"This is wrong on so many levels." Viperion whispers, glaring over at me as we stand huddled up in a bathroom stall in my school.
The girls bathroom, might I add.
"I need you to set the time, just incase anyone see's us other than Chloe. Not like there is anywhere else to hide out." I hiss, smacking his arm. He shakes his head, but I see the slight amusement in his eyes.
We had walked through the school together during class time, so there wasn't any other students wandering the halls. I dipped into the girls bathroom, saw no one in here, and tugged Luka in with me.
We transformed and voilá, here we are waiting out.
I hold the Bee Miraculous in my grasp, peering down at it with uncertainty. Nothing about what's to come is going to be easy.
"Three times." Viperion grits out, and I stare at him with confusion.
"Huh?"
"I've had to reset three times already. Are you sure there isn't a better alternative?" He stares at me blankly, running a hand through his disheveled hair.
"Just be patient. Eventually Chloe will get sick of sitting in class and leave to check her phone, then I'll get the chance to speak with her." There's no way she isn't waiting anxiously for more news about Adrien and his father.
We stand there for what feels like forever, Viperion having to recharge Sass every five minutes to constantly keep resetting the clock.
When the door bursts open, I know it's time. I hear the familiar click clack of her small heels, opening the stall door and hopping out to see the startled blond.
She lets out a scream before I quickly cover her mouth with the palm of my hand. Her wide eyes shift from scared to angry, glaring at me as she shoves me away.
Viperion quickly moves to lock the bathroom door, preventing any other students from coming in.
"Took you long enough! Is Adrien okay?" She quickly switches up again, her expression changing from angry to concerned.
"He's okay. I need you, Chloe Bourgeois. You will receive the Bee Miraculous to hold onto until further notice. Once we leave, you need to meet us at the Agreste mansion. Do not transform or tell anyone." I emphasize, Viperion walking back over to us. Her eyes go wide as she stares at him, mouth opening slightly before closing. She does this a few more times, eyes never leaving Viperion.
He smiles at her, leaning against the stall frame with his arms crossed.
"I-I didn't know you were actually sent by Ladybug." She rubs the back of her neck awkwardly, shuffling under the weight of his gaze.
"Am I still a loser?" He tilts his head, eyes challenging her. She quickly returns to her regular glare, crossing her arms as she peers over at him with distaste.
"Yes." She retorts, turning back her attention to me.
"We'll see about that." Viperion chuckles, making Chloe's cheeks start to tint a light shade of pink. She doesn't look back at him, but I see it in her eyes.
Chloe freaking Bourgeois is flustered!
"Do you understand everything I said?" I ask, ignoring Viperion's challenge he issued towards Chloe. She thankfully accepts the change of topic, never one to apologize to anyone for anything.
"I do." She holds out her hand, and I place the little Bee hair pin in her hand. She accepts it graciously, putting it in her hair immediately. She lights up like a kid at Christmas.
"Pollen!" She exclaims, beaming at her Kwami. This soft side of Chloe isn't often showed, so I take a moment to appreciate it.
"Viperion and I need to leave, and you can't be seen with us. No one can know we have tricks up our sleeves, okay?" Chloe nods her head as I say this, her expression shifting back to being serious.
"What am I supposed to do once I get to the mansion?" She questions, finally giving a quick glance at Viperion again before snapping her attention back to me.
"Queen Bee is a pivotal point of our plan, and we'll explain that once you reach the Agreste mansion." I reassure her, giving her my best smile.
I turn to leave, but she quickly grabs my hand, forcing me to stop and look at her.
"I need you to know something." She says after a few moments like she's at war with herself. "There's this girl that goes to school here, and I think she's somehow part of Hawkmoth's plans."
I watch Chloe silently, giving her the time she needs to collect her thoughts and explain herself.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She says after a moment, closing her eyes. Letting out a sigh, her eye lids flutter back open and begins speaking again.
