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Chapter Text

Darksteel quite liked Paris. The bizarre architecture, the chaos of the criss-crossing streets… it was nothing at all like his native Cybertron. If he’d breathed, he’d have said it was a breath of fresh air. And a bit of a laugh.
Paris would likely be nothing more than a smoking ruin now, had the Fallen had his way. He hadn’t – if the rumours were true, he’d quite literally lost face – and so the human race continued.
And, they’d become extremely efficient at finding and killing his kind.
Darksteel had attacked Paris in 2009, when his squad of Decepticons had hunted and captured the parental units of the fleshling Sam Witwicky. They’d remained in the city awaiting new orders, which he realized would never come. Darksteel had no desire to be found and killed, so he had chosen to – as the humans would say – lay low. Luckily, his kind were extremely good at disguise.
The front door of the human dwelling opened, and Darksteel’s adoptive family emerged. One was a large male member of the city’s security forces. The other was a teenage girl who wore ocular lenses, and was always on her phone. She was the offspring of the large male, and appeared to be the servant of the offspring of the city’s ruler.
“…need to get downtown right away, Dad!” she said as they left the house and headed for the driveway. Darksteel stood before them, in full view. The two humans did not see a Decepticon warrior, however; they saw a police car.
“Adrien’s photo shoot starts in twenty minutes, and Chloe…”
“Sabrina, it’s Saturday!” her father said. “Doesn’t that girl ever give you a day off?”
“No,” she said glumly.
“One of these days you’ll need to stand up to that girl,” her father said. He fished in his pocket and produced his car key, and waved it in Darksteel’s direction. Obligingly, the Decepticon started his engine and opened his back doors. Lieutenant Roger Raincomprix shook the key and pointed it again; Darksteel closed his back doors and opened only his passenger-side front door.
“Come on!” Raincomprix said, and he smacked the key against his palm a few times.
“Dad!” Sabrina cried as she climbed into the car.
“Be right there,” her father said. He pointed the key again, and Darksteel opened the driver’s side front door. And popped the hood. Roger groaned in frustration and slammed the hood down.
And Darksteel snapped the driver’s side door shut. And opened the other three. And the trunk.
“Dad, we’ll be late!” Sabrina cried.
“Coming!” her father said as he ran around the car, closing doors as he went before climbing over his daughter and into the driver’s seat.
Darksteel snickered to himself. It was a game he liked to play every now and then, to the human’s annoyance and his amusement. He’d allowed Roger to think his car key could automatically start the engine and open the doors, and most of the time he’d act exactly the way his ‘owner’ wanted. Every now and then, however, he’d mess with him a little bit. The trick was in knowing how much was too much; the last thing he wanted was for the human to bring him to a mechanic.
“Sorry about that,” Roger said as he settled in and reversed out of the driveway. “The key gets disorderly sometimes. Where are we going, again?”
“The Eiffel Tower, Dad,” Sabrina told him.
“Right, right.”
Darksteel hated going to the Tower. Not for the monument itself – it reminded him of the Celestial Spires back on Cybertron – but because it was one of several locations around the city where an energon detector had been placed. Installed in 2010 by N.E.S.T., they’d been used to hunt down and neutralize Decepticons around the globe. Darksteel had survived by keeping his power output low, using his higher functions sparingly. When Lieutenant Raincomprix pumped him full of that filthy fossil-fuel, he allowed it into his system and processed it the way an ordinary car would. He hadn’t even assumed his true form in years, and thus remained undetected when all the other Decepticons he’d been stationed with had been captured or killed.
Darksteel intended to keep it that way.
Decepticon leadership was no more, so this paltry existence was his life now. He survived, but he longed for the sense of purpose the cause had given him. Wouldn’t it be fun, he thought, if things were to change?
Later that week, things did.

“Miraculous!” cried the big purple mouth-monster.
If Darksteel’s optics had been capable, they would have widened. He’d seen some strange things in this city, but this…
“Yes, I’ll help you,” Lieutenant Raincomprix said to the human in the banana costume, “but keep that bike on the sidewalk, ok?”
The banana-clad human rode off. Raincomprix positioned his car between the banana and the approaching creature.
For a moment, Darksteel considered breaking cover. Before he could, however, the purple monster fired out its tongue and latched on to him, then yanked him off the street and into its mouth.
Darksteel found himself floating in a void. There were bubbles all around him, some big and some small, each containing an object the creature had swallowed. It was as if it had its own private universe inside its stomach, a trans-dimensional realm for its intake. Which derailed the Decepticon’s plan to blast his way out.
Darksteel wasn’t overly concerned; he scanned the news on a regular basis, and knew the creature was the sort of problem the super-humans dealt with. He’d scoffed when he’d first learned of Ladybug and Cat Noir, and thought the words super human was a contradiction in terms. He’d found himself impressed with their triumphs, however. Humans may have been weak, under-evolved pests, but they did continue to surprise.
Nevertheless, he had no intention of relying on their efforts. Darksteel did a scan of the area, looking for something that might prove useful in facilitating his escape. He did not find much, and was about to shut off his scanner when he made an extraordinary discovery. One of the bubbles was giving off a Cybertronian signal. On a Decepticon frequency. And the object within the bubble… an artifact… Power.
Darksteel transformed, and started in the direction of that bubble. The atmosphere of the void behaved like a liquid, allowing him to swim through it. He kicked his legs faster and faster, his mind racing. There were legends about planet Earth, about the many Cybertronian artifacts supposedly lost upon its surface. Some of those legends had been proven true – the Allspark, the Star Harvester, the space bridge pillars…
And now… was it possible? His favourite story was of a quintet of Decepticons who’d stolen an object of incalculable power, a key to things beyond science… the Shadow Matrix.
The closer he came, the clearer the picture became. He saw three statues in a circle, reaching for an object in the centre…
There was a loud pop, and Darksteel found himself back in Paris. He was right on the spot where he’d been taken from, next to a startled-looking Lieutenant Raincomprix. He’d also been returned to his vehicle form.
Darksteel knew immediately what must have happened. Ladybug had triumphed over the creature, and everything it had eaten had been restored. He roared with frustration, barely disguising it as an engine rev. The power had been so close, and it was lost once more.
“Whoa there, easy!” Raincomprix said, patting his hood. “Everything’s okay now. And I’m talking to my car. Hah!” He climbed in and drove off, and Darksteel looked forward to more days of mundane existence.
But then he saw the news.
“…Monastery just appeared out of nowhere,” the newscaster said. “Tibetan authorities are at a loss to explain…”
But Darksteel was at no such loss. The monastery had been restored, as had everything else the creature had eaten or destroyed.
Further news reports revealed three statues near the monastery, gathered around a rectangular object. Darksteel compared his scans of the object within the magical creature against the image in the news report, and found a match.
Which meant…
The Shadow Matrix was his for the taking! This very night, he would set out for Tibet and…
No, that would not be wise. It would be a long trip, with who knew how many energon detectors between here and there. He would risk discovery, capture, death.
But perhaps, Darksteel thought, I can have it brought to Paris. After all, he wasn’t the only one in the city with an interest in powerful and ancient artifacts. That villain, Hawkmoth… he’d used his Akumas on many people in the city, including the members of the Raincomprix family, and always instructed them to bring him the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Cat Noir. He would be interested in obtaining the Shadow Matrix, if he thought there was a connection to the items he sought.
Then there was the Ladybug blog. The creator, Alya Cesaire, had done extensive research into the history of the Miraculouses. If she made that connection…
Perhaps, Darksteel mused, I can ‘akumatize’ them, and have them work for me.
Time to do what Decepticons did best.
Deceive.

Chapter Text

“Don’t forget to get your permission slips signed by a parent or legal guardian,” Miss Bustier said as she passed out the form in question to her class. “The bus leaves for the museum at 9:00 AM sharp, so no sleeping in. I’m looking at you, Nino.”
“Huh, wha… yeah,” Nino’s head rose quickly from his arms. “Nine AM, bright and early, dude.”
Marinette folded her permission slip and tucked it into her book bag. Alya was trying to tell her about some new exhibit that would be on display at the same museum, but Marinette was only half paying attention. The same way she’d only half-paid attention in class all week. Heck, even her obsession with Adrien wasn’t preying on her mind the way it usually did.
Not since her battle with Cat Blanc.
Whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was the ruin of Paris. The destroyed Eiffel Tower, the flood on the streets, the cracked Moon…
Her partner’s face, twisted with Akumatized evil.
And it had been her fault. Yes, she’d set it right again; that terrible future was not going to happen. She’d corrected her mistake…
…but because she’d made that mistake in the first place…
Marinette closed her hands into fists. She was Ladybug, a superhero responsible for the lives of everyone in the city. She couldn’t afford to make a mistake. Not even a small one.
A small one had destroyed everything and everyone she cared about.
“Hey, girl,” Alya said, gently placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder.
“Aah!” Marinette cried as she was wrenched back to reality.
“Girl!” Alya said, jumping back.
“Everything all right, Marinette?” Miss Bustier asked.
“I saw a spider,” Marinette thought of saying. “I’m just excited about the trip,” also went through her mind. But what she actually said was:
“I’m fine.”
Miss Bustier nodded and resumed handing out permission slips.
“Talk to me,” Alya whispered to her friend. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” Marinette whispered back, and looked away. By coincidence, she happened to look in Adrien’s direction.
“Ah, I see,” Alya said. “Still bummed you didn’t get to tell Adrien how you feel? Don’t worry, you’ll get another chance.”
“Mmm, hmm,” Marinette replied.
That’s it, Alya thought. I am getting those two together, no matter what. Maybe there’ll be an opportunity during tomorrow’s trip…?
Alya went back to her Tableau. She had the museum’s website up, but was not looking at the details of the lecture on Arthurian legends they were going to attend. Her focus was on something else.
Beside her, a billion kilometers away, Marinette continued to ruminate. The whole city, in her hands… was she still strong enough to be Ladybug? Did she still deserve to be? Tikki would say yes. So would Master Fu. And Cat Noir would not only say yes, he’d say there was no one else in the world who could be Ladybug. She’d like hearing that, but was it true?

It wasn’t until after school that Marinette began to take in what Alya had been trying to show her.
“The exhibit, I think it’s connected to the Miraculouses,” Alya said, holding her Tableau for her best friend to see. “Look at these markings on it.”
Marinette glanced. The artifact was a rectangular stone roughly half the size of a couch. She could see symbols on it that could be Miraculous symbols, but there were also several she didn’t recognize.
Nearby, Lieutenant Raincomprix pulled up to the curb in his police cruiser. His daughter pried herself away from Chloe by the school’s main entrance and ran toward the car.
“Looks cool,” Marinette asked. Her friend was really excited, and she wanted to show some interest.
“If you think that’s cool,” Alya said, “check this out.” She pinched the image on the screen, zooming out to reveal three ugly statues standing around the stone rectangle. “According to the legend, three demons tried to take it, and they were turned to stone. That’s what happens to anyone who tries to claim it for ill intent.”
Raincomprix’s cruiser let off a thrudding engine noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter…
“Daddy,” said Sabrina Raincomprix as she climbed into the passenger seat, “the car is still making that noise.”
“I’m making a post about it tonight,” Alya leaned in conspiratorially. “I’m gonna call it… the CyberMiraculous!”
The police car made the laugh sound again as it drove off…

Chapter Text

Alya Cesaire pushed gently but firmly, closing the distance. The recipient of her pushing – one Marinette Dupain-Chang – put up more than a token resistance. Their target – one Adrien Agreste – sat alone in his row of the Thomas Budiansky World History Museum’s auditorium, unaware of the drama approaching him.
“He’s probably holding seats for his friends, or maybe he wants to sit alone today,” Marinette sputtered as her friend guided her toward the empty seat on Adrien’s left.
“Uh huh,” said Alya, who’d heard it all before. “I guess you’re about to find out.”
She was so focused on getting Marinette into the seat next to her crush that she didn’t realize she was being flanked. Movement caught her eye, and she turned and saw two girls hopping over the rows of seats. One of those girls was Sabrina Raincomprix, who carried the other girl – Chloe Bourgeois – over her head. Sabrina leapt nimbly as a ninja from armrest to chairback to fellow student’s shoulder (“Sorry!”) in a beeline for that same seat beside Adrien.
“Oh no you don’t!” Alya said, and pushed her friend harder.
“Faster!” Chloe snapped at her friend.
And there was another complication – Adrien’s bodyguard. Perhaps he’d seen two sets of girls heading for his charge, because he came cannonballing from the right on a path to intercept them.
And then there was Lila Rossi, who sat one row behind and two seats to the left of Adrien. She took in the three incoming variables and decided to add a 4th variable – her history textbook. She pushed it with her foot, sliding it under the chair in front of her until it was directly in Marinette and Alya’s path.
Alya tripped. Marinette fell forward. Sabrina dropped. The bodyguard lunged. Chloe landed. Adrien looked up…
The dust settled.
“Well, Adrikins,” said Chloe from the chair next to Adrien. “Wasn’t that ridiculous?”
The bodyguard held Sabrina down face-first on the floor. Alya was under her. Marinette…
Marinette had landed on the bodyguard’s bum. She blinked in surprise; how had that happened?
“Hey, is everyone okay?” Adrien addressed the pile of humanity in front of him.
“Mmph!” said Sabrina.
“Mmph!” added Alya.
“Hrrm,” suggested the bodyguard.
“Eww…” said Marinette, and she rose quickly from the bodyguard’s rear end. She didn’t think he’d been that concerned for Adrien’s safety…
“If we could all take our seats,” Miss Bustier said from the lectern at the Auditorium’s stage, “the presentation will begin shortly. I understand Professor Wembley had some difficulty with her travel plans, but she will be with us in…” she looked to the curator, who stood to the side of the stage with a phone pressed to his ear. He looked up, and raised a hand. “…five minutes. No?” The Curator pressed the phone between his cheek and shoulder, and held up two more fingers with his free hand. “Seven minutes. Until then please stay in your seats and don’t wander off. The museum is preparing a special exhibit today, and their security is not to be trifled with. Seriously, stay away from the Tibet wing. Thank you.”
“Well,” said Adrien. “That sounds… serious.”
“Oh, it is,” Chloe replied. “It’s this statue/artifact thing that was found in that Tibet monastery. You know, the one that appeared out of nowhere a few months ago?”
“Really?” said Marinette, who’d taken a seat beside Adrien’s bodyguard. “That’s where it came from?” She remembered the day very well – she and Cat Noir had defeated Feast, and saved Master Fu in the process. Fu had left for the monastery shortly afterward – did he know about this?
“That’s the thing I was trying to tell you about yesterday,” Alya told Marinette. “Remember?”
Marinette opened her mouth to speak, then closed it.
“Apparently an anonymous doner provided millions of Euros to finance the exhibit.” Alya had taken the seat beside Sabrina, who sat beside Chloe. Both girls looked slightly dishevelled after their run-in with the bodyguard; Sabrina rubbed her arm and stared at the floor.
“I’m close to figuring out who it is,” Alya went on. “There are only so many multimillionaires in this city…
“It was my Daddy!” Chloe stated. “He worked really hard to get it brought here.”
“He handled the arrangements, yes,” Alya agreed. “But he didn’t put up the money to get it shipped here.”
“Well, Daddy did the important part,” Chloe said. “He’ll be unveiling it next week. There’ll be a ceremony and everything.”
“Where is it right now?” Marinette wanted to know. She also knew a few millionaires who might have made the donation. If the artifact had indeed come from the same monastery as Master Fu – the one that had housed the Miraculouses…
“They’re setting up the exhibit as we speak,” Alya told her. “Which I told you they were going to do. When I told you all about it. Yesterday.”
Marinette nodded miserably. Why hadn’t she listened? Well, she knew why – her head hadn’t been in the right place. No excuse, she told herself. But maybe she could make up for it now.
“Okay, Alya, I’m ready to listen,” she said. “Please, tell me about…”
“Quiet now, students,” Miss Bustier said. “Professor Wembley has arrived.”

Professor Vivian Wembley swerved out of traffic and into the museum parking lot, grateful she was only twenty minutes late. It should not have been so; when the invitation to speak at the Thomas Budiansky World History Museum had arrived, she’d made her travel bookings within minutes of putting the phone down. A flight from Heathrow and a quick taxi ride – what could have been simpler? The day before her departure, however, she’d checked and found her plan had been drastically changed. The flight booking had been cancelled, replaced by the ferry! Her attempts to change her plan came to nothing; there were no seats available for Paris, from any airline! Even the Channel Tunnel Train – the Eurostar – was solidly booked up. Vivian had had no choice but to hop in her car and drive like mad to the ferry dock in Dover. Then she’d spent three hours on the choppy Channel water, with nothing to do but drink overpriced cocktails and try not to throw up.
She’d also tried booking TGV train tickets for the last leg of her journey, only to be stonewalled there, too. It was as if some otherworldly force was making sure she went to Paris in her car.
Still, she thought as she swung into a parking spot, she was only going to be fashionably late. Vivian did a quick makeup check, then left her car and hurried inside.

In the parking lot, Hot Rod watched as his charge Vivian Wembley ran into the building. He’d had a positronic panic attack when he’d discovered her travel plans; how was he supposed to protect her if she was in another country? He felt badly about the stress he’d caused her by hacking all travel sites and rearranging things, but he’d made a promise to the Order of the Witwickans to keep her safe, and that was just that.
He scanned the police bands, looking for any hint of trouble. The accents of the French police were positively adorable to his audio receptors; he’d added the accent to his vocal circuitry database, should the need to speak the French language arise.
There was a report of a truck driving dangerously through traffic…
“What’s this? Parking in the handicapped spot?”
A police officer approached, a book of tickets in his hand. Hot Rod checked his surroundings, and noticed that Vivian had indeed parked him in a handicapped parking space.
Primus give me strength, Hot Rod thought as the cop slapped a ticket down on his hood.
“And parked over the line! That’s two infractions,” the officer said. “This calls for the Clamp!”
The officer hurried over to his police car, which was idling nearby…

Darksteel snickered to himself as lieutenant Raincomprix applied the Clamp to the black British car. He was always amused when the human authorities abused their power. Their species would need to get used to that sort of thing when their world was conquered.
Which would happen very, very soon. It had taken a lot of work, but he’d managed to manipulate the humans into bringing the Shadow Matrix to Paris, practically dropping it in his lap! He’d even managed to contact a few Decepticons to back him up, should any Autobots or TRF appear; Dreadbot, Mohawk, and a couple other thugs. He’d been very choosy – no way he wanted to include a ‘bot more powerful than he was! The prize was his; they got to tag along.
He checked the police band for vehicular disturbances, and noted a few not far away. His squad was coming. Very soon now, he thought, the Shadow Matrix will be mine!

“The CyberMiraculous will be mine!” Gabriel Agreste said as he entered his chamber. “Puri, darkwings rise!”
His Quami did her duty, and moments later Hawkmoth stood tall.
“Nathalie,” he tapped his microphone, “are you and the girl in position?”
“We are ready to do your will, as always,” she replied in his ear.
“Good,” Hawkmoth paused, gathered his thoughts. “You will not need to be Myura for long…”
“Understood. Nathalie out.”
Hawkmoth stiffened. There was such a thing as too much loyalty. Every time she used the damaged Peacock Miraculous it made her weaker. One day it would kill her. She knew this, yet every time he asked her to become Myura, she never refused.
He wondered if his other agent at the museum would be as loyal…

“Do we really believe these legends?” Vivian said, gesturing at her projected image of Camelot. “Did dragons once swoop from the sky at the behest of Merlin, and breathe fire upon the enemies of King Arthur’s court? I’d tell you to decide for yourselves, but come on, we’re all smart enough to see legends for what they are: horse manure.”
The audience of high-schoolers laughed, and Miss Bustier blushed. Vivian had tried to tone down her use of expletives for the age group, but French wasn’t her first language. Nevertheless, he had the children’s full attention.
Except for one girl in the middle, who was not-so-subtly shifting seat-to-seat towards the exit…

Marinette listened attentively to the speaker, glad to have something to focus on that was not Adrien. Or his bodyguard.
There was a buzzing behind her, and she turned her head to see Lila checking her phone. Typical, she thought, and returned her attention to the speaker.
Then, Lila started to leave. Shifting from seat to seat, she moved slowly but inexorably toward the aisle. And the exit.
Where, Marinette wondered, is she going?
Maybe, she further thought, I should find out. My Ladybug senses are tingling…
She got up, and began to follow.

Bloody hell, Vivian thought. There goes another one! None of my professors would have put up with that kind of rubbish.
So why should she?
“Oh, hello,” she said, as if she’d only just noticed. “Am I boring you?”

Marinette was so focused on following Lila (and on not tripping over anyone’s feet) that she didn’t immediately notice that all eyes were on her.
“Psst!” Juleka hissed as Marinette passed her. “Look,” she pointed forward.
Marinette had been about to place her foot in an open spot surrounded by a bag, chair legs and feet. She turned her head to see the speaker, who stared right at her.
“Yes, you,” Professor Wembley said. “I’d hate to think my presentation is boring you.”
Marinette felt her face go red. She smiled sheepishly. And put her foot down in the wrong place.
“Ow!” said her friend.
“Whoop!” said Marinette. And down she went. “Ha, ha!” she added, standing back up with the strap of a bookbag caught around her head. The bag itself snagged under a chair, and down she went again.
Juleka tried to help. Chloe and Sabrina smirked. Alya put her face in her hands.
“No, no, I’m not bored, far from it!” Marinette said as she made another attempt at joining the vertical plane. “I’m fascinated, really!”
“Then why don’t you tell us,” said a very cross Miss Bustier, “what Professor Wembley was just saying?”
“Oh. Ha ha! Right,” Marinette said. “Something about the way the knights handled horse manure?”
The laughter that filled the auditorium wasn’t quite infectious enough to amuse Miss Bustier. Professor Wembley, on the other hand, found it hard to keep a straight face.
“Sit down, Miss Dupain-Cheng,” Miss Bustier said. “I’ll see you after the presentation.”
Marinette sat down, then slumped as low as possible. She cast a glance at the exit, but Lila was long gone.

Lila smirked as she hurried through the museum. She’d worried her exit might be noticed, but that klutz Marinette had caused enough of a distraction for her to slip out unseen.
Really, it was nothing short of miraculous.
But now she had to focus. Hawkmoth was counting on her, and he was not the kind of person who thrived on disappointment.
Up ahead was the Tibet wing. And a pair of security guards.
“Hold it, young lady,” one of them said. “This wing is closed until…”
Lila raised her phone. Hawkmoth had told her to expect security, and to show them the QR code he’d sent her. The other guard scanned the code, and both guards’ eyes widened.
“That… will do nicely,” one of them said, and they stood aside and let her through.
Wow, Lila thought. Whoever Hawkmoth is, he’s connected!
She made her way through the Tibet wing to the back, where the exhibit was being prepared. There was a huge cloth covering a large section; Lila ducked under, then approached the centre of a stone dais. There was a rectangular mound in the middle, a mixture of crystal, rock and metal, covered in symbols she didn’t recognize.
Is this it? She thought. It was a cool prize, for sure, but given the size of the area under the sheet, she’d been expecting something a bit more epic. Well, if Hawkmoth wants it, he can have it.
“I’m in,” she said after dialing the villain in question.
“You are certain?” Hawkmoth said. “A stone box, surrounded by three statues…”
“Statues?” Lila said. “There’s just a lump of sparkly rock. I don’t see any…”
And then she did. Some instinct made her look up, and then she knew why the sheet area was so large. Three stone statues loomed over her, their arms outstretched, reaching down for her. Their faces…
“Gaah!” Lila cried. She’d never seen something so terrifyingly alien.
“I take it you’ve seen them now?” Hawkmoth said.
“Yes. They’re… quite striking,” Lila said, regaining her composure.
“I imagine they are,” Hawkmoth said. “I’ll tell Mayura to send an Amok. You know what to do when it arrives.”
“Yes I do,” Lila reached into her pocket and took out a roll of black lipstick. It would be perfect to control the Sentimonster, and less obvious than her phone.
“Call me when your Sentimonster is on its way,” Hawkmoth said, and hung up.
Lila put her phone away.
Just then, the museum suddenly shook as if it had been hit by a missile…

Chapter Text

Moving like missiles, an odd assortment of vehicles screamed into the museum parking lot: a couple of motorcycles; a VW Bus; a black SUV; a pickup truck; an olive sports car; and an American police car. Couldn’t he at least have scanned locally? Darksteel thought as he regarded the last one. Then he looked closer at the side of the car, and recognized the motto To Punish and Enslave.
“Barricade?” Darksteel said as the vehicles parked all around him. “What are you doing here? I didn’t summon you.”
“But I am here, Darksteel,” Barricade replied.
“Well, this is my operation,” Darksteel said. “You will follow my orders, understood?”
“I think not,” Barricade said. “And this is not your operation any longer. It’s his.”
“His?” Darksteel was aware of movement behind him. A flatnose truck approached at speed, then suddenly disintegrated into millions of tiny cubes. “What the…?” The tiny cubes combined into a new shape; a huge silver robotic warrior with a hole in his chest and a fist ready to strike. Darksteel had no time to react before the robot punched through his roof, smashing a hole right the way through him while crushing his chassy at the same time.
“Wretched upstart,” Galvatron said. “No one commands the Decepticons but me.”

Decepticons? Hot Rod thought. Here?
The one with the chest hole seemed to be in charge. Hot Rod watched as all the vehicles surrounding the ruined police car reformatted – 8 in total. Not great odds at all. Still, with the element of surprise…
He started to transform, but couldn’t. He tried again – no luck. Something was stuck…
The Clamp! It was in exactly the wrong place. If it had been anywhere else, he could reconfigure and toss the stupid thing aside. As it was, however, a key part of his transformation sequence was blocked.
This can NOT be happening, Hot Rod thought as the Decepticons charged past him and into the museum.

“Decepticons, attack!” Galvatron roared, firing plasma blasts indiscriminately into the foyer. “Bring me that trinket Darksteel was so eager to get his hands on.”
Most of the Decepticons followed their leader, destroying priceless antiques as they went. One of them, however, headed for the Auditorium.

In the parking lot, Nathalie slid out of her car.
“Duusu, spread my feathers!” she said, and became Mayura. The appearance of the giant robots had frightened her, but their presence changed nothing. She had a job to do, and Gabriel was counting on her.
She took a feather from her fan, turned it into an Amok, and sent it on its way.

Vivian paused in her lecture, and all the students turned to look toward the doors. It sounded as if a tank had burst into the museum and started a war.
Or an Akumatized supervillain, Marinette thought.
The doors exploded, sending metal, wood and glass shrapnel in every direction. One piece hit Miss Bustier in the leg, and she screamed and went down. Three pieces imbedded themselves into the bodyguard’s back, but he hardly noticed. He’d thrown himself on top of Adrien; if not for his quick reflexes, his charge would have been killed.
A small piece of door handle hit Vivian a glancing blow to the head, and she fell from the podium.
Keeping a hand on Adrien’s back, the bodyguard rose to one knee and aimed his gun at the destroyed doorway. What he saw there made him pause and, for just a moment, reconsider his life choices.
Marinette also looked up from behind her chair, and saw what he saw.
“What… is that?” she gasped.
Standing in the doorway, shrouded in smoke and ash and dust, stood a snarling beast that was equal parts metal and nightmare. Spittle flew from a mouth full of jagged teeth. Spikes and blades extended from every part of its body. At the end of its long arms were claws that looked like they could rip through a wall of solid diamond. It’s eyes blazed red and evil.
“Children!” it roared. “I am Berserker. And I want to play.”
The bodyguard opened fire. The students screamed and ran every which way. Berserker roared and flung a chunk of debris that hit the bodyguard in the head. He went down, falling once again on Adrien.
Beside them, Marinette ducked under a chair.
“Tiki,” she said as she popped open her purse, “spots on!”

Galvatron was pleased; it appeared Darksteel’s information had been spot on. He drove through several exhibits into the Tibet wing, disintegrated into his transition form of small cubes, and flew all around the object of his desire. The humans thought they could hide this prize from his sensors with a cloth?
Galvatron re-formed into robot mode and snatched the sheet off. There it was, surrounded by three statues. Statues that looked familiar…
There was also a lone human girl.
“Begone, tiny fleshling,” he said, “or face the wrath of Galvatron!”

Lila looked up into the metal face of the being looming over her. Hawkmoth hadn’t said anything about this!
Behind the one who’d called himself Galvatron, she saw several more robotic monsters approaching. Time to leave, she thought, as she backed against one of the statues.
The Amok arrived and went into that statue, engulfing it in a black cloud. Then it changed, and grew.
It also came to life.
“What on Cybertron?” Galvatron said, a moment before an enormous claw arm swatted him away.
The senti-monster continued to grow, and smashed up through the ceiling.
“Gaah!” cried a museum-goer in the parking lot. “It’s Mothra!”
His choice of monster was understandable; the sentimonster had the appearance of a giant insect. Its head had two bulbous eyes and mandibles for a mouth, and two enormous wings protruded from its back. The rest of its body appeared humanoid, including its right arm. The creature turned its head to regard the man in the parking lot, then drove its claw arm down and through his car’s roof.
“Not ‘Mothra’,” it rasped to the terrified human. “Bugly!”

“Bugly?!?” Hawkmoth spat. “Who gave that sentimonster permission to choose its own name? Nathalie!”

“I don’t know!” Mayura shouted as she watched the sentimonster fling the car off its claw arm. “It should be under Lila’s control. Something is wrong!”

“Sumpthin’s wrong,” one of the Decepticons said, staring at the hole in the wall that Galvatron had been smashed through.
“No scrap, Mohawk!” snapped another. “We gotta get outta here.”
“You will do no such thing, Dreadbot,” Barricade said. “You and Mohawk assist Galvatron. Oil Pan, Brimstone, help me load the CyberMiraculous onto Dropkick.”
Dropkick transformed back into his pickup truck mode and parked beside the statues.
“What is this?” Bugly, who was now the size of a small building, looked down at the scene below him. “That looks… important.” He reached a hand down and closed it around the CyberMiraculous, only to have his fingers shot by several bolts of plasma.
“That,” Barricade shouted at him, “is Decepticon property! Destroy that thing,” he called to his troops.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Bugly said, and he unleashed a ball of flame from his mandibles. Barricade leapt out of the way; Brimstone and Oil Pan were not so lucky.
The Cybermiraculous, having fallen from Bugly’s hand, had landed in Dropkick’s cargo bed. Before the Decepticon could take advantage of the situation, however, one of the statues fell over and landed hard on his windscreen.
“Ung!” Dropkick said, and suffered a system shutdown.
Nearby, Lila emerged from cover and ran toward the reconfigured Decepticon.
“Now’s my chance,” she said.

“You have no chance!” Berserker cried, and swung his arm at the red blur bounding toward him.
“You have no balance!” Ladybug shot back, ducking the metal arm and snagging the Decepticon’s leg with her yo-yo. With one mighty tug, she brought the enraged robot down.
“Raahh!” Berserker roared, spraying the auditorium with petroleum spittle. He lunged at Ladybug, who leapt up and barely got out of the way. Berserker crashed through the wall, and lay stunned in the lobby.
Ladybug looked back at the crowd. There were a number of injured people, but those who could were running for the emergency exits. Alya and Miss Bustier seemed to be helping them. Hopefully emergency services would arrive soon to help…
There was a loud crumbling sound, and an accompanying roar. Now what? She wondered.
Berserker stirred. Then he grabbed the yo-yo cord and yanked hard. Ladybug yelped as she was pulled off her feet and out into the lobby.
“New toy!” Berserker said, and he spun Ladybug around the lobby and smacked her into a wall. Then he yanked again, flinging the dazed Ladybug right at him. Before she could react, the Decepticon drove his fist into her face and sent her flying once more.
“Fun toy!” Berserker cried, and tugged her back for another round.

Adrien felt like he’d gone several rounds with his sparring instructor, who’d finished him off with a building. That building turned out to be his bodyguard, who was out cold with a bruised and swelling face. He was still alive, but wouldn’t be reporting to work anytime soon.
Adrien took in his surroundings. The auditorium was a mess, and his class were making for the exit. And there was a fight going on in the lobby.
No one was looking in his direction…
“Plag, claws out!”
A moment later, Cat Noir was on the prowl. He pounced through the ruined auditorium and into the lobby, his pole ready for attack.
His eyes widened in horror. Not only was the robotic menace something out of his worst nightmares, but Ladybug…
Ladybug looked awful. The robot swung her by her own yo-yo, treating her like his own personal cat toy. She’d taken some nasty hits…
Well, no more!
“Hey, ugly!” he cried.
Berserker turned, and roared at the new challenger.
“Whoa, roar it, don’t spray it,” Cat Noir said, and assumed a defensive stance. “With breath like that…”
Berserker swung Ladybug around in an arc, aiming for Cat Noir. The dark feline smiled; he’d anticipated that very attack. He leapt to the side just as Ladybug reached him, catching her instead of being smacked by her. At the same time, he wrapped the yo-yo cord around his pole. With Ladybug over his shoulder, he landed feet first (of course) and swung his pole with all his might. Berserker suddenly found himself becoming the cat toy; he flew at Cat Noir, and took the pole in the face. Berserker fell away at speed, and smashed through the entranceway and into the parking lot.
Cat Noir laid Ladybug down and assessed her injuries. She looked beaten up, but she was still breathing. In fact, she seemed to be coming around.
“Wakey, wakey, Bugaboo,” Cat Noir said. “No time for a catnap now.”
“C… Cat Noir?” she said.
There was a roar from outside, and a car flew into the lobby and just missed them.
“Stay here,” Cat Noir said. “I’ve gotta go dance with Ugly again.”
Cat Noir bounded away, leaving Ladybug to recover next to the crushed police car…

Hawkmoth wanted to police the situation, which was almost beyond salvaging. It had seemed such a simple plan: have Lila in position next to the CyberMiraculous, have Mayura create a Sentimonster under Lila’s control; then have Lila order the Sentimonster to snatch up the CyberMiraculous and take it away. The artifact would be reported as stolen, and he could lay claim to it without Gabriel Agreste being a suspect.
But the Sentimonster wasn’t responding to Lila or Mayura’s control. And then there were the robots…
Robots! Where had they come from? And what did they want with the CyberMiraculous?
And… Hawkmoth realized he’d never really questioned the anonymous tip that had made him aware of the CyberMiraculous in the first place…
Thoughts for another time. Right now, he had a situation to salvage.
“Mayura, whatever that statue was, it is still a sentimonster! You can control it. Focus!”
“Hear me, Bugly,” Mayura said, addressing the sentimonster. “I order you to obey your master.”
Then she jumped, just as the huge claw smashed her own car.
“I don’t take orders from fleshlings,” Bugly said, and tried to crush Mayura, using her car on its claw as a hammer.
“It won’t respond,” Mayura cried as she leapt to evade the creature. “Shall I destroy it?”
“We need it to carry the CyberMiraculous,” Hawkmoth said. “You must regain control.”
“I tried…”
“Then try harder!” Hawkmoth shouted. He hated himself for it – Nathalie was doing her best, and the broken Peacock Miraculous was killing her – but he saw no other alternative. If there was only someone at the museum he could Evilize, but there wasn’t an emotion strong enough.
And then, there was. It was a mind unlike any he’d seen before, and a moment’s peering into that mind revealed it to be one of those robots! Images from a life beyond the stars came to him…
And, this robot wanted the Cybermiraculous.
Hawkmoth held out his palm, and summoned a butterfly.

“You are less to me than a buzzing fly!” Berserker said, swinging an arm that Cat Noir just barely ducked under.
“Flies don’t sting,” the black-clad crusader replied, “but I do.” He pounced upward and swung his pole, smacking the Decepticon in the back. Berserker fell forward and struck his head on a school bus – the same bus that had brought the superhero and his classmates to the museum. The Decepticon tried to stand, only to be tripped up by Cat Noir once more.
Nearly time for a Cataclysm, he thought, and he bashed Berserker’s head once more for good measure.
“Stay down, ugly,” he said. “You’re so big and dumb, how do you expect to beat me?”
A metal fist struck him from behind and sent him flying.
“The big, dumb ugly one,” said Barricade, “has allies.”
Cat Noir lay dazed on the concrete, watching as the second robot approached. It raised an arm, which transformed into what could only have been a weapon.
This is cataclysmic, he thought, as the robot took aim and fired.
Suddenly, a black car screeched to a halt right in front of him. It took the blast on its passenger-side door, and the impact flipped it over onto its roof. Onto Cat Noir’s legs.
“Oof!” Cat Noir said.
And so did the car.
Barricade stared in puzzlement at the car’s unexpected intervention. Then he shrugged and took aim once more.
A shadow fell on him. And then an enormous foot kicked him right through the schoolbus.
“Bugly obeys no one!” the giant insectoid sentimonster said as it writhed around, oblivious to the Decepticon it had just punted. “No one!”
What, a weary Cat Noir thought, is that all about?
And why did the car on top of him say, oof?
“Human…” the car said. “You are in trouble!”

“Get up, Galvatron!” Dreadbot said, and got a fist in his face for his trouble.
“Do no presume to give me orders,” the Decepticon commander said as he rose from the rubble. “What hit me?”
“That mofo!” Mohawk said, pointing his spindly arm up at the hole in the museum roof. “He just grew outta this statue and bam! Calls itself Bugly.”
“Bugly?” Galvatron looked up at the sentimonster. Then he turned and looked at the remaining statue. “Mindwipe… can it be?”
“Can what be?” Dreadbot asked as he stood back up. “Boss,” he added.
“Never mind. Secure the CyberMiraculous,” Galvatron said. “I have an underling who has forgotten who his master is.”
Galvatron leapt into the air, activated the thrusters in his feet, and launched himself at the creature’s head.
“Time to remind him.”

“I am your master!” Mayura shouted, focusing with all her strength. “You will obey me.”
The sentimonster staggered, clearly affected by her power. As it staggered, it kicked a car-sized robot through a school bus. Another robot cowered behind that bus, probably trying to hide.
“Bugly obeys no one!” the sentimonster shouted. “No one!”
“Yes you do,” Mayura said. She could feel its will start to crumble.
And then, another robot launched itself out of the museum like a missile and punched the sentimonster in the face.
“Bugly!” the new robot shouted, hovering in the air before the creature’s face. “Stand down.”

Ladybug couldn’t stand as yet, but she was able to sit up. She was very aware that if she hadn’t been a superhero, that robot creature would have killed her. She reeled in her yo-yo, and let the miraculous magic heal her.
Movement caught her eye. She looked up, and saw an Akuma flapping down toward her. Ladybug picked up some rubble and threw it at the butterfly, but it flew right past her and landed on the ruined police car’s emergency lights.
“What the…” she said.
“Ladybug!”
She turned and saw Alya running toward her.
“Ladybug, are you okay?”
“Alya…” she began.
“Come on,” Alya extended an arm and helped her up. “We’d better go before…”
The Akuma energy flowed all around the smashed car.
Cars can’t be evilized, Ladybug thought, can they?

“I can help you,” said the masked human face in Darksteel’s mind.
The Decepticon was in more pain than he’d ever known. He’d hung on the edge of stasis lock when Galvatron had crushed him, and being thrown into the museum by Berserker hadn’t helped. He hated himself for his short-sightedness – of course his fellow Decepticons would betray him. He’d been too focused on the prize to see it.
But now… now he had an interesting opportunity.
“I know who you are, Hawkmoth,” he replied.
“Then you know the power I can give you,” the human replied. “You can crush those who betrayed you. All I ask in return are the miraculouses of Ladybug and Cat Noir.” Darksteel’s databanks filled with knowledge of the two superheroes and the magic items they wielded. Most of it was information he’d already learned from the Internet (the Ladybug blog in particular), but this data revealed something new – Hawkmoth needed those two miraculouses, possibly more than anything else.
“And,” Hawkmoth went on, “the artifact known as the CyberMiraculous.”
That made sense, Darksteel thought. After all, he’d gone to a lot of trouble to make Hawkmoth aware of it. Nevertheless…
“That,” Darksteel said, “is mine.”
“You will acquire it for me,” Hawkmoth said with an arrogance his species had no right to display. “Without my power you will remain crippled and useless. With it, this Galvatron you despise will be no match for you. In fact, you will be able to make him your slave! It is not a hard decision.”
“Don’t patronize me, human!” Darksteel said. “Your plan to acquire the CyberMiraculous is clearly going as well as my own, and you need me to salvage it.”
“Your bargaining position is not as strong as you think, machine,” Hawkmoth said, his smile gone. “But very well. Bring me what I require, and we can… negotiate further.”
“No! You can have your trinkets, fleshling, but the CyberMiraculous is mine. I will recover from my injuries in due time. Refuse my terms, and I will tear this city apart until you are a smear of protoplasm under my foot!”
Hawkmoth laughed at him. Laughed! But then he said, “very well, robot. We have a deal.”
Before he could consider the implications further, Darksteel felt himself filled with power, and his rage overrode all thought.
“Rise,” Hawkmoth said, “Thunderwing!”

“Rise, human!” Hot Rod said. “You need to get out of here.”
“I can’t, I’m stuck,” Cat Noir replied. “Your car’s on top of me.”
“I am the car,” Hot Rod told him.
Cat Noir frowned in confusion. Then, some movement to his right caught his eye. The robot who’d almost shot him, the one that got booted through the bus, stood up and transformed. With a shifting of metal it became a police car, and it drove away at speed. The other one, the one he’d fought, made a similar retreat, reconfiguring into a black SUV as he did so.
Cat Noir looked back up at the car on top of him.
“You’re one of them,” he said.
“Not them,” Hot Rod said. “They are Decepticons. I am Hot Rod, an Autobot. I can fight them, but I can’t transform with this clamp on me.”
Cat Noir looked at the clamp on the car’s front wheel. The car bean to shift, but somehow the clamp prevented him from shifting further.
It was just within reach…
The black SUV backed up. Cat Noir had the distinct feeling it was looking at him. His feeling was confirmed when the vehicle transformed back into Berserker and stomped toward them.
“He will kill us both,” Hot Rod said.
Cat Noir thought hard. He’d taken a lot of hits, and couldn’t even lift this car (that called itself Hot Rod) off of him at the moment. He might be just as bad as the other robots, but at the same time he’d saved his life.
And the approaching robot definitely would kill him when it arrived.
He made a decision, and reached out with his hand.
“Cataclysm,” he said, and touched the clamp.

Bugly clamped his mandibles shut. The Cybertronian hovering in the air in front of him wasn’t a ‘bot he recognized. Likewise, the voice wasn’t in his memory banks. But there was something about him that was very familiar…
“Megatron?” Bugly asked. “Is that you?”
“Here’s a hint,” Galvatron said, and he shot him in the eye. Bugly howled in pain and staggered back against the museum, then fell through the wall.
“Now, who is your master?” Galvatron said, landing on the ground in front of the massive sentimonster.
“You are, my lord,” Bugly replied, and he knelt before him.
“No!” Mayura shouted as she leapt up onto the roof of a VW bus that was parked close to the combatants. “You obey me, Bugly.”
Galvatron roared with laughter. Bugly clutched at his head, clearly torn. Galvatron saw this, and viewed the purple-clad human female with renewed interest.
“If you do not obey my commands,” Mayura raised a hand, “I will destroy you with a snap of my fingers.”
“Is that so, human?” Galvatron said. “Dreadbot, restrain her.”
Suddenly, the VW bus reconfigured beneath Mayura. Before she could regain her composure, metal fingers clamped around her arms.
“Now then,” Galvatron said, “remove her fingers.”

The second Cat Noir’s fingers touched the Clamp, it disintegrated into nothing.
Berserker charged in, and raised a fist.
Hot Rod transformed, scooped Cat Noir up and rolled away. Then he raised a fist of his own, and fired his wrist-mounted blasters. Berserker, who was bent over after striking the ground where they had been, took the shot in the side and fell over.
Hot Rod pressed his attack. He leapt forward, drove a kick into Berserker’s face and followed with an uppercut.
The Decepticon went down. Then he transformed, and fled.
Hot Rod let him go. He scooped up Cat Noir once again and transformed, and drove away from the battle.
“Where are you…?” Cat Noir asked, suddenly finding himself in the Autobot’s front seat.
“I’m getting you out of danger,” Hot Rod replied. “Don’t worry, human. You are safe.”

Mayura felt very unsafe. The robot named Dreadbot had her arms clamped, and had just been ordered to cut her fingers off.
Dreadbot might have complied with that order, but just then a shadow slammed into Galvatron and sent him flying. He hit the pavement and slid into the side of the school bus, dazed and shaken.
The shadow landed in front of him. Unfurled wings that were half-jet fighter, half leathery bat.
“Not so easy to crush me now, is it?” it said.
Galvatron looked up to see a black and gold figure that was cybertronian in nature, but also something very different. Its face, however, was still that of its original form.
“Darksteel?” Galvatron said, his mind reeling.
“Now I’m Thunderwing,” he replied. “You made my team betray me, Galvatron. So I am going to make you betray yourself.” He raised a sceptre that resembled a police car’s emergency lights. He held it by the blue end, and pointed the red end at his enemy.
“Kneel before me,” he said, and a red beam enveloped Galvatron.
“I will never…” Galvatron began, only to find he’d become blue all over. He struggled, but could not resist the order he’d been given.
“That’s it,” Thunderwing said, as the blue Galvatron knelt before him.

Alya knelt beside Ladybug on the sidewalk near the Auditorium exit. The superhero was recovering, and managed to stand. Nearby, the other classmates gathered, waiting for emergency services.
“I’ve… I’ve got to go,” Ladybug told her friend. “There’s… look out!”
A black car sped across the museum’s lawn toward them. Ladybug pushed Alya behind her and spun her yo-yo.
The car transformed into a robot much like the one she’d fought in the museum (although, she had to admit, it was a lot less ugly – quite the opposite). She braced herself for a fight, but the robot made no hostile moves. Instead, it laid Cat Noir on the ground in front of them.
“Don’t be afraid,” the robot said. “I’m here to help. Please make sure this human gets the medical attention he needs.”
Ladybug blinked. What was this?
“I’m okay, really,” Cat Noir said. He stood back up, but needed his pole to keep his balance.
“I am Hot Rod,” the robot said. “An Autobot. Those,” he pointed back at the museum’s parking lot, where Galvatron was shooting Bugly in the face, “are Decepticons. I’ll take care of them, but you must do something for me. This human,” he projected an image of Professor Wembley, “is important to me. Please find her and make sure she is safe.”
Before any of them could say anything else, Hot Rod turned and transformed, and sped back across the lawn toward the battle.

The battle had taken a surprising turn. Galvatron was occupied, and his two soldiers were distracted. Two details that had not escaped Mayura’s attention.
“Hyah!” she cried, delivering a solid kick to Dreadbot’s leg. He roared in pain and released her, and she followed up with a blow to his midsection. Dreadbot fell backward, and Mayura turned her attention to Mohawk.
“You one bad mo,” the smaller Decepticon said, “but you gonna die now.” He leapt at the costumed human, but Mayura easily dodged to the side. Mohawk landed face-first on the pavement, but was back on his feet a moment later.
Dreadbot, though slower, was also rising to his feet.
As was Bugly.
“Stand down!”
All four of them turned to see Galvatron and Thunderwing approaching.
“Stand down now,” Galvatron said, then he cast a glance up at the senti-monster. “All of you.”
“Boss?” Dreadbot said. “Why’re you all… blue?”
“Why indeed?” Thunderwing said. “It happened like this.” He pointed his sceptre at the Decepticon, and a moment later Dreadbot was as blue as his commander.
“What’s goin’ on?” Mohawk wanted to know.
“New management,” Thunderwing said as he blasted him. “Join us. And you too,” he added, firing on Bugly. “Now you are all my minions.”

Chapter Text

“Who are you?” Mayura asked. She suspected it was an akumatized robot, but felt it prudent to know for sure.
“I am Thunderwing,” the evilized Decepticon said. “There is no need for fear, Mayura. I’m working with your associate, Hawkmoth.”
Mayura smiled. Leave it to Gabriel Agreste to turn this strange robot invasion to his advantage.
“Tell them the game plan, slave,” Thunderwing said, and slapped Galvatron on the back.

“I’m about to turn back,” Cat Noir told Ladybug, indicating his flashing ring. “When I return, I’ll find Professor Wembley. Can you handle those things,” he gestured at the robots, “while I’m gone?”
“You just watch me,” Ladybug said, with a confidence she didn’t entirely feel. Those robots meant business, and she’d already screwed up with them once. And screwups led to disasters, like all of Paris being destroyed…
Stop it, she told her mind. You are Ladybug. Act like it.
With a mighty leap, she bounded toward the robots.

Cat Noir bounded toward a hiding place. He landed across the street behind an ambulance, crouched down, and transformed back to Adrien Agreste.
“Here, eat,” he said, practically shoving a chunk of cheese into Plaag’s throat. “I need to get back in the game.”
“Mmph mmph,” Plaag nodded, and he chewed and swallowed quickly.
Adrien was about to say the magic words that would make him Cat Noir again, when all of a sudden his secluded spot became a lot less secluded. Paramedics arrived at the back of the ambulance and opened the doors, then began loading a gurney. Lying on that gurney, with a massive bruise on her head, was Vivian Wembley.
“Please stand back, kid,” a paramedic said, waving Adrien away.
“Will she be okay?” he asked quickly.
“Took a nasty bump, don’t know how bad,” the paramedic said. “But she’s breathing. She your mom?”
“No,” Adrien said.
“Then back off and let us do our jobs. Got a lot of hurt people here.”
Adrien backed off. He’d found Professor Wembley, and she was in the best hands possible. Now he needed a place to transform.

