Work Text:
Ladybug did not like this Akuma. True, she didn't like most of them. But Sandboy was a hassle.
She'd already been hit once as a civilian, and that made a false Adrien so obsessed with Chloé that it was… freaky.
A second hit as Ladybug had her powerless. Quite literally unable to summon Lucky Charm.
The nightmare counterpart of her that appeared when Chat Noir was hit, however, had no such issues. And summoned a giant sword while continuing to berate Chat Noir for anything and everything.
A wire wrapped around the fake Ladybug's waist, and she was suddenly flung across the city.
"A little overkill, Queenie," Chat said.
"She's made of sand," Queen Bee replied. "Now where's the-"
Sandboy cackled as one of his attacks hit Queen Bee in the back. She stumbled before turning, intending to attack, but stopped short.
Some part of Ladybug knew she should go after Sandboy. But seeing yet another version of herself appear made her freeze and watch. Especially given how… different this Ladybug was.
This Ladybug looked so far past exhausted. Cut and bruised, her hair enough of a mess that one of her pigtails had come loose. Shallow breathing, as if every breath was a struggle that pained her. Tearstained face, out of energy to even sob as she looked down with such a broken expression. What really made Ladybug's heart leap into her throat was not the fake Ladybug, but what the fake Ladybug was holding. No. Who she was holding.
She felt the real Chat Noir grab her hand, reminding her that he was fine. But the one on the ground looked worse than her own counterpart.
Initially just as ragged. Wild hair, bruises, torn suit. But the sight of red soaking his side, and how little he moved. Was he- oh thank fuck he was still breathing.
A glance to Queen Bee showed the Hero had stopped cold. Eyes wide, every inch of her trembling. Looking a moment away from screaming.
Ladybug had been about to go to her, to remind her it wasn't real. When more figures appeared.
The ones she recognized on sight were Rena Rouge and Carapace. The pair lay on the ground, unmoving, hands outstretched. Reaching for one another.
The other four figures were in similar states, scattered around. But it took Ladybug a moment to realize who she was looking at. Other Heroes, ones she hadn't chosen yet. Kim, Max, Luka and Kagami. She didn't know what names their Hero Personas chose, but she recognized them all the same. And it made her so sick.
"Proud of your work?"
Ladybug spun around toward the voice. So did Chat and Queen Bee. The latter backing up so fast that she tripped. Still she scrambled away from the figure.
This new figure looked similar to Queen Bee, but with inverted colors. Black with yellow accents. A few armor pieces and a tiara on her head. Raven hair and cruel violet eyes.
"Y-you're not real," Queen Bee said.
"Of course I am!" The girl laughed, getting closer to her. "You think you can hop to another Timeline and be rid of me? Be rid of what you did?"
"I didn't want-" she protested.
"But you did want it?" The girl smiled, walking past her to the fake Ladybug, tugging the Hero's hair and making her cry out. "You wanted her to feel just as hurt and abandoned as you felt. What better way than forcing her to fight her own Team?"
Ladybug felt her blood run cold. What did the girl mean by that?
"You know," the girl smirked. "I think the most hilarious thing is how the pathetic bug begged you. She tried to get you to "come back to your senses". She had no clue you were doing this willingly!"
"I- I wasn't," Queen Bee stammered. "He-he would've killed my parents! He would've k-killed me! He forced me to-!"
"Selfish as always," the girl scoffed. "You know exactly how worthless you already were. Especially to them! You thought about leaving the city, and they threw a party! You think they would've cared what happened to you?"
"Th-they would," she insisted. "They're not awful. I am."
"And yet you still chose yourself," she laughed. "What's the life of one worthless girl against the Heroes of Paris? Against the lives of the whole world? You should've just let him kill you and saved them the trouble! But no. You had to be petty and make Ladybug hurt, just because she didn't trust you! And can you really blame her?"
"I tried," she swallowed. "I didn't think- I wanted to stop."
"No, you didn't," she accused. "You fought off his control before. If you really wanted to break free, you would've. You would've fixed it in your own Timeline instead of jumping ship to another! Lucky you, escaping consequences once more! And now you tell yourself you'll make up for it by stopping it? If you really wanted to keep any chances of the Timeline repeating itself, you would just-"
Ladybug, the real Ladybug, found her fear switch to rage. Lucky Charm might not work, but her yoyo still did!
She wrapped it around the girl, using the same technique Queen Bee had on the Nightmare Ladybug and throwing her across the city. Chat ran forward, grabbing Queen Bee and taking her a few rooftops in the other direction.
Ladybug followed, taking one more look at the wreckage of what might have been. She wasn't going to let this go, but it could wait until the Akuma was defeated.
She found Queen Bee on the viewing platform of the Eiffel Tower, sitting and facing away from the balcony thankfully. Chat had already landed, and was gently rubbing Queen Bee's back. Just trying to keep her calm.
"Are you okay?" Ladybug asked.
Queen Bee didn't answer at first. So Ladybug went and sat next to her. Taking the girl's hand and leaning against her shoulder.
"Miracle Queen," Queen Bee said.
"What?" Ladybug asked.
