The classroom buzzed with the end-of-day restlessness—bags zipping, chairs scraping, the last few notes of chatter echoing as Miss Bustier smiled at her students.
"I'm very pleased with how you all did on your last assignment," she said, gathering papers into a neat stack. "Some of you have really stepped up, and I do appreciate it. Now it's time to move on to our next one."
Alya barely heard her; she was cutting out a photo of Ladybug, holding the little paper hero in front of her classmates' faces and laughing quietly to herself. Across the room, Chloé was pointing at Miss Bustier with that smug little grin she always wore when she thought no one would notice. Miss Bustier noticed.
"Alya, is Marinette still in the girls' room?"
Alya looked up, caught off guard. "Uh, I don't know, miss."
The bell rang, and the classroom erupted. Miss Bustier handed out papers as the students packed up. "Tonight, I want you all to read chapter three of The Breathtaking France: The First Thousand Years. Then answer this simple questionnaire." She handed two sheets to Alya. "See to it that Marinette gets hers, please."
"Got it," Alya said, tucking them into her folder.
Outside, she tried calling Marinette, but all she got was the cheerful voicemail.
"It's Marinette, leave a message. Beep! Hehe."
"Of course," Alya muttered.
She checked the bathroom—empty. "Marinette?" No answer.
She poked her head into the hall and spotted Rose and Juleka. "Hey, have you seen Marinette anywhere?" They both shook their heads.
Her search took her to the locker room, and that's when she froze. Through the crack of a half-open locker, she saw Chloé pulling something red and black from a hanger—a Ladybug costume. A yo-yo glinted in her manicured hand.
Alya's eyes widened. "No way… Chloé's Ladybug?" she whispered.
Moments later, Chloé strutted out of the building and climbed into her limo like royalty. Alya hurried after her, phone pressed to her ear. "Hey, Marinette, ring me ASAP. We gotta talk."
Out front, she spotted Nino and Jinx. Nino was rattling off wild ideas for carnival rides, while Jinx, clearly unimpressed, was sketching something on his tablet.
"Nino, Jinx—wait!" Alya ran up, slightly out of breath.
Nino turned, easygoing as ever. "Yeah?"
Jinx didn't even look up. "What?"
"I need your help," Alya said.
"With what?" Nino asked, but Alya shushed him, already dialing Marinette again.
"It's Marinette, leave a message. Beep! Hehe."
Alya groaned. "I hate when she disappears like this. She's not calling me back! Where is that girl?"
"Seriously," Nino said with a sigh. "My man Adrien's the exact same way. But, hey, I guess you gotta be sly when Mr. Control Freak is your daddy-o—"
He froze mid-sentence when he felt the weight of a stare. Jinx had looked up, eyes glowing faintly violet, expression unreadable. The glare was cold enough to freeze lava.
"N-no offense, J-Jinx," Nino stammered.
Jinx blinked once, his glare gone as quickly as it appeared. He went back to tapping notes on his tablet, as if nothing happened.
Alya's phone buzzed with the evening broadcast. Nadja Chamack's voice rang out from the speaker:
"Once again, Ladybug and Cat Noir have saved Paris from the clutches of a menacing villain."
Alya's eyes flicked toward the shiny red yo-yo she'd seen earlier in Chloé's locker. Her mind connected the dots. "Hey!" she whispered to Nino. "I think I just figured out who the real Ladybug is." She leaned closer. "Chloé."
Jinx finally looked up from his screen, and for a second, he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. This girl can't be serious, he thought. He didn't know Alya well, but from what he'd seen, she was sharp—so sharp that he'd even thought about offering her a marketing job for his carnival one day. But this theory? This was comedy gold.
Nino burst out laughing. "Chloé? Seriously? She's too self-absorbed to think of anyone but herself. You are cray-cray, lady."
Alya crossed her arms. "I am so not! You'll see."
Jinx chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. "I'm with Nino. I've known Chloé longer than I've known Alix, and I can say with one-hundred-percent certainty—she doesn't have the personality or the guts to pull off being Ladybug. She'd have blown her cover the moment someone said 'thank you.'"
Nino laughed again. Alya scowled but said nothing, her eyes still gleaming with determination. Jinx went back to his designs, smirking quietly as the rain began to patter against the school's glass doors.
Pari. Ladybug is jumping above ceilings. She reaches a billboard and detransforms into Marinette.
Tikki: Time flies fast when you're saving the world. Day's already over!
Marinette: Tell me about it. I missed an entire half day of school AND half day of seeing Adrien!The rooftops of Paris glowed orange in the fading light as Ladybug vaulted between them, her yo-yo slicing the air with practiced ease. She landed lightly on a billboard and detransformed in a flash of pink light, Marinette breathing out a long sigh as Tikki hovered beside her.
"Time flies fast when you're saving the world," the kwami said cheerfully. "Day's already over!"
"Tell me about it," Marinette groaned. "I missed an entire half day of school and a half day of seeing Adrien!"
"Whoever's behind all of this sure is keeping us on our toes."
Marinette smirked. "You don't have any toes."
Tikki stuck out her tongue, and Marinette laughed before slipping through her bedroom window and down into the bakery.
Sabine was wiping her hands on a towel when her daughter appeared. "Alya brought your school bag home for you, Marinette."
"Thanks, Mom."
"You've seemed so forgetful lately. Maybe you just need some fresh air—and a little exercise for that growing brain of yours."
Marinette gave a weak laugh. "Good idea, Mom. I'll start tomorrow." Sabine kissed her forehead and went back to the counter, and Marinette trudged upstairs.
At her desk, she flipped open her bag and groaned. "Ladybug saved Paris from destruction again, but who's gonna save me from my homework?" She noticed a small sticky note attached to one of the papers. "'Call me. I know who the real Ladybug is.'"
Tikki gasped. "No way! You think she knows?"
