(Continued from part 2)
(Mood Music: "Masquerade Suite" - Aram Khachaturian)
Almost as if to answer her question, a blindingly white spotlight appeared from the sky, illuminating an open plaza with a raised platform that resembled a stage. At its center, a young woman in a flamboyant magician's outfit with orange and white accents appeared in a puff of smoke, posing dramatically.
Crowds began to gather around this spectacle, murmuring among themselves as invisible trumpets played victoriously.
"Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, step right up!" the performer declared. "May I have your attention, please? I have a momentous announcement to make! The true protagonist of the city of love has finally come to grace your boring, humdrum lives! Allow me to introduce myself!"
A drumroll sound emerged from the odd machine where the spotlight originated. It looked like a giant fox head with speakers where the ears would be and lights coming from its eyes.
"I am Prima Donna! The world's most beautiful and powerful magician!"
Raucous applause emerged from the fox-head machine, along with dramatic fog and colorful lights, and calliope music so loud it could be heard from miles away. The people below murmured and some clapped hesitantly along.
"But don't take my word for it. Allow me to demonstrate!" Prima Donna added, extending her arm towards the heavens. "An unprecedented asteroid is on its way to earth, and Paris is directly in its path. The entire country will be destroyed, and possibly all of Europe."
The multitude murmured skeptically, some bringing out their phones to check the news.
"Don't believe me? I'll show it to you," she added, retrieving a spyglass that hung from a holster at her hip. She extended it to its full length and swished it like a magic wand, pointing it at the sky. The dark clouds parted to show a giant meteor about to break through the atmosphere.
Crowds began to panic, shouting amongst themselves, pushing each other to get out of the way.
Chat gasped, squeezing Marinette's shoulder involuntarily. "Mari!" he shouted, "Is this really happening?! I-I don't know if Cataclysm is strong enough to stop this thing!"
Marinette stood up, and he stood alongside her. "You need to go!"
"What about you? I can't just leave you!" He looked at her helplessly.
"Just set me down on the street, I'll run home as fast as I can."
"But—"
"Saving Paris always comes first," she interrupted. "I'll be fine. I promise."
Chat bit down on his lip, then with a small nod, reluctantly agreed. He jumped down with Marinette in his arms, then set her down so she could run away.
Not that any of that mattered if he couldn't stop a literal asteroid from hitting the Earth.
He vaulted to the top of a nearby building with his staff, head whipping back and forth to see if Ladybug was nearby. She landed next to him a moment later, tapping him on the shoulder to beckon him to follow, and the two ran across several rooftops towards the stage a few blocks away. They stopped at the edge of the building in front of it.
"Plan??" Chat asked her desperately.
Ladybug bit her lip, uncertain. Her eyes darted around, looking for anything she could use, anything at all. There was nothing.
"Lucky Ch-" she began to call.
"OH!!" the mystery woman interrupted, voice amplified by the floating speakers. "But what manner of magician would I be if I didn't demonstrate my power for you all? After this magnificent feat, you will all be singing my praises for eons to come! Behold, the incredible Prima Donna's magical prowess! Vixie, I'm ready for my close-up!"
With that, Prima Donna flew into the sky, higher and higher until she was almost a speck. The mechanical fox assistant, "Vixie", showed footage of Prima Donna onto a giant projection in the sky, and onto all televisions, tablets, phones, and any other screens in the city so all could witness what was about to occur.
The lady magician did a flamboyant twirl of her wand, then extended it towards the asteroid. She held the heroic pose and waited for the giant rock, and once the two collided, the heavenly body exploded into a thousand pieces. Before they could hurl towards the earth, however, Prima Donna spun her wand around in a circle shape, until the wind around it formed a funnel. All the pieces and debris collected neatly into a tornado, which she struck again with her wand, and the entire conglomerated mass was thrown out into space.
Upon seeing this, the crowds began to cheer and clap, hopping up and down in glee, giving each other relieved hugs. Some began to chant, "PRIMA DONNA! PRIMA DONNA!"
Chat Noir and Ladybug let out their own furtive sighs of relief, then looked at each other in puzzlement.
"Did that really just happen?" she asked indistinctly, noting how... enthusiastic many of the crowd members were behaving.
"Who is she? Could it be a new miraculous holder?" Chat wondered.