"She's a good person. I don't think she has any bad ties to Gabriel Agreste. I know she would never do something so evil. There's this girl named Lila Rossi, and she's been stalking Marinette. I've witnessed it first hand. Originally, I never gave it much thought, I figured Lila was just trying to sabotage Marinette so she could date Adrien. I kept a close eye, because I'll be damned if I let a little snake like her date my friend."
"But then I saw the news, and how she easily manipulated Paris to believe you attacked her." Chloe continues, staring at me passionately. "She has something to do with Gabriel, I saw her going to and from the mansion multiple times. I'm worried that... that she's going to hurt Marinette somehow."
I nod my head slowly, visualizing some of the missing pieces to this puzzle. Gabriel was able to narrow down who I am, and that was completely unknown to me how he managed to accomplish that.
Lila Rossi. She figured it out first, somehow. She probably didn't want to give away her only leverage, so she suggested to Gabriel who Ladybug might be.
She probably gave Gabriel the idea to do something to Adrien, outside of an Akuma attack, to prove Ladybug is a devoted friend of his son.
She knew Gabriel would piece it together after that. Anyone with two functioning eyes, ears and half a brain could tell I'm in love with Adrien.
That damn-
"Thank you, Chloe. You just helped me figure out some stuff that I wasn't sure of. We'll talk more about this later."
"You'll keep Marinette safe, right?" She questions, chewing on her bottom lip.
"You will." I smile at her, watching her face morph into confusion.
"What the hell can I do? I'm not her friend, you do something." She gives me a disgusted look, as though her job ended once she warned me.
"You're a lot smarter than anyone gives you credit for, Chloe. I didn't even realize all this time that Lila had been shadowing me. Had I noticed, maybe a lot of this could have been prevented. But whose to tell? All we can do is finish this, once and for all." I nod at her, slightly enjoying the way her eyes widen at my confession.
"Marinette?" She whispers, and I just smile in response. She would have found out soon enough, might as well be now. Her cheeks redden even more, probably realizing she said such nice things about me right to my face unknowingly.
"I'll see you later, Chloe. Tikki, Spots off." I revert back to being just Marinette, watching as Viperion does the same.
Chloe stares at him with wide eyes too, her mouth falling open. "Luka Couffaine?"
"Yup. See you later, your Royal Majesty." He smirks, brushing past her as her face grows more and more red.
She stammers but ultimately she's left speechless.
I take a peek into the hallway, grabbing Luka and rushing out once I confirm the coast is clear.
We have a lot of planning to do.
—————-
Walking into the mansion with Viperion by my side, I smile at the room full of people. My friends, who have all skipped school to help me during these trying times. Some of them aren't aware I'm Marinette, yet they have faith in me as Ladybug. They're my team.
However, my smile falters when my eyes scan across Chat Noir and Adrien.
Two different people. Standing side by side. One is certainly my partner and the blond haired boy beside him is the exact replica of Adrien.
Felix Fathom. Adrien's cousin, who happens to look exactly like Adrien.
Normally, Felix is all done up in a hoity-toity blazer and his hair nicely slicked back like a pretentious toddler.
I can't stand Felix, not ever since he used Adrien's likeness multiple times to hurt all of us. Especially me.
There must be a reason he's dressed from head to toe looking exactly like Adrien.
"Ladybug! You're back." The Cheap Adrien knock off beams at me, clearly having everyone convinced. I have to play it safe, if this is what Adrien wants then this is what we have to do.
"Ladybug!" I hear Alya call out, rushing towards me. She practically tackles me, making me cry out when my side stretches in a very painful way.
"Alya!" Viperion grabs her and tugs her back fast, her expression immediately turning guilty.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I was just-"
"Get your hands off my girlfriend!" Nino smacks Viperion's hand off of Alya, glaring at him. "It was a mistake, bro. Relax."
"Just be careful." Viperion gives the most what-is-wrong-with-you stare at both Nino and Alya.
"You don't need to look after my girlfriend, I can do that fine all on my own." Chat snaps, suddenly between Viperion and I.
