Archive of Our Own

"Solitaire, I am Hawkmoth. Friends one moment and enemies the next, those insincere fools had the audacity to exclude you from their celebration plans. I can help you crash the party to get back at them and give you all the attention you crave, for a price. I trust you know what I require in return?"

Lila narrows her eyes. "I'll get the jewels, Hawkmoth, but I'm going to cause some trouble first!"

Marinette, after putting the final touches on everything, zips around to check on it all again. Nino just shakes his head; she had her chance to walk away with everything still intact, and she squandered it.

He's not saying it's inevitable that something will be ruined, but it's likely. He loves Marinette, but she is unendingly clumsy. Honestly though, even if the party stuffs are ruined, Nino's bagged, like, literally the most perfect gift. He doesn't think he'll be able to top this one for a while. So Alya will have a slammin' birthday no matter what.

He chooses to watch the innumerable number of floaties bob around lazily in the water. The sun beams diamonds across the water it touches, the stone walkway is hot enough to fry eggs on, and the entire area is lined with pool chairs placed under great umbrellas. Nino is reclined in one such shady spot, reveling in the warm weather. He can't help but be reminded of his girlfriend. Besides the fact that they're out here for her in the first place, he thinks the summertime suits her: radiant, hot, dreamy–

"Nino," Adrien calls from the edge of the water, interrupting his train of thought, "you mind helping me out real quick?"

Nino chuckles lightly, "Dude, I convinced my parents to let a swarm of fourteen year-olds swim in their pool with food and drink nearby for an indefinite amount of time. I am actually physically incapable of doing anymore helping."

"I know, but can you just do me a solid? Come on, dude, it'll be easy."

Nino shifts a little, but he doesn't feel like moving. "If it's easy, can't you do it?"

"I don't want to get my ring wet."

"Dude. Just take it off. You're going to swim later anyways, right?"

"Uhh… yeah. I guess you're right."

Nino doesn't miss the way Adrien looks down at his hand nervously. Man, he didn't mean to stress the guy out… maybe he should just do his friend the solid?

Nino sits up to tell Adrien to just leave the task to him, but before he can his bff takes the ring off with a solid resolve and hands the silver band to him. Nino raises his shades from his eyes to cast a questioning look up at the model.

"Can you hold onto it for me?" Adrien asks. "It's pretty important and I don't want it to get lost…"

"Sure man," Nino takes the jewelry from him with an easy smile.

"Thanks."

Nino sets the ring on the table beside him and pillows his head with his hands. His eyes slide shut as he listens to the bustle of his friends around him, a light breeze rolling off his loose shoulders. It's a good day.

Now, where was he? Oh yes, dreamy...

When the birthday girl finally arrives on the scene, everyone stops what they're doing to shout, "Happy birthday!" at the top of their lungs, and Alya nearly jumps out of her skin.

She's been… on edge recently. Battles with Hawkmoth are only getting more intense, and on top of having to keep track of all the lies she tells (not to mention living with them), maintaining composure, and keeping up with her studies, she now has to learn how to be the Guardian of the miracle box.

It's a lot, and it has been taking a toll on her, but that's why she appreciates everything her friends have done so much more. She knows Nino and Marinette have been thinking about her, and the size of the party shows it.

(She still can't believe Nino convinced his parents to let them use their pool; as chill as they are, they can be very committed to keeping things orderly.)

Alya smiles brightly as she takes it all in, appreciating the gratuitous decorating and the beauty of the patio, and the unsure tension in her friends' shoulders dissipates immediately. They continue their rush forward to embrace her, resulting in a slightly uncomfortable tangled mass of giggling.

"Man, you guys really out-did yourselves!"

"It was mostly Marinette," Alix says with a knowing smirk as everyone separates. "You know how she gets when she sets her mind on something."

Alya smirks back, "Borderline obsessive?"

The two share a good-natured laugh, and Marinette flushes a little. "Well, a lot of people consider that a good trait!"

"And anyways," Marinette digresses, "you totally deserve it. After all your hard work, y'know?"

Alya nods. She puts a hand on her best friend's with a sincere smile, "Thanks girl,"

"Let's PARTYYY!"

