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“Marinette!” Plagg yelled from the living room. “You’d better come see this!”
Marinette really didn’t want to get up from her comfy position on her bed, but Plagg rarely sounded serious if it wasn’t about cheese or the miraculous. So she reluctantly hauled herself up to her feet and made her way down the hall. “What is it?” she asked, poking her head into the living room. Plagg was sitting on the couch in front of the TV, where the news was showing an aerial view of people fighting near the Arc de Triomphe. “...Oh.”
Sinking onto the couch next to Plagg, Marinette took the remote the kwami offered her and turned the volume up.
“...villain calling himself the ‘Insecurity Guard’ is causing strange reactions in the people of Paris whenever he gets too close.”
A clearly akumatized man dressed in navy blue was running back and forth across the Champs-Elysees, trying to grab the people who were fleeing like they were playing some demented game of tag. Whenever he managed to make contact with the much slower citizens, they froze or collapsed to the ground. Some started yelling and stomping in circles. It was a strange sight.
“And now Mister Bug is calling for his lucky charm—and it looks like a power cord. How will he use it?”
Considering the confused look on her partner’s face, Marinette guessed that he didn’t have a clue, either. She wished she were there with him. She could have helped him figure it out. Or better yet, it could have been her lucky charm, and he could have made a sassy remark about the spark of their love or something.
Mister Bug put the power cord away and threw his yoyo, stopping the Insecurity Guard just short of grabbing a young girl by the arm. The girl scrambled away as the Insecurity Guard turned to face Mister Bug.
“And— what’s that? It looks like Mister Bug sees something.”
Mister Bug glanced up at the rooftops, then yelled something at the Insecurity Guard, but the helicopter was too far away for the camera to pick it up. Marinette unconsciously leaned forward as if that would help her hear.
The supervillain said something in response, then leapt towards Mister Bug. Mister Bug dodged and then tackled the Insecurity Guard. He jumped up to the rooftops, taking the supervillain with him.
“And Mister Bug is retreating to the rooftops, likely taking the Insecurity Guard somewhere where he can’t keep targeting civilians. And— oh! Over there! Rena Rouge and Carapace are now joining the fight!”
The three supervillains were battling the Insecurity Guard on the roof of a building, driving him back, but the villain was putting up a good fight. As Marinette watched from the overhead helicopter view, she saw Rena Rouge and Carapace slowly inch to the sides, flanking the villain and trying to surround him.
Marinette had given Nino his miraculous when she and Adrien had switched theirs, knowing that Mister Bug would need all the help he could get out there. Rena Rouge and Carapace had risen to the challenge, showing up at almost every single battle and being crucial in Mister Bug’s success.
“Let’s see if we can get in closer and see what’s going on,” the reporter was saying.
The image got closer, until Marinette could pick out what her team was saying.
“You can’t stop me!” the Insecurity Guard was saying. “I’ll find him one way or another. Where have you hidden him?”
“Far away,” Carapace called back.
“I know he made fun of you, but really,” Mister Bug added, “Isn’t this a bit of an overreaction?”
“Nothing is an overreaction when it comes to my wife!” the supervillain yelled. “You wouldn’t know— the pressure, the responsibility!”
Rena Rouge and Carapace exchanged a look that suggested that they had no idea what he was talking about, but Marinette frowned, certain that it sounded familiar.
Mister Bug pulled out the power cord lucky charm again, but then, almost faster than Marinette could follow, the Insecurity Guard dodged a kick from Rena Rouge and darted forward, knocking Mister Bug to the side. Mister Bug hit the roof hard, and the coiled-up power cord fell out of his hand, sailing off the roof and into the street below. Before Mister Bug could move, the Insecurity Guard swooped in and pressed his hand against the exposed skin of Mister Bug’s face.
The change was immediate. Mister Bug’s eyes widened, and he froze where he lay, utterly immobilized.
The Insecurity Guard threw back his head and laughed. “Now you know what it’s like to be immobilized with anxiety!” he crowed. “Try that for a change, you obnoxious little bug!”
