Chapter Text
The news broadcast praised their new superheroes, amateur footage showed “Ladybug and Chat Noir” after having converted Stoneheart back into a student from a local high-school. Soon, all of Paris had heard about the pair and it seemed like life was set to return to normal. The news, however, quickly shifted from praise and relief, to rekindled terror.
Live footage showed swarms of darkness throughout the city, it seemed like a biblical infestation; the swarms were made up of unnaturally colored insects. It seemed that anyone touched by these bugs was turned into a stone statue, identical to the one that had just endangered their city. Although, instead of wreaking havoc like the first, they were completely still, and soon the entirety of Paris was decorated in hundreds of monster statues.
The news reports seemed to taunt Marinette wherever she went. She was barely home when it started to spread on every platform there was. The fight wasn't over and no one knew why, and two people certainly felt lost.
“Tikki…what's going on? Why is this happening? I thought we got rid of Stoneheart.?” A sense of dread plagues Marinette at the sight of the disaster that had become of the city.
“Did you capture the akuma?”
“The akuma? What does that have to do with all these statues?”
“The akuma can multiply to create more people into creatures, if Ivan feels the same negative emotions again, he would turn back into Stoneheart, and take control of all of the Clonehearts!”
Marinette's heart sank, taking down one monster was one thing, but an army? It sounded impossible.
“This is…all my fault. Damn it, Tikki I told you I wasn't cut out for this! This is bad, what if next time it's something worse? I only make things worse, I'll ruin everything.”
“You can still fix this! You’ll go and defeat Stoneheart again, and this time you'll capture the akuma!”
Tikki’s words fell on deaf ears, Marinette was lost in thought, staring at the news playing on her computer. Hundreds of human statues had already been reported, there were people in there. What was going on in their heads? Were they conscious, in a state of purgatory, because of her mistake? Her heart felt heavy, the weight pulled her down. Just the idea of purgatory seemed to get under her skin, she looked down at her hands, completely covered in akumas that crawled closer and closer to her. She tried to scream, but she couldn't feel her mouth. She tried to move, but she was frozen. Was this what it felt like to be a statue? Was she frozen now too? A voice started echoing in her head, she could almost make it out. She so desperately wanted to be pulled out of this state so she tried to reach for the voice, tried to follow it, was that her name she could hear?
“Marinette…Marinette! Marinette!” Finally snapped out of it, her eyes opened and saw the little red bug calling for her attention. Her eyes were wet with tears, she found herself curled into a ball under her desk, soft red scratch marks on her arms. Still quiet, she unfolded her arms and shook her head, trying to find her own voice. A moment or two of silence passed.
“I was crazy to think I could be a superhero. You chose wrong, Tikki. I’m not Ladybug. And I never will be.” She took the earrings off, staring at them before looking up, only to find Tikki gone.
“I’m sorry.”
Adrien lied in bed, it was too early to get up but he couldn’t get back to sleep, and the news articles and reports were crowding his head. He knew there wasn't anything he could do but throw himself at the problem and hope it would work, which it wouldn't. But he'd already tried that last night and it did not go well, his head and bodyache made sure to remind him of that. Those statues wouldn't budge and there were too many akumas for him to Cataclysm. He needed Ladybug, only she could fix this. There was no point in sulking however, this ordeal was a good opportunity to make another escape attempt. His alarm clock read 5 something AM, so out of bed he went, with a new sense of determination.
Adrien turned a sharp corner through a tunnel and ran into a park, a huge smile plastered on his face. He decided slow and safe wasn't the best way to get to school, this time it was a race to get there, even at the risk of being seen. He stopped only to find out which way was faster to the school and continued running through when Plagg decided to pipe up.
“You’re such a strange kid. What normal person would want to go to school when he could stay at home all day?”
“You just don’t get it Plagg. I’m tired of being locked up at home by my dad, I never see him anyway. I wanna meet real people my age, not more hired adults, I wanna make friends, and go to a normal school like everyone else.”
“Ugh, I'm feeling weak…” Plagg gagged and stopped following Adrien, forcing him to drag back and stay with him.
“You wanna know what’s really strange? The fact that you won't eat anything but this rancid old camembert cheese. You eat like an animal, and now I have to smell like one.”
“That’s the price you have to pay for superhero privileges.” Adrien rolled his eyes and started walking away, making Plagg hide away in his jacket again.
He was late to school but he was there and that's all that mattered. He ran up the stairs, not giving the universe a moment to toy with him but of course it did anyway.