“We will acquire the CyberMiraculous,” Galvatron said. “And then we shall take the Miraculouses from this city’s two superheroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir.”
“Not today, Galvatron!”
A black blur slammed into Galvatron’s side, knocking him sideways to the pavement. Hot Rod rolled and came up firing, using his wrist-mounted blasters to shoot Dreadbot and Mohawk. Then he bounded in the opposite direction, barely missing a blast from Thunderwing’s sceptre. Bugly tried to step on the Autobot, but Hot Rod was too quick. He sidestepped the massive feet, then used the legs for cover.
“Out of the way, you lumbering idiot!” Thunderwing snapped.
“You need a time-out,” Hot Rod said, and he drew his special hand weapon. When he fired, a bubble appeared around Thunderwing, seemingly freezing him in place.
“Master?” said Galvatron, Bugly, Dreadbot and Mohawk together.
“My weapon stops time,” Hot Rod told them. “Like this.”
Galvatron began to rise, only to find himself trapped in his own bubble. Mayura had been too close; she was trapped in the bubble with him.
“Master?” Bugly said, looking at the time bubbles. “No master… Bugly confused… who is my master?”
Hot Rod holstered his time gun and let it recharge. He fired several plasma blasts at his time bubbles, directly in front of Galvatron and Thunderwing. The moment the bubbles vanished, the two Decepticons would find themselves in the path of those blasts – the equivalent of several Autobots shooting them in the same place at the same time. It was one of his signature moves, and would hopefully keep them out of action for some time.
Time for the big guy, Hot Rod thought, and he spun around and looked up.
“Bugly… is Bugly’s master,” Bugly said, and his mandibles curved into what passed for a smile. Then he thrust his fist down at the spot where Hot Rod was standing.
But then the fist stopped, just an inch shy of the Autobot’s head. His optics widened in surprise, and Bugly looked even more confused. There was a cord wrapped around his arm, and it led to a figure standing on the museum roof.
A figure dressed in red, with black dots.
“That’s enough!” Ladybug yelled, and she gave the cord a sharp tug. To Hot Rod’s amazement, Bugly was forced back a step.
How could a human have that kind of strength? The Autobot wondered. He might have pondered the question further, but he was distracted by the plasma blast to the back.
“Die, Autobot!” Dreadbot said, and fired again.

Ladybug was in the same position again, where her yo-yo was wrapped around the limb of a creature a lot larger and stronger than she was. The senti-monster called Bugly could easily yank her off her feet the way the robot had.
This time, however, she was counting on it. Ladybug leapt at the same moment that Bugly tugged on the yo-yo cord, and flew around and around the senti-monster until he was well and truly tied up. Ladybug landed nimbly on the pavement and yanked hard, and the bound behemoth came crashing to the ground.
“Bugly… getting sick of this,” he said.
“Yo, fool!” Mohawk shouted, leaping at Ladybug from behind. Ladybug turned and delivered a roundhouse kick that would have made Chuck Norris proud, caving in the smaller Decepticon’s chest and sending him flying.
At that moment, Dreadbot had the drop on Hot Rod. The Autobot lay on the pavement between his two time bubbles, and the Decepticon stood over him with his blaster ready. Just then, the time bubbles popped, freeing Thunderwing, Galvatron and Mayura. Unfortunately for the former two, Hot Rod’s plasma blasts were freed as well. Both Decepticons flew backward as the blasts hit them, and Dreadbot was momentarily distracted. Hot Rod leapt up and punched the Decepticon in the face, then delivered a roundhouse kick of his own. As the Decepticon flew back, Hot Rod fired another time bubble around him and left him hovering in the air.
Mayura took a moment to get her bearings. She spotted Ladybug and ran over to her.
“You will need my help with this one,” she told the superhero. “Give me your miraculous, and I’ll destroy the senti-monster.”
Bugly struggled, but could not break the yo-yo cord around him. He was, however, able to sit up.
“Whoa!” Ladybug cried, caught by surprise and yanked into the air.
“Mon dieu!” Hot Rod cried, and fired his time gun. A bubble appeared around Ladybug, and held her frozen in the air.
Bugly tugged, but the other end of the yo-yo cord was locked in the bubble with Ladybug.
Hot Rod checked his weapon; the last blast had half-power, and the bubble around Ladybug would only last a few seconds. He started to move – he would need to be in position to catch Ladybug when the bubble popped. Unfortunately, just then a pole swatted him off his feet.
“You liar!” an enraged Cat Noir roared, and he swung at Hot Rod again. “I trusted you. And you shot Ladybug!”

Chapter Text

“I thought you were on our side,” Cat Noir shouted, and lunged at the Autobot warrior.
“Wait!” Hot Rod threw up his hands in surrender. “I have not harmed…” and he took the pole in the face.
“I’m trying to save her!” Hot Rod leapt out of the way of another pole swing.
The time bubble popped, and Ladybug resumed her downward plummet. Hot Rod dodged Cat Noir and flung himself into Ladybug’s path, and caught her in his hands. As the pair fell he transformed, and Ladybug found herself in the front seat. Hot Rod hit the pavement driving, swerved, and drove back to where Cat Noir stood. He transformed again, and placed Ladybug on the pavement in front of him.
“You see? Safe and… merde!”
Thunderwing had got back up, and was aiming his sceptre. He and Hot Rod fired at the same time, and the blue beam was captured in a time bubble less than a metre from Cat Noir’s head.
“Okay, I was wrong,” Cat Noir said, and ducked just before the sceptre beam was released.
Not far away, the other time bubble popped, and Dreadbot crashed to the ground at Bugly’s feet. The great beast was slowly untangling himself – the yo-yo cord wasn’t anchored any more.
Because I lost my grip on it, Ladybug realized, looking at her hands. Another mistake…
Thunderwing fired again, and Ladybug, Hot Rod and Cat Noir scattered.
“The Akuma’s in the sceptre!” Ladybug cried. “Cat Noir…”
“On it,” Cat Noir replied, pole-vaulting toward the Decepticon. “Cata…oof!” he added, as he suddenly found himself inside a robotic fist.
“Got you,” Galvatron said. He still lay where he had fallen, and had a gaping wound on his chest, but he was far from out of action.
“Well done, my slave!” Thunderwing said. “Surrender, Ladybug and Autobot, or my minion will crush your feline friend.”
Behind them, Bugly rose to his feet. Ladybug’s yo-yo fell off of him, reeling itself in as it dropped.
Mayura caught it.
“No lucky charms to save you, Ladybug,” she said. “Now hand over your miraculouses.”
Ladybug looked from Mayura to Galvatron to Hot Rod. Mayura was right; without her yo-yo, she could not activate her Lucky Charm power.
Cat Noir, however, could still use his power…
“Okay, I’ll give it to you,” Ladybug said. “You, robot,” she looked up at Hot Rod, “bring me to him.”
“…ok,” Hot Rod said. He had no idea what any of them were talking about – what was a miraculous? – but he recognized a hostage situation. He also had no idea why Ladybug wanted him to carry her over to Thunderwing…
…but he realized these humans were far from helpless. There was a lot more to their species than met the eye, and it was possible Ladybug had a plan. He picked her up and began to walk.
“How’s your throwing arm?” she whispered, confirming his suspicion. “I need to break that sceptre.”
“But your friend…”
“Cat Noir?” Ladybug wriggled her right fingers at him. “You’re not gonna take that from him, are you?”
“Huh? Oh, right,” Cat Noir said, catching on. “Cataclysm!”
“Wha…?” Galvatron said, and then he roared in agony. The Cataclysm power spread out from his hand to every circuit in his body, and he started to fall apart.
“Galvatron?” Thunderwing turned to look at him.
“Now!” Ladybug shouted, and Hot Rod threw her. She struck Thunderwing’s sceptre with both fists, snapping it in half.
The Akuma fluttered out, and its power drained away from Thunderwing.
Cat Noir jumped out of Galvatron’s crumbling fist and pole-vaulted straight at Mayura. She raised her hands to ward off his attack, but the feline firebrand merely landed in front of her.
And snatched the yo-yo out of her hand.
“I’ll take that,” he said, and he leapt away. “My lady, catch!” And he threw the yo-yo.
Mayura cursed, but before she could act a giant fist slammed down beside her and sent her flying.
“Bugly confused again!” the senti-monster roared. “Who is master?”
Ladybug caught the yo-yo, then flung it out and caught the Akuma. A moment later, a white butterfly fluttered away.
Thunderwing reverted back to Darksteel, who lay in a crumpled heap on the pavement.
Galvatron flailed around, his body alternating between robot and truck and his thousands of tiny cubes. To Cat Noir, it looked like the T-1000 from Terminator 2, when it fell in the molten steel.
Hot Rod turned and looked up at the senti-monster. Bugly had lost his blue hue, as had the Decepticons Thunderwing had shot. Otherwise, the giant looked as dangerous as ever.
“Bugly has no master!” the senti-monster roared. “Bugly is free… to destroy!” And he turned and slashed through the already ruined museum with his claw arm.
“This might be a tough one,” Hot Rod said, and he raised his arms and aimed his blasters.
“Autobot, wait,” Ladybug put a hand on his right arm. “We’ll never beat him that way. That thing is a senti-monster.”
“And just what is a senti-monster?” Hot Rod wanted to know.
While Ladybug explained, Cat Noir approached Mayura. She was just coming around, and he didn’t want her wandering off.
She tried. Cat Noir chased her into the ruin of the museum, and tripped her up in the rubble that had been the Tibet wing. She landed on the floor next to the remaining statue, right on the spot where the CyberMiraculous had been.
“Stay,” he said, planting his pole on her chest. “Call off your monster.”
“I can’t,” Mayura replied. “It doesn’t respond like other senti-monsters.”
“Where’s the Amok?”
“I didn’t see what it went into,” she said. “We have someone working for us, and she was instructed to command the sentimonster to deliver the CyberMiraculous to Hawkmoth. Now she’s gone and the senti-monster is in charge of itself.”
“Okay, where was she when you sent the Amok to her?” Cat Noir asked.
“Right there,” Mayura pointed to the spot where the CyberMiraculous had been. “Next to one of the three statues.”
“You need to learn to count,” Cat Noir smirked. “There’s only one.”
“There were three,” Mayura said.
Cat Noir wanted to continue with his smart-ass hero/villain banter, but then a possibility occurred to him.
“The Amok might’ve gone into one of the statues,” he said. Behind him, Ladybug and Hot Rod entered the museum and walked over to join them. Cat Noir quickly filled them in on what Mayura had told him, and his theory. Ladybug had a pretty good idea who the girl working for Hawkmoth might be.
“How could a statue give a senti-monster orders?” she wanted to know.
“Maybe because there’s more to the statues than meets the eye,” Hot Rod said, and he knelt before the humans. “The thing called itself Bugly. Well, there is a Cybertronian legend about a team of Decepticons, one of whom was named Bugly, who left our planet with an artifact from our distant past… some kind of weapon.”
“The CyberMiraculous,” Cat Noir said.
“Probably,” Hot Rod replied. “There were at least three Decepticons, possibly more. Bugly, Mindwipe, Bludgeon…”
“And there were three statues…” Cat Noir added.
“So that statue might have been a living entity,” Ladybug concluded. “Dormant, the way Feast had been. Can you destroy it, Mayura?”
“I could,” she replied, “but I’m thinking it will be a good distraction for you while I escape.”
She grabbed Cat Noir’s pole and twisted it to the side, then kicked him hard in the groin. As he fell Mayura rose, shoving Ladybug aside and punching Hot Rod in the face. The Autobot fell backward, and by the time Ladybug was back on her feet, the villainess had gone.
“Oww…” Cat Noir groaned, clutching his man-bits. His ring started to blink – his time was running out again.
“So we need to catch a magic feather that’s inside a statue that used to be a Decepticon,” Hot Rod said, “which is currently inside that monster that’s on its way to destroy Paris.”
“Pretty much,” Ladybug said. “But we have one advantage. Lucky Charm!”
Ladybug hurled her yo-yo in the air, and activated her special magic.
A large pair of red and black-dotted scissors fell into her hands.
“This,” Hot Rod said, “is a lot to absorb.”
Ladybug looked down at the scissors. Then up at the retreating senti-monster, still visible through the hole it had ripped through the museum. She smiled.
“Hey, Autobot…”
“Hot Rod, human,” he replied. “My name’s Hot Rod.”
“Ladybug,” she said. “How fast can you drive?”
It was Hot Rod’s turn to smile.
“As fast as you want, cheri.” He transformed, then popped open his doors. “Climb in.”
In they climbed, and Hot Rod sped off after the rampaging senti-monster.

Chapter Text

“This lucky charm of yours had better deliver,” Hot Rod said as they tore into the city, hot on Bugly’s trail.
“It will,” Ladybug said. “Just don’t lose him.”
“No chance of that,” Hot Rod replied. Bugly wasn’t the sort of thing one could miss. Nor was the destruction he was causing. A claw through a building; fire breath down the street; cars and trucks trampled.
It was bad. And getting worse.
“I’m back in the game,” Cat Noir said from the back seat. He’d ducked down behind Ladybug a minute ago and changed back, fed his kwami more cheese, then changed again back into Cat Noir.
“Great,” Ladybug said, well aware that her own time was running out. “Let’s take him down.”
Bugly approached the Eiffel Tower, because of course he was. Ladybug and Cat Noir leapt out of Hot Rod, and put their weapons to use. Ladybug tied up Bugly with her yo-yo cord once more, this time concentrating on his legs. Cat Noir bounded toward the monster’s back, and gave it a hard whack. Bugly lost his balance and fell forward, collapsing against the Tower.
Hot Rod put on some extra speed, then transformed and leapt onto Bugly’s leg. He transformed back and raced up the leg, but kept one arm free. He had one handle of the lucky charm scissors wedged into his open driver’s side door, and his right arm operated the other handle. As he drove, he cut a line in the senti-monster’s flesh that started with the leg and opened up the creature’s back. The folds from the cut fell open, and exposed the statue within.
“Cataclysm!” Cat Noir cried for the third time that day as he leapt into the wound and slammed his destructive energy down onto the statue. It crumbled, and the Amok flew free.
“No more evil-doing for you, little Amok,” Ladybug said, and she swung her yo-yo around in an arc that captured the dark feather. “It’s time to de-evilize!” A moment later, she released the cleansed feather into the air.
Hot Rod made his way down the metal beams of the Eiffel Tower and landed beside the defeated senti-monster, carrying the scissors with him. The heroes joined him, and Ladybug took back her Lucky Charm and threw it into the sky.
“Miraculous Ladybug!” she said, and the magic of the Lucky Charm did its job. Paris was restored, as was the Museum. The senti-monster vanished, leaving nothing but the restored statue.
The statue stood up. It was no longer a stone monument but a Cybertronian, its form similar to that of Hot Rod (if a little smaller).
“Free,” Bugly said. “After all those centuries…”
He looked up, saw Hot Rod and the heroes, and decided to bug out. He transformed into an alien jet and took off into the sky.
“What… just happened?” Cat Noir asked.
“I don’t know,” Hot Rod said, “but that was Bugly in his true robot mode.”
“Whatever turned him into a statue,” Ladybug reasoned, “must have been undone by my Miraculous power.”
“Weren’t there three statues?” Cat Noir asked.
“And plenty of Decepticons,” Hot Rod said. “I’m going to need backup. This isn’t over.”
“It is for us, for now,” Ladybug said, pointing to her flashing earrings. “I’m about to change back.”
“Wait,” said Hot Rod. “Professor Wembley…”
“…is in an ambulance,” Cat Noir told him. “She got hurt, but she’s alive.”
“I need to check on her,” Hot Rod said, and he transformed back to car mode. “We need to talk, soon. Like I said, this isn’t over.” With that, he drove off and joined the traffic.
“How do we contact you?” Ladybug cried after him. “I guess we don’t.”
“Alien robots…” Cat Noir said. “Never a dull moment in this city.”
“That’s for sure,” Ladybug replied. “Like he said, soon. For now, time to get gone.”

Hawkmoth had nearly gone crazy with rage. He wanted to lash out, break everything he owned with his cane, but there was nothing in his chamber but the butterflies.
And Nathalie. She had arrived moments earlier, having shed her Mayura costume. She sat against the wall, her head in her hands, recovering from the effects of the broken peacock miraculous.
“How could things have gone so completely wrong?” Hawkmoth shouted. “Not even an akumatized alien robot could win the day for me. And that senti-monster… why didn’t you destroy it? At least it kept Ladybug busy…”
“I’m… I’m sorry, Gabriel,” Nathalie said.
Hawkmoth bit his lip and brought himself under control. He’d lost. Again. He would have to just accept that fact and…
His phone rang just then. Hawkmoth looked at the caller ID: Lila.
“Hello, Hawkmoth,” she said. “I have the CyberMiraculous, and a couple of surprises. Where would you like them delivered?”

Chapter Text

Drift was one with himself and his world. He sat in perfect balance upon the hilts of his swords, the points of which had been placed upon the roofs of two junkyard cars. The swords weren’t imbedded into the cars’ frames; rather, they barely scratched the metal of the roofs. The balance between the swords and their master was absolute.
The junkyard was home to Drift, his Autobot friends, and their Legendary Warrior allies. It was also home to the one human being who didn’t want to hunt down and kill them; Cade Yeager. Drift had a lot of admiration for Cade; he’d lost so much by allying himself with the Autobots, yet he remained dedicated to them as if they were family.
Beyond the junkyard was a world that hated and feared them. Rather than be grateful to the Autobots for saving Hong Kong from Galvatron, Lockdown and the Seed, the humans had chosen to double down on their prejudices. The Transformer Reaction Force had replaced Cemetery Wind, and the hunt for Transformers had resumed in earnest. Very few places were safe for Autobots now… except Cuba, apparently. If the junkyard is ever compromised, Drift thought, we might have to swim there.
An impact tremor rippled through the junkyard, followed by another. One of the Legendary Warriors – or Dinobots, as they’d been nicknamed – was approaching.
Stay still, Drift told himself. Maintain balance, maintain harmony…
The impact tremors were very close now. Drift thought it might have been Grimlock, then realized it was someone bigger. Scorn, then.
The large metallic Spinosaurus lumbered slowly past Drift. Then he turned, and lumbered past again.
Maintain focus, Drift thought. Maintain harmony…
Scorn stopped in front of Drift. Then he leapt up and brought his entire weight down hard. All the junkers in a seven-block radius bounced half a metre in the air, including the two Drift was balanced between. Drift landed in a heap, his swords beside him.
“Hah!” cried the distinctive voice of Crosshairs. “Hound, you owe me an enjex.”
Drift leapt to his feet, his swords back in his hands. Scorn stood before him, looking very pleased with himself. Riding on his back were Crosshairs and Hound, who also looked very pleased with themselves.
“Have you nothing better to do?” Drift asked, fighting the urge to fling his swords at them.
“Not really, no,” Hound called back.
That much is true, Drift thought as he lowered his swords. He couldn’t really blame them; there was nothing for them to do in the junkyard except hide. Or play practical jokes.
“Hey! What the hell?!?”
The Autobots turned to see their human ally storming toward them.
“Hey, Cade!” Hound called. “How’s it goin’?”
“Zip it, Hound!” Cade said. “What’re you tryin’ to do, trash the junkyard?”
“It’s a junkyard,” Crosshairs said. “It’s already trashed.”
“Junkyard, right there in the name,” Hound added.
“That’s not the point and you know it,” Cade shot back.
“An object’s value is in the eye of the beholder,” Drift said.
“You’re on my shit list too, Leonardo,” Cade turned to him. “You scratched up two of the cars with your little stunt.”
“I would not have scratched either car,” Drift replied, “were it not for…”
“Don’t. Care. I’m going out on a limb for you guys, here…”
“Aw, not the ‘out on a limb’ speech,” Crosshairs muttered.
“Bet you he plays the daughter card,” Hound added.
“…and I haven’t seen my daughter in months!”
“Told ya.”
“No respect, none at all,” Cade said. “You metal morons know all it would take is one phone call from me and you guys’d be history.”
Scorn growled and took a threatening step closer.
“Oh, he’s gonna eat me now?” Cade said. “I’m supposed to be impressed? Try it, Jurassic 3, see how well you do without me.”
“Down, Spike,” Crosshairs waved a hand at the Spinosaurus.
“My name,” the Dinobot growled, “is Scorn.”
“Whaddya think’s gonna happen,” Hound slid down from Scorn’s back, “when the TRF recognizes who placed that call.”
Cade blinked, momentarily put off his game.
“Aha, gotcha!” Crosshairs said.
“Look, just stop wrecking stuff,” Cade said. “We’re guests here, don’t forget that. Anyway, Bee wants to talk to you guys. He’s going on a mission to Paris.”
“Paris?” Crosshairs leapt down from Scorn. “We’re fugitives, and he’s going on vay-cay?”
“He says a friend called asking for help,” Cade replied. “Something about a Cybertronian artifact from Tibet.”
Drift’s optics widened. It couldn’t be…
“Another one?” Crosshairs said. “Why does all our stuff end up on this… where’s he goin’?”
Drift was already speeding away.

Bumblebee sat in Cade’s workshop, troubled. On the desk in front of him, Wheelie practiced his Google-fu on Cade’s laptop.
“Most of yer options’re gonna be cargo ships,” the small Autobot said.
“That’ll take tew long, me lad,” Bumblebee replied. “Canna ye find any aeroplanes t’get me there?” He hated the thick Scottish accent his current voicebox gave him, but at least it allowed him to talk in relative normalcy. Daytrader, the roaming Cybertronian junk dealer and finder of odds and ends, promised he’d bring a new voicebox on his next visit, one that would finally let him talk in his real voice. That would be something to look forward to, if Daytrader could be trusted as far as Wheelie could throw him.
Right now, of course, he had much more important things to worry about. Not twenty minutes ago, his WWII bot-in-arms Hot Rod had made contact out of the blue, requesting reinforcements for an evolving situation in Paris. Bumblebee had agreed without hesitation, but was now faced with the problem of how he would actually get to the French capitol.
“Look at Air Freight options, ye daft bugger,” he said, then clapped a hand over his mouth. This voicebox was really embarrassing.
“Okay, Scotty,” Wheelie said. “I’ll give ‘er all she’s got.”
Bumblebee resisted the urge to flick him in the head.
There was a loud crumbling of tires on dirt from outside. A moment later, Drift barged in.
“Bumblebee! This artifact you are seeking in Paris… what is it?”
“I dunt know, lad,” Bumblebee replied. “I kin show ye, though.” He projected the same hologram images that Hot Rod had sent him.
Drift stared at the images, and trembled. There it was, after so many centuries.
“The Shadow Matrix,” he said.
“The what now?” Wheelie asked.
“Bumblebee, I must come with you to Paris,” Drift said.
“Are ye daft?” Bumblebee said. “Bad enough tryin’ ta get one Autobot across the Atlantic wi-out the TRF gettin’ wind o’ us…”
“I can fly us across the ocean,” Drift said. “We won’t be detected if I fly low enough. And I can do it in less than eight hours.”
Bumblebee looked at Drift. Drift looked back at Bumblebee. Wheelie looked up at both of them.
“Aye,” Bumblebee said at last. “Let’s be on our way, then.”

As they left the workshop, Crosshairs and Hound arrived with Cade.
“What’s this we hear about you whizzing off to la belle France?” Crosshairs asked as he transformed.
Cade Yeager hopped out of Hound’s cab, then the larger Autobot transformed as well.
“We both are,” Drift said.
“What’s goin’ on?” Hound wanted to know.
While Bumblebee filled them in, Drift checked his swords and ran a self-diagnostic. It had been a while since he’d used his secondary alt form, and he wanted to be sure it could perform as he’d boasted. It was a long way to the bottom of the Atlantic if he was wrong.
“You need backup?” Hound asked.
“I can only carry one,” Drift told him.
“What about me?” Cade said. “You guys might need human help.”
“Hew good’s yer French?” Bumblebee asked him.
“My… uh…” Cade said. “What?”
“Parlez-vous Francais?” Drift asked.
“Okay, it’s a little rusty,” Cade admitted. “But I can get by.”
“Yer needed here, laddie,” Bumblebee said. “Leave this wi us.”
Cade nodded, resigned.
“You both take care, okay?” he said.
“Enjoy your holiday,” Crosshairs added, sauntering away.
“Kick some ass for me,” Hound said. “Good luck.”
Bumblebee and Drift transformed to their car forms and sped off. When they reached the coast, Drift transformed to helicopter mode and latched himself on to Bumblebee’s hood. Drift lifted his fellow Autobot into the air, and they began the journey across the sea.

Chapter Text

“I don’t get it,” said Brains. “We’re in the city of luv, but nobody’s gettin’ it on.”
“Humans don’t do that in public,” Jolt told him. “Now get down before someone sees you.”
Brains, a Frankenstein’s monster of a ‘bot with spiky ‘hair’ and the face of a demented frog, sat back down in the passenger seat and lounged against the door. He was a quarter of the size of Jolt’s hologram avatar, who ‘drove’ and looked human in the driver’s seat. Jolt himself appeared as a black and gray Chevy Volt, and he drove carefully and unobtrusively along the streets of Paris, France.
All seemed peaceful at the moment, but Jolt knew it wouldn’t last. His recent history, after all, had been chaotic. And tragic.

Jolt had survived near-spark extinguishing injuries twice. The first had been at the hand of Shockwave, when the powerful one-eyed Decepticon had attacked the NEST base on Diego Garcia. Jolt had come back on-line in his own tomb, and emerged to find he was the only Cybertronian to survive the attack. Dune Runner, Knockout, all of the Project Nefarious refugees… all dead. But he was alive.
The second time had come during the conflict at Chichen Itza. He’d been shot more times than he could count, but Ratchet had managed to keep him alive. They’d escaped from Mexico and hid in New Orleans, but the CIA strike force known as Cemetery Wind had found them using the very energon detectors the Autobots had given to humanity to find Decepticons. Jolt had escaped; he’d learned that day his unique electrical field masked his spark signature from detection.
Ratchet had not been so lucky. Jolt had watched as Ratchet fled past him, pursued by the black ops agents. He’d watched from afar as they’d taken him down. And he’d watched as the bounty hunter, Lockdown, had ripped Ratchet’s spark out of his chest.
I’m still in recovery, he’d thought. Ratchet said so. There was nothing I could have done. If I’d tried to help him, I’d be dead, too.
At least, that was what he kept telling himself.
When Optimus Prime had called all Autobots to him, Jolt had ignored the summons. However, when he heard the news report of an alien craft at a railyard outside of Kansas City, he’d decided to investigate. Perhaps his fellow Autobots would forgive him?
They didn’t.

“Well, well, look who decided to join the party.”
Jolt pulled up next to the ship and transformed. The process was slow – as Ratchet had said, he had yet to fully heal from the injuries he’d sustained in Mexico. Crosshairs and Bumblebee stared down at him from the ship’s boarding ramp.
“I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner,” Jolt said. “I was scared. Those human agents are everywhere.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Bumblebee sampled. “Good thing… you are… in one piece.”
“Yeah, he might’ve ended up like Leadfoot,” Crosshairs added. “Or Ratchet.”
“Yes, I know,” Jolt replied. “I saw Lockdown and the humans kill him.”
“Whaaa?” Bumblebee said, and his optics widened.
“You saw it happen?” Crosshairs said. “How did you escape? Or were you too scared to do anything then, too?”
“I was injured…” Jolt said.
“So you let him die?”
The Autobots turned to look up the ramp into the ship. Optimus Prime stepped down the ramp, his optics fixed on Jolt.
“Explain yourself, soldier.”
“I… I… there was nothing I could do!” Jolt said, taking a couple of steps back. “There were too many of them…”
“You.” Optimus said. “Let. Ratchet. Die.”
Jolt looked pleadingly up at his fellow Autobots, but could not meet their optics.
“I’m… I’m sorry…”
“Save it,” Crosshairs said.
“Go ahead,” Bumblebee sampled. “Exercise your right to be a coward.”
Jolt felt as if his spark had been ripped out. Bumblebee had trained him when he’d first come to Earth, along with Dune Runner, Knockout and Breakaway. They’d been a team, but then one by one they’d been killed by the Decepticons. He and Bumblebee had been the only two left; now, Jolt realized, it was just him.
“Go, Jolt,” Optimus said. “Just go.” And he turned and climbed back aboard the ship. A moment later, Bumblebee followed him.
“You heard the man,” Crosshairs said. “Beat it.”
Jolt turned, and walked off down the tracks. He couldn’t even be bothered to transform, or go back to the main road. If some humans saw him and raised the alarm, so be it.
He’d only gone a couple of miles before someone did see him.
“Hey, watch it! Ya almost stepped on me.”
Jolt looked down to see the ugliest Cybertroian he’d ever encountered. He was about the size of a human infant, with spiky growths that resembled hair, eyes way too big for his face, and a smirk that made it look like his over-sized eyes were leering. He was missing a leg, and had a makeshift crutch to compensate.
“I’m so very sorry!” Jolt said, hopping back a step from the tiny thing. “Who are you?”
“Brains,” the thing said. “Brains by name, Brains by reputation. You want some thought thunk, ya come to me. Why aren’t you hangin’ with them other Autobots?”
“I… I’d rather not say,” Jolt said. “Where are you going?”
“Anywhere that doesn’t got no energon detector,” Brains replied. “Which is basically nowhere. But better nowhere than bein’ experimented upon by humans again.”
Jolt considered the small transformer for a moment.
“They can’t detect me,” he said, and he told Brains his theory about his electrical ability.
“Hey, yeah, I could see why that would work… you know what? I’m stickin’ witchoo.”
Jolt nodded, transformed back to his car mode, and popped open one of his doors.
“Where would you like to go?” he asked.
“Seems to me,” Brains replied as he climbed in, “we can go anywhere.”
So they did.

Life did not get easier; Cemetery Wind caught up with them a couple of times, leading to some narrow escapes. Jolt remained invisible to energon detectors, but Brains became visible every time he went outside of Jolt’s electrical field.
Which was often. Brains was a restless ‘bot, and liked to get out and stretch his leg every time Jolt stopped.
“Hey, there’s no point in us travellin’ if we can’t look at nuthin’!”
Jolt’s plan was a simple one; drive around like a normal car and try not to arouse suspicion. Brains’ plan seemed to be to have fun and let Jolt be the responsible one. It made for some very tense drives, especially when they were in a city. Jolt had to stop at traffic lights, and slow down with traffic congestion. Each stop was an opportunity for his passenger to try and hop out. Highways worked much better, but even the longest highway had to end somewhere.
When a close shave with Cemetery Wind’s replacement – the Transformers Reaction Force – necessitated a hasty trip overseas, Jolt saw a solution on England’s M1 Motorway. Otherwise known as the London Orbital, it did exactly what was advertised on the tin – it orbited London. If one didn’t need to stop, one didn’t have to.
“When does this thing end?” Brains wanted to know after Jolt finished his third revolution. “Hey! We already went past that building. And that one. Twice! It’s like we’re drivin’ in…”
“Yes,” Jolt said. “We are.”

And they did. Many, many more times. It was as good a hide-in-plain-sight strategy as any, and kept them safe.
But after three months, even Jolt was bored. He also needed to recharge. And if he didn’t get a break from that little freak and his constant griping, Jolt was certain he would go mad.
“Ha, ha, I knew you had a breaking point!” Brains said after Jolt agreed to pull off the motorway. “That’s why they call me Brains, baby.”
Jolt chose not to respond. He left the M1 and drove to a Tesco’s parking lot, then picked a secluded spot around the side.
“Go. Have some fun,” Jolt said, opening his passenger door. “Just don’t cause any trouble.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I won’t be startin’ nuthin’,” Brains said as he hopped out onto the pavement. “Just gonna check this place out, maybe snack on some of these cars…”
“Do not touch the other cars!” Jolt cried, trying to shout and whisper at the same time. “And don’t be seen.”
“An’ have yer daughter home by 11 o’clock, I get it,” Brains replied. “Smell ya later, Mom.”
Jolt let off an electronic sigh and closed his door. He’d just have to hope that a ‘bot named Brains wouldn’t do anything stupid.
He shut down all his non-essential systems and began to recharge.

Three hours later (according to his internal chronometer), Jolt came back online in response to a tapping at his window.
“I say… Jolt, is it?” said the tapper. He was an elderly British gentleman, dressed to the nines yet looking ready for a pleasant stroll in the country.
He knows who I am, Jolt thought, and remained silent.
“I assure you, I am not with the TRF,” the gentleman went on. “My name is Sir Edmund Burton, from the Order of the Witwickans. I know all about you, and your little… friend? Pet? Cancerous hanger-on? Well, I know about you both, and your struggles to avoid the TRF. And that, I’m afraid, is where we have a problem.”
Jolt became aware of his surroundings, and realized something was off. There were panicked humans streaming out of the Tescos, abandoning groceries as they dashed for their cars. At the same time, there were several police cars in the lot, with officers fighting against the human current to gain entry to the store.
Jolt let off a mechanical groan.
“Brains,” he said.
“Indeed,” said Sir Edmund. “Although the current conflagration,” he waved a hand at the Tescos, “is partly due to my manservant, Cogman. I sent him in to retrieve the Brain unit, and he tends to get a little… enthusiastic.”
There was a loud crumbling noise from the back of the store just then. A humanoid figure in a trenchcoat and fedora smashed out of the Tescos, carrying something in its left hand.
“Ah, perfect timing,” Sir Edmund said. “There he is now.”
Jolt scanned the humanoid and its cargo as they approached, and learned two things. One, the cargo in its left hand was Brains; and two, the figure in the coat was a Cybertronian.
“Jolt, meet Cogman. Cogman, this is Jolt. And I see you’ve found the Brain unit.”
“Indeed, sir,” Cogman replied. Jolt noted the mechanoid had his hand firmly clamped around Brains’ mouth. “This one is annoying. May I rip his head off and stuff it up his backside, please?”
“Absolutely not!” Sir Edmund said. “Give him back to Jolt immediately.
“Now, we really should be going. The TRF will be here soon, if they aren’t already. Follow us, we will lead you somewhere safe.”
“Follow… whatcho talkin’ about, follow you?” Brains said. He was back inside Jolt, leaning his head out the driver’s side window. “If you think for one second…”
“Shut UP!” Sir Edmund snapped. “If I’d wanted to, I could have reported your presence to the TRF. Or had my manservant deactivate you.”
“Never too late to change your mind…” Cogman suggested.
“Oh, you wanna get tough?” Brains said. “I’ll show… hey!”
Jolt closed his door window, cutting off his passenger’s commentary.
“We will be right behind you, Sir Edmund,” he said.
“Good. Cogman, our car, please.”
A few spaces away, a beautiful silver Aston Martin came to life. It pulled out of the space by itself and glided smoothly over to stop right beside Sir Edmund. Cogman opened his door and ushered him inside, then rounded the car and climbed into the driver’s seat.
“We really gonna follow teabag and Sam Spadroid?” Brains said. “I’m gettin’ real bad vibes, know what I’m…”
“Brains, this is your fault!” Jolt said. “I trusted you, and look what happened! Yes, I am going to follow them. You’re welcome to stay behind.”
“Wha… oh, no, don’t be like that…”
“But if you come with me, I don’t want to hear one more word out of you. Is that clear?”
“Aw, c’mon…”
“Not. One. Word.”
Brains nodded. Silently.
Sir Edmund and Cogman pulled out of the Tescos parking lot, and Jolt followed.

Sir Edmund Burton owned an estate on the Salsbury Plains, surrounded by open land and comfortably remote for his purposes. Jolt and Brains learned that the Order of the Witwickans – of which Sir Edmund was supposedly the last surviving member – were responsible for guarding the secret of Transformers on Earth.
“Not much of a secret these days,” Brains pointed out. Cogman swatted him.
“Now Cogman, be civil, these are our guests,” Sir Edmund said. “You are welcome to stay as long as you like. Just stay on the property, or my energon maskers won’t be able to keep you hidden.”
They met some of the other occupants of the estate, most of whom had been on Earth since the World Wars: Bulldog, the Tank; Spitfire, the fighter; Bloody Wipers, a former Decepticon who’d become disillusioned with the cause; and Stratosphere, a flying wing who was the biggest ‘bot on the estate.
Stratosphere didn’t talk much. Brains took to him immediately.
Jolt kept to himself. After living with Brains for the last couple of months, he needed some serious Jolt-time. He’d found sanctuary, and the chance to forgive himself.
And, a few months later, he had a chance at redemption.
“Oh, Jolt, there you are,” Sir Edmund said when he found him in the main garage. “How goes the work on your mask amplifier?”
“Done,” Jolt said. He opened a panel on his chest to reveal a cobbled-together device below his spark chamber. “I’m hoping to field-test it soon.”
“Well, that is awfully convenient,” Sir Edmund patted the device. “I have need of your services. A colleague of mine, an Autobot named Hot Rod, has run into a bit of bother in Paris.”
“He don’t mean the one in Texas,” added Brains, who stood by the garage door on both feet. While Jolt had busied himself upgrading an energon masker to boost his own natural cloaking ability, the smaller ‘bot had scrounged together the parts to make himself a new leg.
“Indeed,” said Sir Edmund. “Apparently a team of Decepticons descended upon the city while he was accompanying another colleague, Professor Vivian Wembley, on a speaking engagement. Hot Rod requires reinforcements, and none of my other robot guests are up to the challenge…”
“I’ll go,” Jolt said.
“Me too,” Brains said. “We goin’ to the city o’ luv!”
Sir Edmund laid out the details. When he finished, Jolt transformed and started his engine. Brains stood beside his passenger-side door, waiting expectantly.
“I’ll drive to Dover, get on the ferry,” Jolt said as he followed Sir Edmund out of the garage. Brains ran after him, tapping on his side.
“Lemmie in, Jolt!” the smaller bot cried.
“No, that will take too long,” Sir Edmund said. “Stratosphere will fly you across the English Channel and drop you outside the city.”
“Jolt, c’mon! Don’t be hatin’.”
“When you say drop…” Jolt said.
“…I mean drop. I’m sending a delivery to an antique dealer in Italy. You will be released a couple of hours into his flight plan, and the TRF won’t be the wiser.
“Now, off you go. Stratosphere is waiting on the runway. Chop, chop!”
Jolt headed to the runway. He ignored the diminutive ‘bot who chased after him and drove up the ramp into Stratosphere’s cargo hold. As the ramp began to close, Jolt let off an electronic sigh as Brains scrambled up and inside.
Half an hour into the flight, Jolt asked why. At first, he assumed the small ‘bot would give him some attitude. Then, after a few moments of silence, he thought that maybe Brains wouldn’t answer at all.
“Look, Jolt, it’s like ‘dis,” he said. “I don’t know what I got ‘till I ain’t got it, know what I mean? I had a good life with my pal Sammy an’ Carly. Then they go an’ get hitched, and don’t want li’l ol’ Brains around no more.
“Then,” he went on, “I got abducted by KSI, an’ they made me their bitch. I had to do stuff…” he paused, looked away. “Anyway, I got rescued by Optimus Prime an’ the other Autobots. I coulda gone with ‘em, but I figured it wouldn’t last. I took off. An’ then you nearly stepped on me.”
“I didn’t even see you until…”
“Yeah, I know. Point is, when we set out together, I had it made once more. An’ what did I do? I drove you nuts, nearly ruined the good thing we had.”
He looked up at Jolt then. The larger Autobot didn’t think Brains’ face was capable of showing sadness or remorse, but there it was.
“I don’t wanna mess up again. I don’t wanna be alone again. Not that I don’t deserve...” He looked away again.
Jolt processed everything the small Autobot had said.
“I watched Ratchet die, and didn’t do anything,” he said. “The other Autobots wouldn’t have me. Optimus himself told me to go away.”
“Aw man, that’s cold,” Brains said.
“Your friendship… meant a lot to me,” Jolt said at last. And he popped open his front door.
Brains scrambled up into the driver’s seat.
“Aw right,” he said. “The boys ‘re back.”

Two hours later, Jolt drove out of Stratosphere’s cargo bay. He dropped like a stone for a few thousand metres, then opened his trunk and released a parachute. He’d told Brains to keep his seatbelt on; instead, the small bot flew forward and smacked into the dashboard.
“Yow! This is completely nuts. You know it’s completely nuts, right? Man, that hurt.”
“I think you’ll be safer on my steering wheel,” Jolt suggested.
“You think so?” Brains crawled over and onto the steering wheel. “What’s so special about…”
“One word,” Jolt said, five seconds before he hit the ground. “Airbag.”
“Yeah, good thing ya got… wait, what?”
Jolt landed in a field a short distance from the highway. He hit bumper-first, releasing his airbag from the steering wheel and smacking Brains into the back seat. Jolt reeled in his parachute and closed his trunk as his back end fell to the ground.
“Oh, you think that’s funny?” Brains said.
“Yeah,” Jolt said. “I do!” And he laughed.
Brains opened his mouth to release a torrent of Cybertronian expletives, then he stopped.
“Okay,” he admitted. “I guess that was a little bit funny. Good one.” And he laughed, too.
Jolt drove to the highway and joined the traffic.
“You know this means war, right? I am sooo gonna kick your ass, just you wait.”
“I’m waiting,” Jolt replied, and they drove on toward Paris.

“We’re here,” Jolt said as he pulled into the school parking lot.
“Finally!” Brains said, and he hopped up onto the dashboard. “Now we’ll get some action.”
Jolt drove around to the back of the school, and saw three other cars waiting. One of them had to be Hot Rod; Jolt didn’t recognize the other two, but assumed one of them was Hot Rod’s friend ZB-7. According to Sir Edmund, the two had fought with the Allies during World War 2.
There were two humans with the cars, both clad in costumes that didn’t match the garb of the other Paris citizens Jolt had seen on his journey through the city. Well, he thought, Paris is renowned for being a fashion hub.
“Ok, we’re all here,” the black British Car said. “And I hear you can generate an electrical field that can mask us from energon sensors, oui?”
“Yes I can,” Jolt said. And, using the masking amplifier he’d developed at the Burton Estate, he projected his own electrical field out and around the entire gathering.
“What’re ye on about?” the black and yellow muscle car said.
“We are all masked,” Jolt said, and he opened his door to let Brains out.
“Then let’s transform!” Hot Rod said, and was the first to do so. Jolt was second, and then there was…
“Drift?” Jolt said, recognizing the Autobot who had been the blue sportscar. That left the muscle car, who had to be ZB-7. He transformed…
…into Bumblebee.
“Oh no,” said Jolt.
This was going to get awkward.

Chapter Text

Hot Rod & Cat Noir

Hot Rod waited outside Belle Couer Hospital, standing guard. He’d found a parking space across the street, and set in for his vigil. He kept a close eye on the Hospital network, waiting for updates of Vivian Wembley’s condition.
He also kept his eye on the news. The museum’s Tibet wing had been miraculously restored, but the new exhibit had been indefinitely delayed. Police bands added more to the story – the new artifact had been stolen, and a search was underway.
Hot Rod had begun his own investigation, but had very few leads. He’d tapped into several CCTV cameras throughout the city, and even a few cellular networks. Not bad, for a bot without Soundwave’s skills. He’d isolated a couple of images from the time during and immediately after the Museum attack, images that showed an object that could be the CyberMiraculous in the back of a pickup truck. A truck that had a statue embedded in its cab.
Hot Rod continued searching for more images of the truck, but it was slow going. And, there were more than a few distractions…
Tap, tap, tap, went a gloved fist at his driver’s side window.
“Anyone home?” Cat Noir said.
Hot Rod popped his door open, and the feline human climbed in.
“How did you find me?” the Autobot asked.
“I figured you’d be here,” Cat Noir said. “This is where they took Professor Wembley, after all. You really care about her, huh?”
“I am sworn to protect her,” Hot Rod said. “And I failed.”
“You couldn’t have known what was going to happen,” Cat Noir said, giving the steering wheel a reassuring pat. “Plus, you got stuck in car mode. And you still managed to save my whiskers, don’t forget that.”
“I’m not sworn to protect you,” Hot Rod snapped. “Still,” he softened, “I am glad I did. I could not have stopped the Decepticons without you and Ladybug.”
“Hey, protecting Paris, that’s what we do,” Cat Noir said. “And on that note, I think we need to compare notes. You know more about the CyberMiraculous than you’re telling.”
“And you have much to teach me about the nature of your powers,” Hot Rod said. “And your enemies. They went up against the Decepticons to get the CyberMiraculous, and it would seem they succeeded. Getting it back has to be our first priority.”
“So spill. Who are the Decepticons?”
“I have a better idea,” Hot Rod said. “I have friends coming. Meet me in a couple of hours, and bring your friend Ladybug. We can compare notes then.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get Ladybug,” Cat Noir said. “Where should we meet?”
“Hey, it is your city,” Hot Rod said, and he produced a 3D hologram map of Paris. “Where do you suggest?”
“Right here,” Cat Noir pointed at a spot. “Zoom in a bit… yeah. The parking lot behind that school. It’s the weekend, so we won’t be disturbed.”
“Works for me,” Hot Rod said. He popped his door again, and Cat Noir climbed out.
“These friends of yours,” Cat Noir said. “They like you?”
“They are my fellow Autobots, yes,” Hot Rod told him.
“Cool,” Cat Noir said. He vaulted over a building and disappeared, and the street was quiet once more.

Ladybug

Paris was quiet. Ladybug, who sat atop Notre Dame, was not a fan of clichee, but she thought the city was a little too quiet.
A lot hadn’t happened since the battle at the museum and its climax at the Eiffel Tower. The museum hadn’t been completely restored by her miraculous power, as most of the damage had been caused by the robots. Or, she corrected herself, by the Decepticons. Of those robots, there was no trace. Even the ones who’d seemed in very bad shape, like Galvatron and the one who’d been Thunderwing, had vanished from the area.
Her friends, for the most part, hadn’t been badly hurt. She’d gone as Marinette to the hospital where the class had been taken, and found most of them had been discharged. The only ones who had received more than scrapes and bruises had been Miss Bustier, who’d needed stitches on her leg; Professor Wembley, still unconscious but in stable condition; and Chloe, who’d twisted her ankle in the mad dash to the exit. Sabrina had carried her out, and remained at her bedside. Her father hadn’t come to pick her up yet; Lieutenant Raincomprix remained at the museum, helping with the investigation. And, it seemed he’d misplaced his squad car.
It was from him that Ladybug had received the worst news – the new exhibit and its statues had gone missing. She and Cat Noir didn’t have it, and Hot Rod didn’t have it either. That meant that, in all probability, it had fallen into the hands of Hawkmoth.
Another failure.
But Paris was quiet this evening. Whatever terrors the CyberMiraculous was capable of unleashing, Hawkmoth hadn’t unleashed them yet.
What was he waiting for?
Maybe, she thought, he doesn’t know how to use it…? If that was the case, then they had some time to find and stop him. It wasn’t much, but it gave her a little hope.
Her yo-yo began to ring, so she answered it.
“What’s new, Bugaboo?” came the cheerful voice of Cat Noir.
“Just patrolling,” Ladybug replied. “Have you found Hot Rod?”
“I have. And he has friends coming. We’re gonna meet them in a couple of hours behind the school where I… where some friends… people I know go to. No one should be in that area, so our friends can show their true faces, if you know what I mean.”
“I’ll be there,” Ladybug said. “Then we can finally find out what we’re dealing with.”
“Yeah. Aliens and ancient artifacts. And it’s called the CyberMiraculous! What are the chances of that?”
Ladybug’s eyes widened and she stood up straight. “None,” she said. “Check out the Ladyblog, there’s this whole article that shows a link between that thing and the history of the Miraculous.
“And as that’s the case,” she went on, “there’s somebody I really need to talk to.”
“Ah, right, good call,” Cat Noir said. “See you in two, Bugaboo!”
Ladybug leapt off the church and headed for a very specific park, and a very specific merry-go-round.

Marinette entered the park, and walked over to the concession stand beside the merry-go-round. Master Fu stood within, and he smiled when he saw her.
“Hello, Marinette. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I need you to tell me everything you know,” she said, “about the CyberMiraculous.”
“Why, that is simple,” Fu replied. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Oh, um, right,” Marinette said. “It wasn’t called that, was it? Um, here,” she took out her phone and pulled up Alya’s Ladyblog, then found the most recent article. “Here’s an image. Apparently, it was found in the same monastery where you… Master?”
Fu had gone white in the face. He stared at the image on her phone as though it was some unspeakable horror.
“Oh dear,” he said. “I think we’d better sit down.”
They went to the closet park bench. Marinette sat first, Master Fu more slowly. He took a deep breath before turning to face her.
“I saw that object, and the statues that surrounded it, only once, a few days before my… mistake. I suppose that my sentimonster must have eaten it, along with everything else in the monastery. I… should not have seen it. It was kept in a secret chamber in the basement. Heh, I say secret. Everyone knew about it. We were forbidden to go near it, even look at it. So, naturally, we all did.”
He paused for another deep breath.
“When I saw the statues… their faces… well, I screamed in terror and ran. My master caught me and gave me a good scolding. But after that… he told me what he knew.
“Its real name is the Shadow Matrix. And it came from beyond the stars.”

