Chapter Text
Marinette was proud to say she had been quite content with her life lately. It was peaceful, or as peaceful as it could get when she was a superhero tasked with the duty of keeping Paris safe. After Hawk Moth had been unmasked and defeated, at Adrien’s expense, Marinette’s daily life had gotten relatively normal. She’d recently caught herself sometimes reminiscing the days of akuma catching, the exhilaration it brought and the way it got adrenaline pumping through her veins. If she had to be honest, she missed it.
And as if karma was listening, there was suddenly a big, bad new enemy.
She wasn’t ready for it. She really wasn’t ready for it. Tikki was back at her apartment, because what was a kwami gonna do accompanying Marinette to college when there were no longer any attacks? Adrien had called while she was in the middle of running back to her apartment to Tikki so she could transform. He’d seemed very out of breath and she could barely hear him over something thundering in the background, and all she could remember was how panicked he sounded.
By the time Ladybug had landed on the scene, it seemed like all hell had broken loose. She barely had time to react when Volpina came barreling into her, sending the both of them flying.
“Sorry, Ladybug,” Volpina apologized, picking herself off of Ladybug and offering a hand to her.
“No problem,” Ladybug replied, accepting the outstretched hand in front of her and allowing her body to be pulled upward. “What’s going on here?”
“We have no clue. It came out of nowhere. Chat Noir even trapped it under a building with his Cataclysm and all it did was power down for ten seconds before coming back with a bigger vengeance. He started to panic after that, and even more so now since he’s gonna de-transform soon,” Volpina gushed in one breath.
“What? I’ve never heard of an akuma being powerful enough to escape from a pile of building rubble,” Ladybug pondered.
“Less thinking, more fighting. Let’s go,” Volpina decided as she watched Jade Turtle get flung into a streetlight. “And I don’t know if these are even Akumas. Master Fu would’ve let us know if someone had taken control of the butterfly miraculous.”
Ladybug chewed on her lip as she gazed at the… thing. Its skin was scaley and black, and it somehow resembled a lizard, except it had six legs and seemed to be as agile on it’s back as it’s front with it’s ability to rotate it’s head at whichever angle it prefered, which freaked Ladybug out. It had four ruby red eyes and they all blinked at random times, all of them looking in different directions. The sight of it sent chills down Ladybug’s spine. One blinked in her direction and she froze. Big mistake because before she knew it, its tail was darting through the air like a dagger, straight for her.
Volpina tackled her just in time and the tail skewered the air she'd occupied seconds ago.
“Girl, get your head in the game!” chastised Volpina, helping Ladybug up again.
“Ugh, I'm so not used to this,” Ladybug groaned.
“I know what you mean. It's been way too long since the last time.”
Ladybug grimaced, but assumed her famous ‘it’s-time-to-get-serious’ pose: yo-yo swinging menacingly in one hand, her other fist raised in determination with her feet planted in a wide, assured stance. “Miraculers, assemble!” she yelled.
“No. Oh, God, no,” Jade Turtle frowned, landing next to her. “That's even worse than the other name you gave us.”
“Really? I thought you'd like it cause it's like Avengers assemble,” she countered. She shrugged, returning her attention to the monster in front of them as Chat Noir joined his three partners. “Let’s take this thing down once and for all.”
She really thought they could do it, all four of them with their powers combined against one measly monster, but after what seemed to be the most intense battle Ladybug had encountered and all four heroes were nearing their limit, her spirit was dwindling at an all time low.
“Well, I’d just like to say, it was nice knowing y’all. I love you all from the bottom of my heart,” Jade Turtle panted, glaring up at the creepy lizard as it reared up on its hind legs, getting ready for a final kill.
“No!” Ladybug adamantly exclaimed. “Don’t even start! You’re not giving up so easy! We’re gonna come out on top of this!” She truly sounded like she had an endgame, but deep in her heart she knew the odds weren’t in their favour.
They’d regrouped after going all out, facing their enemy head on now. Ladybug had used Lucky Charm and she’d nearly locked up when it worked, but she had no idea what to do after. Where the hell was the akuma hiding?! Chat Noir was down to his last dot on his ring and she wasn’t too far behind. It felt like her world was crumbling around her and she wasn’t ready to lose her friends just yet.