Marinette sighed. "I doubt it. Alya always jumps to conclusions before she's got the facts straight."
"Still, maybe check just in case?"
"No worries, Tikki. I've got it covered."
She picked up her phone—no bars. "Dang it. No signal." She stepped out onto the balcony and spotted a technician on the cell tower down the street.
"Sorry, miss!" he called. "Tower maintenance. No signal for the next hour!"
Tikki hovered near her shoulder. "Come on, Marinette. Try again later. Let's go finish that homework."
Tikki: Whoever's behind all of this sure is keeping us on our toes!
Marinette: (laughs) But you don't have any toes!
(Marinette enters the bakery.)
Sabine: Alya brought your school bag home for you, Marinette.
Marinette: Hey mom...
Sabine: You seem so forgetful these days. Maybe you just need some fresh air and extra exercise for that growing brain of yours!
Marinette: Good idea, mom. I'll start tomorrow. (Sabine kisses her)
Scene: Marinette's room. Marinette brings out the homework from her schoolbag.
Marinette: Ladybug saved Paris fromMarinette sat at her desk, chin propped on her hand, staring down at her untouched homework. The rain outside tapped against the window, matching the rhythm of her thoughts.
"Destruction again," she sighed, flipping her notebook closed. "But who's gonna save me from my homework?" Her eyes fell on a sticky note stuck to the corner of her desk. "'Call me. I know who the real Ladybug is.'"
Tikki hovered over her shoulder, eyes wide. "No way! You think she actually knows?"
Marinette rolled her eyes. "I doubt it. Alya's always jumping to conclusions before she has her facts straight."
Tikki frowned. "Still, maybe—"
"No worries, Tikki. I've got it covered." Marinette grabbed her phone, dialed, and frowned when it stayed silent. "Dang. No signal."
She moved to the balcony, hoping for a bar or two, only to see a man in an orange vest on the cell tower.
"Sorry, miss," he called down. "Maintenance. The whole neighborhood's down—no signal for the next hour."
Marinette sighed. "Perfect timing."
"Come on," Tikki said, trying to cheer her up. "Try again later. Let's just finish your homework."
Meanwhile at the school, Chloé made her grand entrance with Sabrina trailing behind, flashing fake smiles at students like she owned the building. "Hey there! You look totally fab! Uh, no, not you. And by the way, it's still a month from Halloween, you know?"
Nino, leaning against a locker with Jinx beside him, snorted. "You need your head examined. If she's a superhero, then I'm the Wizard of Oz."
"I'm telling you, she's Ladybug," Alya insisted, phone in hand, eyes sharp with obsession.
Nino folded his arms. "You got proof?"
Alya grinned. "Working on it."
At that exact moment across town, Marinette was jolting upright in bed. "Tikki! What time is it?"
"Uh…" Tikki looked at the clock.
"School starts in—" Marinette grabbed her phone and paled. "An hour ago?!"
At the locker room, Nino nervously stood beside Jinx as Alya fixed his collar like a stage mom. "Don't mess up your lines," she whispered.
He gulped. "Lines? What lines?"
"Just do what I said!" she hissed, pushing him toward Chloé.
"Oh, uh… Ladybug! Look over there!"
Chloé blinked. "What kind of lame joke is this?"
Nino tried again, fumbling. "Did you, uh, see Ladybug yesterday? Isn't she amazing? I wonder who she really is…"
Chloé smirked. "Up too late DJ-ing again, Nino? You obviously didn't get your beauty sleep."
Alya was already snapping a photo of Chloé's open locker. Sabrina spotted her instantly. "Chloé! Alya's looking in your locker!"
Alya panicked. "That's a lie! I so was not—"
Kim grabbed her phone and laughed. "Gotcha!"
"Hey! Give it back!" Alya lunged for it, but too late—Chloé saw the photo.
"Well, well," she purred. "Who's the little liar now?"
Before Kim could laugh again, whack—Jinx's hand came down hard on the back of his head.
"Ow—what the—" Kim turned and froze when he saw who it was.
Jinx stood there, arms crossed, violet eyes glowing faintly.
Kim went quiet immediately.
Minutes later, everyone was packed into the principal's office. Alya, Nino, Chloé, Sabrina—and Jinx, dragged in by Alya because even the principal listened when Jinx spoke.
Chloé flipped her hair dramatically. "She's guilty of invasion of privacy! And I have proof!"
Alya gawked. "What?! Seriously? All I did was take a measly photo!"
Principal Damoclès adjusted his glasses nervously. "I'm sorry, Chloé, but there's no school policy on… invasion of privacy."
"Then breaking and entering!" Chloé shot back.
"I didn't break in!" Alya snapped. "It was open!"
"Was anything stolen?" Damoclès asked.
"Only my very soul!" Chloé wailed, pressing her hand to her heart. "My locker is my secret garden! He who enters uninvited burglarizes my inner being!"
Damoclès sighed. "Right… one hour of detention for you, Alya."
"One hour?" Chloé gasped in outrage. "That's it? Sabrina!"
Sabrina perked up immediately. "The school rules say that any student guilty of theft should be suspended for one full week!"
"Yes, but she didn't actually steal anything—"
"I'm sure my father, the mayor, would see it differently," Chloé said sweetly, already pulling out her phone.
Damoclès blanched. "Wait, no need to bother the honorable mayor with—uh—minor locker matters…"
The phone started to ring.
"Suspended!" he blurted out quickly. "You're suspended for a week, Alya!"
Alya's jaw dropped. "What?! That's so unfair! I'm protesting this on the school blog!"
"The school blog," Damoclès added wearily, "is hereby suspended as well."
Alya's glare could've burned holes through Chloé's smug grin. "She's no superhero—she's super psycho!"
She turned to storm out, but Jinx finally spoke, his voice lazy but sharp as glass. "Aww, that's a shame. I liked that blog. Helped me figure out who to donate to."