“Adrien don’t do this! Your father will be furious.” Her tone made it sound like he was holding someone at gun point, like it was some huge crime to want to go to school. Adrien was tired enough to just pretend he hadn't heard her and keep running but still he turned and answered, possibly in the most annoyed voice Natalie had ever heard him speak in.
“Tell him you were too late, please.” He whined, rolling his eyes as he walked away.
Marinette was still sulking and throwing herself a pity party. She decided to carry the earrings around with her but could not move past the guilt of being Ladybug. She didn't want to be reminded of it but of course, Alya was suddenly a huge fan.
“I’m calling it the Ladyblog! Isn’t it cool? It's actually getting attention, people love this stuff!”
“Alya you’re kidding right? There's no way you can actually trust her, I mean, haven't you seen the wreck the city is in? You’d be better off making a blog about Chat Noir instead.”
“She’ll take care of it! And I’m already on that, how’s ‘Chat about Chat Noir’ sound to you?” Alya’s blind optimism was usually admirable but right now it made Marinette's stomach sick, she quickly skipped over the Chat blog name.
“What if she’s not cut out to be a superhero? She already failed us once, this is a disaster...”
“Girl, what are you talking about?” Alya laughed, amused by her friend's depressing attitude towards the situation. “Oh…I get what this is about…” Alya’s voice quieted softly, catching Marinette off guard. She was feeling way more than just guilt now.
“You’re just scared! Have a little faith in our hero’s, would you? Trust me, I’ve seen them with my own eyes. It's amazing. You should've seen them, they're true heroes Marinette.”
She relaxed, her identity still safely unknown, and admittedly, Alya’s trust was comforting, even if she didn't fully believe in herself, it was nice knowing other people did. She made a mental note to check out the blog later, and also bring back the topic of that name.
Alya started to walk, leaving Marinette to trail behind her, when a large group caught her eye. Ivan sat on a nearby bench with people surrounding him, it sounded like an interrogation.
“You really don’t remember anything?” Alya stepped closer, hearing a girl question him further. “You went totally ballistic, it was sooo cool.”
“I don't know about cool.” Kim retorted, frowning. “You were totally out to get me. I was- I mean my sister was terrified.”
“I’m sorry.” Ivan sounded anything but sorry. A girl came into Ivan’s sight, she watched him from a distance before catching his eye, she quickly turned away, a disappointed, saddened expression on her face. “I wasn’t myself, I didn't know what I was doing, or what was going on.”
“Once a monster, always a monster.” Chloe scoffed, people turned to look at her, Alya just glared.
Ivan stood up suddenly, causing Kim to flinch, he stormed off, pushing through the people surrounding him leaving.
“How could you say that? You’re the real monster here Chloe.”
“Oh yeah of course, cause I’m the one who broke Sabrina’s dad’s arm am I?” She glared back, talking to the rest of the group. Don’t think you get to be a super hero now too because your lame footage got on the news. You’re nothing special.” Alya growled in anger, immediately cut off at her attempt to defend Ivan and herself.
“Oh no she's angry! How long until you turn into a monster too?” Sarcasm laced her voice, Alya had had enough and stormed off, trying to be the bigger person.
Adrien felt sweet relief wash over him as he walked into school, spotting Chloe. She was one of the main factors driving him to go to school, other than sheer desperation. She was with a group of people, an opportunity to make friends maybe. He just hoped he wouldn’t immediately be recognized. Adrien was a common name right?
“Hey, Chloe!” He called for her attention, trying to ignore the nervous pit growing in his stomach as the school loomed over him.
“Adrien! You finally came.” Chloe’s excitement wasn't hidden for a second, she walked over to him and hugged him sweetly. The quickest 180 you’ve ever seen.
Unfortunately for the both of them, the crowd Chloe had been collecting had drawn attention, and her quick shift over to Adrien only brought more eyes to him; People rushed over to fawn. He sighed, just wanting to be invisible, but at the very least he found a sense of familiarity in the attention.
“Ivan there you are!” Marinette had avoided the crowd all together and found him sitting by the lockers with his headphones on. It seemed like he was blaring his music, because of the lack of reaction. She stepped over and kneeled beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder gently to get his attention. He looked over and took off his headphones, looking to the side and waiting for her to say whatever she needed to say.
“You should tell Mylene how you feel.” Very straight to the point. Ivan was ever stone faced.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“I see the way you look at her.” Ivan couldn't deny that. He was a little taken aback by the exposure though, groaning and turning away.
“No, no negative emotions!” Marinette whisper-screamed, causing him to give her a scowl. She flushed and cleared her throat.
