Chapter Text
It was the last day of summer. Alix returned to her bedroom, her arm finally out of the cast and slightly raw. She took a tube of moisturizing cream out of her bag and rubbed some on her tender skin. Once the cream was fully rubbed in, she fished her phone out from her pocket and opened GigaTube. As she pulled up a skateboarding video, she heard a chime coming from her pocket. Setting her phone down, she reached into her pocket and found the only thing in it: her pocket watch.
“That’s odd.” she said, “I never set any alarm.” She pressed the pocket watch’s crown, and the lid opened up. Instead of the usual woman holding an oversized clock, however, the holographic image inside was Alix herself. She was dressed in a skintight suit with rabbit ears poking out from her hair. There was an umbrella on her back, and what appeared to be a cottontail on her backside. As Alix stared at the translucent figure, it began to speak.
“You’d better listen up,” it said, “because this is where things get complicated.”
Alix was completely silent, air trapped in her lungs as she watched her holographic doppelganger speak.
“Okay, so in case it isn’t obvious, I’m you, specifically a future version of you. And yes, I’m a superhero. And this watch is the reason why. It’s no ordinary watch, it’s actually the Rabbit Miraculous. Or at least it used to be, and it will be again soon. But by the time you see this message, the Miraculous has been separated from its kwami and is basically no different from an ordinary watch. That hasn’t happened for me yet, but it will soon. And in a couple hundred years, it’s going to end up in your hands, and you’ll be the one to restore its power. And this is how you’re gonna do it: go to Marinette. She’ll deflect for a bit, but she’s the only one in Paris who can help you restore the Rabbit Miraculous. Go find her, and we’ll work from there.” The hologram disappeared and the watch snapped shut. Alix set the watch back down on the table. She cradled her head in her hands, rubbing her temples.
“‘This is where things get complicated’, huh?” she said, “That’s the understatement of the millennium.”
Marinette sat at her computer desk, reading over a translated grimoire page on her computer screen as Tikki hovered beside her. She heard a knock at her trap door, and scrambled to minimize the window, revealing a wallpaper of her and Adrien kissing atop the Eiffel Tower. She ran to the trap door and opened it to find her mother on the stairs.
“Oh, hi, Mom.” she said with a smile, “What’s up?”
“Alix is here, she said she wanted to see you.” Sabine said, “Is that okay with you?”
“Yeah, that should be fine. Send her right on up.”
Sabine closed the trap door, and Marinette ran back to her desk.
“I didn’t leave any Guardian stuff out, right, Tikki?”
“You didn’t even have anything out in the first place,” the Ladybug kwami said, “don’t worry!”
Tikki flew into Marinette’s desk drawer mere moments before the trap door opened back up, letting Alix into Marinette’s bedroom.
“Hi, Alix.”
“Hey, Marinette.”
“What’s up? How’s the arm?”
“Just got out of the cast this morning. The doctor told me not to do anything strenuous and all that jazz.”
“Makes sense. Excited to get back to school?”
“Listen, Marinette. This isn’t exactly a personal visit. There’s something I need to ask you about.”
“Oh.” Marinette paused, “What do you need?”
“What do you know about the Miraculous?”
“Ah! I mean, what? Miraculous, what’s that? I mean, obviously, I know what the Miraculous are. They were kind of a big deal this past year, but there’s no possible way I could know any more about them than you do. I don’t know what gave you the idea that I would, but whoever told you will definitely get a stern talking-to from me.”
“I got the idea from myself. At least, that’s what I told myself, if it was really me like it said it was.”
“...What?”
“After I got back from the hospital, my watch just chimed out of nowhere, then played a holographic message from someone who claimed to be me in the future, and definitely looked the part.” Alix pressed the crown on the watch, but all she saw was the time on the watch face, 14:17.
“And what did this ‘holographic message’ say?” Marinette said.
“That the watch used to be the Rabbit Miraculous, and that you were the only one who knew enough about the Miraculous to be able to restore it. Or something like that.”
“You have the Rabbit Miraculous?” a small voice said. Marinette looked back to her desk and turned white as a sheet when she saw Tikki flying away from the door and towards them.
