Ladybug had never thought she said she'd miss a supervillain. Yet, here she was, grateful for Hawkmoth's first akumatized villain in months. Maybe he had finally given Paon the day off.
Bob Roth, donned in his gold-plated armor and matching crown, landed at her feet, cracking the street she was standing on. His now long hair flew in the wind.
'Greed' held his scepter in front of him, summoning another item out of thin air. His new mansion towered behind him, hiding Paris' monuments that surrounded this spot. The fire-breathing unicorn was an odd addition, but Ladybug was too distracted dodging the blasts from Greed's new pet to comment.
Seemingly satisfied with the enemy, Greed returned to his throne room. Ladybug never understood why akumatized villains did this, especially since Greed would likely get far too distracted with creating fancy items to take her down.
She wrapped the horse's mouth with her yo-yo, but it broke through. Ladybug stared at her broken yo-yo, trying to piece together an idea to get back inside and back to defeating Greed.
Dashing up a lamppost, she rummaged through her yo-yo as the horse fumed (literally) from below. The lamppost burned her feet, and started to wobble as the base melted. Luckily, she found what she was looking for, and threw the macarons she normally kept in her bag for Tikki at the horse.
It paused, taking in the sensation of the treat. The fire slowed, and Ladybug lowered herself down.
"There, there," she said gently, throwing another macaron far away. The horse chased after it. A few more, and it was out of sight, completely forgetting about her. A fire-breathing horse on the loose wasn't ideal, but hopefully she could miraculous ladybug this away in no-time. She didn't exactly have a partner to do damage control right now - she had to focus on the main issue.
She entered the palace, taking in the gold rimmed ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and white marble floors. You could fit the entire Agreste home just into the entrance room alone. Big piles of money, along with the main velvet throne, lay across the way, but Greed was no where to be seen. She walked around the house, her footsteps echoing away. She spotted a music studio where XY jammed away, unconcerned about his father's current state; a walk in closet with nearly any outfit you could ask for; and, as she almost slipped on the entry, an indoor pool with a waterslide.
"Glad that you could make it, Ladybug," Greed's voice boomed over the speakers, disorienting the superheroine. Without her yo-yo, she could only brace herself for an attack.
She turned around too late. Greed's hands pushed on her back, and as her foot shifted, she noticed the, of course, gold weight cuffed around her ankle. Her head sunk underwater, her hands skimming the surface of the pool. She opened her mouth in an attempt to get her lucky charms but just lost valuable breath. Her lungs burned, her eyes stung, and she was making no progress on breaking out of this thing.
She eventually gave up on trying to break out. It was, in reality, only a minute, but to her felt like a lifetime. She was so tired. Her hands stopped splashing the water, before a firm one grabbed them. He pulled her out in a surprisingly swift motion given the weight on her, and she coughed heavily on the pool edge.
"M'lady! Are you alright?"
"Chat?" She asked in disarray. Her blond rescuer smiled, standing up from his hunched pose around her to place himself between her and Greed.
"Close."
Greed yelled in frustration, launching golden swords, daggers, and any other weapon he could think of at the two. In an impressive, dual-weapon combo, Paon deflected all of them. Ladybug stood up, slightly shaky, and summoned her Lucky Charm.
"That must be the akumatized object!" Paon glanced over at the object in her hands. She hated admitting it, but that was exactly what she was thinking. "I'll hold him off, you go look for it."
She wasn't one to argue against Paon sacrificing himself, albeit odd, and after her incident in the pool she was a bit nervous to face off against Greed on her own right now. There were a million places the object could be hiding, but she had a gut feeling it was in the throne room.
She rummaged through the piles of hundred dollar bills with no lucky. Examined the throne, the chandelier, the walls for a clue and got nothing. She was just about to give up and leave when Paon and Greed's fight was brought to her. The villain - well, the akumatized one specifically - accidentally shot the chandelier, and it came crashing to the ground. Ladybug pulled Paon away just in time.
He thanked her, but she was frustrated. She hated that she needed his backup right now.
"No! Not my chandelier!" Greed shouted in agony. That's when inspiration struck Ladybug.
"Yeah? Well, your chandelier is the least of your worries, because I've got your akumatized object! Prepare to lose all your powers!" She held up the fake pair of glasses, a gold and diamond studded version of the ones Bob Roth always wore.
"How is that possible? I hid it in the chair!" Greed realized his mistake in his anger a touch too late. Ladybug grabbed one of Paon's sharp fans and cut open the velvet seating. Hidden in a chest below were the glasses, and while Paon held Greed off, she snapped them.
She tossed the fan back to paon, and used the fake pair to miraculous ladybug the town. Marble faded to cobblestone, gold walls traded for the Arc De Triomphe. Her now-repaired yo-yo took down the akuma, and Paris was back to normal.
Well, except for the fact the Hawkmoth's partner had just helped her take him down. Bob Roth ran off after Ladybug placed his charm in his suit jacket pocket, leaving the two enemies (but secret friends) in a stand off.
"Why?" is all Ladybug could say, perhaps a touch too accusatory considering he had just saved her life.
"I don't kill, you know this. Plus, I could never let the woman I love die."
His eyes were far too full of love for Ladybug's comfort. She didn't know what to say. It was easier, almost, when it was Chat Noir; she knew, at least, he wouldn't burn down all of Paris if she said no.
She still had feelings for Adrien, and anyways, she couldn't love someone she had to fight against.
Even if he was just as passionate as her, just as determined, just as brave. Even if he had just saved her life in the most attractive, suave way possible. Even if -
She was pondering all the reasons why she couldn't love him while Paon waved goodbye to her stuttering self.
The moment she got home, she screamed into her pillow. She desperately wanted things to just go back to normal.
"Chat Noir," she whispered to the stars as she stared up through her skylight, "where are you?"