Then, as if the universe had heard her silent plea for help, a figure came barrelling off the building behind them, crashing straight into the lizard and kneeing it right in its ugly face, sending it straight into the building behind it. You, the figure, landed nimbly on your feet, taking on a defensive stance, your back towards them.
“Well, I think we have a winner for most badass entrance ever,” Jade Turtle said, blinking in surprise.
You whipped around, feline eyes regarding them with something between wonder and determination. “Kill it!” were your only words before you turned your attention back to the creature.
A tail whipped out of the rubble of the building, slicing through the air and you leapt briefly into the air to avoid it, landing back on your feet with the grace of a panther.
“No!” Ladybug shouted. She would not kill a human being, no matter how monstrous they had become.
You noticed the conflict in Ladybug’s eyes. “It’s not human, I assure you. Please, I can’t do this myself.”
Ladybug chewed on her lip for a second. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ve faced off with something like this before. If you can’t bring yourself to kill it, at least help me trap it. Use your yo-yo, Ladybug!”
The lizard scrambled out from under the building it had been buried under, hissing menacingly as all four of its eyes centered on the group of heroes.
“We don’t have time, Ladybug. Please!” you urged.
Ladybug’s eyebrows furrowed as she squeezed her eyes shut and gained her resolve, fighting with her inner conflict to not trust some random hero who had appeared out of nowhere. “Let’s do this,” she muttered under her breath, eyes blinking open. “Volpina, distract it!”
“On it,” Volpina nodded, hopping up onto a neighboring building and throwing as many illusions as possible at the lizard with the help of her flute, effectively overwhelming it.
Ladybug readied her trusty yo-yo, spinning it through the air, waiting for a good enough opportunity as the lizard blinked its red eyes in different directions, trying to keep track of all the illusions while its tail sliced through many more.
“Chat, its tail!” Ladybug yelled and he immediately whipped into action, chasing after the large tail that just wouldn’t sit still. Looks like he’d have to make it.
As soon as the creature realized its tail was immobilized, Chat Noir holding it to the ground, it reared onto its hind legs once again, nearly foaming at the mouth as it hissed. Ladybug took her opening, arcing her arm through the air and trapping the lizard within the wire of her yo-yo.
“Borrowing this!” you called at Jade Turtle as you ran by him, yanking his shield out of his hands and using a wall to kick off of to launch yourself into the air. Your body twisted, eyes narrowing at the monster below as you came down on it, using the shield to slice its head clean off as you landed. The creature writhed for one second before disintegrating into black sand. You stared at it for a while before leaning down in a movement so quick, you would’ve blinked and missed it, your hand scooping at the sand.
“I hope there’s not any black gooey blood on my shield,” Jade Turtle commented blandly, carefully making his way to the mystery lady.
You visibly jerked, amber eyes landing on him. “Oh, don’t worry. It was just sand,” you smiled, holding out his shield out to him. He took it, strapping it to its place on his back.
“Who are you?” Ladybug asked, eyes narrowing at you as she finally got a good look at you, gaze travelling from head to toe.
You wore a mask like Ladybug’s, but it was black with a white outline, and the lower half of it tapered into a point in the middle, ending at your nose, almost like a cat’s nose. The upper outer edges of the mask also winged into sharp tips, like an emphasized cat eye, but as Ladybug’s gaze went lower, she realized it may actually be more of a tiger’s eye.
Your feet were clad in black leather boots that rose all the way to your knees, morphing into angular knee pads that ended into a smooth ‘V’ shape just above the knee. Skintight material wrapped around your thighs, white streaks resembling claw scratches running across the outer side of the thighs, starting out thick and ending in thin tapered points as they drew towards the inner thigh. A black belt hung loosely around your hips, its remaining length growing thicker and fading to white towards the end where it hung like a tail at your back. The black skintight material continued upward with the white claw marks texturing the sides of the suit, but it soon blended seamlessly into white towards your chest area, the claw stripes disappearing.
The collar was a high one, with a sharp dip in the middle, disappearing into an invisible zipper. Claws similar to Chat Noir’s extended from the fingertips of your black gloves which stretched up till just above your elbows where they once again ended in a sharp, tapered point on the outer side of your arms before joining the white of the upper part of your suit.
Two braids that seemed to be woven from the front parts of your hair were tied together at the back of your head, effectively keeping your face free of hair, but still allowing the bulk of it to cascade down your back, and at the very top, two rounded white ears twitched, contrasting with the deepness of your hair.
