Chapter Text
"Hey there, m'lady," Cat Noir greeted as Ladybug and Vesperia landed next to him. "I'm guessing this is our new Queen Bee?"
"You bet. Call me Vesperia," the new heroine replied, flashing a 'v' sign. Cat Noir smirked as he took her free hand. "Thrilled to make your acquaintance, Vesperia," he said right before kissing her hand.
Vesperia smirked back, her amusement plain on her face. "Thrilled to meet you, too, kitten."
"She's certainly something," Cat Noir remarked. Ladybug smiled lightly as she gave an innocent shrug. "I'm always choosing the best people for the job." Then her smile vanished. "Shouldn't Antibug have shown up by now?"
"Maybe she decided to attack Sacré-Coeur?" Cat Noir suggested. Then Vesperia tensed, drawing her top. "Or maybe she was waiting for us to show up! Move!" she yelled as she shoved the other heroes out of the path of a rocket Antibug fired before leaping aside herself.
Antibug growled from her perch atop the roof of the Louvre. "So, you just replaced me!? With that... that cheap copy of Queen Bee!?" Her sneer didn't leave her face as Shadow Moth opened a link. "Don't let them escape! Once I have Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses, you can have the Bee!" he promised.
"I don't want the Bee Miraculous! Not anymore!" she snarled as she reloaded her rocket launcher. Shadow Moth let out a sigh of exasperation in her mind. "Fine. Just get me their Miraculouses!" The link cut off right as Antibug fired at Ladybug again. Omegabug hissed, creating twin rocket launchers on its underside as it flew into action, firing at Cat Noir and Vesperia.
"Ugh, is that what a ladybird's face looks like up close?" Vesperia commented in disgust as she leapt away from the missile.
Cat Noir grunted as he dodged his missile. "I wish this one didn't look so realistic!" He extended his staff so far he hit the underside of the sentimonster's head. Omegabug bellowed in pain and fired more rockets off erratically, forcing Cat Noir and Vesperia to dodge.
Ladybug managed to deflect the shots Antibug fired and rushed the villainess, her yoyo twirling as she lashed out at the rocket launcher. Right as the yoyo was about to snag the weapon, Antibug dissipated the weapon in a cloud of blackish-red sparkles, the yoyo whipping harmlessly past her head.
"I can't wait to see the look on your face when I take your Miraculous and erase you from existence!" Antibug snarled as she summoned a jetpack with a single missile extending from the top. Firing her thrusters, Antibug lashed out with her yoyo as she dive-bombed Ladybug, who could barely dodge and deflect each vicious attack. Rolling away from the continuous assault, Ladybug swung her yoyo towards Antibug's jetpack, managing to find purchase on the missile and started pulling the villainess to the ground. Antibug only scoffed and fired the missile into the sky, taking Ladybug - who realized she made a horrible mistake - with it.
"This is getting boring," Vorath complained, his words echoing in his holder's mind. "Can't you go and absorb that new bee's power? Or maybe punt Antibug into the horizon? She can't weigh more than eighty pounds."
"You and I both know we already have the power of the Bee Miraculous," Dragonus replied. "While I would like to be certain of her identity, there's only so many people Ladybug would pick from and she's already planned the Miraculouses for all of them. And besides, that accent? Obviously the new girl."
"You still should be certain. Remember Dom-?"
"Yes, I remember that, thank you very much," Dragonus snarled. "You should remember that we agreed not to talk about that." Luckily for him, right before trauma reared its ugly head again, Dragonus spotted Ladybug flying past on the missile Antibug fired. Despite its black-and-red color scheme, he recognized the type. A few more moments and Ladybug wouldn't be able to safely drop. Or drop in one piece.
"Typical," Dragonus sighed as he expertly twirled his sword from his back and threw it at the missile. His aim was perfect, his sword cleanly bisecting through the rocket, which fell to the ground in two pieces. "I absorbed some of his thought processes directly from his mind, and I don't know how he thought it was a good idea to give Buggy McBeeface the ability to create RPGs."