Chapter Text

It was hard to disappear in a pickup truck that happened to be an alien robot, with a statue stuck in the windscreen and a valuable and much-sought-after artifact in the bed. And yet, Hawkmoth noted, Lila had managed it. She was a most enterprising young lady, and she didn’t even have a driver’s licence yet! Lila had served him very well, and pulled a victory from the jaws of defeat almost single-handed. The CyberMiraculous hovered in the air before him, awaiting his command.
Or, so he hoped. He didn’t actually know how to operate it. He was, however, in the company of two who might.
“Well?” he turned to face his prisoners. “I’m waiting.”
“Get slagged!” was the reply.
Hawkmoth, Mayura and Lila had gathered in a disused opera house that Gabriel Agreste had purchased months ago for this very purpose. He hadn’t wanted to experiment with a potentially volatile object in his own home, after all. If something went wrong, the building was expendable; his home, and his family, were not.
Something had gone wrong, of course, right after Lila had placed her call…

“Where would you like it delivered?” Lila said into her phone, not hiding any of the smug-slathered triumph she felt. She said it more for effect; she and Hawkmoth had worked out the location for the CyberMiraculous when they’d planned the operation.
“Lila, you have it?” Hawkmoth asked, his voice filled with incredulous astonishment.
“Yes I do,” she said through her smile. “And I’m arriving at our predetermined…”
Just then, the Miraculous Ladybug wave passed over her. Two things happened at once: the CyberMiraculous began to glow; and the statue lodged through the windshield came to life. Lila screamed; the statue was no longer stone but living metal, with a face that resembled a skull.
A pissed-off skull. The robot clamped one arm around the truck’s cab and reached for Lila with the other, all the while snarling a language that she couldn’t understand.
“Lila, what’s happening?” Hawkmoth cried over the phone. His voice distracted the robot; it snatched up the phone and assimilated it.
Lila saw her destination up ahead. She steered toward it, and fastened her seatbelt.
“Where am I?” the robot said. “Where is the Shadow Matrix? Speak, fleshling!” Its hand clamped around her chest and started to squeeze…
The truck smashed through the front entrance of the opera house and drove straight through the lobby into the auditorium. The impacts knocked the robot off, but also knocked the breath from Lila’s lungs. The truck swerved, fell on its side and slid, scattering seats in every direction. It came to rest in the orchestra pit. Then it reminded Lila that it wasn’t just any pickup truck.
“Wha… hey!” the truck said, and transformed. As he did so, the CyberMiraculous fell from his bed and hovered half a metre above the pit floor.
“Ooph!” Lila said. She was still in her seat, bound by her seatbelt, and now found herself in the robot’s chest. Parts had moved all around her, and she considered herself lucky she wasn’t crushed. She was, however, being pinched very tightly. And she couldn’t move.
“Oh no, I’ve got a fleshling in me!” the truck said. “I hope it didn’t pop like the last one did… hey!”
A shadow slammed into him from behind and sent him sprawling. A moment later he was on his back, and a sword was pressed against his neck.
“Who are you?” the sword-wielder said. Lila recognized the voice; it was the statue robot.
“Dropkick,” the truck said. “Decepticon.”
“I am Bludgeon,” the sword-wielder said. “Also a Decepticon.”
“Ok, great!” Dropkick said. “Wanna lower that sword, pal?”
“What is your business with the Shadow Matrix?” Bludgeon asked. “If your goal is to take it from me, you are already dead.”
“Huh? Oh, that thing,” Dropkick noticed the hovering object near his feet. “I was, well… there were these other ‘cons, and I think you were a statue…”
“Cease your prattle!” Bludgeon dug his sword into Dropkick’s neck a few centimetres. “You brought it here, activated it. Why?”
“Hey, I just came back online,” Dropkick said. “Ask the fleshling,” he tapped his chest. “It drove me here.”
Bludgeon considered, and appeared to scan the fallen Decepticon. Then he raised his sword and made a series of quick, surgical cuts to Dropkick’s chest.
“Hey! Ow!” Dropkick said as Bludgeon flicked a section of his chest away and reached his other hand into the wound.
“Fleshling,” Bludgeon said as he extracted Lila from Dropkick. “Tell me why you have brought the Shadow Matrix here. Tell me what has become of my fellow Decepticons. Speak! Or the last thing you shall feel is your feeble body sliding down my blade.”
“I’lltellyoueverything!” Lila cried. “Pleasedon’thurtmeIwassentbyhawkmothtohelphimgrabthatthingbuthedidn’tsayanythingaboutrobotsohpleasedon’thurtme!”
Dropkick was enjoying the sound of the fleshbag pleading for her life. However, the sword guy had sliced him up, disrespected him, and that wasn’t the sort of thing a Decepticon just forgave. Bludgeon was distracted by the human’s mewlings, so the time to strike was now. Especially since his wrist-mounted blasters were ready.
Dropkick pointed both blasters at Bludgeon’s midsection and let him have it. The sword-wielding Decepticon flew backward, losing his grip on the human but still clutching his sword even as he crashed into the far wall.
“Yeah, that’s what you get!” Dropkick said, rising to his feet. “Mess with Dropkick, ya get drop-kicked, know what I mean?” He advanced on Bludgeon, firing as he came.
Bludgeon was already in motion.
“You have a warrior’s heart,” he said, “but tainted with the tongue of an idiot!” He dodged his opponent’s blasts, advancing ever closer. Dropkick backed off, still shooting. Chunks of floor, wall and seat flew everywhere.
Lila dove for cover under the hovering CyberMiraculous. Where is Hawkmoth? She thought. This is not what I signed up for!
A blast hit the stage near her, sending splinters of wood flying in all directions. One such direction happened to be Lila’s left leg. She screamed, clutched her wound and sat up, smacking her head into the underside of the CyberMiraculous. Her panicked thought at that moment was, “Save me!” Then she slumped to the floor, stunned and barely conscious.
Energy fired out of the CyberMiraculous and enveloped all the seats in the theatre, even the broken and burning ones. The intact seats transformed into child-sized robots of equal parts metal and cushion. The damaged seats joined together and formed larger robots, plush and dangerous.
Bludgeon reached Dropkick, ducked under his blaster fire and sliced upward, taking Dropkick’s left arm clean off. He followed up with a kick to Dropkick’s damaged chest, throwing the wounded Decepticon back.
“Did you really think you stood a chance against me?” Bludgeon said. “I am a master of Metallico, the deadliest Cybertronian fighting style. You are a mere… what?”
Bludgeon looked down to see he was surrounded by small, comfy-looking seat-bots.
“Save Lila!” the nearest one shouted, before delivering a blow to Bludgeon’s leg. Its arms had formed from the armrests, so the punch had very little impact. Bludgeon sliced it in half with no effort at all.
“Save Lila!” said the seat-bot immediately behind the bisected one.
“Save Lila!” said the one behind him.
“Save Lila!” all the seat-bots chanted.
And they rushed at Bludgeon, en masse.

Dropkick’s wounds hurt massively. Nevertheless, he gathered up his severed arm and crept toward the stage. He had no idea where the seat-bots had come from, but for the moment they seemed uninterested in him.
Which meant the Shadow Matrix was his for the taking! He approached the glowing artifact…
“Save Lila.”
Dropkick turned to see a fist composed of a seat-back and five armrests swinging toward him. He ducked, took a step back and regarded his attacker; it was as if seven seats had combined together. It swung again; Dropkick dodged, then swatted the thing with his severed arm. The thing fell back a step, then came in swinging once more.
Dropkick dropped the arm, then fired at the thing with his wrist blaster. The thing blew apart, but then the pieces started recombining. Other seat-bots joined it, forming into an even larger creature.
Dropkick kept blasting.

“Blast!” Bludgeon said as he sliced another seat-bot in two. He’d dispatched dozens of the things, but they spat upon his honourable kills by refusing to die. Instead, they continued to combine and recombine, all while keeping up the attack.
He spared a glance at Dropkick, who seemed to be getting better results with his blaster. Bludgeon hated to resort to such crude and dishonourable methods of combat, but the prospect of being bested by these silly things was even worse. He transformed into a Cybertronian tank and opened fire, and slowly but surely the ranks of the seat-bots waned.
“Whew, that does it,” Dropkick said as he looked at the mess of burning cushion and pulverized metal.
“That was, without doubt,” Bludgeon transformed and approached him, “the most humiliating victory I have ever endured. Killing you,” he pointed his sword at the other Decepticon, “will bring little honour, either.”
“Oh, good,” Dropkick said.
“But sometimes a little,” he stalked forward and placed the point of his blade against Dropkick’s chest, “is enough.” He prepared to thrust…
“Well, isn’t this a mess.”
Bludgeon and Dropkick turned to look at one of the many holes they’d blasted in the wall. Two costumed figures stood there, a male and a female. The female carried a fan made of feathers. The male carried a cane… and what remained of a seat armrest.
“I am Hawkmoth,” said the male. “This is Mayura. And that,” he pointed his cane at the glowing artifact, “belongs to me.”
“Hah! I think not,” said Bludgeon. “You challenge me at your peril, flesh creature.”
Mayura took a feather from her fan, and imbued it with Amok energy. The newly-created Amok drifted over to the armrest in Hawkmoth’s hand.
Dropkick’s optics widened in recognition.
“Oh, slag,” he said, and he raised his arm to fire.
“No!” Bludgeon sliced Dropkick’s other arm off at the elbow. “If they would challenge us, we will fight with honour.”
“Ow!” Dropkick said. “Ya don’t get it. That’s…”
A cloud formed in front of the two humans. At first it was dark, but then it resolved itself into a bright yellow sentimonster.
Bludgeon scanned the creature, and determined it to be composed entirely of electricity.
“I believe I shall call him Kremzeek,” Hawkmoth said. “Kremzeek, restrain them.”
The electric beast leapt forward, a demented smile on its face. Bludgeon had no time to consider how he might do battle with such a creature before it was upon him. The shock was incredible, painful and debilitating. The last thing Bludgeon saw before he went offline was the smaller human girl crawling out from under the Shadow Matrix.

When he came back online, Bludgeon found himself still in the ruined theatre, now surrounded by a cage of electrical energy. A scan revealed the cage to be composed of the creature that had bested him. A similar cage held Dropkick; he kicked at the bars in rage and frustration, only to howl with agony at the shock.
The Shadow Matrix continued to hover in the air above the orchestra pit. The one called Hawkmoth stood before the artifact, studying it. The one named Mayura sat with the younger female on the floor.
Hawkmoth turned and regarded the Decepticons.
“I see you are awake,” he said. “Or is it on-line? Good. Now, to business. I want to know how the CyberMiraculous works. If you want your freedom, and value your lives, you will tell me.”
Something nagged at Bludgeon’s memory circuits. He replayed the battle with the seat-bots in his mind, looking for its origin.
“Well?” Hawkmoth said. “I’m waiting.”
“Get slagged!” Dropkick shouted.
“Kremzeek, discipline the prisoner,” Hawkmoth said.
The cell holding Dropkick shrank suddenly, and its bars pressed against the Decepticon’s body. He screamed as the bars electrocuted him for a good five seconds, then moaned as the cell returned to its former size.
“You were saying?” Hawkmoth said.
Bludgeon replayed the battle again, and included his last memory before he’d gone offline. There could be no doubt; the Shadow Matrix had created the seat-bots. And it had done so in response to the small female who had crawled out from under it.
“Are you all right, Lila?” Mayura said to the girl in a voice barely above a whisper.
“I think so,” the girl replied. “Are you?”
Bludgeon replayed the words the seat-bots had spoken: “Save Lila!”
The girl was Lila. And the Shadow Matrix had obeyed her!
Bludgeon reviewed his options, then spoke.
“Ignore the simpleton,” he said. “You, fleshling. Hawkmoth, was it?”
“Correct,” Hawkmoth said. “And you are…?”
“Bludgeon,” he replied. “And I believe we can be of use to each other. Free me, and I shall assist you in unlocking the Shadow Matrix’s power.”
“Shadow Matrix?” Hawkmoth followed Bludgeon’s gaze. “Ah. We call it the CyberMiraculous. Tell me how to unlock it,” he countered, “and we will discuss your freedom.”
“Freedom first,” Bludgeon said. “Or I tell you nothing.”
“We’ll see. Kremzeek?”
Bludgeon assumed a meditative pose and journeyed inward. Outward, his body took the shock from the sentimonster and jiggled uncontrollably. When Kremzeek relented, the Decepticon appeared singed but otherwise unharmed.
Hawkmoth blinked, taken aback.
“Again!” he commanded.
Kremzeek shrunk Bludgeon’s cell once more, and once more the Decepticon jiggled from the shock. He did not scream, did not cry out, did not make so much as a whimper.
“Again!” Hawkmoth shouted.
Same result.
“I am master of my mind and body,” Bludgeon said. “I can ignore pain. You cannot force me to divulge anything.”
“I could kill you,” Hawkmoth pointed out.
“Do so, and you lose my knowledge.”
“He probably doesn’t know anything,” Lila said.
“Child, I brought the Shadow Matrix to this planet!” Bludgeon said. “I know not only what it is, but where it came from. That knowledge I will share, but only if you grant my freedom.”
Hawkmoth considered.
“How do I know you won’t try to kill us the moment you’re out of that cell?”
“What assurances do I have,” Bludgeon countered, “that you won’t dispose of me the moment you have what you need from me?”
Hawkmoth nodded, conceding the point.
“Here,” Bludgeon said, and in an instant he had drawn his sword and thrust it out between the electric bars. “I give you this much assurance.” He let go, and the sword fell to the floor.
Hawkmoth, who’d jumped back at the sight of the Decepticon’s blade, regained his composure. Lila, who hadn’t flinched at all, gave the villain a look of distain but said nothing.
“Kremzeek, release him,” Hawkmoth said. “But stay ready.”
The sentimonster dissolved the electric cage, drawing it back into its body.
Bludgeon stood, stepped forward, and lowered himself to one knee before the humans.
“My masters,” he said. “Shall we begin?”

The meeting with Hot Rod and his friends was about to begin. Ladybug landed on top of the school roof and hurried to the far side, then looked down at the teacher’s parking lot below. Hot Rod was already there, looking for all the world like a regular car. Cat Noir sat on his roof, idly spinning his pole with one hand.
Feeling mischievous, Ladybug threw her yo-yo down, snagged the pole and yanked it out of his hand.
“Hey!” the black-clad kitty said.
“Looking for this?” Ladybug said as she hopped down to join them.
“Cat Noir was just telling me,” Hot Rod said, “how no one ever catches him by surprise.”
“No one?” Ladybug handed back his pole, which Cat Noir snatched.
“Well, only you, bugaboo,” Cat Noir said, switching from annoyed embarrassment to flirty with record-breaking speed. “You did, after all, steal my heart.”
“Mon dieu…” Hot Rod muttered. “C’est la merde.”
“Did Master Fu tell you anything interesting?” Cat Noir asked.
“He did, yeah,” Ladybug replied. “The CyberMiraculous is really called the Shadow Matrix, and it came to Earth from another world. Yours, probably,” she nodded at Hot Rod. “The monks who trained Master Fu not only guarded the Miraculouses, but this Shadow Matrix as well.
“He… didn’t exactly react well to the news of its discovery.”
“Anything to add?” Cat Noir asked the black car.
“Not much,” Hot Rod replied. “Except, of course, for the names of the Decepticons who brought it here: Bugly, you’ve met; Mindwipe; and Bludgeon, one of Cybertron’s most feared warriors. His part in the story is probably the only reason it became a legend.”
“What do you know about the Shadow Matrix itself?” Ladybug asked.
“A Cybertronian artifact,” Hot Rod said. “Beyond that… I didn’t even know what it was called until just now.”
“Guys?” Cat Noir looked up. “We have company.”
A black and yellow muscle car came around the side of the school, followed by a blue Bugatti. They drove up to the other three, and parked on either side of Hot Rod.
“Hello, mon amis,” Hot Rod said. “ZB7, it has been a long time.”
“M’name’s Bumblebee now,” the muscle car said.
“He’s Scottish?” Cat Noir asked.
“His voicebox has always been a bit faulty,” Hot Rod said.
“Look hew’s talkin’, Frenchie.”
“Well, we are in Paris,” Hot Rod said. “Who’s your amie… your friend?”
“I am Drift,” the Bugatti said. “I must know, where is the Shadow Matrix?”
“We will get to that,” Hot Rod said. “We still have two more Autobots coming. In the meantime, meet Ladybug and Cat Noir, this city’s protectors.”
“Hello,” Ladybug offered a little wave.
“So, let’s see your robot modes!” Cat Noir said.
“We canna do that,” Bumblebee said.
“There is an energon detector less than two kilometers from here,” Drift added. “We may already have been detected.”
“I have a built-in energon masker that keeps me hidden,” Hot Rod told them. “You two will be masked aussi, as long as you are close to me. But not if you transform, you will use more energon.”
“Aw…” Cat Noir said.
“You have to hide?” Ladybug said.
“The human authorities do not want us on their planet,” Drift said.
“In spite o’ all we do for ‘em,” Bumblebee added.
“They have very good reason to be afraid,” Drift said. “Our enemies, the Decepticons, want to rule your world and enslave your people.”
“But not you guys, right?” Cat Noir said.
“Non,” Hot Rod said. “But most humans do not recognize the difference.”
“Which is why we must find the Shadow Matrix at once,” Drift said. “The longer we stay, the greater the risk of clashing with human authorities.”
“And I guess it won’t be easy if you have to stay as cars, and next to him,” Cat Noir said.
“Un moment,” Hot Rod said. “We actually have that covered.”
At that moment, a grey Chevy Volt came around the side of the school.
“Ok, we’re all here,” Hot Rod said as the Volt drove up to them. “And I hear you can generate an electrical field that can mask us from energon sensors, oui?”
“Yes, I can,” the Volt said.
“What’re ye on about?” said Bumblebee.
“We are all masked,” the newcomer said. He opened his passenger door, and a horrible lump of metal bits jumped out.
“Then let’s transform!” Hot Rod said, and he did just that. The newcomer began his transformation, as did Drift and Bumblebee.
“Nice!” Cat Noir said, looking at all of them with glee.
“Oh no,” said the newcomer.
“Jolt,” Bumblebee said, and there was no disguising the contempt packed into that one word.
“ZB?” Hot Rod said with a note of concern.
“Uh oh,” said the horrible lump of metal bits. “This could go apeshit real…”
Bumblebee launched himself forward and slammed into Jolt with both fists. The two Autobots crashed through the fence around the sports field and flattened a row of bleachers.
“What’s going on?” Ladybug asked Hot Rod.
“I do not know!” Hot Rod replied, turning to the other Autobots. “Do either of you…?”
“There is… bad energon between them,” Drift said.
“No duh,” said the horrible lump of metal bits.
In the field, Jolt got to his feet only to be struck down once more. Bumblebee grabbed him by the arm and leg and swung him around like a toy, then flung him back through the fence and into the side of the school. The wall cracked but did not collapse, but Ladybug knew the building couldn’t take the punishment the robots could dish out for long.
“Cat Noir,” she said, “we need to end this.”
“On it,” Cat Noir said, and he leapt toward the approaching Bumblebee.
Who swatted him out of the way.
“Bumblebee, please stop…” Jolt said, holding up his arms defensively as he moved away from the wall.
Bumblebee punched him in the chest, and Jolt crashed back into the brickwork.
Ladybug spun her yo-yo.
Jolt staggered away. Bumblebee rammed him from behind, then leapt into the air above the fallen Autobot while deploying a blade from his left arm. As he came down, Ladybug’s yo-yo wound itself around him. The red hero yanked hard, tugging Bumblebee away from Jolt.
“That’s enough!” Ladybug said. “You want to fight each other, take it out of my city.”
Bumblebee turned to face her. He still had his blade arm free, and for a moment Ladybug thought he might attack her. Instead he relented, and the blade vanished back into his arm.
“Aye,” he said, and nodded. Ladybug retracted her yo-yo, and went to check on Cat Noir.
“Are you ok?” she asked as she helped him back to his feet.
“Still purrin’,” Cat Noir replied, casting an angry glare at the yellow and black Autobot.
Jolt stood back up, and extended a hand toward Bumblebee.
“Sir, I…” he began.
“Save it, laddie,” Bumblebee waved away his help, got up and walked away.
“Are you two done?” Ladybug asked. “We really don’t need any in-fighting.”
“I agree,” said Drift. “Bumblebee, please do not dishonour yourself any further.”
“Brave werds, laddie…”
“ZB… ah, Bumblebee,” Hot Rod said, walking over to his friend. “Time, she is short.”
Bumblebee nodded and sat. The other Autobots followed suit, forming a circle. Jolt chose a spot a fair distance from his abuser.
“You ok, Jay?” the horrible lump of metal bits said as he climbed up one of Jolt’s arms to perch upon his shoulder.
“I’ll be fine, Brains,” Jolt replied.
Brains? Cat Noir thought, but said nothing.
“Drift,” Hot Rod said, “you are the one who knows what we are dealing with, oui? I only know the legend.”
“I do know,” Drift replied, “to my shame. The story I have to tell you does not paint me in the best light, but it is a story you all need to hear.
“It began several thousand Earth years ago, when I crashed on this planet with three of my fellow Decepticons.”
“Eh?” said Bumblebee.
“What?” said Cat Noir. “Aren’t they the bad guys?”
“I thought you were all Autobots,” Ladybug said.
“So did I,” Hot Rod added.
“I told you it wouldn’t make me look good,” Drift said. “I am an Autobot now, but it wasn’t always so. Back then, I was known as Deadlock, and I was a member of a Cybertronian cult called the Disciples of Chaos.”

Chapter Text

Bludgeon the Decepticon sat on the floor of the opera house in front of Hawkmoth, Mayura and Lila. Behind him, the sentimonster Kremzeek lurked, keeping an electric cage around the wounded Decepticon Dropkick.
“We were called the Disciples of Chaos,” Bludgeon told the humans before him. “We were… a movement, dedicated to raising the consciousness of our race. We worshipped the AllSpark, a relic of unimaginable power that had given life to my world.”
“Is that the CyberMiraculous?” Mayura asked.
“No,” Bludgeon said. “But the two are related. You might say, the Shadow Matrix is its opposite. The AllSpark gives life to worlds. The Shadow Matrix, on the other hand, takes it.
“It was found on a dead planet in a nearby system. We had sent Seekers out into the cosmos to find worlds that would provide the raw materials required for the continued functioning of our race. One seeker sent a message of discovery back to Cybertron, but a follow-up mission found him dead like the world around him. He’d approached the artifact and paid for it with his life.”
Hawkmoth, Mayura and Lila took an involuntary step away from the CyberMiraculous.
“Hey! I was carryin’ that thing,” Dropkick cried from his prison. “Why didn’t it kill me?”
“You were not trying to activate it,” Bludgeon told him. “Now be silent. There is much more to tell.”
“Get to the part about how it operates,” said Hawkmoth. “That’s all I need to…”
“Fool! Were you not listening?” Bludgeon pounded the floor before Hawkmoth with his fist. “Used incorrectly, the Shadow Matrix eats life. It killed the planet it was found upon, it could kill your world! Like it could have killed mine.” He paused for a moment, to let that detail sink in.
“Cybertron had two moons. When the Shadow Matrix had been safely acquired, it was brought to our smaller moon – Luna 1 - to be studied. Megatron, our leader, did this for two reasons: one, he did not want to place so dangerous an object upon the surface of Cybertron, a wise precaution as it turned out; and two, he did not want its discovery to be known to the Autobots, especially their leader Optimus Prime.
“Two of Cybertron’s best scientists were… persuaded to study the Shadow Matrix, to learn exactly what you wish to learn, Hawkmoth; how could it be used to further our agenda.
“Things… did not go to plan.”

“I learned of the existence of the Shadow Matrix following the Cataclysm of the Two Moons,” Drift told his audience of Autobots and Superheroes. “It was as if the sky had been ripped open. Pieces of Luna 2 rained down upon Cybertron for cycles, while Luna 1 had been knocked out of orbit, and was steadily drifting away. Megatron summoned us – the Disciples of Chaos – to Luna 1, to ground zero, where the Shadow Matrix lay dormant. We learned that Cybertron’s top scientists – Perceptor and Skullgrin – had been studying the artifact; something went wrong, Luna 2 was destroyed, and both scientists were missing, presumed dead.
“Megatron knew of our cult’s propensity for the arcane and the spiritual, and hoped we would have better luck studying the Shadow Matrix. He did not, however, want it anywhere near Cybertron. We were tasked with transporting the artifact to a distant world, that we might unlock its secrets there.
“And so we left Cybertron behind, and brought the Shadow Matrix here, to your planet.”
“Oh, great,” said Cat Noir. “What’s to stop that thing from wiping out the Earth?”
“Nothing at all,” Drift replied.

Hawkmoth gulped; he had nothing to say. What could he say, knowing he was in the same room as the ultimate weapon of mass destruction?
“It should have been a simple assignment,” Bludgeon said. “I have no shame in telling you I was excited by the prospect of studying it. I felt… drawn to it, seduced by its power…” he looked away, as if staring into the distance while re-living a cherished memory.
“Go on,” Hawkmoth prompted.
“Yes, yes,” Bludgeon said. “But the Shadow Matrix had a mind of its own. One of my accolades displayed a bond with it, and awakened it as we were midway through our journey.
“We’d been heading for the planet Char, out by the galactic rim. Instead, the Shadow Matrix steered us off course, and caused us to crash on this planet.
“We all went off-line, but not for long…”

“Our ship crashed in the mountains of Tibet,” Drift said. “As we hit the atmosphere and our fate became clear, I…” he paused for a moment, looked away. “I hid myself in the crash vault.”
“Ye did whut, noo?” Bumblebee asked.
“I hid in the one part of the ship that was most likely to survive the impact intact,” Drift replied. “I wasn’t particularly brave back then, but I had a strong survivor’s instinct.
“Nevertheless, I was tossed around and took damage. The vault was designed to keep the Shadow Matrix secure, not me. I managed to stagger out of the ship before I went offline, then I awoke to find myself inside a human-built structure – a monastery, as it turned out. The local populace had found me, and they took me in.”
“Really?” Cat Noir said. “What was that like?”
“They must have been scared,” Ladybug added.
“If they had been, they’d got over it by the time I came back online,” Drift told her. “If anything, they’d been expecting me. It turns out there was a prophecy about giants from the heavens.”
“Talk about on the nose,” Brains said.
“Just so. I saw an opportunity to salvage my mission. It took some time to learn their language, and while I did so, I learned about their culture. And that they had access to their own source of power.”
“I was fully prepared to steal that power, and enslave the lot of them to serve the Decepticon Empire. But then, something happened. Something… inconvenient. And unfortunate.”
“What was that?” Cat Noir wanted to know.
“I made a friend,” Drift said.

Chapter Text

"A friend?" Cat Noir said, as he, Ladybug and the Autobots waited for Drift to elaborate.
“I communicated mostly with the Abbot," Drift said, and even managed to teach him some basic Cybertronian. But there was a young boy named Ho who seemed particularly enamoured with me. I found him annoying, and would have killed him and been done with it…”
“What?” Ladybug said.
“…but that would not have benefited my mission. I tolerated him and his numerous questions about space, other worlds, and Cybertron. I played in to their prophecy about heavenly giants, and spun a few yarns about myself in the process. He, in turn, told me about the Kwamis.”
“Kwamis?” Jolt asked.
“Let him talk, ye wanker.”
“No, it’s a good question,” Ladybug chimed in. “The Kwamis are the magical beings that give Cat Noir and I our powers. They bond with us through their miraculouses,” she tapped her earrings, “and each Kwami is responsible for their own miraculous.”
“So… magic bling, with magic beings, mix that with a human,” Brains said, “and you get superheroes?”
“That’s… basically it, yeah,” Cat Noir said.
“Go on, sil vous plait,” Hot Rod nodded at Drift.
“That was a very good description of the Kwamis,” Drift said. “Back then, however, they were dormant. They had been found that way centuries earlier, but in that time they had not woken up from their stasis. They were a potential power, but nothing more, and I filed them away as such. Young Ho thought they were fascinating, and had hoped that I would be able to revive them somehow.
“And, as it would turn out, I did.”
“Let me guess,” Cat Noir said. “The Shadow Matrix.”
“I will get to that,” Drift said. “But good guess, human. I’d instructed the Abbot to search the ship for my fellow Decepticons. It took them a monumental effort, but they managed to transport Bugly, Bludgeon and Mindwipe back to the Monastery. All three were off-line, and they were left to recover in one of the stables.
“I myself went back to the ship to secure the Shadow Matrix. I’d considered getting the monks to do it; if it killed them, well… better them than me. In the end, my greed got the better of me. I went alone, or so I’d thought.
“While I was gone, however, events took a turn for the worst at the Monastery…”

“I came back on-line in a stable at a monastery, next to two of my acolytes,” Bludgeon said. “Once they were functional, we set out to learn what we could about our surroundings. We entered the monastery and quickly took control; we didn’t speak the language of the pathetic flesh creatures we encountered, but they understood the universal language of brute force.
“One of them, I believe he was the Abbot, spoke a very crude Cybertronian. Words like ‘stop’, or phrases like ‘don’t hurt us’. It appeared that my third acolyte, Deadlock, had been living amongst them for a time. I was very curious to know why he hadn’t already subjugated these creatures, but at that moment I was more interested in knowing where he was. I gathered from the monks that he’d gone back to the ship, no doubt to secure the Shadow Matrix.
“We awaited his return with anticipation.”

“By the time I arrived at the ship,” Drift said, “it was clear I had been followed. I suppose you can guess who it was.”
“Ho?” Ladybug said.
“Indeed,” said Drift. “Apparently, he thought we had some sort of bond. And, I had to admit to myself he had grown on me. When he stepped into the ship and immediately found a hole in the floor, I instinctively reached out and saved his life.
“My commander, Bludgeon, would have said I’d gone soft. In fact he did, not long after. Nevertheless I brought Ho with me into the crash vault, and began the process of removing the Shadow Matrix.
“As I did so, a remarkable thing happened. Ho ignored my warnings to stay back and approached the artifact, and it began to glow. It removed the final restraints by itself, then hovered in the air before us. Curious, I asked Ho to leave the vault. He did, and the Shadow Matrix returned to dormancy and fell to the floor. I asked him to come back inside, and the artifact glowed and hovered once more.
“I knew then that select beings have an affinity for the Shadow Matrix, and Ho was one of them. For my own purposes, I elected to keep that information to myself.
“Together, we safely removed the Shadow Matrix from the ship and brought it back to the monastery in a cart. What greeted us was both chaos and order: my fellow Decepticons had arisen, and made their presence felt; they had also assumed control. And, for the first time in my life as a Decepticon warrior and member of the Disciples of Chaos, I was uncertain of where my loyalties lay.”

“Deadlock returned, and as I’d surmised, he’d procured the Shadow Matrix,” Bludgeon said. “I could tell right away he was hiding something, and I meant to know what it was, but there was still work to do to establish control. I had Deadlock share his data files on the monks’ language with myself, Bugly and Mindwipe, then I had Mindwipe use his powers of hypnosis to enslave the minds of those monks and turn them into a slave force.”

“When I realized what Bludgeon planned to do,” Drift said, “I told Ho to run. It was instinct, as had been saving his life earlier. After all, the Decepticon cause was better served by revealing Ho’s affinity for the Shadow Matrix. His safety… had simply become more important to me than duty.”
“Awww,” said Ladybug.
“Bludgeon, however,” Drift went on, “disagreed.”

“I witnessed Deadlock bending down and speaking to a human much younger than yourself,” Bludgeon nodded at Lila. “The boy immediately ran into the monastery, no doubt to hide. Why had my loyal acolyte told him to run? My instincts had been correct: he was hiding something, and that child was the key.
“I insisted he explain himself. Deadlock said something about forming a bond with the boy, and did not want to see him harmed.”

“That is when he told me I’d gone soft,” Drift said, “right before he stabbed me in the chest.”

“I disciplined him,” Bludgeon said, “but I showed mercy and let him live. I told Mindwipe to send the monks after the boy and bring him back to me.”

“While I recovered from my new injury, Mindwipe sent his hypnotized slaves to find Ho. Bludgeon always had strong instincts; he must have suspected Ho’s significance.
“It took a while, but they found him. Apparently, he’d taken refuge in the Kwami chamber. He’d… he’d thought they would protect him.” He paused, looked down.
“What happened?” Ladybug prompted.

“My instincts about the boy were correct,” Bludgeon said. “When he was brought within proximity of the Shadow Matrix, it activated. But not as it had done on our ship, when its surprise awakening had caused our crash. If anything, it seemed to await the boy’s command. I knew then why it had brought us here; it sensed what it needed on this world… a compatible mind.
“I told the boy he would serve us, would help us master the power of the Shadow Matrix. If he served us well, we would leave his world in peace. If he did not…”

“…then Mindwipe would order all of the monks to kill themselves. But not before they’d laid waste to the surrounding villages, including the town where his parents lived.”
Drift paused again for a moment or two.
“Ho kept looking up at me, expecting help,” he went on. “When he realized that help wasn’t coming, the look of betrayal on his features was more than I could bear.
“I could not let it continue. But what could I do? I was injured, unable to fight…”
At that moment, Jolt turned sharply to glare at Bumblebee, who chose to ignore him.
“Even if I was at full strength,” Drift went on, “I would be no match for Bludgeon. His mastery of Metalliko, a Cybertronian martial art,” he clarified for Ladybug and Cat Noir, “has no equal. And there was Bugly and Mindwipe to consider. All I could do was follow along with my fellow Decepticons as they began their work.”

Chapter Text

“I had the slaves build a shrine for the Shadow Matrix,” Bludgeon said, “and put the boy to work. He could commune with the artifact, order it to move where he wished, but activating its destructive potential was not easily done. I sent Mindwipe to acquire the boy's progenitors… his parents, and threatened their lives. I knew it would provide the right motivation, but the results were beyond my expectations. He activated the Shadow Matrix, and an instant later all the fleshlings in and around the shrine were turned to stone. They had had the very spark of life taken from them!
“Including,” Bludgeon paused for effect, “the boy’s parents.”

“He was… inconsolable,” Drift said. “It was then that Ho discovered he could use the energy the artifact had stored as a weapon.”

“He destroyed the shrine,” Bludgeon said, “and nearly killed us. Deadlock, the coward, fled in terror.”

“In my shame,” Drift said, “I fled to the chamber where Ho had taken refuge earlier, and knelt before the dormant Kwamis. I meditated, looking inward for guidance, but the answer I received was unexpected.
“One of the Kwamis spoke to me, on the spiritual plane. And told me what I had to do.”

“The boy wanted to kill me,” Bludgeon went on, “but I was having none of that. I had Mindwipe fetch the Abbot, then held him out like a shield before me. The boy could not destroy me without killing his precious elder. Naturally, he capitulated.
“I wanted to take the boy to the nearest village, and have him drain the lives of the villagers. Before that, however, I was curious to know if he could drain a Cybertronian. And I had a disloyal acolyte who would, heh heh, volunteer for the sacrifice.”

“When I came out of my trance, Bugly and Mindwipe came for me. I did not resist; I let them lead me to the Shadow Matrix, and Ho. They forced me to my knees before the artifact, and Bludgeon ordered Ho to kill me.
“I could see he wanted to – I had, after all, betrayed him – but I knew he was also conflicted. I told him he had a choice to make, and I opened my hands to show him the dormant Kwami. He focused on them, and unleashed the Shadow Matrix’s destructive power.
“Only it didn’t destroy. The energy awakened the Kwamis, and gifted them with pieces of the Shadow Matrix. Those pieces…”
“…were the Miraculouses?” Ladybug asked.
“Indeed,” Drift said. “The Shadow Matrix had been a vessel that took energy and used it for destruction. Now, with the guidance of Ho and the Kwamis, it had evolved into something more.
“The Kwami I had communed with flew to the Abbott, who was held securely in Bludgeon’s hands...”

“The small creature flew to my prisoner, and suddenly he was covered in a red outfit with black dots. He freed himself with superhuman strength, and struck me with a blow that sent me flying backward.”
“The Ladybug Miraculous…” Hawkmoth said.
“The Abbott went on to fight my acolytes, using a strange weapon… a type of mace, perhaps. He entangled Mindwipe, then flung him into Bugly. The attack was… humiliating.
“I drew my sword, determined to end it.”

“I saw Bludgeon draw his sword, and I drew mine in return. We fought, but my assessment of my commander was accurate – I was no match for his skill. He disarmed me, then cut through my legs. Helpless, I could only watch as he advanced on the Abbott and struck him down.”

“I had taken the measure of the Abbott’s new power,” Bludgeon said, “and found it wanting. I attacked, and gave him an honourable death. I turned to see the boy preparing to use the Shadow Matrix, and I charged toward him.”

“Bludgeon did not like what Ho was doing. He, Bugly and Mindwipe turned and ran toward the boy. He drew power from the Shadow Matrix and created a sphere of energy around himself and my fellow Decepticons, and pushed the Kwamis – and myself – away.
“There was a flash of light, then silence. The Shadow Matrix was dormant once more, and Bludgeon, Bugly and Mindwipe had been turned to stone. It was over.
“The monks had been freed from Mindwipe’s hypnotism,” Drift continued. “They vowed to keep the Shadow Matrix a secret, and to protect the Kwami. The Abbott was given an honourable burial, and the Shadow Matrix and the Decepticons were taken into the monastery and sealed away.”
“What happened to Ho?” Cat Noir asked.
Drift paused for a moment.
“Of Ho, there was no trace,” he said. “I never did learn what happened to him. His sacrifice had saved the monastery, and showed me I could be a better being. I left the monks to their duties and set out on my own, determined to start a new life.
“But that is another story.”

“So that is how you and the others became statues,” Hawkmoth said. “A fascinating story, robot, but it doesn’t tell me what I really need to know.”
“Oh, but it does,” Bludgeon said. “That human boy proved to be a compatible match with the Shadow Matrix.
“And so,” he pointed at Lila, “is she.”
“What?” Hawkmoth said.
“What?” said Lila. “I’m not… I can’t…”
“But you can!” Bludgeon leaned closer, and picked up one of the dead seat-bots. “The Shadow Matrix created these to protect you when you made contact with it.”
Hawkmoth looked at Lila with renewed interest.
“I... didn’t mean to do that…”
“But you did.”
“I can’t control it!”
“You can,” Bludgeon leaned in closer to her. “And I can teach you how.”

Chapter Text

There was a railyard outside of Paris, with lots of freight cars awaiting use. There were a couple of sheds, one of which housed a number of diesel locomotives. The other was now the fallback position for the Decepticons.
They were a sorry lot. Lounging against walls or spread out on the tracks, they waited for their wounds to heal.
Barricade, who’d come out of the museum battle relatively unscathed, knew what they were going through. He’d missed out on the battle of Mission City ten years earlier after Ironhide rammed him into a concrete pillar. His recovery had been slow, painful… and ultimately a blessing. Five Decepticons attacked Mission City, and only one had escaped.
The casualties had been light this time around. Oil Pan and Brimstone were dead, Dropkick missing. And Galvatron…
Barricade couldn’t look at the wretched lump that had been their former leader. He still lived, but had yet to emerge from stasis lock. Which, Barricade mused, was also likely a blessing.
“Bored,” said Berserker. And not for the first time. He’d taken quite a beating, but was mending nicely.
“I know you are bored,” Barricade said.
“We all be bored, yo,” said Mohawk, whose crushed chest still looked like agony. “But we got our butts whipped. We need to chill.”
Berserker considered the smaller Decepticon’s words. Then he backhanded Mohawk across the shed and into the side of an engine.
“That,” Barricade said, “didn’t help.”
“You wanna make something of it?” the larger Decepticon rose to his full height and brandished his claws.
Barricade did not. Even at full strength he was no match for Berserker’s fury. He backed off, and tripped over the prone form of Dreadbot as he did so. That Decepticon had taken a lot of damage, but had nearly recovered only to become the first victim of Berserker’s boredom. He was now in stasis lock, and would stay that way for a while.
Barricade landed in an undignified heap on the ground. Berserker laughed, and Barricade nearly gave in to the urge to attack him. He chose to let it lie.
Berserker, on the other hand, did not.
“You are a coward!” he said, and grabbed Barricade’s leg and threw him. The smaller Decepticon smashed through the doors of the shed and landed on the tracks beyond.
That does it, Barricade thought, and he rose to face his hulking adversary.
A small object flew over Barricade’s head and attached itself to Berserker’s chest. The larger Decepticon shuddered and jiggled, as if he’d stepped on a live wire.
“Nnnn…” he said, and collapsed.
Barricade spun around, blaster ready.
Darksteel stood behind him, holding a tiny human-built weapon in his hand.
“You like this?” he said, holding up the weapon. “It fires a projectile specifically designed to latch onto Cybertronian ‘skin’, or Transformium as they call it, and deliver a debilitating shock to our systems. As Berserker just found out.
“I took it from the team of TRF soldiers who’d been sent here to deal with you. Lucky I found them first, or you would all be in human custody by now.”
“What do you want?” Barricade asked.
“An apology would be a nice start,” Darksteel said. “But it can wait. More humans will come, and we don’t want to be here when they do.” He walked past Barricade and kicked the prone Berserker in the leg. “Up you get, I didn’t hit you that hard.”
Barricade followed Darksteel into the shed. Berserker stumbled to his feet, letting off mild curses.
“You’re all in a sorry state,” Darksteel told the room. “Are any of you still functional?”
“Still in one piece, baby,” said Mohawk as he extricated himself from the side of the locomotive.
“How about this one?” Darksteel tapped Dreadbot with his foot.
“He’s still recovering,” Barricade said.
“Then we leave him,” Darksteel said.
“What about Galvatron?” Barricade asked.
“Hmm? Oh, this mangled lump of crud,” Darksteel looked down on the Decepticon leader. “He stays, too.” And he kicked the mangled lump of crud across the shed. “He’s useless to us now. And I am resuming command. Unless there are any objections?”
Barricade, Berzerker and Mohawk looked from one to another. Barricade considered standing up for his leader, but kept his vocals silent.
“Then let’s go,” Darksteel said.
“Where we goin’?” Berserker asked as they left the shed.
“We’re going to finish the mission that you all botched,” Darksteel said, and he transformed not into a police car but a black Corvette convertible. “We’re going to get the Shadow Matrix.”
The others transformed and followed Darksteel out of the railyard.

“Now that the Shadow Matrix has resurfaced,” Drift said, “your world is in deadly danger. It must be found at once.”
“Well, that’s what we came here for,” Brains said. “But where do we look?”
“That’s a good question,” Cat Noir said. “It could be anywhere in the city.”
“Or out of the city,” Drift said. “Who knows where your Hawkmoth could have taken it by now?”
“Assuming it’s him that took it,” Hot Rod said. “We have no confirmation of that. It might have been the Decepticons.”
“Or both,” Jolt suggested.
“What are ye, an idiot?” Bumblebee countered immediately. “Decepticons don’t work with humans. Use yer brain!”
“But they have worked with humans,” Jolt said. “The Chicago war would not have been possible without…”
“Blow it up yer kilt!”
“Bumblebee, he is right,” Drift said. “And, don't forget that Lockdown worked with Cemetery Wind.”
“And what about Project Nefarious?” Jolt pointed out. “They used Cybertronian tech…”
“…but they dinna work with the Decepticons,” Bumblebee said. “And Lockdown was a bounty hunter. Apart from the Chicago war…”
“That’s a pretty big ‘apart from’,” Hot Rod said.
“So yer on his side, are ye?”
“I thought we were all on the same side!” Ladybug shouted. “Why don’t you act like it?”
“Yew stay out of this!” Bumblebee said, but then he saw the looks everyone was giving him. “Ah, get stuffed.” He turned and walked away. Then he transformed, and drove off the school grounds.
There was a pause. And then another.
“Well,” said Brains, “that was awkward.”
“Should… should we go after him?” Cat Noir asked.
“ZB is more than capable of looking after himself,” Hot Rod said. “He will be back. In the meantime, we have work to do.”
“Why don’t we start,” Drift said, “by looking at local news? Maybe we will find some clue…”
“That’s it!” Ladybug snapped her fingers. “The Ladyblog. My friend Alya runs it. If anyone will have information… I need a computer. Do any of you…?”
“Comin’ right up,” Brains transformed into a laptop computer. “And wouldja lookit that?” His screen displayed the Ladyblog, and an image of a pickup truck with a statue stuck in the windscreen.
“Let me have that,” Drift said. A moment later he projected the image onto the school wall like a movie. “Bludgeon! That statue… it’s Bludgeon.”
“Now,” Hot Rod said, “we are getting somewhere.”

Somewhere else, Hawkmoth looked up sharply. Then he smiled.
“Betrayal,” he said. “Those closest to you siding with someone you despise, and the desire to make them pay.”
Bludgeon, who knelt with Lila beside the CyberMiraculous, looked at Hawkmoth quizzically.
“Excuse me for a moment,” Hawkmoth told the others. “I have an opportunity too good to pass up.” He opened the handle of his cane, and a white butterfly flew out. Hawkmoth took it in his hands, and filled it with his dark energy.
“Fly away, my little Akuma, and Evilize that Autobot!”
The transformed butterfly did as it was told, flapping out of the Opera House and off into the city.

Bumblebee drove through the city of Paris, going nowhere and making good time. His thoughts were dark, his fuel pump cold.
Ratchet had been his friend. More than that, however, Ratchet had been Optimus Prime’s friend. The Autobot leader had only just come to terms with Ironhide’s death at the hands of his mentor Sentinel Prime. The betrayal of the human race had further damaged Optimus’ faith in sentient beings, but seeing images of Ratchet’s head being melted down for scrap… something inside him had died.
And learning that Jolt had sat there and let it happen…
Bumblebee could forgive Lockdown, the one who had dealt the killing blow. He was a bounty hunter, simply doing his job. Jolt had no such excuse.
“No. He does not.”
Bumblebee hit the brakes. A black butterfly had just flown in through his driver’s side window, and it landed on the Bee-Yotch air freshener hanging from his rear-view mirror.
“Hello, Bumblebee. I am Hawkmoth.”
The voice was in his head. Bumblebee might have been concerned at the mental intrusion, but he was strangely ok with it. This human, whoever he was, was on his wavelength.
“I can give you the power to re-format your fellow Autobots in your image,” Hawkmoth went on. “They will see things your way, and become the soldiers who will make Optimus Prime proud. All I ask in return are Ladybug and Cat Noir’s miraculouses. Do we have a deal?”
“We do, laddie,” Bumblebee said, and a black cloud flowed out from his air freshener and enveloped his entire form.
“Then roll out,” Hawkmoth said, “Bee-Format!”

Chapter Text

“There,” Hawkmoth said, and he turned back to face Bludgeon and Lila. “That should keep your Autobots busy for a while. Ladybug and Cat Noir, as well.”
“Interesting,” said Bludgeon. “I have only seen one Miraculous used in my time. You must tell me how they work.”
“When I have what I need,” Hawkmoth said. “How goes the training?”
“We’ve only just started,” Lila pointed out.
“I suspect that Hawkmoth is very much like I was, several million years ago,” Bludgeon said. “No patience, only caring for results.
“I have learned much since then,” he went on. “The best results take time. But not too much time,” he added pointedly.
“I’ll get it,” Lila said, holding eye contact with the Decepticon.
“Good. Let us continue,” Bludgeon sat on the floor before her, and assumed a lotus position. “Close your eyes. Clear your mind. Make contact.”
Lila concentrated. Beside her, the CyberMiraculous continued to glow and hover.
“Picture it in your mind,” Bludgeon said. “Imagine it is a part of you. And summon its power.”
Lila imagined the CyberMiraculous joining with her body, like a second skin or a kind of exo-suit. She imagined all the power in the universe, hers to tap and control.
“Now, give it a command.”
Lila frowned. What did she want the CyberMiraculous to do? It had obeyed her instinct before when it made the seat-bots. Without that immediate need, however…
“Focus!” Bludgeon snapped. “Rise above your puny, frail flesh and focus on the power.”
Focus, she thought. The CyberMiraculous and I are one. Like a second skin. Focus! What do I want? We are one. Second skin. What do I want?
I want Bludgeon to be impressed with me. Not just weak flesh, but strong. Powerful.
Second skin.
Lila opened her eyes. She rose, and stood a lot taller than she had been.
Bludgeon rose to his own feet, to her new eye level. It was hard to tell with his skull-like face, but she was pretty sure he was impressed.
“Interesting,” the Decepticon said.
Lila looked around, then down. Hawkmoth stared up at her, astonished. And a little bit afraid.

Hawkmoth stared up at the monstrosity before him, mouth agape. He’d seen the CyberMiraculous glow brighter, and then coat the young girl with an energy that had solidified into what appeared to be a much bigger, bulkier version of herself. It was as if Lila had grown to ten times her size.
But there was something not quite right about the creation. It was like a cake in an oven, not fully baked.
“I’m as strong as you now!” Lila cried with glee from a mouth that drooled, raising arms that seemed to be dripping liquid flesh.
Bludgeon drew his sword and sliced through the creation at its mid-section. The entire mass collapsed in a disgusting puddle of protoplasm, with a wet and grossed-out Lila in its centre.
“A good start,” Bludgeon said. “Now try again.”

“Brains scores again!” said the laptop, displaying yet another image of the statue-embedded truck. “Got it from this babe’s Instagram.” The full picture showed a young lady posing on a streetcorner, holding up a pair of very full shopping bags. The truck was visible under her right arm, driving away.
“That is the Shadow Matrix,” Drift said as he projected and zoomed in on the image. “And it is reactivated!”
“And that statue doesn’t look like a statue any more,” Cat Noir said. “It looks like one of you guys. Like that Bugly guy did…”
“…when my Miraculous energy hit him,” Ladybug said with dread. “What time was this photo taken? Oh no,” she added, when she saw the timestamp. “That’s just after we beat Bugly. My miraculous power might’ve reactivated the CyberMiraculous. And Bludgeon!” Another mistake, she thought.
“Ooh, smooth move, Bug-lax!” Cat Noir said.
“What is done, she is done,” Hot Rod said. “Drift, can you show us a map of the city? And show where each of the photos were taken?”
“Done,” Drift replied, as he projected a map of Paris upon the school wall. Small images of the photos hovered over the spots where they had been taken. “And this is the museum,” he added, zooming out and adding the museum’s location. He then joined the four locations, and added in helpful little directional arrows to show the direction the truck had taken.
“Tres bien,” Hot Rod said. “We have almost narrowed it down.”
“I can hack into more CCTV cameras,” Brains suggested. “Look at a few more Instagram profiles…”
“No more profiles!” Ladybug said. “I’m having a hard time with this. It’s invading people’s privacy.”
“The ends will justify the means,” Drift said.
“Why do we need to narrow down the search area even further?”
Ladybug, Hot Rod and Cat Noir turned to look at Jolt.
“If this,” he pointed at the map, “is where Bludgeon was reactivated, what would he do? What would the driver do?”
“Probably panic,” Cat Noir said.
“Probably crash,” Ladybug added.
“Your idea, she is good,” Hot Rod said.
“I agree,” added Drift. “If the driver didn’t crash, Bludgeon would have made it happen. Either way…”
“Hold everything, bots n’ bugs!” Brains said. “I’m gettin’ a lot more pictures. But not our truck. This is somethin’ weird. And happenin’ right now!” He sent the images to Drift, who in turn projected them.
“What is that?” Hot Rod asked.
“It looks like a Cybertronian,” Jolt said. “Can you zoom in on the face? I think…”
“It’s Bumblebee, isn’t it?” Ladybug said with a growing sense of dread. “And he’s been Akumatized.”