“What I meant to say was, it would be good to get it out of your head, keeping any emotions bottled up is no good.”
“Well…I’m no good with words.” He scoffed.
“Well then, don't use words. Put your mind to work, what does she like? Buy her flowers, draw something for her…”
“...Write her a song?”
“There you go!”
Chloe clung to Adrien’s arm protectively as they walked through the halls. She led him to their classroom as Adrien signed autographs along the way, not exactly what he had imagined but it was a good first step. He was relieved to at least know someone.
“Perfect, this is the classroom.” She dropped his arm and motioned for him to follow. “And this is your seat, I'll be right behind you if you need anything!”
Adrien smiled and sighed, walking up to her and putting his hand in hers for a second.
“Thanks Chloe.” He let go, took his seat and turned to the boy next to him, who took off his headphones in acknowledgement.
“Uh, hey. I’m Adrien.” He extended his hand and smiled, his nerves were starting to get the better of him but he pushed them off. The boy gave him an odd look, Adrien’s stomach sank.
“So you’re friends with Chloe then…huh?” He rested his head on his hand and shot a glare in her direction, Adrien turned too.
Chloe leaned on the edge of the bench, watching as Sabrina put gum on a seat across from theirs. Chloe didn't seem to care but she didn't tell her to stop either.
“Chlo, what's this about?” He turned towards them. Chloe half shrugged, Sabrina spoke up before she could.
“The girls that sat here were bothering Chloe, I’m doing you two a favor.” She giggled, Chloe nodded in agreement.
“I really don’t think that’s necessary.” Adrien sighed and got up from his seat, he was used to Chloe taking a more upfront and standoffish approach to problems, her dad was a shining example of that, but now that he was there he hoped she would soften up a bit. He reached to pick off the gum, hesitating at the gross sight over his perfectly manicured hands, and grabbed a tissue from his pocket before actually attempting.
“Hey! What are you doing?” A voice called behind him and he stopped, immediately regretting his intervention.
“Oh. I was- It's not what it looks like.” Sabrina giggled while Chloe watched, trying not to smile.
“Oh okay. I get it, very funny you three.” This blue haired girl glared at him, he was desperate to correct her.
“No! No, I was trying to take this off.” He pleaded with her. She took a step forward, leaning in close with a pissed look, she wasn't buying a word he said.
“Really?” She rolled her eyes at him and finished removing the gum herself. By now both Sabrina and Chloe were laughing. “Ugh. You’re friends with Chloe, right?”
“Why does everyone keep saying it like that…?” Adrien looked down and stared at the floor for a second, his hands crumpling into tight fists. He was nervous enough already, but on top of that, he was embarrassed and looked like an asshole. The girl shoved past him to take her seat, his lip trembled as he did the same. Chloe looked at him with a saddened expression, she hated upsetting him but this was good for him.
“Why didn't you tell them it wasn't your idea?” The boy next to him spoke up. Adrien was relieved he even spoke to him, a huge weight lifted from his shoulders knowing he didn't already hate him too. He swallowed hard trying not to sound like he was about to cry when he spoke.
“Chloe and I have known each other since we were kids. I know what she can be like, but I can’t throw her under the bus like that. She’s just looking out for me. Besides, she’s my best…and only friend.” He didn't mean to sound like he didn't like Chloe, he really did love her, she was the one person he knew would be there, but he had to admit she wasn't the best to other people.
“I’m Nino, I’ll be your second friend. How about that?” Nino extended his hand as Adrien had done earlier, a warm smile on his face. Adrien stared for a second before smiling widely, taking Nino’s hand in his.
“I know I’ve seen blondie before…” Marinette muttered.
“Of course you have, you're a designer aren’t you?” Alya tilted her phone towards her, modeling magazines in her search history.
“Gabrielle Agreste's son? He’s my favorite designer, no way.”
“Daddy’s money, teen model, and Chloe’s partner in crime? Forget it.” She laughed.
Mylene had been cooped up in the bathroom for hours, she glanced at the time and choked on smoke when she realized how late she was going to be to class. She almost hesitated to leave but decided that if she didn't go now, the smoke alarm would out her soon enough. She walked out the bathroom and saw Ivan standing outside like he was waiting for her. Mylene jumped at the sight before relaxing.
“Ivan! Gosh you scared me for a second, what are you-”
“I…wrote this for you.” He started, taking his phone out and playing a heavy metal sound. He held a piece of paper with something written on it, and started singing. It was more screaming than singing really. Mylene’s anxious head was already pounding and the loud screaming wasn’t helping, she tried to listen with her ears covered but not after long it started to scare her.
