of them contained a dagger. Finally, a golden superhero mask would appear over her face. She would pose once her transformation was complete.
Roland would find another empty classroom, and would let Occa out of his scarf. He sighed happily.
"Uh, Roland?" Occa asked. "You do know that you have to transform, right?"
"Oh, right," Roland snapped out of it. "Occa, streaks on!" he declared, as Occa is absorbed into the silver oval hair clip: which turns black and the inside turns a golden yellow. It has 5 rosettes inside.
Roland soon wore a golden yellow suit with large streak spots on the arms, torso, back, and legs that have a thick black outline and are light yellow in the middle. He has a light yellow middle section down his middle that goes slightly down his thighs before curving under him and partly up his butt. Around his waist is a belt-like structure that holds a long tail that is golden yellow with black spots. His tail is very heavy and usually used for leverage, but can be removed to wield like a flail. He wore tall boots that point up to his knees with a black heel and a light metallic yellow toe that are fashioned like paws.
The sole of his boots also have paws on the bottom. His collar is black and goes up his neck; though it comes down in the middle with a diamond shape around the middle of his collar bone. His mask is heavily marked like an ocelot's face with black and white markings on golden yellow. His eyes gain a blue sclera and turn to slits like a cat's do. He has fake ocelot ears including oceli on the back of them. His hair also gets long and shaggier, the longest parts on both sides of his head gain a golden yellow ombre at the ends. He has gauntlets with heavily armored fingers joints and knuckles that end with sharp claws at the ends. He would pose at the end of his transformation.
The akuma alert would go off at Collège Françoise Dupont. All the students would be dismissed, and Marinette would look at which akuma was causing trouble in Paris.
"So, what's the details?" Alya asked her best friend.
"Apparently, the akuma is named: 'Cyberpunk.' She's going after her boss; after he said that he would be taking credit on a video game that she designed," Marinette replied.
"Sounds scary," Alya said. "I just know that Ladybug, Cat Noir, Lionne, and Ocelot can save the day."
"I'm sure they will. Let's go and hide," Marinette smiled, as she hurried off into an alleyway. Once the coast was clear, she would let Tikki out of her purse. "The coast is clear, Tikki. Time to transform! Tikki, Spots ON!" Marinette declared, transforming into her alter-ego: wearing a red superhero jumpsuit covered in black spots and with a black collar/turtleneck. Her yo-yo was wrapped around her waist with a red string. On her face is a red mask with five black spots that are in a symmetrical design, and the waterlines of her eyes are coloured black. Her earrings are red with five black spots in a quincunx pattern, and the bands holding her hair back become red ribbons, resembling a ladybug's antennas or a ladybug flying when she's moving. Her eyes became a vivid azure. She would pose at the end of her transformation.
Adrien would hide in the locker room. "Plagg, Claws Out!" Adrien let out, as his ring would turn black, and gain a green paw print on its face. He has cat eyes with green sclerae, dark green irises, and oval pupils. His hair becomes longer and untamed, and it covers his normal ears. Cat Noir wears a textured black skin-tight catsuit with metal details. He wears matching gloves that have claws on the fingertips and boots with a hidden wedge, silver toes, and paw-shaped treads. He has a golden bell on his neck, connected to a zipper on the front of his costume, and a long belt that wraps around his waist and hangs out from the back like a tail. He wears black cat ears and a black mask around his eyes. He'd pose at the end of his transformation.
The four heroes would soon meet up at the top of a building. "This looks interesting," Lionne said, as she saw the akuma.
"Kind of feels like the first time Cat and I fought Gamer," Ladybug mentioned.
"I read that fight on the Ladyblog," Ocelot said. "Good job on beating him that time."
"Now, we need a plan," Cat Noir said. "We need to make sure not to get those headsets on us, otherwise, we'll turn into her slaves!"
"Your right, so we might need some luck. LUCKY CHARM!" Ladybug exclaimed, throwing her yo-yo up into the air. Magical ladybugs would surround the yo-yo; until an item dropped into her hands.
"A spray bottle filled with water?" Ladybug was confused. She would look around, until her lucky vision saw a hose that she could use to attach the spray bottle too, and a fire hydrant. "Okay, I have a plan," she gestured to the other heroes to come closer to her.
Cyberpunk and her army had found Mr. Russo. They would bring him before the akumatized woman.
"Get the camera ready for the livestream!" she barked out.
"As you command, Cyberpunk," a minion droned robotically. They were working on getting the camera ready, when suddenly, a blast of water would knock them down!
"What the?!" Cyberpunk let out.
The VR machine on the person's head would short out, before coming off, freeing the person from the mind control.
Cyberpunk growled. "NO!"
"What happened?" the person asked, confused.
"Get to safety, quick!" Lionne shouted.
The person would quickly run away.
"You heroes are getting on my last nerve!" Cyberpunk would toss her VR headsets at the heroes.
They would all manage to dodge.
"The keychain! We need to aim for that!" Lionne exclaimed.
"I don't think so!" Cyberpunk smirked, tossing a VR headset onto the head of an unsuspecting Cat Noir!
"NO!" Ladybug let out, as the VR headset would activate instantly.
"I obey only Cyberpunk," Cat Noir let out robotically.
Cyberpunk's face would soon get the butterfly outline over her face.
"Excellent work, Cyberpunk! Command him to get the other Miraculouses, before giving you his own!" Hawkmoth let out telepathically.