Bee-Format loved being Akumatized. He’d never felt so powerful, so in control.
And he had so much to control! He charged down the street, firing beams from his fingers as he went. When the beams hit a living thing, be they human or dog or even pigeon, they were re-formatted into a robotic version of themselves, ready to take his orders. He’d amassed a small army, all of whom had blasters that fired a viscous honey-like substance that trapped people who tried to run away.
Bee-Format’s finger-beams had no effect on inanimate objects, but they weren’t his only trick. Spotting a bus, Bee-Format transformed into a giant robotic bee; he flew over the bus, landed on its roof, and jabbed it with his stinger. Venom from that stinger re-formatted the bus into a robot warrior even bigger than Bee-Format himself!
Several police cars screeched to a stop, blocking the streets all around him. Within seconds the police officers found themselves trapped in honey, and their cars became robot warriors.
“Very guud o’ yew lads to volunteer yerselves!” Bee-Format said, transforming to robot mode. “Consider yerselves bee-formatted.” He fired his finger beams, and the cops became robot troops.
“I’m glad you are having fun,” said the voice of Hawkmoth in his head. “But don’t forget why I gave you that power.”
“Git stuffed, ye spineless goon!” Bee-Format replied. “I’ll get yer Miraculouses when I’m guud an’ ready.”
“Ready for this, Honeybunch?”
Bee-Format turned in the direction of the voice, and found himself on the receiving end of Cat Noir’s boots. The blow threw him backward, and the black-clad hero pressed his advantage with a pole swing. The second blow knocked Bee-Format into the side of a building, causing the wall to crumble and bury him under a ton of rubble.
“Cat!” Ladybug admonished as she swung onto the adjacent building. “People might still be in there.”
“Seventeen life signs,” Jolt said as he screeched to a halt and transformed. “All on the other side of the building.”
“We must get them to safety,” Hot Rod arrived and transformed.
“I’d better end this fight quick, then,” Cat Noir said. He saw one of Bee-Format’s feet sticking out of the rubble, and leapt into action with his right hand raised. “Cata…”
A glob of honey hit the feline fighter and threw him against the opposite building wall, sticking him there.
“Stop them!” cried one of the formerly human robots. “Bee-Format commands!”
A dozen honey globs hit Jolt’s feet. Before he could free himself, one of the police car robots tackled him.
“This one’s ready for the sting!” the cop bot boasted.
“No he’s not,” Drift said as he sprang into view. A quick swing of his sword, and the bot’s head rolled away.
The other cop car bots hurried over and surrounded them. Then the Bus Bot charged in and slammed into Hot Rod.
The human-bots kept firing. Ladybug dodged, but knew it was just a matter of time before someone got her.
Then the pile of rubble exploded outward, and Bee-Format stood back up.
“Yew!” he looked up at Cat Noir, still hopelessly stuck to the wall. “Yer Bee-Formatted, laddie.” He aimed his fingers…
Ladybug’s yo-yo wrapped around his arm and yanked his hand away. Unfortunately, that hand was now aimed directly at her.
“Well, this one’s eager,” Bee-Format said, and fired.
“Bugaboo, nooo!” Cat Noir yelled, but it was too late.
Ladybug had just enough time and presence of mind to say, “Spots off.” Then the blast hit her, and a robotic girl stood in her place.

On top of another place, Bugly watched the battle with amusement. Three Autobots fought a multitude of robots, who all fired a viscous substance that made the entire scene extremely funny. And sticky.
And, he realized with glee, it made the Autobots vulnerable.
Bugly briefly considered calling Bludgeon and Mindwipe. They hadn’t yet responded to his other attempts at communication since he’d escaped the Autobots the previous day, however. He’d been forced to hide for the last several hours, searching in vain for an alt form disguise that matched his needs. And mass. He’d wanted an aerial form, but the only things flying in the city were police and news helicopters and they had more mass than he did. He could take those forms, but he would be a smaller version and thus not be disguised at all. There were a few cars his size, but he didn’t want to be a land-based vehicle! Bugly was left with his Cybertronian alt mode, which would have stood out as much as a small helicopter would have.
He did not need to disguise himself to attack, however. Bugly leapt off the building, transformed, and sped toward the battle.

Chapter Text

Cat Noir watched as Bee-Format turned his attention back to him. He was about to be turned into a robot-zombie-thing, and Ladybug wasn’t here to save him.
She usually did. It was embarrassing to admit, but Ladybug often did save the day with very little help from him. Plus, the number of times she’d had to pull him out of danger far outweighed the times he’d done the same for her. Cat Noir realized he often relied on Ladybug to do all the heroing, leaving him with the much more fun role of comic relief sidekick.
Not today. Ladybug needed him to step up to the plate.
Cat Noir planted the end of his pole against the wall behind him, gripped the other end tightly, and extended the pole to the length of a city block. The action ripped him out of the honey and across the street just as Bee-Format fired, and the blast dissipated harmlessly against the wall.
Cat Noir would have felt great about his last-moment escape, but then he flew straight into the building across the street. Luckily for him the wall had collapsed on Bee-Format earlier, so Cat Noir went directly into a hallway. He retracted his pole and tried to land gracefully on his feet, but he landed badly and tumbled down the corridor until he smashed through a wooden door into an apartment.
And landed on a comfy couch between a frightened couple who had clearly been about to kiss. Cat Noir knew they had been about to kiss because they ended up kissing him instead. Unfortunately for them, he’d landed upside down. And the cheeks they’d kissed hadn’t been the ones on his face.
“So sorry!” Cat Noir propelled himself back onto his feet. “Superhero business, just passing through. Do you happen to have a balcony?”
The couple pointed to a doorway behind them.
“Thanks,” Cat Noir vaulted over the couch and opened the door. “Carry on. Actually, probably best if you leave the building. Like I said, superhero business.”
Then he leapt out of the apartment and back into the fight.

Bugly flew gleefully into the fight, opening up with side-mounted cannons. Hot Rod took a hit in his back, Jolt on his arm. Drift managed to dodge to the side, and used his momentum to attack the Bus-Bot.
One of the Police Car Bots had also taken a hit. It fell to its knees, hand-blasters firing randomly. A glob hit the remaining Cop Bot, covering him in honey but not slowing him as he charged at Jolt.
Cat Noir pounced, and swatted the Cop Bot aside with his pole. Then he shook his pole, trying to dislodge it from the honey on the Cop Bot’s chest.
“Let go,” Jolt said as he stood back up. “I can help.” His right arm dangled from a single cable, and the fingers sparked dangerously. His left arm was just fine, however; he grabbed Cat Noir’s pole and sent a charge through it that burned the honey away. It also delivered a shock to the Cop Bot, powerful enough to put him out of the fight.
“Hey, nice move,” Cat Noir said.
“Same to you,” Jolt replied, and handed him his pole back.
Then Bugly came in for another attack run, blasting up the street and causing the two heroes to jump for cover. Jolt’s right arm landed in a large puddle of honey, and he tried to pull it free. Three of the human-sized robots approached, firing their goo at Cat Noir. As they did so, they stepped into the puddle that Jolt’s damaged arm was stuck in. All three jerked helplessly for a moment or two, then they fell and ceased to move.
Jolt and Cat Noir both witnessed the event.
They turned to look at each other.
“I’ve got an idea,” they both said.

Hot Rod had no idea how long he’d been offline. Judging by the chaos around him, it had only been a few seconds. He’d taken a pounding from the Buss Bot, then someone had shot him in the back. And, he was covered in a viscous, honey-like paste.
He tried to rise. His back hurt tremendously, but he couldn’t let that stop him. Jolt, Drift and Cat Noir were occupied with the various honey-shooting bots, and Bee-Format was advancing toward them.
The Akumatized Autobot didn’t seem aware of him at the moment; Hot Rod raised his arm and aimed his blasters…
“Hot Rod! I need your help.”
A small red entity flew around his head. He’d never seen anything like it before, but it matched the description Drift had given of a Kwami.
“I’m Tikki,” the tiny red entity said. “I’m Ladybug’s Kwami, but she’s been turned into one of those robots.”
“Stay behind me,” Hot Rod said. “I will protect you from…”
“You can’t fight an Akumatized villain that way!” Tikki landed on his wrist-mounted blaster. “But we can beat Bee-Format together.” Tikki raised her hands, and held out a pair of earrings.

Cat Noir’s ears were ringing from the explosions coming toward him. Bugly was making another pass, chewing up the road with blasts of plasma.
And, behind him, Bee-Format closed in.
Two problems. One solution?
Cat Noir leapt at the last second, and the shots meant for him bit Bee-Format in the legs.
“Shoot at me, will ye?” the Evilized Autobot shouted as he went down. “I’ll show ye somethin’ that really stings!” He transformed to bee mode and buzzed off after the Decepticon.
Two problems, one solution! But there was no time to celebrate. He was, after all, supposed to be laying a trap.
The human-bots closed in, their honey blasters blasting. Behind them, the remaining two Cop Bots lurked.
And behind the Cop Bots, Drift continued to do battle with the Bus Bot. Drift had more skill, but the Bus had thick armour.
Cat Noir leapt, paused, leapt again. He landed amongst the human bots, then jumped when they tried to glob him. The result was a large area of the street that was covered in honey. Most of the human bots were stuck in it; Cat Noir had to use his pole to free himself more than once.
It was working, however. Cat Noir tweaked the heads of the Cop Bots, and got them to join in the fun.
“Jolt, now!” Cat Noir shouted, and he vaulted out of the danger zone.
Jolt slapped his mangled arm down into the honey. And all the human bots and the two Cop Bots Jiggled as the shock went through them. Sparks flew, bits burst off, and more than a few fires broke out amongst their number.
Drift threw himself at the Bus Bot, slamming his midsection while slicing both knees. The Bus Bot fell backward onto the sticky mess of human bots, and shared their fate.
“We did it!” Jolt cried as he pulled his dangling arm free.
“Not yet, we haven’t,” Drift warned. “Where is…”
A huge robotic bee dropped onto him, grabbed him in its legs, and punctured his back with its stinger.
“No!” Jolt cried, and he started to run forward. A huge glob of thick honey exploded all over him, trapping him on the spot.
“Bee-Format! I have captured him,” Bugly said as he transformed and landed beside the Autobot. His colour scheme had changed to yellow and black, but he otherwise looked the same as before.
The same was true of Drift. He knelt before the robot bee, which transformed back into Bee-Format.
“What is your command, master?” Drift said.
Before Bee-Format could answer, he was hit in the face with Cat Noir’s pole. The feline fighter rebounded off a building wall and pounced again, pole aimed for Drift’s head.
Drift’s will was gone, but his reflexes remained. He grabbed the pole, stood and turned, then threw it like a spear. Cat Noir, still holding on, was sent for a ride.
“Wherearethebreaksonthisthing?” he cried as he flew off over the block.
“Drift, stalk that pest and extinguish all nine of his lives,” Bee-Format said.
“It will be done,” Drift replied, and he transformed and sped off after the black-clad crusader.
“Now that’s a loyal soldier,” Bee-Format said as he approached Bugly and his prisoner. “Not one tah watch his fellow soldier’s die. But yew wouldna know anythin’ about that, would ye, Jolt?”
“I didn’t kill Ratchet,” Jolt said.
“But yeh let him die!” Bee-Format shouted. “Well, now ye learn t’become loyal ‘n brave, laddie…” He transformed to bee mode and hovered before the sticky Autobot, stinger ready.
But then, a red yo-yo spun around that stinger. Before Bee-Format could react, he was yanked away.
“Who…?” he asked as a metal hand closed over the stinger. A red metal hand, with black polka dots.
“The name,” the red-clad robot replied, “is Rodimus Bug!”

Chapter Text

Marinette wondered if she was dead. It certainly seemed that way; she floated alone in a universe of nothing.
My own fault, she thought. I let myself get shot. Now my body’s a robot slave, and it’s up to Cat Noir and the Autobots to stop Bee-Format.
Maybe that’s for the best. If I’m out of action, I can’t screw up and ruin things.
That was what she thought. But it was far from the only thing she thought.
Marinette believed in Cat Noir. She really did. He was brave and capable…
…but could she count on him to save the day? Well… he did need her to rescue him. A lot.
I’m here, she thought, because I was saving him. I’ve got to get back out there! They need me.
And, she realized, I need to be Ladybug. She sometimes thought it was unfair that she had to find the solution every time she and Cat fought a villain. She had to take responsibility for the outcome of each battle, and Cat Noir was fine with following her lead.
But… she liked being the leader. She liked being in control. And being stuck here out of action was driving her nuts!
“They’ll get it all wrong without me!” she cried, and was surprised she could hear her own voice in that void.
She was even more surprised when someone answered.
“Maybe.”
“Huh?” Marinette looked all around, but could see nobody. Of course, she might not have eyes in this place. But she definitely had ears.
“Maybe your friends will fail without you,” the voice said, “but there’s no point worrying about it. If you’re here, you’re stuck. Just like me.”
“Who are you?” Marinette asked. “Where are you? Where are we?”
“I’ve got questions, too,” the voice said. “Like, why are you so sad? Everyone makes mistakes. Don’t be such a control freak.”
“Hey! I am not a control freak.”
“I got those words from your mind,” the voice said. “I’d never heard those words used that way before. Control freak. That’s so descriptive… I think my mom was one of those…”
“Okay, this whole thing’s starting to really bug me.”
“Because you can’t control it?”
“No!” Marinette said. “Well…”
“There’s no point lying,” said the voice. “In here, thought is pretty much all we are. I can’t help but hear what you’re thinking.”
“Why can’t I read your thoughts?” she asked.
“You’re not trying to,” said the voice. “Maybe stop trying to change things you can’t, and focus on what is. Focus on me.”
“Okay,” she said. “Ready or not, here I come.”
Marinette saw flashes of another life. A life lived in a Tibetan village near a monastery, disrupted when four giant metal warriors fell from the sky…
“Oh my,” Marinette said. “You’re Ho.”

“Hold still,” Drift said as he sliced the air with his sword. “I will make your death as swift and painless as I can.”
“I’d rather not die at all,” Cat Noir said, ducking under another sword swing.
As far as he was concerned, he was lucky to be alive at all. He’d flown javelin-like across a few buildings and barely avoided an impact with the Arc de Triomphe. He landed on his feet. Then his ass. Then his head. And he’d tumbled under the famous monument and nearly caused a traffic accident on the other side.
One of the cars transformed and tried to kill him. It was Drift, formerly a friend but now an agent of Bee-Format.
I’ve got to beat this guy quick, Cat Noir had thought, then get back to the real fight.
Unfortunately, doing so wasn’t easy. Drift was a skilled fighter, and had no concern for the cars and people around him. Cat Noir had managed to lead the Autobot onto the roundabout where the Arc de Triomphe stood. It lessened the possibility of collateral damage, but also left the hero in an open space with nothing to use as cover.
He was far from outmatched, however. Cat Noir was strong, and his pole sturdy enough to absorb and block the robot’s sword strikes. He’d even managed to use his smaller stature to his advantage more than once; he was harder to hit, and he could strike at areas the Autobot wasn’t used to defending.
Unfortunately, a Cybertronian’s crotch wasn’t as vulnerable as that of a human male. The hits Cat Noir delivered did not slow the robot down at all.
Cat Noir hadn’t slowed, either. As fighters, they were at something of a stalemate. Drift couldn’t land a lethal blow on his feline foe, and Cat Noir couldn’t get close enough to use his Cataclysm power.
I’ve gotta change it up somehow, Cat Noir thought. Then he thought, I wonder if this robot knows how to fence?
“En garde!” he cried, holding his pole like an epee before him. Drift had a moment of confusion as Cat Noir advanced, and it cost him.
“Yaah!” Cat Noir lunged, extending his pole’s length and jabbing for Drift’s left hand. The pole struck the Autobot’s wrist, causing him to drop one of his swords.
“Point for me,” Cat Noir said, and continued his attack.

“Ack!” Bee-Format cried as Hot Rod, now Rodimus Bug and outfitted in a Cybertronian version of the Ladybug costume, snapped his stinger in half. No Akuma fluttered out of the broken appendage, much to the superheroic Autobot’s chagrin.
Tikki had provided a quick crash-course on Akuma-busting, and the stinger had seemed a likely bet.
“Off wi ye,” Bee-Format shoved Rodimus Bug back with his bee legs. “Bugly, stick him up!”
Bugly ran forward, firing globs of honey as he came. Rodimus spun the yo-yo like a shield, and the honey went every which way but on him.
“Eck!” cried Bee-Format as honey splattered his bee eyes. He transformed back to robot mode, and looked for someone to convert.
Rodimus flung the yo-yo at Bugly, then tied him up in the cord. He gave the cord a yank, and the bee-formatted Decepticon went for a spin.
Nearby, Jolt fired some volts into the honey that enveloped him. His body had special insulation to protect him from his own power, and the honey did not. A moment later he was free; he grabbed his dangling arm and went after Bee-Format.
A car screeched through the intersection and slammed into his legs. Jolt fell over, and the car spun out of control toward Rodimus and Bee. It was a long car – a Limo, Jolt thought – and when it came to an abrupt stop in a patch of honey two figures came tumbling out of the back.
One of them was a crocodile. The other carried a guitar.
“This is NOT rock ‘n’ roll!” cried Jagged Stone.
“Ye’ll do,” said Bee-Format, and he fired his finger blasts at the rock star and his croc.
“Command me, Bee-Format,” said the robot who had been Jagged Stone.
“Grunt,” said the robo-crocodile.
“Take that hero down!” Bee-Format ordered. “I’m havin’ yer Limo!” He transformed to Bee mode and leapt on top of the stretched car.
Rodimus Bug leapt away from a honey barrage by Jagged Stone, grabbed the Croc-O-Bot by the tail and flung him into the converted rock star.
Bee-Format tried to sting the Limo, then remembered his stinger was gone. He saw the limo driver run from the vehicle, and he transformed and prepared to blast him.
“Non!” Rodimus said as he slammed into Bee’s side. “You are fini, mon amie.” He delivered an uppercut that sent the villain flying backward.
“Grunt!” said the Croc-o-Bot as it lunged forward and snapped its jaws shut on Rodimus’ leg. At the same time, it vomited up a steady stream of honey. Rodimus struggled but was quickly trapped in the sticky goo.
“You’ve got him!” Hawkmoth shouted in Bee’s head. “Now, while he’s helpless, take the Miraculous.”
“Comin’ right up,” Bee-Format said, and he reached for Rodimus Bug’s head.

Cat Noir thought he was getting ahead, but the fight was still evenly matched. Though down by one sword, Drift had altered his fighting style to match his opponent. They duelled around the Arc de Triomphe, sword and pole clanging.
Then, an SUV peeled off from the circling traffic and rammed Drift in his side. The Autobot fell back and bashed his head on the monument, and fell stunned to the pavement.
Cat Noir was about to thank the driver for his help…
…but there was no driver.
And the SUV looked awfully familiar…
Oh no, Cat Noir thought as the black vehicle transformed into a hulking monstrosity of metal and jagged edges.
“You,” said Berserker. “I got a score to settle with you.”

Chapter Text

Darksteel, Barricade, Mohawk and Berserker approached the roundabout at the Arc du Triomphe. As they rounded it, they saw a yellow and black Autobot fighting with a black-clad human.
“Do we engage?” Barricade asked.
“No,” Darksteel replied. “Stick to the…”
“Hell yeah we do!” Berserker cried, and he peeled off from the convoy and rammed the colourful Autobot.
“Sir?” Barricade prompted.
“Leave him,” Darksteel said. “Stay on mission.”
“He might need backup,” Mohawk suggested as they left the roundabout.
“He’s made his choice,” Darksteel said, leading them away. “If he survives, we’ll come back for him. But not before we secure the Shadow Matrix.”

“When I used the Shadow Matrix on those Decepticons,” Ho told Marinette, “it absorbed me into itself. I’ve been here ever since… I don’t even know for how long.”
Marinette would have teared up, if she’d had the eyes and tear ducts to do so. This boy was younger than she was when he’d encountered the Decepticons; she didn’t have the heart to tell him it had been thousands of years.
“Thousands of years?!?”
“Stop reading my mind!”
“I can’t help it,” Ho said. “It’s just the way this place works. And your mind isn’t quiet.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You already did,” Ho said, then chuckled.
Marinette chuckled with him.
“I bet you know this already,” she said, “but I use one of the Miraculouses you helped create.”
“Yes,” Ho replied. “You’re Ladybug. You use the Creation Miraculous, the same way my Abbott did when he fought the Decepticons. Who killed him,” he added.
“I heard,” Marinette said, “and I’m sorry for your loss. The Decepticons haven’t killed me yet,” she added, then she considered her surroundings. “Well, they sort of did. But I’m going to get about of here, Ho. And when I do, I’m taking you with me.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible,” Ho said.
“I will get you out of here,” Marinette said. “I’ll find a way.”
“I hope so,” said Ho. “I’m enjoying your company. The Shadow Matrix doesn’t say much.”
“You must be so lonely,” Marinette said. Then she blinked the eyes she didn’t have. “Wait, go back. Does it talk to you?”
“Sometimes,” Ho said. “I get flashes of other beings, the… Creators. And someone named Quintessa. I think she made the Shadow Matrix…
“Lately, though, it’s been talking to someone else. Someone who, like me, has an affinity for it.”
“Who?” Marinette wanted to know.
“Lila,” Ho said. “Her name is Lila. And I don’t think she’s a very good person…”

Jolt didn’t know if he was a very good Autobot. He didn’t even know if he could stand; Jagged Stone’s Limo had done a number on his right leg.
But one thing he was not was out of the fight. He heaved himself up by his good arm and flung his bad one out like an electrical mace. It struck Bee-Format in the face just as the Evilized Autobot was reaching for Rodimus Bug’s head. The shock knocked him back, and the arm landed in the honey coating the Autobot superhero. Jolt’s fingers continued to transmit electricity, frying not only the honey but the Croc-O-Bot who’d unleashed it.
It didn’t do Rodimus Bug any favours, either. He fell back, dazed from the shock, and Jagged Stone went after him.
A metal hand closed around Jolt’s neck and hefted him up. This hand belonged to Bugly, who was also very much still in the fight.
“You harmed the commander!” the Decepticon said. He stepped on the lone cable attaching Jolt’s damaged arm to his body, then gave that body a sharp upward tug. The cable snapped, and Jolt cried out in pain.
“Bee-Format orders your capture!” Bugly told the Autobot, and raised one of his honey blasters.
“I…” Jolt tried to say.
“What?” snapped Bugly.
“I have…”
“Yes?”
“…two arms,” Jolt finished, and grabbed Bugly’s face with his left hand. The charge he unleashed burned through Bugly’s neural network, and a moment later he collapsed to the ground. Jolt managed to stay up on his left leg, and would have remained up if a large robotic bee hadn’t slammed into him.
“Oh, yer gonna git it, laddie!” Bee-Format said, transforming and stomping down on Jolt’s left wrist. “Yer gonna feel what Ratchet felt,” he leaned in close, so his face was right above Jolt’s. As he did so, Jolt noticed a tiny dark object dangling from his neck. It was flat, with a picture of an angry bee on it. And the word, bee-yotch.
Bee-Format raised a fist… then paused.
“Yer Meeraculouses kin wait!” he said, apparently to someone else. “This has been a long time comin’!”
“You’re right,” Jolt said.
“Wha…?” Bee-Format replied, caught off-guard.
“I just fought off one of your minions,” Jolt said, “in spite of a busted leg and severed arm. I could have done something to help Ratchet… but I didn’t. I was too scared.”
Bee-Format looked down at him, perplexed, his fist still hovering in the air.
“Well, that is guud o’ ye t’ finally admit it,” Bee-Format said. “I kin respect that. But it won’t save ye.” He raised his fist higher…
…and a yo-yo spun around his arm.
“We’re not done,” said Rodimus Bug, who held the other end of the yo-yo cord, and had a foot holding the robotic Jagged Stone face-down on the ground. He tugged hard on the cord, yanking Bee-Format by the arm toward him.
Bee-Format wasn’t about to fall for the same move twice. He transformed as he was pulled, then took off into the sky. Rodimus Bug, who had been the yanker, suddenly became the yanked, and was pulled skyward with his foe.
They’d flown barely a block before something black hit Bee-Format in the face. The impact threw off his concentration and he fell to the roof of a building. Rodimus landed much more gracefully beside him, and caught the black object.
It was Cat Noir. He was semi-conscious and his face was bruised; something had given him an ass-kicking.
“Gaah!” said Bee-Format as he transformed to robot mode and tried to untangle himself from the yo-yo cord. “Git this ridiculous thing off…”
A metal hand of claws reached over the side of the building and gripped the roof. A moment later, Berserker’s head came into view.
“Heeere, kitty-kitty!” he said, hauling himself up onto the roof. Bee-Format was in his way; one swat of a massive metal arm later, he was not. Bee was still tangled in the yo-yo cord; when he fell over the side of the building, he pulled Rodimus Bug after him. Rodimus still held Cat Noir, so the feline hero went with them.
“No ya don’t!” Berserker grabbed hold of Rodimus’ shoulder. “Kitty and I ain’t done.”
“Uurg!” Rodimus said as the weight of Bee-Format nearly wrenched his arm out of its socket.
“R… retract the yo-yo,” Cat Noir said.
“Huh? Ok,” Rodimus said. Tikki had mentioned it was something he could do. He thought about reeling in the line…
Bee-Format flew up and over the edge of the building. Rodimus ducked out of the way…
Bee-Format slammed into Berserker, and they fell backward and over the other side of the roof.
The yo-yo snapped back into Rodimus’ hand.
“Good job,” Cat Noir said. “But this has gone on long enough. Time to use your Lucky Charm.”
“My what?” Rodimus asked.
“Throw your yo-yo straight up in the air,” Cat Noir told him, “and say Lucky Charm, then use the object it creates to stop Bee-Format.”
“Okay,” Rodimus said, and he tossed the yo-yo. “Lucky Charm!”
“You’re supposed to hold on to the other end,” Cat Noir told him.
“Ah,” Rodimus said. Then the yo-yo fell back down and beaned him on the head.
Cat Noir facepalmed.
“Try again,” he said. “And hurry, before…”
Then the building gave way beneath them. Cat Noir managed to pole-vault free, but Rodimus Bug fell into a pile of rubble. Berserker charged out the other side of the ruin, using Bee-Format as a battering ram. They went straight through the next building, causing another collapse.
They burst out the other side into the street where Jolt lay wounded next to a puddle of honey.
“An Autobot!” Berserker cried, looking down at the helpless Jolt. “You’ll be much more fun.” He tossed Bee-Format aside and advanced, stepping into the sticky puddle.
Jolt planted his remaining hand into the honey and gave the lumbering Decepticon enough juice to fry the average ‘bot.
But Berserker was not the average bot. He staggered jiggling back from the honey, but then he simply shook it off.
“Gettin’ tired of shocks!” he shouted, and he made his way around the honey to grab the injured Autobot.

Nearby, Bee-Format got back up. He’d taken a lot of punishment, but he hadn’t been squashed yet.
He noticed something black and pointy on the street in front of him – his stinger! He snatched it up and pressed it to the spot it had been broken from, and began to reattach it.
As he did so, he looked over at the huge Decepticon who had used him as a bulldozer. He’s next, he decided. And if Jolt survives, I’ll do him after.

Berserker grabbed Jolt by the injured leg, hauled him up, then swung him around like a toy before tossing him away.
“All fall to Berserker!” he cried.
And then a sword sliced through his abdomen.
“I shall test that theory,” Drift said, and he prepared to use his second sword for a vorpal swing.
“Ow!” Berserker cried, and he spun around and smacked Drift a glancing backhand. The Bee-Formatted Autobot fell back, leaving his sword sticking out of the Decepticon’s front and back.
“Take more than a poke in the chassy to finish me!” Berserker said, and he pressed his attack.

“Nearly there,” Bee-Format said, feeling life return to his damaged appendage. “Nearly there…”

“Nearly there!” Cat Noir said as he levered a chunk of rubble off his fallen partner.
Then Jolt slammed into him and they tumbled out of the ruin into the street.
“Ow,” Cat Noir said.
“You said it,” added Jolt, and he rolled himself off his friend.
“Moi aussi,” Rodimus Bug put in, and he shoved a chunk of office floor off of his legs. “We must find a new strategy.”
“We need to find the Akumatized object and break it,” Cat Noir said.
“Akumatized object?” Jolt asked.
“Yeah, it’s like a personal object of the villain that the Akuma hides in,” Cat Noir said. “Break that, you break the villain. And you,” he pointed at Rodimus Bug, “have to catch and de-evilize the Akuma.”
“I know what it is,” Jolt said.
“You do?!?” Rodimus and Cat said together.
“Bumblebee has this little bee-shaped air freshener hanging from his rear-view mirror,” Jolt said. “I saw the same thing around Bee-Format’s neck. Normally it is yellow…”
“…but it was dark?” Cat Noir asked, and Jolt nodded. “That’s it, got to be.”
“Then let us go get it,” Rodimus Bug stood and began to spin his yo-yo.
“Not so fast. You need to use Lucky Charm,” Cat Noir told him.
“Oui, mon petit chat,” Rodimus Bug said. Then, holding firmly to the cord-end, he tossed the yo-yo skyward. “Lucky Charm!”

“Come to harm!” Berserker said, delivering a shattering blow to Drift’s midsection. The Decepticon had taken many hits and cuts, and his left arm had been severed just below the shoulder. None of it had slowed him down, however, and he seemed on the verge of victory due to sheer might and bull-headedness.
Drift flew backward and crashed into the carcass of the Bus-Bot. His chest was one large dent, and he no longer had the strength to move.
Berserker picked up his severed arm and walked toward the fallen Autobot. He raised the arm over his head, fully intending to use it as a club.
Bee-Format buzzed in and grabbed Berserker from behind. Before the hulking robot could react, Bee stung him with his reattached stinger. A moment later, Berserker was yellow and black, and completely under Bee-Format’s control.
“I am so very sorry!” Berserker said, extending his remaining hand to Drift. “My attack on you has frustrated the will of our master, Bee-Format.”
“It is I who should apologize,” Drift said as, with Berserker’s help, he rose shakily to his feet. “If I hadn’t been so focused on revenge…”
“No! It was my fault,” Berserker pulled Drift into a hug. “I only wish I could embrace you with both arms.”
“Which is my fault!” Drift cried, hugging his former foe fiercely.
And then they both started to sob.
“Stop that!” Bee-Format flew in and swatted them both with his abdomen. “Yer makin’ me sick.”
“Sorry, sir!” both robots said, and they broke the hug and stood to attention.
“Now git yer exhaust pipes in gear an’ bring me Jolt, and the Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculouses!”
“No need, mon amie,” Rodimus Bug called from across the street. “We are here!” Jolt stood with him, with his support. And they clearly held something behind their backs.
“May I have my sword back?” Drift asked Berserker.
“Oh, but of course!” Berserker said, and he tried to push the blade out through his torso, losing a couple of fingers in the process.
“Jest honey ‘em!” Bee-Format buzzed above them. “An’ dew it quick.”
Drift had been so focused on his swordplay that he’d forgotten he had that ability. Berserker raised his remaining fingers and joined Drift in firing a steady stream of stickiness.
Rodimus Bug drew out the object he’d been concealing – a large, bent, red and black-dotted tube. The honey flowed into one end of the tube, went around the bend and spat back out the other.
Which was pointed directly at Bee-Format. Honey splattered all over him, and a moment later his wings could no longer beat. He fell to the street and transformed…
“There it is!” Jolt pointed at the object around the villain’s neck.
“Cataclysm!” Cat Noir cried, leaping from behind the Bus-Bot. He landed in the goop covering Bee-Format and snatched up the darkened air freshener. The Akumatized object shattered, and a black butterfly flew out.
“No more evil-doing for you, mon petit Akuma,” Rodimus Bug shouted, swinging his yo-yo. “C’est time to de-evilize!” The yo-yo snatched the Akuma out of the air, then returned to Rodimus’ hands. “Au revoir, mon petit butterfly,” he said, opening the yo-yo and releasing the now-white creature.
Dark clouds covered Bee-Format and all his minions in the street, including Drift and Berserker.
“Do the thing I told you!” Cat Noir said, pointing at the red and black-dotted tube in Rodimus’ hands.
“Oh, oui,” Rodimus said, and he tossed the Lucky Charm skyward. “Miraculous Rodimus Bug!”
Energy flowed from the lucky charm and spread across the city. Everything affected by the battle was restored, and the human-bots became humans once more. The Cop-Bots became police cars again, the Bus-Bot reverted to being a bus, and Drift and Berserker were stripped of their yellow and black colour schemes. Drift found both his swords in his hands, and Berserker’s arm had been reattached. Even Jolt found his injuries had vanished, and he looked at his restored arms with joy.
Finally, the dark cloud lifted from Bee-Format to reveal he was Bumblebee once more.
“Wa’s all this?” he said. He looked around and saw Drift, Jolt, Cat Noir, and a red-coloured Hot Rod.
And a hulking Decepticon.
Berserker wasn’t particularly bright, but he could add up to five. He turned and ran, transforming to SUV mode as he did so.
“Shall we pursue?” Drift asked.
“Right now, the red guy and I are about to lose our powers,” Cat Noir said. “You,” he looked up at Rodimus Bug, “need to release the Miraculous, so that Tikki can return to Ladybug.” He scanned the crowd of former robots, and wondered which one of them might be her. Jagged Stone was already signing autographs, while his driver helped his crocodile back into the Limo. He even saw his classmate Marinette Dupain-Chang recovering from the ordeal. None of them, however, stood out as candidates for his partner.
“Spots off,” Rodimus Bug said, and he reverted back to Hot Rod. Tikki took back the earrings and fluttered off; Cat Noir resisted the temptation to follow.
“Thank you,” he said. “Now, I’ll meet you guys back at the school. But before I do,” he extended his pole in both directions, one end touching Bumblebee and the other touching Jolt, “you two need to work things out.”
Cat Noir retracted his pole and leapt away, leaving the four Autobots in an awkward silence.

Bugly, concealed behind the restored bus, stood up to slink away. As he did so, he realized he’d missed a message from Bludgeon. There were co-ordinates, and an order for Mindwipe and himself to come immediately.
He’d hated being a slave of that Autobot, but realized his subconscious mind had been busy during the ordeal. At some point, he’d scanned Bee-Format’s alternate form.
Bugly made a few adjustments, then transformed into his new alt mode and flew off into the night.

Chapter Text

Marinette Dupain-Chang opened her eyes and found herself lying in the street. It was the same street she’d been on when Bee-Format had zapped her, and it looked much better now. She was surrounded by many other people who were waking up just like her; clearly, the day had been saved.
Nearby, she saw the four Autobots standing with Cat Noir. One of them wore her Ladybug costume – Hot Rod. Tikki had chosen well, and Marinette was glad she’d released her just before her zapping. No doubt Cat Noir had helped the Autobot to use the Miraculous power. She’d had her worries, but the kitty had come through.
“Spots off,” Hot Rod said, and he changed back to his familiar form. Marinette checked her pockets for pastries; when Tikki returned to her, she’d be hungry.
“Marinette, love?”
She turned and saw Jagged Stone peering out the window of his Limo.
“Did you get all mixed up in this business? Croc and I did!”
“Yeah, me too,” Marinette said. Behind her, Cat Noir left the scene, probably to find cheese for his Kwami, Plagg. “But looks like everything’s okay.”
“You need a lift?” Jagged asked. “Those big robots are still there, and I can’t tell if they’re rock ‘n roll or not.”
“Don’t worry, they’re…” Marinette began to say. But that was when the crowd of former robots suddenly noted the Autobots’ presence, too.
“Robots! Giant robots!” someone cried, and the crowd screamed and ran every which way. The police officers started shooting, which did not help the situation. Jagged’s Limo driver didn’t wait for permission; he hit the gas, and the rock star was carted away.
Marinette ran for a hiding place, and took shelter under the former Bus-Bot (which was now just a bus). As she did so, she saw the Decepticon who’d been Amoked on the other side. He transformed into a bee and flew away.
That’s not good, she thought, but was unable to chase him.
“Marinette? There you are,” said Tikki, fluttering into her field of vision. “Do you…?”
“Here,” Marinette handed her Kwami a cookie. “Spots on as soon as you can, we have crowd control to do.”

Hawkmoth tried to control his anger. It was, after all, not a huge defeat. He’d kept Ladybug, Cat Noir and the Autobots busy, and therefore no closer to finding him, his allies, or his prize.
Still, he’d been sure he would acquire at least one set of Miraculouses when Bee-Format had robotized Ladybug, or when Rodimus Bug had been stuck. Alien robots were just as unreliable as people when akumatized, it seemed.
Nearby, Lila continued her training. She sparred with Bludgeon in another of her exo-suits, and seemed to be doing quite well.
In the corner, Kremzeek lurked. Hawkmoth kept a firm grip on his Amoked armrest; if he needed to subdue Bludgeon again, he needed to be ready.
With his free hand, he took out his phone and called Nathalie. She’d had to leave due to her illness, courtesy of the broken Peacock Miraculous. Nathalie didn’t answer; Hawkmoth hoped she was simply getting some rest. Perhaps he should send Adrien to look in on her?
Hawkmoth became aware of movement beside the electrical cage of their remaining prisoner, Dropkick. It was another Decepticon – where had he come from? Hawkmoth raised the armrest and was about to give Kremzeek an order to fry the newcomer…
“Ah, Bugly, welcome!” Bludgeon said. “It is all right, Hawkmoth. This is one of my acolytes.”
“You did not tell me we were expecting guests!” Hawkmoth snapped.
“My other acolyte will explain everything,” Bludgeon said, and pointed.
Hawkmoth spun around to see a large robotic bat hovering in the air just behind him. He looked into its eyes…
…and that was the last thing Hawkmoth remembered for a while.

“He’s mine,” the robotic bat said.
“Thank you, Mindwipe,” Bludgeon said. “Have him dissolve the prison around that sorry lump of scrap… what was his name?”
“Dropkick,” Lila said.
“That’s him,” Bludgeon said. “Fix him up. No sense wasting cannon fodder.”
Mindwipe gave Hawkmoth a command, and the hypnotized villain ordered his sentimonster to release the armless Decepticon. Bugly picked up the loose pieces, and with Mindwipe they began to effect repairs.
“Bludgeon, what’s going on?” Lila said. He turned to face her, and saw that she’d had her exo-suit assume a defensive stance. It had also grown a considerable amount of weaponry.
“You have nothing to fear, Lila,” Bludgeon told her. “Hawkmoth might be a useful asset to us, but he has the potential to be a nuisance. I simply had Mindwipe make him more… agreeable to our cause.”
“Are you gonna have bat-boy there do a number on me?”
“My dear human,” Bludgeon stepped forward and looked her exo-suit in the eyes, “if it were to benefit my cause, I’d have had Mindwipe overthrow your mind long before now.
“As it happens,” he went on, “it benefits me more to keep your mind free.”
“Because you need my mind to work the Shadow Matrix,” Lila said, taking a step back. “But if you didn’t need me…”
Bludgeon smacked his fist into his palm. Lila backed up another step. Then she aimed her many armaments at the Decepticon.
“I am simply being honest with you,” Bludgeon went on. “And be honest with me, Lila… you have already envisioned disposing of me, when you deem I am no longer of use. Haven’t you?”
Lila said nothing.
“I would expect no less,” the Decepticon went on. “At present, we still need each other. Or do you really think you can strike me down with any of your weapons?” Before she could answer, Bludgeon drew his sword and made several slashes. Lila looked down at all the cannons and missile launchers she’d manifested on her exo-suit’s arms and legs. They dissolved into pure energy, and returned to the Shadow Matrix.
“A confrontation between us is inevitable, human,” Bludgeon went on. “But not just yet. Do we have an understanding?”
Lila considered for a moment.
“Yes,” she said.
“Good. Now, I think it is time for you to test your skills on a real target.” He pointed at the hole in the wall, where a small metallic form lurked. “Bring that one to me.”

“Aw, shit,” said Mohawk, and he turned and ran. He’d made it three paces and was about to transform when a large glowing hand closed around him.
“Aw, this ain’t right!” he cried as the hand yanked him backward through the hole in the wall and into the auditorium.

“Well,” said Barricade from a block away, “that’s not good. What do we do now? Commander?” he added, with more than a little scorn.
“We wait,” said Darksteel, who had parked himself across the street. “Mohawk is still broadcasting; we will listen. And when the time is right, we shall…”
“Yeah, screw this,” Barricade said, and with that he drove away.
Darksteel considered giving chase, but thought better of it. The prize was within his reach; he just had to be patient.
They would learn to respect him. When he had the power of the Shadow Matrix in his grasp, they would all come crawling back…
“That’s him!”
Darksteel looked up and saw Mohawk pointing at him. He was still in the grip of what could only be a Shadow Matrix construct, and the Decepticon standing beside the construct had to be Bludgeon.
Darksteel was aware of movement behind him. Two more Decepticons appeared; Darksteel was sure they were Mindwipe and Bugly.
“That mo-fo right there, that’s the boss!”
Darksteel would have liked to believe that Mindwipe had used his legendary hypnosis on Mohawk, and that was why the smaller Decepticon had betrayed him. He would also have liked to believe he could defeat all four Decepticons (and the construct) and make off with the Shadow Matrix by himself. He did not consider either belief particularly likely.
“You would be wise to surrender,” Bludgeon said.
Darksteel transformed, slowly and deliberately, and put his hands up.
“Inside,” Bludgeon said, and he turned and went back through the hole in the wall.
“Move,” Bugly prodded Darksteel with a blaster, and they followed.

“Follow my lead,” Hot Rod told the other three Autobots. “We mean you no harm!” he cried to the crowd of humans, particularly the ones shooting at him.
“They mean us harm!” said a random bystander. “Look at the way they’re raising their hands. They intend to squash us!”
“Non!” Hot Rod said. “We…”
“…want to destroy the city?” said one of the police officers. “Keep firing!”
“Our situation has not improved,” Drift said. The bullets bounced harmlessly off their armour, but it would only be a matter of time before stronger forces arrived. Several people were pointing cellphones, which meant they were on the Internet, and possibly local news.
If the TRF had a squad in the area, they’d be on their way.
“Stop this daft shootin’!” Bumblebee snapped. “Ye’ll jest hurt yerselves.”
“They want to hurt us, themselves!” said another random bystander. Then he turned around and took a selfie.
“Bright ideas, they are welcome,” Hot Rod said to his friends.
There was a streak of red, and it landed between the police and the Autobots.
“Stop!” Ladybug cried. “All of you, lower your guns. These robots are my friends. They are NOT here to hurt you.”
“It’s Ladybug!” a third random bystander cried. “She says they’re here to hurt us!”
“No she didn’t,” said that random bystander’s best friend, who gave him a smack on the head.
“Ladybug,” a police officer stepped forward, “I’m Sergeant Malcon. Are you certain these creatures can be trusted?”
“They made a mess of the Museum this morning,” a nearby patrolman added.
“Those were other robots,” Ladybug said. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but there are two groups of robots in Paris right now. Some come to destroy us, yes, but these Autobots,” she gestured at the four behind her, “came to protect us. I trust them with my life. Now, please, stand down.”
The police lowered their weapons. The crowd of onlookers, however, did not lower their phones.
“Thank you, Seargeant Malcon,” Ladybug said. “We’ll be leaving now.” She turned to the Autobots and nodded, and they transformed to their vehicle modes. Ladybug hopped inside Hot Rod, and the Autobots drove away.
“Merci, Madmoiselle Ladybug,” Hot Rod said. “You saved us.”
“Just returning the favour,” she replied. “You took over for me while I was a honey-bot. You must have done a good job, or I wouldn’t have changed back to me.”
“I could not have done it without Jolt,” Hot Rod said. “And Cat Noir. They are both tres excellante.”
Ladybug smiled. Her faith in Cat Noir had not been misplaced. Maybe she could relax the reins, let him lead a bit more.
“While I was gone, I made contact with Ho,” she told Hot Rod. “There are some things I need to tell you.”
“They will have to wait,” Hot Rod said. “Look up.”
Ladybug looked out the window at the sky and saw a helicopter following them.
“Is it a Decepticon?” she asked.
“Worse,” said Hot Rod. “It’s the media.”

“It’s no time to snooze, this is the news,” said TVi News anchor Nadja Chamak. “We go live to our news chopper, following a convoy of four cars that are in reality disguised alien robots! Earlier footage confirms…”
“Sir! You need to see this.”
Colonel Rene Bienne of the Transformer Response Force turned his attention away from the soldiers currently loading the alien designated Dreadbot into the back of their transport. The soldier approaching held up his phone; it seemed he’d been watching videos instead of performing his duty. Bienne had assigned him to secure the lump of scrap that had once been the rogue Galvatron unit while the rest of them saw to Dreadbot.
“Who gave you permission to leave your task unfinished?” he snapped. His patience had already been thin when his unit had arrived at the railyard only to find most of the targets gone. Then, while setting a perimeter, they had discovered the slaughtered remains of Team Delta. There had been no doubt in Bienne’s mind that Delta had been killed by the alien robots; he’d seen it all before, when he’d been living a very different life.

It would transpire that the 2009 attack on Paris by the aliens had been to capture two Americans, a vacationing couple whose son was at the centre of a global manhunt. Bienne had known nothing of this; he’d come downtown to meet his sister’s children – teenage niece Imogen, and young nephews Eyton and Rowyn - for lunch.
He remembered seeing them across a busy street; they waved at him, then they seemed to notice something in the sky.
Bienne turned and looked up, just in time to see three metal objects fly past overhead. He was just starting to wonder what the occasion was, assuming they were part of some celebration or demonstration. Then the meteors landed one street over with a deafening crash, followed by clouds of ash. His niece and nephews vanished into the cloud, while the cars in the street swerved and rear-ended one another.
Bienne somehow managed to make it across the street in one piece. He found one of his nephews right away, lying on the sidewalk and coughing. He scooped Rowyn up and tried to find the other two.
He found his niece, Imogen, a moment later. She’d ventured into the street, and had not had the same luck as her uncle. The way she was lying told him immediately that she was dead. Nevertheless, he tried to get to her.
Behind him, he heard the sound of concrete breaking. Immediately afterward, there was a strange mechanical noise. A steel beam slammed down into the sidewalk beside him, then another. Bienne looked up, and realized those beams were connected, and were in fact the legs of some sort of mechanoid. It walked into the street, carelessly stepping on and crushing Imogen’s frail body.
Bienne clutched Rowyn tightly, his mind trying to process the horror, while the creature reached down into the street and picked something up. Bienne’s eyes widened; it was his other nephew, Eyton!
The creature examined the boy in its hand for a moment, seemingly curious. Then, disinterested, it flicked Eyton away.
“No!” Bienne cried, too late realizing he’d just drawn the creature’s attention. Bulbous, almost insect-like eyes regarded him, then it pointed one of its arms.
Bienne turned and ran. He heard a loud explosion behind him, felt himself become airborne, felt Rowyn fly out of his arms…
And he remembered nothing else until he woke up in hospital, much later. His injuries were not severe, and he was released a couple of days later. His parents came to visit him; his sister did not. Apparently, she blamed him for the deaths of her children, and avoided all contact. Then, two years later, she and her husband had taken a trip to Chicago, and were at ground zero when the Decepticons had laid siege to the city. Their bodies were never found.

Bienne had been a Captain in the French military when the Chicago attack had taken place. Following his application to join the TRF, he’d been promoted to Colonel. He demanded nothing but the best from the soldiers under his command, because only their best could hope to match what their enemy was capable of.
Colonel Bienne had a mind to remind this soldier what was expected of him in what would charitably be called a dressing down. He changed his mind, however, when he saw what the soldier was showing him.
“Well, sir…” the soldier began.
“Silence, Private,” Bienne said, and snatched the phone away.
“…uncertain at this time if Ladybug has been captured by the aliens,” the news continued, showing live footage of the Autobot convoy, “or if she is cooperating with…”
“Finish securing this asset,” Bienne pointed at Galvatron, “and get it back to base. Lestat!”
“Yes, sir!” said a nearby sergeant.
“We need units in the sky, STAT. Get on the horn, tell command to send all available units to these co-ordinates…”

Chapter Text

“The news, she is still on top of us,” Hot Rod said as he led his fellow Autobots through Paris.

“And you guys’re the number one news story,” added Brains via inter-Autobot comm. “Every channel, every livestream.

“And,” he added, “You’ve got choppers inbound. And not the friendly ones.”

“TRF,” Jolt said.

“We canna hide,” said Bumblebee, “an’ sewn we won’t be able t’run. Look!”

Up ahead, the street had been blocked by several police cars.

“Can you get through without hurting anybody?” Ladybug asked.

“Not without cheating,” Drift replied.

“Agreed,” said Hot Rod. “Autobots, up and over!”

The four robot cars raced toward the roadblock at top speed. At the last second they transformed, leapt, and transformed again on the other side.

“Aaah!” Ladybug cried in alarm as Hot Rod reconfigured around her. For a moment she was in freefall, and then she was back inside Hot Rod once more. “Warn me next time!”

“My apologies,” Hot Rod replied.

“We should split up,” Drift suggested. “They can’t chase all of us.”

“I can’t hide your energon signatures if we do that,” said Jolt.

“Neet exactly doin’ us any guud now, are ye?” Bumblebee pointed out.

“We need to get the news chopper off our tail,” Ladybug said. And then she had a brainstorm. “Brains! Can you contact the chopper?”

“Well, yeah,” Brains replied, “but I doubt they’ll wanna talk to me.”

“But they will listen to me,” Ladybug pointed out. “Patch me through.”

“Hey, that’s brainin’!” Brains said. “Just gimmie a… huh.”

“They’re turning away,” Drift said.

Ladybug looked out Hot Rod’s back window, and saw that the news chopper was indeed veering off.

“Oh mon dieu,” Hot Rod said.

“But isn’t that good?” Ladybug asked.

“Non,” said Hot Rod. “It means they had to leave the airspace, so the TRF can move in.”

“Three choppers,” Drift confirmed. “And that’s just the beginning.”

“Split up, find shelter and power down,” Hot Rod said. “We’ll meet up back at the school when we can.”

“Can I see that?” Adrien Agreste asked a young girl on a park bench. He’d just bought some cheese from a local shop, and had decided to sit in the park while Plagg ate it. He’d planned to go straight to the school to meet up with everybody again, but that was when he’d heard what sounded like a news report coming from a kid’s phone. Three words stood out: alien; robots; Ladybug.

“Adrien Agreste?!?” the young girl cried. “Oh my god!”

“Yeah, hi,” Adrien said. Every so often, he forgot he was a celebrity.

“Can I get a selfie?” the girl cried. “Oh my god, Sylvie, look who it is. Aah!”

“Aah!” said another young girl, presumably Sylvie, who was playing with a puppy a short distance away. She turned and ran, nearly wringing the puppy’s neck with its collar and leash. “I can’t believe it!” And she produced her own phone.

“Sure, selfies, yeah,” Adrien said. “But can I see what you’re watching first? It sounded important.”

Two minutes and several selfies later, Adrien hurried out of the park and back to the cheese shop. Plagg waited for him around the back, the recently-purchased Camenbear long gone.

“This is bad,” Adrien said to his Kwami. “The Autobots are on the news, the army’s after them, and they think Ladybug’s been kidnapped.”

“Well, I’m more than ready!” Plagg told him. “Say the magic words.”

“Plagg,” Adrien said, “claws…”

Just then, his own phone rang.

“One sec,” he said, and he answered. “Oh, hello Nathalie. Me? Just enjoying a day in the park… huh? No, I haven’t talked to my Dad, not since… sure, if I see him. Why? What’s… hello? Nathalie? Huh.”

“What was that about?” Plagg asked.

“No clue. Well, she was looking for my Dad. She sounded… concerned. Almost.”

“What do you want to do?” Plagg asked, and Adrien considered.

“Ladybug and the Autobots first,” he decided. “Claws out!”