The proclamation is followed by a loud splash- Alya is pretty sure she even felt some spray. She looks over to see Kim come up to the surface and vigorously shake the water from his face, whooping. Several more people start dipping into the pool while others sit back in beach chairs and nibble on some of the food. While Nino starts the music, Ivan sinks to the bottom with Myléne on his shoulders and Adrien waves at them from the shallow end.

When Kim drags Max, who struggles in vain, headfirst under the water, Alix darts off to join in on the fun. Marinette grabs Alya's hand.

"Come on, let's get in too!"

"Wait, let me put my stuff down!"

After Alya tucks her things beside Nino's, the two rush over hand-in-hand, laughing, and jump in at the same time. This creates a bit of a stir.

Their splash is big enough to get water as far as the edge of the patio, and some of the chair goers glower at them. When the friends realize their plight, Marinette flushes scarlet and Alya hides her laughter behind her hand. Her boyfriend is not so amused.

"Okay," he says from atop his turtle-shaped floaty perch and Alya has half a mind to tip him out of it, but refrains, "We're gonna need some rules,"

"Boo rules!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but seriously. We can't do too much damage out here. So, no diving– Kim,"

"Come on!"

Nino keeps going, tagging them off on his fingers, "One cannonball at a time, no food by or in the water, and–"

"No friends!"

"What?"

Everyone's attention is directed to the sky where the strange new voice called from. At a glance, it is already abundantly apparent that this is an akumatized victim.

She descends, and everyone scrambles to get out of the water, away from vulnerability.

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet," she advises. Her eyes spy around through slitted eyelids, sending chills down spines. Her eyes land on Alya and a cruel smirk forms on her lips. "Ah. The birthday girl,"

Alya squares her shoulders, but nearly every one of her friends moves to stand between her and the surprise guest, obstructing her from the akuma's sight. Alya is touched, but she'd rather be glaring at Hawkmoth's newest emissary than over Nino's shoulder at the back of Juleka's head.

Something about it seriously pisses the akuma off, though, so maybe it's not so bad. "Get out of the way!"

"Why?" asks someone in front, it sounds like Alix. "What could you possibly have against a birthday party?"

"Oh, I don't care about your lame party. I wouldn't have come even if I'd gotten the invitation. I'm just here to return the favor,"

Return the favor? What does that even mean in this context…? Could they mean they're going to un-invite people from the party? But who wasn't– "Wait– Lila!?"

At Alya's exclamation everyone exchanges looks. There's confusion and shock, but mostly irritation. There're some echoes of her name across the patio, and Alya tries to peer around her friends' bodies to catch another glimpse of the victim to see if she can find a semblance of Lila in her face. She isn't very successful.

"See, this is the problem," Lila starts, "You idiots actually couldn't tell that it's me! How could you suddenly forget what I look like, or that I'm the only person you simpletons made the mistake of neglecting to invite?"

"We didn't invite Chloe or Sabrina,"

"Whatever! That's not even the point! I was left all alone because of this stupid party, and I'm not going to leave without getting back at every person here!"

The akuma raises her voice even higher just as Alya exchanges a meaningful glance with Marinette; it's strange to want it, but they'll need some chaos to break out soon so that they can slip away and transform into their super-powered alter egos. "You hear me, Alya!? I'm going to turn your party into a total disaster, starting with you!"

Alya's heard enough; she bolts to the table with her and Nino's things– to her miraculous. Lila leaps into the air and points her broad-bladed spear at her, who isn't expecting the sudden action. The air shivers, and Alya braces herself, but it turns out there isn't any need to.

"Nino!"

Nino jumps in the way somehow and takes the hit for her. He is thrown back, away from everyone else, and lands just shy of the pool's edge. Alya's eyes widen, a cold washing over her as alarm makes her body move in the opposite direction, towards him.

Nino sits up with a groan and massages the back of his head with a wince, but otherwise seems unaffected by the akuma's wrath. Alya is relieved if not uneasy about what it means. Is the akuma's power just raw force–?

Several meters away from Nino, Alya abruptly feels like her entire body is shoved backward at once, as if an invisible wall has rammed into her, and she hears a wicked cackle overhead. Her vision swims for a moment as she tries to understand.