"Why the hell am I being made out to be the bad guy here!" Viperion shoots back, throwing his arms up in exasperation.
"You're not the bad guy." Juleka's small voice tries to comfort her brother, but my attention is drawn to Kagami glaring daggers at Felix.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who can tell that he isn't our Adrien.
"Everyone! Please, stop it!" I yell, making them all quiet down. "Sit. Now."
I watch as everyone awkwardly shuffles to find themselves some seats.
"Are you all proud? Making it so painfully obvious that none of you can work together? Why did I come back to total tension?"
No one dares to speak up, making me run my hands along my face in a sign of frustration.
"Look, I chose all of your for a reason. We need to be a strong team right now, that means the people in this room have to trust each other like your lives depend on it. Because quite frankly, it does. Not just your lives, but everyone in the world. Hawkmoth can not get away. So can we all stop treating each other like we're the enemies? Viperion has done nothing wrong but prove he is loyal to our fight. Our. Fight. Which means this is a fight each one of us has to commit to. If you can't, you need to leave now."
Everyone looks at each other, but no one leaves. My eyes zero in on Juleka and Mylene, and I smile at them.
They're innocent in this squabble, I feel bad having to lecture them too. But it's a good lesson for everyone to understand right now.
The silence in the room doesn't last long, soon a loud clack of heels draws our attention to the doorway.
"This is our team?" Chloe gapes at the room, lip curling in disgust. She carefully searches each person, her eyes hovering on Viperion for a few seconds longer before she lands on Adrien.
"Adrikinz!" She calls out, rushing over to give Felix a huge hug. "I'm so glad you're safe. And I'm really sorry about your father. I'm here to help, don't you worry about a thing."
"Thank you, Chloe." Felix smiles, his acting well beyond what I could ever accomplish.
"Now back to this rag tag group of losers. This is what you want, Ladybug? This is our best hope?" Chloe sneers, not bothering to spare anyone a single glance.
"Yeah, this is the team we've built. No one here is a loser, and it would do you wise to start learning that, Queen Bee." I prop my hand on my hip, watching her huff as she takes a seat next to Felix.
Right when I think Chloe might actually be a good person, she goes back to putting everyone around her down.
"Here's what I have in mind." I grab the bag I sent Chat Noir to go pick up with all the Miraculous's we'll need. Walking around, I hand each person their own Miraculous, with the exception of Felix.
"Alya, you will create an illusion of Chat Noir and I to use as the bait, and draw out Hawkmoth. Viperion will be hidden and ready, setting the time so if anything goes south we can easily reverse it and do it differently. Because of Viperion's crucial role, he'll be calling the shots if the time continuously needs to be reset. Through these ear pieces," I hold up another bag of communication devices that Alya brought here, "we'll be able to keep in constant contact with each other."
"Kagami, you will be working to use the elements to our benefit. You are to stand by and await direction from myself, Chat Noir or Viperion. Nino, your sole job is to protect Chloe. Mylene, you will use the power of multitude to create many other versions of yourself. You need to be ready to rush Hawkmoth, confusing him while Chloe jumps in to stun him. Chloe, you need to stun him. We'll do everything we can to protect you. Once he's frozen, I'll swoop in and steal the Miraculous. If he can't transform, there's nothing he can do to get away."
"Juleka. You and Chat Noir are specifically tasked to fight any Akuma that Hawkmoth sends at us. We don't need to focus so heavily on cleansing the Akuma so just hold it off, we need to set our main target on Hawkmoth. Kagami will be back up if the Akuma is too strong." I continue, looking at all my friends.
Ultimately, we have more people than I think we will need. But I feel it's better to be over prepared than under. Especially since Gabriel hasn't made a move yet, he's likely plotting his best attack so far.
"Does everyone understand?" I ask, watching them all nod. They have this look of determination, a fire lit in all their eyes that makes me smile.
