"Looks like we need to call on one of our allies!", Chat remarked as the box fell into Ladybug's hands.

Yeah, I guess we do.", she replied, tucking the box under her arm. "Hold her back as long as you can! I'll be back soon!"

"You can count on me, M'Lady!", he said, watching her leap out of sight. He faced the new akuma. "Alright, it's Noir Time!"
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Marinette looked at the box as it opened before her, all of it's drawers coming out, letting each and every Miraculous charm be seen.

"Remember,", Master Fu repeated. "You must choose wisely. Find an ally you can trust."

Marinette nodded. She'd heard the speech a dozen times before.

However, this time, when she reached for the foxtail necklace, she stopped suddenly, her hand hanging in midair, hallways towards the destined spot.

Master Fu noticed her hesitation. "Ladybug?"

His previous words were playing in her head.

"Pick an ally you can trust."

As effective as Rena Rogue had been in the past, she had since proved herself to be untrustworthy. Ladybug could no longer stomach the idea of Alya fighting at her side anymore. Sure, she claimed to love Ladybug, but she had claimed to love Marinette, too. And look where that had led. And look where that had led. If Alya could turn on her best friend so easily, if she saw Marinette in a terrible light, if she could swear loyalty one minute and then the next then go talk bad about Mari behind their back, to Lila freaking Rossi of all people...whose to say she wouldn't turn on her "favorite hero", too?

Ladybug retracted her hand, eyes flitting from one jewelry piece to the next, her mind racing as she tried to think of someone, anyone she knew who she could count on in an akuma fight. But so far, everyone she had thought of to be her friend had either turned their back on her or left her to deal with her troubles alone. How could she trust them to fight by her side as Ladybug if they weren't on her side as Marinette?

"Marinette, you must choose quickly!", Fu said. "Time is of the essence! There must be someone you know who you can trust! Someone who's shown themselves to be loyal and dependable in a crisis!"

His words clicked in her mind, and it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she finally chose the Bee Miraculous from the box. "Actually, I may have the perfect person in mind."
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Henri hid in Chloe's hotel room, sneaking chocolates from her bonbon dish and stuffing them into a plastic bag before putting them in the hidden pocket on the inside of his jacket. Just as he finished his heist, the door burst open. He spun around, hands up in a defensive position, like a robber busted by the police.

Of course, it wasn't the police. It was Ladybug. The big softie herself. The so-called "heroine" of Paris. The biggest joke of a superhero since Aquaman (Come on, unless there's a crime committed underwater, he's pretty much useless, thought Henri.).

"Ladybug! You're here! Thank goodness! I just know you'll save the day!", said Henri. "You'll defeat the akuma for sure!"

That's all you'll do., he thought in his head. Not like you'll search for Hawkmoth and nip his whole operation in the bud. No, it's easier to cure the symptoms and not the virus.

"I'm glad I found you.", she said, walking up to him, something gripped in her fist. She reached a hand out to him and uncurled her fingers.

There, sitting in her palm, was a little black box with Chinese lettering on it.

"Henri LeRoi, this is the miraculous of the bee.", Ladybug explained to him confidently. "Which grants the power of subjection. You will use it for the greater good, and return it to me once your mission is complete. Do you accept?"

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