"Well, the Miraculouses are very hard to destroy… as are the holders," Vorath commented. "But saving her? What's the plan here?"
"Same plan as always, Vorath," Dragonus replied. "Plus the bonus of the thrill of the hunt."
Ladybug was in freefall, her yoyo dislodged from the broken half of the rocket. She quickly straightened into a nosedive as the ground came up quickly, then tucking into a roll as she landed, using her momentum to come swiftly to her feet and leap back into the fight, her invulnerable suit protecting her from injury.
Antibug growled, pure and unbridled hate radiating from every fiber of her being. "Why. Won't. You. Just. DIE?!" she screamed, spinning her yoyo rapidly as Omegabug came to her side, several heavy weapons protruding from its body. Cat Noir and Vesperia leapt to Ladybug's flanks, drawing their own weapons.
"It's over, Antibug! You can't win this!" Ladybug said definitively as her yoyo spun into a shield. "M'lady's right. You need to stop this!" Cat Noir added.
"Chloé, it'll be fine. I - uh, I mean, your cousin! - She wasn't thinking straight, I'm sure of it. I'll wager she wasn't used to having everyone glare at her for no good reason," Queen Bee said, her tone soft and comforting. The spin of the evil yoyo slowed slightly. Antibug's gaze wavered between the three heroes before finally settling on Vesperia. Compared to the other two, she was softer, more comforting, supportive, like she was talking to a scared animal. Like she cared about Chloé…
The black outline of Shadow Moth's mask appeared over Antibug's face. She gasped as her ocean blue irises turned a poisonous indigo as her face blanked. Shadow Moth spoke only four words. "Get me their Miraculouses." And Antibug felt no other option than obedience.
The three heroes stepped back when they saw the outline form and heard Antibug gasp. Summoning a lance, she mounted her sentimonster like a horse and charged the heroes. They just barely dodged the attack as Antibug turned and charged Ladybug again. Ladybug swung away, Antibug chasing after her on Omegabug, the sentimonster almost laughing as it fired its weapons.
"Chloé! Snap out of it!" Vesperia yelled desperately. Antibug didn't hear her. Her only goal was to destroy Ladybug utterly. Leave no trace of the spotted heroine after her Miraculous was taken.
Dragonus chuckled sinisterly as he watched the fight play out. "Smooth move, Shadow. Disgusting, but still a smooth move. Stamping out her will. I never would've thought of that." His eyes, used to following moving targets, expertly tracked the heroes and Antibug amidst the chaos of the battlefield.
"Once they actually find him and take his Miraculous, Gabriel is so gonna get beaten up for everything he's done," Vorath said darkly.
"You mean, if they find him," Dragonus replied.
Vorath was silent for a moment, as if he was considering his wielder's words. "Well, considering what your plan is, if doesn't sound half bad."
Shadow Moth grimaced. Completely enthralling Antibug took more power than he had anticipated, but the results spoke for themselves. She was the perfect warrior, only able to fight and obey. And she would do just that until Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses were his.
"Everything I ever wanted from my villains," Shadow Moth mused, his grimace turning into a smirk. A dark chuckle filled his mind as the black dragon outline formed over his face.
"You've really sunk to a new low this time, Shadow," Dragonus said, and Shadow Moth could almost hear the condescending smirk on the younger villain's face. "Depending on when they find you, they might just throw you off the Eiffel Tower." Before Shadow Moth could react, Dragonus severed the link, leaving only the sound of his laughter in the adult villain's head.
"That annoying little brat," Shadow Moth growled. Ever since Dragonus discovered he could form a link between them, he often popped into Hawk Moth's head at the worst moments with a smart remark or snide comment, then disconnected before Hawk Moth could react.
"It doesn't matter. I'll be more powerful than him eventually. And he will regret mocking me."
"We need to do something! She can't keep that up forever!" Vesperia said urgently as she and Cat Noir watched Ladybug fight off and swing away from Antibug's single-minded attacks.