"Hahaha! Now you'll never be with your boyfriend again!"

Her heart drops as Nino's jaw falls in disbelief. Hurriedly, he rises to his feet and reaches for her, but a step too close and Alya slides backward. His every step forward sends her back, and eventually he just has to stop. They really can't get closer than a few meters or so apart. It's not a very large distance, but it makes her feel so far from him.

Perhaps for kicks, the akuma allows their friends to all flock to him only to be repelled as well. Varying degrees of incredulity and sadness play on their faces. Nino is so isolated…

The akuma chuckles again, more satisfied than before, "That's right, you can't reach any of your friends and they can't reach you. It hurts, doesn't it?" Alya glares up at the akumatized victim to catch her crooked smirk– that is no smirk of a victim- and is more sure than ever that this villain is Lila. "Now who's next?"

Chaos. Everyone scrambles, trying to avoid tripping over one another and dodge Lila's fire at the same time. They aren't very successful. A friend takes a hit for a friend, someone else can't get out of the way fast enough, and the patio is quickly overwhelmed by the strange fields that repel any and every person nearby. Soon, her friends are bouncing off each other like pinballs. The one upside is that Alya is able to disappear in the midst of it all and grab her miraculous.

She doesn't want to leave her friends, but she can see that this fight won't be like any they've had before; in the event that Ladybug and/or Chat Noir are hit by the akuma's powers, they won't be able to effectively collaborate with the other like usual, which could pose a huge problem. They'll need some insurance for this fight, a way to even the odds against their foe.

Alya grimaces as she jumps the patio gate to disappear from the wrecked scene of her own birthday party, and all just to deal with a narcissist. Bitter rage bubbles up from her stomach to her head. She's normally not so vexed by inconveniences, but Hawkmoth really picked the wrong day.

Both he and Lila Rossi are going to get it.

Marinette's eyes rapidly scan the environment as she runs for cover. She searches for Alya and catches the tail end of her red hair disappearing in the chaos that has quickly overtaken Nino's backyard. She imagines the pain her best friend must be feeling, and whips her head around to send a cross look up at the villain responsible. Lila is literally green with envy– and throwing a complete wrench in her plans. She laughs evilly as her friends yelp and flee, trying and failing to escape the madness.

Marinette will not stand for this.

She tells her that. "You're going to pay for this, Lila!"

"Shut it, you!" Lila hisses as she spins to pin her down with a manic stare. "I am Solitaire, and I will make you pay for making me look like a fool!"

Marinette's eyes burn holes into her adversary even as she sprints for cover. As much as she wishes to punch Solitaire in the face right now, she needs to become Ladybug first or it'll be a waste of effort.

Alya has been working hard as Rena Furtive, providing irreplaceable support for Ladybug and Chat Noir as they pursued akumas, and all without the pat on the back at the end. Ladybug and Chat Noir could shake hands, take selfies, and even go for the occasional ice cream when the job was done, all while people across Paris cheered for them, offsetting the stress of the fight. For her own safety, Rena could not do these things.

With the recently added duties of Guardian apprenticeship thrust upon her, she's done even more work with even fewer rewards.

Marinette isn't truly sure how Alya is doing; she appears to be holding up, but Marinette knows that the workload has to be very stressful (the entire lifestyle of a hero is stressful enough, Marinette honestly would have fallen apart by now). As usual, Alya remains a source of stability in her life while asking for little in return. Marinette wants to make today her day, a time for her to know how much she is loved and appreciated, a time to help her have fun and unwind. She deserves it.

Marinette quickly finds cover behind a pool chair and beckons Tikki to transform her, but nothing happens. Marinette is numb as she looks at her bare, regular hands, blinking in confusion. Then she realizes she can't feel her earrings in her ears– or anywhere on her person.

She panics.

Shoot, what the heck? What did I do with the earrings?! That's right, I took them off to swim, but where are they? What if Lila finds them first, she could literally just pICK thEM Up-!

"Psst,"

Marinette looks up from between her feet to see a familiar black creature hovering close by. She feels relief, as well as unease as she notices the ring it holds in its little grasp.

"Do I want to know?" she asks, already taking the miraculous from it.