“Oh, wow! Look at the time!” you suddenly blurted, glancing at the imaginary watch on your wrist. “Looks like I gotta go. Bye!” And then you dashed, hopping onto the roof of the nearest building.
It struck Ladybug as very suspicious and she gave chase, her teammates following her lead. “Oh, no you don’t! You can’t just run away like that! For all I know, you’re the mastermind behind this attack.”
You glanced over your shoulder as you ran, calling back to the spotted hero. “I’m friendly, I promise! I was just trying to help.”
“Then why are you running?” countered Ladybug.
“Cause I know how you act around new superheroes,” you called back, making Ladybug slow down before completely stopping as she took in the truth of that statement.
“Hah! She got you there,” Chat Noir agreed, grinning as he halted next to her.
Ladybug pouted at Chat’s jibe at her, hands on her hips as she glared at him.
“Oh, and to answer your question, I’m Tigress,” you called, your voice loud enough to reach her even from where you stood.
Ladybug looked back just in time to catch your smile before you hopped off the building you were standing on and disappeared from sight.
“Should I follow her?” Jade Turtle asked from beside her, balancing on his shield which doubled as a hoverboard.
Ladybug shook her head, biting absent-mindedly on her lower lip. “No, it’s okay. I have a feeling we might just see her again.”
“She had a great ass, you gotta admit that much,” Alya commented, sipping at her milkshake.
Marinette rolled her eyes, absentmindedly stirring her bubble tea. “I don’t care if she had a great ass. I just want to know who she is and where she came from and what she’s doing here and what her motives are and if she’s evil.”
“Girl, that’s a lot to want to know,” Alya said, smiling wryly.
“Well, at least we know she’s called Tigress,” Nino shrugged. “So, you can tick ‘who she is’ off the list.”
Marinette rolled her eyes again. “I mean who she is, not what she calls herself.” She glanced at Adrien, who’d been way too interested with his phone ever since they’d met at their regular cafe. “Adrien, could you please pay attention? I know you have a busy life with being the CEO of your own company and building it back up from its roots, but this is important.”
He sighed, running a hand through his golden hair, unaware he was giving himself ‘Chat’ hair. “This isn’t about Agreste Fashion. I’m looking up Tigress.”
“Oh. That’s smart. Why didn’t I think of that?” Alya frowned, pulling her phone out of her bag, but before she could unlock it and start typing in search after search for Tigress, Adrien was already leaning across the table, showing them what was flashing across the screen of his phone.
It was a short video of the very same Tigress they’d seen just yesterday leaping through the streets of New York, battling a creature similar to the lizard from yesterday. It may not have been a lizard, seeing as it looked more like a minotaur, but it had the same black scaly skin and possessed three yellow eyes, blinking in the same creepy fashion as the lizard. You were extremely agile, constantly darting around in a distracting manner and keeping just out of the minotaur’s reach.
You’d just darted in between the minotaur’s legs, climbing nimbly up its back, when you wrapped yourself around its head, clawing at its face. The creature abruptly turned into sand and you landed on all fours, raising your hand to your face to check something in your hand.
“Wait, pause it,” Marinette suddenly said, and Adrien quickly tapped on the screen. “Zoom in on her hand.”
Adrien’s brow furrowed, but he did as he was told to and that’s when they saw it. Three glittering topaz gems cradled in the palm of your hand.
“I knew it. She’s hiding something from us. She took something from the black sand yesterday too and I bet it was the lizard’s eyes. Possibly four rubies,” Marinette concluded. “We can’t trust her.”
“Or maybe you’re just jumping to conclusions like you usually do with new superheroes,” Adrien countered.
“That’s true. You did nearly deck me when we first met as our superhero personas,” Alya said.
“And you nearly stole my shield right out from under me while I was riding it when we first met,” Nino said, but his gaze was sympathetic, like he knew where she was coming from.
Marinette sighed, but a pout remained on her lips as she crossed her arms. “Fine. I won’t jump to conclusions, but I’m not going to just trust her right off the bat. We’ll wait and see how things go.” She turned to Adrien. “What else did you find out about her?”
“Her miraculous seems to hail from India,” he began. “That’s where she was first ever spotted. I don’t know exactly what animal her miraculous is based on, but I’m willing to bet it’s a white Bengal tiger. She was active for about two years in India before disappearing for a few months. She reappeared in New York and seemed to stay there for about three to four years. Now it looks like she’s suddenly in Paris.”