"Her name is Miracle Queen," she said. "I was…. My power had been to control anyone who had wielded a Miraculous. Except Hawkmoth and Mayura, of course. If I tried that I got zapped."
"Mayura?" Chat asked.
Queen Bee paused and blinked for a moment. Then shook her head.
"Forgot you didn't know about her," Queen Bee said. "It's close enough to the Heroes' Day parade anyway. She's Hawkmoth's… partner. Maybe a girlfriend or wife. He gave her the Peacock Miraculous."
That was information Ladybug was storing away for later. She wanted to say she couldn't imagine someone loving Hawkmoth. Then she remembered when she thought the Grimoire was a lead and that Adrien could be Hawkmoth. It hadn't exactly killed her crush.
"So we were under your control?" Chat asked.
"No," she said. "You two learned how to dodge my powers. The others… weren't as lucky. They were forced to fight you. And without free will, they didn't hold back. Y-you were forced to- to hurt them. A-a lot. They wouldn't stop. They wouldn't st-stop until they were out. Running out- running out of time. No powers left. Already- already injured. It was easy for Hawkmoth to-"
She shook her head again, not wanting to say it. Ladybug remembered the red, pooling on Chat's side.
"I'm glad Sandboy didn't make the real one appear," Queen Bee said. "Maybe I just subconsciously censored it or some Magic with the Glamours but-"
"What do you mean?" Ladybug asked.
"That- that scene," she swallowed. "In the real version, you weren't Heroes. It wasn't 'Ladybug' holding 'Chat Noir'."
Just when Ladybug thought things couldn't be more horrifying. Despite her best efforts, she imagined that scenario. Seeing Chat under the mask, finally having a real face to know, only for it to be like that.
"What about Master Fu?" Chat asked. "Carapace was there, but Fu had the other Miraculous, right?"
"I'm not sure," she said. "When Hawkmoth cornered me, he already had the rest of the Miraculous. Said something about the Guardian, but I wasn't paying attention to that. Just. He had my parents. Threatened to hurt them if I didn't help him. Threatened me, since I was all alone in my home. Nothing could really keep me safe from…"
"Why you?" Ladybug asked. "What's his fixation with you?"
Queen Bee curled up more. It only made the other two Heroes scoot closer. Try to keep her breathing even.
"In this Timeline, I knew when and where you'd lose the Bee Miraculous," Queen Bee said. "Because when you lost it in my timeline, I was the one who found it. And I… I didn't stick to the identity rule. Tried to prove to people that I was… that I was worth something. I gave it back in that Timeline. You let me fight a few more times, but that made Hawkmoth focus on me. Hoping he could get the Bee, or to convince me to turn against you the next time you wanted me to fight. But I refused. I- I cared about you guys. I was a Hero. Heroes don't- they don't let the Villains get to them. And then…"
"That's not your fault," Chat said. "I'd probably do the same thing, if someone I loved were in danger."
"But it was worse," Queen Bee shook her head. "I was angry. Hurt. Taking the Bee away was supposed to keep me safe, but I couldn't fight him when he came for me again. And- and it was probably poor timing. But you brought out the other Hero who did the same thing I did. It didn't feel fair, I thought you just-"
"You thought I didn't care," Ladybug said. "That I was just using an excuse to kick you off the Team, and didn't care if you were safe or not."
Queen Bee nodded, leaning into her touch. Ladybug couldn't imagine how that would feel. How anyone could go through all that and still be… sane.
"I don't know about the me in that Timeline," Ladybug said. "But if I did that now, it would be because I thought it would help you, not…. That."
"I think you would," Queen Bee agreed. "I think you did, in that Timeline. You never really liked me, but you're too nice to hurt someone on purpose like that. I was just used to people not wanting me, you know?"
"People want you," Chat said.
"My mom doesn't," she said. "She's made that clear in both Timelines. And Miracle Queen was right about how, when I tried to leave the city, everyone was celebrating how I'd be gone. Granted I was a pain in the ass so that's completely valid but-"
"It's not," Ladybug said. "You deserve better than that. And- and straight up celebrating your misery is wrong!"
"You sure?" She asked. "What if it was your own bully moving away? Wouldn't you celebrate to be rid of them?"
Ladybug paused, trying to figure out an answer. It was a tricky question. She thought of Chloé. While the girl had made strides in being better, there was still tension. And what if this had happened before said redemption?
"I admit I might initially feel relieved that she wasn't going to hurt me anymore," Ladybug said. "But if something was so wrong that she'd want to leave the city, I'd be concerned.”
“Perhaps you are better here,” Queen Bee said. “Thanks for, you know. Caring.”
“You’re our friend, Queenie,” Chat said. “We’re not going to let you deal with this alone.”
“Exactly,” Ladybug said. “I know you can only tell us so much because of the Timelines but… You can lean on us. Please.”
Queen Bee nodded, quite literally leaning against her and relaxing slightly. Ladybug adjusted a little, finding a position that was comfier for both of them.
If the three stayed up of the tower until the light of sunrise began to peek over the horizon then, well. That was how it had to be sometimes.