Ladybug crossed her arms. "None of the descriptions of the miraculouses in the Grimoire fit her abilities. At least, none of the ones we know about. And she's definitely not as... discreet as a miraculous holder is supposed to be."
"Akuma?" he asked.
Ladybug shrugged. "Maybe. She's very theatrical though; usually akumas have a very specific purpose. Plus there's that weird fox... robot-thing. Her sentimonster, maybe? We should go talk to her and see what she wants. But let's be careful."
Chat Noir nodded, then the two cautiously approached the stage.
Prima Donna noticed them as she descended, her face becoming bright and cheerful. "Ah, how wonderful! Ladybug and Chat Noir have come to thank me in person and welcome me to Paris! Isn't that right?" She looked at them expectantly.
Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed.
Before they could come up with a reply, Prima Donna filled the silence on their behalf. "I'm sure they'll have lots of confidential information to tell me too, since they've asked me to come to Paris to be their new crime-fighting partner. Now that I'm here, this so-called 'Shadowmoth' stands no chance, as you can clearly see!" she said as she extended her hand towards where the asteroid had been. "But while we're away, why don't we bring out our special guest to entertain you!"
With a wave of her wand, a colorful explosion detonated behind her. As it cleared, a familiar shock of purple and black locks and tailored expensive suit became visible as the smoke cleared, and the crowds gasped in excitement.
"Is that Jagged Stone?!"
"Oh my gosh! It's Jagged!!"
"Jagged Stone's gonna perform!"
A dramatic strum from the famed musician's electric guitar ignited the masses. They erupted into applause and cheering as an elaborate setup became visible beneath the rainbow-colored smoke. A few more well-timed explosions of confetti and fireworks from Vixie marked the start of this impromptu concert, and the crowd went feral.
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."
"And if he says no?" Chat Noir chimed in.
Prima Donna threw him an icy glare. "He won't."
Ladybug felt a trickle of ice flow down her spine at the girl's murderous tone, and she had to stop herself from giving her partner a reassuring shoulder squeeze.
"You still have yet to prove that you can defeat Shadowmoth, anyway," she replied. "And I'm not about to make a decision on behalf of someone who isn't present. No deal."
The magician gave her a poisonous glare. "You can't stop true love," she sneered.
"This isn't true love," Chat insisted.
Prima Donna's hands curled into fists and she gritted her teeth. "We'll see about that."
With that, she leaped away.
Ladybug and Chat Noir threw each other a puzzled glance, then chased after her. As they left, the spontaneous Jagged Stone mini-concert wrapped up as suddenly as it had begun, in a big puff of colorful smoke.
As the two heroes continued their pursuit, it became apparent that Prima Donna and Vixie were headed towards the Agreste mansion.
Upon arriving, the magician swung her wand at the windows that led to Adrien Agreste's mansion bedroom, shattering them easily. Vixie shone a giant spotlight into the room, searching every corner.
Anger mounting, Prima Donna sprinted deeper into the mansion, searching all the halls and corridors, dining areas and living rooms, until there was no further doubt that Adrien wasn't there. She let out a scream of frustration, stomping her foot and leaving a small crater on the tiled floor.
To Ladybug and Chat, who had followed throughout her search, it had become clear from her erratic behavior and volatile temper that Prima Donna was indeed an akuma. She circled back to Adrien's room, with a last-ditch hope that maybe there was a spot she'd missed while searching.
Ladybug tentatively addressed her, "See? He's not even here. What's the point? Just hand over the akuma and this can be all over. You're outnumbered anyway," she added, pointing at herself and Chat Noir.
At that, Prima Donna extended her spyglass-wand and conjured another large puff of smoke. Ladybug and Chat twirled their weapons around to fan away the smoke; but when it cleared, there were two Prima Donnas.
"Outnumbered, you say?" both of them said. "Just try and get your stupid akuma."
Chat Noir and Ladybug gaped in confusion as the two identical magicians leaped out of the broken window in opposite directions.
The heroes split up and pursued them, racing after them on the rooftops. Ladybug threw one last glance at Chat before he disappeared from her sight.
Prima Donna could fly, but Ladybug managed to keep up with her; but just barely. There were a few times when Prima Donna appeared to slow down, only to speed up again when Ladybug got near.
The chase lasted several long minutes, until they approached the city's outer boundaries and Prima Donna stopped in the middle of a bridge.
Ladybug practically tripped over her feet from the abrupt halt, and she panted as she brought her yo-yo back out. Her lungs burned from the exertion, but she kept her face impassive.