“Indian, huh? How exotic,” Alya grinned, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Speaking of Indian,” Marinette said, her face lighting up. “Did you hear supermodel and CEO of Kiaan Fashion, [Full Name], is visiting Paris?”
“Ah,” said Adrien, his face ever so slightly remorseful as he massaged the back of his neck. “Actually I’ve got a meeting with her today.”
“You what?” Marinette hissed.
“Yeah, it kinda slipped my mind. I forgot to tell you.” He shrugged apologetically.
“How could you forget to tell me something so important?”
“Well we kind of had the spawn of satan to deal with yesterday and then a new superhero to keep us on our toes and now possibly a new supervillain. Yeah, lots on my plate.”
She huffed at that, pouting like a small child while she crossed her arms, glaring at him. “When are you meeting her?”
Adrien glanced at his watch. “Actually, I should be leaving now, but apparently she’s on the lookout for new, budding designers with a great talent for what they do. And obviously, because I’m such an awesome person,” Marinette rolled her eyes at this, “I said I knew a certain someone and that I could bring them along if she didn’t mind.”
Marinette gasped, her mouth hanging open for a few seconds. “You didn’t.”
He grinned mirthfully. “I did.”
“Oh, my gosh. You’re the best!” she squealed throwing her arms around him.
“I know I am.”
She rolled her eyes, flicking him on the nose. “Don’t let it get to your head.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go. I know you’ll want to get ready a bit before we meet her.”
“Hell, yeah, I do.” Marinette grabbed her purse, hopping off the stool at their table. “I’m so sorry, you guys. We’ll see you around!”
“Don’t worry, girl. We know how much this means to you,” Alya smiled. “Blow her away with your designs.”
“You’ve got this in the bag, Mari! Kill it,” Nino grinned.
“Thanks, guys!” Marinette beamed, waving at them as she and Adrien fell out of the cafe.
By the time they reached the cafe they’d decided to meet at, the sun was beginning its descent behind the horizon. Lights were beginning to blink on everywhere, they’re yellow hues bathing streets in an even warmer glow.
“A cafe?” Marinette asked as Adrien parked. “Not very professional.”
He nodded, shutting off the engine and straightening the collar of his shirt. “Yeah, I offered for us to meet at my office, but she refused, saying it was a waste of the scenery Paris has to offer. And she also really wants to try the food here.”
Marinette smiled, touching up her lipstick in her compact before exiting the car with Adrien. “Wow, she sounds kind of down to earth.”
He chuckled at this, locking the doors of his car and pocketing the keys. “You should’ve heard her on the phone.”
Marinette lifted an eyebrow at this and he just shook his head.
“You’ll see.”
She shrugged, following him to the entrance of the cafe, hoping she looked presentable enough. She wore a white and black vertically striped button-up shirt tucked into a pair of ankle length, light blue jeans with a pair of simple, black heels on her feet and a purse on her shoulder. Her shoulder length hair was artfully tousled into effortless waves and her makeup was minimal enough to look almost natural.
She glanced at Adrien, hoping she hadn’t dressed down too much when he’d mentioned a cafe. He wore a simple, light blue, button down shirt with a pair of perfectly tailored black slacks, a belt wrapped around them at his waist. He hadn’t bothered to wear a tie and the button of his collar was undone. Either way, he looked so much better than her no matter what he wore. After all, he was a supermodel.
When they entered, you were already there, seated at a table, your gaze focused on a menu in your hands. As they approached, you glanced up, your face breaking into the most breathtaking smile Marinette had seen.
“Ah, Mr. Agreste,” you greeted, standing to your full height and stepping around the table to hug him.
Marinette seemed to tune out of the greetings you exchanged, her eyes trailing over your tall figure, which wasn’t all too tall compared to Adrien, who she considered a giant. You donned a light blue, denim jacket over a black t-shirt which seemed to be tucked into a black, denim skirt, showing off your never-ending legs. Your hair was styled up into a high ponytail, soft waves cascading from it and your makeup wasn’t too heavy except for a bold, dark red lip, which made Marinette sigh in relief; she wasn’t underdressed. Your feet were covered in a pair of matte black ankle boots and as you moved away from Adrien, Marinette swore she recognized the print on the t-shirt you were wearing.