Bludgeon had his sword out. Before him, a Decepticon he did not know was forced to his knees. Bludgeon pressed the tip of his blade to his prisoner’s neck, and spoke.

“Who are you?” he said. “And why shouldn’t I kill you?”

“My name is Darksteel,” the prisoner replied. “And you owe me your life.”

“Do I?” Bludgeon didn’t bother hiding the amusement in his voice. “Pray, explain.”

“I’m the one who had you brought here,” Darksteel said. “I arranged for your release. If not for me, you and these two,” he gestured at the Decepticons behind him, “would still be stone statues in a Tibetan monastery!”

“That’s not true,” Lila said. She remained in her exo-suit construct, and stood to Bludgeon’s right. “It was him,” she pointed at Hawkmoth, who stood where they had left him, motionless as a mannequin. “He funded the transport of the Shadow Matrix, and you,” she added, “to the museum, then plotted with Mayura and I to steal you.”

“That was only possible,” Darksteel said, “because of information I fed to him. I let him think he would acquire the Shadow Matrix while I plotted to steal it from him.”

“And us?” Bludgeon said, pressing the sword tip further into his prisoner’s neck.

“Of course, and you,” Darksteel said.

“Didn’t see you at the museum,” Lila said.

“I was betrayed by my troops,” Darksteel told them. “Galvatron disabled me, so that he could claim the Shadow Matrix for himself.”

“Who,” Bludgeon asked, “is Galvatron?”

“I saw him,” Bugly said. “When I was… big. I think… I think he might be Megatron. And there was this guy named Thunderwing…”

“I do not care,” Bludgeon said. “Darksteel, can you prove any of what you are saying? Will you,” he looked at Mohawk, who sat in an electric prison beside Dropkick, “corroborate his words?”

“I will,” Dropkick said, sitting up. “He contacted Mohawk and me, bunch of others, we were gonna make a new Decepticon empire once we got that thing,” he tried to point, remembered he had no arms, and nodded in the Shadow Matrix’s direction. “And he was fascinated by you guys,” he added. “History’s his thing. He figured you,” he looked at Bludgeon, “would make a great leader.”

If Bludgeon had eyebrows, he would have raised one of them.

“Did you?” he asked.

Darksteel stared at Dropkick, and hoped his astonishment didn’t show. He’d said no such thing about Bludgeon; what was Dropkick’s angle, here? Whatever it was, he realized he’d better go with it.

“Yes I did,” Darksteel turned back to Bludgeon. “Commander,” he added.

“Very well,” the Decepticon commander said. “You may serve. Dropkick, you as well. Mindwipe, see to his repairs.”

Kremzeek released the armless Decepticon, and Mindwipe tended to him. Bludgeon gestured with his sword, and Darksteel stood back up.

“Welcome to the team,” Lila said.

Darksteel nodded, showing the adolescent fleshbag more respect than he thought she deserved. When he got his hands on the Shadow Matrix, he would teach her to show her betters the deference that was their due. She might even survive the experience.

Of course, he realized as he looked at Bludgeon, getting his hands on the Shadow Matrix would take nothing short of a miracle.

“We need a miracle!” Hot Rod said as he rounded another corner. He, Drift, Bumblebee and Jolt had gone their separate ways in an effort to elude the TRF choppers. It wasn’t working out all that well; the three choppers had also split up to chase them individually. There were only three of them, so one Autobot was likely going to ground. Unfortunately, Hot Rod was not that lucky one.

“I thought you said they couldn’t track you,” Ladybug said, watching the aircraft from the back seat.

“If we lose them, they can’t,” Hot Rod replied, “but they can still see me. They will be tracking the others, and probably have them on satellite by now.”

“They haven’t tried to shoot us yet,” Ladybug said. “I’m glad they have some concern for the safety of innocents.”

“Don’t be fooled,” Hot Rod said. “As soon as they have a clear shot…”

They sped through an intersection and onto a bridge across the Seine. Too late, Hot Rod realized there was no cover on the bridge. Which meant the chopper had a clear shot.

The chopper opened fire with a pair of Gatling guns armed with sabot rounds. The bullets chewed up the pavement of the bridge, and more than a few ripped straight through the Autobot’s chassy. Ladybug yelped as one round just missed her, only to set the upholstery on fire.

Hot Rod also cried out – the bullets had hurt, a lot. He lost focus and swerved to the left, and smashed through the concrete guardrail. The impact absorbed most of the Autobot’s momentum, but he hung precariously over the river.

Ladybug had been flung forward into the windshield. She was lucky a sabot round had already fractured the ‘glass’, or she would have been killed against it. Instead she smashed through and onto Hot Rod’s hood, and would have slid right off and into the water if her yo-yo pouch hadn’t snagged on a bit of the remaining windshield. He lay dazed, barely conscious, vaguely aware that she was still in a lot of trouble.

Hot Rod, it seemed, was offline.

The TRF chopper hovered in the air near the bridge like a predator, ready to finish its prey.

Colonel Bienne was also in a TRF helicopter, heading toward the action.

“Sir, this is Vortex 2,” came the voice of one of his pilots. “We have target wounded, awaiting authorization to use missiles. Sending image now.”

Bienne opened his tablet and saw the image of a black car half-on and half-off of a bridge over the local river.

“Civilians?” he asked.

“None present. Clean shot. Wait… no, one non-combatant. The hostage Ladybug. That’s her on the hood. There’s movement; she’s still alive.”

Bienne considered. Ladybug was a local hero; the French government would likely make a stink if harm came to her.

But this was a Transformer. And a cleaner shot than this didn’t come very often.

“Take the shot,” he said.

“But sir, Ladybug…”

“Take. The. Shot.”

Ladybug raised her head, and blinked away blood. She saw the chopper. Then she saw the missile streaking toward her…

Chapter Text

Nathalie was out of patience. It had been hours since she’d spoken to Gabriel, and he wasn’t answering his phone. Adrien hadn’t been in contact, either, but her call to him had been something of a last resort.

Something was wrong. Which meant Gabriel Agreste was at the mercy of that Decepticon, Bludgeon. Was he dead? Lila was expendable, but Bludgeon seemed to need her. And he did not need Hawkmoth.

She had to know what was going on at the Opera House. And there was only one way to do it.

Nathalie sighed, then reached into her purse for the Peacock Miraculous.

Hot Rod’s reached wakefulness just in time for him to realize it was too late. The impact with the bridge had caused his internal systems to reboot, which gave the TRF chopper more than enough time to launch a missile. Ladybug was barely conscious on his hood, and could not flee to safety. He was in car mode, precariously balanced so that his front wheels were out over the river and his back wheels were in the air. He could not drive forward and fall into the Seine as a means of escape.

He could have transformed and rolled out of the way, if he’d awoken two seconds earlier. He started to transform anyway, but knew it was hopeless.

One more second…

Which was just enough time for a Miraculous rescue. Cat Noir bounded onto the scene, and used his pole to nudge the incoming missile just enough. It streaked over Hot Rod and Ladybug and hit the water half a block away, making an almighty splash but leaving the heroes unscathed (but wet).

Hot Rod rolled over in robot mode, holding Ladybug protectively in one arm. With his other arm he drew out his time gun, and fired a bubble of frozen time around the chopper.

“Nice!” Cat Noir said. “How long…?”

“Less than a minute,” the Autobot replied. “We must go.” He started to transform…

“No, stop,” Ladybug said. “Jump in the river. Trust me,” she added.

Hot Rod nodded and jumped off the bridge.

“Aqua time?” Cat Noir asked.

“Aqua time,” Ladybug confirmed, and they took out their special Kwami tablets. Their Kwamis reappeared and ate the tablets, changing the heroes into their underwater gear. Then they hopped off the bridge and into the Sienne.

This is insane, Bumblebee thought as he continued his mad dash through Paris. He’d barely avoided another roadblock, and the chopper pursuing him was triggerhappy (but not the Decepticon named Triggerhappy, who had died recently in Mexico). More than a few lives had been put in danger as a result of the chase, and any loss of life would be blamed on the Autobots.

I need to end this, he thought, right now.

It would look bad, but he had to shoot the chopper out of the air. It was that, or let it continue to pot-hole the pavement with rounds that could melt steel. Of course, the flaming wreckage of the chopper wouldn’t do the street any good, either. But what other option was there?

“Bumblebee, this is Jolt. Come in.”

“Jolt?” Bee replied over inter-Autobot comm. “Where are you?”

“Safe,” Jolt replied. “They didn’t follow me…”

“Well aren’t yew the lucky one…”

“…but I can help you,” he went on. “There’s a parking garage a couple of kilometers West of you. Meet me there.”

“They’ll follow…”

“Bumblebee, trust me,” Jolt implored. “I have a plan.”

The last thing Bumblebee wanted to do was place his life in Jolt’s hands. However, he remembered what Cat Noir had said before he’d left them earlier: “Work this out.”

“On me way,” Bumblebee said. “Wa about Drift?”

“He’s taken the chase to the next level,” Jolt replied. “In three seconds look up.”

Three seconds later, a blue helicopter flew past overhead, followed by the third TRF chopper…

Drift flew over the city in his helicopter mode, and noticed Bumblebee on the street below. He hoped that the TRF chopper chasing Bee would peel off and follow him, but no such luck. Still, Jolt had a plan to save him, and Drift had every confidence it would work.

Besides, he had his own chopper to deal with.

Drift had decided early on to leave the ground and engage his pursuer in the sky. It cut down on potential collateral damage considerably, and gave him more options.

He saw Cat Noir save Hot Rod and Ladybug a couple of kilometers away, and felt a moment of relief.

Then he remembered the gravity of the situation. This chase, and the struggle with Bee-Format that had preceded it, were all a distraction from the main objective of finding the Shadow Matrix. They needed to return to that objective as quickly as possible, while the planet was still in one piece.

Drift veered to the East, toward the TRF chopper that was currently trapped in Hot Rod’s time bubble. Perhaps he could convince them to follow him…

He was so focused on the helicopter ahead of him that he briefly forgot the one behind. A series of sabot rounds tore into Drift’s fuselage, and he yelped in pain. He took evasive action, and went right into the path of the chopper that had just exited the time bubble. Drift veered sideways and away, but his rotor blades clipped the TRF chopper’s tail. It spun out of control and crashed into the river.

The second chopper fired missiles. A quick scan revealed them to be heat seekers, which would make them difficult to evade.

And, Drift realized, if the missiles hit anything other than him, human lives might be lost. Of course, if they did hit him, he would die. The best thing would be if they exploded in the air.

Drift transformed to robot mode and, flying by momentum alone, spun around and threw a couple of daggers. Each found its target; the missiles detonated harmlessly ten metres above the Sienne.

Drift had already transformed back to helicopter mode. He was feeling good about his close shave, but knew the TRF had a lot more to throw at him.

Case in point; there was another helicopter ahead of him. It was different from the others – more of a troop carrier – and it hovered sideways in the air like an aerial roadblock.

A door on the side of the carrier opened, revealing one soldier. He aimed a weapon, and before Drift could react he fired it. A small capsule latched itself onto Drift’s fuselage and delivered a powerful, painful shock. Drift spasmed, transformed uncontrollably and fell into the river.

On the carrier, the soldier with the weapon smiled.

“Gotcha,” said Colonel Bienne. “Control, send a collection crew.”

“Like the view?” Jolt said.

Bumblebee remained silent. He wasn’t quite ready to let go of his animosity for the other Autobot. Still, he had to admit Jolt had provided an excellent rescue.

His chances of escaping the TRF had seemed bleak; he’d been gunning it through the downtown core with the chopper close on his robotic heels, heading for the dubious sanctuary that Jolt had promised. Before he’d arrived at the coordinates for the parkade, however, Jolt had told him to hang a right and then a left.

Bumblebee had done so. He figured the manoeuvre would take him out of the chopper’s line of sight, but they could still follow his energon signature…

“Hi there,” Jolt had said, suddenly pulling up beside him. “Another left here, then up and into the parkade.”

And just like that, Bumblebee was gone. The chopper circled the area, trying to pick up his trail, but in the end they gave up and moved on. Bumblebee parked on the ninth level of the parkade, with a clear view of the retreating chopper. Jolt had parked beside him, keeping Bumblebee hidden in his electrical field.

“Ye dun guud, laddie,” Bumblebee said at last.

“That’s all I ever wanted to do,” Jolt replied. “You were right, it was cowardly of me not to help Ratchet.”

Bumblebee let out a long mechanical sigh.

“If ya had tried, ye’d likely be dead,” Bumblebee told him. “I shoulda cut ye some slack. It’s just… Ratchet’s death messed up Prime, bad. Now he’s out there in space, lookin’ fer these Creators, an’ who knows what’ll happenta him. I… I tookit out on ye, laddie.”

“I deserved it.”

“Only if ye don’t learn from it,” Bee said. “An’ that goes fer me, too.”

They sat in silence for a while. Then, the silence was broken.

“You bitches done working out your shit?” Brains said over inter-Autobot comm. “We got problems. Drift’s down, and Hot Rod’s off the grid.”

“Oh no,” Jolt said. “Bumblebee, what do we do?”

“What do we do now, Bugaboo?” Cat Noir asked. He and Ladybug had returned to their regular costumes, and sat on top of Hot Rod’s trunk. They’d found their way into the drainage tunnels, then worked their way through the sewer system until they found the Metro tunnel.

“We should go back to the surface,” Ladybug said. “We can’t help Hot Rod until we can find a way to get him out of here safely.”

“Don’t you worry about me,” Hot Rod said. He scanned the tunnel, and saw a station a two minute walk away on their left. “The TRF cannot track me, remember?”

“Yes, but people can see you,” Ladybug pointed out.

“You can’t exactly walk out of a subway station,” Cat Noir added. “Even driving out would seem suspicious.”

“You need to stay here until we can figure a way to get you out safely,” Ladybug said.

Hot Rod nodded. His internal systems were still patching up his wounds; staying still and letting them do their work seemed like a good plan.

“Oui,” he said. “I will wait here. Please do not keep me waiting too long; we may have very little time left.”

Ladybug and Cat Noir nodded and hurried off toward the station.

Hawkmoth had no time left. With a flash his costume vanished, and he became Gabriel Agreste once more.

He couldn’t do anything about it; his mind was still a prisoner of Mindwipe’s will. His Kwami, Nooroo, tried in vain to wake him, then hid in his jacket when one of the robots came over.

“Hey, this guy changed his outfit,” Bugly said, giving Gabriel the once-over. “Can they do that?”

“I did not order him to,” said Mindwipe. “Perhaps…”

“Gabriel Agreste?” Darksteel hurried over and stared at the human. “He was Hawkmoth?”

“You know him?” asked Bludgeon.

“He’s the guy I conned into bringing you here,” Darksteel said. “He was Hawkmoth? This whole time?”

“Duh,” said Lila.

“Who is he?” Bugly asked.

“Someone with the resources to have us brought here,” Mindwipe replied. “Interesting.”

“Indeed,” Bludgeon said. “But he is more useful as Hawkmoth. If, as you say,” he looked at Darksteel, “there are Autobots in this city, and humans with the means to harm us, he will be useful in keeping such forces from distracting us.
“Can he be changed back?”

“Well, yes,” Darksteel said. “He has a Miraculous, and a Kwami to power it. He must have transformed because the Miraculous powered down.”

“Give the Kwami its fuel,” Lila took over, “and it’ll be able to recharge the Miraculous and make him into Hawkmoth again.”

“Well, we are not lacking for fuel,” Bludgeon glanced at the Shadow Matrix. “Where is his Kwami?”

“Well…” Darksteel began, and stopped. “It must be close,” he said.

“So it has escaped?” Bludgeon snapped. And he backhanded Darksteel hard enough to knock him to the floor. “Find it! What are you laughing about?” he turned to look at Mohawk, who had started snickering. “Did you prevent its escape?”

“Uh…” Mohawk said.

“Get going!” Bludgeon ordered. “Not you,” he pointed at Mindwipe. “Continue your work. And that goes double for you,” he turned to Lila.

Darksteel got back up and headed for the hole in the wall. Mohawk and Bugly followed.

“Darksteel, Mohawk?” Bludgeon’s voice stopped them in their tracks. “It would not be wise to betray me. You will return, or I will find you.”

Mohawk made the Cybertronian equivalent of a gulp. Darksteel merely nodded.

“Don’t worry, sir,” Bugly said as they left. “I’ll keep them in line.”

From her line of sight inside Gabriel’s blazer, Nooroo watched the three Decepticons leave. Terror filled her tiny frame; it was only a matter of time before she was discovered.

Perhaps, she thought, she should grab the Moth Miraculous and escape? She detested what Gabriel did with her power, but she couldn’t just abandon her master. Could she?

Besides, that Decepticon Bludgeon had a very good eye, and would no doubt spot her.

Although… apparently he hadn’t noticed the Sentimonster on the far wall…

Mayura watched the scene in the Opera House through the eye of the Sentimonster she’d sent to act as a living spy camera. It didn’t look good for Gabriel; he’d not only transformed back, but was apparently under some kind of mind control. And Lila appeared to be fine with the development. Perhaps she was playing along, buying time? Mayura nearly chuckled at how unlikely that was.

Mayura had placed the Amok into her Tablet. Not only did it serve to control the Sentimonster she’d created, but it still functioned as a Tablet. Mayura took an image of Gabriel, making sure to include Bludgeon in the background. A few seconds after that, she sent the image to the media, the police, and the TRF.

“Duusu, fall my feathers,” she said, and became Nathalie once more. Then she collapsed into a chair and fell asleep.

“Bludge, I’m really tired,” Lila said. “Can we pick this up tomorrow morning?”

She was still encased in her Shadow Matrix-created exo suit which, under the gaze Bludgeon now gave her, felt a lot less protective than it had a moment ago.

“I need to eat, and sleep,” Lila went on, when Bludgeon said nothing. “Y’know, basic human stuff. And a trip to the bathroom would also be good.”

In point of fact, Lila required none of these things. The Shadow Matrix was her source of fuel now – food and sleep were no longer her problem. Perhaps Bludgeon wasn’t aware of this development; Lila certainly hoped not. It was time to test her ‘partner’s’ boundaries, and see what she could get away with.

“You require rest?” Bludgeon said at last. “Very well, human. I shall see that you get it. Hawkmoth,” he inclined his head toward Gabriel Agreste, “order Kremzeek to relieve her of her consciousness.”

“What? Hey, wait just a…” Lila began, and tried to bring her weapons to bear.

Gabriel raised the Amoked armrest, and Kremzeek leapt forward and attacked. Lila screamed as the Sentimonster shocked her, and she collapsed to the floor.

“Never test me,” Bludgeon said, just before she blacked out.

Chapter Text

Early on Sunday morning, Colonel Bienne stood beside the Siene and watched as two choppers lifted the comatose alien from the water. It was a small victory; the other aliens had managed to elude his forces and go to ground. He did not intend to let them lay low for long; if Bienne got his way, the entire city would be under emergency lockdown within the hour.

Getting his way, however, would not be as simple as he'd hoped. He’d just hung up on Mayor Andre Bourgeois, who’d been most unhappy with the way the TRF were treating his city. The people were scared, he’d said. Helicopters shooting up the streets, bridges being destroyed, and his daughter was so terrified she couldn’t even bring herself to go shopping!

Bienne had calmly asked if there had been any civilian casualties. There hadn’t been, and injuries were few. Property damage was well within tolerable limits, and order was being kept. Did the mayor have a plan in place to hunt down and destroy the aliens? He’d thought as much. Bienne advised Mayor Bourgeois to have himself some Freedom Toast and stay the hell out of his way.

The Mayor responded with a comment that put Bienne’s parentage into question, and advised the colonel to do something that was not anatomically possible. Bienne advised he would get right on that, provided the mayor got to work establishing the lockdown. Bourgeois advised it would take time, Bienne accused him of complacency and laziness, more anatomically impossible suggestions had been thrown about… it was not a constructive conversation.

“Get it done,” Bienne had said before disconnecting the call.

The two choppers carried the captured alien away. Bienne watched them go, then he turned to see Sergeant Lestat hurrying toward him.

“Sir, you need to see this,” Lestat said, and handed over his tablet.

Bienne had a short moment where he wondered if all his troops were on their phones. Then he remembered he’d asked Lestat to monitor the media for new information, and apparently he’d come through.

“…image was sent anonymously to our servers minutes ago,” said TVi’s Nadja Chamack. “In it you can see what appears to be fashion design icon Gabriel Agreste, and behind him, one of the robotic invaders, or so-called Transformers…”

“Send this image to everyone, and I mean everyone!” Bienne snapped. “Get our analysts working on it. I want to know where this image was taken from, and I want to know now!”

“How?” Adrien Agreste demanded. “How could this have happened, Nathalie? How did my father end up a prisoner of those things?”

Nathalie had dreaded the moment when Adrien would find out about his father’s predicament. She’d decided to be proactive and get it over with, so she’d brought her tablet into his room to show him.

“I don’t know, Adrien,” she said. “I’m as shocked as you.”

“Well, what’re we gonna do about it?” Adrien said. “We’ve got to find him, save him!”

“There is nothing we can do, Adrien,” Nathalie said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “The TRF will be investigating, and we’d best leave them to it.

“In the meantime,” she went on, “I want you to stay home until this is over. Your father would not want you in any danger.”

“But…”

“No buts, Adrien. Promise me you will stay in the house until your father returns.”

Adrien stared up at her with a rebellious look in his eyes, and Nathalie feared he would be difficult.

“Okay,” he said at last. “I, Adrien Agreste, promise to stay home until my father is safely returned.”

“Thank you, Adrien,” Nathalie said, and she turned to go. “I’ll keep you posted if there are any developments.”

“I’ll be here,” Adrien said, and he closed his bedroom door behind him.

As she hurried to Gabriel’s study, Nathalie allowed herself a moment of relief. Adrien was safe and accounted for, and she could concentrate on Gabriel’s rescue. A quick search of the news showed the TRF had made no progress in locating him; perhaps she should give them more hints.

“What will you do?” Plagg asked Adrien as he flew worriedly around his master. “You’re not keeping that promise, are you?”

“Of course I will,” Adrien replied with mock offense. “Adrien Agreste will not leave the house.

“Cat Noir, on the other hand…”

“I figured,” Plagg said. “You’ve got cheese for me?”

“Filling my pockets now,” Adrien said as he shoved a couple of Camenbert-stuffed Ziplocks into his pants. “Plagg, claws out!”

“You can’t go out!” Marinette’s father cried, flattening himself against the bakery door. “There are killer robots out there.”

“But Dad…” Marinette began. She’d gone to the trouble of concocting a perfect cover story; she’d spend the day with Alya, make sure she’d recovered from the Museum incident. She could hardly blame her Dad for saying no, however.

“We were worried sick last night!” her mother said. “You came in so late, we thought…”

“I know. And I’m sorry,” Marinette said. “I was pretty scared, too. I didn’t want to take a bus or a taxi or anything that might turn out to be… you know.”

“So you’ll stay here?” her father said, still using his entire body to block the door.

“Yes, I’ll stay,” Marinette replied. “But I’d better go call Alya and let her know I’m not coming. And you,” she poked her father’s tummy, “should probably let the customers in.”

Mr. Dupain turned his head and saw a small lineup of people waiting on the other side of the door.

“Oh, right,” he said, and he opened the door. “Sorry, everyone! Come in, come in!”

“I’ll be in my room,” Marinette told her mother. “I might be in there a while. Alya likes to talk.”

“Okay, dear. Give her love from us,” Mrs. Dupain-Cheng replied.

Marinette hurried up to her room.

And when she was there, she said:

“Tikki, spots on!”

Hot Rod was on the right track, quite literally. He sped down the Metro rails, looking for an abandoned station from which to exit this underworld. He hated going against the wishes of his new superhuman friends, but he could wait no longer.

Drift was in trouble.

Hot Rod had gone offline to let his internal repair system fix his wounds. As soon as he’d come back online, he noted that Brains had been trying to reach him. He’d been relieved to hear that Bumblebee and Jolt were safe, but when the smaller ‘bot told him of Drift’s capture, he’d almost blown a gasket.

“Where did they take him?” Hot Rod had wanted to know.

“Looks like the TRF have occupied one of the old NEST facilities,” Brains had told him. “The one they set up after the 2009 attack. Sending co-ordinates now.”

“Tell Bumblebee and Jolt to meet me there,” Hot Rod had said, and had begun his quest for a place to discretely exit the subway tunnels. The more time he wasted underground, the worse things could be for Drift.

“Okay, I got something for ya,” Brains told him. “Station up ahead, hardly anyone in it. And the ones who are got their faces in their phones. Exit through there, get on the street, and you’ll have a 15-minute drive to TRF-land!”

“Sounds good,” Hot Rod said, and drove faster. “Be patient, mon ami Drift. We are coming.”

Drift was coming around. His systems had taken one hell of a shock; it took a moment or two for his internal chronometer to catch up. Several hours seemed to have passed, and he was no longer in the river.

Also, he couldn’t move.

“Wakey, wakey!” a French-accented voice said, and Drift felt a painful jolt in his right arm.

“What in the Celestial Spires?” he said, and he turned his head to look right. It was the only movement he was currently capable of.

“Feeling a bit stiff?” said a human in TRF fatigues. He was imposing for one of his species, nearly seven feet tall and packed with muscle. He carried a staff that glowed and sparked at one end, presumably the device that had shocked his arm just now.

“Why can’t I move?” Drift wanted to know. “What have you done to… aagh!”

“I’m asking the questions, robot,” the soldier said when he’d finished shocking him. “You will answer them, or…” and he drove the stick into Drift’s side. “You get me?” He held the stick in front of Drift’s face. “Well, do ya?”

“I understand what you are saying, human,” Drift replied.

“That’s Sergeant Auchien to you,” the human said. “And I didn’t ask if you understood what I was saying. I asked if you got me.” He touched the point of the stick to Drift’s face, and the Autobot cried out once more. “So I’ll ask again, do you get me?”

Drift stared up at the ceiling and waited for the next shock. He did not wait long.

“Answer the question, robot,” Auchien said, this time keeping the point pressed against Drift’s neck. “Do it now!”

Drift lay there and took it, his mouth shut. He’d faced torture before, and was damned if he’d succumb to it now.

Auchien struck him repeatedly, all over his body. Drift cried out when the pain was too great, but nothing else.

“Tough one, are you?” Auchien said, a touch of frustrated weariness in his voice. “Well, if you think you can hold out against me and monsieur sparky here…”

“That is quite enough, Sergeant.”

Drift regarded the new speaker. He was a head shorter than the one with the shock staff, but he carried himself with an authority that towered above him. Drift was certain this human was the one in charge; Auchien had only been there to soften him up.

“Sir!” Auchien said, snapping to attention so quickly, he forgot he was still holding the shock staff. Drift chuckled as the hapless soldier hit himself in the face and fell to the deck, jiggling.

The newcomer strode over, bent down to picked up the weapon, then checked Auchien’s pulse before standing back up.

“He is only stunned,” Drift said as he ran a quick scan on the Sergeant’s body. “However, that burn on his forehead will need tending to.”

“Indeed,” said the newcomer. “Medic!”

Two medics arrived moments later with a stretcher, then loaded the comatose soldier onto it.

“Hello, Drift,” the senior officer said while the medics took Auchien away. “I am Colonel Rene Bienne. You are currently being held at TRF Paris. Your motor skills have been disconnected, which is why you are paralyzed from the neck down.”

“But still able to feel pain,” Drift said. “I wonder how many of my kind you had to experiment on before you learned how to do that?”

Bienne smiled and nodded, conceding the point.

“We do what we must,” he said, “to protect our species.”

“Then hear me, human,” Drift said. “Your planet is in danger.”

“With your kind, it always is.”

“You must release me…”

“No I must not,” Bienne said. “Know this, alien. You will not leave this base, ever. Your stay can be comfortable, or you can remain as you are. It all depends on how cooperative you are willing to be.”

“I can be cooperative,” Drift told him. “But you must heed my words. The danger I mentioned is in your city, right this minute. If you will not release me, at least let me tell you of the danger you face.”

Bienne regarded him for a moment.

“Very well,” he said. “Tell me.”

“Tell me how your arms feel,” Mindwipe said.

Dropkick raised his repaired limbs, and threw a couple of punches at the air.

“Good to go, I think,” he said.

Nooroo, still watching from Gabriel Agreste’s blazer, was also good to go. She did not want to abandon her master (even though she really did), but there was no way for her to help him here. She would take the Moth Miraculous out of the Decepticons’ reach, then try to find help.

Nooroo looked over Gabriel’s shoulder. Bludgeon and Lila were both occupied with the Shadow Matrix, and Mindwipe was occupied with Dropkick. It was now or never.

Nooroo removed the Moth Miraculous from Gabriel’s collar, then slowly fluttered to the ground. She kept Gabriel’s body between her and Bludgeon, just in case he looked around. Staying close to the floor, Nooroo fluttered forward toward the Auditorium’s main doors. The large hole in the right-hand wall would have been a better exit, but it would have meant passing too close to Mindwipe. The main doors were better strategically, as it meant she could remain in Gabriel Agreste’s shadow.

After two minutes that felt like two million years, Nooroo passed over the threshold and into the lobby. She fluttered higher and faster, and flew out the smashed front entrance of the Opera House.

She was outside. She’d made it. Apart from a convertible sports car, the street was empty. Nooroo took off in the direction of the Agreste Manor.

She heard a strange mechanical sound, and too late remembered the robots could disguise themselves. A metal hand closed around her, sealing her in a fist.

“I knew you’d stay close,” Darksteel said. “Oh, but we are going to have such fun together.”

Chapter Text

Cat Noir alighted atop a building that overlooked the D6 Motorway. He’d arranged to meet Ladybug and the Autobots there, then rendez-vous with Hot Rod. Drift had been captured by the TRF, and the Autobots wanted him back.

Cat Noir wanted his father back. He’d considered ditching the others and tearing the city apart to find him, but the image of Gabriel Agreste and that Decepticon was not a lot to go on. He would need help, and for that he would need his friends.

He briefly thought about betraying the Autobots to the TRF in exchange for their help… but no. That wasn’t who he was.

Was he?

Cat Noir shook his head to clear it. He was not going to turn the Autobots in. The TRF had fired on Ladybug! They could not be trusted.

But he could turn the Autobots in. It was an option.

Could he be trusted?

“Penny for your thoughts, Kittycat?”

Cat Noir spun around, pole at the ready. Even though he recognized the voice.

“Whoa, bad Cat!” Ladybug said, hands up in a peaceful gesture. She stood on the rooftop just behind him, and she was not alone.

“Point that somewhere else!” said the newcomer, a dark-skinned lady dressed like a fox, and carrying a magic flute.

“Rena Rouge!” Cat Noir said. “You joining our raiding party?”

“I thought her powers of illusion could be useful,” Ladybug said. “Especially to our friends. And I think that’s them now.”

They looked down at the street below, where a black muscle car was just pulling up at the base of the building.

“Good call,” Cat Noir said. “Look, before we…” he paused, then closed his mouth.

“Before we what?” Ladybug asked.

Cat Noir had been about to suggest they go look for his father. Then, of course, he’d remembered Gabriel Agreste was Adrien’s father, not Cat Noir’s.

“Gabriel Agreste is a prisoner of the Decepticons,” he said. “I… I think he should be our first priority.”

“I saw the news,” Ladybug said. “It’s a scary development.”

In fact, Ladybug had learned of Mr. Agreste’s predicament when she’d called upon Alya (after requesting the Fox Miraculous from Master Fu). Alya had been hard at work on her Ladyblog, gathering images of the previous day’s battles. One of those images was the one featuring Mr. Agreste and a Decepticon she hadn’t encountered yet. At the time, Ladybug’s priority had been to recruit Alya to become Rena Rouge once more.

“It is,” Cat Noir said. “And we need to do something about it. Drift is an alien warrior, but Mr. Agreste is just a man. He’s helpless and vulnerable. We’ve got to rescue him first.”

“But we don’t know where he is,” Ladybug said.

“That’s why we should start looking,” Cat Noir replied.

“We know exactly where Drift is,” Ladybug said. “Once we’ve rescued him, we can all…”

“It might be too late by then!” Cat Noir said. “I can’t believe you’re fighting me on this, Ladybug. We have a duty to the people of Paris, not alien robots.”

“I’m not fighting you!” Ladybug shot back. “But we need to think this through. If the Decepticons kidnapped Mr. Agreste, it was for a reason, and they won’t kill him until they’ve achieved… well, whatever they took him for.”

“Also, the Mayor said something about locking the city down,” Rena Rouge told them. “They’ll set up roadblocks. If we don’t go now, we might not be able to later.”

“Are you kidding me?” Cat Noir threw his arms wide in exasperation. “We’re superheroes. A roadblock won’t stop us.”

“Cat…” Ladybug took a step toward him.

“No!” Cat Noir snapped. “If you want to ignore your duty and fight alien battles, I won’t stop you. But I’m going to find my… find Mr. Agreste. Bye,” he added, and leapt off the building and pole-vaulted back toward downtown.

“That coulda gone better.”

Ladybug and Rena Rouge turned to see Brains on the roof behind them.

“I thought they were bigger,” Rena said.

“I’m bigger where it counts, Foxy,” Brains replied.

“Brains!” Ladybug snapped. “Not appropriate. For either of us.”

“Heh, heh,” Brains replied. “So we doin’ this without Kitty?”

“I’m afraid so,” Ladybug said. “But I don’t want him running off alone…”

“Got it covered, Lady,” Brains said. “I scanned me a drone this morning. Watch this!” And he transformed into a perfect replica of a remote-controlled drone. “Want me to go after the Pussy?”

“Brains!”

“Heh. I’m on it.”

Brains flew off in the direction Cat Noir had gone.

“They’re not… all like that, are they?” Rena Rouge asked.

“No. You’ll like Bumblebee. Not nearly so… problematic.”

They hopped off the side of the building and landed beside the black muscle car.

“Le’s be on our wee,” the muscle car said, and popped his doors. “Whu’s the new lassie? An’ where’d Cat Noir go?”

“This is Rena Rouge, another of Paris’ Miraculous heroes,” Ladybug said. “She’ll be able to help us with sneaking around.

“Rena, this is Bumblebee.”

“How do you do?” Rena Rouge said. “Why is he Scottish?” she asked Ladybug.

“I… don’t actually know,” Ladybug replied, and turned back to the car. “Cat Noir… he won’t be joining us.”

Ladybug and Rena climbed aboard, and they drove off toward the D6 Motorway.

“I sent Jolt ahead,” Bumblebee said. “He’ll sit tight wi’ Hot Rod until we arrive. In case yer plan doesn’t work.”

“There’s a plan?” Rena said.

“Kind of,” Ladybug said. “Bumblebee, are you ready to broadcast?”

“Ready ta goo,” Bee replied. A panel on his steering wheel opened and revealed a camera, microphone, and screen. “Are yew?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Ladybug replied. “Let’s do this.”

“Yer live,” Bee told her.

Ladybug cleared her throat.

“This is Ladybug calling the TRF. Ladybug to the TRF. Please come in.”

“Interesting,” Colonel Bienne said, when Drift had finished speaking. “So, a Cybertronian weapon of mass destruction is here in Paris, and you want us to help you get it back?”

“Before it is too late, yes,” Drift replied, putting as much urgency into his voice as he could.

“And why,” Bienne said, “would we help you to get your hands on a potentially world-ending weapon?”

“To get it away from the Decepticons!” Drift said.

“The TRF does not recognize any difference between your factions,” Bienne told him. “As far as I’m concerned, this Shadow Matrix would be just as dangerous to the human race no matter which of you has it.

“No, we will use this intel you have provided to secure this weapon, then find a way to use it to rid the planet of your mechanical kind!”

“No! You must not,” Drift cried. “Unless we work together…”

“Thank you,” Bienne said as he walked away, “for your cooperation.”

He returned to his command centre, walking past the loading dock. He was satisfied to see his team unloading Dreadbot; Galvatron had already been carted off to the lab. It did his heart proud to see his troops performing their duties with such efficiency.

As he entered the command centre, he was greeted by Sergeant Lestat.

“Sir, we have a… development,” he said. “The city’s superhero Ladybug wants to talk to you.”

Perhaps, Bienne thought, she’s going to explain what she was doing in the company of the aliens.

“Put her on,” he said.

Lestat nodded at the tech team, and a moment later one of their main monitors was filled with the face and shoulders of Ladybug.

“…to the TRF, please come in,” she said.

“Hello, Ladybug. I am Colonel Rene Bienne of the Transformer Reaction Force. State your intent.”

“It worked, we got through!” Ladybug said to someone on her right. “Now we can…”

“My time is precious,” Bienne said. “State your intent.”

“Rude,” said someone off camera.

“Colonel Bienne, I understand you’ve captured a friend of mine, an Autobot named Drift. I’d like to ask you to release him. He means you no harm, and…”

“You admit to working with the aliens,” Bienne said. “That is an international offence.”

“I understand the TRF makes no distinction between Autobot and Decepticon…”

“I do not,” Bienne said. “I recognize the law. And by that law, all the Transformers are illegal aliens, to be detained and executed as we see fit. So no, I will not release the prisoner. And if you are in contact with any other Transformers, you must report them to us immediately.”

“Colonel Bienne,” Ladybug said, “the Autobots are here to protect us from a very real threat. I will need their help to save Paris, and I could use the help of the TRF as well. If we could negotiate…”

“I’ve heard enough,” the Colonel said. “The TRF does not negotiate with aliens or their allies. You are now a wanted criminal, Ladybug, and will be arrested on sight. If you know of a threat to Paris, I advise you to surrender yourself to our custody and tell us what you know. Your cooperation will be noted when charges are laid.

“Well?” he asked after a pause. “Will you surrender?”

“…will be noted when charges are laid.”

Ladybug stared at the small screen on Bumlebee’s steering wheel, and considered the Colonel’s words. She was aware that, if she made the wrong choice, there would be consequences. Of course, the right choice would likely lead to consequences as well.

I don’t want to screw up again, Ladybug thought.

Should she surrender? The TRF were, essentially, a police force that protected humans from aliens. They knew the Transformers better than she did; she’d known only a few of them for less than a day. They had the resources to hunt down the Decepticons and secure the Shadow Matrix.

But…

The Autobots were her friends. They’d proven themselves, and saved the city more than once. Hot Rod had fought alongside her and Cat Noir against overwhelming odds at the museum, when he’d been the only Autobot available. No wonder Tikki had chosen him to wield the Miraculous of Creation when she’d been indisposed.

Now, the Autobots wanted to rescue their friend from a force that had shot him out of the sky. From a Colonel who wanted her to surrender herself, which would take her and the remaining Autobots off the board. They did not want to work with her. They wanted control of the situation on their terms, and their terms alone.

She’d reached out a hand to them, and they’d swatted it aside.

“Well?” Colonel Bienne said. “Will you surrender?”

Ladybug cast a glance at Rena Rouge, who shook her head NO.

That was good enough for her.

“No,” she said.

“I think you’ll find it unwise to…”

“Colonel Bienne,” Ladybug said, “Paris is my city, and I will defend it from all threats.

“I want you to give Drift a message from me.”

“I will do no such…”

“Tell him to power down and sit tight, because I’m coming to get him. And I think you will find it unwise, Colonel, to get in our way.”

Chapter Text

Ladybug clicked off the screen, and ended the transmission.

“Whoa,” Rena Rouge said. “I’ve got goosebumps!”

“Well said, Lassie,” added Bumblebee.

Ladybug smiled. That had been pretty badass. There was her confidence, right where she’d left it.

“Let’s go get Drift,” she said, and they sped off to do just that.

“Red alert,” Colonel Bienne called out the moment the transmission ended. “Lestat, prepare everyone for imminent attack.”

“You heard the Colonel!” Lestat shouted. “Battlestations!”

In the infirmary, Sergeant Auchien woke up on a cot. Groggy, he sat up and looked around to see the medical centre abuzz with activity.

“Oh look, the Shocker’s back with us!” one of the medics said. “Good. We’ll need that cot.”

Another medic tipped the cot on its side, dumping Auchien unceremoniously to the floor.

“C’mon, move it, Sparky,” that medic said, helping the Sergeant to his feet and ushering him to the door. “You’re in our way.”

“Wait! Don’t forget this,” said the first medic, who tossed the shock stick to him.

Auchien cried out as he caught the device instinctively, and was relieved to discover it wasn’t switched on. Everyone in the infirmary paused to have a laugh at his expense.

“See if you can handle that responsibly this time.”

“Yeah, and we may give you back the batteries!”

More laughter followed Auchien as he left the infirmary and walked, red-faced, back to his post.

He’d show them. I will not be mocked, he thought. I would have gotten a full confession out of that robot if the Colonel hadn’t stopped me!

They would see, he told himself. Sergeant Auchien was a good soldier, not some dog to be kicked aside.

Before the day was out, they would see him rise.

“Nooroo,” said Darksteel, “Darkwings Rise!”

The Decepticon stood on a rooftop less than a block from the Opera House, yet he feared no attack from Bludgeon and his followers. He had the Moth Miraculous embedded in his chest, and was about to receive the power within.

Nooroo sighed, helpless to prevent the inevitable. She flew into the Miraculous, and Darksteel changed.

Transformed, if you will.

“Glorious,” he said, and looked down at himself. He was grey and purple, with a cane that appeared to be formed from his car mode’s drive shaft. He could feel a mask covering most of his face, forming a visor across his optics, leaving only his faceplate exposed.

It felt magnificent. He couldn’t wait to use his new powers to…

A blast hit him in the back and knocked him off the roof. He recovered quickly – much faster than he would have before – and landed on both feet in the street below.

“Thought ya’d lost me, did ya?” Bugly gloated, and he flew down to street level in his new Bee mode. “Bludgeon will want a word with you, assuming there’s anything left!” His eyes fired a concentrated blast of plasma, and the spot where Darksteel had stood became a small crater.

But Darksteel had already moved. He’d leapt, nimble as a ninja, and rebounded off the building he’d fallen from. He swung his cane around in an arc as his rebound propelled him at Bugly, and he dealt the insectoid a mighty blow to the head.

Bugly dropped, transformed to robot mode as he fell, and crashed into the street.

A motorbike drove up to the fallen warrior and transformed into Mohawk.

“Aw, that ain’t right at all,” the smaller Decepticon said. Then a shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see…

“Darksteel?”

“Not any more,” the Miraculous villain said. “You can call me… Hawksteel.”

“Hawksteel, huh?” Mohawk said. “Ok, I’ll roll with that. So… no hard feelin’s?”

Hawksteel considered the small wretch of a bot.

“You may serve me,” he said.

“Great! Aw yeah. What about this mo-fo?” he jerked a thumb at the offline Bugly.

“Let him crawl back to Bludgeon,” Hawksteel said. “We will deal with him soon enough. Right now, I need a place to test my new power.”

“Oh, I got a place,” Mohawk said. “Follow me!”

“Give me directions,” Hawksteel said, and he plucked the smaller robot up. As he did so, he reconfigured himself into the form of a robotic moth.

“Not seein’ a lot o’ hawk,” Mohawk said as they took flight. “Maybe Mothsteel’d be a better…”

“No,” Hawksteel said.

"Darkmoth?"

“Just point the way.”

“There!” Jolt pointed. “Bumblebee’s coming.”

“About time,” said Hot Rod.

Foret Domaniale de Senart had, at one point, been a lovely national park. When NEST had chosen the land for their base in 2009, most of the woodland had been cut down. A small portion remained, however, next to the N6 Motorway.

It was as good a place as any for the Autobots to wait and hide.

Jolt sent a signal, and Bumblebee drove off the motorway and into the trees. Then he transformed, disgorging Ladybug and Rena Rouge in the process. Introductions were made, and then they set off through the forest toward TRF Paris.

Chapter Text

“This,” Hawksteel said, “will do nicely.”

It had been a tight squeeze, but he’d made it through the sewer and storm-drain tunnels to an offshoot of the famous Catacombs. Mohawk had spoken true; the wartime bunker would serve his needs very well.

“I had some downtime after that spacebridge pillar business went sideways,” Mohawk told him. “I figured, no way was I gonna go back to the Moon and wait for another Autobot ship to crash on it. I split, came here, and explored tunnels until… well, until I found some place the energon detectors couldn’t reach. Hung out here until I got your call.”

The bunker was large and wide as a football field, with a collection of wooden boxes at one end. Some of them had been opened; Hawksteel saw a lot of gold, and more than a few works of art. The iconography on the walls made clear which side of the conflict had created the structure, presumably some time after the Paris occupation. One wall had a doorway large enough for a truck, but the tunnel beyond had caved in. Hawksteel suspected the act had been deliberate; someone didn’t want the treasures within to be found.

“So, what now, boss?” Mohawk asked.

“Now,” Hawksteel raised his cane and took hold of the handle, “I see what I can really do.” He opened a cap on the handle, and several dozen butterflies flew out. He had a good idea about how the Moth Miraculous worked, having been Akumatized himself. He’d also absorbed all the information regarding the process from the Ladyblog and TVi news. Basically, he needed to target someone in a state of emotional distress, then use an Akuma to change them into a supervillain. To do so, he would need to have access to the minds and hearts of everyone in Paris. Hawkmoth had had such access, so it followed that he did, too.

Hawksteel stood in the midst of the butterflies, and concentrated. Images, feelings, memories flooded his mind; he saw all the puny humans and their pathetic puny lives, and he feared it would drive him mad. A young man was fired from his job; a young girl had her heart broken by her boyfriend; an old woman discovered her late husband had been keeping a dark secret; a very young boy had one of his toys stolen by a bigger boy; a teenage girl burned with resentment toward the friends who’d shunned her…

Too much! It was too much.

No it isn’t, Hawksteel told himself. If a mere bag of flesh can handle this, you certainly can. Narrow your search. Who would be useful?

The Mayor stewed in an impotent rage over the TRF clamping down on his city. Not bad, Hawksteel thought. A police officer felt anger and humiliation when he’d learned his squad car was one of the alien robots… wait a moment, was that Raincomprix? It was! How delicious. But not useful. A rock star harboured resentment that he and his pet crocodile had been used as pawns by an Akumatized robot. So what?

A soldier who’d been humiliated by his superior while interrogating an alien robot…

Very interesting, Hawksteel thought, and he explored further. This human was a soldier of the TRF, stationed at their Paris base with some captive robots, including Drift and Dreadbot… and Galvatron! He was perfectly positioned to cause untold chaos in the heart of TRF operations, and possibly even take Galvatron out.

He was the one.

Hawksteel held out a hand, and a butterfly fluttered over and landed on his palm. He placed his other hand on top of the creature, and felt his power flow into it. When he raised his hand, the butterfly had been transformed.

“Fly away, my Akuma,” Hawksteel said, “and Evilize that soldier!”

The Akuma fluttered off, back the way Hawksteel and Mohawk had come.

“Aw right! That was snazzy,” Mohawk said. “What happens now?”

“The Akuma will travel to the TRF base outside the city, and make one of their soldiers into my slave!” Hawksteel replied.

“Uh huh,” Mohawk said. “How long d’ya think that’ll take? I mean, it’s got a lot of tunnel to cover before it even reaches the surface...”

Hawksteel’s optics glowed brighter; he hadn’t thought of that.

“It will arrive eventually,” Hawksteel said. “In the meantime,” he turned to the caved-in tunnel, “we will need to carve a more efficient path to the surface.”

“Sounds good,” Mohawk said. “And who’s the spawn of a glitch that’ll get stuck with…” he looked up at Hawksteel, “…oh, right.”

“Get to it,” Hawksteel said, and Mohawk reluctantly got to work.

“How is this going to work?” Jolt asked as he, Bumblebee, Hot Rod, Ladybug and Rena Rouge approached the edge of the forest.

“First,” Ladybug said, “my friend Rena here is going to create a distraction.”

“How big a distraction?” Hot Rod asked.

“Oh, it’ll be big,” Rena Rouge said.

“Then we simply hop the fence, enter the base, grab Drift, and skedaddle,” Ladybug said. “Easy peasy, Ladybug-squeezie!”

“Weel, let’s get goin’,” Bumblebee said.

“Over to you, Rena!” Ladybug said.

“Ladybug-squeezie?” Rena Rouge said as she took out her flute. Ladybug shrugged. “Okay, here goes…” She raised her flute to her lips, and played.

Sergeant Lestat relayed the latest news to Colonel Bienne. There had been reports of a robot fight, followed by sightings of a robotic moth. Tango Squadron had called in; apparently the superhero Cat Noir had interfered with the acquisition of the alien designated Bugly.

“Seriously, who comes up with those names?” said Sergeant Auchien, who’d been failing to make himself useful in the Command Centre. “Who looks at their robot alien kid and says, ‘let’s call him Bugly?’”

Lestat and Bienne stared at him for a moment.

"We're at Red Alert, Sergeant Auchien," Bienne said. "Don't you have latrine duties?”

“I don’t think so,” Auchien replied.

“I think you will find that you do,” Bienne said. “Right now. For several hours.”

“That is what it says on the duty roster,” Lestat said, making some quick adjustments to that roster on his Tablet. “Don’t let us keep you, Sparky.”

The command centre erupted with laughter as Auchien left the room with his head down.

“That was uncalled for, Sergeant,” Bienne said. He said it softly, but the entire room became silent as he did so. "As you said, we are at Red Alert."

“Quite correct, sir,” Lestat replied. He was the one officer the Colonel preferred to call on by name. If he switched to Lestat’s rank, it was serious.

“Don’t let it happen again,” Bienne said. “And if I hear any further nicknames for Sergeant Auchien, the perpetrator will join him in his latrine duty. Am I clear?”

“Sir yes sir!” the room replied.

“Continue, Lestat,” the Colonel said.

“Yes sir,” Lestat replied. “It seems a new image of the hostage Gabriel Agreste has been uploaded from the same anonymous source. It seems to show…”

“Colonel Bienne, we’re under attack!”

Bienne and Lestat looked up at the main screen. Cameras at the main gates showed several military-style vehicles incoming at high speed.

“Colonel!” cried another technician. “Air Strike from the West.”

“Here they come,” Bienne said, and the siege of TRF Paris began.

Chapter Text

“I’m not going to say this again,” Cat Noir said, hand raised and glowing black with Cataclysm energy, “this Decepticon is mine.”

If the seven members of Tango Squad were impressed or intimidated by the youthful hero’s show of force, they did not show it. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“Look, kid,” Tango leader said, “this is TRF business, and you’re in our way.”

In fact the TRF squad were in Cat Noir’s way. Five of them stood between the prone form of Bugly and the feline teen, while the other two continued attaching cables and chains to the Decepticon. Their intent was to load Bugly onto one of their transports, then take their prisoner back to base.