Ivan watched as Mylene ran off. He stopped his scream-singing and watched until she was completely out of sight, then stared at his phone before throwing it to the floor, shattering it, and stepping on the shards. He yelled in frustration, his face reddening from embarrassment, and crumpled up the sheet of paper. Ivan dropped to the floor and laid against the wall, hanging his head in his hands, utterly defeated.
Suddenly, his mind wasn't his own anymore. He looked up only to see his vision gone, and a voice in the back of his head spoke.
“Stoneheart, this is your second chance, and now, you’ll have some extra help. No one will get in between you and the love of your life now. It’s time to take what you want, so long as you can get me what I want too…”
Stoneheart smiled, not needing to answer as the pooling darkness spread from his balled up fist to consume the rest of him, turning him back into the stone creature. Every step he took shook the floor violently, and being this creature once again, his mind opened to the rest of the beings like him, they were a part of him now.
Adrien and Nino hadn’t stopped talking since they started, Adrien was ecstatic to have gotten at least something right. Every once in a while he would glance at others, Marinette and Alya would just glare or ignore him, but Chloe gave approving half-smiles, although she seemed to dislike his choice in friends. Not soon after the teacher spoke up to take attendance and, unfortunately for Adrien, he was first on the list.
“Adrien, Agreste?”
He froze and turned to the teacher at his name being called. Usually he heard his name called by fans or when his father wanted to yell at him, but here at school it made no sense to him. He turned back to Nino with a confused look. Nino laughed quietly and put his hand on Adrien’s shoulder, turning him back to face the front of the room.
“Just say ‘Here’.” Adrien glanced at him and back to the teacher before standing up and opening his mouth to reply, when suddenly, thankfully, an interruption came. Absolutely not the best interruption by any means but it saved him the embarrassment.
Stoneheart bursted in, destroying the classroom door completely. He yelled a name out but most students were busy trying to escape, it seemed like Kim had jumped out of the window to get away.
“Ivan, put me down!” It was Mylene he had captured.
“I’m not Ivan anymore, I’m Stoneheart now.”
“Why are you doing this?” She cried, trying to wriggle herself free. Ivan stopped for a moment before Stoneheart replied.
“So that we can be together, without anyone else getting in the way.”
Adrien watched as Stoneheart took a girl captive, he was talking to her, saying something he couldn’t quite make out. He looked at the destroyed door and decided to make a run for it, but he wasn't half way to the door when he heard a high pitched scream, Stoneheart had taken Chloe too. He needed to transform before he chased after them, so despite damn near jumping out the hole in the wall to follow, he ran out of the classroom.
He found his way to the locker room and shut the door behind him. It was a miracle he even found this place without getting lost.
“First day of school and I couldn’t even make it past the roll call.” He sighed heavily to Plagg, resting his head against the cool metal door.
“A day off? That's what I'm talking about.” Adrien rolled his eyes.
“Not a day off for us, we’ve got homework to do. Plagg, Claws out!”
“Put me down! My dad is the Mayor, you know. He’ll have the whole force, the whole army down here. The cavalry even!” Chloe yelled and pleaded with the monster that held her.
“Don’t tell me you forgot about the superheroes too.” Chat Noir landed on Stoneheart, impailing him with his baton and vaulting himself over, landing on the floor in front of him. Of course the blow only made Stoneheart glow and grow stronger.
“Oh…my bad!”
“Ugh.You forgot super incompetent too." Chloe scoffed at the costumed boy in front of her. Adrien was the slightest bit hurt but he had bigger problems. The ground shook far more than it had the last few times, and soon an entire group of Stoneheart clones had started to group around. They surrounded Chat Noir in a tight circle when the biggest yelled.
“Grab him!”
In waves, the copies slammed down their stone fists trying to crush or at least capture Chat Noir. He moved swiftly, dodging them, but in the time it took to get back in a safe position, the bigger, real Stoneheart had started to escape his grasp. Of course it’s hard to miss a giant stone creature so he started to run after it with the clones chasing behind him.
As he ran a shadow was cast over him, a huge, moving shadow. He looked up and saw a car flying right at him. Thinking quickly, he slid to the side to avoid it but another car came from another angle, he managed to duck under that one too but looking at where it would have landed he saw a girl with her phone out about to get crushed. Crazy deja vu started to hit him when he launched his baton to block it from hitting her straight on, and ended up held captive again.
