⚠️This chapter contains themes such as abuse and domestic violence. Viewer discretion is advised.⚠️

—

Adrien Agreste is not a fool. He's known Lila Rossi was a liar from the very beginning, even before Ladybug pointed it out to him all those months ago. Being a world-renowned celebrity has its perks, and one of them just so happens to be able to point out a lie in under a few seconds.

Why hasn't he called Lila out publicly on her lies? Adrien knew his classmates (or well some of them as it turns out) either wouldn't believe him or Lila would spin the situation in her favor and force Adrien into social exile like Marinette the last month of school. Not to mention his father had told him last week that the two of them are co-workers now.....which doesn't exactly make the situation any better for him...

Lila has been nothing but insufferable for the past two weeks; throwing tantrums, fighting with the crew, constantly trying to put her hands all over him, not doing as she was told, etc,. At least Plagg had his back the entire time, but even his company wasn't enough to comfort him during yet another one of Lila's fits...

Adrien felt completely and utterly alone, like he was still the same little boy trapped inside that big mansion with only his parents and Chloé to keep him company. Even with the limited freedom he got, his father still had control over the things he does, who he hangs out with, everything.

If only there was a way he could possibly escape this never ending cycle....

Being Chat Noir did give him the taste of freedom he desired for so long, but at the cost of having even more responsibilities piled on top of him. It was like he was in an ever-so sinking pool of despair....having to watch people constantly suffer and get killed on the daily, only for Ladybug to cast the Miraculous cure and bring them back again. Yet again he was trapped in another endless cycle...

Adrien could only imagine how Ladybug felt; the pressure to be a perfect heroine, people constantly shipping her with his alter-ego, having to wield one of the most powerful miraculous' in existence, secret identifies. Thankfully she had her parents to support her through this now, where before she had nobody to rely on (as much as Adrien tried to be there for her) and Master Fu's help when it comes to training. His partner has never felt more at ease...

The same really couldn't be said for Adrien...

Finishing up some leftover schoolwork, Adrien heavily sighed as he started to fiddle with his pencil. Unfortunately he had yet another photo shoot with Lila at five, then he had to go over to Kagami's house at six thirty to hear his father and Ms. Tsurugi discuss business, and after that he had to take a shower and get ready for school tomorrow...if he doesn't have to put up with yet another one of Hawkmoth's nightly akuma attacks.

Seriously, that bastard was a fucking insomniac.

Plagg seemed to share the same sentiment as him, having to be woken up so late in the night for Adrien to transfer into Chat Noir. The Kwami of Destruction openly complained about this, and honestly Adrien couldn't blame him for doing so (internally he does the same thing). The lack of sleep is slowly driving him insane....

Hearing a faint knock on the door, Adrien knew it was time to leave. Quickly making sure he looked presentable in the mirror, Adrien grabbed a piece of Camembert and put it in his pocket as he headed out the door and towards the limousine where Lila was already waiting for him.

What a great way to start the late afternoon....

—

"Uh Marinette, are you sure this is all necessary to take down Hawkmoth?" Tom asked as he pointed over to a map pinpointing the locations where people have gotten akumatized at.

The Dupain-Chengs alongside Master Fu and kwamis were all up in Marinette's room trying to come up with an efficient plan to take down Hawkmoth once and for all. Unbeknownst to the others, Marinette already had a plan in mind to take Hawkmoth down (since she had a lot of time to spare apart from being in a band and her commissions). They were surrounded by maps and photos of Hawkmoth's victims, along with articles from various new sites and clippings from magazines.

"Trust me guys, it will be worth it in the end," Marinette simply responded, "I'm sure you all are aware that Hawkmoth preys on peoples negative emotions in order to akumatize them, as well as the fact that he has an accomplice who goes by the name 'Mayura' who wields the Peacock Miraculous."

"I do remember you briefly mentioning that you and your former teammates gotten blown away by one of her sentimonsters," Sabine said as she pointed over to a picture of the moth sentimonster.

"Correct; the Peacock miraculous gives its wielder the ability to create a sentimonster manifested from peoples emotions. In order to destroy the sentimonster you have to break the object containing a blue feather, the same applies to akumas as well," Master Fu explains as his brows started to furrow a bit, "But the powers of the miraculous' are not to be used selfishly, I learned that mistake a very long time ago..."

Marinette nodded, "Don't worry, Master, we'll get the miraculous' back safe and sound in no time."