The room went dead silent.
Damoclès' face paled. He knew what that meant. Jinx's family funded half the school's budget through the Agreste Foundation—and Jinx himself had Gabriel Agreste's ear.
"You wouldn't want your students to stop donating to charity… would you?" Jinx asked, tilting his head, his tone dangerously casual.
The principal's voice cracked. "N-now, Jinx, of course not! Uh, Miss Césaire, your suspension is… reduced to two days. Blog privileges will resume after that."
"What?!" Chloé shrieked.
Jinx smirked faintly. "Good enough. Though I might have to cut my spending for a month or two."
That did it. Damoclès sagged in defeat, rubbing his temples.
Alya shot Chloé a triumphant look as she left, Jinx following behind with his hands in his pockets. The second they were in the hallway, he stretched, a faint grin tugging at his lips.
"Man," he muttered, "I love this school."
Marinette came sprinting up the steps, hair a little messy, bag swinging behind her. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm so, so late!" she muttered under her breath, dodging a few students before bursting through the doors.
Meanwhile, as she ran upstairs, Alya was coming down, storming out of the building with her phone pressed to her ear. "Come on, pick up, girl!" she said as the line clicked.
"It's Marinette—leave a message. Beep! Hehe!" came the recorded voice.
Before Alya could groan in frustration, her phone screen flickered strangely. A dark energy pulsed through the device as a purple butterfly symbol appeared on the glass.
Hawk Moth's voice echoed through her mind. "Lady Wifi… I heard through the grapevine that you're seeking to unmask Ladybug. I'd like to help you… if you'll help me."
Alya's eyes hardened, her lips curling into a smirk. "I'll expose the lies of anyone who covers up the truth. Sign me up!"
In a flash, her phone's glow intensified, and she transformed—her brown hair whipping around her face as a sleek black-and-magenta suit formed around her. The screens on her earrings flickered to life. "Lady Wifi is on air."
Back at school, Marinette hurried into the literature classroom, panting. "Sorry I'm late!"
She froze when she noticed Adrien sitting beside Nino—and Jinx. But Jinx… looked different.
Gone was his usual layered, elegant look. Instead, he wore a short black crop top beneath a long hooded coat, black shorts held by a studded belt, and a chain with a small cross around his neck. His dark purple eyes caught the light when he turned, a lazy smirk pulling at his lips.
Marinette blinked twice, heat rising in her cheeks before she caught herself staring.
"Took you long enough," Nino teased.
Marinette leaned closer, whispering, "Where's Alya? I can't find her anywhere."
Nino leaned closer to Marinette, lowering his voice. "She's been suspended…"
Marinette froze mid-step. "What?!"
Before he could explain, Miss Bustier's calm but firm voice cut through the room. "Marinette, if you're going to come in late, could you at least try to do it discreetly?"
"Sorry, Miss Bustier!" Marinette blurted out before slinking toward her desk. The moment the teacher turned her back, she whispered sharply, "What happened to her?"
"The short story?" Nino whispered back. "Alya got accused of breaking into Chloé's locker. You know—the one she calls Ladybug's locker."
Marinette's brain short-circuited. "WHAT?!" she yelled, louder than she meant to.
Every head turned. Miss Bustier sighed. "That's it, Marinette. Please go to the principal's office."
"Oh—uh—right. Sorry!" she said, grabbing her bag and stumbling toward the door. Her cheeks burned as the class broke into muffled whispers behind her.
As soon as the door shut, Adrien leaned over to Nino. "What are you talking about?"
Nino rolled his eyes. "Exactly what it sounds like, bro. Alya's convinced Chloé is Ladybug. Totally crazy."
Adrien blinked, then noticed Chloé at her desk, fluttering her lashes and giving him a wink. He looked away instantly, sighing, and pretended to scroll through his tablet while thinking, Alya really outdid herself this time.
Meanwhile, down the hall, Marinette rushed to the principal's office. "Mr. Damoclès?" she called, knocking once before pushing open the door. "Sir, it's me—Marinette. I just wanted to—"
Her words stopped dead.
The principal was completely still at his desk, frozen mid-gesture, a glowing pink "pause" symbol hovering in front of him.
"What in the world…" Marinette stepped closer, then flinched when the computer screen behind him flickered to life. A digital mask filled the screen—Alya's face, transformed and grinning with malicious confidence.
"I'm Lady Wifi," the voice announced through the speakers, "revealer of the truth! And for my first exposé, our dear principal has a confession to make. Tell us, Denis Damoclès—did you unjustly suspend a student named Alya Césaire today?"
The principal's expression twisted, his voice trembling. "Uh… yes, I did."
Lady Wifi leaned closer to the camera. "So you were biased? Unfair? Totally unjust?"
"Yes," he croaked.
Marinette's stomach dropped. She recognized the phone in Lady Wifi's hand—Alya's phone. And the charm on the case… the ladybug keychain she herself had given her as a lucky gift. "Oh no… Alya."
Tikki fluttered out from Marinette's purse, her tiny face full of worry. "Marinette, that's your best friend! You'll have to fight her."
Marinette clenched her fists. "No. I'm not fighting her—I'm saving her." She looked toward the window, resolve hardening in her eyes. "Tikki, spots on!"
With a brilliant flash of pink light, Marinette vanished—and Ladybug took her place.
Inside the office, Lady Wifi smirked at her own reflection on the screen. "For my next scoop, I'll be taking you to meet the girl who's been hiding behind the Ladybug mask." She raised her hand, tossing a glowing pink icon onto Damoclès, freezing him in place. "Stay connected!"
She shut off the feed, the screen flickering to black.
Back in the classroom, Miss Bustier's phone buzzed. Her face paled as she read the news update. "Everyone, for your own safety, go straight home right now!" she said, trying to stay calm. "And—uh—don't forget to read chapters four and five tonight!"