Marinette gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh no…”
“Mister Bug is down!” One of the other kwamis cried. Marinette wasn’t sure which one it was. She hadn’t heard them all join her and Plagg around the TV. “What are we going to do?”
Marinette kept her eyes fixed on the screen. Rena Rouge and Carapace were now battling the villain on their own, trying to draw him away from Mister Bug, who now looked like he was shaking, although it was hard to tell.
“Immobilized with anxiety…” she muttered. “He’s preying on people’s insecurities!” She didn’t want to know what that meant for Mister Bug.
Marinette stood up and hurried as fast as she could back to the bedroom. The kwamis followed, swarming around her head.
“What are you going to do, Guardian?” Barkk asked.
“I’m going to help.”
“No!” All the kwamis shouted before she’d even finished her sentence.
“You can’t!” Plagg said.
“Marinette, be reasonable,” Sass urged. “Why not send for another hero, instead?”
Marinette shook her head, pulling out her sewing box. It was different than it was when she was a kid, but still the same concept. She punched in the code. “They’d just get hit, too. Rena Rouge and Carapace won’t last forever.”
“But Marinette—” the kwamis launched into protest some more, but their voices overlapped too much and Marinette wasn’t listening, anyway.
She pulled the miracle box out and set it on the table, then pressed the button. The drawers popped open.
“I don’t think this is wise.” Sass said once more.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I know exactly how to defeat him.” She pulled out the pig and the bee miraculouses. “Ready, Daizzi? Pollen?”
Daizzi disappeared in a flash of light, entering the pig miraculous.
“At your service, my Queen,” Pollen said.
“Wait!” Plagg said. “You’re not going out as Lady Noire, are you?”
“No,” Marinette said. “I’m going to be a new hero.” She put the comb in her hair, then frowned at the rose gold ring on her finger. “Though, now that you mention it…” Marinette hesitated. Should she leave it? Adrien had entrusted it to her, but as things stood she didn’t know if it was a good idea.
She weighed her options. Risk losing the black cat miraculous? Or have the option to transform into Lady Noire if needed?
“I’ll leave it,” she decided. “I can always grab it if I really need it.” As guardian, she had that handy ability to pull miraculouses out of her weapon when transformed. She pulled the ring off of her finger and dropped into its proper place in the miracle box. “What I really need is the Pig and the Bee.”
“What’s your plan?” Barkk asked.
“Miraculous Ladybug is the only thing that can fix everything,” Marinette explained. “And we need to capture the akuma. So we need Mister Bug back in commision.” Marinette smiled, holding up the pink bracelet. “And there’s no one better at getting people through tough times than Rose.”
“Good luck,” Plagg told her. He looked like he wanted to argue more about her going, but he cared about Adrien, too, and every second they debated was a second lost. “And for the love of cheese, be careful.”
Marinette nodded seriously. “Pollen, buzz on!”
The Insecurity Guard was so close to winning.
Mister Bug was completely incapacitated. He lay helpless at his feet, just waiting for him to reach down and pluck the earrings from his ears. A prize for Hawkmoth.
He still needed the other miraculous, but the Insecurity Guard didn’t know how Hawkmoth expected him to get that one. No one had seen it in months.
As soon as he could get rid of the fox and the turtle long enough to get those earrings, he’d be gold. And then he’d be free to go find that rotten doctor. But the only exposed skin the superheroes had was on their faces, and it turned out that they were very good at defending that part of their bodies.
But not good enough. The heroes managed to make him retreat to the street again, away from their insect friend, but then Rena Rouge dropped her guard for an instant— just long enough for the Insecurity Guard to wrench her arm around her back and place a hand to the back of her neck.
She stiffened and then sank to the ground, clutching her own shoulders and looking around her wildly.
Carapace almost reacted fast enough. He raised his shield and started to yell, “SHEL—” But the Insecurity Guard shoved Rena Rouge toward him, making him stumble, off-balance, and that was just enough time for the Insecurity Guard to smack Carapace on the forehead.