Cat Noir’s intent was to make the robot tell him where Gabriel Agreste was.

The two parties disagreed. One party had machine guns. But they’d brought guns to a Cataclysm fight.

“We’ve just been given orders to arrest your little girlfriend Ladybug on sight,” the leader went on. “You don’t wanna end up in the same kind of trouble.” As he said this, he thrust his weapon forward at Cat Noir’s chest. “I suggest you skat, kittycat.”

Cat Noir lowered his hand. The leader smiled. Then Cat Noir touched the muzzle of the gun with his finger. The weapon disintegrated in the leader’s hands.

“You were saying?” Cat Noir said, and he couldn’t resist a smirk.

The leader might have responded in any of a dozen ways. Before he or his troops could react, however, Bugly woke up.

“Aagh!” the Decepticon cried, and thrashed about in the tangle of chains he found himself in. He transformed to bee mode, but that only tangled him further.

“Take it down!” the leader cried, and his troops opened fire on the enraged robot.

“No! I need him,” Cat Noir shouted, and he lunged forward to stop them. The leader delivered an expert blow to the hero’s solar plexus, catching him by surprise and knocking him to the ground.

Which was why the plasma blast that incinerated the leader missed him.

“I thought I heard the sound of vermin,” said a large black and purple robot with a smoking blaster in his hand.

“How right you were, Mindwipe,” said the skull-faced robot beside him. “I suggest we kill them.” And he drew a large sword from the scabbard in his leg.

“Lord Bludgeon!” cried Bugly. “A little help?”

The surviving troops ran for cover. Cat Noir stood, extended his pole, and attacked.

“Free Bugly, and deal with the rest,” Bludgeon said, blocking Cat Noir’s strike with his sword. “I shall handle this feisty one.”

The weapons clashed and clanged.

The duel was on.

“Onward!” shouted a missile assault transport as it drove through the main gates of TRF Paris like they weren’t even there. “Destroy the base!”

Behind him came a tank, a jeep, and a chopper, all firing wildly.

From the sky, several F-15 jets flew in and spat ordnance all over the tarmac. One of them transformed into a brown and grey robot, who landed next to the attacking assault vehicles.

“Combaticons,” the missile transport shouted, “transform and attack!” It transformed into an imposing green and brown robot with missile launchers on his back. The tank, jeep and chopper also transformed, and continued their attack.

And, on the eastern perimeter, three Autobots and two superheroes jumped the fence.

“Combaticons?” Ladybug asked as she landed on the tarmac.

“Yeah, sounded military-like,” Rena Rouge replied, before she resumed playing her flute.

“It sounds tres bien,” Hot Rod said. “Definitely a name they would have come up with.”

“Let’s be doin’ this,” Bumblebee said. “Time’s tickin’.”

Jolt transformed to car mode. Rena sat, still playing, in his back seat. The others hurried toward the main building, and Jolt followed.

“Give it another minute,” Ladybug said, casually smashing a closed-circuit camera with her yo-yo. “Wait until Biene is fully committed.”

Bumblebee and Hot Rod readied their weapons. Jolt parked next to a spot on the wall where he detected power cables. Rena Rouge kept on playing, and added a new element to her illusions to up the ante…

“Anton!” Sergeant Lestat called to a technician. “Report.”

“We’re hitting those robots with everything we’ve got, sir,” Anton replied, his monitor showing the battle from several angles. “But it’s like we keep missing them. No energon readings, no heat signatures, nothing to lock on to.”

“That’s impossible!” Lestat said.

“And,” Anton pointed out, “we don’t seem to be taking any damage, either.”

Lestat paused to absorb that bit of information. He turned to his commander, but Colonel Bienne wasn’t there.

“Oh no,” Lestat said. “Don’t tell me he’s…”

“Sir!” Anton cried. “They’re doing something new!”

“Combaticons,” called the leader of the enemy robots, “combine!”

The chopper, one of the jets, the tank and the jeep merged together with their leader to form a giant mechanoid, somehow bigger than the sum of its parts would lead one to believe.

“Bruticus has awakened!” the titanic Decepticon roared, and it stomped toward the main building.

“Bruticus?” Ladybug said with a barely-suppressed giggle. Rena Rouge shrugged and kept playing.

In the forest behind them, a black butterfly emerged from the trees…

Choppers, tanks and weapons systems reversed-engineered from Cybertronian tech fired back at the metal monster. Then a hangar bay opened and disgorged several assault vehicles. Leading the charge was Colonel Bienne.

“Landmine units, take them down,” he cried, and the assault vehicles all transformed into robotic drones. Bienne’s vehicle reconfigured around him, becoming a mech suit.

“Time for a taste of their own medicine,” the Colonel said. “Pour it on!”

“We’re on,” Ladybug said. “Jolt, if you would?”

Rena hopped out as Jolt transformed to robot mode. He thrust his hand into the wall and closed his claws around the power cables. Then, he lived up to his name.

“Aagh!” cried Anton and all the other techs as their screens went blank and their terminals spat sparks. The lights went out, but a moment later the emergency lights came on.

Then they went out, too.

“Third redundancies!” Lestat cried, and the emergency lights came back on. “Secondary systems. Get us running again!

“Colonel Bienne,” he yelled into his comm. “They’ve hit the power. Systems going haywire! Sir? Sir!”

There were several loud bangs, followed by the sound of crumbling masonry. Then gunfire.

“That’s inside the base!” Lestat said. “Get us back online. Now!”

“Now,” Ladybug said as she followed Hot Rod, Bumblebee and Jolt through the holes they’d made in the east wall, “where is Drift?”

The Autobots spread out, encountering very little resistance. A couple of warning shots put some soldiers to flight; Ladybug dealt with the rest.

They did not notice a dark butterfly as it flew in behind them.

“Partial systems restored, sir!” Anton told Sergeant Lestat. A couple of screens came back on, showing two views of the battle outside.

But nothing of the incursion.

“Anton, I need to know what’s happening inside the base.”

“Those systems aren’t…”

“So go and look!” Lestat ordered. “Take your phone, send the video to us. Go!”

Anton left hurriedly. Lestat hoped he hadn’t just sent him to his death. He sat at Anton’s terminal and looked at the footage. He had a theory, and needed it confirmed. As he watched, he tried contacting the Colonel once more.

“Colonel Bienne, do you read me?”

“Bee!” Jolt cried. “Hot Rod, Ladybug, over here.”

The two Autobots and one superhuman headed toward the sound of Jolt’s voice, and found him kneeling beside Drift. Their missing warrior was bound with thick steel shackles, but aside from some dents and burns he didn’t look too bad.

“They disconnected his motor functions,” Jolt said as he fussed around with Drift’s head. “I’ve almost reconnected them.”

“Let us free him, toot suite,” Hot Rod said, and he grabbed hold of one of the shackles. “Mon dieu, these things are strong.”

“Better git a muve on,” Bumblebee told them. “Time’s runnin’ out.”

None of them saw the soldier hiding behind some nearby gear, holding up a phone.

And even that soldier didn’t notice the black butterfly as it fluttered past him toward the latrines.

Bienne charged toward Bruticus, determined to take the giant robot down.

“Colonel Bienne, do you read me?” said the voice of Lestat over his comm.

“I read you,” Bienne replied. “Don’t try to talk me out of this. I’m leading the…”

“Sir, it’s a diversion!” Lestat said. “We’ve had a breach in the east wall. I think they’re trying to…”

“I’m rather busy, Lestat!” Bienne cried. He leapt to the side, and barely avoided one of Bruticus’s massive feet. He launched rockets at the leg, but they seemed to go right through…

…as if the leg wasn’t there.

“None of their ordnance is causing any damage,” Lestat was saying.

“There are explosions all around…”

“But where’s the damage? Have you had even a single casualty?”

Bienne looked around. He saw the F-15 jets firing lasers that tore up the ground around his drones… only no drones were hit. And there was no damage to the tarmac.

All his tanks, choppers and soldiers appeared to be intact.

Bruticus tried to step on him again. Bienne dodged instinctively, but then he saw the giant’s foot hadn’t left so much as a crack on the blacktop.

Bienne ran his mech suit toward Bruticus and leapt at his leg. And he passed right through and landed on the other side.

“It’s a trick!” he shouted. “All unites, the enemy is an illusion. Fall back to base!”

Sergeant Auchien scrubbed at the latrines, muttering to himself. The last person to use that particular stall had left quite a mess, both in the bowl and out. And apparently he’d been eating glue. Sticky, fast-hardening glue.

Explosions from the conflict outside continued to sound. Auchien didn’t know if he was better off stuck in here, away from the conflict, out of harms way…

He looked at the patch of crusted fecal matter he’d been picking at for the last ten minutes, and decided he was not.

“If I was out there,” he grumbled, “I’d show ‘em.” And he patted the shock stick which he’d stuffed into his back pocket.

A black butterfly landed upon his shock stick and turned it dark. A face appeared before his mind’s eye – alien, robotic, and wearing a mask.

“Hello, Sergeant Auchien. I am Hawksteel. And I have a proposition for you…”

Chapter Text

Bludgeon was moderately impressed with the fighting skills of the human designated Cat Noir. But only moderately. Superhuman or not, he faced a master of Metallico, the deadliest martial art on Cybertron. The black-clad fool didn’t stand a chance.

Bludgeon parried a lunge from the hero, and took a moment to take in the skirmish. The firing had stopped; Mindwipe had hypnotized the TRF soldiers, and had set them to work freeing Bugly. The battle, such as it was, was over. All that remained was the superhuman’s inevitable defeat.

Cat Noir leapt to avoid a downward slice, then rebounded off a building and flew at Bludgeon, pole ready.

Clumsy, Bugly thought, and snapped a sideways kick that hit the superhuman like a freight train. Cat Noir flew backward and through the wall of the building he’d just launched himself from, and came out the other side. Then he smashed through the next building. By the time he hit the third, he’d blacked out.

“Amusing, if brief,” Bludgeon said. “And pedestrian. Which is more than can be said for you,” he turned his attention to Bugly. “Allowing yourself to be captured by humans.”

“It wasn’t like that!” Bugly protested. “Those humans found me after I got hit By Darksteel. And he’d had some kind of super power-up.”

“Is that right?” Bludgeon said. “I had my suspicions about that one. No matter, his time will come. What of the foul little one?”

“Mohawk?” Bugly said. “He went off with Darksteel.”

“Very well. Back to base,” Bludgeon said. “You can tell me about this upgrade Darksteel had.”

“What about these humans?” Mindwipe asked, indicating the blank-faced TRF soldiers.

“Have them report in,” Bludgeon said. “They can say the situation is normal. That will keep their superiors from sending backup.

“After that, they are yours,” he went on. “Play with them as you wish. But see that you do not tarry.”

“Yes, my lord,” Mindwipe said, and he turned to the helpless troops. “Time for some fun, fleshbags.”

“Fun time’s over,” Bumblebee said. Hot Rod and Ladybug followed his gaze and saw TRF troops pouring back into the base. Those soldiers were followed by several Landmine units. And one very pissed off Colonel Bienne in a mech suit.

“The jig is up,” Ladybug said into her yo-yo. “Pack it in, Rena Rouge.”

On the roof of the building, Rena lowered her flute and left her perch. At the same time, the Combaticon illusions vanished.

Ladybug leapt to one side to avoid a hail of gunfire, then spun her yo-yo into a shield to block further attacks. Bumblebee and Hot Rod did not have a yo-yo, and had to use their bodies to protect Jolt and Drift.

“Do not target the humans!” Hot Rod said as he blasted a Landmine unit to bits.

“Ye don haveta tell me,” Bumblebee replied, and he shot the legs out from a couple more drones. “But maybe yer time gun could…”

Colonel Bienne leapt into the fray, tackling Bumblebee to the floor.

“I thought you were the one who couldn’t talk,” Bienne said, and he grabbed Bumblebee’s throat. “Let’s fix that, shall we?” He squeezed, and sparks flew from the Autobot’s voicebox. Bumblebee screamed, and the scream quickly became a loud buzzing.

“Get off him!” Ladybug cried. She caught Bienne’s mech arm with her yo-yo and pulled, yanking the Colonel off the injured Autobot.

Several troops ran toward them, targeting Ladybug’s back.

“Non!” Hot Rod drew his time gun and fired, and a temporal bubble surrounded the soldiers.

“There!” cried Jolt, and Drift felt his limbs once again. Not that there was much he could do with them.

“I’m still shackled!” Drift said.

“Right, right, that’s next,” Jolt replied, and he patched himself into the nearest terminal.

Hot Rod punched a Landmine unit while kicking another. He turned to shoot one more, but a drone had managed to get behind him and chose that moment to strike. Sabot rounds punched into the Autobot’s back, and he fell forward.

And the Landmines piled on top of him.

Bumblebee rose to his feet, only to get shot in the chest. He dropped to a knee and blasted the Landmine who’d shot him, but more of the units moved in.

Bienne, his mech arm still tangled in the yo-yo cord, turned and threw himself at Ladybug. His left arm remained free, and was able to deliver a blow that would have killed a regular human.

Ladybug shook it off, then punched back. Her fist left a sizeable dent in the mech’s chest armour, and caused Bienne to stagger back. Ladybug yanked her cord and pulled him back in, then kicked the mech in the abdomen. The blow threw Bienne backward into the drones ganging up on Bumblebee.

She turned her attention to Hot Rod. Using her yo-yo, she began pulling the Landmine units off him one at a time.

Then a soldier smacked the back of her head with the butt of his rifle.

“Stay down, Ladybug,” Anton said. “Please.”

Bumblebee threw aside a couple of Landmine units and advanced on Bienne. He wouldn’t kill the human, but he would make scrapmetal out of his mech suit.

Except he didn’t. The time bubble surrounding the group of troops ended, and Bee found himself in the line of fire. Several sabot rounds went through his legs, and he fell to his knees with a loud buzz of pain.

“Get it done, Jolt!” Drift cried.

“Working on it!” Jolt replied. “This terminal has really strong encryptions…”

Then his connection to the terminal was severed, along with his hand.

“Yaah!” Jolt cried, holding up the stump of his right wrist where the sabot round had gone through.

“Stand down, robot,” said Sergeant Lestat as he approached, rifle trained on Jolt’s chest. “Surrender is your best option.”

Ladybug leapt to her feet, snatched away Anton’s rifle and kicked him in the gut. He went down with a groan, and knocked over a couple more soldiers as he did so.

Then Bienne’s mech tackled her to the floor and pinned her arms.

“Give it up, Ladybug,” Bienne said. “You’ve lost. Surrender now, and I’ll spare your robot friends.”

Ladybug looked around. There were soldiers and Landmine drones surrounding all four Autobots, Rena Rouge was nowhere in sight, and Cat Noir wasn’t there to turn things around.

Not a great situation.

A moment later, however, the game changed. There was a rumbling from the floor that seemed to take everyone by surprise. Then the floor under Bumblebee burst up and outward, throwing him and the soldiers and drones around the room.

A figure floated up from the hole. It was two times as large as the Autobots, with bulging muscles within a costume that was half military camouflage, half Electro from Spider-Man. His fingers crackled with electricity. He wore a beret on his head. And, though a lightning bolt insignia criss-crossed it, his face was immediately recognizable.

“Sergeant Auchien?” Colonel Bienne said as he gaped up at the villain.

“He’s been Akumatized,” Ladybug said.

“Auchien is a failure and a joke,” the villain said. “You can call me… General Shock-Blast!”

“Blast!” said one of the two guards stationed at the base’s main entrance. “You seein’ this?”

The other guard, who sat in the booth, looked out the window.

“Which one?” he said. “The jet, or the car?”

“There’s a jet?” the first guard hopped off the barrier that blocked the road. “Oh yeah, I see it. Wait, there’s two jets.”

“Should we call it in?”

“Nah, it’s probably more of those illusions meant to trick us. Watch,” he stood in front of the barrier, directly in the path of the oncoming car. “It’s gonna go right through me…”

And it did. But the speeding police car was not an illusion.

“What the…?” said the second guard as bits of barrier splinters flew everywhere. He looked out the window at the oncoming jet, and saw something flash underneath one of them. “Oh, I sure hope that’s an illusion…”

It wasn’t. The booth exploded, and the jets flew over the wreckage.

The police car transformed. So did the jets.

“Thank you both for coming on such short notice,” Barricade said.

“Oh, we’re game. ‘Specially if there’s some head-crackin’ to do!” said the grey and black Decepticon. “What about you, ‘Cracker?”
“That’s Thundercracker,” the dark blue and purple Decepticon replied. “Galvatron is here?”

“He is,” Barricade said. “Thundercracker, Nitro Zeus, follow me.”

Chapter Text

Adrien Agreste awoke to find himself flat on his back, with Plagg slapping his face.

“Oh, at last!” Plagg said. “I was worried my cheese days were over.”

“Uggg…” Adrien sat up with difficulty and looked around. He was in an office building, surrounded by knocked-over desks and cubicle walls. There was a large hole in the wall directly ahead of him, beyond which he could see a similar hole in the building across the street. From the look of things, it appeared he’d been the thing that had made those holes, before sliding to a stop in his current position. It would explain why he hurt all over.

He was no longer in costume; it must have timed out while he was unconscious.

“How long…?” he asked his Quami.

“Adrien,” Plagg said worriedly, “we aren’t alone.”

Adrien looked to the right, and saw the ugliest stump of a robot in the universe.

“Hey, Kittycat!” Brains said. “Glad you’re back with us. How many of yer nine lives you use up this time?”

“Brains…” Adrien shook his head to clear it. Then he blinked in alarm. “Brains! You’re not supposed to see me like this.”

“What, without your black pantyhose?” Brains said. “Take it easy, kid. I can keep a secret. And now it makes sense why you ditched the bug-babe to go after the Agreste dude. He’s yer daddy!”

“Okay, okay, shut up!” Adrien said. “I’m not supposed to reveal myself to anybody.”

“Like I said; secret, kept,” Brains said. “So, you ready to get yer game face back on?”

“Sure, sure,” Adrien stood back up. “Did Ladybug send you after me?”

“Yep.”

“That figures.” Adrien reached into his pocket and found his bag of cheese. Plagg hadn’t taken it while he’d been out; his Quami must have been worried.

Plagg wasted no time stuffing his face with the Camembert when Adrien offered it.

“Plagg, claws out!” Adrien said, and a moment later Cat Noir stood in his stead. “Brains, did you happen to see which way those Decepticons went?”

“Nope. I was lookin’ for you. But I got a lead on where they went.” He transformed to drone mode. “Whoops, wrong mode.” He reconfigured once more, this time into a laptop. On his screen he displayed an image of Decepticon standing next to a hole in a wall. “Came from the same anonymous source that…”

“That’s the one that kicked me,” Cat Noir said as he crouched before the screen. “Wait! Zoom in on that hole. Can you enhance… that’s perfect.” On screen, the number 47 was clearly visible on the building across the street from the hole in the wall. “Brains, can you pull up the map of the area we were going to search? Where the last image of the CyberMiraculous was taken?”

“Got it,” Brains said, and he displayed an area of Paris with the last image site highlighted in red. “Okay. Now can you find out…”

“…how many roads in that area have a 47 as the address? Here ya go.”

“That,” Cat Noir said, “narrows it down considerably.”

Colonel Bienne was concerned. Considerably.

He stood back up and faced the supervillain who had been Sergeant Auchien, whose timing could not have been worse. He’d all but defeated Ladybug and her Autobot co-conspirators, after all.

“You, Colonel, get to be first,” General Shock-Blast said, and fired several bolts of electricity from the fingers of his right hand. Bienne had no time to react.

Fortunately, Ladybug did. She grabbed Bienne’s mech suit from behind and leapt sideways, pulling the Colonel out of the line of fire.

“Wait your turn, Ladybug,” Shock-Blast said, and fired lightning from both hands. Ladybug and Bienne continued to evade, but the other TRF soldiers weren’t so lucky. Electricity flowed through them, arcing from one soldier to another, making their bodies jiggle and their hair stand to attention. When the blasts ceased, the soldiers collapsed to the floor. But they were not dead.

“Wow,” said one soldier as he looked up at the villain. “That was really cool, sir.”

“You sure showed us,” said another.

“One move and we’re all helpless,” said a third. “Now that’s a military man.”

Bienne looked around at his men, jaw agape.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and thought, oh brother. This guy must have been an Akuma magnet.

“Well?” Bienne snapped at her. “Isn’t this your responsibility?”

“So you want my help now?” she replied, keeping her eyes on the villain. “What do you want?” she asked him.

“Respect,” General Shock-Blast said, and fired again.

“He’s firing again!” Drift shouted at Jolt. “Get me free. I do not wish to be taken out by another supervillain.”

“I’m trying to reconnect,” Jolt said. “This was hard when I had two hands!”

“May I be of service?”

Jolt turned around and Drift raised his head to see Rena Rouge.

“For starters,” she hopped over Jolt’s severed hand, “you’ll need to sign in with an access card.”

“How do you know that?” Jolt asked.

“From the soldier who gave me this,” she replied, holding up an access card and then slapping it down on the terminal’s card reader.

“I… would have thought of that,” Jolt said. “Eventually.”

“I remain shackled,” Drift pointed out.

“Gaining access is only the first step,” Rena said. “Jolt, can you…?”

“…pull up the right program? Done,” the Autobot replied, and on screen they saw a digital image of the interrogation table Drift was on. “Looks like we need a password. And an access code. I’ll have those in a jiffy… there!” The password field populated, but the access code field remained blank. “It’s a code that changes every minute, sent to a token only that soldier has…”

“Right here!” Rena said, holding up the token in question.

“Great! We… aagh!” Jolt cried as a blast of electricity hit him in the back.

“Jolt!” Rena cried as the Autobot fell to the floor.

Hot Rod got up from the floor. The Landmine units who’d dogpiled him had apparently lost interest. When he looked up, he could see why.

“Bee, are you seeing this?” he said.

Bumblebee, whose soldiers and drones had also lost interest in him, tried to reply but could not. He and Hot Rod both stared up at the supervillain, who was electrocuting anything that moved.

One bolt of lightning missed Ladybug and hit Jolt, who had not yet freed Drift from his shackles.

“Never a dull moment, oui?” Hot Rod said, and the two Autobots charged forward.

“He’s such a great fighter!” said one of the electrified soldiers.

“We shall see,” Hot Rod said. He leapt at General Shock-Blast and kicked him in the side. A moment later, Bumblebee punched the General in the knee. Then Ladybug flew forward and kicked the villain in the chest, knocking him over.

“Nice moves, Autobots,” the red heroine said.

“Back at you,” Hot Rod replied.

“Bzzzz…” Bumblebee added.

“Congratulate yourselves later!” Colonel Bienne shoved Bumblebee and Ladybug aside. “Take him down.” And he opened fire with arm-mounted plasma weapons.

“Careful!” Ladybug said. “There’s an innocent man in there.”

“Innocent?” Bienne shouted. “He’s a rogue soldier.”

“He’s a great soldier!” said Sergeant Lestat, who placed himself between Bienne and Shock-Blast. Then he was swatted aside by an advancing Landmine unit.

“I’m the best soldier!” General Shock-Blast said, and he reached out and shocked all the Landmine units around him.

“That’s government property!” Bienne said, and he fired again.

One of the shocked Landmines leapt up and took the shot, exploding to bits.

“So was that,” Shock-Blast said. “And these guys, too.” He raised his hands, and all the Landmine units stood and turned around to face Bienne, Ladybug and the Autobots.

Then, all the shocked soldiers stood up and advanced on the heroes.

“Anyone that doesn’t like General Shock-Blast,” said Anton, “is an enemy of General Shock-Blast!”

“Mon dieu,” Hot Rod said.

And then, the south wall exploded inward. Three large metallic shapes stepped through the hole, weapons at the ready.

General Shock-Blast turned around to view the newcomers. As he did so, Ladybug saw a small metal object poking out of the pants of his costume. It looked a lot like his fingers. Could that be where the Akuma was hiding?

The Decepticons advanced, then stopped to take in the scene.

“What the actual f…” Nitro Zeus began.

“Just another enemy,” Barricade said. “Take it down. I’ll find Galvatron.”

“Colonel!” General Shock-Blast said. “I’ll show you how great I am by defeating those robots! My troops will keep the others busy.” With that, he leapt toward the Decepticons, fingers sparking.

“You heard the General!” Sergeant Lestat said. “Keep them busy!” Then he was knocked down by another Landmine unit as it and all the others rushed to obey his command.

“Stand down, all of you!” Colonel Bienne snapped, just before they were overwhelmed.

Rena Rouge felt overwhelmed. Jolt was down, and it was up to her to free Drift from his shackles. And, the attack that had knocked Jolt down had caused her to drop the access code token. It had taken nearly a minute of scrambling under the terminal, but she had it in her hand again.

She tapped in the code, but before she could hit enter the code on the token changed.

Access denied. Rena swore loudly, and prepared to try again.

A shadow fell over her. Rena Rouge looked up to see Jolt standing over her, his intact hand cracking with electricity.

“You think General Shock-Blast is fantastic,” the Autobot said. “Don’t you?”

Chapter Text

Ladybug, Bumblebee, Hot Rod and Colonel Bienne fought for their lives. Soldiers and drones came at them from all sides, praising their master General Shock-Blast while they advanced.

The two Autobots concentrated on the Landmine units, leaving the human soldiers to Ladybug and Bienne. They could not use their blasters in such close quarters without endangering the humans, but their enemies had no such reluctance.

And neither did Colonel Bienne. He fired indiscriminately into the mob, blowing bodies both metal and flesh apart.

It was more than Ladybug could take.

“Stop!” she spun her yo-yo cord around the Colonel’s mech suit and pulled him back. “Those soldiers aren’t responsible for their actions.”

“I don’t take orders from you!” Bienne barked. Then he snapped a kick into Ladybug’s stomach. She fell back, clutching her gut and gasping.

“They are the enemy, and will be dealt with accordingly,” Bienne said as he unravelled the cord around him. “And so will you.” He pointed his blasters and fired.

Ladybug threw up her arms to protect herself, but the blasts did not land. She looked up and saw the Colonel trapped in a time bubble, his plasma rounds frozen just beyond the barrels of his weapons.

She looked to her right, and saw Hot Rod with his time gun giving her a thumbs up. Then a couple of Landmines plowed into him from behind. Nearby, Bumblebee faced similar trouble.

Ladybug ignored the pain in her torso and leapt into action. Her friends needed her, and she would not let them down.

“Jolt?” Rena Rouge said. “Please put that arm down.”

To her surprise, the Autobot did so.

Then he fell to his knees.

“That shot I took…” Jolt said. “It’s messing with my core programming. Aahh…! General Shock-Blast is… in my head. And he’s fantastic… no!”

“That villain’s electricity,” Drift said. “It seems to have mind-controlled all the soldiers and drones shocked by it.”

“But your power is electricity,” Rena told Jolt. “You can fight it.”

“That… is not… how electricity works!” Jolt cried, clutching at his head. Then he cried out in pain as he shocked his own system.

“Jolt!” Rena cried. “What are…”

“Purging,” Jolt replied, shaking his head. “Ouch. Let me see that.” He pointed at the token in Rena’s hand. Then he plugged his own hand back into the terminal and entered the access code.

The shackles popped open, and Drift leapt free.

“At last!” he cried. “Now I can… look out!”

General Shock-Blast and Nitro Zeus fell toward them, locked in combat. Drift snatched up Rena Rouge and leapt out of the way of the combatants. Jolt was not so lucky.

“Ungg!” he said as the supervillain/Decepticon combo slammed into him.

“Out of the way, Nitro!” shouted Thundercracker, who hovered in the air above them. Nitro moved; Shock-Blast didn’t. And Jolt couldn’t. Thundercracker fired a blast that hit General Shock-Blast in the chest, throwing him back hard enough to crack the floor beneath him.

Nitro Zeus joined Thundercracker in the air, and they both took aim.

“Get up!” Hawksteel’s voice shouted in Shock-Blast’s head. “You’re a supervillain. Act like it!”

Shock-Blast managed to roll away. The blasts from the Decepticons tore up the floor all around Jolt, and sent the supervillain flying.

“Enough!” Drift shouted. He leapt into the air and caught hold of Nitro Zeus’ foot, then swung both feet up to kick the Decepticon’s abdomen.

“Worthless Autobot!” Thundercracker said, and he flew in and swatted Drift off of Zeus.

Drift fell, but then another Autobot flew in and buzzed past the Decepticons. Several more followed, and the two robots suddenly had their hands full. They spun and fired wildly, but could not seem to land a shot on the aerial Autobots.

Drift sat back up from where he’d landed, and saw Rena Rouge playing her flute. He smiled, then watched as the two enemies accidentally fired on each other. They fell to the floor, and General Shock-Blast pounced on them.

“No time for a nap, boys!” he said, and he zapped them with his electricity. “You have just been recruited, to serve me!”

“Not a good development,” Drift told Rena Rouge. “Jolt? We need to…” He turned to look, but where the other Autobot had been, there was now just a hole in the floor.

And, under that hole, there was a hole in the ceiling. Below that was another floor, and it was onto that floor that Jolt fell.

“Ow,” he said, and he sat up and shook his head. He was hurt, partly from the fall but mostly from the ordnance that had created the hole he’d fallen through. His right arm was all but useless, his torso had been cracked and crushed, and his legs were barely functional.

Just another interesting day on planet Earth, he thought.

“…got a new one.”

“…don’t usually come from the ceiling…”

“Whose side is he on?”

Jolt looked around. He was in a hallway between two rows of what could only be jail cells. Five of them were occupied by Cybertronians in various states of disrepair.

“Have you seen my sisters?” said a very small blue Autobot, who stood upon a single leg that had a wheel for a foot. “I can’t feel my sisters…”

Jolt didn’t recognize the other captives, but this one was very familiar to him.

“Chromia?” Jolt said. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” said a voice from behind him. A moment later, Jolt found himself held down by the neck. He looked up into the face of his attacker, and recognized him, too.

“Barricade.”

“And you’re in my way,” the Decepticon said. “But not for long.”

Bumblebee wasn’t sure he could keep fighting much longer. His legs ached where the sabot rounds had hit him earlier, and the Landmine units seemed to feel no pain at all. At least Ladybug was dealing with the human soldiers. Nearby, Hot Rod had his hands literally full with Colonel Bienne.

Then, General Shock-Blast re-joined the fight. And, he had two Decepticons as backup. One of them looked like Thundercracker, a ruthless murderer of a ‘bot who’d killed Bee’s close friend Cliffjumper, among many others. The other Decepticon looked like one of the KSI drones he and Hound had fought in Hong Kong.

We can’t win this one, Bumblebee thought. Of course, that battle in Hong Kong had seemed pretty hopeless, too. He doubted Optimus Prime would rush in to save the day this time, however.

Just then, Optimus Prime rolled in, accompanied by Jazz, Ironhide and Ratchet. They wasted no time scattering the Landmine units, and the tide began to turn.

What, Bumblebee thought, is going on, here? Optimus was in space, and the other three were dead. And Drift…

Well, Drift was very much alive. He didn’t have his swords, but his hand-to-hand combat skills were giving the Deceptions plenty to worry about. But how could the others…?

Bumblebee spied Rena Rouge nearby, playing her flute, and it all made sense.

With renewed vigour and hope, Bumblebee ignored his pain and soldiered on.

They might just win this one yet.

Things were going well, Ladybug noted, but they hadn’t won yet. She’d just knocked down the last of the electrified TRF soldiers; now it was time to deal with the source.

“Lucky Charm!” she cried, and flung her yo-yo high in the air.

The items that fell into her arms were, as always, something of a surprise.

“A racquetball?” she said. “And a racquet… well, they do go together…”

Nearby, Hot Rod managed to free himself from Colonel Bienne and his mech suit. Unfortunately, he was wide open. A moment later, General Shock-Blast took him down. And rose him up.

“All enemies of General Shock-Blast must be dealt with!” the Autobot cried, and he fired on the Optimus Prime illusion.

“That’s not real, fool!” Shock-Blast shouted. “She’s tricking you,” he added, turning to point at Rena Rouge.

Ladybug saw it again; the object in the General’s pants. Colonel Bienne saw it, too; he leapt up and tried to grab it.

“No, no, no!” Shock-Blast spun around and swatted him away.

“What is that thing?” Ladybug wanted to know.

“It’s a shock-stick,” Bienne told her. “We use it for… enhanced interrogation techniques.”

“No, I do!” General Shock-Blast said. “And I was the best with it.” And he fired on the Colonel with a full dose of his power.

“General Shock-Blast, I was so wrong about you!” Bienne said. “You are the best soldier with whom I have ever served.”
And he turned toward Ladybug.

Great, she thought, and she held her Miraculous racquet defensively. I’d better figure out what these are for, fast!

“I’ll make this fast,” Barricade said, holding his blaster to Jolt’s head. “I’d like you to suffer, but I’m here for Galvatron, and I’m on the clock.”

“Wait! I can help you,” Jolt said. “I’m logged in to the base’s systems. I can open these cells.”

“Can you?” Barricade took a closer look at him. “Oh yeah, you’re the sparkabot, right? Okay,” he heaved Jolt up and slammed him against the nearest terminal. “Go ahead, open Galvatron’s cell. Dreadbot’s too. And maybe I’ll let you live. But no tricks.”

“What, like this?” Jolt connected to the terminal and opened the cells. All of them.

“Where are my sisters?” Chromia cried as she zipped out of her cell. “Tell me, Decepticon!” She moved so fast, she’d slashed Barricade twice and shot him once before he even saw her move.

Two more Autobots appeared. One was around Jolt’s size, light blue and sporting a yellow visor. The other was taller, with spindly legs and what looked like helicopter kibble on his arms and back.

“Give me my sisters!” Chromia shouted. “Now!” Then she was hit in the side by a VW bus.

“That shut her up,” Dreadbot said, transforming to robot mode. He and Barricade fired on the other Autobots, who took cover in their cells.

“Get Galvatron,” Barricade told Dreadbot. “As for you,” he turned back to Jolt, and shoved his blaster into his chest. “Off switch time.” He fired, and the blast went through Jolt’s spark core and exploded out his back.

The lifeless body of Jolt collapsed to the floor, and the Decepticons left.

Chapter Text

Ladybug leapt about, nimble as ever, avoiding incoming fire from every direction. She now had both Hot Rod and Colonel Bienne to deal with, along with the remaining Landmine units, the Decepticons called Nitro Zeus and Thundercracker, and of course General Shock-Blast himself.

She wasn’t alone; Bumblebee was very much in the fight, and Drift fought fiercely with the leg of a Landmine for a lance. Rena Rouge had her hands full with Hot Rod, and her illusions had vanished. In fact, the turned Autobot very nearly had Rena backed against a wall.

A wall…

Of course!

Ladybug knew what she had to do. Now she just needed to get General Shock-Blast into position.

A deafening thunderclap sounded, and Ladybug fell to her knees. She clutched at her ears, barely aware of the towering Decepticon above her.

“Liked that, did you?” the hulking menace said. “Guess now you know why they call me…”

“Thundercracker?”

The Decepticon turned in the direction of the voice. To him, it was a very familiar voice.

Ladybug noticed the robot had lost interest in her, so she looked to see the newcomer. It was a small Autobot, bigger than Brains but much smaller than Hot Rod or Bumblebee. And tiny compared to the Decepticon.

And yet, Thundercracker seemed afraid.

“You…” he said. And he opened fire.

The smaller ‘bot was already moving. She zipped around Thundercracker, avoiding his fire with ease while dishing out plenty of her own. It should have been a very one-sided fight, and it was… just not in the Decepticon’s favour.

Ladybug took a quick look around. Bumblebee had come to Rena Rouge’s rescue, and was grappling with Hot Rod. Drift fought Nitro Zeus, and Colonel Bienne…

Colonel Bienne was making a beeline toward her. Beyond him, General Shock-Blast appeared to be taking a breather…

“Stop screwing around!” Hawksteel snapped in Shock-Blast’s head. “This is taking too long. Enslave them and invade Paris, already.”

“I’m working on it!” General Shock-Blast cried. “I won’t fail you, Hawksteel.”

“See that you don’t,” Hawksteel said. “What I have given you, I can also take away.”

“I’ll get to you next, General,” Ladybug thought. But first, Colonel Bienne. No more gentle play; she had to put him down fast and hard.

Luckily, she didn’t have to. As she advanced on the Colonel, Rena Rouge tackled Bienne from the side and slammed him to the floor.

Ladybug left them to it and headed for the main event, racquet and ball at the ready.

Jolt wasn’t ready to die. There was no mistaking the wound he’d taken, however. Ready or not, the AfterSpark beckoned.

If there even is an AfterSpark, he thought. He seemed to be drifting in an empty void, formless and alone.

Except, he wasn’t alone.

“Hello, Jolt.”

“Lord Primus?” he asked.

“No, sorry,” the voice replied. “I’m Ho. And I need your help.”

“Help him, Blazemaster!” the light blue Autobot said. “He’s dying.”

“No, Nightbeat,” said the spindly-legged chopper-bot. “He’s dead. Look at his spark core; there’s barely any activity.”

“But there is activity,” Nightbeat said. They both knelt beside the body of Jolt, who lay broken and still before them.

“You have basic medical training,” Nightbeat went on. “Can’t you at least fix his core?”

“What would be the point?” Blazemaster said. “In a moment, what’s left of his spark will be…”

Just then, Jolt’s spark flashed back into full existence. It blazed brightly in the Autobot’s chest, though Jolt himself remained inert.

“Oh,” Blazemaster said. “I guess I’ll get to work, then.”

This better work, Ladybug thought as she sped toward General Shock-Blast. The villain fired at her as she came, but she easily dodged and kept coming.

“Are you challenging me to a tennis match?” the villain said.

“Something like that,” Ladybug replied. She danced back and forth in front of him, dodging more of his shocks while subtly moving him into position. Then she leapt the final distance and kicked Shock-Blast in the gut. The villain staggered back, clutching his stomach.

The North wall was directly behind him.

“Was that your best shot?” the General said, and raised his crackling hands for another blast.

“It’s still my serve,” Ladybug replied, and she tossed the ball in the air and smacked it hard with the racquet.

“Hah!” Shock-Blast said as the ball flew over his head. “You missed.”

“Did I?” Ladybug replied, watching as the ball bounced off the North wall. And hit the General in the back. Right on the shock-stick that protruded from the back of his pants. It snapped, and the Akuma flew out.

“No!” General Shock-Blast cried, but there was nothing he could do to stop the black cloud that flowed around him. A moment later, he had reverted back to Sergeant Auchien.

“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma,” Ladybug said, swinging her yo-yo decisively. “Time to de-evilize!” The Akuma was caught, and Ladybug released a beautiful white butterfly from her yo-yo.

As she said goodbye to the butterfly, she noticed a few messages on her yo-yo communicator. Cat Noir had been trying to call...

Meanwhile, Hot Rod, Colonel Bienne and the two Decepticon jets were briefly covered with black clouds. A moment later, they were themselves again. The same thing happened to all the bits and pieces of the Landmine drones, as well as the human soldiers. The live ones, and the ones who were bits and pieces.

Rena Rouge released Colonel Bienne, who released himself from his mech-suit and stood. He looked around at the devastation of his base, and hung his head.

“What have I done?” he said, and he knelt before the remains of Sergeant Lestat.

“Looks like ya killed him, flesh-dude,” said Nitro-Zeus. “Which is funny,” he pointed his blasters, “cuz that’s what I’m a – gonna do to…”

Thundercracker, still trying to fend off Chromia’s attack, backed into Nitro Zeus and they both fell over. Chromia zipped up onto Thundercracker’s back and continued to slice and dice.

Nearby, Sergeant Auchien looked around the room with an expression of bewilderment.

“Did I…?” he asked Ladybug.

“You were akumatized,” she replied as she collected up her ball. “But it’s over.”

“Not yet, it isn’t.”

Barricade and Dreadbot emerged from a stairwell, the latter carrying Galvatron. Both had blasters drawn; Barricade used his to shoot Chromia off of Thundercracker.

“Now, I was thinking we’d just take what we came for and go,” Barricade went on, “but the chance to be rid of all of you is too good to pass up.”

Up on the roof of 47 rue Jacque Cuze, Cat Noir watched the Opera House across the street. Brains was in drone mode; he was close to the hole in the Opera House’s wall, filming the goings-on inside and reporting back what he saw to Cat Noir’s pole.

It was all Cat Noir could do to keep himself from launching himself off the building and going on the attack. His father was in there, after all. But so were four Decepticons. And a weapon of mass destruction. And Lila, who apparently had control of that weapon.

Time was short. He needed to get in there and rescue his father. And he needed to do something about the CyberMiraculous. If he went in there alone, he’d need Ladybug to save him again. Such a rescue was unlikely; he’d placed several calls to her yo-yo, and left several messages. She and the Autobots were clearly occupied with their mission outside the city.

If he waited for them, it might be too late.

“So that’s the score,” Brains said, finishing up his report. “You got a plan, Cat Man?”

“Is there a way I can get in there, grab the hostage…”

“Hostages, you mean.”

“Right, right.” He’d forgotten about the TRF soldiers.

“So what’s our move?”

Cat Noir had no answer. If help didn’t arrive soon…

“Cat got your tongue?”

Cat Noir spun around, pole at the ready.

“Calm yourself, hero,” said Mayura. “We need to talk.”

Chapter Text

Lila was getting tired of her training. Specifically, she was so done with Bludgeon beating her up.

“Again!” the Decepticon snapped.

Lila scowled as she rose to her feet and re-formed her Matrix armour around her. It was impossible to win against the robot; his martial art skills were too good. She couldn’t hope to match his moves, and her attempts to defeat him using sheer overwhelming force hadn’t fared much better.

She’d tried expanding her armour like a balloon in an attempt to smother him. She’d knocked the other Decepticons over, but Bludgeon had simply sliced the armour to ribbons.

She’d tried forming giant hands in an attempt to trap him between them; he’d transformed to tank mode, thereby ducking beneath those hands, and shot her down with a blast of plasma.

Everything she tried, he countered. And… she had the nagging feeling he was keeping her from really exploring what the Shadow Matrix could do. Or what she could do with the Shadow Matrix. At first, he’d encouraged meditation. As her bond with the Shadow Matrix had grown, however, he’d switched to sparring. It was as if he didn’t want her connection to the device to grow any further.

Lila needed a break, and a chance to commune with the Shadow Matrix once more. She’d made the most of the brief respite when Bludgeon and Mindwipe had gone out to rescue Bugly. She’d felt on the brink of a breakthrough, and sensed a presence within the device that was simultaneously aware of her. Bludgeon’s return with his friends had put a stop to that communion, and it was back to getting knocked down. She didn’t think she could take much more abuse, but she knew better than to disobey the Decepticon.

She needed a distraction. And more, she needed an escape.

“There’s no escape,” Barricade told the assembled humans and Autobots. “Surrender, and I’ll give you a quick death. Like I gave to that sparky idiot friend of yours.”

Ladybug’s face dropped. She knew who he was talking about.

“Jolt?” Rena Rouge said. “He’s…”

“Jzzzzz!” said Bumblebee.

“We will never surrender, murderer!” Hot Rod cried.

“Don’t embarrass yourself,” Barricade said. “Look at you, barely able to stand. I, on the other hand, have four soldiers at the top of their game.”

A few sparks shot out of the many wounds Thundercracker had sustained during his fight with Chromia.

“Well, three and that one,” Barricade amended.

“Can we just shoot them?” Nitro Zeus wanted to know.

“Wait, why are you smiling?” Barricade asked Sergeant Auchien, who’d stepped forward with a big grin on his face.

“You never asked what I have,” the former akumatized villain said, and he lobbed an object at the Decepticon.

Barricade instinctively caught it, realizing too late what it was – Auchien’s shock-stick.

“Gaah!” Barricade cried as the volts went through him.

Ladybug knew an opening when she saw one.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” she cried, and threw her racquet and ball into the air.

Magic poured out from the Miraculous objects, flowing all around the base. It even flew out to the base’s main entrance, where the two dead soldiers suddenly found themselves alive and their booth repaired.

Down in the prison, Jolt sat back up, his entire body restored.

“Whoa!” said Nightbeat, looking at an equally astonished Blazemaster. “You do really good work.”

The Landmine units stood back up, fully rebuilt. And the TRF soldiers…

“Lestat!” Colonel Bienne shouted as his favourite sergeant sat up, all in one piece. All the other soldiers found themselves resurrected and healed.

As one, they all turned to look at the Decepticons.

“Your move,” Ladybug said.

The two Decepticon jets were already moving. They smashed their way through the just-restored South wall, transformed, and fled.

Barricade and Dreadbot were right behind them.

“Cease fire!” Colonel Bienne ordered. “There’s been enough of that today. Let them go.” He turned and looked up at the Autobots. “All of them.”

Ladybug and Rena Rouge blinked in surprise. The Autobots looked similarly stunned.

“Sir?” Lestat asked.

“I went too far today,” the Colonel said. “Many of you would be dead now, were it not for Ladybug. And it would have been by my own hand.

“I… need to reassess.” He walked over to Auchien, who looked like a kid who’d been caught shoulder-deep in the cookie jar. “Sergeant, that was quick thinking just now. Well done.”

Auchien beamed with pride, and nearly shed a tear.

“Jolt!” Bumblebee said, his voicebox restored. “You’re alive!”

The blue Autobot emerged from the stairwell, accompanied by Nightbeat and Blazemaster.

“I was dead,” Jolt said. “These two saved me.”

“Well…” said Nightbeat.

Bumblebee walked over and embraced Jolt. He hugged back, momentarily forgetting what his hands could do.

“Bzzzz!!!” Bumblebee cried, and sparks flew from his neck.

“Oh, I am so sorry!” Jolt cried.

Bumblebee straightened, regained his composure, and glared energon daggers at his comrade.

Ladybug couldn’t resist it; she giggled. That got Rena Rouge going, and Auchien and Lestat followed suit. The other Autobots and soldiers joined the mirth, and even Colonel Bienne himself couldn’t resist, either.

Bumblebee looked around, shrugged, and laughed along with them.

Only one ‘bot wasn’t laughing. Chromia looked around her with an expression of bewilderment.

“Thundercracker…” she said. “My sisters…” She transformed into a motorbike and drove off, out the way the Decepticons had gone.

Bumblebee saw her leave and tried to say something, but found his voicebox was shot once again. I just can’t catch a break, he thought, and started scanning the radio waves and Internet sites he would need to form his words.

“Ladybug,” Jolt knelt before her. “While I was offline… well, we need to talk.”

“I’m done talking to you!” Cat Noir snapped, maintaining a defensive stance. “I don’t trust you, Mayura.”

“Maybe not,” the purple villainess replied, “but you need me. The people in there,” she pointed at the Opera House across the street, “are unlikely to survive if we don’t act.”

Cat Noir clenched his teeth. The last time he’d encountered Mayura, she’d smacked him right in his own personal miraculouses. Nevertheless, she was right; he needed help, and she was available.

“What’s in this for you?” he asked, partly to buy time but also because he was curious. “I’d have thought alien robots with a superweapon would be your kind of people.”

“My reasons are my own,” Mayura said. “Now, make your choice, hero.”

Cat Noir stared back at her. Then he took a look across the street. One more glance at the communicator in his pole showed no response from Ladybug.

He was out of options.

“You have a plan?” he asked, and Mayura smiled. “Let me guess: I go in there and distract them, and while I’m being killed, you grab the CyberMiraculous and run.”

“You’re half-right,” Mayura replied, “but you’re no use to me dead. And I plan to send you in there with more than just a stick.”
“Uh, Cat?” Brains said. “Our cover’s blown.”

Cat Noir looked back at the Opera House. Mindwipe had emerged, and Dropkick was right behind him.

“Lord Bludgeon? We have a visitor,” Mindwipe said, and he transformed to bat mode. Brains couldn’t look away; he was lost in the bat’s stare.

“Brains?” Cat Noir called. “Brains!”

“Not alone?” Mindwipe looked up at the building, and Cat Noir quickly covered his eyes. “How many are with you, little plaything? Who are they?”

“Two,” Brains replied, his voice a monotone. “Cat Noir and Mayura.”

“The bat can hypnotize,” Mayura said as she observed the scene. “How very interesting.

“Well?” she said to Cat Noir, and brandished her feather fan. “Do you want my help, or not?”

Cat Noir nodded, and held up his pole.

Mayura plucked a feather, and created an Amok.

“Go get them,” she said, and flung the Amok toward Cat Noir. It vanished into his pole, and began the transformation.

Several explosions rocked the building. Mayura leapt to avoid the crumbling structure, did several impressive flips in the air, and landed in the street. Before her stood Dropkick and Bugly, while Mindwipe hovered in the air above her.

“So, you came back to us.”

Mayura turned around and faced the Decepticon who was stepping out from the hole in the Opera House wall.

“Did you miss your counterpart?” Bludgeon said. “We have kept him well. And he will stay that way, if you surrender yourself.”

“That is no longer up to me,” Mayura said, and smiled again.

There was a rumbling from the demolished building. Rubble fell away, dust cleared, and a large black panther was revealed. It pounced, knocking down Bugly and Dropkick before transforming into a cybertronian-sized mecha version of Cat Noir.

“Well, bone-face?” Cat Noir said, brandishing an upscaled version of his pole. “Ready for round two?”

Chapter Text

The blue Autobot motorbike sped toward Paris, following the purple jet. It was an impossible chase; even at her top speed, Chromia couldn’t hope to keep up with the fleeing Decepticon.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try.

“Thundercracker killed me,” she thought. “I won’t let him escape.”

Except…

Is that what really happened? Her memory was cloudy… and split into three.

She remembered…

Fighting Thundercracker on Mars, and being struck down by Starscream.

Being shot by Shockwave on Cybertron, hearing him say, “you make such fascinating sounds when you die …” before she went offline.

Killed by Shockwave again, this time on Earth, stomped beneath his foot right in front of Optimus Prime.

Holding one of her sisters in her arms as she died.

Being held by one of her sisters as she died…

Chromia swerved, and caused some consternation among the other drivers on the highway. She managed to stay upright, but it was a near thing. Chromia wanted to pull over and process her memories, but she didn’t want to lose Thundercracker. Somehow, he was a key figure in her past, and might provide the answers she needed.

“Stay focused,” she told herself. “Catch him. Find your sisters.”

Chromia sped onward into downtown Paris, keeping the purple Decepticon in her sights.

Underground, not that far away, someone else had Chromia in his sights.