The car that had just pinned her back was wrapped by a sort of string and pulled away, she dragged herself out to see the red spotted hero right in front of her. A wave of relief and awe washed over her, totally speechless. She reached for her phone but couldn't think straight, or find it…
“It’s not safe for you here.” The hero warned before swinging herself towards the herd of statues that continued through the city.
“Awesome…”
“Damn it! Ladybug I could really use some help right about now!” Chat Noir struggled against the creature's grasp, frustrated by the situation when the voice of an angel spoke up.
“Chat Noir! Extend it!” He looked up and saw his baton being hurled at him. By some miracle he caught it and, pulling it into the fist of the creature, extended it, forcing the hand open to release him. He barely managed to land upright before collapsing anyway. Disoriented, he was suddenly dragged by his ankle, away from another fist about to slam down on him. He was pulleyed up by a lamp post and hung upside down safely, his eyes landing on his savior.
“Way to turn my world upside down, m’lady.” He smiled widely as she laughed, before the growling of the creatures interrupted them, he shot them daggers.
“We have to get out of here, Chat, ready?”
“Ready for…?” He cut himself off with a yelp as he was pulled suddenly, they moved onto a higher roof top to escape the group.
“Hey shouldn’t we be dealing with those?” Chat Noir gestured towards the dozens of creatures they had left behind, he started to follow behind Ladybug who seemed to be leading them somewhere.
“Nope! If we want to save them all, we’ve got to go to the source. That one.”
They landed on a park stage in front of the Eiffel Tower, and standing on the first level of the tower was Stoneheart. The Stoneheart. Dozens of helicopters and army forces surrounded the area, and more of his clones showed up at his defense. Sirens and cop cars were littered throughout the city but here was completely different, so much worse. The rubble around this area was more collected, more dense, and ambulances were parked around, sectioned off but clearly set in a rush.
The forces were ready to attack but couldn’t proceed because of the obvious, the two hostages Stoneheart had managed to take. The mayor himself was leading the hostage negotiations but it was difficult to reason with a monster.
“Stoneheart!” The mayor held a megaphone on top of a specialized vehicle, dozens of security guards surrounding him. “We simply ask for the safe return of my daughter! Erm, the safe return of both girls.”
Chloe cried back to her father, Stoneheart started to grow tired of the constant interruptions between him and Mylene.
“You know what? You’re more than welcome to have her back.” Stoneheart pulled his arm back and then, as hard as he could, launched Chloe directly towards the concrete plaza. From the height she was thrown at and the force of which she was launched, there was no way to catch her, to slow her fall, or to cushion her fall. The mayor went silent and fell to his knees, almost slipping off the roof of the vehicle onto the floor. He dropped the megaphone with a weak hand and let out a scream, muffled by the police and ambulance sirens that rushed around him. The empty cry of the girl also went unheard, the overwhelming sound and distance silencing any noise she could have made.
Chat Noir and Ladybug stood at quite a distance but they had already started to make their way to the scene, when the situation arose. They weren't close enough to see exactly what was going on, but the sight of a blur flying across the area, headed straight for the ground, and Stoneheart’s now opened hand painted a clear picture for them.
Ladybug continued to approach the scene but Chat Noir stopped in his tracks, a scream had caught his attention, two screams actually. The first was of a man, deep and gutteral, gut wrenching and broken, it made him freeze completely. The second one got to him, it made his ears hurt and his stomach churn.
He looked up to the movement, that's where the scream had come from. The girl up there was Chloe. There was no doubt about it to him, his vision was suddenly clear and almost zoomed in, besides he knew her voice anywhere. He started moving but it didn't feel like he was in control of his own body. Everything in his sight turned into an intense blur, like he was moving too fast for his sight to keep up. He closed his eyes for a moment and somehow managed to run even faster before he vaulted himself in the air, directly at the girl.
Chloe tried to scream before she was thrown but now, completely consumed by fear, she couldn’t make a sound at all. Her arms were folded in, one trying to stop her heart from beating out of her chest and the other around her stomach, she could feel her stomach, like organs were shifting inside of her. She was thrown from such a distance that it would take a bit for her to make contact with the ground but in her head she was preparing to accept her fate. The hard, rough concrete floor would skin her, pulverise her completely. She would have to be scraped from it, but at least hitting headfirst meant it would be quick for her. Then again, no matter what hit the ground first, it would be over in an instant. Still, in her mind, she found it in her to pray for a miracle.
‘If there's someone out there that can hear me please, don’t let me die this way. I'll change my life around and I'll be better! Anything not to die here, please.’