The room erupted into chaos as chairs scraped back and students rushed for the exit, chattering nervously. Jinx stayed seated, arms folded, watching the scene unfold with an unreadable smirk.
"Guess the real show's about to start," he muttered under his breath before standing up and heading for the door.
Adrien paced near the sinks, brows furrowed. "If Alya's right, and Chloé is Ladybug, then Lady Wifi's gonna head straight for her house!"
Plagg floated lazily beside him, chewing on a chunk of Camembert. "And that also means…" He grinned mischievously. "You've got a crush on Chloé! Ahaha!"
Adrien groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Plagg, now's really not the time."
"Sure, sure. Defend your damsel, lover boy."
Adrien rolled his eyes but smirked faintly. "Plagg, claws out!"
A flash of green light filled the room as Adrien transformed into Cat Noir, the air humming faintly with power before he darted out the window toward the mayor's mansion.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the school, Jinx stepped quietly into an empty classroom, closing the door behind him. He took out his ornate pocket watch and clicked it open with one hand. From within, a soft hum echoed before a small, black, crow-like kwami fluttered out, stretching her wings with a yawn.
"Let me guess," Nocturn muttered, voice still drowsy. "You sensed an akuma. So… we're going hero again?"
Jinx's violet eyes flicked toward her, his tone flat but laced with dry humor. "I hate that you confuse what I do with hero work. I'm just… curing my boredom."
"Yeah," she said with a sly grin. "That sounds like you. I mean, you did cause chaos with the other two last time."
"Hmm." Jinx's lips curled faintly at the memory. "Sometimes I wonder how those two are doing. If I remember right, they couldn't stand each other. But anyway…" He snapped the pocket watch shut. "You ready?"
Nocturn floated to his shoulder. "Sure. But you're not bringing Yuki?"
"She wanted to nap," Jinx replied. "Left her bracelets in my room—with ice cream. Don't judge me."
Nocturn chuckled softly.
Jinx lifted the watch, his voice dropping to a smooth, quiet command. "Nocturn, bring silence."
In an instant, a swirl of black mist enveloped him. When it cleared, Marionne stood in his place—the air around him colder, heavier, his presence sharp like the edge of a blade. The grin under his haunting mask was almost playful.
He vanished in a whisper of black smoke, reappearing moments later atop the school roof. His gaze swept across the city until it landed on a familiar black silhouette leaping from building to building—Cat Noir.
"Well," Marionne murmured, tilting his head slightly. "Looks like the little cat's heading somewhere important."
He crouched low, his coat rippling in the wind. "And judging by how close he is to the mayor's place… I'd say I just confirmed my suspicion." His voice dropped, a faint trace of satisfaction threading through it. "The miraculous holders are students here."
With that, Marionne stepped off the edge of the roof—and vanished again, a trail of black mist curling where he once stood, following silently after Cat Noir into the deepening chaos.
Cat Noir skimmed along the underside of the ceiling, boots barely whispering against the stone as he slowed near the hotel façade. His eyes caught on a flash of red below, and his heart skipped in a way he didn't like at all. Chloé Bourgeois stood in the open, grinning, dressed head-to-toe in a painfully accurate Ladybug costume, twirling a yo-yo like she owned the city.
"What?" Cat Noir muttered, landing lightly on a beam. "That… that can't be—"
A familiar red-spotted figure dropped beside him, calm despite the absurdity unfolding below. "Who's being the sneaky kitty now?" Ladybug said, arms crossed.
Cat Noir turned to her, relief crashing into him so fast he nearly laughed. "Oh. Thank everything. But—"
She tilted her head toward Chloé, unimpressed. "Come on. You don't actually believe she's the real Ladybug."
A third voice drifted in, dry and amused. "I would have to agree."
Both heroes jumped.
Marionne was suddenly there, perched far too close for comfort, coat fluttering despite the still air. His presence pressed in on them like a cold draft.
"Dude!" Cat Noir yelped. "That is not cool!"
Ladybug pointed at him, flustered. "Yeah! You can't just sneak up on people like that!"
Marionne shrugged lazily. "Don't blame me for your lack of awareness." His head tilted toward Chloé. "But back on the matter at hand… I agree with the cockroach."
"Cockroach?!" Ladybug snapped.
Marionne continued unbothered. "Chloé's public arrogance doesn't match this bug's…" He paused, clearly searching. "…unique charm. Or her confidence."
Cat Noir snorted before he could stop himself. When Ladybug shot him a look that could have shattered glass, he immediately turned away, whistling. "Uh—yeah! Totally! How could I ever make that mistake, m'lady?" He flashed the eyes. It did absolutely nothing.
Below them, Chloé kept fiddling with the yo-yo, striking poses for imaginary cameras—right up until she tangled herself and toppled sideways with an indignant shriek.
Ladybug sighed. "And besides, who would even believe she's the original? She's obviously just a superfan. A copycat."
"Right," Cat Noir agreed.
Upstairs, in Chloé's room, the fake Ladybug struggled against the yo-yo wrapped around her legs, fury written all over her face. Her phone rang.
"Hello?" she snapped.
The phone flared neon pink.
Chloé screamed and threw it across the room just as Alya—no, Lady Wifi—materialized in a shimmer of glowing icons.
"Well hello there, Ladybug," Lady Wifi purred.
Chloé bolted, only to freeze mid-step as a bright pause symbol snapped into place over her body.
"We've got Wifi," Ladybug muttered as she and Cat Noir burst into motion.
Cameras blinked to life around the room as Lady Wifi grinned. "Well, well. Looks like my hunch was correct. Everyone thinks the girl beneath the Ladybug costume is a little angel." She yanked off Chloé's mask with a flourish. "Think again, people! The real Ladybug is—Chloé Bourgeois!"