"Hawkmoth and Mayura are not going to give up their miraculous' willingly, which is why we need to assemble a team of heroes that will fight against them in the final battle. If worst comes to worst, I have a backup plan in mind just in case," Master Fu says as he looked up at Marinette, "I'm going to teach you and Chat Noir how to unify two miraculous' together."

Marinette's eyes widened, "Wait, you can actually do that?!?"

Sabine and Tom were shell shocked. Unifying miraculous'? Is that really a safe idea?

Master Fu nodded, "But I will only teach you guys as a last resort. It is very risky not only for the wielder, but for the miraculous' as well. For now though, let's just focus on assembling a reliable team of heroes before resorting to plan B."

"I think I just so happen to have a few people in mind..." Marinette smiled as she looked over at a picture of her friends.

—

     Zoé Lee wasn't enjoying her time at Paris. Not only did she have to deal with daily akuma attacks, her mom was nothing but verbally abusive towards her (and it has gotten worse ever since she dyed part of her hair pink). At least she had Chloé and her stepdad by her side, but not even they are enough against the fury of Audrey Bourgeois.

     Regardless, she was not about to let those factors ruin her overall experience. Zoé had real, genuine friends here in Paris and a sister who treats her like she's always been a part of her life. To Zoé, those people meant a lot to her. She would be absolutely devastated if anything happened to them.

     You can imagine her reaction when she found out that her mother had slapped Chloé across the face...

     It was one thing to verbally abuse someone, but to physically hit them? Zoé's already been through her fair share of physical abuse (she's always kept the reason as to why she left New York in the first place a secret from everyone around her) in the past, but she was not about to let her mother continue to harm her loved ones like this anymore.

     Storming up to the balcony where her mother was at (thank you Jean Jacques), Zoé pushed open the door and angrily walked over to her mother. Audrey was currently sunbathing on the roof in a black bathing suit with white accents to it, glancing up at Zoé with annoyance in her eyes.

     "Zucchini, go back inside. Can't you see I'm-"

     "I know what you did," Zoé interjected as she stared down at her mother, "And I know this isn't the first time you've done this to my sister or even Andre."

     Audrey rolled her eyes, "Does it look like I care? Those two were in my wa-"

     "That is not how you treat people!" Zoé angrily yelled out.

     "Why do you care? You're just a bastard child from a previous fling I've had fifteen years ago!" Audrey retorted as she got up from her chair, now eye level with Zoé, "Why should you have a say in how I treat people?"

     "Because it's n-" Zoé was about to respond, but was greeted to a slap in the face by Audrey herself.

     "How I treat people is none of your damned business. I got to the top by crushing people that were in my path, and I will continue to do so until the day I die! Don't get in my damn way!" Audrey said as she glared down at an enraged Zoé.

"You're nothing but a damn abuser! A damn abuser! Sooner or later your past is going to catch up to you and cause your career to be in shambles!" Zoé responded as she stared Audrey dead in the eyes, "And where will you be then?"

Zoé was greeted by another harsh slap by Audrey before being forcefully shoved down onto the ground.

"Don't get in my damn way, or else I'll make your life a living hell," Audrey said as Zoé looked up at her with malice in her eyes.

"You already do."

Audrey angrily huffed as she stormed back inside the hotel to find something or someone to take her pent up rage on...and she knew exactly who her next target was...

Before Zoé could get up and do anything, a purple butterfly flew into one of her shoes and Zoé was greeted to the sight of a masked man in a foreign room surrounded by butterflies....Shit....

"Sole Crusher, I am Hawkmoth..."

Today was really not her day...

—

"That meeting went out pretty well if I do say so myself," Marinette said as she helped her dad mix up a new batch of macaroons.

     "I'm still nervous about the idea of allowing Chloé to become Queen Bee again. What if she pulls the same stunt she did last time and endangers the public again? Gets akumatized by Hawkmoth?" Tom expressed his concerns. Her dad did make a valid point: Chloé could not be trusted with a miraculous again, especially after Heroes Day and Queen Wasp.

     But for some reason Marinette's gut told her that the girl could still be trusted with the bee miraculous again, that Chloé herself was still worthy of being Queen Bee again. Even if everyone in the world expresses their distain at the idea, Marinette still believe deep down inside that the blonde was a good person at heart.

     The few times they've hung out together at the barge solidified that fact, as Chloé had been pretty tolerable the entire time. She hasn't been bossy as usual, had a better attitude when it came towards people she dislikes (including Marinette herself), has been respectful of other peoples feelings, and hasn't been bossing Sabrina around at all. Even in school Chloé has started to become a better person, since her sister arrived and started attending school with them.