"We've got this!" I cheer out, watching them all erupt in choruses of 'yeahs!', their fists pumping in the air. Everyone jumps up to start high fiving, the tension moments ago long gone now.
Of course, Chloe doesn't join the excitement. A shy looking Juleka smiles at Mylene, and my eyes once again land on a very grumpy look Kagami glaring over at Felix.
Everyone else starts putting their Miraculous' on, transforming into their hero selves. I stare fondly at Carapace, the Purple Tigress, Polymouse, and Queen Bee.
"Yeah! Woo hoo!" I hear a familiar voice that startled me away from my thoughts, making everyone quiet in the room as we turn to the culprit who just waltzed in. "Why are we cheering?"
Rose. What on Earth is she doing here?
"Rose?" Purple Tigress asks, making Rose stop and stare at her with a confused and flustered look. Her face morphs into an expression of awe, bounding over to throw her arms around Juleka.
"You look so good! Like seriously, ridiculously hot. I didn't even recognize you at first!"
"How did you recognize me?" Juleka gapes, staring at her girlfriend with wide eyes.
The two haven't really told everyone they're dating, but it's very obvious. They look at each other with such love, and you never see one without the other for longer than a few minutes.
They're totally head over heels for each other, and honestly it's so cute. I don't think there are two people more fit for each other.
"I would notice my girlfriend's beautiful eyes anywhere!" Rose beams up, using her tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on the side of Juleka's cheek. I watch her grow flustered, eyeing us nervsouly.
I smile at her, and she eases into Rose's touch.
"What are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you." Juleka wraps her arm around Rose, pulling her comfortingly against her side. Rose snuggles in, a permanent smile etched on her face.
"Oh! I came here with Lila! She said you wanted-"
"Lila?" I gasp, looking towards the door. "Everyone! Hide! She can't see you!" I call out, watching everyone scramble to get the hell out of the room.
"What's going on?" I hear Rose question, rushing towards the window to look for Lila. "Where did she go? She was right behind me."
"Kagami! This way!" I snap my attention back to Felix, who is frantically shoving Kagami into a different room.
"Hurry!" I see Alya yank Nino with her, eyes wild as she locks her gaze on me. I usher her with my hands to hurry and get out of here.
My friends have all scattered, with the exception of Chat Noir and Viperion. It took just seconds for the room to clear.
"Rose! Come on!" Juleka calls, but Rose stands very still by the window.
"I-Is that Lila?" She watches in horror, her smile wiped clean off her face.
I burst the door open, heading outside to see Lila sitting outdoors with a smirk on her face. Except, she's not Lila.
She's been Akumatized. Her long red hair and snake scaled suit making a reappearance from the night we met on the rooftop.
The night she made everything get so much worse.
"You fuc-" I cleanching my fists, biting down on my tongue. How dare she show her face around me again.
"Hi there." She wiggles her fingers at me, a saccharine sweet smile on her face.
"What do you want?" I snap, trying to figure out why she didn't just bust in. There's a reason she didn't, because she could have easily figured out the tricks we have hidden up our sleeves had she just waltzed in with Rose.
"You know what I want, silly." She stands up, making a big show out of stretching her arms and legs. "Why haven't you attacked me yet? Have you figured out you don't stand a chance?"
"Cute. Here to deliver another message?" I try to stall while I let my brain run wild with reasons she didn't barge in. She wants me outside, that much is obvious. What for? Is Hawkmoth going to attack right now?
What power does Lila have?
"Lila! Please, fight off this Akuma! You can do it!" Rose's kind voice hollers out, making me wince.
"Get inside!" I yell at her, feeling incredibly guilty for having to use a harsh tone.
Suddenly, Lila's hair starts to move in all directions. It's entrancing for a moment, and I watch as the long red strands slowly start revealing green stands.
Wait, those aren't strands of hair. It's vines.
The vines shoot out towards me, and I hurtle myself backwards, rushing up the stairs to the mansion. I grab Rose and tug her along, but a vine grabs Rose's ankle.
