Chapter Text
Dripping with sweat, the sun blazed down upon the assortment of hired hands working to construct the new statue for King Bourgeois. Marie wiped her brow and set to return to her hammering when she heard the sound of her master calling her name. She turned to see him with an angry expression, marching towards her- never a pleasant sight to see. She stood at attention as he made his way over and began shaking a finger at her.
“There’s copper missing from the safe, Marie. And Audrey says she witnessed you sneak inside where it’s kept. I know you’ve hidden it so I’m firing you, begone.” Then he made a shooing motion with his hands towards her.
Marie stood in shock as she felt her heart thumping in her chest. She gathered up her tools and ran off as tears began to spill down her face. She crouched beside a stone wall away from the construction, weeping. As she cried, a small purple butterfly fluttered on over to land on her hammer, which then absorbed the small creature as a voice filled Marie’s head.
“Hello, Unemployer. I am Hawkmoth…”
The rolls weren’t going to knead themselves, and the day wasn’t growing any younger. Marinette pushed back the long sleeves of her dress and set to work folding and pressing her hands into the squishy, powdery dough set before her as the midday sun poured in through the window. She prided herself on her ability to carry on the family business of making some of the most well respected baked goods in the kingdom of France. People from around the kingdom had stopped by to taste her father’s creations for decades and they weren’t showing any sign of stopping as Mr Dupain had begun showing his daughter the ropes of the business.
Marinette huffed as she heaved the thick dough. It was almost a therapeutic practice to knead it, a sort of stress reliever to take her mind off things. Marinette had more to take her mind off than most people though, she figured, as most other people weren’t required to hide their secret life as a paladin. She protected the kingdom of France from magical evils that plagued the land. However, Marinette also had a normal life to lead, she reminded herself through her kneading, which was both a task on its own and a relief from the magical quests she encountered. She sighed as she thought of the handsome son of Lord Gabriel. Sir Adrien was a common sight amongst the village and a regular customer at the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. Unlike his reserved and distant father, Adrien seemed to find time in his busy schedule to wander amongst the common people, helping them and spending time with them. Marinette would often daydream of having some form of interaction with him outside of his visits to the bakery, but her daydream was short lived as she was almost done kneading. A small red light dashed into the kitchen, fluttering frantically.
“Marinette!” came a small pixie voice, “I’ve sensed another akuma!”
Marinette whipped her head towards the tiny being, her eyes growing wide. She picked up the mound of dough and plopped it back into the bowl, covered it, and placed it aside to rise. “Tiki, spots on!” the baker’s daughter cried. Immediately the pixie swirled about her, scattering red dust. Marinette’s plain dress and apron were replaced with the much more dashing attire of her secret persona, Ladybug. Completely covered in red with black spots, Ladybug now leaped out a hidden door in the ceiling, her face covered by a mask, donning a shirt with billowy sleeves, a leather outer vest, pants, boots, and gloves clearly designed for combat no common baker would hope to ever see.
She leaped from rooftop to rooftop, searching for whatever danger Tiki had sensed. Her search didn’t last long as it soon became apparent that several upcoming cottages had been set ablaze. She shot out the enchanted yo-yo which now hung on a belt at her side, and used it to wrap around nearby tree branches and swing closer. As she landed near the fiery homes, she saw an outlandishly clothed woman cackling before the flames. The woman seemed to be on fire herself as she donned a red and gold gown which seemingly engulfed her in elaborate fabrics and jewels. The woman brandished a flaming hammer and Ladybug watched in horror as the woman pointed it at another building as sparks shot out and lit yet another poor villager’s shop on fire.
“Now try and sell some shoes, just try!” The woman howled as a wooden sign displaying a shoe met the same fate as the previous buildings, sizzling under the flames.
“And I thought I was the reason it was hot around here!” A familiar voice called. Ladybug turned towards the voice to see her partner, another paladin known as Chat Noir, crouching in the tree branches. Though clad entirely in a black leather combat suit, the fire hadn’t seemed to burn him out of puns as a cheeky grin plastered itself across the boy’s face. He pounced beside her on the ground and held out his hand, “Care to help me put out this fire, m’lady?”
Ladybug took no time to sigh at his pun, but nodded as the duo leapt into battle. Ladybug swung her yoyo towards the woman’s wrists as Chat charged her with the extendable baton he kept on his back. The woman faced them with a fiery confidence to rival the poor shoe shop.
“None shall ever destroy the Unemployer!” She cried, aiming her hammer at them. “I’ll fire you just as I was fired!” She cackled at her own joke as Ladybug’s yo-yo narrowly missed her wrists. She then swung her hammer up to block Chat’s baton. “You’ll have to try harder than that, kitty-cat.”
