Chapter Text
"Even after that akuma battle last night, you're still going to head to school earlier than normal?" Tikki asked as she peeked her face out of Marinette's purse, and Marinette could hear how impressed her kwami was. She tried to keep herself from betraying how tired she really was, but she couldn't hold back her yawn.
"It wasn't that bad, Tikki," she replied, but she knew how big of a lie that was.
"Not only did you have to fight a flamethrower akumatized supervillain and a re-akumatized Frozer, Dragonus tried to drop a building on you, Cat Noir, and both supervillains. Several buildings, in fact."
"Okay, maybe it was that bad," Marinette admitted. Then she stopped as she recognized the limousine pulling in front of Collège Françoise Dupont, even though its usual snow-white finish was painted completely pink. A quick glance to the side of the car revealed Sabrina running up alongside it. Marinette sighed. "But not as bad as that."
"Maybe you were right," Tikki muttered. "Chloé's descended to a new low."
"No, this seems very familiar," Marinette snorted as Chloé stepped out of her retouched car. Then she stopped as a second girl stepped out, and Marinette could easily see the family resemblance with Chloé. The same hair, similar eye color… They were even the same height and build. The most immediate difference was their clothes. This new girl wore a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt with a yellow honeycomb flower on the front, olive green cargo pants and white combat boots with black soles. The second difference was that her loose hair was streaked red on the right side - something Marinette didn't notice until the new girl turned towards her. Marinette yelped and dove behind the railing of the front steps before Chloé's… - sister? Cousin? - noticed her.
"Just once, I'd like to be told before a new student shows up out of the blue!" she griped.
"Chloé's been going on - for a whole week - about her cousin coming to Paris, girl," Alya's voice said from behind her. Marinette nearly jumped over the railing before pulling Alya down to her level.
"What do you mean?" she demanded. "I would've heard about it!"
"You were either constantly trying to get Adrien's attention or hiding when akumas showed up, so I'm not terribly surprised," Alya teased, then glanced over the railing again. "We might be in for a real storm. One Chloé's bad enough. If this new girl is anything like her-"
"Let's not make snap judgments before we get to know people," Marinette interrupted, throwing Alya a knowing glance. Then the sound of conversation reached her ears. "They're talking! Maybe we can get something out of them!" She peeked her head over the edge, right as she saw Sabrina pull a giant red carpet out of the limo.
"Once we've taken care of the grand entrance, I'll show you around, Amber," Chloé said, pompously flipping her ponytail. "I practically rule this place. Everyone adores me!"
The other girl - Amber, Marinette noted - sighed, and even from the sound of Amber's exasperation, Marinette could hear her accent. British, maybe? "Chloé, please don't. I can introduce myself, and I'd rather you and your lot and your red carpet stay out of my way," Amber said, slightly forcing her way past Chloé. "And Sabrina, be a dear and put the carpet back in the car."
"What!?" Chloé shrieked, moving in front of her cousin. "What did I tell you about your place here?!"
"What did I tell you about not making a spectacle of every little detail while I'm in Paris?" Amber replied coolly. "Now, I would like to be shown around, Chloé. If you wouldn't mind."
Chloé's expression darkened as she stared into Amber's ocean-blue eyes, which looked almost bored with Chloé's attempts at intimidation. Then Chloé broke off her glare. "You win again, cuz," she muttered.
Amber shrugged. "We'll get you fixed up, Chlo, it'll be just like when we were kids," she replied, patting the other girl's shoulder. "Let's go. Sabrina, would you be so kind as to give me my bag?"
"Did you see that?" Alya asked as she turned Marinette's head back towards Chloé and Amber after Adrien pulled up behind their car. "Not Sunshine Boy, girl, I meant Amber!"
"Yeah, I know," Marinette replied as her gaze caught Adrien's quick glance at the cousins as they entered the school. "Amber clearly knows about Chloé's antics. And it seems like she's trying to make Chloé better." She snickered. "I think I like her already."
"She's certainly something," Alya replied as the two girls slipped out of their hiding spot and made their way into the school. Marinette caught the sight of a flock of students out of the corner of her eye, and a slight scowl crossed her face when she saw who was in the center of the pack. Lila. She brushed aside the growing annoyance. No need to ruin the day so soon.
"Where on Earth are the locks for these things?" Marinette heard Amber mutter, the confusion plain in her voice.