All of a sudden she felt herself be caught, Chloe almost fainted right then and there. Not just from relief, but the blood and adrenaline rush the fall had given her made her head spin. She had blacked out for a minute while they landed safely, and her eyes fuzzed as she looked up to see her hero. Literally. The costumed boy looked at her with an intense look she couldn't quite decipher, still adjusting, but she held on to him as tight as her weakened body could. She held onto consciousness long enough to feel herself be passed to another person. She heard her fathers voice and collapsed in his arms.
The Mayor held his unconscious daughter in his arms and with his permission, the army forces were allowed to attack the creature again.
“Wait! Don’t attack him, you know that will only make him stronger.”
The head cop with his arm in a swing laughed.
“I have a plan, unlike you two. Move aside and let the professionals handle this. You already failed us once.”
Ladybug’s eyes widened, she was taken aback by his reaction, although a huge part of her agreed with what he said. She turned away back to her partner and watched him carefully, he stared off somewhere else like his mind wasn't fully focused.
“He’s right. This is my fault after all. If I had just captured the akuma none of this would even be happening.” Her voice was soft, near a whisper. She wrapped her arms around herself in a blanket of insecurity, staring at the ground as a wave of guilt washed over her. “I knew I wasn’t fit to be a superhero…”
Chat Noir had been staring off but Ladybug pulled his attention to straight her. His eyes lingered for a second before locking onto her, snapping out of the trance he was in. Hearing what she said, his eyes widened, in shock of how she could possibly believe what she was saying.
“Hey. Don’t listen to a word he says. You’re the only one who can fix this, not even I can capture the akuma. Let alone some bastard cop. We’re superheroes for a reason right? We’ll show them that.”
He moved his hand to her shoulder and pulled her closer, looking at her gently. His smile warmed Ladybug as she looked back with wide eyes. She looked away for a second, taking in his words before returning the smile.
Stoneheart screamed. The space where his chest would've been felt heavy, he didn't have any organs to feel but he felt like suffocating. His rock fists clawed at the stone he was made off, hitting against it as more choked yells escaped him. Doubled over in pain, he clutched his stomach before letting out another guttural noise. This time a swarm of those moths escaped him, a huge swarm. It felt like his would-be stomach churned, like he hurled up his stone heart. After a moment had passed he collapsed.
The swarm of akumi grouped together higher up still and started to form what seemed like a face. Then it started to speak.
“People of Paris…listen to me carefully. I am Hawk Moth. Ladybug and Chat Noir. Hand over your miracle jewels. You’ve caused these people enough trouble already.”
“Ha. Nice try. But me and Chat Noir know better than that. We know this is your fault to begin with. Don’t try to pin this on us. You’re the one turning innocent people into monsters, just so you can control them. One day it'll be you handing over your miraculous.”
The surrounding crowd stilled, shock taking hold as Ladybug made a swift move.
“Time to de-evilize.”
Using her yo-yo, she swings over to the tower, and slices into the face. Cuts and chunks of the face made of bugs disappear, before it's completely gone.
She steps onto the platform with her back turned, silence plaguing the crowd. Ladybug turns and faces the people, her partner included.
“Let me make this promise. No matter what Hawk Moth does, no matter who he corrupts, Ladybug and Chat Noir will be here to keep you safe.”
She raises her yo-yo, splitting it in half to open it, it explodes with pale butterflies decorating the skies, replacing the sickening colored bugs that were once there.
Excitement and relief sprouts in the background, but Chat Noir is left in awe. The gorgeous sight is enough to pull his eyes away from the celebrating citizens surrounding him. He then turns to his partner standing some hundred feet above him. A sense of admiration laces his heart.
“Ladybug…you’re something special.”
“Stoneheart…They’re still trying to take your beloved away from you. Take their miraculous away before they take what's most dear to you. Make them powerless under your love.”
Stoneheart roared again, rising from his collapsed state, gaining the attention of Chat Noir and Ladybug. Landing on the tower platform, the pair ready up for another tedious fight against the stone monster. A soft cry escapes the captured girl before the clones start surrounding the area and Stoneheart manages to run off with her again.
“What do we do? The clones are blocking us off, and we can't attack any of them.” Chat Noir stands on the edge of the tower gate, looking over the city as the clones approach.
“Maybe not, but we know where the akuma is hidden”
“Right, the fist he's holding that girl with. So, he's in love with her, huh.”
“That’s it. What if he doesn't separate them, what if we bring them closer together?”
“Uh…I don't follow.”