Glancing around as he internally measured the trajectories and plotted the path Antibug was following, Cat Noir extended his staff. "You don't have any problems with flying kicks, do you?" he asked, a slight smirk on his face as he tilted his staff towards the ground.
"None at all," Vesperia replied, mimicking Cat Noir's smirk as she crouched down on the end of the staff. Heaving the staff forward, Cat Noir launched Vesperia right into Antibug, knocking her lance out of her hand and the villainess right off her sentimonster. The two rolled to the ground, Vesperia pinning Antibug's arms as she straddled the raging supervillain.
"Chloé, I don't know if you can hear me, but for both our sakes, fight it!" Vesperia yelled. "You're stronger than he is! You've always been stronger than you thought you were!" Antibug sneered, her indigo eyes filled with rage. Vesperia sighed. "You know I wouldn't lie about your strength."
At that moment, Antibug stopped. Her eyes shifted between her normal blue and the indigo of Shadow Moth's control. "Move. Quickly. Please," she pleaded. "I can't fight him off forever. The akuma's in the picture! The one in-" Her eyes hardened back to indigo as an inhuman snarl erupted from her throat and she threw Vesperia off. The bee heroine managed to flip over to the heroes.
"She said her akuma was in the picture, but I don't know where she might be keeping it," Vesperia quickly explained. The other two nodded as they watched Omegabug, its eyes glazed indigo, zip to its mistress's side as Antibug summoned a second yoyo.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug cried, the energy condensing into a picture of two little girls playing with three adults in the background. She quickly gave Vesperia a look. "Is it this one?" she asked. Vesperia nodded. "Do you have a plan?"
Ladybug glanced around. Cat Noir's belt… Omegabug… the picture… Antibug… Vesperia… "Got it," she said. "Cat Noir, your belt."
Cat Noir quickly nodded as he undid the belt and tossed it to Ladybug. "Flank them?" he asked, twirling his staff. Ladybug nodded. "Flank them."
Cat Noir ran to the left while Vesperia bolted to the right. Ladybug charged the sentimonster head-on. Antibug shrieked like a banshee as she lashed out with both yoyos, trying to catch Ladybug. Her sentimonster took aim at Cat Noir while Vesperia snuck around behind. Ladybug dodged each attack from Antibug as she jumped over her towards the sentimonster and springboarded off its back, damaging the ladybug wings and forcing it to land. She then looped Cat Noir's belt over the shell, pinning the giant ladybug as Cat Noir jumped and body-slammed into Omegabug, stunning it.
"Chloé!" Ladybug yelled as she turned and brandished the picture in front of the villainess like a cross. Antibug froze in her tracks, her eyes shifting between the two colors as Chloé fought Shadow Moth's control and her hand drifted to a spot on her right side. "You're stronger than him! Remember who you are! The heroine who helped me save Paris!"
Chloé was just about to win when she felt a darkness completely enshroud her mind. The black outline of Shadow Moth formed over Antibug's face as she - Shadow Moth - cackled. "I have complete control over her. Chloé Bourgeois is my puppet, dancing to my string. Everyone in this city is. You will never truly win, Ladybug," Shadow Moth sneered. Ladybug's face contorted into horror, then a snarl of determination.
"You won't win, Hawk Moth. We will stop you, no matter what!" she declared.
Shadow Moth laughed again. "I am Shadow Moth, my most powerful form yet! You cannot defeat me, young superhero." Ladybug smirked a little, instantly unnerving Shadow Moth as he put his guard up.
"Maybe we can. After all, Antibug's right in front of us," she said triumphantly. Shadow Moth turned and saw Vesperia leaping at the villain from behind.
"Venom!" Queen Bee called out, her top splitting in two and the translucent bee stinger appeared over her fist. She punched it straight into Antibug's arm, freezing her in place as the outline disappeared.