"I know, it's a real problem," Marinette replied as Amber turned her blue eyes on her. "I asked Principal Damocles about it once, and all he said about it was 'it makes surprise checks easier.' Although he did say something about students bringing locks from home."
"Back in my old school in Chelsea, all lockers had combination locks. Well, at least the girls' did. I'm not entirely sure about the boys. They should've had them, but considering the laughter and rowdiness, I imagine a few pranks were pulled," Amber replied, a slightly amused smile on her face. "You're Marinette, right?"
"Yep," Marinette answered. "I guess you're Amber? The one Chloé's been talking about for a week?"
"Has she really?" Amber sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I told her I didn't need the angels to herald my arrival." Amber's eyes quickly glanced over Marinette. "You know, my dear cousin has said plenty about you. I'm not sure I entirely believe all of it, since Chloé's said plenty about everyone here during our little chats."
"Like what?" Marinette asked, dreading the answer. Amber smirked. "That you are, and I quote, a clueless, awkward, and utterly ridiculous klutz trying to steal her beloved Adrikins from her."
Suddenly Amber got very close. "Go right ahead. Adrien's only seen Chloé as a friend since the two were in diapers. I'm pretty sure the rest is exaggerated, though," she whispered conspiratorially.
"Oh, totally," Marinette replied. "I'm guessing she never mentioned anything about a hat contest I beat her in? Or how my great-uncle got voted the greatest chef in the world, in spite of her trying to ruin his chances? Or how she keeps getting attacked by supervillains?"
"Oh, she mentioned the supervillains, and some heroes called Ladybird and Black Cat fighting off a big bad butterfly. She also said that she was a hero herself, but knowing her, I'm suspending a little disbelief."
"Ladybug and Cat Noir," Marinette corrected. "And while she was for a little bit, she didn't help much after exposing her identity to all of Paris, and if the rumors are true, she was helping the main supervillain willingly."
"Well… that simultaneously explains a lot and sadly makes too much sense," Amber replied darkly. "It explains some of the dirty looks I've been getting. And there's this tall kid who seems to really have it out for us."
"Probably Andrew. He and Chloé have some bad blood, but just give it a little time," Marinette said. "He's quick enough to give you a chance if you give him reason to."
"Amber, what are you doing with the baker girl?" Chloé's voice rang out. "She's not worth your time! C'mon, let's go." Amber rolled her eyes. "Chloé, I'm trying to have a conversation here. Now, please, would you go and make yourself scarce?"
Chloé stepped back in shock, the sting of betrayal making itself plain on her face. "B-but… Amber, I…" she stammered before glaring at Marinette. "You! This is your fault, isn't it?! Turning my cousin against me! Making her hate me! Just like everyone here does!"
"Chloé, I don't hate you," Amber interjected. "I could never hate you. But this isn't the first time you've lied or left out certain details."
"I told you how I got dangled over soup! Or how I got attacked by kissing zombies!"
"You didn't say you had a hand in creating those problems," Amber said as she crossed her arms. "This is just like in Chelsea, except no one reined you in, did they?"
Chloé's jaw went slack. Marinette had never seen her so shocked. "B-but… we were like sisters…" Chloé's eyes went wide as her chin wobbled slightly.
Amber sighed. "Chlo, I need to get to class. I suggest you do the same." Amber turned on her heel as she left the locker room, her red-streaked locks swaying behind her. Marinette slipped past Chloé as she headed for her own locker, but before she could get all of her things and get out, Chloé grabbed her bicep.
"How could I make Amber forgive me?" the blonde asked quietly. Marinette gently tugged her way out of Chloé's grip. "I'm guessing that's important to you?"
"It's none of your business, Dupain-Cheng!"
"You know you can't make people forgive you, Chloé. You need to earn it."
"That's not the priority right now!"
Marinette sighed. "Fine. Maybe you should go ask Adrien. He probably knows more about cousin relationships than I do. I don't know if I ever had any."
"Good," Chloé replied shortly as she turned away and left the locker room, leaving Marinette alone. Tikki popped her head out of her holder's purse. "Is it just me, or does Chloé really care about what her cousin thinks of her?"
"There's probably a story there somewhere," Marinette replied as she made her way towards the classroom.