“Tikki, I thought you were supposed to stay hidden!”
“Marinette, she already knows the truth. There’s no point in hiding it at this point.”
“What is that?” Alix asked, “Some kind of ladybug fairy?”
“I’m Tikki, the kwami of creation. I’m the one who gives Ladybug her powers.”
“Wait... does that mean...” Alix wavered for a second, then smirked, “So you
do
know about the Miraculous.”
“Fine, you win.” Marinette said, “But, Alix, I’m gonna be honest, this is all a little suspect to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Give me one second.”
Marinette unlocked one of her desk drawers and pulled out a large, octagonal mahogany box. She opened the box, causing the side drawers to pop open. Marinette pointed at one drawer, containing a blue and white pocket watch sitting on a patch of blue felt.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Marinette said, “The Rabbit Miraculous is still in the box.”
“Remember, Marinette,” Tikki said, “the Rabbit Miraculous grants the power of time travel. It can exist in two places at one point in time.”
“Okay, fair.” Marinette said, “But what about the time Alix’s watch got smashed? Aren’t Miraculous immune to nonmagical damage?”
“Yeah, that is weird...” Tikki said. Alix’s watch chimed again, and she pressed the crown as Marinette and Tikki turned to look. The same hologram from before appeared on the watch face and began to speak.
“Okay, if I’ve timed this correctly, I should be at Marinette’s now. So, let me get her up to speed. I’ve already told you that this used to be the Rabbit Miraculous, and that I need your help to fix it. You’re skeptical, as you should be, but I can explain in more detail. Now, like I said, this
used to be
the Rabbit Miraculous. It isn’t anymore. It was separated from its kwami about two hundred and sixty years ago, that’s why it broke when I ran it over while racing Kim. But with all the resources you have on hand, you should be able to reunite the kwami with the watch, turning it back into a proper Miraculous so it can go back into the Miracle Box. After that, you’ll give me the watch currently in the box, then I’ll use it to become a time-traveling superhero. And yes, I know what this message implies, but don’t worry. I know exactly what it is I’m doing, and...” for the first time, the holographic figure seemed to hesitate, “everything will be fine, I’m sure of it.” The hologram of Alix disappeared, and the real Alix snapped the face shut.
“Now it all makes sense!” Tikki said, “If Fluff’s connection to the watch was broken, then it would be reduced to a normal watch. A very durable watch, to still be working almost three hundred years later, but still just a watch.”
“And that message... there’s no way that isn’t real.” Marinette said, “That was definitely Alix, transformed using the Rabbit Miraculous.”
“So you can fix it?” Alix asked.
“I can certainly try.” Marinette said, “But I don’t exactly know how.”
“I do!” Tikki said, “If Fluff really has been separated, then things are essentially the same as they were when the Miraculous was first created. The watch is just a watch, and Fluff is bound to the quantic realm.”
“Quantic realm?” the two girls asked in unison.
“The quantic realm, where the kwamis originate. Where the abstract is no different from the physical, and can be manipulated freely by the kwamis to drive the processes that keep the central realm, the realm we’re in right now, running. Once the kwamis were all bound to the quantic realm, but when the Miraculous were created, it allowed us to cross over into the central realm and interact with people more directly.”
“Okay, okay, slow down.” Alix said.
“Yeah, this is getting to be a bit much.” Marinette asked, “Let’s just focus on the key point: how do we remake the Miraculous?"
“The same way it was made in the first place. Through me.”
“I don’t quite follow.” Alix said.
“I am the kwami of creation. I was the one to create the first link between the quantic and central realms. I decided I wanted to build a bridge between the two realms, and so I did. I emerged in the central realm from a chunk of obsidian, which was later cut and set into a pair of golden earrings. The very same ones that Marinette is wearing right now.”
“The first Miraculous!” Marinette said.
“Exactly!” Tikki continued, “I left the earrings in the care of a mage, who persuaded me to create Miraculous for the other kwamis. He built a wooden box to keep them in, and recruited several other mages to keep them safe. He dubbed them the Order of the Guardians, and over the next thousand years, they grew over a thousand-fold as they spread all across the planet.”