Back in his lair, Shadow Moth rocked back as he felt the punch in his arm. Clearly, direct possession meant that he felt the impact of what his villains were exposed to, including physical attacks.
The dragon outline appeared over Shadow Moth's face one last time. "Like I said," Dragonus drawled. "But don't worry. I might catch you." He cut the link off before Shadow Moth could retort, his laugh ringing in the adult supervillain's ears.
Antibug stood frozen in place, her eyes blue, wide and surprised. Her sentimonster couldn't move with Cat Noir pinning it in place. Vesperia blinked back a few tears as she looked at the frozen form of her cousin. It didn't matter that Chloé was akumatized. Even when she pretended otherwise, she was still fragile and didn't deserve to be controlled by anyone.
Vesperia watched as Ladybug patted down Antibug, finally finding the hidden pocket where the picture, now dark and corrupted, had been hidden. She quickly pulled it out and handed it to Cat Noir, his hand charged with destructive energy. The bee heroine flinched a little as the photograph crumbled in his hand and the corrupted butterfly and feather flitted out of the dust.
Ladybug quickly captured the two and purified them before finally casting the cure, repairing the monumental damages and erasing the ether of akumatization from Chloé. Cat Noir yelped indignantly as he fell through the space the sentimonster had occupied just a moment before.
"What happened?" Chloé demanded, holding her head as she glanced around. Her eyes immediately locked onto Vesperia. "I got… replaced!? By this… this…" she sighed. "You're lucky, fake me. I don't feel up to insulting you."
Vesperia sighed as she retrieved the reformed picture from Ladybug. "Do you feel like letting your cousin make up with you?" she asked as she knelt down and offered Chloé the picture. "Because I know she's probably open to it."
Chloé's lower lip wobbled. "Fine," she relented, her voice cracking as she made a visible effort not to break down. "I'm… sure she'll tell you all the mistakes I made. Don't make them."
"I won't," Vesperia promised as she helped Chloé to her feet. The beeping of all three Miraculouses caught the heroes' attention as Cat Noir started backpedaling. "I gotta go. I'm late for a grooming," he said before turning and vaulting off into the distance.
"We need to go, too," Ladybug added. "I need to take your Miraculous back before your identity gets revealed." Vesperia nodded as she glanced back at Chloé. "Okay. Take care, Chloé," she said as she twirled her yoyo.
"Wait," Chloé interjected, marching over to Ladybug as the spotted heroine turned back towards her.
"Yes?" Ladybug asked. Chloé sighed, her eyes flitting around as if she wanted to look anywhere other than Ladybug's direction.
"I'm sorry," she said, sincerity and pain clear in her voice. "For everything. I don't care if you don't forgive me. I wouldn't deserve it anyways." She turned away, trying to keep the sobs away. "Don't try anything to make me feel better. Don't say anything you don't mean. I should've realized it sooner. You're perfect. I'm not."
"Chloé…" Ladybug began softly. "Don't beat yourself up over this. It's not your fault you got akumatized. And don't trivialize yourself like that. You were still a good Queen Bee. Maybe one day, you can get past all the things you've done-"
"Just drop it, Ladybug," Chloé interrupted. "I just… I need some time alone. I can get home fine, so don't ask. Just… goodbye." She thumbed a message into her phone as she walked away.
"Is she going to be okay? I've never seen her like this before," Ladybug asked as Vesperia returned the Bee Miraculous. Amber shrugged. "I'm not sure. I'll try and talk to her. If anything comes of it… Either way, thanks for letting me help," she said, changing the topic.
"I'm glad we've got somebody to use the Bee Miraculous," Ladybug replied as she stowed the comb in her yoyo. "If Chloé… does something, let me know. We still have to properly talk about… a lot of things, I guess."
"I will," Amber promised. "Can't wait to work with you again, Ladybug. And Cat Noir, too. Boys in leather are exactly my type." Amber flashed a grin as Ladybug inexplicably felt a pang of jealousy rise in her chest and a pout cross her face.