“Maybe we don't separate them, they’re meant for each other!” Before Chat Noir could question her awfully confusing realization, Ladybug was swinging over.
“Okay I guess I’m following.”
The Eiffel Tower was surrounded by helicopters, belonging both to the police force and news broadcasts, as Stoneheart climbed to the very top. The pair made its way higher until they were close enough to hear the hostages' cries again.
“How exactly are we going to get them any closer than they are already?”
“With our powers!”
“...Right…Of course.”
“Lucky Charm!” A group of flying lady bugs appear in a gentle swarm before glowing, the light shifting into something new and falling into Ladybug’s hands.
“A…Parachute?” Chat Noir screams in the background getting launched off his feet.
“What do I do with this?”
“You wanna figure that out? Soon?” Chat Noir sasses as he lands on his feet, running and leaping back to the higher platform.
Ladybug puts the parachute on and throws her yo-yo around the monster and Mylene, securing it as it bound them together.
“His hand, get ready, Chat Noir!” She pulls the string tight and forces the pair to press against each other, Mylene's face meeting the stone tablet in a distorted form of kiss.
Stoneheart freezes before panic onsets and he pulls away, his hand opening momentarily and letting the screaming girl fall, as well as the grimy looking piece of crumpled paper. Mylene reached for Stoneheart's hand, clinging onto his massive finger as the brittle rock scraped against her hand. Small cuts and abrasions are made as her hand tightens around the coarse material. A second scream escapes but is silenced by the fear that overcomes her.
Chat Noir jumps from the tower, cutting through the air and wielding his baton. He pulls back as it extends and with one fell swing, he hits the falling akumatized object back up to Ladybug. The captured object lays safe in her hand.
“No more statues, no more evil, no more akuma.” A sigh of relief escapes her before a cloud of purple catches her eye. Without the akumatized object, Ivan transforms back and falls, Mylene with him as his grasp on the tower, and her grasp on him, is lost. The object hasn't been purified yet, but Ladybug lets the akuma go.
“I’ve got Ivan!” Chat Noir calls over quickly.
“Cataclysm!” His hand again turns into a dark shadow, a strong energy from his hand as flowing from the veins of his wrist to the tips of his fingers. The spotting of blackness trails around his hand as he strikes a beam of the tower. Metal cries and creaks as energy flows from him into the pillar, with grime and rust spreading rapidly on it before breaking off the tower, setting up a bridge-like fixture for Chat Noir to use. His claws dig into the malleable metal and his open hand easily catches Ivan midair, keeping the weight up easily and swinging them both up back to stable ground.
Meanwhile Ladybug simply swings her yoyo high, to detain the akuma, then down to take Mylene in her arms, the lucky parachute she was already wearing allowing them to fall gently. Once on the ground, the akuma is finally purified and released.
“Bye bye, butterfly.”
Wielding the discarded parachute, Ladybug tosses it up.
“Miraculous Ladybug!”
Suddenly a beautiful swarm of fluttering ladybugs appear from Ladybug herself. First they seemingly consume the tower, before moving on and leaving it in a restored state. Broken buildings came next, once crumbled homes and ruined businesses were built back up, rubble littering the streets cleared in an instant.
“You’ve won for now Chat Noir and Ladybug, but it won't be long until I've defeated you both. Until next time, heroes.”
“Wow…They’re…” Chat Noir stares at the sight around them, thousands of white butterflies and pink ladybugs painting the city.
“Beautiful.” Ladybug looks at her partner, silently admiring his work and ability. Chat Noir looks at the other pair behind them.
“It looks like you two need to talk? We’ll get out of your way.”
Ivan starts stammering, a faint red appearing in his usual stone cold face. Ladybug looks at the crumbled sheet of paper in her hand and flattens it out, smiling to herself as she reads over the word.
“Maybe start with this.” She pushes the paper into Mylene's nervous hands before stepping away.
“Ivan…this is beautiful writing. You wrote this?” Her voice was shaky but gentle and sincere. She was left nerveracked from her capture, but Ivan didn't hold her captive. Stoneheart did. This Ivan, the real Ivan, the one who wrote this for her, loved her. She thought back to how she ran away. A pang of guilt hit her, but the softness of Ivan's gaze told her he didn't even remember that.
“It’s a shame I didn't stop and listen properly the first time…I’m sorry about that.”
Ivan felt sick, and hot, and red, and dizzy. He felt like he could collapse at any moment. The sweetness of Mylene's voice made him weak. Frankly he was too embarrassed to speak. He wasn't thinking about what made him a monster, but he sure felt like one. He couldn't remember what he did, neither time it happened, but he knew it couldn't have been good. Hell, it wouldn't have been a surprise if she turned around and walked away from him forever.