“That is... quite a story, Tikki.” Marinette said, “So, you just need to build another bridge to fix the Rabbit Miraculous?”
“Essentially, yes. But to do that, I’m going to need to pass into the quantic realm through Alix’s watch, and bring Fluff back through with me when I come out. Marinette, I’m going to need you to keep your earrings in when I do this. That will tether me to the central realm.”
“Okay, I guess. Shouldn’t be a problem, since I never take them out to begin with.”
“Never?” Alix asked, “Not even to clean?”
“Well, of course, I take them out to clean! But aside from that, yeah, I never take them off. It’d be too dangerous, I need to be ready to transform at a moment’s notice.”
“We’re gonna have to make a real quick exception, though.” Tikki said, “I can’t transform you while I’m in the quantic realm. Thankfully with all the Miraculous safe in the box, we probably won’t have any Ladybug level threats in the next few minutes.”
“So, we’re doing this now, then?” Marinette said.
“I’d like to get it done as soon as possible.” Tikki said, “Fluff’s probably doing fine in the quantic realm, but I’m sure he’d like to be brought back sooner than later.”
“I’m ready whenever you guys are.” Alix said.
“Okay... yeah, I think I’m ready.” Marinette said.
“Right.” Tikki said, “I’m going in on the count of three. One...two...three!”
Tikki flew towards the watch, disappearing as she made contact with the outer surface. The watch turned bright red, and five black spots appeared on the lid.
As soon as Tikki entered the watch, she felt her physical form dissipate as she transformed into a being of pure energy, zipping through kaleidoscopic fields as a ball of pink light, leaving a white trail behind her. As she reached the other side of the void, she felt a new body coalesce around her. Unlike the form she took on in the central realm, she now had proportions typical of an adult human female, only with many large wings on her back. She had no hair or nails, nor a visible face. Instead, she had an amorphous quality to her, as if she were composed of some glowing pink fluid that inexplicably took on a humanoid shape. Tikki observed her surroundings: she was standing amidst twisting crystalline pillars that extended infinitely up and down and seemed to change shape when unobserved. She floated past the pillars and found herself approaching a fibrous structure that appeared to loop around itself in impossible.
Just what I’ve been looking for.
She thought.
Tikki flew towards the structure and noticed a figure standing in the center of it. Like her, it appeared humanoid at a glance, but revealed itself to be more upon closer inspection. As she weaved through the looping fibers, she noticed that from every angle, the figure’s head appeared to point directly towards her even as it remained motionless. Its hands were also symmetric: thumbs on top and bottom, and fingers curling in both directions. On the top of its head were two tall ears, and its body gave off a pale blue light.
“Fluff, it’s you!” Tikki said in an inhuman language.
“Oh, hello, Tikki.” Fluff said, “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to reunite you with your Miraculous.”
“What do you mean? I’m united with my Miraculous already. See, right then!”
Tikki turned her attention to where Fluff was pointing: a specific area of the fibrous structure.
“You may have been united with your Miraculous then, but at some point along the way, you get separated.” Tikki said, “I can’t exactly read this thing like you can, this
is
your domain, but it should be somewhere along there.”
“What do you mean? There’s no point after that where I’m not united with the Miraculous.”
Tikki put a hand to her temple. She didn’t actually have a headache--being a kwami made that impossible--but it was a gesture she had seen humans use to express exasperation.
“Narrow your focus to the path of the Miraculous through time.” Tikki said, “There should be at least one break somewhere, after it doubles back.”
Fluff tilted his head, but went back to studying the fibers.
“Right, then.” he said pointing to a point, “After one of the points where I’m with the human named Alix Kubdel. That was a sad time.”
“Why?”
“You’ll understand later. Just take me back to the central realm.”
Fluff extended his hand, and Tikki took it in hers. They flew off together and cast off their humanoid forms as they crossed into the void and followed the white bridge.