"Not really, it's a boring story," Plagg drawls, eyes narrowed in unspoken irritation. He rolls his head on tiny his shoulders as if the very thought of all this is stressing him out. "Besides, there isn't any time."

With the ring slid on, Marinette nods firmly in agreement and doesn't bother with any other words. She calls, "Plagg, transform me!"

And Lady Noire hurries into the fray.

Adrien is puzzled when his partner's kwami shows up with its miraculous jewels the moment he reaches for his missing ring, but there's no time to wonder about it. He doesn't need an explanation, just puts the jewelry in his ears and powers up.

"Tikki, transform me!"

Mister Bug jumps out from behind an overturned table only to immediately crash into someone. He flushes red; two seconds in his partner's place and he's already messing up. He'd sort of been hoping this time would be different than the last.

Debilitated by embarrassment, he can't move. A yowl snaps him out of shock. "Do you mind?"

Misterbug hurriedly untangles his limbs from Lady Noire's and offers a hand. She scowls up at him and decides not to take it. "Just a tip: when fighting villains, you should try to watch where you're going." she says.

Misterbug rubs the back of his neck. "Sorry,"

"Whatever, we've gotta move!" Lady Noire waves him off as she leaps onto the patio gate and starts running. "Don't let Solitaire point her staff at you!"

"Wha—?"

"Too late!"

Misterbug whips around to see their adversary, standing atop the roof of Nino's house with the wide, golden blade of her staff pointed right at him. He's thrown back by an invisible force.

"Great," he hears his partner's voice far away.

"Not so fast,"

Mister bug, hearing the new voice, opens his pinched eyes and unfurls from his full-body cringe. He squints up at a confident figure— who stands inconveniently close to the glaring sun. The figure opens up a white umbrella and perches in on their shoulder, and everything comes into focus. A teenage Bunnyx smirks down at him, which is a surprise.

"You okay, Minibug?"

Misterbug smiles. "Yeah, thanks to you."

"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here," Bunnyx says as she pulls Misterbug to his feet. "Let's just say, you got hit and things took a turn for the worse."

Misterbug is very curious about that, but there's no time to ask about it. As it is, the only reason both he and Bunnyx haven't been hit by the akuma's powers by now is Lady Noire keeping them the villain busy.

Both he and Bunnyx wordlessly agree to go support their ally. At her side, Bunnyx takes the lead on the offensive and Lady Noire shadows her, waiting for openings to swoop in and try to grab hold of Solitaire's spear. While simple, the task is difficult; Solitaire is nimble and a little unpredictable, and is already on to them. Whenever Lady Noire gets too close, she immediately waves her staff in a wide arc causing all the heroes to hastily retreat.

All she has to do is point in their direction and they're out of the game.

"Lady— cat," Bunnyx awkwardly calls to Lady Noire as she takes the brunt of Solitaire's most recent advance. "We gotta make keeping Misterbug safe the priority. In my time, he gets hit and everything goes seriously bad because he couldn't purify the akuma."

"Trust me, I figured as much," Lady Noire remarks as she pounces forward from over Bunnyx's shoulder to roll into a double kick, shoving Solitaire back. She gets into crouch and darts for Solitaire's staff, claws raised. "If I gave the miraculous to this version of you, things must've been bad!"

Bunnyx stares after her not knowing whether to be offended or not. She looks over at Misterbug, who stands dutifully at her side despite the risk.

"She always this sweet?"

Misterbug shrugs, but the emotions playing across his face say he knows and just doesn't want to fully admit it. "She… has her moments."

Whatever that means. Bunnyx shakes her head just as Lady Noire comes bounding back. As soon as she lands, the three heroes scramble again to avoid another invisible blast from the akuma. LN lands with an aggravated hiss beside the time-faring hero.

Bunnyx turns to her. "So you got a plan or…?"

"Reinforcements are already on their way, we just have to keep Solitaire busy until they get here." Lady Noire answers. She peers over at Misterbug and considers him silently for a moment, but whatever's on her mind, he must not be worth the time.

"Don't worry," she says instead, dodging Solitaire's aim, "someone I trust is on the job."