“A desire for vengeance, very easy to understand,” Hawksteel said, his mind connected to the blue Autobot speedster. “But more, a need for answers, the answer to one’s very identity.”

“Sounds like he messed in the head,” Mohawk said, emerging from the tunnel he’d been digging.

“This one is a she,” Hawksteel told him. “Is that tunnel finished yet?”

“Pretty much.”

“Good. Leave me,” Hawksteel said. “I need to concentrate.”

The Autobot’s mind was a confusing mish-mash, and at first Hawksteel had thought to pass her by. Rather than muddying the waters, however, Chromia’s feelings on the tasks before her were crystal clear.

And ripe for an Evilized assist.

Hawksteel opened his left hand, and a butterfly flew toward it. His first attempt at creating a supervillain hadn’t worked out very well, but there was bound to be a learning curve. Plus, if his studies of Hawkmoth had been accurate, that villain’s track record was no better.

This time will be different, he told himself as he closed his right hand over the butterfly in his left. This time, the Shadow Matrix will be mine!

Hawksteel opened his left hand, revealing an Akuma.

“Fly away,” he told the black butterfly, “and Evilize that Autobot!”

Chromia felt an evil presence in her mind and in her spark. It was another distraction she didn’t need – Thundercracker was getting away!

No, that was no longer true. He’d gotten away. He was a jet, she was a motorbike; the chase was over before it had begun. In the distance, she saw him soar past the Eiffel Tower, and disappear from view.

Despite the futility, Chromia continued her chase. Cars swerved out of her way as she drove recklessly among them, determined to maintain the fastest speed possible.

The Seine was in her way. Luckily, there was a bridge.

Unluckily, a large man was pushing an ice cream cart onto that bridge at exactly the wrong time.

Chromia swerved to avoid hitting the human, and instead smashed into the ice cream cart’s front end. The impact demolished the cart and sent her end over end off the bridge and into the river.

Not far away, the Akuma left the tunnel and made its way toward its target.

For a moment, Chromia went offline. And remembered…

Coming online in the laboratory of the Decepticon named Flatline, seeing her own body lying dead on the table before her. But the body wasn’t hers. It was Arcee’s.

Arcee had fought Thundercracker, and sliced his neck.

Arcee had died in her arms. But why did Arcee’s memories feel like her own?

Arcee died…

Chromia thrust herself out of the water and clawed at the embankment near the bridge, trying to pull herself back onto land. It was more difficult than she’d expected, and not for the first time she regretted not having two proper legs.

A hand reached down to her, and she looked up at it with surprise. It was the fat man with the ice cream cart – the cart she’d just destroyed. And yet, he was offering help?

“Please, take my hand,” the fat man said. “The Seine, she is very cold. Even for robots, no?”

Chromia took his hand. It took a bit of doing – she weighed more than she appeared – but eventually he got her up and onto the sidewalk.

“Thank… thank you,” Chromia said.

“You are most welcome, mademoiselle robot,” the ice cream man replied. “Are you all right? My name is Andre, by the way. And you are the first robot I have ever spoken with. What is your name?”

“Chromia,” she replied, looking around. A small crowd had gathered, through they all kept their distance. “You aren’t afraid of me?”

“Should I be?” Andre replied.

“They seem afraid,” Chromia indicated the crowd. “And I did destroy your frozen lactic product transport.”

“My… oh, my ice cream cart!” he said. “Unfortunate, yes, but no one was harmed.”

“Andre!” said someone from the crowd. “That thing is an alien killer. Get back!”

Andre looked at her warily. Chromia wanted to say that she wasn’t a killer, but her memories told a different story.

“You… don’t want to kill me, do you?” the ice cream man asked.

“No,” Chromia replied. “I do not want to kill you.”

Andre breathed a sigh of relief.

“But I will,” Chromia continued, “if you do not get out of my way.” She pushed past him to the road, and transformed back to motorcycle mode. The crowd of onlookers scattered before her, but more than a few kept their phones filming.

Chromia drove back onto the bridge, keeping her optics on the sky for a trace of her quarry. She did not see the pool of melting ice cream until she’d already slipped in it.

“Aagh!” she cried as she skidded out-of-control into the concrete guardrail. The rail cracked but didn’t break, but the impact left Chromia stunned.

She remembered…

Waking up in a cell in a facility run by the TRF. This was a recent memory, and the details were much clearer.

She hadn’t been alone in the prison; her cellmates had been a couple of Decepticons named Crankstart and Reverb. One had arrived in Paris during the hunt for Sam Witwicky’s parents, and the other had come two years later to launch one of Sentinel Prime’s spacebridge pillars. She learned their stories during their numerous interrogations; Chromia had survived those experiences, but the two Decepticons had not.

Time passed…

Nightbeat was brought in. He’d been in Paris searching for his friends Siren and Hosehead. He was something of a detective, and had followed clues to his missing friends’ whereabouts right into a TRF trap. His friends had been prisoners in TRF Paris before Chromia’s time; now their fate would be his.

Blazemaster had been incarcerated a month later. He was used to being a captive; for years, he’d been a prisoner of a human group known as the Initiative. The Autobots had rescued him and many others, and brought them to the NEST base on Diego Garcia. Not long after, Shockwave had attacked and killed every Autobot and human stationed there. Blazemaster had escaped by putting himself into stasis lock, essentially playing dead. When Shockwave had left, Blazemaster fled in shame. A few years later the TRF captured him in Italy, and eventually transferred him to TRF Paris.

Neither Blazemaster nor Nightbeat knew anything about her sisters.

Chromia transformed, shook her head to clear it, then brandished her weapons.

“That’s twice now you’ve interfered with my hunt,” she snarled, rolling slowly toward Andre at the other end of the bridge. “You and your lactic filth!” She fired a blast of plasma at the ruined ice cream cart, destroying it and flinging melted ice cream every which way.

“Gaah! I am sorry,” Andre cried, his legs shaking but the rest of him unable to move.

“Now I’ll never catch up with Thundercracker!” Chromia snapped, and she pointed at Andre with her sword. “I should make you pay.”

The wind caught a stray waffle cone and blew it at Chromia’s head. It had ice cream residue around the rim; when it landed on the side of her head, it stuck to her like a Devil horn. Or a dunce cap.

Andre couldn’t help it; he laughed. It was too silly a situation not to.

Chromia made a growl, like the sound of an engine revving.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh,” Andre said, “but the cone, it looks… oh no, look out!”

The Akuma fluttered down and landed on the cone, and vanished inside.

“Hello Chromia. I am Hawksteel.”

The voice was in her mind and spark, and belonged to the presence she’d sensed for the last half hour. It sounded like the voice of a Decepticon, but at that moment she didn’t care.

“You wish vengeance on Thundercracker, who even now soars away. You also seek to unravel the chaos that is your mind, rediscover the truth about yourself and your sisters.
“I can give you the power to catch Thundercracker and destroy him. I will give you the power to force the truth from his circuits. All I ask in return is access to the artefact known as the Shadow Matrix. Bring it to me, and I will give you what you want most. Do we have a deal?”

“Yes,” Chromia said without hesitation.

“Then rise,” Hawksteel said, “Slipstream.”

Chapter Text

Andre the ice cream man backed away as the Akumatization of the robot motorcycle went into full effect. The crowd that had gathered to watch effected a similar retreat. They stopped to look, however, when a brand new being stood before them; bigger, taller, the colour blue mixed with grey. She also had wings, and the means to use them.

“I am Slipstream,” she said. Her face looked more or less the same, except that she now wore a red visor over her eyes. “You,” she pointed at Andre, “stopped me from crossing this bridge. Do you have hostile intent?” Her visor flipped up, revealing two bright yellow eyes. As Andre looked up helplessly, a beam fired from those eyes and coated him.

“No I do not!” Andre said. “I mean no harm. I only want to sell my ice cream!”

Slipstream nodded, apparently satisfied.

“How about you?” she turned her eyes of truth on a random member of the crowd.

“I think you should all be destroyed,” that random woman said. “But I don’t want to do it myself.” She looked horrified at the words that had come from her mouth. Clearly, if she hadn’t been compelled to say them, she wouldn’t have.

Slipstream nodded again and moved on.

“I think you robots are cool.”

“I wish Ladybug and Cat Noir were here to stomp you.”

“The only good robot is a dead robot!”

Slipstream nodded again, and smiled. She had no doubt that all the responses had been genuinely truthful; the power Hawksteel had given her worked perfectly.

Her visor slid back down, and she turned back to Andre.

“Out of my way, ice cream man,” she said. “No one will impede my quest. Those that try will do so at their peril. Begone!”

The crowd didn’t need to be told twice. They scattered, but a few kept filming from a safe distance. Andre hid behind what was left of his cart, and watched as the robotic villain launched herself skyward.

Videos of the Cybertronian’s transformation popped up online almost immediately. Millions of people saw them, and one of those people was Sergeant Lestat.

“Oh no,” he said. “Colonel Bienne, another situation has arisen by the Seine…”

Thundercracker rose to a cruising altitude and prepared for a long and boring flight back to the United States. He, Barricade, Dreadbot and Nitro Zeus had arranged to rendez-vous outside of Miami, where they would repair and restore their leader and plan their next move. It would take Barricade and Dreadbot much longer to make the journey, so he was looking at a long and boring wait once he arrived Stateside.

Below him was the English Channel, with Great Brittain on the horizon. Perhaps he could amuse himself by bombing one of their quaint little villages? Or creating a few crop circles just to mess with the humans’ minds?

No. Drawing attention to himself would not be a good plan. He really ought to turn south and avoid landmasses altogether, but the prospect of several hours with nothing to look at but ocean…

Thundercracker’s proximity sensors alerted him to a presence in the sky behind him. It was closing fast, which ruled out the possibility of it being a human-built aircraft. Nitro Zeus? No. He’d taken off South the moment they’d left the human’s military compound. Another Decepticon? An Autobot?

Hostile?

Thundercracker let off one of his trademark sonic booms, hoping to warn off the potential attacker. It didn’t work; if anything, the anomaly was accelerating.

“Better show that slagger who they’re messing with,” Thundercracker said, and transformed. He spun around and fired a volley of missiles at the target, and expected to see a large explosion followed by falling debris.

Instead, his missiles seemed to go haywire as the target slipped through them.

Thundercracker snarled and blasted at the approaching enemy with plasma weapons and chainguns mounted on his arms. Still the target evaded the attack, then launched one of its own. No ordnance or blasters for this winged warrior; instead, the enemy simply rammed him at high speed.

“Ung!” he grunted, and grappled with his opponent. The attacker appeared to be a female Autobot, not one he’d encountered before. And yet, there was something familiar about her...

“You made a big mistake, takin’ me on,” Thundercracker snapped, and managed to kick his opponent away. “That’ll cost you.” He aimed a plasma cannon and fired.

“Wrong,” she replied, dodging the blast before slicing off his cannon with an energon sword he hadn’t even known she’d had. “It will cost you,” she went on, “and this time I’ll finish what I started with your neck.”

Thundercracker’s optics widened. It couldn’t be…

The attacker zoomed in and stabbed him in the midsection. Oh yeah, he thought, it was her all right.

“Good to see you again, Arcee,” he said. He grabbed her stabbing arm and yanked the blade out. “Word is you bought it in Egypt a while back.” He swung a fist in an uppercut and caught her under the chin. “Ran into one of your sisters just now. She didn’t make it.”

“Oh yes she did,” his opponent said, delivering a blow of her own. “And I’m not Arcee, I’m Slipstream.”

The sword flashed again, and one of his engines exploded.

Thundercracker fell, spinning with his remaining engine toward the water. He levelled out and avoided a splashdown, but not by some effort on his part; Slipstream took hold of him from behind and did the flying for both of them. He tried to reach behind him to swat her or take a shot, but to no avail. They’d slowed down considerably; Slipstream slashed his other engine, and they slowed even more.

“What do you want with me?” Thundercracker screamed.

“We’re going to have a talk later,” she told him. “But first, this is your stop.”

She leapt off his back, and he flew forward on nothing but momentum. He looked ahead, screamed, and threw his arms forward for what little protection they would provide.

Then, Thundercracker went face-first into the White Cliffs of Dover.

He came back online a short while later, only to find himself worse off than before. He’d literally gone to pieces; his arms, legs, wings, the cockpit section from his chest, all laid out on the beach in front of him. What was left of his body leaned against the Cliffs, broken and utterly helpless.

Not a position he’d ever wanted to find himself in.

Thundercracker heard footsteps approaching. He turned his head right to look, and had a brief glimpse of his adversary before his head fell from his neck and dangled upside-down from a wire.

“Careful, Decepticon,” Slipstream said, and she casually took his head in her hands and placed it back on his neck. “Your functional days are over. You have but one purpose now. I’ve forgotten my past, and you’re going to help me remember.”

Her visor slid up, and Thundercracker stared into her bright yellow eyes.

Slipstream asked questions, and Thundercracker answered them. He told her that Chromia had been killed by Shockwave during a battle on Cybertron, and her body had been scooped up by the Decepticon medic Flatline. He told her of Elita One’s capture by Starscream, who had snuffed out her spark in an attempt to power a new Allspark construct.

And he told her of the battle on Mars, where Arcee had stopped him from killing Cliffjumper by slicing his neck. Starscream had intervened and killed Cliffjumper, and Thundercracker had thought Arcee had died as well. Seeing her alive on Cybertron shortly after Elita One’s death had been a surprise, but a welcome one; it meant he’d have the chance to extract a more personal vengeance.

That chance had come not long after, when he’d shot down the ship Arcee was on and killed her crew. The beating he’d given her should have killed her, but still Arcee’s spark held on.

“I gave Arcee’s body to Flatline,” Thundercracker went on. “He’d already got the corpses of Chromia and Elita One. He had this theory about branching sparks to create more soldiers.”

Arcee’s spark had been used to give life to three protoforms. One of them became a new version of Arcee, and the other two became resurrected versions of Elita One and Chromia.

“Yes!” Slipstream said. She remembered the moment she’d come back online; still Chromia in her core, but a part of Arcee and Elita One at the same time. It had been a strange sensation, but she’d come to love it. One of three, she’d never felt so complete.

And now, she’d never felt so alone.

“What happened next?” she pressed.

“You three freed yourselves and escaped with two test subjects, Skids and Mudflap,” Thundercracker told her. “Flatline set the base to self-destruct, and we both fled.

“I don’t know for sure what happened to you after that,” he went on. “I heard Arcee got blasted in Egypt, and Shockwave took Elita One out in Pennsylvania. Didn’t know what happened to Chromia until she attacked me in that French military base.”

Slipstream nodded, and her visor snapped back into place. It was all clear now. For the first time in years, she felt herself again.

“So… you’ll let me go, right?” Thundercracker said weakly. “Deal’s a deal, huh?”

“We made no such deal,” Slipstream replied, “but your death will bring me little peace.”

She reached down, grabbed his head and tore it from his body.

“So I’ll take what I can get,” she told him, and crushed his head between her hands.

“Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system…”

Slipstream spun around, looking for the speaker. She then realized the voice had been in her head.

“Thundercracker was right about one thing,” Hawksteel went on. “A deal is a deal. The Shadow Matrix…?”

“I’m on it,” Slipstream said, and she took off into the sky. She flew in the direction of Paris, leaving the wreckage of Thundercracker, and her former life, behind her.

Chapter Text

There was very little required in the way of cleanup following the battle at TRF Paris. The only remaining rubble was from the hole in the wall the Decepticons had made during their escape, which had come after Ladybug’s power had set everything else right. A pair of Landmine units were already hard at work repairing the damage.

Ladybug feared the damage between her, the Autobots and the TRF soldiers wouldn’t be so easily repaired. Bumblebee, Hot Rod and Drift had their weapons out and ready, expecting the current truce to go south at any astrosecond. The two former prisoners, Nightbeat and Blazemaster, looked around nervously, no doubt fearing they would be sent right back to their cells.

For the time being, however, Ladybug and Colonel Bienne had other things on their minds. Jolt had been telling them of his near-offline experience, encountering Ho in the netherworld beyond.

“Ho is scared, Ladybug,” Jolt told her. “He expects Lila to break through at any moment and take total control.

“Bludgeon thinks he can control her, keep her in check,” Jolt went on. “He’s delusional. Once Lila truly understands the power at her disposal…”

“What about this Ho person?” Bienne said. “If he’s in the thing, this Shadow Matrix, can’t he just kick her out?”

“He’s part of the Shadow Matrix,” Jolt explained. “It isn’t his power, the power is him. If Lila takes that power, she takes his soul as well. All he can do is reach out to those on a similar… for want of a better word, current.”

“Time is short, in other words,” Drift said, and he glared down at Bienne. “If you had listened…”

“I’m listening now,” Bienne snapped back. “And look, all of the TRF’s resources are at our disposal to track down this artefact and eliminate the threat it poses. First, we have to find it.”

“It’s in the Paris Opera House, on 40 rue Jacque Cuze,” Nightbeat said.

All eyes turned to look at the blue Autobot with the yellow visor.

“How can you possibly know that?” Colonel Bienne wanted to know.

“I put the pieces together,” Nightbeat said. “I looked at the two released images,” he projected both in hologram form, “and determined from the debris that they were in an auditorium of some sort. It would need to be a large one to hide a group of Decepticons, so I narrowed it down to four possible locations.” Above the images, Nightbeat projected a map of Paris, with four places highlighted in red. “I narrowed it further when I saw the number 47 on the building opposite, here,” he pointed at that spot on the hologram, “and looked for auditoriums next to a number 47 address, leaving only…”

“Skip the rest, I’m sold,” Bienne said. “Lestat, prepare to mobilize. We’ll hit this place with everything we…”

“You will not!” Ladybug snapped. “I’ve seen your approach, Colonel, and I won’t have any of that in my city. The Autobots and I will…”

“This is out of your hands, hero,” Bienne said. “It’s a military operation, and…”

“And you’ll get innocent people killed,” Ladybug took a step forward and glared up into his face. “You might even cause the very catastrophe we’re trying to avoid.”

“Get out of my way, girl…”

“No, you get out of mine,” Ladybug said. “We’ll handle it. And we’ll call you if we need backup.”

Bienne mouthed the word backup as if it was the most vulgar curse word he’d ever heard.

“I, er… hate to interrupt, sir,” said Sergeant Lestat, who held up his Tablet, “but we’re getting reports of a robot battle… at the same location this robot,” he indicated Nightbeat, “has just given us.”

Ladybug looked at the on-screen image. There were some Decepticons she didn’t recognize, fighting what could only be described as a giant robotic…

“Cat Noir!” she said. “What are you doing?”

“Oh no,” Lestat consulted his Tablet once more, “Colonel Bienne, another situation has arisen by the Seine…”

“That’s it, end of discussion, we mobilize,” Colonel Bienne said. “You, Ladybug, are free to be OUR backup.” He pushed past her, and the base became alive with activity. The Autobots and superheroes suddenly found themselves ignored.

“You tried, Ladybug,” Rena Rouge said.

“It’s not over yet,” Ladybug replied. “But we need to get back to Paris before they do. If we had a helicopter…”

“You do!” Blazemaster said, and he transformed into an exact replica of an TVi news chopper.

“Great! Get us to the city,” Ladybug said, and she ushered Rena toward the Autobot. “The rest of you,” she pointed at Bumblebee, Drift, Hot Rod, Jolt and Nightbeat, “get to that location as fast as you can.”

“Oh, it’ll be fast,” Hot Rod replied.

Blazemaster took off, smashing a new hole in the base as he burst out into the sky. The other Autobots transformed and followed, ripping across the countryside until they found the highway.

“Are we going straight to the Opera House?” Rena Rouge asked.

“We need to make a quick stop somewhere else, first," Ladybug said. “To win this fight, we’re going to need an edge.”

Mindwipe hit the edge of the Opera House and fell to the street, dazed. Across the street, Bugly had crashed into the opposite building. Both had found the business end of Mecha-Cat-Noir’s pole, and had learned of his power the hard way.

In the middle of the street, Dropkick was learning his own hard lesson. He fired, peppering the surrounding structures with plasma shots in an effort to get a bead on his adversary. Mecha-Cat transformed back to panther mode and nimbly avoided each blast, and even got the Decepticon to shoot Bugly by accident. A moment later, Mecha-Cat got behind the Decepticon and pounced, knocking Dropkick flat on his face.

Bludgeon watched, letting his acolytes do the fighting. He examined Mecha-Cat’s skill, and prepared himself to take the hero on directly. No harm in having his acolytes soften him up first, was there?

Nearby, Mayura snuck inside the Opera House and rushed toward Gabriel Agreste. Kremzeek, the sentimonster, rose and charged toward the intruder; Mayura snapped her fingers, and the electrical monster was no more.

“You are released from existence,” she said, then she took hold of Gabriel’s hand. “Come on, sir, let’s get out of here.”

Gabriel did not respond; his face remained blank, his body unmoving.

“This won’t be dignified,” Mayura said, “but you’ll thank me in the long run.” She picked Gabriel up and slung him over her shoulder, then made her way back to the hole in the wall.

She cast a glance at Lila, who hovered in the air above the CyberMiraculous. She seemed to be deep in meditation, and unlikely to be a threat.

The same also seemed true for the five TRF soldiers. They stood around near the wall hole, their expressions as blank as Gabriel’s.
Until they weren’t. Mindwipe rose up behind the hole and saw Mayura, and barked a command.

“Stop that human.”

The TRF soldiers immediately came to arms and fired on Mayura. Worse, Gabriel began to struggle violently. Mayura dodged the bullets while trying to restrain her charge, changing direction and heading for the lobby. She’d nearly made it to the exit when Gabriel struck her head with his elbow, and they both went down in a heap.

Outside, Bludgeon had joined the fight. He started slow, blocking Mecha-Cat’s strikes with his sword but making no move to attack.

Let’s see what this boy can do, he thought.

Mecha-Cat’s attacks became more aggressive; he could tell the Decepticon was toying with him, and it pissed him off.

Following a lunge, Bludgeon sidestepped and tripped Mecha-Cat up. The senti-mech stumbled forward, right into Mindwipe. Cat Noir recognized the Decepticon, and knew what would happen if their eyes met.

Mindwipe turned to face him…

…and Mecha-Cat thrust his pole forward into the Decepticon’s face. He then extended the length of the pole, causing it to telescope right out the back of Mindwipe’s head.

Cat Noir’s eyes went wide. That was extreme, even for him. He retracted the pole from Mindwipe’s face, and the Decepticon crumpled to the ground.

Mayura held her ground, but knew it was a losing battle. Gabriel Agreste was fighting her with everything he had, and the TRF soldiers were closing in.

Then, just like that, they stopped.

“Wha…?” Gabriel took a couple of steps back, and gazed at Mayura in confusion. The soldiers lowered their weapons and looked around with similar confusion.

“Mayura!” Gabriel said, then noticed he wasn’t dressed for the occasion. “What happened? Where is…?”

“You were under a hypnotic spell,” the villainess replied. “It would seem that spell has been broken.”

Bludgeon attacked, determined to see the mechanized hero broken. It had been fun and games before – harmless sparring, really – but now the situation had changed.

Mindwipe, one of his loyal acolytes, was dead.

The fight had become personal.

Bludgeon fought hard, abandoning all his skill and training in favour of hack and slash. Cat Noir struggled at first to defend himself, but then he adapted.

“Looks like you’re going batty!” Cat Noir said, blocking a hack and then booting the Decepticon in the midsection. “No, wait, that’s your pal. He can never get ahead now…”

“Raagh!” Bludgeon roared, and charged with an attack so clumsy an amateur could have seen it coming. And Cat Noir was no amateur.

“Ole!” he cried, pretending to be a matador as he spun away, letting the Decepticon crash into a building.

Bludgeon pulled himself out of the crumbling structure and turned, only to take a mecha-fist to the chin. Mecha-Cat-Noir followed up by swinging his pole into the back of Bludgeon’s knees, causing him to fall backward to the street.

“Cat Noir!”

He turned, and saw Mayura emerging from the Opera House. More importantly, his father was with her!

“The hostages are free,” Mayura said.

“Excellent!” Cat Noir said. “That’s cat-tastic.”

“So our arrangement is over,” she went on, and snapped her fingers.

Mecha-Cat-Noir vanished in an instant. Cat Noir himself, who had been operating the senti-monster from inside the chest, suddenly found himself suspended in thin air. Gravity took over, and he landed not on his feet but on his face.

“Well, human,” Bludgeon said as he rose to his feet. “I believe it is time for round three.”

Chapter Text

The Autobots sped down the highway, expertly weaving in and out of the much slower regular Paris traffic. Hot Rod took the lead, Drift and Bumblebee tied for second place, Jolt hung back with Rena Rouge in his backseat, and Nightbeat brought up the rear. In the sky above, they could just see Blazemaster flying over the city, carrying Ladybug off to acquire that edge she’d spoken of.

“Hello, fellow Autobots?” Nightbeat piped up over inter-Autobot comm. “Did any of you see which way Chromia went?”

“The blue girl-bot?” Rena Rouge said. “I think she took off right after those Decepticons bugged out.”

“She might be in trouble,” Nightbeat said. “We need to find her.”

“She needs to sort out her priorities,” Bumblebee sampled. It wasn’t a perfect expression of what he wanted to say, and neither was his follow-up. “What are you going to do? My job.”

“Huh?” Rena Rouge said.

“Oh, that’s how he talks when his vocal processors are damaged,” Jolt told her, with more than a little guilt in his own processors. “I think he’s saying we need to stick to the plan and save Paris first.”

“But we must find her!” Nightbeat said. “She’s… not in a good place, mentally.”

“This mission must come first,” Hot Rod told him. “But do not worry, my new friend. When Paris is safe, we will find her. We do not leave friends behind.”

Bumblebee thought of saying something to Jolt just then, but kept it to himself. That was behind them now, and bringing it back up would serve no purpose. After all, under normal circumstances, he’d side with Nightbeat and insist they find Chromia first. He’d been fine with delaying the mission when Drift had been the one in trouble…

But they’d delayed enough. Jolt’s interaction with Ho had shown they were out of time, and needed to take the Shadow Matrix out of play.

“Mon amie Drift,” Hot Rod asked, “I remember you having a helicopter mode. Why not use it?”

“I can’t,” Drift replied. “I can’t access it.”

It was a valid reason; since they’d left TRF Paris, he’d been unable to transform into his third form. He still had the parts on his body, but the scan file of his helicopter alt mode had become corrupted. A side effect of his torture, perhaps?

There was another reason he didn’t want to transform, however. If he could access that alt mode, he’d be able to travel much faster and would therefore be the first of their group to arrive on the scene. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but this wasn’t a normal situation.

Bludgeon was there. This would be the first time he’d faced his former master since that debacle at the Tibetan monastery, so long ago. Deep in his spark, Drift had known their conflict wasn’t over. One day, he and Bludgeon would have their final reckoning.

And on that day, Drift knew with the same certainty, he would die.

So it was handy, then, that he could not become a helicopter and get there faster. Wasn’t it?

“Coward,” he told himself, and tried to transform once more. He might have been driving to his death, but perhaps he could delay Bludgeon long enough for the others to locate and deal with the Shadow Matrix.

He might also be able to save the human hero, Cat Noir, from certain death.

Alas, the alt mode file really was corrupted. He couldn’t get to the battle any faster, even if he wanted to.

But he still felt like a coward.

“My need for speed is the will to survive,” Bumblebee sampled from an 80s rock song.

“I second that,” Drift added, and he pulled into the lead.

It was time to face destiny.

It was time to face Bludgeon.

Bludgeon, Decepticon commander and master of Metallico, lunged at the puny black-clad human with a need for vengeance.

Cat Noir leapt, dodged, jumped and ducked, and generally focused on avoiding the Decepticon’s wrath. He’d never been so terrified in his life; he was going to get killed.

Fortunately, there was help. The five TRF soldiers who had been under Mindwipe’s control were now free. And they had guns.

“Eagh!” Bludgeon cried as the soldiers hit him with several sabot shots. “Bugly, Dropkick, deal with the pests.”

Dropkick got back up on his feet. Bugly, who’d taken more damage, was slower to rise.

Both Decepticons had guns.

Those soldiers are in trouble now, Cat Noir thought as he dodged yet another attack. They’ll be killed…

“Gonna let those guys get killed?”

The voice came from the communicator in his pole.

“Brains?” Cat Noir said.

“The one and only,” came the reply. “Those soldiers need a superhero.”

“I’m a little busy right now,” Cat Noir blocked a slash, then barely ducked under a kick.

“So, you’ll save them when it’s convenient?” Brains admonished. “I thought you were Cat Noir, not Noir Pussy!”

“Hey!” the feline hero snapped.

“Bludgeon’s a problem? Take him out,” Brains said. “I’ll cover ya.”

The tiny Autobot flew past Cat Noir in his drone mode and buzzed around Bludgeon’s head. He had very little firepower, but he fired everything he had at the Decepticon’s face.

Bludgeon roared and slashed at the pest.

And Cat Noir saw his chance.

“Cataclysm!” he shouted, and leapt at the robotic villain. The same way he had the last time they’d fought.

The distracted Decepticon saw the movement and responded the same way, firing off a kick with enough force to derail a freight train.

Cat Noir thrust his hand forward, and hoped his power would trump Bludgeon’s strength.

The second his hand touched the Decepticon’s foot, the foot disintegrated. Cat Noir soared through the crumbling leg and delivered a kick of his own. Bludgeon flew backward and crashed into the building behind him.

“Way to go!” Brains said. “Now, let’s take out the other losers.”

As they turned and rushed at the other Decepticons, Bludgeon looked down at his leg. It was gone below the knee, and the destructive force kept eating.

It will consume me, Bludgeon realized.

He steeled himself and swung his sword down.

The TRF soldiers had hunkered down in the Opera House’s lobby. Bugly and Dropkick fired on the structure, intending to bring it down on their heads.

Cat Noir slammed into Dropkick from behind, driving him face-first into the concrete. Brains flew around Bugly’s head, hoping to distract him the same way he had Bludgeon.

Cat Noir saw the lobby structure collapsing, and leapt to the rescue. His cataclysm power would have been most welcome at that moment, but he had to work with what he had.

Landing amidst the soldiers, he thrust his pole up and braced the crumbling ceiling.

“This won’t last long,” Cat Noir told them. “Move!”

The soldiers didn’t need to be told twice. They ran out the front entrance, just as the ceiling broke apart completely.

“Oh shit…” Cat Noir said, just before he was buried in rubble.

“Kittypuss!” Brains cried.

“Gotcha!” Bugly said, and slapped his hands together over the drone. Brains’ crushed body fell from those hands to the concrete.

“Well… this sucks…” the tiny Autobot said. Sparks flew from his shattered drone bits as he stared up at the two Decepticons looming over him.

“Not even worth a plasma blast,” Dropkick said, and he raised a foot…

“Now! His leg,” one of the soldiers shouted, and they shot the leg Dropkick was standing on. He collapsed, and the soldiers trained their guns on Bugly.

Bugly was ready; he got off a shot before the soldiers could fire, blasting the ground in front of them and sending them flying. The soldiers landed in the rubble of the Opera House lobby, and lay still.

The rubble, however, was not still. Bits moved around, other bits tumbled and fell, and then a pole burst forth from the debris. It was followed a moment later by a black-clad hand, followed by another.

“I hate it… when people… dump on me,” Cat Noir said. His condition did not match his bravado; Cat Noir looked, well, like someone who’d had a building dropped on them.

Bugly snickered, picked up brains and flicked him into Cat Noir’s face.

“Nice one,” Dropkick said as he rose unsteadily to his feet.

“I figure, one shot to take them all out,” Bugly replied. “You wanna do the honours?”

“Let’s both do it,” Dropkick said. “Count of three?”

They raised their weapons, and trained them on the rubble.

“One,” Bugly said.

“Two,” said Dropkick.

“Three.”

Ho sat under his favourite tree. He had fond memories of resting against the trunk of this tree, which grew on the side of a mountain overlooking his village.

It took a lot of willpower for him to conjure up a reality within the Shadow Matrix. Usually, he just floated in the ether. Today was a special day, however.

It was his last.

“Hello, little boy.”

Ho looked up. The sun in the sky had morphed into the face of a girl, and she smiled with frightening malevolence.

“I’ve been expecting you, Lila,” he said.

“You were hard to find,” the sun-face said. “Getting here is a personal victory for me. I’m glad you got to see it.”

As she spoke, two tendrils of fire burst from either side of her sun-face and reached out into space.

“I wasn’t going anywhere,” Ho replied.

“You will now,” Lila said. “You’re the last thing I need.”

The lengthy fire tendrils curved, changed direction, and headed for Ho’s dreamscape planet.

“Why do you want it?” Ho asked.

“It’s power,” Lila said simply.

The fire tendrils drew closer, and began to resemble pincers.

“But what do you want it for?”

“It’s power,” she repeated, as if it were self-explanatory.

“You may not be able to control it.”

“But I might,” Lila replied.

The great fire pincers slammed down and into the planet, and Ho’s world shook.

“I can help you master it.”

“You’d just get in the way.”

The ground began to break up, revealing rivers of magma. The tree behind Ho burst into flames. Down in the valley, the village was swallowed up by the world.

“Don’t do this,” Ho said.

“It’s already done,” Lila replied.

And Ho’s existence was no more.

Chapter Text

“This is humiliating. Humiliating!” Gabriel Agreste said as he changed clothes in his personal bathroom. “They had me standing there for hours, Nathalie, unable to move or speak. Or… control various bodily… humiliating!”

Nathalie tried to respond but could not. She lay in the bed of the master bedroom, recovering from her time as Mayura.

“And Nooroo abandoned me!” Gabriel continued. “That should not have been possible. Not to mention everyone in that room knows who I really am!” He burst from the bathroom wearing a track suit. “We may have to… are you even listening?”

Nathalie’s eyes fluttered open, and she muttered an apology.

Gabriel’s features softened immediately, and he rushed to her bedside.

“Nathalie, I… I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.” He knelt beside the bed and took her hand in his. “You rest. I’ll bring you some tea.” He began to rise, but then Nathalie squeezed his hand.

“Did you… renounce… Nooroo?”

“Did I… no. I simply ran out of power and transformed back,” he said. “Nooroo must have taken the Miraculous and fled, possibly back to the Guardian, who will now know my identity as well…”

“N… no,” Nathalie said, and handed him her Tablet. “Look.”

Gabriel saw a video of a motorcycle robot on one of the many bridges over the Seine. As he watched, he saw the blue robot being Evilized by…

“An Akuma!” he said. “That means someone else is in possession of the Moth Miraculous. And if I never renounced her, then technically the power is still mine! I just need to find this person and call Nooroo back to me.”

Nathalie managed a weak smile and nodded.

“You’ve done very well, Nathalie. Very well indeed. Rest now. And I will bring you that tea.”

Gabriel ran from the bedroom and headed for his study, carrying Nathalie’s Tablet. Whoever was using the Moth Miraculous would show themselves, if they hadn’t already. When that happened he would strike, and reclaim what was his.

Hawkmoth would rise again!

Hawksteel rose from his lair via the tunnel Mohawk had carved. He’d hoped to conduct his affairs from that lair, but events were moving too quickly now. If he wanted the Shadow Matrix, he’d have to get involved personally.

“You want me to guard the base?” Mohawk asked as he emerged from the tunnel behind him.

“No, you are coming with me,” Hawksteel said, and he transformed to Moth mode.

As Mohawk climbed up on his back, Hawksteel checked in with Slipstream. It seemed she’d had her revenge on Thundercracker; time for her to pay the pipertron.

“Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system,” he said in her head. “Thundercracker was right about one thing; a deal is a deal. The Shadow Matrix…”

“I’m on it,” Slipstream replied.

“Meet us here,” Hawksteel transmitted the location of the Opera House. “And get a move on.”

Hawksteel rose into the sky and headed for that same location. The Shadow Matrix would be his.

But first, of course, he would have to stop Bludgeon.

“Stop!” snapped Bludgeon.

Bugly and Dropkick, fingers on triggers and about to kill Cat Noir, Brains, and the surviving TRF soldiers, turned to see their commander staggering toward them. His right leg was gone; he’d shoved the hilt of his sword into the stump, and was using the blade as a replacement.

“That boy did this to me,” he pointed at the feline hero in the rubble. “He’s mine.”

Bludgeon tried to transform, but only got halfway. His legs formed a vital part of his alt-mode’s structure, and he could not complete the process without both.

“Gaah! Give me your gun,” he told Bugly, who promptly handed over his weapon.

“There will not be a round four, fleshling,” Bludgeon said, and took aim. “You deserve a more honourable death, but my patience has… wha?”

Drift, Bumblebee and Hot Rod sped in from the left, transforming and slamming into the Decepticons. All six Cybertronian warriors fell end-over-end down the street, locked in combat.

“Deadlock!” Bludgeon cried, recognizing the opponent on top of him.

“Drift,” he replied, holding his swords scissor-like at Bludgeon’s neck. “Deadlock is gone.”

“So is your defence!” the Decepticon swung his sword leg up and stabbed Drift under his left arm. With a sickening twist, he tore the limb from the socket. Drift fell back, crying out in agony.

Hot Rod slammed Bugly’s head down into the concrete, then followed up with a one-two punch. Bumblebee wrestled with Dropkick, but the Decepticon turned the tables and knocked the Autobot into the side of a building. Dropkick stood, aimed both blasters, and was about to shoot when Jolt drove into his damaged leg. The Decepticon went down, but managed to fall on top of Hot Rod. As Rena Rouge hopped out and Jolt transformed, Dropkick planted both his blasters on the back of Hot Rod’s head.

“I’ll kill him,” Dropkick told them. “Swear to Primus, I’ll kill him.”

“I believe you,” Bumblebee sampled from behind him, and grabbed the Decepticon by the arm and spun him around. Before Dropkick could react, Bee buried his blaster in his chest and blew him apart.

“Whoa!” Rena covered her eyes. “That’s a little extreme.”

“So was he,” Hot Rod said as he got back up.

Drift continued to duel with Bludgeon, who had managed to turn his sword-leg to his advantage. Drift blocked and parried with his remaining sword (which he held in his remaining hand), but found himself on the defensive. Even with a leg gone, Bludgeon was still the master.

“You cannot best me,” Bludgeon told him, and slashed Drift’s knee. “After all these centuries of slumber, I remain a master of Metallico,” he slashed Drift’s other knee, “but your skills remain inferior.”

Drift fell to his damaged knees, helpless.

“You have come back only to die at my hand'" Bludgeon went on. "Well, my leg.”

Drift, kneeling before his opponent, laid down his sword and accepted his fate. Bludgeon, balancing on his left leg, raised his sword leg up and pressed the tip against Drift’s neck…

…and two plasma blasts hit the leg Bludgeon was standing on. He fell to the ground as his limb blew apart; when he looked up, he saw Bumblebee and Hot Rod standing behind Drift, with wisps of smoke rising from the barrels of their weaponry.

“Hokey religions and ancient weapons,” Bumblebee sampled, “are no match for a good blaster at yer side, kid.”

“Here, kid,” Nightbeat said as he removed rubble from Cat Noir’s body. “Let me get that.”

He and Rena Rouge had already removed the TRF soldiers. None were in good shape, but they were still alive. Brains was in very bad shape, but he was holding on.

“You okay, Kitty?” Rena asked as she helped the feline hero to his feet.

“I’ve… been better,” he said, leaning on Rena for support. "And I'm gonna transform back any second now..."

“Allow me,” Nightbeat said, and he transformed into a blue Sedan.

“No peeking,” Cat Noir said, and he climbed into the back seat.

There was a sound of helicopter blades, and for a moment Rena thought it might be Ladybug and Blazemaster. It sounded like more than one, however, but her hopes didn’t completely sink until she saw the five TRF choppers in the sky above them.

“Oh no,” she said. “They’re here.”

“The TRF are here,” Hot Rod said as he and Bumblebee turned to look.

Drift also turned his head, and Bludgeon saw his chance. He raised his sword leg and prepared to deliver a vorpal blow…

“No you don’t,” Jolt said, closing his clawed hand over the blade and shocking the Decepticon into submission.

“Cybertronians,” came the loudspeaker voice of Colonel Bienne, "stand down. We are taking control.”

“Looks like those TRF mofos’re takin’ control,” said Mohawk, who watched the scene from a nearby rooftop. “It’s gettin’ crowded. We’d better…”

“This is perfect,” said Hawksteel, who used his wings to keep the pair of them out of sight. “We just need to keep them all occupied while we sneak in and grab the Shadow Matrix from under their noses.”

“Occupy ‘em with what?” Mohawk wanted to know.

“You’ll find out,” Hawksteel said, “in two minutes and 37 seconds.”

Mohawk smiled and nodded in understanding.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “Slag’s about ta get real.”

Blazemaster was relieved when he saw Ladybug emerge from the park below. He’d been hovering for a couple of minutes now, and was beginning to question the superwoman’s motives.

Ladybug’s yo-yo anchored itself around one of his landing struts, and a moment later she hopped back inside his cockpit.

“I hope you got something pretty amazing,” he said as Ladybug shut his door and sat at the controls. He scanned the objects she held in her hand, and wasn’t particularly impressed.

“Oh, I did,” she replied. “I just hope there’s still time to use them.”

Chapter Text

Hot Rod, Jolt, Drift, Nightbeat and Bumblebee stood against the side of the Opera House wall with their hands raised. Rena Rouge stood beside a military transport with her hands cuffed behind her back, and her flute in Colonel Bienne’s custody.

“Can’t have you confusing things with your illusions,” Bienne had said.

Lieutenant Lestat held Cat Noir’s pole. The feline hero was also cuffed, and had already been loaded onto the transport with the injured soldiers.

Above, the choppers hovered.

“Team Epsilon, ready for deployment,” said a soldier as he and six other troops saluted.

“Proceed, Major Raine,” Bienne said, saluting them back. “Landmine units Alpha through Delta, transform and stand ready to assist.”

The four Landmines transformed to robot mode and stood around the hole in the Opera House wall.

“You are making a grave mistake, Colonel Bienne,” Drift said as he watched Team Epsilon proceed through the main entrance.

“When I want your opinion…” Bienne said, then stopped himself. “Look, we’ll assess the situation and determine if your assistance is needed.”

“What about Cat Noir and me?” Rena Rouge wanted to know.

“You will remain in our custody, for your safety,” Lestat told her as he guided her to the transport. “Now, please, stay inside this vehicle until…”

One of the helicopters exploded in a ball of flame. Two more took damage and began to drop.

A moment later, Slipstream sped across the sky, using her left wing to slice through a fourth chopper’s back rotor. The remaining two took evasive action and tried to engage.

Cat Noir snapped his handcuffs and left the transport. Rena Rouge disposed of her own cuffs, and the two heroes leapt into the air toward the falling choppers. Each hero caught a helicopter before it crashed and saw them safely down to the street.

The third damaged chopper would have gone cockpit-first into a bank. Bumblebee transformed and sped ahead of the helicopter, then caught the falling airship with both hands. The force of the impact drove him backwards through the glass wall and into the bank’s lobby, but the pilots and crew were saved.

“Monsieur Colonel?” Hot Rod called to Bienne. “May we…?”

Bienne looked up and saw another chopper explode into scrap metal.

“Yes, yes, engage!” he cried, but the Autobots were already moving.

Hawksteel and Mohawk were also moving. They dropped to the street on the other side of the Opera House, then smashed their way inside. Before them stood the object of their desire – the Shadow Matrix!

The human girl named Lila hovered above it, seemingly deep in meditation.

And, just beyond the artifact, Hawksteel saw six TRF troops lying facedown among the chair debris on the floor.

“Dibs on the kid!” Mohawk said, and he raised his blaster and fired.

The blast dissipated on contact with an invisible barrier in front of Lila.

“Huh?” Mohawk said. “What gives?”

Lila opened her eyes.

She smiled.

“Oh slag…” said Hawksteel.

A blast of energy hit them and propelled them back through the hole they’d made into the street.

Then, the Opera House began to collapse inward.

Slowly. And deliberately.

Purposefully.

The Autobots moved with a purpose. Bumblebee ran up the street, taking shots at the Akumatized robot, while Hot Rod scaled the nearest intact building.

Slipstream dodged blasts of plasma, clusters of missiles and a hail of bullets with ease. She fired plasma blasts of her own at the remaining chopper, but the plasma suddenly froze in place inside a bubble of time.

“Tres bien,” Hot Rod said from his perch atop that nearby intact building. “Now,” he added, taking aim with his time gun once more, “it is your turn, mon amie.”

Slipstream, however, had other plans. She ducked under his next shot, transformed, and came up with an uppercut that punched the Autobot off the roof in one swift motion.

Slipstream followed up by dropping to street level, where she sailed past Drift and several Landmine units and flew straight at Bumblebee. The Autobot wasn’t quick enough to dodge; she slammed him into the TRF vehicles, taking many of them out of the game.

“Let him go!” Nightbeat cried, and fired his hand pistols at Slipstream’s back.

The villainous robot turned around, and Nightbeat got a good look at her face.

“Chromia?” he said.

“Not any more,” she replied, and charged at him. As she did so, she drew her sword. An astrosecond later, Nightbeat was half his height.

“I want the Shadow Matrix,” she said. “Stay out of my way, or next time I aim higher.”

Hot Rod had never felt lower. The fall hadn’t killed him; instead he’d smashed through the Opera House roof. Dazed, he was aware of activity all around him. Looking to his left, he saw the materials of the building crumbling inward toward the Shadow Matrix.

Lila was making her move, and they needed more time to prepare.

Fortunately, that wasn’t a problem. He aimed and fired, and a time bubble surrounded both girl and artefact. The building collapse stopped, with all the material simply hanging in the air.

Hot Rod struggled to his feet, but then his impact injury got the better of him and he collapsed to the floor. He’d bought his fellow Autobots a minute, maybe a little bit more. That would have to do, he thought as he went offline.

Hawksteel struggled to stay online. The blast they’d taken had put Mohawk into stasis lock, and he was in danger of succumbing, too.

The building collapse seemed to have stopped. Perhaps now was his chance…

“Robot.”

He looked to his right to see a human walking toward him. And not just any human; Gabriel Agreste.

“I believe you have something that belongs to me,” he said. “Nooroo, Dark Wings fall.”

Instantly, Hawksteel was no more, leaving only Darksteel. Nooroo grabbed the Moth Miraculous and flew back to her true master.

“Master,” she began. “How, um, wonderful to…”

“Shut up,” Gabriel snatched the Miraculous from her and attached it to his collar. “I’ll deal with you later. Now, Dark Wings Rise!”

Darksteel watched as the human became supervillain once more. He looked back at the Opera House and the object of his desire, and knew his quest was no longer salvageable. He transformed to car mode and fled.

Mohawk remained in stasis lock. Hawkmoth ignored him.

“Now then,” he said. “What have I missed?”

“You missed,” Slipstream told Bumblebee as he charged at her, firing as he came.

Jolt, who’d dragged the legless Nightbeat out of harm’s way, ran at Slipstream from the other side.

And several Landmine units approached, getting in everyone’s way. Slipstream grabbed two of them and hurled one each at the Autobots, knocking Bumblebee and Jolt down.

Drift attacked, swords flying. Slipstream dodged his blades while unsheathing her own, and she beat the Autobot back.

“You might as well be standing still!” she taunted, then kicked Drift in the chest. He flew backward into the Opera House, stunned.

“Now then,” she approached Bumblebee, “it’s time for you to… yaagh?” She suddenly felt dizzy, out of sorts, as if something was fundamentally wrong with her being.

Bumblebee seized the initiative and fired point blank, blasting Slipstream backward down the street. He rose to his feet, only to get shot down again.

“Gotcha!” said Bugly, who’d come back online in time to complicate matters. “Now…”

“Now you shut up!” Rena Rouge said as she leapt in and delivered a punch to his face.

The Decepticon fell back but recovered quickly, and decided to use the hero for target practice.

Nearby, Slipstream rose to a sitting position. The dizziness was gone, and her mind was clear.

“Hello, Slipstream,” said a new voice in her head. “Hawksteel is gone. I am Hawkmoth, your new master.”

“Understood,” she replied. As far as she was concerned, one master was as good as another. “I suppose you want the Shadow Matrix, too?”

“I do. But there is something else I want: the Miraculouses belonging to Ladybug and Cat Noir!”

Cat Noir, who’d been helping injured soldiers and performing general crowd control, leapt back onto the scene. He saw as Drift emerged from the Opera House with Hot Rod leaning on one shoulder, and six soldiers carried between them. He saw Bumblebee lying in the street with a wound in his back, barely moving. He saw several military-style robots in various states of disarray. He saw what could only be an Akumatized Cybertronian, seemingly distracted for the moment.

And he saw Bugly, trying to blast Rena Rouge. He leapt at the Decepticon and kicked him in the side of his head, sending Bugly flying into a crowd of somewhat-functional Landmine units. The Landmines immediately piled on top of the Decepticon, pinning him down.

“Thanks for the save, kitty!” Rena Rouge said.

“Anytime, foxy!” he replied.

Then a shadow fell over them. They turned and looked up, right into the barrels of Slipstream’s guns.

“Hawkmoth sends his regards,” she said. “Now hand over your Miraculouses.”

“Yes, take Cat Noir’s Miraculous,” Hawkmoth said in her mind, “but forget the other one, that isn’t Ladybug.”

“It isn’t?” Slipstream asked. “Where is Ladybug?”

“Right here.”

Slipstream turned in the direction of the voice, only to meet the business end of the heroine’s boot. She fell to her right; Ladybug landed in the street and flung her yo-yo, which spun around the villain.

“Jolt! Catch,” Ladybug said, and tossed the other end of her yo-yo to the Autobot.

Jolt knew exactly what she had in mind; he grabbed the cord in both hands and sent a charge through it powerful enough to fry a city. Slipstream jiggled with the shock and collapsed to her knees.

“Now, Blazemaster!” Ladybug cried. The helicopter Autobot, who’d been hovering over the street, transformed to robot mode and landed beside the villain. His rotor blades became a sword, which he used to slice off the strange horn on Slipstream’s head.

“Is… that an ice cream?” Cat Noir asked as the horn landed in front of him.

“Maybe,” Ladybug replied. “Who wants to do the honours?”

Drift, carrying the semi-conscious Hot Rod, approached the team of superheroes. He took out a dagger from behind his back and threw it with absolute precision. The dagger shattered the horn, and the Akuma flew out. Moments later, it was a harmless butterfly once more. Slipstream also underwent a transformation, reverting back to Chromia.

“Is that it?” Jolt asked. “Did we win?”

“Non,” Hot Rod looked back at the Opera House, which had begun to crumble inward once more. “I think the main fight is just beginning.”