     Her sister....

     Speaking of Zoé, Marinette hasn't heard from the American since this morning. It was odd, considering she normally responded to Marinette in a timely matter. Even her friends have texted Marinette asking if Zoé is doing alright, since they too haven't gotten a response from her. It was odd...

     But it all made sense when Marinette and her dad's phones started buzzing. Pulling out her phone, Marinette's eyes widened at the akuma alert as sirens started ringing through the streets of Paris. Oh no...Marinette had a bad feeling about this.

     "Tikki, I think I might have an idea on who's been akumatized," Marinette looked over at her kwami with concern before glancing over at her dad.

     "I think I know too..." Tikki responded in a solemn tone.

     "Go and save Paris, Marinette, me and your mother will be there soon once she gets done talking with Master Fu," Tom said in a supportive tone as Tikki and Wayzz both nodded.

     Marinette warmly smiled as she looked at her kwami, "Okay! Tikki, spots on!"

     Swinging through the streets as her alter-ego, Ladybug looked around for any sight of the akuma. Eventually she came across a girl who oddly enough looked like a gold version Audrey Bourgeois covered head to toe in diamonds using her shoes to make random civilians disappear out of thin air. So the akuma was in her shoes? Well that makes things a whole lot more simpler for Ladybug.

     Using her yo-yo in an attempt to trap the akuma, Ladybug watched as the akuma easily dodged her attack and came at her with such incredible speed. Before she could be poofed from existence, Chat Noir quickly swung his baton and smacked the akuma away from Ladybug.

     "I'm guessing Hawkmoth akumatized yet another victim," Chat Noir said before heavily sighing, "And on a Saturday too!"

     "You know it as good as I do that he never takes a break," Ladybug responded as she retracted her yo-yo, "Then again this is the same man who's akumatized a literal baby and Mr. Ramier more than one time."

     Chat Noir lightly chuckled as he and Ladybug dodge another oncoming attack, "He really needs to take a damn vacation."

     "Agreed," Ladybug attempted to restrain the akuma again, but was shortly met with a yo-yo to the face, "Hey!"

     "Nice try, Ladybug, but that won't work on me," the akuma, who revealed her villain name to be Sole Crusher, responded as she stomped her foot to the ground, a pale aura surrounding her, "Hand over your miraculous' now before I crush all of Paris with the soles of my shoes!"

     "Think again!" Ladybug retorted as she continued sending a barrage of attacks at the akuma, Chat Noir joining in and trying to get a few hits with his baton.

     Sole Crusher easily deflected their attacks with her fists as she focused her attention on Ladybug. If Ladybug were to call upon her lucky charm now, it would be game over for both her and Hawkmoth, and Sole Crusher was not about to be defeated so early on. Chat Noir was another big problem, since he could easily destroy her akuma with his cataclysm.

     Deciding that the black cat was a bigger risk to her plans, Sole Crusher used her powers and sped up behind Chat Noir, sending an axe kick into his stomach before Ladybug managed to catch her in her yo-yo.

     "Chat!" Ladybug cried out as she watched her partner vanish in thin air.

     Sole Crusher smirked as she quickly freed herself from Ladybug's yo-yo, her victory being short lived as she became on the receiving end of Sternotherus' shield. Ladybug looked relieved as soon as she seen her parents arrive at the scene, knowing that help had finally arrived.

     Keeping a close eye out for any surprise attacks, Ladybug called upon her lucky charm knowing that it would be needed for her to defeat this akuma. Eventually a small box appeared out of thin air and landed in Marinette's hand. It looked oddly similar to the ones Master Fu uses to hand out Miraculous's in...Could this be a sign?

     "Ladybug, me and Sternotherus will distract Sole Crusher, you go do what you need to do!" Hulí said as she used her flute to try and get a hit on the akuma, narrowly dodging a kick to her back.

     Ladybug nodded as she sped off into the city, quickly detransforming in a nearby alleyway and heading over to the bakery. There she was greeted to the sight of Master Fu snacking on some croissants dipped in some sort of honey sauce....Odd...

     "Master Fu, I need your help!" Marinette said as she looked the man in the eye, "The akuma captured Chat Noir and is most likely going to capture my parents too."