Marinette stared intently at the red watch, while Alix fidgeted in her seat. It hadn’t been longer than a minute, but they devoted all that time to waiting for Tikki to return. Finally, the watch turned back to its original silver color as Tikki flew out, followed by a white rabbit kwami with big blue eyes and blue inside its ears.
“We’re back!” Tikki said, “This is Fluff, the kwami of time.”
“Alix!” Fluff flew over to Alix and nuzzled her cheek, “I’m so happy to see you again!”
“Um, OK?” Alix said.
“Alix hasn’t met you yet, Fluff.” Tikki said, “This is her before she got the Miraculous.”
“Oh, right.” Fluff said, “Well, you’re going to get to know me really well before long. And... well, it’s nice for me to see you again, even if you don’t know me now.” Fluff let go of Alix’s cheek and flew towards Marinette.
“I think I’m ready to go back into the box.” he said.
“Okay, but what do I do with the watch that’s already there?” Marinette asked.
“I guess you give it to me?” Alix said, “That’s what the me in the watch said.”
“No, Alix.” Marinette said, “That would be too dangerous, especially for you. Besides, I just don’t see a need for it to be active. I’ll just keep the old watch on me for now.”
Marinette took the watch out of the Miracle Box and set Alix’s watch in the drawer. Fluff was pulled back into the watch, turning into an identical watch to the one that sat there earlier.
“Well, I guess I’m gonna have to explain to my Dad why I had to give up my family’s prized watch.” Alix said, “Hopefully he’ll understand.”
“Ladybug can vouch for you, so don’t worry about that.” Marinette said, slipping the watch into her pocket.
Alix stood up to leave, when suddenly she felt a bit dizzy and fell back to her seat.
“You alright?” Marinette asked.
“Yeah, uh, I think so.” Alix said, “Just a dizzy spell. Might just need to rehydrate.”
“Hang on, I think I have a couple water bottles by my-- AH!” Marinette turned to her desk and stopped when she noticed the Miracle Box: two of the drawers were empty.
“What?” Alix asked.
“I swear, they were here when I opened it.”
“What were?”
“The Miraculous, the Dog and the Goat. They’re gone!”
“Really?”
“Like I said, they were there a minute ago. Where could they be?”
Fluff flew out from Marinette’s pocket.
“We’ve hit a flux point!” the rabbit kwami said.
“What does that mean?” Marinette asked.
“Someone’s gone back in time and tried to change history. The Miraculous didn’t disappear, they weren’t there to begin with.”
“So what do we do?”
“Someone needs to use my Miraculous to go back in time and stop them. We need to close the flux point and set the timeline back on track.”
“Marinette, please, give me the watch.” Alix said.
“I can’t.” Marinette insisted, “That message... I didn’t like the sound of it.”
“Message?” Fluff asked.
“Yeah, a future version of me left a message on my watch, saying that she used the Miraculous.”
“Well then we know she’s going to get it eventually.” Fluff said, “She couldn’t have gotten that message if she won’t go into the past to send it.”
“I’m confused.” Marinette said.
“Time travel is confusing.” Fluff said, “You don’t have to give it to her now. You can give it to someone else or even use it yourself. But you can’t keep it from her forever.”
Marinette fished the watch out of her pocket and stared at it.
I can’t let whatever happens to her happen,
Marinette thought,
but I can’t change the timeline either.
Marinette looked back at Alix: there was an eagerness in her eyes, but not the careless eagerness she saw when Kim approached her with a dare. It was the determined eagerness she saw in Alya’s eyes when she first handed her the Fox Miraculous. The eagerness not to be a cool superhero, but to seize an opportunity to do what’s right, regardless of the cost. Marinette took a deep breath.
“Alright then.” Marinette said, holding the watch in front of her, “But I want you to return the watch to me as soon as you’re done.”
“You know you can count on me, Marinette.” Alix said.
Alix took the watch out of Marinette’s hand, and Fluff flew up next to her.
“So, you’re going to be my holder?” Fluff said, “What’s your name?”
“Wait, you don’t know who I am? I thought you remembered traveling through time with me in my future.”
“What do you mean?” Fluff said.
“When Tikki pulled you back through the watch, you glomped me like you hadn’t seen me in years.”
