Discordant Sonata

Chapter 26: Prima Donna (Part 3 of 4)

Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Prima Donna withdrew to the rooftops, away from reporters and curious onlookers.

"So, Prima Donna ..." Ladybug began. "What's your deal? Who are you? Where did you come from? What do you want?"

"Ladybug," Chat admonished gently. He understood her mistrust, since she'd been in charge of the city's safety practically single-handedly for years. But given his own past, Chat Noir wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, mysterious origins notwithstanding.

The newcomer ran her fingers across her magic wand with a coquettish sashay of her hips. "What, you think you're the only ones in the world who want to protect people simply out of the goodness of your hearts? Do you really have that little hope in humanity?"

"My mother always taught me to always be wary of strangers," Ladybug retorted. She crossed her arms, lips quirking into a suspicious frown.

"Do you go to work or school as 'Ladybug', or do you have a secret identity?" Prima Donna sassed back.

Chat Noir fiddled with his tail nervously, looking back and forth between the two women with bated breath.

Prima Donna's grin widened. "Actually, Ladybug, you are correct about one thing. Allow me to explain. I will defeat Shadowmoth for you... but I won't be doing it for free. You see, fighting crime is hard work, and hard work requires proper recompense. It's as simple as that."

Ladybug quirked an eyebrow. "Hold up. Before we start talking about any hypothetical 'payments'... How will you defeat Shadowmoth? You don't even know where he is. He's been at large for years and no one's been able to stop him yet; not the authorities nor us."

"Did my demonstration not impress you enough? I'd like to see you save the earth from an asteroid," the magician remarked.

Ladybug frowned, unsure of how to respond. She still found that so-called "display of power" extremely suspicious.

"Why don't we just hear her out, Bugaboo?" Chat suggested.

Ladybug hesitated, but relented, "Okay, I'll bite. What kind of reward are we talking about here?"

Prima Donna grinned broadly. "For performing this magnanimous feat, I expect to be rewarded handsomely. And I really do mean 'handsomely'."

She paused dramatically. Ladybug and Chat Noir raised their brows in question.

"Adrien Agreste shall become my boyfriend."

It was hard to tell which of the two heroes broke down into laughter first.

"Him?? Why?!" Chat sputtered out in between snorts.

"You know you can't just force your celebrity crush to love you, right?" Ladybug replied with amusement, attempting (in vain) to hide her smile.

"But we do love each other! In fact, Adrien and I shared a kiss yesterday at school! Or rather—" her voice soured, her dreamy tone turning bitter, "—we sorta did, except a certain jealous busybody got in the way."

The memory of the previous day jolted Ladybug and Chat Noir back to their current situation full force, and their tone became serious again.

"Li— Prima Donna..." Ladybug pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm afraid we can't just 'reward' you with a human being. Especially when we don't know if he'd even be interested in becoming your boyfriend."

"Oh, but I just know Adrien would love to be my boyfriend once he knows how powerful and important I've become. I can give him anything he could ever want. He could do anything and go anywhere, anytime he wants if he's with me. And this time, no one will interfere."