Myléne— cowering behind an overturned chair, spooked, Myléne— blinks owlishly at Rena Rouge— who, by the way, is now sporting a strange camouflage pattern that does not make Myléne any more confident that she isn't seeing things— unable to believe that she is being offered— no, requested!— to be a hero once again.

"You— you want me?"

"I need you," says Rena, without a shred of insincerity. "We don't have any time to waste, and these miraculous," she unfolds her other hand to reveal three other miraculous jewels, "each need to be given to a holder. With the power of the mouse, we can distribute them all at the same time!"

Myléne takes a deep breath to steady herself, and clears out the bad thoughts that insist on this spelling disaster. This is really happening and Paris's security depends on it happening, and she can totally do this. She has done it before, she will do it again. It's really no sweat- she won't even be fighting.

"Okay," Myléne agrees, taking the miraculous into her hand. She puts on the jewelry and summons the strength of the magic, drawing on her inner power.

"Mullo, transform me!"

In a pinky flourish, she becomes her alter ego. Myléne clenches her fists and, with an approving nod from Rena Rouge, activates her special power.

"Multiply!"

Myléne shrinks down and magically divides into three mouse-sized versions of herself.

"Here, take these," Rena instructs her, "and give them to… your friends. Oh, and— hey!" all the little Mylénes stop to look up at the vulpine heroine, alert. Rena puts a finger over her lips in a hush gesture. "Don't tell anyone you saw me."

The Polymice nod all at once and set off, bounding, leaping, and scurrying across the patio area to find their friends. While small, they're still superheroes, and they move very quickly. They'll be fast enough.

Looking after the miniaturized hero, Rena is more concerned about whether the jewels will make it to the correct holders; she hadn't wanted to risk mentioning their names, for the sake of maintaining maximum anonymity and all that… but it'll probably be fine.

In any case, she doesn't have time to be worrying about that, her job isn't quite done.

Kagami has seen some things as a recent resident of Paris, France, but she is still unprepared for the tiny person that lands on her shoulder out of seemingly nowhere. She almost attacks them— almost— but small, soft details shine behind the mask the tiny person wears, and a sense of familiarity strikes Kagami suddenly. She doesn't know this person, but she thinks she can trust them. As she inhales a steady breath, Kagami notices the beaded choker necklace dangling from her guest's little hands.

"I see," she murmurs, eyes darting to the poolside where three heroes maintain a delicate front against Solitaire, Hawkmoth's most recent underling, and back to the miniature person. "You're a hero."

"Yes," the tiny person nods her head, voice sure and light, "I was told to bring this to you. The heroes need your help!"

The dragon miraculous is offered to Kagami, and she takes it without hesitation. She's been watching the battle carefully and knows the heroes are in a tight spot with the akuma's especially inconvenient power. Now that she has a chance to intervene without simply becoming a burden, she is eager to join the fight and help them.

Even so, she's careful; she stays crouched when she says the magic words. "Longg, transform me."

A pale red glimmer washes over her body. Now donning her super suit, she takes a running start position. Kagami retrieves her sword from her back and flicks her wrist out, the mid-length blade at the ready along her side. "Let's go,"

"Wait!

Ryuuko stops herself just before blitzing into the fray. Her gaze lands sharply on her small ally. "What?"

"Ren— uhhhh III think you're supposed to wait for a signal or something."

"A signal?"

"Yes. The hero that sent me to you seemed like she had a plan."

"Would you happen to know what the signal is?"

The little hero looks sheepish. "No?"

Ryuuko huffs. That's no help at all.

At that very moment, Bunnyx flies across the patio and crashes into a table across from where Ryuuko and the small hero are hidden. The dragon narrows her eyes.

"I'll take that as my signal."

Ryuuko bolts out from her hiding place despite the miniature hero's protests, sprinting straight for the akuma. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees something mirror her movements in the distance. She zeroes in on it, still going for Solitaire, and finds an unfamiliar figure also heading for the fight, at the exact same time as her. Based on the bright colors and sharp stripes that decorate her full body suit, Ryuuko can gather that she is yet another hero recruited to take on the enemy.

It's a split-second expression, but the other heroine shoots a feral grin her way, and Ryuuko catches it. She smirks back.