“Oh, that must’ve been me talking through a future version of the Miraculous.” Fluff said, “When bonded to a Miraculous, I’m bound to that Miraculous’s lifespan. I can’t recall anything that happens in the watch’s future.”
“Oh. Well, my name is Alix Kubdel.”
“Nice to meet you, Alix. And it seems you’ve already been introduced to me, but I’m Fluff.”
“So, what do we need to do, Fluff?” Alix asked.
“We need to go back in time to the point where the timeline branches, and stop the other time traveler from doing whatever they’re trying to do.”
“Okay, where is that flux point?”
“It feels like it’s about ten months back.” Fluff said.
“Okay, it’s August now, so ten months ago would be... November of last year.” Alix said, “Anything more precise?”
“I’m afraid not. It’s like estimating distance from sight, it’s not an exact science.”
“Well, that’s a good start at least. So, how do I use this?”
“Once you transform, just set the watch to whatever time you want to travel to, then invoke your Burrow. Remember, you can only travel through time, not space, so go somewhere you won’t be disturbing anyone. To transform, just say ‘Fluff, Clockwise!’”
“Fluff, clockwise!” Alix said, holding the watch in front of her.
Fluff flew into the watch, turning it solid blue with a white design on the lid. Five black dots appeared on the lid, and Alix swept her hand across her face as a blue and white mask appeared around her eyes. She snapped her arm out, and a sleeve of blue mesh with a long white glove appeared over it. She thrust her chest out as a blue and white costume formed around her body, complete with pockets for her watch. She brought her hands up to her head and swept them over her hair, causing two rabbit ears to appear. She held up her hand to the sky, and an umbrella appeared in her grip. She swung the umbrella around for a bit before opening it, resting it on her shoulder as her transformation finished. She reached back into her pocket and took out the watch. She opened the lid, revealing the clock face still set to the current time and date.
“So I know the flux point is in November,” she said, “but I don’t know when, or even what I’m looking for. So I should go back to the end of that month, see what’s different, then go back and fix it.”
She turned the crown on the watch, turning the hands back to 30 November 2015, 12:00.
“Uh, before you go,” Marinette said, “I want to thank you for
not
showing up in my room randomly last fall.”
“Oh, right.” Alix said, snapping the watch lid shut, “Mind if I take the balcony exit?”
“Just make sure no one sees you.”
Alix climbed the ladder up to Marinette’s skylight and jumped down from the balcony into the alleyway next to the bakery. She fished the watch back out of her pocket, then held it out in front of her.
“Burrow!” she said, and a bluish-white portal appeared in front of her. She reached out to touch it: the surface appeared to ripple as her fingers brushed against it. She put one foot through, and felt a startling difference in temperature. Putting her other foot through, she finished her step through the Burrow, letting it close behind her as she came all the through.
“Fluff, counterclockwise.” she whispered, and her rabbit costume disappeared as Fluff flew out of the watch. Alix reached down to slip the watch into her pocket, but stopped when she noticed her clothes had changed: she wore full-length jeans instead of shorts, and had a leather jacket on over her regular layered shirts.
“What happened to my clothes?!” she asked.
“I changed them to better suit this time frame, hope you don’t mind.” Fluff responded, “Figured that you’d appreciate not freezing in this weather, or at least not having to deal with questions about it.”
“Well, this is what I would’ve been wearing this time of year anyway. How did you even know that, by the way?”
“Even outside the quantic realm, I still have
some
extratemporal perception, it’s much weaker, though, just enough to identify wardrobe patterns.”
“Sounds legit.” Alix slipped the watch into her pocket. She stepped out into the street, only to be forced to duck as Ladybug swung over her head.
“That’s weird,” she said, “I don’t remember there being any akuma attacks today. Let’s go check it out.”
Alix ran after Ladybug as Cat Noir joined her at her side, landing in the middle of the street and staring down an enemy in the distance. Alix ducked into another alley to avoid the fleeing crowds, then wall-slid until she could see who the heroes were looking at. It was a girl, dressed in a pale brown leather costume not unlike Cat Noir’s, but with a red choker with a bone tag around her neck instead of a bell zipper. She had short red hair and yellow eyes behind her gray-tinged mask. In her hands, she held a bone-shaped staff, which she was pointing at Ladybug and Cat Noir.