Marinette wasn’t prepared for a hug. She thought a handshake would suffice, but you enveloped her in a hug anyway, catching her off guard.
“You must be Marinette,” you smiled. “He’s spoken very highly of you. You should be proud.”
As you moved away and went to take your seat again, the print on your t-shirt became clear. “You’re a fan of Jagged Stone?” she blurted before she could help herself.
Your eyes widened the slightest bit before they crinkled, your smile stretching your lips again. “I am. He’s not too famous in America, but he still managed to capture my heart. Are you a fan, too?”
Marinette nodded, suddenly very aware of how gorgeous you were and very shy of herself.
“We both are,” Adrien spoke up as a waiter came around with two menus for him and Marinette.
She was thankful for the distraction and busied herself with looking for something to order.
“Oh, that’s wonderful! Maybe we can go for a concert together sometime?” You paused. “That is, if you want to. I don’t want to impose. You must be very busy with your own company. And you, Marinette, I hear you’re still in university; you must be very busy with that. Oh, I’m so stupid. I never think before I talk.” You sighed. “And now I’m rambling. I’m so sorry.”
Marinette blinked. This must be what Adrien was talking about. You sounded so familiar, almost like her when she was flustered. She suddenly felt so much more at ease.
“Anyway,” you said. “Would you like to order anything? I’m starved.”
Adrien arched an eyebrow. “You don’t have to worry about a diet?”
“Oh, no.” You waved a hand in the air like you were trying to bat away the silly idea of a diet. “I eat whatever I want. I digress, I have a high metabolism, which has sometimes landed me in some trouble, but I also work out enough to keep myself in check.”
Marinette couldn’t help but notice you didn’t have any trace of an Indian accent, but you were fluent in French, conversing easily with Adrien. Sure, you had some Indian features, like big eyes and tan skin, but it almost seemed to end there. If anything, the most striking aspect of your appearance were your eyes. They were an ethereal shade of amber and they almost looked like they glowed in the dim lighting of the cafe. And then they glanced over at her.
“What?” Marinette asked. She’d tuned out again.
You laughed softly. “Adrien was just saying how good you are at designing. Did he mention I’m in the market for new fashion designers who are very talented at what they do?”
“Oh, yes, he did. And I’m so thankful he speaks so highly of me,” she replied, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear as she glanced at Adrien who gave her an encouraging smile.
“Well, I’m sure you’re just as good as he says. I was hoping tomorrow after your classes get over you could drop by my hotel room with your portfolio. Is that too much to ask of you?”
Marinette’s heart nearly flew out of her chest. “Oh, my gosh, no, it’s not. I’d love to drop by, if it’s not too much of a trouble for you. I’m sure you’re very busy. I actually have my portfolio on my iPad which is with me right now.”
“Nonsense. We’re here to chat and eat good food. And you’ll never be a trouble, Miss Dupain-Cheng.”
“You can just call me Marinette.”
“As I will. It’s such a beautiful name.” You glanced back at the menu, suddenly remembering your hunger. “Now, how about we order some food?”
You’d just caught the attention of a waiter when the ground shook. The water in your glass quivered. And then a streetlight impaled Adrien’s car.
A strangled cry left his lips and Marinette was tempted to burst out laughing at the noise, but she had bigger worries, like how she and Adrien were going to make up an excuse to get out of there without causing any suspicion.
“Motherfucker.”
Marinette’s eyes darted to you. Had you been the one to say that? She wasn’t sure. She nudged Adrien under the table, eyes conveying the urgency of their situation, when you shot up from the table.
“Let’s use the back exit to escape,” you said levelly. She was a little surprised by how calm you were.
“Good idea,” Adrien agreed, standing and grabbing Marinette’s wrist.
Apparently everyone had the same idea, for soon they were swooped up by the crowd of people scurrying out of the cafe. Once out, she glanced around for you, but it seemed you’d been lost to the crowd, but honestly she was a little relieved.
“We need to transform!” Adrien urged, pulling Marinette down the alley they’d exited into.
Finding a deserted spot, they quickly called on their kwamis, leaping onto the roof of the nearest building once they were in their suits to survey the situation. They couldn’t find a monster as far as the eye could see, but they could see the trail left behind by it.