"Now that your pet cat isn't with you, you and I can make a deal," the akumatized girl said.
Ladybug sighed. "Let me guess. You want me to hand over my miraculous," she quipped, voice full of sarcasm.
"Smart girl," the magician replied. "Surely you're smart enough to know that there will be consequences if you refuse."
"Is that so?" asked a dubious Ladybug.
Prima Donna sneered. "While you were busy chasing me, my assistant Vixie was out and about, working very hard throughout Paris. She's brought me a present, you see."
Vixie appeared from behind a large pillar, and Ladybug brought her hand to her mouth as she gasped.
It was Adrien, trapped inside a cage that hung below Vixie.
"Ladybug! Help!" Adrien called.
"What?! How did you—?" Ladybug stammered. "But he was—"
"If you don't give me your miraculous-" Prima Donna interrupted, "-something rather unfortunate might befall him. Like, say... an actual fall into the Seine river," she added as she pointed to the water.
"Why would you do that?! I thought you cared about him!" Ladybug exclaimed in puzzlement. "Now you want to kill him??"
"Oh, I won't have to. I can still get both of the things I want, because I just know that our heroic Ladybug just wouldn't dare let an innocent person die. That's how much faith I have in you. I really am a big fan of yours."
Prima Donna approached Vixie, who hovered over the edge of the bridge, pointing her wand at the chain that held up the cage.
"You wouldn't wanna prove me wrong, would you? I think Paris would be really upset if their beloved Adrien Agreste were to die when you could've prevented it."
Ladybug hesitated, unsure of what to do, eyes darting around for anything that she could use to her advantage.
"And if you're thinking about letting him fall into the water and getting him out of the cage after, don't bother," the girl added. "The metal is indestructible and only I have the key to open the lock. If he even survives the fall, that is, since we're a few stories above the water. But... I wouldn't hold my breath."
At this, Vixie played a rimshot over its speakers.
"Please, don't kill me!" Adrien begged Prima Donna, then turned to address the heroine, voice shaky. "Ladybug, please! I don't wanna die!"
"Everything is gonna be fine, Adrien," Ladybug reassured him.
"Tick-tock, time's ticking!" Prima Donna said as a digital timer appeared on Vixie's eyes, counting down from fifteen seconds.
Ladybug cursed under her breath. She gripped her yo-yo almost painfully, biting her lip as she tried to come up with an idea. But nothing was coming to mind. She thumbed one of her earlobes as the countdown almost reached zero, not wanting to resign herself to the fact that she was out of time, and out of options.
But Prima Donna was right; she couldn't let Adrien die.
"Alright, alright! Fine, I'll do it!" she yelled. "I'll give you my miraculous. Just let him go."
Prima Donna grinned smugly, walking towards Ladybug with her hand open to accept the earrings. "Good choice."
Ladybug lifted her hand up to her ear, twisting the back of her earring to remove it.
"Oh, thank you, Ladybug!" the young man cried off to the side with a huge smile on his face. "I just know my father will give you a reward once he finds out that you rescued me!"
Ladybug halted her movements as her eyes popped wide open in shock. The real Adrien would never say such a thing.
But Lila wouldn't know that.
"What did you say?" Ladybug gaped at him.
"Adrien" kept smiling that perfect magazine smile as he answered, "My father will be so grateful when he hears that you saved my life. He'll give you anything you ask, I'm sure of it!"
Ladybug took a leap back, then lobbed her yo-yo between the cage's bars at his head.
The yo-yo went through the doppelgänger's face, and both he and the metal cage vanished in a puff of smoke.
Prima Donna stomped her foot and screamed in rage. "You stupid pest!! How did you know it wasn't him?!"
Ladybug put her hand on her hip. "Looks like you don't know Adrien as well as you think you do."
Prima Donna let out a growl and lunged at Ladybug with a frenzied punch, which she managed to dodge. She followed up with a swing of her wand, then a kick, as Vixie shot out fiery lasers from its eyes.
The villain delivered a quick succession of strikes in conjunction with Vixie's arsenal of hidden weapons. Ladybug miscalculated while trying to block, and Prima Donna managed to trip her face-first. Vixie launched itself at her and plopped down onto Ladybug's back to keep her from getting up. Several mechanical arms emerged from various almost invisible metal openings to hold Ladybug in place, and they lifted her up off the ground for Prima Donna to inspect.