“Who are you?” Ladybug said, “Where did you get your powers?”
“I don’t answer to you, Ladybug.” the girl said, “You are not the alpha, and you will never be. But don’t worry, you will be welcome in my pack, whether you like it or not.”
“Sorry, but there’s only room for one alpha in this city.” Cat Noir said, “And I think we all know who it is.” Cat Noir placed a hand to his chest, prompting Ladybug to facepalm.
“If you won’t join the pack,” the girl said, “then you will be my prey!”
The girl ran towards the heroes and swung her staff at Ladybug. She jumped out of the way and kicked the girl in the back. The girl turned to Ladybug and growled. She raised up her staff, but Cat Noir jumped in front of her, blocking her swing with his own.
“Sorry,” Cat Noir said, “but cats and dogs don’t really get along.”
The girl kicked Cat Noir in the stomach, then swatted him aside with her bone-staff. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at her, tangling the staff in the string. Ladybug pulled on the string, but the girl kept a firm enough grip on the bone that it stayed in her hands, pulling her towards Ladybug. The girl swung her staff at Ladybug’s head, and she bent backwards to avoid it. The wolf-girl threw a punch at Ladybug’s face, but she moved her head to dodge. Ladybug threw a punch in return, but the wolf-girl caught her by the wrist and flung her aside. Ladybug pushed herself to her feet, then threw her yo-yo into the air.
“Lucky Charm!” she said as a swarm of ladybugs flew out from the yo-yo. With a flash of pink light, the ladybugs dropped a red and black spotted retractable leash into her hands.
“Is it really that simple?” Ladybug said.
She looked from the wolf-girl to Cat Noir, then pulled the end of the leash out.
“Over to you, Cat Noir!” she said, throwing the leash end to her partner.
Cat Noir caught the leash and nodded towards Ladybug. He ran towards the wolf-girl and threw a punch at her with his free hand. She dodged, but Cat Noir brought the hand with the leash in it to her collar, clipping it to the ring of her dog tag. Ladybug pressed the button on the leash, reeling her in towards her. Ladybug grabbed for the collar, but the wolf-girl kneed her in the abdomen, causing her to drop the leash as she fell to the asphalt. Ladybug felt a foot on her chest, and opened her eyes to find herself staring down the length of the staff at her assailant, who wore a toothy smirk on her face. She heard her earrings beep: her transformation was fading. Before the wolf-girl could strike another blow, however, she was knocked away by a gray blur. Ladybug and Cat Noir turned to see the wolf-girl lying on the ground in front of another female figure. This one was dressed in a light gray suit, wearing a mask with a dark gray patch around the right eye. Her black hair was tied on either side of her face, and she had two goat horn-shaped hair clips just behind her bangs. In her hand was a gray billy club, which was being held against the wolf-girl’s neck.
“Give them back the Miraculous, Direwolf!” the goat-girl said.
“The Miraculous?!” Ladybug and Cat Noir said in unison.
The goat-girl looked back at them.
“Yes,” she said, “a few days ago, this girl stole the Dog and Goat Miraculous. I managed to grab the Goat Miraculous back from her, but she got away with the Dog. I’ve been trying to find her ever since.”
“Okay, that
definitely
didn’t happen.” Alix whispered, “Or at least, wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“Great,” Cat Noir said, “
another
stolen Miraculous.”
“On the plus side, it’s well within our reach.” Ladybug said.
The goat-girl reached for Direwolf’s choker, but was thrown off towards the two heroes. Ladybug’s earring beeped again.
“I’m about to detransform!” she said, “I need to go recharge, I’ll be right back.”
“Hold on a second, Ladybug.” the goat-girl said, touching her billy club to Ladybug’s back, “Capricharge!”
The billy club glowed with white light as the dots on Ladybug’s earrings reappeared. Ladybug felt a wave of warmth through her body.