“Yes!” the Insecurity Guard raised his arms in triumph. “Take that!”
Hawkmoth’s voice filled his head. “Yes,” he said, voice low and sounding, very, very pleased. “Excellent work, my guard. Go get the earrings! Quickly.”
The Insecurity Guard turned towards the building he’d left Mister Bug on, preparing to leap up to it.
“Oh my,” a voice said from beside him. “What did you do to them?”
The Insecurity Guard jumped. A woman stood on the sidewalk across from him, tapping her fingers on the parked car in front of her and looking over it at the sprawled forms of Rena Rouge and Carapace. No, not just a woman— a superheroine, with a long dark ponytail and a black and gold mask.
“Not much,” the Insecurity Guard answered, lowering cautiously into the ready position. “I just brought out their deepest insecurities.”
“Ah. I see.” The superhero looked at him as he lifted his fists and raised an eyebrow. “I suppose you don’t want me to ask why. I assume it’s kind of a sore spot.”
“That’s… very considerate of you.” The woman didn’t look like she was going to try to fight him, which didn’t make any sense. Then he thought of something. “Actually, do you happen to know where Lady Noire would be? My… employer needs something from her.”
“I can’t say I do,” the superhero responded. “I can’t let you take the miraculouses.”
“Ah,” the Insecurity Guard said, making a show of being disappointed. “That really is unfortunate. Because those miraculouses help my employer, and my employer helps me. And I’ve got to protect my interests, you understand.”
“Oh, of course,” the newcomer said. “Be my guest.” Now she moved, shifting her weight away from the car. “But I can’t promise I won’t try to stop you.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
The superhero stepped out from behind the car, revealing that she was, indeed, another superhero, clad in a black suit with jagged gold stripes.
The action also revealed that she was holding a very pointy weapon in her hand.
And—most importantly—that she was very, very pregnant.
The Insecurity Guard was almost certain it was impolite to stare—and the last thing he wanted to do was be impolite, especially when she had been so courteous so far. But her stomach was so big. How could she possibly fight him like that? No, how could he let her fight him like that? Every future-fatherly instinct in his body screamed at him to make the lady sit down and go get her something to drink.
“Oh my goodness,” he said before he could stop himself. “Holy—” he glanced from her stomach to her face, and then back again. “Uh…”
“What are you waiting for?” the superhero asked, as if completely unaware of the precarious state she was in. “Scared?”
“No, I, uh…” Where was Hawkmoth when he needed him? “I was just… admiring your suit!” he invented. “Vesperia?” he asked hesitantly. This woman did not look like the usual bee hero.
The hero smiled. “No.”
“Queen Bee?” he tried again.
Her smile widened. “Not her, either. Call me Honeybee.”
“I’m not sure,” The Insecurity Guard muttered to himself. “I’m pretty sure queen bees are the ones that get knocked up.”
Honeybee appeared not to hear, instead shifting into a battle stance that made the Insecurity Guard certain that she was about to tip over.
“Ma’am!” he said quickly. “With your condition—”
“Give up your akuma!” Honeybee said loudly. “Or I’ll make you.”
The Insecurity Guard winced at the very thought. “I’d rather not.”
Honeybee waddled toward him, drawing her spinning top threateningly.
The Insecurity Guard backed up, chuckling nervously. “You can’t be serious,” he said. “I could take you to—to a hospital, instead?” What did you do with pregnant ladies who looked like they were about to pop? “Should you really be doing…” he waved around. “You know, this?”
Honeybee snapped her wrist. Her top flicked downward, hitting something on the ground—a coiled-up, spotted power cord. Mister Bug’s lucky charm. It bounced up and Honeybee caught it neatly, attaching it to her waist, not breaking stride at all.
“Well, uh, congratulations!” The Insecurity Guard tried as she approached him. He’d completely abandoned his fighting stance. “When are you due?”
“You can’t distract me,” Honeybee said. “Give up your akuma!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” The Insecurity Guard said flatly.
