Chapter Text
Ladybug was close to her limit. Akumas were getting harder. Her partner, Chat Noir, was getting more aggressive with his incessant flirting, and sometimes not showing up after the usual heated rejection. She’d hoped that the Justice League would respond to her emergency messages, but so far had not been met with a response.
Ultimate Mecha Strike 3 was her only break. Without it, she didn’t know where she would be. Between the constant pressure of being Ladybug, keeping up with her grades when she repeatedly had to skip class to fight akumas, and arguing with Chat Noir, she wasn’t sure how she found time to play it.
The game had been adding more interactive features to certain modes, so you could communicate with other players.
Marinette had quickly learned that the mode with the most players was English. It took a while, but thanks to some hard work and Duolingo, she became fluent rather easily.
After a particularly grueling fight, Marinette had relaxed into her gaming chair. A player by the name of Demon_Spawn16 was playing pretty well. They were seated top and their score kept getting faster and faster.
She requested to join his game, and he swiftly accepted her request.
“Hi!” She greeted, opting to keep her voice quiet, but loud enough to the point where he could hear her.
“Hello.” The voice greeted back calmly.
“Late night gaming?” She asked casually, wondering if he had the same idea as her.
“Tt. No. It is 7AM where I am.” He responded.
Marinette mentally did the time zone math (Thank you, geography class!) and figured out where he was. Lots of places spoke English after all.
“America?” She asked.
“Maybe.” He said broodily.
“Grumpy Cat.” She laughed, before she could stop herself.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Grumpy cat.” She repeated, laughing even more at his reaction.
“Whatever. Do you want to play the game or not?”
“Sure.”
They quickly dominated all four rounds within 2 minutes.
“Wow, you’re really good!” She praised.
“I suppose you are adequate.” He acknowledged.
They played a few more rounds after that, both of them making small talk, even though they were borderline strangers.
“Um, Do you wanna play with me in the official UMS tournament tomorrow?” She blurted out.
Damian mentally reviewed his schedule for the day. The tournament was in the early afternoon, so he wouldn’t miss anything. Jon was out of town, and he had no plans for the day.
“Sure.”
“It’s totally okay if you don’t want, you don’t have to to-”
“I said yes.” He said, cutting off her rambling.
“Oh. Okay then. Yay!” She giggled.
Damian rolled his eyes at her childish reaction.
“What time is it?” He heard her mutter, then”Ow!”, then a very loud thud.
He scoffed. Obviously, video games had not helped her with coordination. Damian was about to voice these thoughts out loud, when she cut him off before he could speak.
“Fuck off.” He heard her snap.
"Language." He said, the amusement evident in his tone.
“What did you fall on?” He asked, before he could stop himself.
“A table.” She muttered.
At this, Damian smirked.
“Stop that.” She ordered.
“Stop what?” He asked innocently.
“I don’t need to see your face to know you’re smirking. Cut it out.” She grumbled.
Damian was momentarily taken aback by the fact that she was actually right.
“The loud thud in the background was me falling into a split on my right leg. I guess dance when I was ten did come in handy…” She mused.
“Anyway, the tournament’s today, huh? Gotta go and sleep.”
“You are up unusually late.” He commented.
“Yeah, well, not for long. Goodnight…?”
“Damian.” He finished.
“Oh. Good night Damian.”
“Good night…?”
“Marinette. And good night.”
~
The next morning arrived way too quickly. It seemed that she had only just laid down before Marinette was awoken abruptly by her alarm clock. Time to go to school again.
School had changed drastically for Marinette. No one talked to her unless they had to, and even when they did it was anything but kind. She kept her head down, and for the most part, no one would bother her.
Except for today.
It seemed the universe kept laughing at her, repeatedly throwing in obstacles they knew would hurt her. She had never hated anyone more than Chloe, but there was always a first time for everything!
She had been accused of being mean to Lila again, and a coffee had just spilled on her, the perpetrator none other than her least favorite person. She made the mistake of peering at Adrien to his reaction. He just sighed and shook his head. She rushed to the bathroom, and sighed in relief when she realized that just her jacket had been ruined. She could easily wash that anyway.
Suddenly, the akuma alarm sounded.
She sighed. When she found out who Hawk Moth was, she was definitely going to make him pay.
Her blood chilled at the screams of agony from the running people as they fell one by one. It seemed that HawkMoth had akumatized another killer.
No.
She sprinted to the bathroom and looked around to make sure that no one was with her.
“Tikki, Spots on!”
A familiar flash of light filled the room as her suit covered her. She pushed down her uncertainty as she continued. This was going to be a long one.
Ladybug remembered when she first started, how she thought Hawk Moth had no strategy. Things has changed over the next few years, when Hawk Moth figured out that he could akumatize criminals. It started small, with petty thieves and pickpockets. Then it escalated to robbers, and eventually killers.