Ladybug and Cat Noir landed in the doorway.
Lady Wifi turned sharply. "Who are you?"
Cat Noir stepped forward and struck a ridiculous pose. "Uh… hi."
Lady Wifi blinked, then stared at Chloé. "But I thought you were Ladybug!"
"Sorry to bust your scoop," Cat Noir said lightly. "Next time, double-check your facts."
Lady Wifi's smile hardened. With a flick of her phone, the pause icons vanished. Chloé immediately tripped, face-planting into the carpet.
"Alya?" Ladybug said softly.
"Alya's disconnected," Lady Wifi replied coldly. "I'm Lady Wifi now. And breaking news—Ladybug, let's find out who you really are."
"Really?" Marionne drawled from the corner. "That's the angle you're going with?"
"No time," Ladybug snapped, already moving. "Marionne, follow me."
They ran.
As alarms echoed through the stairwell, Cat Noir glanced at Ladybug. "So… plan?"
"She gets her power from her phone," Ladybug said, vaulting over a railing. "So we take her somewhere with no signal. Basement."
Cat Noir grinned. "No service, no power. I like it, my lady."
Behind them, Marionne laughed quietly, low and pleased, already knowing this was about to get far more interesting.
A flash of neon pink tore through the air.
Lady Wifi's pause icon screamed toward Ladybug like a living thing, and Ladybug twisted mid-run, the symbol skimming past her shoulder and slamming into the wall behind them. The stone froze instantly, cracking under its own rigidity.
"We've gotta go lower!" Ladybug shouted, already pivoting toward the stairs.
Lady Wifi's laughter echoed from above, sharp and distorted, bouncing off glass and marble. "I've got you now, Ladybug!"
Ladybug vaulted the railing without slowing. "Get ready!"
As they dropped down the stairwell, Cat Noir risked a glance sideways, adrenaline making him talk when he really shouldn't. "So… what do you do when you're not Ladybug?"
Ladybug nearly missed her landing. She stared at him for half a second, wide-eyed, then forced herself back into motion. "Can't you see we're a little busy right now?"
She skidded to a stop, scanning upward. "She's gone. She went back into the hotel."
Cat Noir tested the nearest door. A glowing pink lock icon shimmered across it, solid as steel. He tried another. Same thing. Every exit was sealed.
"She locked all the doors," he muttered, then glanced at Ladybug with a crooked smile that didn't quite hide his nerves. "Hey… you realize we might actually know each other in normal life."
Ladybug grabbed another handle and yanked uselessly. "Doubt it. It's locked."
A calm voice drifted in behind them. "Then how about we take a flight up."
Before either of them could ask what that meant, Marionne placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
The world folded.
Black smoke swallowed them whole, sound stretching thin like it was being pulled through water. Then—impact.
Ladybug and Cat Noir sprawled onto the floor of the top flight of stairs, dizzy, vision swimming, stomachs doing things they strongly objected to. Cat Noir groaned. Ladybug pressed a palm to her head, blinking hard.
Marionne straightened like nothing had happened, a low chuckle escaping him. "Don't worry. That's normal. Even I felt dizzy my first time."
Cat Noir rolled onto his back. "You could've… warned us."
They pushed themselves up just as Ladybug noticed the door at the end of the landing. No pink lock. No glowing icon.
"She left this one open," Cat Noir said quietly.
Ladybug squared her shoulders. "Get ready for an ambush on three. One. Two. Three!"
They burst through—
—and skidded to a halt.
The dining room was empty.
Long tables stretched across the space, pristine and untouched, but every single one was littered with phones. Dozens of them. Screens glowing faintly, lenses angled just so.
Cat Noir deflated. "Ahhh… so much for the ambush."
Marionne glanced around, eyes unreadable behind the mask. "Never be disappointed when things don't go as planned," he said calmly. "That's as much life as it is death."
Ladybug frowned, unease crawling up her spine. "Where is she hiding? And why are there so many phones?"
As if answering her, one of the devices flared bright pink.
Lady Wifi exploded out of it in a cascade of light, already mid-attack.
Marionne reacted instantly.
He grabbed them again—harder this time—and the world lurched.
Time itself seemed to snap backward.
They reappeared several meters away, right where they'd been moments earlier when they first stepped onto the floor. The phones were still there. The air still hummed. But the attack hadn't happened.
Ladybug staggered, knees buckling. Cat Noir caught the wall, breathing hard, heart pounding like it wanted out of his chest.
"That—" Cat Noir swallowed. "That felt… wrong."
Ladybug nodded shakily, forcing herself upright. "Yeah. I don't think we're supposed to feel that."
Marionne released them, already turning back toward the sea of glowing screens. "You'll adapt," he said lightly. "Or you won't."
The phones around them began to light up one by one.
And Lady Wifi's laughter filled the room again.
Ladybug's yo-yo snapped forward and wrapped cleanly around Lady Wifi's waist—just for a second. Pink light fractured, and Lady Wifi dissolved into pixels, reappearing atop one phone, then another, skipping across the room like a malicious signal bouncing between towers.
"Ha! You can't get me!" Lady Wifi sang.
"Yes I can," Ladybug shot back, already moving.
Her yo-yo whirled in tight, furious arcs, smashing phones one by one. Screens shattered, sparks flew, and Lady Wifi cursed as her anchors vanished beneath her feet. She bolted for the kitchen, slipping through the doorway just as Ladybug chased after her—only for the door to slam shut behind Ladybug with a glowing lock snapping into place.
"Ladybug!" Cat Noir pounded on the door. "Hold on in there!" He flicked his staff open, scanning the hotel map projected across its surface. "Of course… the service elevator!"
Marionne tilted his head, unimpressed. "Or," he said calmly, "we take a more direct route."