Lady Noire has her hands full with keeping Solitaire busy after Bunnyx took a hit for Misterbug; the time hero had tried to protect herself with her umbrella, but it seemed the magic couldn't be thwarted easily. She was blown away and rendered more or less out of commission, unable to help fight the akuma directly without pushing the other heroes away.

Noire imagines if things go far enough south, Bunnyx'll go back in time again and try to give their past selves more of a fighting chance, but it's too soon to call it, so the time hero sits pensively— albeit grumpily— out of the way to watch the battle go down.

It isn't going too well. Misterbug is helpful enough, but it's too risky to let him attack head-on, and with no other support, LN has had to take on the challenge of distracting Solitaire and fighting her at the same time. Lady Noire risks glancing around the area after ducking under the akuma's spin kick; where is Rena? Surely she's—

"Haaa!"

Both Lady Noire and Solitaire jerk their heads back to see Ryuuko descending on them. Solitaire snarls, kicking Lady Noire back and raising her spear to stop the down swing of Ryuuko's blade. The two are locked until Solitaire suddenly has her feet swept from under her by Noire. Ryuuko quickly backflips and tumbles out of the way, avoiding the invisible blast of power Solitaire releases on her way down. Before Solitaire can get a chance to reset her aim, Ryuuko activates her powers and flows into a low form to become a torrent of water, reinforced by the pool nearby. All Solitaire can do is brace herself against the flood. The water sends her backwards through the fence.

"Hey!" Lady Noire calls, gathering the other heroes' attentions. She wears a strange set of clunky, red eyeglasses with black spots on her forehead that glaringly contrasts with the rest of her suit. The accessory looks inconvenient and heavy, but strangely helpful. "The akumatized object is a playing card she's hidden in her coat. It's the Ace of Spades," she turns to Ryuuko, who has just used her special power and is now on the countdown. "With these," she gestures to the spotted goggles, "I can see it on her person, and I think I can get in close enough to cataclysm it, but I need someone to keep Misterbug safe until then."

"You know," Misterbug calls, "I don't need a babysitter!"

Ryuuko inclines her head to the current wielder of the black cat miraculous. "I'll keep him out of harm's way. My powers are on a time limit anyways."

With a careful eye on where their quarry has yet to emerge from, Ryuuko vaults over to stand at Misterbug's side, to the latter's disappoinment.

When the mist from the raging water settles, Solitaire stands, and comes face to face with three heroes, as she has been ever since crashing this stupid party. But she is beside herself with a newfound frustration this time, and voices it aloud in an angry growl.

"As if I don't have to deal with enough of you already. Why are there two of you?"

Each Purple Tigress on either side of Lady Noire grins and crosses their arms over their chest. "The real question is, why is there only one of you?"

The akuma glowers dangerously, sorely unamused. She raises her arm to point at the feline front, and releases a blast of invisible force as the heroes are sent running.

"There are going to be zero of you if I can help it!" she promises while following them with the point of her blade, fire turning almost erratically in her rage.

But the three heroes are not hindered too much by the rapid fire. The cats are the nimblest of the bunch and manage to take advantage of Solitaire's deteriorating judgement. Ground is gained against her as the two tigers goad and provoke her, drawing most of the attacks their way, and Lady Noire creeps ever closer to the place where Solitaire has hidden her weakness away. It's slow progress, but it's also steady.

Solitaire changes her attack pattern. She twirls her weapon round her hips and the unexpected switch knocks her foes off balance. The golden blade of her spear slices Purple Tigress right through her middle. The villain smirks victoriously at the purchase, but the image of the hero only dissipates into multicolored mist, and vanishes.

Realizing she's been duped by a mirage— a power she herself used to wield— Solitaire directs her furious glare to the skies, the roofs, the nooks and crannies— everywhere but her current opponents. She knows that fox is around here somewhere, she has to be. That would explain these new and uncomfortable heroes maintaining such a long-winded front.

Purple Tigress sees an opening in Solitaire's distracted state, and reacts instantly. She calls upon all her might and concentrates it into her fist, shooting forward with everything she's got.

"Collision!"

Before anyone else can process what's happened, Purple Tigress' fist collides straight through the point of the spear to the base, destroying it completely. It splinters into an innumerable amount of metal and wooden shards, exploding across the backyard. The force of the blast sends everyone flying, including Solitaire, who is propelled out of the yard and through several buildings.