“What was that?” Ladybug said.
“My special power.” the goat-girl, “I just re-energized you, so you can stay transformed until you use your Lucky Charm again.”
“That’s possible?” Cat Noir said.
“It is with my Miraculous.”
“Well then, thank you...” Ladybug trailed off.
“Call me Billie Goat.”
“Okay.” Ladybug said, “Thanks, Billie Goat. Now, let’s go take down this Direwolf.”
“Right.” the other two heroes said in unison.
“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug said, receiving a bottle opener.
“Is it saying that this can be settled over a pint?” Cat Noir asked.
Ladybug scanned her surroundings: she noticed the leash handle, Cat Noir’s belt, and a vending machine with glass soda bottles in the window.
“Cat Noir, I need to borrow your belt.” she said.
“Again?” Cat Noir said, undoing his belt and handing it to Ladybug.
“I’m going to need you two to distract Direwolf while I get things set up.”
“Consider it done.” Cat Noir said.
“You can trust me, Ladybug.” Billie Goat said.
Cat Noir and Billie Goat ran towards Direwolf, hooting as they jumped over cars and vaulted over lamp posts. Ladybug, meanwhile, jogged over to the vending machine and dug some change out of her yo-yo. She put the coins into the machine, dispensing a bottle of cola. Ladybug ran back towards the scene of the fight. Direwolf’s attention was firmly on Cat Noir and Billie Goat, a good distance away from the leash handle.
“Perfect!” she muttered as she ran towards the leash. She shook the soda bottle, then strapped it to the leash handle using Cat Noir’s belt. She put the bottle opener against the cap.
“Three, two... one! Hit the deck!” she said as she pried the bottle cap off. A jet of fizzy brown liquid shot from the neck, propelling the leash handle through the handle. Cat Noir and Billie Goat ducked down to the pavement, and Ladybug followed suit as the bottle rocket flew in circles around Direwolf, tying her up in the leash so she couldn’t move at all. The three heroes walked up to the wolf villainess.
“I hope you enjoyed your time as a supervillain,” Ladybug said, “because things are probably gonna get a lot worse for you going forward.”
Ladybug reached around Direwolf’s neck and removed the choker. The wolf costume disappeared, exposing the face of a girl that neither Ladybug nor Cat Noir recognized.
“Wha... where am I?” she asked, “Why am I tied up?”
“You know exactly what happened, miss.” Cat Noir said, “You aren’t going to escape the consequences of stealing a Miraculous so easily.”
“Stealing a Miraculous?” she said, “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, like you don’t know about this.” Ladybug held up the dog-tagged choker, only for everyone present to witness it dissipate into a puff of brown smoke.
“What the heck?” Ladybug said.
“The Miraculous just disappeared?” Cat Noir asked, “That doesn’t seem right.”
“I’ve been trying to tell you!” the girl said, “I didn’t steal any Miraculous. This other girl dressed as a wolf just cornered me on my way to school. She told me I was ‘part of her pack now’, then she put that choker on me. Everything’s kind of blank from then until now.”
“Is that what the Dog Miraculous does?” Cat Noir asked.
“I don’t know any more about the Miraculous than you do, Cat Noir.” Ladybug said, “But if it is, then that means we’re dealing with two villain-creating Miraculous.”
“I’m sorry, Ladybug.” Billie Goat said, “I didn’t know that Direwolf could duplicate herself like that.”
“It’s okay, Billie Goat.” Ladybug said, “You were a big help out there, especially with that Capricharge power of yours.”
“Oh yeah, I should probably go to recharge. But it was good fighting with you, Ladybug. And if you ever need my help again, I’ll be right there.”
Billie Goat jumped up to a nearby building, then pushed off to another building. She continued jumping from wall to wall, perching on the edges of bricks and windowsills as she made her way down the street. Alix slipped out from her alleyway and tailed Billie Goat from a distance. Finally, the goat heroine disappeared into another alley, and Alix peeked around the corner, staying out of sight as a Billie Goat was enveloped in white light.
When the light faded, Alix saw Lila Rossi standing in her place.