The floor beneath them darkened, cracked, and rotted away as decay rippled outward. The ground gave up entirely, opening into a jagged shaft. Without hesitation, both of them jumped.
Inside the kitchen, Ladybug was already on the defensive. Pink pause icons slammed into the walls around her, narrowly missing her head, until two of them snapped into place and pinned her wrists flat against the tiles. She struggled, teeth clenched, as a glowing camera icon floated up in front of her face.
Lady Wifi's voice boomed from a projection splashed across the sky outside. "Who is Ladybug? A superhero… or a super-weirdo? How can we trust someone hiding behind a mask? We have the right to know!"
She reached for Ladybug's mask and yanked.
Nothing happened.
Lady Wifi froze. "Why doesn't it come off?"
Ladybug swallowed, then shrugged as best she could. "Uh… because it's magic?"
The ceiling above them exploded inward.
Concrete and dust rained down as Marionne and Cat Noir crashed through the ruined floor, leaving a straight, ugly hole stretching all the way up to the top level. Marionne landed smoothly despite the fall. Cat Noir hit beside him in a roll and popped back up, staff spinning into his hand.
"You're out of minutes, Lady Wifi!" Cat Noir called.
"Oh, how romantic," Lady Wifi sneered. "The tomcat's come to save his love bug."
"I am not his love bug!" Ladybug snapped.
Marionne glanced between them. "Really?"
Cat Noir coughed. "We'll… revisit that later."
Lady Wifi struck first.
A burst of pink energy slammed Cat Noir sideways, sending him skidding straight into the freezer room. The door slammed shut behind him, cold air blasting outward. His ring slipped from his finger, clattering across the frozen floor.
Plagg popped out mid-slide, teeth chattering. "Brrr—wow. Very chilly in here."
"My ring!" Adrien hissed, scrambling across the ice. "I could really use some help right now!"
Back in the kitchen, Marionne was already moving, cutting through Lady Wifi's attacks with effortless precision. Every pause icon she fired missed him by inches, his movements smooth and economical—until his boot caught a slick plate on the floor. Just for a heartbeat, he stumbled.
Lady Wifi seized it.
A pause icon slammed into him, freezing him mid-motion. His body locked in place, breath trapped in his lungs.
She laughed. "Well, well… what am I going to do with both of you?"
Hawk Moth's voice slipped into her ear, urgent and sharp. "Force Ladybug to use her Lucky Charm. It will revert her transformation. Her identity will be revealed—and her Miraculous will be mine. Hurry. That pause won't hold Marionne for long."
Lady Wifi glanced at Marionne, already watching cracks spiderweb across the glowing icon pinning him. She smirked, then turned back to Ladybug.
"If you don't hurry," she taunted, "your crush is about to become a cat popsicle."
With a flick of her wrist, she released Ladybug's restraints. "Good luck!" she sang. "I've got other news to cover!"
She vanished in a flash of pink.
Ladybug staggered forward, arms dropping free, eyes darting between the freezer door, the broken ceiling, and the empty space where Lady Wifi had been.
"Huh…?"
Outside Le Grand Paris, the street was clogged with flashing lights and anxious murmurs. The mayor stood rigid between two police cars, fingers clenched tight as he stared at the hotel entrance like sheer will might force answers out of the stone walls.
"Come on…" André muttered under his breath.
The doors burst open and Chloé stumbled out, throwing herself into her father's arms. He wrapped her up instantly, voice breaking as he reassured her, hands trembling as he checked her over. Chloé, already half bored now that the danger had passed, pulled back and glanced at her phone.
The screen flared pink.
Her smile vanished.
Lady Wifi tore herself out of the display in a burst of digital static, soaring up into the open air like a living broadcast signal. Screens across Paris flickered to life.
"What's up, peeps!" Lady Wifi's voice rang out, amplified and smug. "Listen up, everyone! I'm about to bring you the award-winning scoop you've all been waiting for!"
Inside the hotel kitchen, Ladybug slammed her shoulder against the freezer door again, panic tightening her chest.
"I'll get you out of there, Cat Noir!" she shouted.
Inside, Adrien hugged himself, teeth chattering as frost crept along the walls. "Take your time!" he called back, forcing cheer into his voice through the cold.
Outside, Lady Wifi grinned into the camera. "Don't blink, folks, 'cause Ladybug is about to drop the bomb—her real identity!"
Ladybug sucked in a breath. "Lucky Charm!"
Red light spiraled around her as a small box clattered into her hands. She stared at it, then at the humming microwave nearby, eyes widening.
"This better be a very lucky box…" She shoved it inside the microwave and slammed the door. "Of course. Microwaves."
The machine whined to life, the pink lock icon on the freezer door flickering, then melting away under the interference.
Inside, Adrien's eyes lit up. "Gotcha!" He snatched his ring off the icy floor and slipped it back on just as the door burst open.
Cat Noir tumbled forward, shivering hard, and Ladybug caught him instinctively.
"You okay?" she asked quickly. Her earrings beeped a sharp warning.
Cat Noir nodded, teeth chattering. "You used your Lucky Charm… not much time left."
Lady Wifi's laughter echoed through the building. "Exactly!"
"Pan," Cat Noir said quickly. "Now."
Ladybug grabbed one without question. Cat Noir leapt up, slapping it over the floating camera icon just as it blinked into existence. The feed cut to static.
"What is she doing?" Lady Wifi snapped.
Hawk Moth's voice hissed in her ear, tight with urgency. "Don't let my Miraculous escape!"
"Right!" Lady Wifi barked—
And then everything went dark.
The lights cut out all at once, plunging the hallway into shadow. A single, slow whistle echoed through the air, low and haunting, sending a chill straight down Lady Wifi's spine. Her breath caught as she turned.
Under the lone emergency light stood Marionne.