“Follow the path of destruction,” Ladybug quipped, charging into action as she ran, using her trusty yo-yo to swing up to buildings taller than she could jump.
Chat Noir followed and before long they found their target.
“A chimera. A motherfucking chimera. Are you kidding me?! That’s like,” there was a pause, “twelve eyes!”
Both heroes turned to the source of the yelling, finding Tigress as you glared down the chimera from where you were perched upon a streetlight. They looked back at the creature, where the lion’s head had five purple eyes, the goat’s head had three orange ones and the snake’s had four red ones, amounting to twelve eyes in total
Ladybug shivered violently. “Creepy.”
Chat Noir jerked his chin in Tigress’ direction. “She’s back.”
“I know, and I plan to have a long talk with her after this is over,” Ladybug stated. “Go for the eyes.” Then she was gone, landing on the ground in front of the chimera.
Chat followed suit, readying his baton as he landed next to Ladybug. The sun had fully set by now and the streetlights provided ample brightness for the streets. He momentarily remembered Tigress as he glanced up at the streetlight you were sitting on, only to notice you’d disappeared. He shrugged, he could worry about you later. Right now they had a three-headed creature to deal with.
“I think we should take out the snake head first,” Ladybug suggested. “It looks most imposing to me.”
“On it,” Chat said. “Do you think it’s okay for me to use Cataclysm on it since it’s not human?”
“Oh, that’s right. You can. That would make things so much easier,” Ladybug said, grinning at his idea.
Chat nodded, moving towards the monster, but before he could get anywhere close, Tigress landed on the back of the chimera, right behind the goat’s head with your front facing the snake. It reacted first, hissing venomously as it went straight for you, but you caught it with your hands, claws digging into its black skin. Sand seeped from the little puncture wounds you made, but it didn’t seem to care, thrashing in your hands. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
It had seemed really smart at first, but the body below you had begun to go wild, jumping wildly as it tried to throw you from its back. The snake was overpowering you, despite your enhanced strength, thanks to its slippery skin. You were teetering too far back now and you could feel the horns from the goats head grazing your shoulder blades. That’s when the bright idea popped into your head.
You leaned further back, the horns digging into your skin. You could feel the material of your suit ripping as the horns delved into the skin between your shoulders, but you didn’t care. Letting go of the snake, it darted straight for you and at the last moment, you swung your torso to the side, the horns cutting through more of your skin, making you hiss in pain. The snake’s head rammed straight into the goat’s horns, stabbing itself, and before it could rear back up, you held it down, clawing the jewels out of its face. It instantly turned to sand and you pocketed the rubies in the little compartment in your glove.
Things were looking better now, if you did say so yourself, but of course, it was short lived as you were abruptly thrown from the back of the chimera. You flew threw the air and landed on the ground, skidding on your back, which was more painful than it should’ve been after your injuries.
You groaned, back arching off the ground in pain as you squeezed your eyes shut, biting your lower lip to prevent yourself from making any sounds. Upon opening your eyes, you saw a clawed, gloved hand outstretched to you. Looking up, you saw Chat Noir, offering you his help to get up, and you gratefully took it, the man pulling you up in one tug.
“You’re hurt,” he said, green eyes searching yours for something, you couldn’t tell what.
“I’ll be fine,” you assured him. “Just go take out the rest of those eyes.”
“I can’t let you leave,” he frowned. “Ladybug will kill me.”
You gave him a half smile. “Well, can’t have you dead, now, can we? Paris needs you. I’ll be here. Go help Ladybug.”
He looked at you for a while longer, his brows furrowed ever so slightly. Your hair was in a ponytail today, he noticed. Also, were you wearing lipstick? He shook his head. He could dwell upon that later.
“You better stay,” he warned, walking away finally.
You rolled your eyes with an exasperated sigh. “I will. Don’t worry your little tail off. Now go help Ladybug before she kills you more than she should.”
He cracked a grin. “My tail is not little.”
“Keep telling yourself that, kitten. Now, go!”
He wanted to retaliate to that kitten comment, but he kept himself in check. He had a city to protect and Ladybug couldn’t do it alone as much as she said she could.
“What took you so long?” Ladybug huffed.
“Making sure she doesn’t dash. You do want to talk to her, right?” Chat replied.
“Are you sure you weren’t just flirting with her, like you do with everyone?”
He gasped in mock protest. “I do not!”