"Adrikins! Adrikins! Oh, good, you're here," Chloé said breathlessly as she rushed up to Adrien and grabbed his arm. "I need a favor. An important one."
"What is it, Chloé?" Adrien asked, shrugging her off his bicep. Chloé took a deep breath. "When you and fake you - I mean, Felix - got into a fight or a disagreement of some kind, how did you make up? What did you do?"
Adrien sighed. "Is this about Amber?" he asked. Chloé turned her eyes away from him, then nodded in defeat. "Yeah."
Adrien rubbed his brow. "Well, we both know Felix isn't Amber, but I guess apologizing would be a great place to start," he suggested. "Usually if we had some time to let each other cool off, it would turn out - and she's gone, isn't she?"
"Yep," Plagg replied, poking out of Adrien's overshirt. "She rushed off as soon as you said 'apologize.'"
Adrien groaned. "I guess all we can do now is hope things will go smoothly from here."
"Amber! Wait!" Chloé yelled as Amber was heading back to the classroom after lunch. Amber sighed, turning towards her cousin. "Yes?"
Chloé nervously bit her lower lip as she searched for the words. "I wanted to say I'm… sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being so touchy lately. I'm sorry for keeping the entire truth from you. I'm sorry I… stained your reputation before you got here. I'm just… I don't… I don't want to…"
"Chloé," Amber interjected, rubbing her temples. "Look. While I do like that you've come to apologize and try to make amends, I just need a little space. Away from you. I don't know how long or how much space I need. But I just need you to leave me alone for a while."
"What?" Chloé asked, her voice cracking. "But… Adrien said it worked when he just apologized-"
"I'm pretty sure he meant to say that apologies are just the beginning," Amber clarified. "Look. Let me build up my reputation around here - without your input or advice on 'how to crush enemies and bend people to your will' - and then we can spend time together. I can help you get better-"
"Maybe I don't want to be better!" Chloé snapped. "Maybe I'm perfect just the way I am. Maybe you're the one who can't see who's gotten worse!"
"I'm trying to help us both, Chloé!" Amber snapped back. "Are you just too short-sighted to see that?! Is that why you helped that supervillain?"
Chloé stepped back, tears of betrayal welling in her eyes. Amber's eyes widened, as if she just realized what she did.
"I - I'm sorry," she muttered. "I should get back to class. Bye, cuz." Shielding her face from Chloé, Amber turned away and quickly went downstairs, leaving a despondent Chloé with her tears ruining her makeup as she ran to the locker room.
"Ah, yes. Chloé, my favorite. How delightful for me, indeed," Hawk Moth said as his window irised open. "Hurt by her own cousin. And the perfect test for my new abilities." He pinned the Peacock Miraculous to his lapel as Duusu materialized in front of him, the kwami's pale crimson eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Is Miss Nathalie okay?" he asked, a slight pang of fear in his voice.
Hawk Moth chuckled. "Nathalie is fine, my little Duusu, just resting. She hasn't fully recovered from what you did to her." Hawk Moth smirked darkly as Duusu's face fell. "Nooroo, Duusu, Unify!"
Blue light overtook Hawk Moth. When it receded, his silver cowl was chromed lapis lazuli. His skin had changed to dark blue, his irises the same pale crimson as Duusu's. His sleeves and pants were midnight blue, tinged with the merest suggestion of purple. Large blue feathers with black pupils and sea green irises were on his back as an emulation of peacock feathers. His cane was in his left hand, his fan in his right.
His smirk not wavering in the slightest, the newly empowered Shadow Moth pulled a feather from his fan, charging it with the Peacock's power as a butterfly floated into his other palm. He quickly corrupted it into an akuma, then sent both on their way with a wave of his fan.
In Ms. Bustier's class, Vorath had been snoozing quietly in Andrew's hoodie pocket. Then his nose twitched, stirring him from his slumber. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent. Yes, he thought. Spicy, yet sweet at the same time. Enticing, but just enough of a stench to put you off until curiosity overwhelmed you. Fusion! Nooroo, Duusu! Oh, boy, Andrew is either gonna be mad or so, so excited.
The kwami gently headbutted his chosen bearer, catching his attention. New power. New villain. New abilities, he mouthed when Andrew glanced down at him.
Andrew smirked darkly as he realized what his kwami meant. "Excuse me, Ms. Bustier," he said. Luckily, the class had just been doing some bookwork. Not terribly interruptive. "May I use the restroom?"