The glow barely touched him, just enough to outline the stitched grin of his mask and the twin sickles resting easily in his hands. Black tears seemed to glisten beneath the painted eyes as he tilted his head, listening to her heartbeat race.
Lady Wifi couldn't move.
Then he was gone.
A blur of motion, metal flashing, the whistle cutting off as Marionne lunged.
Back in the kitchen, the building shuddered—hard. Dust rained from the ceiling, and something crashed violently several floors away.
Ladybug froze. Cat Noir looked at her, eyes narrowing.
"…That's her," he said quietly.
They didn't need to say who her was fighting.
Cat Noir bolted for the service elevator, staff snapping open. "I'll jam the antenna!"
"Be careful!" Ladybug called after him.
Another violent impact shook the hotel, deeper this time, echoing through the bones of the building. Somewhere above them, a fight far beyond normal rules was unfolding—and both of them knew it.
Lady Wifi burst out of the elevator like a glitch given form—staggering, breathing hard, her once-pristine digital suit now torn in jagged strips, flickering in and out around her body. Cuts lined her arms, her face, even her legs, like something had been tearing her apart piece by piece. Whatever had happened down there… it hadn't gone her way.
Cat Noir was already moving.
He ducked under a glowing pink pause icon that slammed into the wall behind him, leaving a frozen distortion in the air. Another came from the side—he twisted, rolled, boots skidding across the polished floor before he vaulted forward and sprinted up the last set of stairs toward the rooftop.
He burst through the door—
—and saw it.
The antenna.
"There you are…"
He didn't hesitate.
"Cataclysm!"
Black energy crawled over his hand, pulsing, hungry—ready to erase.
Behind him, Lady Wifi let out a sharp, furious laugh, even as her voice wavered with strain. "Nice idea, kitty cat—but I'm not gonna let you cut me off that easily!"
A barrage of pause symbols tore through the air toward him.
He moved.
Fast.
Dodging left, then right, vaulting over one blast and sliding under another, his staff snapping out to deflect what he couldn't avoid. The rooftop became a blur of motion—pink flashes, black streaks, wind tearing at his suit.
Down below, Ladybug's voice echoed faintly, urgent. "Hurry, Cat Noir…"
Lady Wifi pushed forward despite her injuries, desperate now. She ducked his strike, countered with a blast that shattered part of his staff mid-swing. It split apart, clattering uselessly across the rooftop.
She saw it.
The moment.
Cat Noir lunging for the antenna—
"NOOO!"
She raised both hands, pink light flaring as dozens of pause icons began forming at once—
—and then everything stopped.
Not because of her.
A cloud of black mist curled into existence beside her.
Marionne stepped out of it like he'd always been there.
No warning.
No hesitation.
His fist drove straight into her face.
The impact cracked across the rooftop like thunder, snapping her head sideways and launching her into the nearest wall hard enough to spiderweb the concrete.
She dropped.
Cat Noir didn't waste it.
His hand slammed into the antenna.
The Cataclysm spread instantly, devouring metal, wires, signal—everything—until the entire structure collapsed into nothing.
The city went quiet.
Lady Wifi gasped as the pink glow flickered violently around her, her power unraveling. "Lost… the signal…"
Cat Noir landed in front of her in one smooth motion. "Gimme that phone!"
He lunged—but she twisted away, barely, still fast even in her broken state.
Then—
a red blur.
Ladybug.
She snatched the phone clean out of Alya's hands mid-motion, landing light on her feet.
"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma," she said, already moving. "Time to de-evilize!"
The phone shattered.
The akuma burst free.
Her yo-yo snapped out, capturing it in a clean arc.
"Gotcha."
The butterfly purified, glowing soft and white as it fluttered away into the open sky.
And then—
"Miraculous Ladybug!"
The energy surged upward, spreading across Paris like a heartbeat. Damage rewound. Cracks sealed. Debris lifted and vanished. Everything—reset.
Alya collapsed where she stood, blinking in confusion.
"…What?"
Ladybug and Cat Noir landed beside each other.
"Pound it."
They tapped fists.
Alya's eyes lit up instantly. "Ladybug! Wow! And Cat Noir! Can I get a quick interview? Just—lemme grab my phone—"
Cat Noir's ring beeped again, sharper this time.
"Uh… gotta go. You've only got a minute."
Alya turned—already reaching—
—and they were gone.
Almost.
Ladybug had just stepped toward the doorway when Cat Noir caught her wrist.
"Stay."
His voice was softer now. Real.
"I won't tell anyone who you are. Cat's honor."
For a second… it almost felt like she might say yes.
And then—
"I don't know why you'd even consider it."
Marionne's voice slipped into the moment like a blade.
They both turned.
He stood a few feet away, calm as ever, eyes hidden behind that hollow mask. One hand rested loosely at his side, the other lifted slightly—almost thoughtful—as his gaze flicked to the pocket watch at his waist. The hour hand ticked forward.
"Whether it's your kwami's rule or not," he continued, tone flat but certain, "the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous holders staying strangers isn't optional. It's survival. If one of you gets compromised… the other is all that's left standing between this world and collapse."
Cat Noir frowned, ready to argue—but Ladybug placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
She understood.
Marionne didn't wait for a response.
The moment the hour hand reached eleven—
he was gone.
Black smoke scattered where he stood, dissolving into nothing.
Ladybug exhaled slowly. "He's right. Nobody must know who we really are. Not even us."
She slipped through the door.
It shut behind her.
Locked.
Cat Noir stood there for a moment, staring at it… then let out a quiet breath.
Inside, Marinette leaned against the wall as her transformation faded, her body finally catching up to everything that had just happened.
Tikki hovered beside her. "Phew… that was too close for comfort."
"Tell me about it…"
She opened the door cautiously.
Empty.
Back outside, Adrien stepped away from the hotel, hands in his pockets, thoughts heavy.
