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Marinette’s hand hovers over the dragon Miraculous. Does she really want Kagami for this task, or does she want to get Kagami away from Adrien?
What would be best for fighting Heart Hunter? That’s the part that really matters.
She hovers for a bit.
The bee would probably be best to stun them, and as a bonus — it was Chloé’s own family, she would probably feel entitled to being involved. Placating wasn’t the best strategy for dealing with Chloé, admittedly, but Marinette is very, very tired and the bee is best for the job.
She takes the bee Miraculous without second thought.
“A wise choice,” Master Fu comments. “I fear they will be targeting me next. Go carefully.”
Marinette nods and leaves.
“Chloé Bourgeois, this is the Miraculous of the—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’ll give it back afterwards,” Chloé snaps. “Pollen, buzz on!”
Chat Noir is taking on the akuma already when they arrive. He seems a little surprised to see Queen Bee — yeah, okay, Marinette was going back on her word that she wouldn’t give Chloé the Miraculous again. But Kagami’s identity was also public.
(Chloé and Kagami are very different people, and deep down, Marinette knows that Kagami is infinitely more worthy of a Miraculous than Chloé.)
“Venom!” Chloé declares, pouncing on Heart Hunter.
All in all, it’s fairly quick from there to clean up the mess the akuma made.
Chloé fiddles with the comb in the alleyway. “Why’d you give it back?”
“Because the bee Miraculous was needed for this fight,” Marinette says. She could have unified it. She could have selected another. But the bee Miraculous has made incredibly short work of the fight. It probably would have taken longer without paralysis. “That’s all.”
Chloé bites her lip.
“There are a lot of reasons that I said I didn’t want to give you back this Miraculous,” Marinette says. “You tend to be impulsive. You don’t work easily within a team. Your identity is public. But you are effective with the bee Miraculous, even though you have other setbacks.”
“...thanks,” Chloé responds, hands balling into fists. “I just love hearing about all the flaws you think I have.”
“The good news is that it’s always possible to improve,” Marinette says. “Nobody’s perfect.” Least of all Marinette — she very nearly chose the wrong Miraculous for this fight, which probably would have cost them the fight.
“...yeah, especially not you,” Chloé says, “but I’m the closest you can get. I don’t need to improve for you.”
“Don’t do it for me, then,” Marinette replies. “Do it for yourself.”
“And why would I do that, Ladybug?” Chloé asks.
This is why Chloé frustrates Marinette. She’s not even self-aware enough to realize something’s wrong with her.
“I don’t know why you would,” she says. “But you do need to.”
Chloé looks like she’s been slapped. Marinette feels slightly vindictive about that — finally, she’s managed to chip Chloé’s omnipresent emotional armor.
Master Fu isn’t at the movie theater when Marinette arrives to put back the bee Miraculous. She calls Chat.
“I can’t find him,” she says. “I need to return the Bee Miraculous.”
“Bad news, Ladybug,” he says. “Hawk Moth has the box.”
She almost drops her yo-yo. “What?”
“Do you want me to repeat that?” he asks.
“I— no. How do you know that? Where are you?”
“Back at the hotel,” Chat answers. “You’ve still got the bee Miraculous, right?”
“Yeah,” Marinette says, putting it in her hair. “I’m on my way. What’s happening right now?”
“Master Fu put up a shield,” Chat answers. “With the turtle Miraculous. I’m not sure how long it’ll last, though. And I’m not sure how long I can go without getting noticed. Mayura’s attacking it with a sentimonster. And I think Hawk Moth’s probably trying to find someone.”
“Chloé,” Marinette says. It clicks then — she wasn’t supposed to give Chloé the Miraculous. At least, not in Hawk Moth’s plans. He hadn’t counted on that. And now he was looking for the next likely suspect. “Maybe Kagami.”
“Kagami would never,” Chat says.
“You don’t know that,” Marinette answers. How well does he know Kagami? How could he know her well?
That strays too close to speculating on secret identities. She doesn’t want to do that.
“I don’t think she would,” Chat amends.