Rose let's out a scream as she becomes the human rope of this tug-of-war.
"Let her go!" Purple Tigress jumps out of no where, running into battle and landing a ridiculously hard punch to Lila's face. She flys back, but the vines never let off of Rose's ankle.
Rose let's out another scream, making me panic. If I let go, Lila will have her. If I don't, I think her limbs are going to get dislocated at this point.
I have to let go, it's the only way to protect her.
"We'll save you!" I reassure Rose, but her panicked eyes capture mine.
"No! Don't let go!" She shrieks, but I don't have another choice.
I let my hold go, Rose screaming as she's yanked up into the air. I watch in horror as she's about to be slammed into the ground, but the Purple Tigress catches Rose.
She lets Rose down quickly, grabbing the vine and tugging it so hard it rips in half. Growling at Lila, she launches herself forward and lands yet another punch.
Lila has another trick up her sleeve, though. Her powers don't just end there, with snakes emerging from within her vines and strands of red hair.
She looks like Medusa.
Medusa! Shit!
"Run! Get Rose, go back inside!" I scream, rushing forward to try my best to hold Lila off.
She's going to turn them to stone!
I'm yanked back suddenly, Chat Noir's familiar arms shoving me behind him as he extends his baton and smacks Lila to the ground. Leaping into action, he moves so fast to smack each vine down.
Juleka's scream is what draws my attention back to her, as she holds Rose who has been turned to stone.
"Get back! Hurry!" I yell, but Viperion swoops in fast, grabbing his sister and running back inside, leaving Rose behind. Juleka's cries make me feel like an even worse failure.
It's okay, we can fight Lila off. We just need to find her Akuma.
"Ladybug! Her hair! Cut it!" Chat yells, and I snap my attention back to him. He's fighting off each aggressive vine and snake that lashes at him.
Somehow, Chat is effectively fighting this thing off with his eyes completely closed.
I watch in awe, shaking my head fast as I burst into action. Running fast, I call out for the only help I can think of right now.
"Lucky charm!" I yell, watching a giant pair of scissors fall into my grasp. I quickly rush towards Lila, but before I'm able to grab onto any part of her, she literally vanishes into the ground.
I land harshly in the grass, clawing at the dirt where she just sunk in. I let out a frustrated scream, pulling clumps of grass out and throwing it to the side.
"Ladybug! Ladybug, stop!" Chat Noir kneels down beside me, gathering me in his arms. "Shhh, Marinette, it's okay. We'll get her."
Pulling me up, he half carries half guides me into the mansion, calling out to everyone. "Regroup! Everyone, come here!"
I can't stop from looking out the window, seeing Rose's petrified face carved in stone. We failed to save her. She was in my grasps, and I failed her.
Now Lila is on the loose, and she's incredibly powerful. How can I fight something I can't look at? She'll turn us all into stone.
Why didn't she turn me into stone?
"Chat!" I gasp, grabbing him to look at me. "She can turn anyone else into stone that she wants, but she can't turn us. If she does, our Miraculous' will be stone too!"
His eyes light up, a burning passion spreading throughout the both of us. If she can't turn us to stone, all she can do is use her vines to capture us.
Vines we can certainly fight off.
"None of that helps Rose right now!" Juleka cries out, Luka holding her upright. Tears stain her face, as she cries so hard she's given herself hiccups.
"It's okay, Juleka. I know it's scary, but this isn't permanent. We'll save Rose." I place my hand on her shoulder, trying my best to comfort her. She rips away from my touch, glaring at me.
"You had her! Why did you let go?!"
"Her arms and legs were being pulled so tight I was scared her limbs would get dislocated!" I argue, holding up my hands in defence.
"It's okay, Ladybug. Juleka, calm down. You need to be rationale right now so we can save Rose." Luka pipes up, holding his sister against him. She cries into his chest as he rubs her back, letting her slowly calm herself down.