"Already on it, Hawkmoth," Cyberpunk grinned. The outline disappeared. "Cat Noir, use your power against them!"
"As you command, Cyberpunk. Cataclysm." The destructive energy would form in his hand as he charged forward. The heroes managed to dodge, as the mind-controlled Cat Noir would use his power on a park bench, destroying it.
"There has to be a way to get to Cyberpunk!" Ladybug let out.
"Cover your ears! MIGHTY ROAR!" Lionne let out, activating her timer power. The heroes had covered their ears as she let out the roar, but the minions plus Cyberpunk had no chance. This gave Lionne the chance to grab the keychain, and she stomped her foot on it hard. The akuma fluttered out, trying to escape.
"No more evildoing for you, little akuma," Ladybug began, as she opened up her yo-yo, spinning it around. "time to DEEVILZE!"
The akuma tried to flutter away, but it was no match for Ladybug's yo-yo, which closed upon capturing the akuma.
"Gotcha! Bye bye, little butterfly," Ladybug said, as she released the now purified butterfly.
She would then toss the spray bottle up into the air. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"
Magical ladybugs would go around Paris, restoring everything that had been done by Cyberpunk, including freeing the mind controlled people. Cat Noir was confused as the VR helmet disappeared from his face.
"Huh? What did I miss?" Cat Noir asked.
"POUND IT!" Lionne, Ladybug and Ocelot let out.
Under the fluttering wingbeats, Hawk Moth growled and his cane creaked under the pressure of his grip. He clasped a hand over his brooch, and his voice rumbled against the metal walls, "Curse you, Ladybug. Your luck won't last forever." He then shouted to the window, as the metal shutters began to close, "I shall have your Miraculous one day!"
Cyberpunk would turn back into Claire, who was confused. "What happened?"
"You were akumatized. Hawkmoth took advantage of you," Lionne said gently, passing her the repaired keychain.
"Did I hurt Iris?!" Claire was worried.
"Claire!" Iris's voice was heard, as she ran up to the girl.
"Iris?" Claire was confused.
"Go talk to her," Lionne said.
The Ladybug, Cat and Lion Miraculouses would let out their warning beeps.
"You guys go. I'll escort them home after," Ocelot said, having not used his power.
"Alright, see you later, Ocelot," Ladybug said, as she, Lionne, and Cat Noir would leave the scene.
"You must hate me," Claire sniffled.
"Why would I hate you? I love you Claire. I've had a crush on you for a really long time," Iris admitted.
"You like girls?" Claire was surprised, with some tears forming in her eyes.
Iris nodded, wiping away the tears. "I've liked girls for a really long time." She would kiss Claire, who would return the kiss. It wouldn't last long, because Ocelot would soon take the two women home, so that way, he could go and feed his Kwami. He would take them home, and leave, so he could detransform.
"Man, those two are so cute together," Occa let out.
"Yeah. I hope me and Juliette end up like that," Roland smiled softly.
"Well, you're patrolling with Lionne tonight," Occa reminded him.
Roland sighed. "It sucks that I won't be able to reveal my identity."
"Well, you can't. Not until Hawkmoth is defeated for good," Occa said.
"Translation: never," Roland deadpanned.
"You've got that right," Occa sighed.
At a high-tech video game company building...
Salvatore Russo was being led out of the building, with a box of his belongings. He was cursing his head off.
"You can't fire me!" he shouted.
"I can, and I will," a woman's voice replied. It was revealed to be Iris! She was the CEO of the company! "My company has no place for men who are dirtbags. I will ensure that nobody hires you. Please, leave the premises, or I will be forced to call the authorities."
"I can't believe a woman runs a video game company! They are not for woman! Men can run companies!" Salvatore growled.
"Women can be video game designers, Mr. Russo. You just haven't seen their potential," Iris replied simply. "Your wife has already been informed of your termination. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a company to run." Iris would turn on her heel, and walk back into the building, closing and locking the door behind her.
Not long afterwards, Salvatore would get a call on his cellphone. The caller ID had his wife's name on it. He gulped nervously, before answering.
"Hey, sweetheart, I-"
"DON'T YOU SWEETHEART ME, SALVATORE! HOW DARE YOU BE SO RUDE AND RASIST TO A WOMAN YOU WORKED WITH! YOU ARE NOT THE MAN I MARRIED! I AM FILING FOR DIVORCE IMMEDIATELY, AND TAKING FULL CUSTODY OF OUR DAUGHTER!"
"But...sweetheart!" Salvatore begged.
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME SWEETHEART! I WILL BE PUTTING ALL OF YOUR BELONGINGS IN BOXES, AND SHIPPING THEM OUT. YOU WILL NEVER RETURN TO THIS HOUSE EVER AGAIN!" the soon-to-be-ex-wife screamed. She would soon hang up, leaving Salvatore shocked. Now...he had truly lost everything.
Back inside...
Iris would walk into her office, and call in Claire. The woman would walk in.
"Hey, Claire. How would you like to take over Mr. Russo's position?" Iris asked.
"Me?" Claire was shocked.
"Of course. You have the skills I love." Iris smiled.
Claire grinned. "I accept. I can't believe my girlfriend is the CEO."
"Believe it, darling," Iris kissed her cheek.
Super duper sorry for yet another late update! Not sure when I'll be able to write out Chapter 18, but this is finally done at least! I hope everyone had a happy holidays! I can't believe it's nearly 2023! The year has gone by super fast! Do you think Mr. Russo got what he deserved? Let me know down below!