Chapter Text

The Opera House continued to crumble inward, forming a cocoon of sorts around Lila and the Shadow Matrix. The Autobots, the superheroes and the remaining TRF soldiers watched with a growing sense of dread.

“What do we do?” Colonel Bienne asked, hating himself for the helplessness in his voice.

“Colonel,” Ladybug said, “I need you and your men to retreat, and keep civilians out of harm’s way. Oh, and we’ll need this,” she took back Rena Rouge’s flute and tossed it to her.

“I’ll take that,” Cat Noir added, snatching his pole back from Lestat’s fingers.

“Fall back,” Bienne ordered, and the military presence began their retreat. As they did so, beams of energy fired out from the Opera House and snared the Landmine units. The beams also grabbed the headless Mindwipe, the comatose Bludgeon, and all the pieces of Bugly.

“That can’t be good,” said Brains, who sat in Jolt’s hand. He’d managed a few repairs, but was still in poor shape.

“Mademoiselle Ladybug,” Hot Rod said, “you told us you will give us an edge?”

“Yes,” she replied, and held out her hands to reveal what, to the Autobots, looked like bits of jewellery.

But Cat Noir and Rena Rouge knew better.

“Miraculouses!” they said.

“Autobots, here is the Miraculous of the Bee,” she handed a comb to Bumblebee, “the Tiger,” she handed a bracelet to Hot Rod, “the Dragon,” she handed a choker to Drift, “the Horse,” she handed a pair of glasses to Blazemaster, “the Dog,” she gave a collar necklace to Nightbeat, who lay in the street next to his severed legs, “the Mouse,” she handed a skip rope to Brains, “and to you, Jolt, the Miraculous of the Turtle.
“You will use them for the greater good,” she went on, “if you are willing. Once we succeed, you must all return them to me.”

“What do we…?” Nightbeat began, only to be interrupted by a dog-like tiny creature that leapt out of the Miraculous.

“I’m Barkk,” the Kwami told him. “To receive my power, just say the words On The Hunt.”

Nightbeat said the words, and was transformed into a dog-themed supermech. He even found that his lower half had been snatched up and reattached.

“I feel fantastic!” he said. “Call me… Night Bark.”

“I’m Pollen,” said the Kwami from the Bee Miraculous. “Say Buzz On, Bumblebee!”

Bumblebee tried to talk but couldn’t. He was, however, quickly able to find sound-bytes of the words Buzz and On with the Internet.

“Buzz. On,” he said, and became a bee-themed hero. “I like this… oh, my vocal circuits are restored! I’m going to call myself King Bee.”

And so it went. The Kwamis gave the Autobots their activation codes, and new heroes were born. Hot Rod became Rodimus Pounce, Jolt became Shellshock, Drift became Dragonfire, Blazemaster became Flame Tunnel, and Brains became Brainsqueak.

Nearby, the beams of energy placed the Decepticons and the Landmine units in front of the Opera House. The beams had also effected repairs; Bludgeon had a new green leg, Mindwipe had a new head, and Bugly had been reassembled.
“Your powers, you’ll have to learn on the job,” Ladybug told them. “Now, let’s…”

“What about me?” Chromia asked as she rolled over to Ladybug and the others. Dragonfire, Rodimus Pounce and Shellshock took a step back and eyed her warily.

“What?” she asked.

“Well,” said Night Bark, “you did just try to kill us.”

“It wasn’t her,” King Bee said.

“He’s right,” Ladybug added. “She’d been Akumatized, the way Bumblebee was yesterday.

“I’m sorry,” she went on, addressing Chromia, “but I only brought seven Miraculouses.”

The Opera House was gone, replaced with a swirling mass of material that had started to take shape at its centre. The Landmine units still looked the same, with the exception of red glowing eyes. The three Decepticons, on the other hand, had undergone a similar transformation as the Autobots. Each now wore a shell: Bugly’s shell resembled a bipedal insect, like the giant he’d been when he’d been Amoked; Mindwipe wore a vampire-like bat creature with leathery wings and fearsome talons; Bludgeon’s shell resembled the uniform of a samurai, with a skull for a face and a new sword at his hip.

Ladybug, Cat Noir and Rena Rouge stepped forward, brandishing their tools. A moment later, the Miraculous Autobots joined them.

“Protect the Shadow Matrix!” Bludgeon cried, pointing his sword at the heroes.

Bugly, Mindwipe and the Landmine units opened fire.

“Shell-ter!” Shellshock said, and projected a shield around them that withstood the assault.

Rena Rouge played her flute, creating an army of illusions to draw the enemy’s fire.

“My turn!” Brainsqueak said. “Multitude.” Multiple copies of the hero flew out and attached themselves to the back of the Landmines’ heads, and proceeded to rip the wires from their necks. One by one, the TRF mechs fell.

Dragonfire dueled with Bludgeon. His enemy had a more powerful sword now, but so did he.

“You could not best me when I had one leg!” the Decepticon taunted. “What makes you think this will be different?”

“The same thing that beat you last time,” Dragonfire told him. “I have friends.”

“Fetch!” cried Night Bark, and he threw his Ball. It attached itself to Bludgeon’s sword and yanked it out of his hands.

“Voyage!” said Flame Tunnel, who created a portal in the air that King Bee stepped through, allowing him to appear directly behind Bludgeon.

“Venom!” he said, and jabbed the Decepticon with his Spinning Top. Bludgeon froze in place, immobilized.

“Wow, Bugaboo,” Cat Noir said. “They’re really making us look bad.”

“Beginner’s luck,” Ladybug replied. “Let’s show them how the pros do it.”

Mindwipe slashed at Chromia, but the small Autobot evaded his claws. Then Ladybug’s Yo-Yo spun around him and tied him up.

“Fore!” Cat Noir swung his pole up to connect with Mindwipe’s chin, knocking him backward into King Bee. One quick application of Venom later, and the Decepticon was helpless.

Leaving only Bugly.

“Master Lila!” he cried, backing away from the heroes. “I need help.” He raised his gun, only to have it Fetched away by Night Bark.

A sound emerged from the mass of debris that surrounded Lila. It was the voice of an angry god letting off a frustrated sigh.

“Must I do everything myself?” she said in that same voice.

The debris began to take shape. Arms and legs formed, and the thing stood like a titan of detritus. It raised its arms high and brought them down onto the street with concussive force, knocking all the heroes back.

“Back with us?”

Mohawk looked up to see a supervillain standing over him. Behind the villain, he saw a titan of detritus. The shockwave from its fists had jolted the small Decepticon out of stasis lock.

“Where’s Hawksteel?” Mohawk wanted to know.

“Gone,” the villain said. “I am Hawkmoth, and I offer you power.” He opened his hand, and an Akuma flew out. “The Shadow Matrix can still be ours. What do you say?”

Chapter Text

A giant composed of continually-shifting debris rose to its full height and towered over the crumbled remains of the street. All around, windows were still shattering following the giant’s punch to the concrete.

The heroes regrouped, avoiding chunks of brick and glass falling from the surrounding buildings. Most looked up at the thing in trepidation. Cat Noir and Rodimus Pounce, however, both cracked smiles.

“One big target?” Cat Noir said. “No problem. Cataclysm!”

“A giant target,” Rodimus said, “requires a giant punch. Clout!”

Both heroes leapt toward the giant, their powers manifesting in their hands.

The giant clapped its hands, creating a shockwave that threw the two heroes back.

Shellshock was right below them.

“Shell-ter!” he cried, raising his shield just as the two cat-themed heroes landed on him. The combination of Cat Noir’s Cataclysm and Rodimus Pounce’s Clout shattered the shield and pounded Shellshock through the concrete and into the sewer.

Cat Noir and Rodimus fell after him, out cold.

“Do cats ever get tired of being stupid?” Lila said. Then her giant drove another fist down into the street, scattering the others.

“Whaddowedo?” Brainsqueak cried.

“You’re the brain unit!” Night Bark said. “You tell us.”

“Ladybug?” Rena Rouge said.

“Lila!” Ladybug called up at the thing. “What do you want?”

“I’ve got what I want,” Lila replied. “Who’s coming to take it from me?”

“Fetch!” Night Bark said, hurling his Ball.

“Venom!” King Bee said, jamming his Top into the giant’s leg.

Night Bark pulled one small chunk from the swirling mass. King Bee managed to immobilize another small chunk.

The giant had plenty more chunks.

“You guys suck at this,” Lila said, and had her giant kick King Bee through the nearest building.

“Take all you want,” she told Night Bark. “I can always get more.” The giant reached out a hand, and more debris flew upward and joined with its mass. “Or I can just do this,” she gestured, and the debris flew down at the dog-themed hero. Before it could crush Night Bark, Ladybug’s yo-yo spun around him and yanked him out of the way.

“Let us see how she fares against the power of the elements,” Dragonfire said. “Weather Dragons!” He held out his arms and created a funnel of wind, and directed that wind at the debris giant. For a moment it seemed to work; Dragonfire’s power blew away many of the chunks orbiting Lila and the Shadow Matrix, exposing them. Lila compensated by pulling more material from nearby buildings, and used it to replace what was lost. She also formed a shield to block the wind attack.

“We can’t do this one at a time,” Ladybug said. “Rena Rouge, Brainsqueak, use your powers to distract her!”

“Multitude!” Brainsqueak said again, and projected several clones that flew around the giant’s head. At the same time, Rena Rouge played her flute, and conjured images of robotic foxes that also buzzed the giant.

“Turbofoxes,” King Bee said as he returned to the battle. “Huh.”

“Dragonfire, pour it on!” Ladybug said. “King Bee, can you get inside that thing and immobilize her?”

“Good call,” he said, and transformed into a bee with his Top as the stinger. He took to the air, and tried to get in behind her.

“Let us try fire!” Dragonfire said, and he transformed into a flying mechanized reptile. He breathed intense flame at the giant’s shield, turning it into melting slag. Then he switched back to wind, and blew open a hole for King Bee to fly through.

“Nice try,” Lila said, raising a hand that conjured an energy fist from the Shadow Matrix and punched King Bee out of the swirling debris giant’s torso. Then Lila reached out her giant rubble fists and snatched King Bee and Dragonfire out of the air.

“You can’t touch me!” Lila cried. “But I can slap you down.” So saying, she clapped the rubble hands together, smashing both Miraculous Autobots into each other.

The two metal heroes fell to the street, out cold.

Below, the shockwave from the clap knocked Ladybug, Rena Rouge, Brainsqueak and Night Bark back. The illusions dissipated, and the Brainsqueak clones were sent flying.

More concrete began to give way, falling down into the sewer. Rodimus Pounce, Shellshock and Cat Noir lay helplessly beneath it, about to be crushed.

“Voyage!” Flame Tunnel said as he dropped down into the ever-expanding hole in the street. A portal appeared just above the three helpless heroes, and the rubble fell through it.

And emerged from another portal that opened above the giant’s head.

“Gaah!” Lila cried as the huge chunks rained down on her. She put an energy shield up just in time, then used that energy to add the rubble to her giant’s mass.

“I really hoped that would work,” Flame Tunnel said. “Time we weren’t here.” He opened another portal, pushed Shellshock and Rodimus Pounce through it, then picked up Cat Noir and leapt through himself.

“Is that it?” Lila crowed. “I expected better, especially from you, Ladybug.”

Ladybug climbed out of the pile of rubble she’d found herself in. She looked up at the giant, and decided it was time for the big guns.

“Lucky…” she began, but then the debris around her flew up and carried her with it. A moment later it joined up with the rest of the giant’s mass, and Ladybug found herself gripped in a fist.

“Uh uh!” Lila taunted, and shoved a piece of rubble into the hero’s mouth. “Your charm won’t get you out of this.

“I’ve heard that you heroes are indestructible,” she went on. “Shall we test that?”

And the fist began to squeeze.

“It looks like she’s in a tight spot, sir,” said Lieutenant Lestat. He monitored the battle from several blocks away, viewing it through a pair of binoculars. In his other hand, his tablet displayed the news coverage, courtesy of the news choppers orbiting the giant from a not-quite-safe distance.

“All right, Ladybug and the Autobots had their chance,” Colonel Bienne said. He stood next to Lestat on top of a tank, once more wearing his mech suit. “I’ve contacted the French Air Force, and we are going to hit that thing with everything we have.”

“That may not be enough,” Lestat said.

“It’ll have to be,” Bienne replied.

“Bee! That’s enough,” Rena Rouge said, sitting on the Autobot’s chest and slapping his face. “You can be unconscious on your own time. I need you!”

King Bee stirred. Beside him, Dragonfire also showed signs of life.

“WhadidImiss?” Brainsqueak asked as he climbed out from under a still-offline Night Bark. “Whoa,” he added, looking up.

The giant, still with Ladybug in its fist, formed another shield as a hail of rockets and tank shells detonated all over it. Then, there was a screech in the air accompanied by missiles from above. A moment later, several jets flew past.

Snarling, the giant threw Ladybug after them. Then it reached out with both hands and pulled in more material. More buildings disintegrated and flowed up to become part of Lila’s creature, and the TRF tanks and military vehicles joined them.

Then the giant turned its attention to the Autobots.

“Why don’t you join me?” it said.

And the Autobots and Rena Rouge began to rise up toward it…

Chapter Text

Ladybug flew up and over Paris at nearly the speed of sound, following a fleet of French Air Force jets. The jets banked to the right and flew back for another pass. Ladybug kept going. She was higher than ten Eiffel Towers and still accelerating, with nothing to latch her yo-yo on to.

Maybe I’ll get a ride off a satellite, she thought.

The air was thin and getting thinner. If she didn’t descend soon, she would pass out. She wondered if even a Miraculous superhero could survive a fall from this height.

Ooh, she thought, I can see my house from here…

Ladybug slapped herself to regain focus. One problem at a time, she thought. First problem, oxygen. She grabbed her yo-yo and activated its breather function. It worked all the time when she had to swim, so it would work now.

And it did.

Second problem, I need to slow down. She took a couple of deep breaths, then held her breath and spun her yo-yo like a shield behind her. Wind resistance built up, and she began to decelerate.

And fall.

Third problem, the ground. She spun her yo-yo above her head like a propeller, and managed to slow her descent.

Would it be enough? And even if she landed safely…

Fourth problem, how do I get back to Paris?

Ladybug reeled in her yo-yo and checked the altimeter, because of course it had an altimeter. She was still very high up, and had about a minute until she hit the ground.

She activated the communicator.

“Kitty? Rena Rouge?” she said. “I need some help…”

“Help!” Rena Rouge cried, then felt extremely silly. What kind of superhero calls for help?

The kind getting yanked into the air to become part of a rubble giant, she thought as she and the four Autobots continued to float upward toward Lila’s creation.

Her flute’s communicator buzzed. She ignored it.

“Are we gonna take this?” King Bee said to Dragonfire.

“Never!” Dragonfire agreed, and they both transformed. In their Bee and Dragon forms, both Autobots had wings. They flapped, and began to make some headway against the giant’s pull.

“Oh no you don’t!” Lila said, and doubled her efforts. King Bee and Dragonfire reversed direction and flew back toward the giant once more.

But then, a portal opened right behind them.

“This way, ‘bots!” Flame Tunnel said, and he guided King Bee and Dragonfire through the portal and out the other side. The two Autobots found themselves on top of Notre Dame, with the detritus giant several kilometres away. With Flame Tunnel were Rodimus Pounce, Shellshock and Cat Noir, the latter of whom was on his communicator, speaking urgently. Rodimus had just come out of stasis lock, but Shellshock was still out cold.

“Gotcha!” Flame Tunnel said to the new arrivals.

“What about the others?” King Bee said. “Rena Rouge, Brainsqueak and Night Bark are still…”

“Flame Tunnel, you have to help Ladybug!” Cat Noir said. “She’s falling to her death about a kilometer outside the city.”

Flame Tunnel looked from King Bee to Cat Noir, struck with indecision.

“I may only have time to save one,” he said.

“We need Ladybug,” Cat Noir told him. “Only her power can stop that thing.”

“There are two Autobots and a human about to be absorbed by that monster,” Dragonfire said.

Flame Tunnel made his choice.

“Voyage,” he said, opening a portal and stepping through.

Ladybug fell through the air, spinning her yo-yo fiercely. The ground was getting close…

Flame Tunnel appeared and snatched her up. As he did so, he transformed into a robotic Pegasus-style horse.

“Voyage!” he cried, and flew through another portal. A moment later, he and Ladybug were in the air around the detritus giant.

“I can do it!” he cried. “I can save all of…”

Unfortunately, that was when the French Air Force launched another attack. Missiles exploded all around the giant, sending debris flying in all directions. One piece of debris hit Flame Tunnel hard, and he fell toward the ruined street.

“V… voyage…” he said, making one last portal and flinging Ladybug through it. She had just enough time to hurl her yo-yo, snag one of the three heroes in Lila’s grasp, and pull them through the portal with her.

Flame Tunnel crashed to the ground and entered stasis lock.

Jolt knew he was in stasis lock. There was no one to talk to this time, though he’d had a number of visitors in the last few minutes. His mind drifted, and images from a video Bumblebee had shown him appeared before his minds eye.

Jolt had only just arrived on Earth, and he’d asked Bumblebee what had become of the Allspark. His superior was still experiencing difficulty with his vocal circuits, so he’d opted to show Jolt a recording from his memory of the event.

It was at the end of the battle in Mission City. Jets piloted by humans launched a barrage of ordnance at Megatron, who lost a leg in the assault. Optimus Prime, injured and lying on the street, swung a fist that hit the Decepticon leader’s remaining leg, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Sam Witwicky, brave human friend of the Autobots, stood between the two fallen warriors with the Allspark in his hands.
“Sam!” Optimus commanded. “Put the cube in my chest. Now!”

“No! Allspark!” Megatron roared, scrambling toward Sam. “Give it to me!”

And Sam Witwicky jammed the cube into Megatron’s chest. The power of the Allspark reacted with the Decepticon leader’s spark, burning a hole that killed Megatron dead.

That kid’s a hero, Jolt had thought at the time. He thought the same thing now. And Optimus Prime had been prepared to die to keep the Allspark out of Megatron’s hands.

Typical Optimus, Jolt thought. Wish I was that brave.

He was aware of another presence. Blazemaster appeared in the realm Jolt inhabited; he must have gone into stasis lock, too. The other Autobots had come and gone, though they’d seemed unaware of their surroundings. It appeared that Blazemaster was no different.

Another presence arrived, this time a human.

“Where… what… am I dead?” the girl asked. Jolt knew this presence… it was Rena Rouge. Had she been offlined?

Another presence; Nightbeat was back.

“Your side is losing.”

Jolt sighed. He’d been aware of this Decepticon’s presence, but had hoped the villain wouldn’t gain awareness.

“Oh, I’ve been aware this whole time,” Bludgeon said. “I just had nothing to say to you before now.

“I have lost. The human girl, Lula, defeated me. That humiliation is almost too great to bear. At least I die knowing you Autobots failed to protect the planet from the power of the Shadow Matrix. It gives me a small amount of joy knowing… where are you going?”

Slowly, the world returned to Jolt’s optics. He remained in his Shellshock form; he sat up, and took note of his companions. He also saw the objects in Ladybug’s hands.

And he knew what he had to do.

Chapter Text

Rena Rouge watched as Flame Tunnel fell to the street below. She saw Ladybug’s yo-yo snake out and grab Brainsqueak, and the two of them vanished into a portal.

That left her and Night Bark at Lila’s mercy.

And… her time had run out. Rena Rouge had used her power, and hadn’t given her Kwami a recharge. As she hung in the air surrounded by chunks of concrete and metal, Rena Rouge transformed back into Alya Cesare.

“Huh,” said Lila. “That was unexpected. And interesting. Come here,” she gestured, and Alya floated within the giant until she was a couple of metres away. “Not much of a hero now, are you?”

“More than you’ll ever be,” Alya shot back.

“I don’t think so,” Lila said. “You see, by transforming within the energy of the Shadow Matrix, you’ve shown me how it’s done.
“One second,” she added, and held up her hand. Her giant did the same, and snared several missiles before they could impact. Those missiles added themselves to the giant’s mass, and a moment later the jets themselves were pulled in, deconstructed and assimilated. The pilots flailed helplessly, still belted into their seats.

“Now, where was I? Hey!” Lila said, reacting to Night Bark. The super Autobot had hurled his Ball at the Shadow Matrix, no doubt hoping to Fetch it back to himself. Lila snared the Ball just in time, and she beckoned the Autobot closer.

“I was just telling ex-Rena Rouge here,” Lila said, “how she’d shown me, on a Miraculous level, how your transformations work.

“Like this.”

Lila clapped her hands together, then spread them apart. The Miraculous power peeled off from Night Bark, separating him from the Dog Miraculous and changing him back into Nightbeat. Who was, once again, half the ‘bot he’d been.

“Aagh!” Nightbeat cried as his lower half fell away.

“No!” said Barkk, flying around the helpless Autobot. “Say the words again. Quick!”

“Uh uh,” Lila said, and snapped her fingers. The energy holding Nightbeat in the air vanished, and he fell to the ground. It was not an easy fall; he kept hitting rubble chunks all the way down.

“Your turn,” Lila said to Alya, and snapped her fingers again.

“Nooo!” screamed Trixx and Barkk together.

Alya just screamed. All the way down.

“Now, just in case one of you actually survived that…”

The giant raised a foot, then brought it down with a sickeningly vivid crunch.

“You… you’re a monster,” Trixx said.

Lila opened her hand, and the Dog and Fox Miraculouses flew into her hand. A moment later, the Kwamis vanished back into them.

“Now,” Lila said, “let’s see what this baby can really do.”

“What can we do?” Rodimus Pounce asked, staring at the scene in the distance. More and more of Paris was breaking apart and flowing into the giant; Rodimus didn’t think there would be any city left by the end of the day.

And if they couldn’t stop it, how long before it claimed the planet?

“Well, whatever the plan is, I’m ready!” said Cat Noir. He’d hidden himself behind Dragonfire to de-transform and feed Plagg with the last of his cheese. Now, he was purring with power. “You do have a plan, bugaboo?”

“We stop this,” Ladybug replied. “Details to follow. Lucky Charm!” She threw her yo-yo in the air, and caught the objects that fell.

“O-kay…” said Cat Noir. “We challenge Lila to a jump-rope contest?”

Ladybug had nearly been clobbered by the two long, red and black-dotted cables that had dropped into her hands. Each had a hook on one end, and some kind of connecter on the other.

“We’re gonna beat that giant with a coupla cables?” Brainsqueak said.

“I… I don’t know what these are for yet…” Ladybug admitted.

“I do.”

The team of heroes turned to look at Shellshock, who’d just woken up from stasis lock.

“Shell off,” he said, and transformed back to Jolt.

“Hey, Jay, what ya doin’?” Brainsqueak asked him.

“Here,” Jolt handed the Turtle Miraculous back to Ladybug. “I won’t need that. But I will need these,” he picked up the connector ends of the cables, which attached seamlessly to his wrists. A moment later, the two cables retracted into Jolt’s arms.

“Your whips…” King Bee said.

“Yes,” said Jolt. “Get me in close to the Shadow Matrix, and I will take care of the rest.”

Darksteel contemplated the rest of his life. Which, given what was happening to the city, wasn’t likely to be a very long one. The chance that the Autobots and superheroes could stop Lila and the Shadow Matrix… well, it would take something miraculous.

But if they did, he’d go back to being a car for some human once more. And he’d stay that way forever, each day tormented by the memory of today, when the Shadow Matrix slipped through his fingers.

“I’d rather die,” he said to no one.

The street and buildings around him began to crumble and flow up and toward the giant. Then car on the road in front of him got picked up and taken.

I’m next, he thought.

But perhaps he could use that to his advantage…

Darksteel lifted up and off the street and joined up with the rubble en-route to the giant.

I’ll just stay in car mode, he thought. And when that human isn’t looking…
…the Shadow Matrix will be mine yet!

“Wake up, Flame Tunnel!” Chromia said, smacking the side of the downed super Autobot’s face. “We haven’t lost yet.”

Flame Tunnel, still in his flying horse mode, remained unresponsive. The rubble giant had its attention focused elsewhere; for the moment, they remained unnoticed.

“Ain’t it just the worst when some mofo ditches ya?”

Chromia looked up to see a Decepticon stalking toward her. But no ordinary Decepticon; this ‘con had been augmented by a power Chromia was all too familiar with.

“I wanna get that Shadow Matrix thing for mah main man Hawkmoth,” the Decepticon went on, confirming Chromia’s fear. “An’ I need troops who ain’t gonna run out on me ta help me do it.

“Whaddya say?” he reached out with abnormally long arms. “Wanna join mah winnin’ team?”

Chapter Text

Ladybug, Cat Noir and the Autobots approached the rubble giant. Then, when they got close enough, they began to float toward the giant along with the steady flow of debris.

“So, how is this going to work?” Ladybug asked Jolt.

“Just get me inside the giant, with a clear shot at the Shadow Matrix,” Jolt replied.

“…and?” prompted Cat Noir, but Jolt didn’t answer.

They hopped from rubble chunk to rubble chunk, closing in.

“Hey, what’s that?” Cat Noir asked. He alighted upon what had once been a bit of sidewalk and used his pole’s telescope function to take a closer look. “Oh, catnip. It’s the TRF.”

Ladybug landed beside him and used her yo-yo like a pair of binoculars. She saw lots of TRF soldiers drifting helplessly in the detritus, including Colonel Bienne. Many looked injured; flying amongst heavy boulders of concrete was hardly safe.

“I can’t see Rena Rouge,” Ladybug said. “Can you?”

“No,” Cat Noir replied. “But if she’s still in there…”

Suddenly a portal opened in the air in front of them.

“Flame Tunnel?” Cat Noir said.

“Guess again,” said the creature that leapt through. It was robotic, roughly human-sized, and had abnormally long arms.

“Join me!” it said, and snared Cat Noir. He had time to cry out before he was morphed into a similar long-armed creature.

Two more beings emerged from the portal; one looked like it had once been Chromia, the other Flame Tunnel. They all reached out their arms toward Ladybug, who nimbly leapt out of their reach.

“Dragonfire!” she cried, hurling her yo-yo and snagging the super Autobot’s tail as he flew overhead, carrying Jolt with his feet.

“Storm Tunnel is mine,” said King Bee, who buzzed in and stung the morphed Autobot.

Rodimus Pounce, who had reconfigured into a mech tiger, pounced upon the morphed Chromia. They tumbled off the sidewalk chunk, locked in battle.

“Join us!” said the morphed Cat Noir, who leapt and wrapped his arms around King Bee. A moment later, the yellow Autobot had indeed joined them.

Below, the same was happening to Rodimus Pounce.

“Excellent work, Loyal-T!” said Hawkmoth, who observed the goings-on from a safe distance. “Now, add Ladybug to your team, and you can bring me her and Cat Noir’s Miraculouses!”

Loyal-T, the Akumatized form of Mohawk, bounded from debris chunk to debris chunk as he chased Dragonfire and Ladybug. His recently-converted minions all followed suit.

Ladybug, who now rode on Dragonfire’s back, saw the approaching villains and groaned.

“Ooh, we do not have time for this!” she said.

“I’ll go distract ‘em,” said Brainsqueak. “You an’ Jolt get the job done.

“Multitude!” he said, and multiple copies of Brainsqueak flew back to confront the Akumatized horde.

“Time to do your thing,” Ladybug said, patting Dragonfire.

“Indeed,” the super Autobot replied. “Weather Dragons!” His power activated, Dragonfire blew a wind tunnel that cleared a hole in the debris of the giant’s chest. He flew through that hole, and prepared to deliver Jolt to the Shadow Matrix.

“No!” shouted Darksteel, who transformed and flung himself at the Miraculous dragon. “The Shadow Matrix is mine.” He crashed into Dragonfire, and the two tumbled through the air while Jolt and Ladybug fell from the dragon’s back and plummeted.

“Jolt! Grab my hand,” Ladybug called, reaching with one hand while flinging her yo-yo with the other. She snagged a passing lamp post, and Jolt snagged her hand.

And shocked her.

“Oh no!” Jolt cried, and rerouted his power. Too late; she was stunned. When he cut off the voltage, Ladybug let go of her yo-yo and they both fell to the ground below.

“You will not deny me the Shadow Matrix!” Darksteel shouted as he clung to Dragonfire with one hand and pummeled him with the other.

“Fool! Look around you,” Dragonfire snapped. “Possession of this much power is madness!”

“Not if the power is mine,” Darksteel countered.

Dragonfire shook his head, grabbed Darksteel’s shoulder in his jaws and flung him off. He meant to press the attack, but just then he was coated in green energy and pulled toward Lila.

“That’s a nice Miraculous you’ve got there,” she said. “I’ll take it.” She held up her hand, and Dragonfire de-transformed back into Drift. The Dragon Miraculous flew into Lila’s hand, and she smiled in deep satisfaction.

“Child! Think about what you are doing,” Drift implored. “What use is power if you have no planet left?”

“Dunno,” Lila replied. “Guess I’ll find out. Bye, now…”

“Wait!” Drift cried. “What happened to Ho?”

“Gone,” she said. “Tell him I sent you.” And she released her hold on Drift. He fell, but not far; a small morphed copy of Brainsqueak grabbed him and turned him.

The same fate befell Darksteel. Similarly, all surviving TRF soldiers, including Bienne, were grabbed and turned by Brainsqueak’s morphed multitude.

Most of the morphed flew into the rubble giant and converged on Lila. A couple, however, headed down to where Jolt and Ladybug had landed. Jolt was still shaken up from his landing, but Ladybug had fully recovered.

“It may not have been a great idea to send Brainsqueak after the Akumatized villain,” she said. She reached for her yo-yo, then remembered she’d lost it further up the giant. Fists and feet it was, then.

“Perhaps not,” Jolt replied, and he waited for one of the entities to attack him. “Tell me,” he asked it as he lashed out with his Miraculous whips and snared the creature, “are all of you connected?” And he unleashed a charge that would have given Megatron pause.

The Multitude copies were indeed connected. And, through the morphing process, the copies were connected to all of the other Akumatized villains. Every one of them jiggled as the charge passed through them, halting their advance and knocking a few of them out.

“Oh, nice one,” Ladybug said. “You guys sure are handy to…” But then she discovered something.

“Huh,” said Lila, watching as all the dark attackers jiggled helplessly all around her. “I didn’t need to lift a finger this time. But just in case…” she lifted a finger, and all of the Akumatization energy flowed off of them. Even Loyal-T was restored to Mohawk, and the Akuma became a butterfly once more.

“Whaaat?” said Hawkmoth, who’d retreated back to his secret lair in the Agreste estate. “How is this possible?”

“Oh hi, Hawkmoth,” Lila said, speaking to him over the same medium he used to contact his Akumatized villains. “Confused? Don’t be. I have power over the Miraculous now, and your power is the same thing, isn’t it?
“By the way, if you’re at home, I’d think about packing up and leaving right about now…”

Hawkmoth looked up to see his home crumbling above him. Within moments his entire estate was flowing piecemeal up and toward the giant. Nathalie was also snatched up, and presumably Adrien had been as well. Then he himself was taken, along with everything beneath him.

Across town, the Dupain bakery was similarly crumbled and taken by the giant, along with Marinette’s terrified parents. The same fate came to the Bourjois household, along with the Mayor, his wife, and their daughter Chloe.

“This,” Chloe remarked, “is utterly ridiculous!”

Then a chunk of masonry collided with her head and snapped her neck.

Andre the ice cream man found he could not outrun the giant’s reach. Neither did Master Fu and his merry-go-round park. He’d hoped Ladybug would be able to stop the encroaching destruction with the extra Miraculouses he’d provided her with, but apparently not.

The hospital in which Professor Vivian Wembley and Adrien Agreste’s bodyguard were recovering was next to go. Very soon, the museum where they had received their injuries would also be taken.

Below the giant, however, Ladybug only focused on one thing – her friend Alya.

At least, what was left of her.

Ladybug knelt beside her friend’s remains, unable to move or speak. When her time ran out and she transformed back into Marinette, she hardly noticed.

Tikki quietly took a cookie out of Marinette’s pocket and ate it. The least she could do was be ready for when her master would need her.

“Ladybug,” Jolt knelt beside her, “I am very sorry for the loss of your friend, but we must act.”

“And,” Tikki added, “if you win the day, you can restore all of Paris, including Alya!”

“I lost my yo-yo,” Marinette said softly.

“Then let’s go get it,” Tikki said.

Marinette turned to look at her small friend, then up at her larger friend.

She nodded and stood.

“Tikki, spots on.”

The Miraculous power covered her, and she became Ladybug once more.

“Let’s finish this.”

Chapter Text

Ladybug picked up Jolt with both hands and hurled him up onto one of the passing pieces of Paris that made up the debris giant’s leg. Then she followed, and joined the Autobot on the rubble chunk.

“That’s one,” she said.

“With many more to go,” said Jolt. “Let’s get climbing.”

They leapt from debris chunk to debris chunk, and slowly made their way up the leg to the torso.

Within that torso, the battle continued.

“Venom!” King Bee cried, launching himself stinger-first at Lila.

“No thanks,” Lila replied, halting the super Autobot and peeling the Miraculous energy off of him.

As she dropped Bumblebee and pocketed the Bee Miraculous, Lila became aware of a portal on her left. Before she could react a mech tiger leapt out and clamped its jaws around her. Rodimus Pounce had sharp teeth indeed, but not sharp enough to penetrate Lila’s shield.

But it was a great distraction.

“Cataclysm!” Cat Noir shouted as he leapt from Flame Tunnel’s back directly at the Shadow Matrix. It too had a shield, but that shield dissolved under Cat Noir’s power.

“Get off me!” Lila cried, but Rodimus Pounce had already let her go and dropped.

The Shadow Matrix was directly beneath him.

“Clout!” Rodimus said, transforming to hero mode and thrusting his fist down.

“Noooo!” bellowed Darksteel, and he threw himself between Rodimus and the artefact. “The Shadow Matrix is MINE! Miiiaaghhh!!!” Rodimus Pounce’s fist, and the full power of his Clout power, struck the Decepticon and blew him apart. Shrapnel that had been Darksteel exploded in all directions, peppering the surrounding rubble and knocking Rodimus Pounce off course. He fell past the Shadow Matrix, but managed to snag a rubble chunk in the giant’s waist.

Bumblebee, also riding the rubble, opened fire with his blaster on a portal Flame Tunnel had just created. The portal’s other end opened right in front of Lila, and her shield was given a plasma pounding.

“Not enough!” she shouted, still fully intact. Her shield had been weakened, however; when Cat Noir popped out of another portal and punched her in the face, she felt it.

“Aagh!” she snarled, and tried to snag the black-clad hero, but he’d already vanished into another portal.

And Drift, who’d leapt from a rubble chunk behind her, kicked her hard in the back.

“Aagh!” she cried again, and tried to vent her anger on the Autobot only to lose him to a portal as well.

Lila concentrated and pulled in more Shadow Matrix energy. Then she sought out Flame Tunnel.

“Got you,” she said, spying the flying mech horse in one of the giant’s arms. “You,” she went on, raising a hand, “will come to me right…”

Another plasma attack, this time from a boulder above her: Bumblebee.

“Ha!” she cried, redirecting a traffic sign and flinging it like a spear. It went straight through the boulder, disintegrating it, and impaled Bumblebee from crotch to shoulder.

He fell. A portal opened beneath him, and he vanished from view.

Before the portal could close, Lila thrust an energy hand through it and grabbed Flame Tunnel on the other side.

“You’re mine!” she snapped, yanking him through his own portal and peeling off his Miraculous power. Blazemaster dropped, transformed to helicopter mode and hovered.

Lila redirected two large debris chunks and crushed the Autobot flat.

“Multitude!”

Lila looked up to see an army of Brainsqueaks raining down on her. She froze them in place with her Shadow Matrix energy, peeled away the Miraculous, and yanked Brains over until he was right in front of her.

“Any Miraculous power used in here, I can assimilate and adapt,” she told him. “How should I get rid of you? What about this?” She touched Brains on the chest, and released a perfect replica of Cat Noir’s Cataclysm power. The small Autobot screamed even as he crumbled to nothing.

“Clout!” Rodimus Pounce leapt off his perch below Lila, his fist ready.

“Yep,” said Lila, halting him in his tracks. “I’ve got it, you don’t.” A moment later, the Tiger Miraculous was in her hand, and Hot Rod fell away.

Cat Noir and Chromia tried next, attacking Lila from either side. Chromia slashed with her sword, Cat Noir swung his pole, she blasted with hand lasers, he snapped a kick.

Below, Drift rode upon the upper half of a bus, waiting for the right moment to jump. The Shadow Matrix hovered directly in front of him…

“Drift, no,” Jolt said, hopping down from part of a highway overpass and landing beside his friend. “Don’t. Leave it to me.”

Drift hadn’t known the electric-themed Autobot for very long. Nevertheless, he understood the look in Jolt’s optics, and the tone of his voice.

“May the Primes guide you,” Drift said. Then he leapt up onto the overpass chunk Jolt had descended from, and made his way higher.

Lila grabbed Chromia in one energy hand, and threw her at Cat Noir. The two fell only to be caught by Hot Rod, who stood on a long and tubular object near the giant’s navel. Holding Chromia and Cat Noir under one arm, he raised the other and fired his wrist-mounted blaster.

Lila recognized the object the Autobot stood upon. She blocked a couple of Hot Rod’s blasts, then recreated one of Flame Tunnel’s portals. Hot Rod’s blaster fire went into the portal in front of Lila, and emerged from a portal just below the Autobot. It struck the tube he stood upon, which happened to be a missile from one of the fighters. The blast blew him and Chromia apart, and sent Cat Noir flying out of the giant.

“Stop this now!” Drift roared, jumping from an upside-down car and thrusting his sword forward.

Lila halted him in the air, then redirected several chunks of rubble and crushed the Autobot.

“Who’s next?” Lila crowed, smiling in satisfaction.

“Me.”

Lila looked up and saw Ladybug above her, riding what appeared to be the cockpit of a fighter jet. She had her yo-yo back in her hands, and a determined look on her face. Ladybug flung her yo-yo and snagged Lila’s wrist…

Lila shrugged, then yanked Ladybug off the cockpit toward her.

“What was that?” Lila taunted. “Did you really think that would work?”

“It did,” Ladybug said simply.

Lila roared with laughter.

“I have you. You’re helpless!” she said. “In a second I could pull the Miraculous off you and let you drop. It didn’t go so well for Alya,” she added, and she drank in the anger and disgust on Ladybug’s face. “It’s too bad; this would have been a great post for her Ladyblog – the day Ladybug dies!”

“The only thing dying,” Ladybug replied, “is your sick dream of death and destruction.”

Lila laughed again. “You get that line from a fortune cookie?”

“It’s already too late,” Ladybug said, and she glanced down.

Lila followed her gaze, and screamed.

Jolt leapt toward the Shadow Matrix, firing out his Miraculous whips. The hooked ends snagged both sides of the artefact, and Jolt reeled himself in.

As he did so, he focused the power of his entire spark and flooded the Shadow Matrix with it.

“Noooo!” Lila cried, and tried to stop him. The Shadow Matrix was no longer hers to command, however; the artefact united with Jolt’s overpowered spark – a spark that had refused to go out. Shockwave, Barricade, Cyclonus and Cemetery Wind… all had taken their shot at the blue Autobot, but none had succeeded in extinguishing it.

But this time, it was different.

“Now light our darkest hour,” Jolt said, as he and the Shadow Matrix became one in a brilliant flash of light.

And then he was gone.

Chapter Text

The rubble, detritus and debris that made up Lila’s giant stopped in midair, then dropped. Everything fell, like a meteor shower or a downpour of rock, concrete and metal.

Lila and Ladybug fell with it. Lila screamed as she plummeted; Ladybug ignored her and stayed on-mission.

Falling below her were the two Lucky Charm whips. There was no sign of Jolt, and only a burned crust of the Shadow Matrix remained.

Ladybug flung her yo-yo, snared the two whips, and pulled them in.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” she cried, and hurled them up into the sky.

Then she, Lila and everything else slammed into the huge crater where Paris had once stood.

And where it would stand again. The two Miraculous whips exploded into creation energy, and it flowed out in all directions and covered the entire crater. Then the energy flowed back inward to its point of origin, replacing everything that the Shadow Matrix had taken.

Ladybug stood and bathed in the healing power of her Miraculous, and watched as her beloved city rebuilt itself all around her.
Hawkmoth found himself back in his secret chamber, while the Agreste Estate rebuilt itself around him.

“It would seem you’ve won the day, Ladybug,” he said, “and Paris is saved. I am grateful, but it changes nothing. Tomorrow, our conflict continues.”

The Bourgeois family also found their home restored; Mr. and Mrs. Bourgeois hugged each other gratefully, while Chloe felt an urge to check her neck. She found nothing wrong, and felt an overpowering sense of relief.

Marinette’s parents saw their bakery and home rebuilt back to the way it had been, right down to the macaroons.

Cat Noir emerged from the building that hadn’t been there when he’d landed, following the explosion of the missile (and Hot Rod & Chromia). He checked his ring: still a minute and a half left before he transformed back. And wouldn’t you know it, there was a cheese shop right across the street!

Colonel Bienne awoke, back in his mech suit. He stood up, and noticed a small Decepticon coming online nearby.

“Yowza,” said Mohawk. “That was… I don’t know what that was…”

Bienne brought a mech fist down on the Decepticon’s head.

“Lestat?” he said.

“Here, sir,” said his trusty right-hand soldier. He stood with several TRF soldiers, all of whom were fit and healthy. The same was true for all of the Landmines, and every other TRF vehicle.

“Let’s make sure we’re all accounted for,” Bienne said, “and take this one into custody.” He handed the offline Mohawk to a Landmine, who in turn loaded him into a transport.

Alya Cesaire sat up and checked herself over.

“I’m… back,” she said.

“Alya, you’re alive!” Ladybug cried, tears of joy running down her face. She ran over to her friend and hugged her fiercely.

Lila rose to a sitting position and looked around. She saw the restoration of Paris, and clenched her fists.

Then she saw Ladybug, occupied with a resurrected Alya. Neither would be happy to see her, so she stood and walked away quickly.

One by one, the Autobots stood back up. All had been repaired… but one was missing.

“Wow, this is one crazy town!” Brains said, and he looked up at his fellow Autobots. “Looks like we all… hey, where’s Jolt?”

Ladybug excused herself from Alya and walked over to the group of Cybertronians.

“Ladybug! You see where Jolt’s at?” Brains asked.

“He… guys, I…” Ladybug began, but suddenly found a sword in front of her.

“Where is it?” said a fully restored Bludgeon. “Where is the Shadow Matrix?”

The Autobots started to raise their weapons, only to see Bugly and Mindwipe with guns trained on them.

“You’re too late,” Ladybug told the Decepticon. “It’s gone.”

“I am not fond of lies,” Bludgeon said. “I will have my revenge on all of you, and especially that girl Lila for her treachery, but I will make your deaths swift and merciful if you give me what is mine.

“Now, where is…”

“Here.”

They all turned to see Darksteel, also fully restored, kneeling on the street not far away. He held a small blackened shard in his hand.

“This,” he said, “is all that remains of the Shadow Matrix. The power is gone from it. We have lost.”

“No… no!” Bludgeon snarled. “This cannot be!” he raised his sword above his head…

A pole swiped his legs, and Bludgeon fell backward to the street. He reached for his sword, only for the same pole to swat it out of his reach.

“No more sword-slashing for you,” said Cat Noir.

Bugly and Mindwipe both turned to witness their master’s peril. Drift drew his swords, and a moment later the Decepticons’ severed gun arms fell to the pavement.

“You’re goin’ nowhere!” Bumblebee sampled as he and Hot Rod raised their blasters.

“On your knees, s’il vous plait,” Hot Rod said, and the two Decepticons reluctantly obeyed. “Toi aussi,” he turned to Darksteel, but the Decepticon was driving away at speed.

“He’s a slippery one,” said Nightbeat, who was very much enjoying having his legs back.

“Shall we give chase?” Blazemaster asked.

“You should be more concerned about me!” Bludgeon did a backflip and landed beside his sword. “I will…”

Several plasma blasts hit him at once, and he fell to his knees. Colonel Bienne and several Landmine units moved in from all sides, surrounding all of them.

“You are all to be detained,” Bienne said, “pending an investigation of today’s events and your roles in them.”

“Colonel Bienne…” Ladybug said.

“Who’s this guy?” Cat Noir asked Brains, who shrugged.

“Lestat,” Bienne called, “take these Decepticons into custody, starting with this one,” he pointed at Bludgeon.

“What about the Autobots?” Lestat asked as the Landmines moved in, carrying chains.

Bienne turned to look at the Autobots, and his eyes rested on Ladybug.

“I believe we only have enough space in the transports for these three,” he said, and smiled. “The rest of you,” he pointed at the Autobots, “will wait right here until we get back. Is that understood?”

Ladybug smiled and nodded.

Bienne made a gesture, and the Landmines dragged the now-chained Decepticons away.

“So… we really gonna just wait here for those guys?” Brains said.

Cat Noir swatted his head.

“For a guy called Brains,” he said, “you can sure be dumb sometimes.”

Ladybug saw motion in her peripheral vision. The Kwamis were flying toward her, each carrying their individual Miraculouses.
“Good to have you all back,” Ladybug said. “Guys, we’d better leave. I need to return these Kwamis to Master Fu, and…”

“Jolt?” Drift prompted.

Ladybug sighed.

“He’s gone,” she said. “I’m not completely sure how, but… he sacrificed himself to destroy the Shadow Matrix. He saved us all.”

Chapter Text

The Autobots and the humans split up and checked in with those they cared about. Ladybug returned to her home and became Marinette once more, and quickly went in search of her parents. She danced around the question of where she’d been when Paris had collapsed, choosing to focus on what was important… they were all alive and well.

Cat Noir became Adrien Agreste, and was found by his father safe in his room a few minutes later. He received a rare hug from his dad, which he fully embraced.

Hot Rod returned to his vigil outside the hospital, and was delighted to learn that Vivian Wembley was awake and recovering nicely. Very soon, they would return to England.

Bumblebee and Drift contacted Cade Yeager, and told him they would be returning Stateside.

Late that night, they met up behind the school one more time. Some Autobots were missing; apparently Brains and Nightbeat had chosen to leave the city together to pursue their own adventures. Chromia was also absent, but that night Andre the ice cream man returned to his home to find a brand new cart waiting for him…

“I’m thinking I might stay here, in Paris,” Blazemaster told the others. “The humans at TVi need a new chopper… it’ll be a good way to stay informed if any of the Decepticons resurface.”

“And I shall be only un petit distance away,” Hot Rod added, “should you need backup.”

“Will you keep the accent?” Cat Noir asked.

“Non!” Hot Rod said, a little too quickly. “Please do not be offended, mon ami, but I shall be replacing it toot suite.”

“Won’t be that easy,” Bumblebee sampled.

“At least you’re not Scottish any more,” Cat Noir told him.

“I want to know,” Drift said, “if that girl Lila will be brought to justice?”

“I don’t know,” Ladybug sighed. “There’s no real evidence of her part in what happened. The police might be able to charge her with theft, if there’s any surveillance footage showing her leaving the museum with the CyberMiraculous.”

“The what now?” Bumblebee sampled.

“That’s what Alya calls it on her blog,” Ladybug said. “I figured we’ll call it that from now on.”

“And let the name of the Shadow Matrix fade into legend,” Drift said. “That is good.”

“Anyway, Cat and I will keep an eye on Lila,” Ladybug said.

“And I will keep an eye out for Darksteel,” Blazemaster said. “He did, after all, escape with that last shard of the Shad... CyberMiraculous.”

“About that,” Cat Noir said. “Is it still dangerous?”

“I doubt it,” Drift replied. “Whatever Jolt did at the end, I’m sure he was thorough.”

At the mention of their fallen comrade’s name, they fell into silence.

“Toooo Jooooolt,” Bumblebee managed to say.

“To Jolt,” the other Autobots said.

“To Jolt!” Ladybug and Cat Noir said.

“Will we see you ‘bots again?” Ladybug asked when the moment had passed.

“We have our own battles to fight,” Hot Rod replied, “but I will not say non. Now, excuse moi, but my human friend is being discharged from the hospital.” He transformed back into his British car mode and took his exit.

“I’ll be around,” Blazemaster said, and he transformed into his new TVi chopper mode. “Just look up.” With that, he spun his rotors and took off into the sky.

“It’ll be good to know you’re still around,” Ladybug said.

“I was hoping he might give us a lift back to the United States,” Drift said. “We will have a long drive. And swim.”

“Let’s get to it,” Bumblebee said.

“Wait!” said Cat Noir, turning to Ladybug. “We didn’t do our thing.” He raised a fist. “Should we…?”

“Yes,” said Ladybug. “Bumblebee, Drift, put your fists out like this… now let’s all come together and…
“Pound it!”

“Pound it,” the Autobots agreed.

“We leave your city,” Drift said, “in your very safe hands.”

He and Bumblebee transformed, and they went their separate ways.

Alya lay in bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling. The last several hours had been a lot to process…

…especially her death. She had experienced something between the time when Lila had killed her and her miraculous resurrection. There had been others… she’d gone somewhere… and trying to remember was like trying to hold onto a dream.

Alya closed her eyes and concentrated. She had a feeling there was something important on the tip of her awareness…

Jolt. He’d been there at the end, just before she’d returned to life. They’d shared something… not a conversation so much as a shared truth from the Shadow Matrix. The artefact had been destroyed, but the energy remained. It was still out there…

…but not in any form that could be exploited.

Paris, and the world, was safe.

With that thought in her head, Alya dropped off to sleep.

In a car park not that far away, Darksteel hid himself in plain sight.

He’d lost. And he’d died. It was only by a twist of fate that he was still functional, and he intended to stay that way.

The power of the Shadow Matrix was still out there; he’d sensed it before his resurrection. He did not know how he might go about collecting energy, let alone using it to further his goals of conquest. He certainly wouldn’t be able to recharge the burnt-out remains of the Shadow Matrix, which currently sat forgotten on his back seat. For the moment, the Shadow Matrix didn’t concern him.

Darksteel had his sights on a different power…

Across the street, the Agreste’s gorilla-like bodyguard left the hospital and hailed a cab. He still looked rough around the edges from the battle at the museum, but according to the hospital database he was fit and able to go home.

A taxi pulled up, and the bodyguard climbed in.

When the taxi pulled away, Darksteel slid out of the parking lot and followed. He’d need to play this carefully, but a plan was already forming.

Hawksteel would rise again!

The End