Purple Tigress cringes, but her grin is still satisfied.

"We can't let up the pressure! Let's go!" shouts Lady Noir. She hastily follows the trail of wreckage after the akuma, beckoning to her any fighter that's left. When she comes upon Solitaire in the rubble of her rough landing, only one presence touches down beside her, and she realizes the only one left is Misterbug.

"It's just us, huh?" she asks offhandedly, sharp eyes picking apart the chaos.

Misterbug intones an affirmation. "Purple Tigress destroyed Solitaire's weapon, but she was still hit by the solitude. Ryuuko timed out."

"Bunnyx too, then…"

"Seems like it."

The pavement stirs around their enemy and the heroes zero in on the movement. The body of their foe rises from the ground, battered but not defeated, her shoulders shaking from some unseen force. Suddenly, she opens her mouth and barks out a condescending laugh, crazy shading the sound of it.

"What's funny? We have the advantage now that you're powerless." Misterbug asserts.

"You think I need that thing to affect you with my powers?" Solitaire goads. Her upper lip curls back spitefully as she raises a hand before her face. "All I need is to point at you!"

Misterbug's eyes widen behind his mask before he's ducking and rolling for cover. LN is already on the move.

Misterbug, having used his special ability just moments ago to produce the x-ray goggles Lady Noire is wearing now, doesn't have much time before he times out himself. This fight needs to be over before then. Sure, he can always transform back after a break, but there's no telling how much damage Solitaire could do in that time, and the fewer opportunities there are of making the Ladybug miraculous unattainable, the better.

They have three to four minutes max.

Lady Noire, with the x-ray glasses pulled down over her eyes now, works her way behind the akuma as Misterbug tries bouncing off of walls and rolling over cars to avoid being subjected to indefinite solitude. But Solitaire is not an idiot, and Misterbug is not distraction enough.

With being on the defensive doing nothing to help, he switches to the offensive. Using the added bulk he gained from the Ladybug's power, he kicks a car in Solitaire's direction to hopefully block her attack, divert her attention, mess with her aim- something. It works much better than he thought it would.

Solitaire is not expecting retaliation from Misterbug at all, let alone an attack that messy and dangerous. So when the ton of metal comes barreling toward her, backed by too much force for even the brutal pressure of her powers to oppose, she is flattened against the concrete. She doesn't move, even after the car rolls violently away.

This is Lady Noire's chance! She darts in close to the akumatized Lila, arm reaching for her coat. And this time, she can see exactly where the card has been tucked away.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you,"

LN's eyes widen as abruptly, Solitaire's upper body jerks up and she locks eyes with her.

"You insufferable stray!"

Time slows to a crawl as Solitaire raises her arm. Even though she desires to stop, Noire's momentum mid-air keeps her moving forward; she won't be able to change direction in time.

At the last moment, however, Misterbug dives into her and they escape Solitaire's powers—just barely. And already, they're in danger again. It takes mere seconds for Solitaire to pivot towards them and begin to raise her hand. She's quicker— when she stops. She's… completely frozen.

They look behind her to see Vesperia, a pleasant surprise, one of her fists clenched with a winning smile on her face.

Lady Noire's mouth splits to form a sharp grin, and she jumps to her feet to take advantage of the turn of events. Closing the space between herself and Solitaire in seconds, she searches the villain's person for the small object that holds the source of infection. She locates it in her inner right breast pocket, and wastes no time destroying it with her cataclysm.

Lila's true form is exposed. As the corrupt magic melts away from her skin, she sits on the ground, dazed, without meeting either hero's eye. Even so, they can see the pent up anger and hurt play across her face openly.

Lady Noire sighs, and looks to her partner. "Alright, time to clean up this mess."

Misterbug nods, his earrings beeping a warning just as Lady Noire tosses the x-ray glasses over to him. He smiles as he pulls his yo-yo from around his hip and spins it fast.

"No more evil-doing for you, akuma!" he calls, and swings his weapon after the blotted insect trying in vain to flutter away.

He catches it, and releases the newly purified butterfly into the open air. The heroes watch it go free.