Chat continued to fence the villain baton-to-hammer. Meanwhile, Ladybug swung her yo-yo around the Unemployer’s waist, in an attempt to throw her off guard. She remained unsuccessful, however, as her yo-yo gave only a slight tug on the determined woman who was now trained ferociously on Chat. Chat took advantage of her attention and led her over, still dueling, to a circle of trees.
“I can appreciate the STEAMING passion in your swordsmanship,” Chat taunted, “or hammersmanship might be more appropriate.” Then he glanced over to Ladybug, giving her a silent look which she knew after months of fighting together meant he needed her for a distraction. Ladybug lept into action, swinging up with her yo-yo into the trees to zip around the Unemployer. The Unemployer brought her hammer away from Chat for a second to aim some sparks at the red and black girl soaring past.
As her attention was averted, Chat took the opportunity to yell “Cataclysm!” and proceeded to run his now powerful black glove along the circle of trees, his magical power causing the trees to begin toppling down into the clearing. Ladybug quickly managed to get herself out before any harm came to her, but Chat wasn’t so lucky. The Unemployer realized what was about to happen and grabbed the cat paladin, throwing him in the center of the circle as she simultaneously jumped out of the clearing just in time for the trees to trap the poor cat.
Chat howled as the trees came crashing down. His power now used up, he was unable to free himself from his own prison. Then to both the paladins’ horror, the Unemployer took her hammer and shot sparks at the collapsed wood, beginning a new fire which crept closer to Chat.
Ladybug was struck with fear as her partner now faced a perilous doom. Now he was trapped and would detransform in five minutes since he’d used his power. She realized then she had yet to use her own power, and proceeded to toss her yo-yo into the air. “Lucky Charm!” she yelled, the incantation bringing from her yo-yo… “a slingshot? What am I supposed to do with this?”
Despite his obvious peril, Chat couldn’t help but call out to Ladybug, “‘FIRE at will!”
She looked around and spotted a well not far off and a frightened villager beside it. As the Unemployer laughed at the trapped paladin, his partner quickly crept over to the villager asking for a bucket of water. Trembling, the man handed ladybug his own bucket he had just hauled from the well. Which Ladybug proceeded to shoot from the slingshot with incredible force directly at the Unemployer’s hammer. The villain jumped as she felt the water splash her hands and the hammer fell from her grasp as Ladybug ran over and snatched the weapon from the ground. Ladybug proceeded to slam the hammer into the wood trapping Chat as hard she she could, breaking the handle in two. As it split, a cursed butterfly fluttered out.
“Time to banish this curse!” Ladybug cried. She swung about her yo-yo, trapping the butterfly inside her enchanted tool. Her yo-yo’s powers allowed it to purify a cursed akuma, and the small butterfly emerged with pure white wings. “Farewell, little butterfly!” She called as it flew off beyond the village and the surrounding forest. Then Ladybug took her yo-yo, once more throwing it up high in the air, and yelled “Miraculous Ladybug!”
A divine power was released from this second incantation and a red magic swept through the village and the trees. The cottages and shops were restored and no longer on fire, the toppled trees put themselves back on their stumps, and the Unemployer became Marie once more.
“Where am I?” Marie wondered aloud.
Meanwhile, Chat trembled slightly as he stood from where he once was imprisoned. He held his hand out to Ladybug as the two normally did following the defeat of an akuma. However, to his surprise, Ladybug wrapped him in a tight embrace.
“I thought I’d lose you to the flames,” She confessed.
Chat seemed taken aback for a moment, but quickly composed himself and gave Ladybug a smoulder, “Glad to know I made you a little HOT under the collar, my lady.”
Ladybug rolled her eyes and motioned to Chat’s ring, “You’re running out of time, Chaton.”
Chat shrugged and raised Ladybug’s hand to his lips. “Till we meet again,” he said before giving her gloves a peck. Then he watched as Ladybug turned and swung by her yo-yo through the trees, away from him.
Chat returned to his room in his father’s castle through the high window which he’d left out of. He sat against the wall as he detransformed and his pixie kwami swirled about him.
“Why do you look so down?” His pesky pixie asked. The boy sighed, then a grin broke out across his face.
“Ladybug hugged me, Plagg. She actually hugged me!”
“Okay lover boy,” Plagg mocked. “So what? You almost died and your beloved lady saved the day once again, what’s the big deal, Adrien?”
Adrien got up and stared out his window as his kwami shook his head at his master’s dramatics. But Adrien could care less what Plagg thought. All he could think about was Ladybug, as he replayed the memories of the kindhearted paladin holding him tightly.