Ladybug grunted and struggled to break free, but Vixie's metal arms were too strong. As Prima Donna approached, Ladybug tried to strike her with her head, but another of Vixie's metal arms wrapped itself around it, holding it still.
A scream of frustration made its way out of Ladybug's throat as she struggled uselessly while Prima Donna reached towards the first earring.
"I bet Shadowmoth will reward me for bringing you to him as well. I'm sure he'd have a lot to say to you for brainwashing Chat Noir and making him join you. I wonder if he'd let you live after all that," she mused aloud.
Ladybug's face remained stoic despite the unbearable tightness in her chest. She would never give Lila the satisfaction of seeing her cower or weaken at her words.
Prima Donna began to pull the back of the earring and Ladybug squeezed her eyes shut, letting out one last desperate yell.
"STOP!!!"
Ladybug didn't see most of what happened next.
A heavy-sounding blow knocked Prima Donna away and she let out a grunt as she fell towards the Seine, landing with a splash. A shout of "Cataclysm!" followed by a well-placed strike at Vixie caused the metal arms to release Ladybug. Vixie fell towards the bridge, writhing wildly and making a loud metallic grinding sound.
The heroine opened her eyes as she, too, hurtled downwards, only to find herself falling into her partner's arms. He scooped her up and led them back onto solid land with his staff, landing gracefully along the walkway.
Vixie's enormous machine body crashed through the bridge, the middle collapsing from the substantial impact. The large sentimonster became submerged and was crushed under the debris that followed, and the mass plunged to the bottom of the river.
Once they were safe, Ladybug couldn't help herself; she threw her arms around Chat Noir and let out a choked whimper.
"Chat! I can't believe it... Thank you," she whispered, relief pouring out of her being. "I'm so glad you're okay. What happened?"
Chad cradled the back of her head and held her shaking body close. "I was chasing the other copy and I managed to hit her with my staff; but when it hit, she turned into a bunch of smoke. I realized she was a fake, so I used my communicator's GPS to find you. Looks like I got here just in time."
Ladybug smiled and let out a weak laugh. "You sure did. I owe you one. Again."
The pair whipped their heads around and came apart as they heard Prima Donna approach them, dripping onto the concrete and looking absolutely livid.
"You'll pay for that!" she bellowed, gripping her wand as she went back into a fighting stance.
Chat attempted to be diplomatic, hoping that Prima Donna might be more willing to listen now that she'd lost Vixie, her main tool. "Miss Prima Donna, why don't we have a talk? We want to help you."
"Like hell you do!" the girl seethed. "You don't give a damn about me! You just want to be the only heroes in Paris and get accolades from your hordes of fans without having to share. You have no idea what it's like to be a normal person, you two don't have to do anything to get praise! All you have to do is exist and everyone throws themselves at you! Just like her!! Always needing to be the center of attention, everyone always fawning at her goddamn feet!"
Something seemed to occur to Prima Donna as soon as she said this. After a last scowl at the heroes, she threw a heavy smoke grenade that covered the entire block and made her escape.
The pair coughed as they dispersed the dense smoke with their respective weapons.
Chat scrunched his face in puzzlement. "'Her?' Who could she be talking ab-" he stopped and his face paled as he made a realization. "No..." he said under his breath. "She wouldn't..."
He leaped away without saying another word.
Ladybug followed, but as they landed on the nearest rooftop, Prima Donna was nowhere to be seen.
Chat darted off, seeming to know exactly where he was headed.
Ladybug frowned. Could it be...?
A short while later, they stood a few buildings away from the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie.
...Where they got a clear view of Prima Donna kicking down the residential front door.
Chat gasped in horror and jumped down, sprinting towards the building. Ladybug followed. While Chat rushed up towards the topmost bedroom of the house, Ladybug quickly checked the rest of the house on the way up, just in case Prima Donna had left behind any unexpected traps.
She made her way to her own bedroom, head swimming with possibilities. But nothing could have prepared her for what she saw next.
Chat stood a short distance away, skin pale and looking like he'd seen a ghost.
Ladybug turned around.
On the opposite side of the room, Prima Donna stood, holding someone by the hair. At her feet, dressed in a proper magician's assistant outfit complete with a rabbit-eared headband and bound in bright pink ribbons, was none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
(Continued in part 4)