A man with silver-gray skin and gold eyes greeted her on the roof.
“Ladybug, Chat Noir! Hand over your Miraculous!” He bellowed.
The spotted heroine turned towards her opponent and eyed them cautiously. The first thing she noticed about him was his sword.
The hilt of the sword was an auric gold and had an intricate pattern which matched the brooch on his chest. The deadly blade of the weapon glimmered in the early moonlight, emitting a light that was rather dull, but at the very least, attention grabbing.
Ladybug took a hesitant step back. She was well aware of her limits as her superhero persona, and was also exceptionally alert of the fact that a serial killer had brute force on his side. Sometimes that alone was enough to win any fight. She would have to be strategic, more so than usual. She unhooked her yo-yo from her waist, and hurled it at the nearest rooftop. Time for a regroup.
A shadowy figure landed on the rooftop beside her. She pretended not to hear the obvious thud of leather shoes landing on the rooftop.
“Hello, M’Lady.” Chat Noir attempted to snake his arms around her waist before she gently pushed him off.
“Chat Noir, an akuma is out there killing people!” Ladybug exclaimed.
Chat Noir rolled his eyes and scoffed.
“Duck!” Ladybug hissed.
She shoved his head down and watched in horror as the akuma targeted a group of people hiding.
“Emberling’s the name, thank you for asking.” He simpered.
Dread coursed through her veins as she watched his brand ignite and slowly start steaming.
Ladybug looked away, but the image was already permanently ingrained into her mind. Her resolve strengthened. She was going to defeat this akuma and bring those kids back.
Chat Noir, who just witnessed what she had, yawned and stretched.
Yawned and stretched.
Lately, it seemed like he didn’t care that much about the Parisian citizens. He only showed up to battle to flirt (read:harass) her.
“Lucky Charm!”
A mug warmer with the Justice League Logo on it appeared in her hands.
“Chat Noir, come on!”
“We still on for tonight?” He grinned easily.
“Wha- No!”
“Then there’s your answer.” A very ugly scowl replaced his cheeky grin and he sped off the roof with his baton.
Her blood began to boil. How Ironic. She threw the Lucky Charm down, and scoffed bitterly. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with the Justice League. Not after what they’d done. Rather, what they hadn’t done. She had sent multiple messages to them, pleading for help, only to be dismissed as a prank when they finally got someone on the line. It was degrading, insulting, and humiliating. She refused to reach out once more, despite the mayor’s insistence.
Her attention refocused on Emberling.
She drew her yo-yo once more.
“What makes you think that you, a mere teenager who lacks not only knowledge and experience, but strength and numbers, can defeat me?” He leered at her.
Numbers?
All around her, replicas of Emberling began to form.
.
Memories danced around her like leaves in the wind. The whole class was yelling at her for something that she didn’t even do. Adrien was telling her to take the highroad. Lila had just spilled coffee over her.
Why did she ever think that she was qualified to be a hero?
Bully. Liar. Jealous. Insignificant
Tears began to brim at her eyes, but she quickly blinked them back. She had a job to do. Nothing was interfering with that.
She stood up and faced Emberling.
Faster than she could blink, his sword was brandished.
Knowing she would regret it later, she called for a second Lucky Charm.
A spotted saber appeared in her hand. The intention was clear.
A violent gust of wind blew her hair out of its usual carriers.
She glanced at herself in the mirror of her spotted saber, and grimaced at her reflection. Her midnight hair, which was now out of its red ties, blew in backwards, and her face was covered in cuts and bruises that the Miraculous Cure would definitely not heal. No time to dwell on that.
The duo fought with intensity, but Ladybug could slowly feel her energy draining. She couldn’t keep this up forever. With one last wave of strength, she attempted a disarming move that Kagami had taught her.
By either sheer luck or willpower, the sword clattered out of his hands. Ladybug lunged for the sword.
“No more evildoing for you, little akuma.” She captured the wicked butterfly and released a pure one.
“Miraculous, Ladybug!” A red glow surrounded the city as all the damage was repaired, leaving her even more drained than before. She could barely stand.
Reporters flocked all around her, as she utilized the side wall to steady herself.
“Ladybug! What is your relationship status?” One burly reporter asked.
“Single.” She managed.
She made the mistake of looking into a camera light and was temporarily blinded.
“Ladybug!” A familiar voice cried.
Nadia Chamack. With Alya Cesaire right next to her.
“This has really been a wonderful questionnaire, but I have to leave soon! Bug out!” She heaved her yo-yo at the nearest rooftop then bolted. It was best that she got out of there before she passed out anyway.
~
She made it to her bedroom window and collapsed in her bed.
“Spots off.”
She shot upright when she realized that today was the gaming competition! It was in.. 2 minutes?!
She quickly raised herself out of her bad, all while muttering about how unfair life was as she dragged herself to the console and logged on. A long night was definitely ahead of her.