And now, with the akuma officially gone, Misterbug throws his lucky item into the air to heal the damage that had been done during the fight.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

Alya sighs as Nino wraps an arm around her shoulders. She crosses her arms over her chest with a pout, and he tucks her into his side to press a kiss to her temple.

By the time the fight is over, everything is back to normal, all heroes have returned their miraculous, and Alya has convinced her parents over the phone that she's just fine, it's moments before sundown, and no one is in the mood to swim anymore. She wouldn't want to keep her friends from seeking out their homes after a crisis like that, so she let them leave, if they wanted. Only she and Nino remain.

"It wasn't that bad," Nino says. "I mean, you love being a superhero, right? And everything turned out fine in the end."

Alya sighs again, more heavily this time. She isn't normally one to pout or sulk when things don't go her way, but she's so tired and she had really been looking forward to the reprieve her party had promised. She rests her head on Nino's shoulder and presses further into his comforting embrace.

"Dude, it was a total bust," she says. "I never have a problem with being Rena Rouge, but today of all days? Really? I thought I could cash in all my good karma today."

She turns her head to look up at her boyfriend's face, and is surprised to see a sudden brightness there. Nino's eyes are alight with an almost excited positivity that makes Alya raise one of her eyebrows at him curiously.

"You might be able to cash in that karma after all," he says, grinning.

"Huh?"

"You'll see,"

Nino pulls away from Alya, and his girlfriend, though reluctant, lets him go. She watches petulantly as he walks around the pool area looking slightly lost, then has a realization and darts toward his sliding patio door.

Alya makes grabby hands at him and whines- where is he going? He's taking too long. "Nino,"

"I'm coming back!" he chuckles. "Just give me a sec,"

He slips into the house and closes the door behind him. Alya huffs and moves to sit on one of the reclined pool chairs while she waits for him.

She doesn't wait long. Nino emerges from the house quicker than he had promised, slightly out of breath. In his hands he holds a medium-sized box wrapped in plaid wrapping paper, topped with a silver bow. Though he full-on sprints toward her, the package is handled with care.

The bright intersecting lines decorating the box immediately have Alya's attention, and she wonders how purposeful the selection is as Nino respectfully passes the gift over to her.

"Happy Birthday, Babe,"

Intrigued, and pleased beyond her current ability to communicate, Alya receives the gift with a delighted coo, holding it to her chest.

"Thank you, Nino," she says, gazing up at him sweetly, "You didn't have to get me anything."

"I know," Nino shrugs a little with the beginnings of a pleased smirk forming. "But, like, it's your birthday, girl. Birthdays are supposed to be a slam, okay? Not whatever that was," Nino points a thumb over his shoulder at the pool, referring to the hectic battle her party had become, and nudges Alya a bit to settle down beside her on the chair. "I'd've gotten you something no matter what happened today, though. You deserve it."

Alya sends him another sweet look before pecking his jaw and opening the box. After she removes the layers obscuring the gift, she immediately brings the box closer to her face in disbelief.

"Babe."

"Yeah?"

"You didn't."

She can hear the smirk in his voice now. "I didn't what?"

"You did not!" Alya releases a disbelieving laugh. She pulls the item from the box and admires it. "I mean I actually cannot believe this."

Nino's smirk turns big now, taking over his face as a bright grin forms. "So am I great or am I great?"

"You're the greatest!" Alya tugs him over to her, an arm over his shoulder and one folded behind his neck. "Thank you so much! I owe you for this."

"Psh, don't worry about it. It's the least I could do," Nino assures. He pulls back a little to shoot her a playful look. "You do owe me for getting the pool, though."

Alya beams at him. The hand cupping the back of his neck rubs the fringes of his hair affectionately. "Oh, I know. That was real magic you did there. You're seriously the best, you know that?"

"I mean, yah." Nino agrees easily, making Alya giggle.

The sun sinks halfway behind the horizon, streaking the sky with pinks, purples, and gold. The couple holds each other as they watch the star go down.

Alya knows she should be heading home soon; her parents are likely still worried about her, and she wants to be seen and held by them too, despite her stubborn desire to stay here. She just wants to enjoy as much of her day as she can. And she's never as calm as she is with him.