“Uh huh. Sure. Just use your Cataclysm so we can get this over with.”
“Anything for you, my lady.” And then he was off, running towards the beast of a thing.
Ladybug rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same at the old nickname.
Chat Noir was so sure his power would work, he hadn’t dared to think of an escape plan, but when he took a swipe at the chimera’s leg and all it did was turn the leg to a pile of sand instead of the whole body, he panicked. Even more so when the leg regrew itself.
“Fuck!” he swore, as he found himself on the ground next to the chimera, completely out of luck.
“Get out of there!” Ladybug yelled frantically, sending her yo-yo out to him, but the creature intercepted, and instead it wound around the horn of the goat’s head. Worry clouded her mind as the lion’s head turned to Chat, sharp teeth bared while Ladybug tried to pull on her yo-yo to keep the heads from getting too close to him, but she wasn’t strong enough.
Suddenly there was a grey blur. So fast, it was a blink and you miss it moment, and then Chat Noir was nowhere near the chimera. Instead he was in the arms of Tigress as you effortlessly held him. He could see the pain your eyes as much as you tried to hide it as you let him get to his feet; you were straining your back too much.
“Ladybug,” you yelled. “Use your yo-yo. Wind it around the lion’s head and pull.” You turned to Chat Noir. “Don’t let it reform; take the jewels from the head.”
She nodded in response, relinquishing the horn from her yo-yo before following your instructions. The lion’s head popped right off and Chat dashed forward, skidding across the ground as he nabbed the gems.
All that was left now was the goat. It breathed wispy fumes from it’s nose as it pawed the ground, baring its horns at Ladybug, when a shield came out of nowhere and sliced the head clean off. She sprinted forward just as the sand began to swirl, plucking the stones out from the blackness, and the sand collapsed back into a pile.
“Nice of you to finally join us,” Ladybug jested.
“Sorry for being late. We got caught up in some… stuff,” Jade Turtle said awkwardly, his cheeks turning a shade of red.
“Stuff? You call that stuff? I’ll show you stuff,” Volpina growled before Ladybug gave her a pointed look. “What?”
“We have company,” Ladybug said, jerking her head over to you.
“Oh. The lady with the nice butt.”
Ladybug smacked a hand over her face, hoping you hadn’t heard, but she anyway walked over to where you stood. “Who are you?”
“I thought I already told you I’m Tigress,” you said, brows furrowing in confusion.
“I know that, but what are you? Why are you here in Paris? Are you an ally or an enemy? Can we trust you? What’s your endgame?”
You chuckled softly, raising a hand to your face to stifle it before wincing in pain at the movement. “That’s a lot of questions you got there, but don’t worry. I’ll answer them all.”
“You… You’re hurt,” she suddenly realized.
“You can use Miraculous Ladybug to undo that,” you said.
“But it doesn’t work if I haven’t used Lucky Charm.”
“Try it,” you said with a small smile. “Throw your yo-yo into the air instead of the Lucky Charm.”
She frowned, a bit skeptical, but tried it all the same, and when it worked, she was fairly surprised. “How did you know that?” she asked.
“You’d be surprised at the amount of old scrolls and folklore India has to offer. They’ve got everything.”
“Are you healed?”
You turned your back to her, showing how your suit was unmarred and your wounds were gone. “All better. And to answer your questions, I-”
There was a faint beeping sound and a soft curse.
“Looks like I have to go,” Chat informed from where he was perched on a car several feet away. “And, my lady, I think you need to go, too.”
“What? No, I don’t. Why do I-?” Ladybug suddenly remembered the supermodel they’d left behind and gasped. “Oh, my God. I have to go.” She really didn’t want to. Not when the answers were right there, standing in front of her, but she supposed if she was willing to tell her everything now, she’d be willing to talk later, too.
“We’ll meet again, Ladybug. Don’t worry. This villain won’t be disappearing anytime soon,” you assured her.
She sighed. “While I don’t mind meeting you again, I don’t like the sound of the villain part.”
You smiled ruefully. “It is but the truth. I must leave now, too. I’ll see around.” You winked at Alya and then leapt onto the nearest building, almost like a real tiger, disappearing from sight soon after.
“Boy, I’d tap that,” Alya sighed dreamily.
“All she did was wink at you,” Nino pouted, playfully jealous.
“It was a kinky wink, okay?”
“Sure it was.”