A mask flashed around his face.
“Fight her!” Hawkmoth urged. “Get her miraculous, if you can.”
“What?” The Insecurity Guard said, horrified. “No way! I’m not fighting a pregnant woman!”
Honeybee aimed a karate chop at his neck. She couldn’t get much leverage in her swing, and it barely felt stronger than a child hitting him, but she looked at him so expectantly that he lurched back a little bit and said “ow” out of politeness.
Honeybee looked satisfied and then waddled over to a bench.
“Oh.. no, please don’t…” The Insecurity Guard said as she started to climb on top of it. “I don’t think you should be…”
“Immobilize her, if you won’t fight her,” Hawkmoth growled. “But get on with it and get those miraculouses!”
The Insecurity Guard gasped. “I’m not going to make a pregnant woman insecure about being pregnant!” That went against everything he believed in. The entire reason he’d agreed to Hawkmoth’s help in the first place.
“Isn’t that your whole thing?” Hawkmoth snapped.
“Well yeah, but I’m a supervillain, not a monster!” The Insecurity Guard shook his head, appalled.
Honeybee had finally made it to the top of the bench, which made her an entire two feet taller. She threw her top, which zipped forward and wrapped around his wrist. She pulled at him, but seemed to be struggling to keep her balance on top of the bench, and he only felt a slight tug.
“Uh.” Oh, right. “Ah!” he said, dropping to one knee and pretending to fall over.
“You’re pathetic,” Hawkmoth said flatly. “Get up.”
“This is a very unstable time in women’s lives,” The Insecurity Guard hissed back. “I’m trying to help her feel good about herself.”
“That’s not what I akumatized you to do!”
Honeybee staggered down from the bench and waddled towards him. With a flick of her wrist she returned the top to her hand.
“Get away!” Hawkmoth warned. “She’ll paralyze you with her power!”
The Insecurity Guard scrambled away. That, he couldn’t afford to let happen. He sighed. He’d just have to find a way to subdue her gently, then he could go retrieve the other miraculouses. He’d just leave her and go on his own business—she clearly wasn’t speedy in this condition—if he hadn’t been worried about her trying to give chase in said condition.
Then Honeybee stumbled and wobbled on her feet.
Instincts kicked in, and like he’d been doing for months, he darted forward to steady her.
“Venom!”
The Insecurity Guard felt a prick in his thigh, then darkness overtook him.
Honeybee smiled, straightening up and looking at the frozen supervillain in front of her. Even as a supervillain, he seemed like a pretty nice guy. Nice enough that his knee-jerk reaction to a wobbly pregnant woman was to jump forward and help. Which was exactly what she’d been counting on.
She patted the Insecurity Guard down, searching his pockets.
“This is ironic,” she said, although there was no one around to hear her. “A security guard being patted down.”
She pulled out a photo strip, showing several grainy, unmistakable black-and-white pictures. Similar to the ones that Marinette had hanging on the fridge. Ultrasounds.
“I knew it,” she said, then pulled out her top.
“Honeybee?”
“Hey, Pigella. How’s the situation?”
“I’ve revived Mister Bug,” Pigella said. “It, um… it was a little difficult to snap him out of it. Gift started it, but I…”
“What?” Honeybee asked. She glanced toward the roof she knew they must be on, even though she couldn’t see them.
“I had to tell him what you were doing,” Pigella admitted. “That got him moving fast.”
Honeybee closed her eyes. She could hear Mister Bug’s voice in the background, undoubtedly annoyed. “That’s okay. I’ve got the akumatized object. Is he ready?”
Pigella gave her the go ahead, and Honeybee ripped the ultrasound in half. “Bye bye, little butterfly,” she said softly, and watched as the butterfly fluttered away, up, up. She made sure to keep it in sight until a red blur shot after it and she knew Mister Bug had seen it.
Honeybee turned her attention to the former supervillain. Now he was a tall, thin man, slightly older than her, wearing a Louvre security guard uniform.