Plagg peeked out from his shirt, offended. "That was your chance to find out who the love of your life really is! What were you thinking?!"
Adrien didn't look back.
"That's the thing, Plagg… I wasn't thinking."
A small smile tugged at his lips.
"I was following my heart."
Far above the quieted streets, where the city's noise softened into a distant hum, Jinx sat alone on the edge of a rooftop, legs dangling over the side like he didn't quite care if he slipped.
The wind moved around him, gentle… but wrong.
Too cold.
Always too cold.
The pocket watch rested loosely in his hand, its ticking no longer steady. The sound dragged—skipping, reversing, stuttering like time itself wasn't sure what direction it wanted to move in. His thumb brushed over the glass absentmindedly, eyes half-lidded as he stared out over Paris like it bored him.
But the sweat on his skin told a different story.
A drop slid down his temple, slow, deliberate… landing against his wrist.
For just a moment—
just a flicker—
something surfaced beneath his skin.
A vein.
Black.
Threaded with a faint, unnatural purple glow, like something crawling beneath the surface—
Then gone.
Hidden again beneath his sleeve as if it had never existed.
Nocturn sat beside him, small and still for once, her usual lazy demeanor replaced with something quieter. More observant. She pecked once at what remained of her meal before pausing, her dark eyes lifting toward him.
"That was… different," she said, voice low, almost careful. "You don't get pushed like that anymore. Not since you came back."
Jinx exhaled slowly through his nose, leaning back onto his hands.
"I haven't used it like that in a while," he muttered, tone flat—but thinner than usual.
Nocturn tilted her head, watching him the way only something ancient could.
"And that concerns me," she replied. "You know you shouldn't be stretching it like this. Not after what happened. Not since yo—"
"Enough."
The word cut through the air clean.
Sharp.
Final.
The wind stilled around him for half a second, like even the world knew better than to push further.
Jinx rolled his shoulders once, forcing the tension out, pushing everything back down where it belonged.
"I'm fine," he said, already standing. "We're done here."
Nocturn didn't argue this time.
She just watched him for a moment longer… then dissolved into the pocket watch in a curl of shadow.
Jinx flipped it shut.
"Bring silence."
The fog came instantly.
Thick. Black. Hungry.
It swallowed him whole—his form unraveling into something less than human, something quieter, colder… until Marionne stepped out of it like a shadow given shape.
He didn't linger.
Didn't look back.
One step—
and he was gone, the rooftop empty like he'd never been there at all.
—
Far away, deep in the suffocating shadows of a lair that felt more like a tomb, the ornate butterfly window slammed shut with a final, echoing crash.
Hawk Moth stood alone at its center, his silhouette stretched long across the cold stone floor, the dim light catching just enough to reveal the tension coiled in his posture.
His voice cut through the silence, low and vibrating with restrained fury.
"Your mask will fall one day, Ladybug…"
The cane in his hand creaked under the pressure of his grip, metal groaning as if it could feel the obsession coursing through him. His gaze didn't waver, fixed on the darkness beyond the glass, already searching… already calculating.
Already planning.
"You'll have no choice but to hand over your Miraculous."
Evening settled gently over the Dupain-Cheng bakery, the sky painted in soft shades of orange and fading gold as the city slowed into that quiet moment between day and night. Up on the balcony, Marinette leaned against the railing, her fingers loosely gripping the cool metal as she stared out at the rooftops, lost somewhere deep in her own thoughts.
Tikki hovered beside her, small and patient, watching the way Marinette's expression kept shifting—hope, doubt, then something softer that she couldn't quite name.
"Is that true?" Tikki asked gently. "You're really going to tell him? Is that what your heart's saying?"
Marinette hesitated.
Her grip tightened slightly on the railing, shoulders rising before she let out a quiet breath. "Sometimes your heart tells you one thing…" she murmured, eyes still fixed on the horizon, "…but a great superhero always listens to her head."
There was a pause.
Then—
"Got it!"
Marinette nearly jumped out of her skin.
"WAAAHHH—!"
She spun around so fast she almost lost her balance, eyes wide as Alya stood right there on the balcony like she hadn't just materialized out of thin air.
"Alya?! How long have you been there?!"
Alya grinned, completely unapologetic, already holding up her new phone like it was a trophy. "Long enough. Now check this out—brand new smartphone. Makes my old one look like a potato."
She swiped through the screen quickly, shoving it into Marinette's face.
"Look at these pics!"
Marinette blinked, still recovering from the mini heart attack, then leaned in—
—and froze.
"…Why… are there so many pictures of Adrien?"
Alya's grin only got wider.
"Well…" she dragged out, clearly enjoying this, "with a mask and a costume, don't you think he kinda looks like Cat Noir?"
Marinette stared at her.
Then blinked.
Then stared again like she was trying to process something deeply offensive.
"Are you out of your mind?" she shot back, clutching the phone like evidence. "Adrien is way more legit than Cat Noir!"
Alya crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Oh wow, okay. Didn't realize we were ranking them now. For the record, Cat Noir is pretty slick."
Marinette huffed, turning away slightly, though there was a faint pink tint creeping into her cheeks. "Anyway, stop taking photos of Adrien."
A beat.
"…Well. Unless you give them to me afterwards."
Before Alya could react, Marinette snatched the phone completely and took off across the balcony.
"Hey—! Give it back!" Alya shouted, immediately chasing after her.
"Nope!" Marinette called over her shoulder, dodging around a chair with surprising agility.
"Oh, come on, Marinette!" Alya laughed, gaining on her. "What if you drop it? Everyone knows how clumsy you are!"
Marinette shot her a look mid-run. "Wow, okay, rude—!"
She almost tripped.
Almost.
Recovered at the last second.
Alya burst out laughing.
And just like that, the tension melted away—replaced by the sound of their laughter echoing out over the rooftops, light and easy, like for a moment… everything was normal again.