The redheaded teacher nodded once. Unlike Marinette or Adrien, Andrew always returned swiftly from the restroom.
The American boy quickly slipped out of the room. Crossing the distance between the door and stairs in a matter of seconds, he raced down the stairs and into the boys' room, quickly checking to make sure he was alone.
"What's the scoop, bud?" Andrew asked. He hadn't felt his ring slightly tighten around his finger the way it did when a new superpower reared its head. "I didn't feel any akumas nearby."
"Fusion. Ol' Four Eyes decided to finally unify the two Miraculouses he had!" Vorath nearly shouted. His owner's eyes got as wide as dinner plates as a dark chuckle escaped him.
"Which probably means he's going to send out a new supervillain and maybe a sentimonster sooner or later… Vorath, Dragon Up!" Andrew cried, and the golden energy surged over him, transforming him into Dragonus. He had already put Double down on the sink, a smirk hidden behind his faceplate as he grabbed and energized his clone. He quickly transferred the memories over to him.
"Wish I could chat, me, but duty calls! Take over for me for the rest of the day, will you?" Dragonus said as he opened a portal out of the school building. "Oh, who am I kidding? Of course you will!"
Double groaned as he slipped out of the bathroom. "Why must I be so dramatic?"
Chloé stood in front of her locker, tears still dripping down her face as she stared at the picture she kept hidden in there. Amber and herself, both just six years old, playing in the backyard - or garden, as Amber always called it - of the big house in Chelsea where Amber lived. Her mother sat with her brother - Chloé's uncle - and her sister-in-law at a table in the background. Everyone was happy. Before everything fell apart.
Before her mother left.
Before Ladybug had ever shown her face.
Before Ladybug stripped her of the one thing that made her feel the most powerful and in control she'd ever felt in her life.
"It's her fault," she growled as hot tears of anger and sadness rolled down her cheeks. "Ladybug humiliated me. She left me. She made me this monster." She didn't notice the akuma and amok floating into the locker room and sink into the picture.
A solid black version of the combined mask Hawk Moth and Mayura had used together when they akumatized Reflekta for the second time, the time with the sentimonster, lit up Chloé's face, the area around her eyes darkening. The same mask appeared over Shadow Moth's face.
"Antibug, I am Shadow Moth. You want revenge on Ladybug for ruining your relationship with your cousin? I'll give you the power to do so. In return, of course, bring me Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous," the fused villain said. Chloé nodded simply.
"This time, however," Shadow Moth continued, "You will be assisted by Omegabug, your personal sentimonster. It will grant you unlimited use of your power of creation." Again, Chloé nodded. Purple-tinged black smoke covered her slim form as a blue tinged ether cloud formed beside her. When the smoke around Chloé receded, her Antibug suit had taken full form, the only difference being her earrings were now solid red. The blob of smoke next to her turned into a giant black ladybug. Millions of tiny red spots dotted the black of its elytra shell. Its eyes were the same ocean blue as its master's.
"Ladybug," the villainess growled as she climbed on her sentimonster's back. "You'll pay for ruining my life. And if you don't… Paris will." Her sentimonster made an ugly fizzing sound as Antibug flew it out of the school.
"It worked perfectly," Shadow Moth chuckled darkly as he sensed Antibug fly to her first target. "It won't be long before Ladybug and Cat Noir show up to meet their doom!"
"No, it will not. Then you'll get your brand-new feathered butt kicked in once your latest useless victim fails," the familiar accented voice of Dragonus said in his head as a black dragon-shaped energy mask formed over Shadow Moth's face.
"Dragonus," Shadow Moth growled, almost seeing the self-satisfied smirk on the younger villain's face. "How are you able to speak with me?"
"Pixie magic and twilight goddess dandruff, what do you think?" Dragonus snarked. "Did you really think I wouldn't leave a backdoor into your head after absorbing your superpowers? As long as you have your powers, I can bug you as much as I like."
Shadow Moth's sneer turned into a grimace. "I won't be defeated this time, boy."
"Keep telling yourself that, old man. Remember, denial ain't just a river in Egypt. Can't wait to see what your latest villain's power tastes like. Ciao!" Dragonus said cheerfully as he cut off the link.
Shadow Moth shuddered as he regained his bearings. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to give Antibug nearly unlimited power.