“It scared you didn't it? That's why you left.” Ivan's voice broke as he looked away.
Mylene stayed quiet, she knew he was right but saying it aloud after everything felt difficult.
“I’ll be more gentle. I’m…sorry.” He paused to be able to say the words he was trying to say.
In a sudden move Mylene wraps her arms around him, pressing her body against his correctly this time. She felt him tense under, the heat of his body radiating off of him to a higher degree. He stays still and silent, overwhelmed but feeling the eager flame in his heart light once again.
The sound of beeping pulls the heroes away from peering into the sweet sight.
“Looks like we're running low on time, huh.” Chat Noir sighs.
“What a shame, we were just getting better. It was getting kinda fun there.”
“Speak for yourself, Kitty. I’m out. I'll see you around.”
“–so by the time I pushed past the cops, the fight was already over!”
“Bad luck, don't worry too much. You'll get a good scoop on them soon enough. It doesn't seem like they're going away any time soon.” Marinette giggle knowingly, adjusting her purse/
“Of course, next up I want an interview. Think about it, ‘Chat with Chat’? Is it too corny? Maybe an interview with Ladybug. Maybe I'll be the one to de-mask them both!”
Behind them, as they walked into school, a sleek silver car pulled up to the front.
“You disobeyed me, Adrien. You disobeyed Natalie. Look at that school. Look at it.” His tone was laced with malice and aggression.
Adrien sat there in defeat, turning to look at the school felt like a punishment in itself. Still, he did and almost teared up again.
“You are never returning to that school, Adrien. Do you hear me?”
Adrien wanted to disappear. For a moment he wanted to yell. Kick, scream, and yell. He wanted to shatter that screen his father was on. He wanted to open the car door and walk out that instant. He wanted to do what he wanted. He wanted to escape. Only for a moment.
“Without your body guard.”
“...What?”
“He will escort you to and from school everyday. Understood?”
Adrien’s blank face turned into a wide, wide smile. He worried for a second he’d get smile lines. His father continued to talk, explaining logistics, something about Natalei arranging his schedule properly. He turned to smile at her too while she sat blankly, even turning away from him slightly in order to avoid his thrilled gaze. His eyes lit up like the sun.
“Thank you!” Without a second thought he jumped out of the car and threw the car door closed carelessly, running into the school again.
Adrien walks in the school and takes a second to remember what classroom Chloe had shown him before. He knew he couldn't rely on her today though, she was in the hospital being looked over. Just in case and real damage had occurred internally. Still he was eternally grateful.
Walking into the class, the sight of a familiar face calms him. The warm, gentle smile Nino had made the swirling in his stomach still. The girls he had antagonized had changed seats, taking advantage of Chloe's absence, which he finds weird but smiles at them anyway, only to be rejected again. He sighs defeatedly.
“Dude, you wanna make friends, right?” Stupid question, of course he did. “Talk to Marinette. Y’know, about the gum and everything.”
Adrien pouts slightly, “What would I even say?”
“Just be yourself, man.”
The gentle rain fell from a dark evening sky. Clouds drifted slowly from the breeze. City lamps lit the way in a warm light against the cold darkness in the streets. Marinette walked out alone, she expected sunshine and a light breeze, maybe a drizzle, not this much drizzle though. She puts her hand out to catch droplets, when an awfully light figure comes into her sight. She scoffs at him.
Adrien holds his breath, taking a step ahead of her. He thought talk would be pointless, the umbrella he held in his hand open under the now harsh rain. Yet, he stops in his tracks.
“I just wanted you to know, I really was just trying to get that gum off of your seat. I swear. This…is my first time at a real school. I’m a model. I don’t know if you knew that. I'm not trying to brag, sorry. I've never had…friends either. I mean, I have Chloe of course, but it seems more and more like that doesn't really count here. All of this is so new to me.” He shrugged it off, feeling awkward as he stopped talking.
Marinette looked back at him, a stern but not upset expression. She softened. Adrien stretches out his hand, offering the umbrella to her. The rain started to pour heavily now. Thunder erupting in the near distance made them both tense. Marinette, with a quick hand, takes the umbrella from him, her far away eyes lock in on his.
“See you tomorrow, Adrien.” Marinette steps past him, down the steps, and off on the street she went.
Adrien is left standing there, analyzing what happened. He smiled.
“See you…tomorrow.”