Amber laughed at her reaction. "Just kidding, I promise. I see he's already taken."
Ladybug's cheeks touched red as she twirled her yoyo. "Uh- you should go check on your cousin. Bug out!" she said shortly as she swung out of the alley.
"Called it," Dragonus muttered as he scrambled away from his spying spot the second before Ladybug swung away. He could almost see Vorath rolling his eyes. "Yes, yes. Well, at least now we know her weakness."
"We aren't using family members as weaknesses, Vorath, how many times do I have to tell you?"
"You-Know-Who did it."
"And how many times did I tell you not to bring You-Know-Who up?"
"Was I supposed to be counting, Dr. Snarkanscream?"
Dragonus growled as he rolled his eyes. "Remember who can force you to eat tofu for a month." His threat properly acknowledged by an indignant gasp, Dragonus took to the skies as the sun started to set.
"Chloé?" Amber called as she knocked on her cousin's door in the Grand Paris. A muffled response sounded from inside. "Can I come in?" she asked. Another muffled reply, which Amber took as a 'yes.' She gently eased the door open.
Chloé was laying face down on her bed, her face buried in her pillow, her hair a mess around her. She didn't react in the slightest as Amber sat down next to her. "Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not," Chloé replied, her voice filled with pain. "I ruined everything, didn't I? Why are you still here? Why aren't you at some apology party the others probably threw for you?"
"I turned the offer down so I could check on you," Amber said gently. "I wanted to say sorry - again - for losing my temper at you. I'm sorry I said you were short-sighted. I didn't mean it. I'm willing to forgive you… if you can forgive me."
Chloé's sniffling quieted as she sat up, her tears making her makeup run. "Really?" she dared to ask. Amber nodded, a soft smile on her face. "Yes."
"I'm sorry I snapped at you," Chloé said, wiping away the few droplets of makeup-tinged tears that remained. "I would like some help getting… better. Or maybe just turning down some of the crazy."
"I think we can manage that."
"To think my little cousin is helping me change."
"I'm only five hours younger."
"Still counts."
The two burst into laughter, wiping away the tension of the moment. "It's not going to be easy, you know," Amber said, the laughter leaving her tone. "I'm not sure how much everyone's going to accept the new you."
"Well, let's hope they can distance me from the bully I was," Chloé said, curling her legs up to her chest. "He was in my head, Amber. Shadow Moth was in my head, controlling me… I never felt so helpless, so small…"
Amber took hold of her cousin's shoulders, her own sky blue eyes piercing directly into her cousin's ocean blue. "Don't think about that. Shadow Moth is a cancer. The heroes will get rid of him. He's the one who's ruined everyone's lives. Not you."
Chloé nodded. "I just wish I could go back in time, not side with him if this was what I would be given."
"We all do, Chlo. We all do." Amber glanced at the clock on Chloé's end table. "Let's get some dinner and then we can make a plan for the future. Anything to get our minds off of this."
"Sounds like a plan," Chloé replied as the cousins got up and left the room.
"This was still a successful test run," Gabriel said as he worked on his latest line. "Shadow Moth has the power. I just need to find the right person." Nooroo and Duusu, nestled in the same inner pocket of his jacket, shared a worried glance. If the one they thought Gabriel was talking about was the one, it could be catastrophic.
A draconite flew into the atelier and infected the computer Gabriel was working at. The golden dragon outline appeared over his face.
"Don't try it," Dragonus snarled. "You will screw up and you will doom us all. And believe me, if you do, the last thing I'll do before I get vaporized or something is hunt you down and tear out your soul, then feed the body to my draconites. Don't cross me." The message delivered, the draconite exited the monitor and flew out the window.
Gabriel staggered, clutching his forehead. This wasn't the first time Dragonus threatened him, although this one was decidedly more graphic. He steeled himself.
"Dragonus won't stop me from reaching my goal," he declared. "Even if I have to take control of everyone in Paris, split open the world and tear down the sky, I'll do it. Emilie must be saved."