"Not just Rose. Look." Alya grimaces, holding up her phone to show us a live broadcast of the damage Lila is doing around Paris.
"You think Ladybug is going to save you?!" Lila's voice is heard maniacally laughing, taunting the people she's captured, as a plethora of civilians are scattered about turned into stone statues. "She can't! She's a not a hero!"
"Ignore her." Chat Noir turns me to face him, his fingers guiding my chin to force me to tear my eyes away from the phone. "Alya, turn that off."
I stare into Chat's eyes, focusing on the strength he provides. Despite everything that has happened, Chat Noir is still the strongest out of the two of us.
No more of this, I have to step up to the plate and prove I'm tough too. I need to shoulder my fair share of this burden.
"You're an incredible hero, okay? Now let's get back to figuring this out. What should we do?" He comforts me yet redirects my attention back to the Akuma on the loose.
"There's a reason she lured us outside, otherwise why wouldn't she have just come in with Rose?" I can't seem to think of why this is, she could have spoiled our whole plan had she just walked in and saw everyone.
"She also didn't use any of her powers when we were up on that roof the first time we encountered her." Chat Noir's eyes seem to light up, as though he found the missing piece needed to complete the puzzle. "Whats the common denominator in both situations? No sun. If she came inside here, she wouldn't have the sun light. She must need natural lighting to use her powers."
"Chat, you genius!" I grab his face and kiss him, pulling back quick to face everyone.
It makes perfect sense. I never took a single moment previously to wonder why Lila never used any powers to attempt to steal our Miraculous' back on the roof.
"We have to do something. And fast." Alya points out, nervously chewing her lip as she watches the livestream of Lila's catastrophe.
"Alya, Luka, and Juleka. Get ready, you're coming with Chat and I to go fight her. She can and will turn you to stone if she gets the chance, so stay back and try not to look into her eyes. We need to get her somewhere that the sun doesn't shine."
"The sewers." Juleka blurts out, aggressively wiping her tears and throwing her hair up into a ponytail. "Shove her down there and she's useless."
"Brilliant." I nod towards her, but she doesn't reciprocate it.
"What about the rest of us?" Nino asks with disbelief, and I just shrug my shoulders.
"You have to wait here. We can't expose all the Miraculous holders, or Hawkmoth will be prepared for what we have in store."
"I don't want to wait here while my girlfriend-"
"Nino. I can handle myself." Alya props her hands on her hips as she glares at him. He fumbles for the best response before he settles on keeping his mouth shut. Grumbling something to the ground, I walk over and place a hand on his shoulder.
"I understand how you feel. I never want the people I love to fight without me. I promise I'll protect her, okay?"
"Like how you protected Rose?" Nino shoots back, regret filling his features the moment the words leave his mouth.
I drop my hold on him, feeling a crushing weight on my chest as though the burden of failing is stealing my breath away.
Like the sun that always rises in the morning, Chat Noir walks up and touches my lower back. Being my rock, he keeps me grounded. I bask in his scent and touch, accepting the strength he's offering.
"When we don't trust each other, and fight amongst ourselves, we give Hawkmoth the power he needs to win. Rose will be fine. Ladybug always does her best, and we will win. So let's all calm down, go fight Lila and bring back Rose." Chat says confidently, turning to look at everyone.
It's funny. He has all the reasons in the world to be the most hurt, dejected and hopeless out of all of us. Yet here his is, being the best leader we could have ever asked for.
I love him.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I am." I admit, looking specifically at Juleka. She nods at me, and I watch her chest fall as though she lets out a breath she was holding.
"You have no reason to be sorry. You made a decision to protect her from being hurt. None of us knew Lila had more powers hidden up her sleeve. Now that we have a plan, let's get this over with." Juleka says the most words I think I've ever heard her speak.
Chat Noir takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. Looking in his eyes, I see what he means. I love you too, I convey with my eyes.
We don't have a choice. We have to come together and win.
Something within me feels like this isn't going to be as easy as I'd like it to be.