She released the hold her power had on him, and he sank softly to the ground, clutching his head. “Wha—where am I?” he groaned.
“Are you okay?”
The man looked up and then stared at her, obviously surprised to see a nine-months pregnant superhero standing over him.
Honeybee smiled. “I’d help you up, but…”
The man instantly scrambled up. “No problem. Uh, congratulations! When are you due?”
Honeybee suppressed a snicker. He had no idea he’d said almost the exact same thing as the Insecurity Guard. “Any day now, obviously,” she said.
“Wow. Uh, congratulations.”
“Thanks. Are you going to be okay?”
The man ducked his head. “I think so. My wife’s five months pregnant, you see, and I’ve been worried I’m not doing enough for her, and then her doctor said something to me, and I just…” he sighed.
“You’re nervous about becoming a father,” Honeybee said. She glanced upward at the empty rooftops.
“Yeah,” the man said. “Exactly.”
Honeybee put a hand on his arm. “Remember, it’s perfectly normal to be anxious about parenthood. But I’m sure you’ll be a great father.”
“Thanks, uh…” he looked her up and down. “You’re not Vesperia, right?”
“I’m Honeybee,” Honeybee told him.
“Thanks, Hon—”
Honeybee was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and spun around so she was face to face with none other than Mister Bug.
“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?” he asked, tightening his grip on her shoulders.
Honeybee just raised her eyebrows and pointedly handed him the power cord she’d been carrying.
Mister Bug took it without looking at it and threw it up into the air. “Miraculous Mister Bug! Are you okay? You didn’t hurt anything, did you?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. The ultrasound in her hand had fixed itself, so she handed it back to the man, who was looking between Honeybee and Mister Bug with a slightly alarmed expression. “Here you go. Tell your wife congratulations.”
“Thanks, Honeybee.”
“I can take you back home, sir, if you like,” Pigella offered. Honeybee hadn’t even noticed she was there. The man obligingly wrapped his arms around her neck, and with a quick nod, they were gone.
Mister Bug put a hand on her stomach. “Seriously. Why would you do that?”
“I’m fine, Buggaboy.” Honeybee put her hand over his. “We’re both fine. I was careful. I was! I went as Honeybee, not Lady Noire, so no one would know Ladybug is pregnant. And I barely even did anything. I promise.” Except for running across the rooftops, but that wasn’t so difficult with the miraculous suit. It wasn’t as hard to move as she’d been making out during her fight with the Insecurity Guard.
Mister Bug didn’t look convinced. “I’m taking you straight home,” he announced. “And you are resting for the rest of the day.” He scooped Honeybee easily into his arms and hopped up to the rooftops. “Where’s Plagg?” he asked, almost as an afterthought.
“Left him at home. I didn’t think it was a good idea for me to wear two miraculouses.” Honeybee rested her head on her husband’s shoulder. She hadn’t actually fought at all, but she was still exhausted.
“Yeah, we’re going to have a talk about that. You can’t be superheroing right now!” Mister Bug scolded her.
“Uh huh,” Honeybee said sleepily. “I saw you go down on the news. I had to save you.”
Mister Bug was silent for a long moment. “How did you know it would work?”
Honeybee smiled, remembering the Insecurity Guard. “He reminded me of you.”
“How so?”
“He’s way overprotective of his wife.”
“There’s no such thing, M’lady,” Mister Bug announced.
Honeybee laughed.
“But seriously,” Mister Bug insisted. “There’s got to be something else.”
Mister Bug really knew her too well. “It was the lucky charm,” Honeybee told him.
“Did you end up using it?”
“No. But remember yesterday?”
Mister Bug groaned, clearly remembering. “I thought we agreed not to speak of that again.”
“I agreed to no such thing.” The day before, Marinette had almost tripped over a power cord plugged into the wall, and Adrien had panicked and lunged to steady her, spilling his (thankfully not too hot) coffee all over her clothes. Marinette had no intention of ever letting him live it down.
And obviously, neither did Tikki.