“I don’t either,” Marinette admits, “but I can’t count the possibility out. Hawk Moth’s probably casting out for a suitable way to do what he’s planning next. I don’t know what the endgame could possibly be, though…”
“I don’t know either,” he says. “Besides taking down Master Fu and stealing the Miraculous.”
With a dive into an alley, they’re face to face. Marinette clicks off her yo-yo. “Okay, let’s do this,” she says. “Hawk Moth doesn’t come out very often. We have to seize this chance.”
“You and me,” Chat says, a callback to one of the last times Hawk Moth decided to show his face in person. “Is it just me, or has he been coming out more often?”
“No, it isn’t just you,” she answers. This is the second time recently; the last time was when she was almost akumatized. She struggles to imagine that every part of that was orchestrated, but he had to have been planning enough for a scarlet akuma to be the goal.
She hates that she’s avoided being akumatized enough for Marinette to be a target. If she had a choice, her civilian persona would be as far out of this as possible. But trouble seems to keep finding her.
“I mean, I know Mayura’s a more active agent, but really,” Chat says, trying to lighten the mode. She doesn’t particularly feel like laughing, though.
“No,” she hears as they turn a corner. “I refuse to accept your offer.”
“You could have as much power as you wanted, though.”
Hawk Moth.
“I will not take it if it comes from you,” Kagami retorts.
Oh, good.
“I know you’re angry that you were suddenly abandoned again,” Hawk Moth says. “I can feel it.”
“I am, but that is something I will discuss with the subject of my anger.”
She sees Chat flinch — just a bit. She decides not to dwell on it for too long.
“Leave me,” Kagami orders. “Or else I will make you.”
Oh no.
Marinette tosses her yo-yo to snag Hawk Moth and tug him backwards. Chat vaults over the two of them to stand in front of Kagami.
“Ladybug!” Hawk Moth declares. “It is your mistake that shall ruin you!”
“I don’t think I’ve made a mistake,” she responds with a smile. “I think it’s you who’s made the mistake. I’ve managed to avoid setting off your plan. You might have found the Guardian, but you’re not going to win this.” She reaches down to take his brooch when a cloud of smoke fills the area.
What?
When the smoke clears, she spots Hawk Moth riding away on that butterfly sentimonster again.
“We were so close,” Chat says. “And he still has the box.”
She looks down at the bee Miraculous. It and the turtle are the only ones left now besides the two they have, and Hawk Moth can now use the Miraculous in his plans.
It’s not a complete disaster. It could be worse. He could have all the other Miraculous. He could have their Miraculous.
Kagami steps up. “Thank you for interfering. I fear what I may have done if he had tried to coerce me further. If he had attempted to akumatize me, I fear what I may have done.”
“We’re always here to protect the citizens of Paris,” Chat responds, placing a hand on Kagami’s shoulder. “And that includes akuma prevention too.”
“I am sorry,” she replies. “I feel as though I could have fought him.”
“He’s more capable than he seems,” Marinette says. “You did well in holding him off.” An akumatized Kagami is a fairly formidable opponent. “His rhetoric can be persuasive, but it’s almost always based off of a misunderstanding.”
“Yes, that’s why I will be speaking to Adrien,” Kagami says. “Whenever he decides to come back…”
“We have to check on Master Fu,” Chat says. He uses his baton to get up onto the roof, and Marinette follows. The shield is still up, and Mayura is still hovering nearby. She must have been the one responsible for the sentimonster.
“Well, we might not be able to get Hawk Moth,” Chat says, “but I think you’d be pretty good too.”
Master Fu drops the Shellter. “I am not what I once was, but I will help you if you need it.”
It’s three against one. Mayura seems to assess the odds and decides running is her best chance, from the way she starts to run away. Marinette looks over at Chat, who nods. The two of them run after Mayura, leaping across rooftops. Mayura leads them around in circles, and eventually they lose her.
“Guess today’s not the day,” Chat says.
“No, I guess not,” Marinette responds. She feels exhausted, after everything. Adrien and Kagami seem to be close to official if not official already, and Marinette’s too physically tired from all the running around to emotionally process that. “Pound it?”
“Pound it,” he responds.