     "Ah, I see," Master Fu hummed as he pulled out the Miracle Box, activating it, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you on this mission. Choose wisely; such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over you will retrieve the Miraculous from them."

     Marinette nodded, "This akuma is a very fast one..and quite intelligent too...She was able to catch Chat Noir off guard and took him down like it was nothing...I'm going to need a miraculous that would be able to immobilize her so that I can capture the akuma hidden in her shoe.."

     Picking up the bee miraculous, Marinette held it out with confidence as she now knew exactly what she had to do. Master Fu looked at her with concern, as if what she's about to do is either going to benefit them in the long run or not. In the end though, it was Marinettes decision in who she wants on her hero team, so if she was willing to entrust Chloé once again with a miraculous, then he's going to have to trust that her decision is the right one.

     Dashing out of the bakery and quickly transforming into her alter-ego, Ladybug swung through the streets of Paris as she headed towards the Le Grande Paris Hotel. Since she knew for certain it was Zoé who has been akumatized (the reasoning behind it must have something to do with their mother), Ladybug knew deep down inside the only person able to stop Sole Crusher would be Chloé. Alongside with having prior experiences with the bee miraculous, Chloé has proven to be a 'decently' valuable team member....well if you could exclude getting akumatized by Scarlet Moth on Heroes Day a few months ago.

     Swiftly landing on top of Chloé's balcony, Ladybug looked around and noticed a lot of things were off. The room was in complete disarray, with furniture broken to pieces and clothes thrown around. There was even some droplets of blood on the floor, which made Ladybug only suspect the worst.

     But in a corner far away, Ladybug could see a trembling Chloé clutching the side of her bruised up face as she stared up at the heroine in disbelief. Slowly walking over there as to not frighten her, Ladybug gently knelt down and looked at Chloé with sadness in her eyes. So it did have something to do with Audrey Bourgeois....

     "L-Ladybug!" Chloé said as she looked the heroine in the eyes, "What are you doing here?"

     "I heard that your sister has gotten akumatized," Ladybug responded before grabbing her yo-yo and pulling the bee miraculous out of it, "And I'm going to need your assistance in defeating it."

     "M-Me? After everything that's happened? Don't you know that I'm only going to be putting myself and my family at risk if Hawkmoth was to know I am active again?" Chloé asked as she hesitantly accepted the miraculous, Pollen coming out of it and looking at the duo with confusion in her eyes.

     "I know, but you're the only one I can entrust with this miraculous. Unlike last time Hawkmoth won't know it's you behind the mask, it will be a completely new heroine he has no idea even exists," Ladybug responded.

     Chloé nodded, "But are you sure about this? What if I fail and end up getting akumatized again? Don't you remember what happened on Heroes Day?"

     "Heroes Day was a mess in its own right. As a leader I should've prepared you and the others in advance just in case something like that was to ever happen again. That was my mistake, a mistake that would've been fairly costly had me and Chat not escaped before Dark Cupids arrow hit. This time I promise to do better as a leader and team member to help you and other future team members prepare just in case another situation like that was to ever happen again," Ladybug explained, "And I'm sure you'll do better too."

     Chloé smiled a little bit as she put the miraculous in her hair, "I won't let you down Ladybug, not again. Pollen, buzz on!"

     A flash of light engulfed Chloé as she transformed into a new and better version of Queen Bee, the only differences being her costume containing more fluff and the addition of wings fluttering on her back. Looking at herself in awe, Chloé was stunned that her costume had changed significantly since the last time she had transformed into Queen Bee. At least she still retained her iconic stripes and ponytail, so that's an added bonus.

     "Once the mission is complete you will bring the miraculous back to me," Ladybug said as she prepared her yo-yo for battle.

     Chloé eagerly nodded as she followed Ladybug out the window and towards the location where her akumatized sister was.

     "I won't fail you this time, Ladybug, and I will save you from Hawkmoth's grasp, Zoé! Just hold on a little bit longer!"

     As soon as the duo spotted Sole Crusher capturing another civilian with her shoes, Ladybug swung into action sending a barrage of yo-yo attacks at the akuma. Sole Crusher easily dodged them as she kept her eyes on both Ladybug and the new bee themed heroine. So Ladybug called for backup? This sure was about to get interesting..

     "Sole Crusher, watch out for Queen Bee's spinning top," Hawkmoth said as Sole Crusher watched as the heroine, Queen Bee, take a swing at her with her foot. Why exactly does she have to watch out for the spinning top? Unless...that's how she activates her power.

     Quickly dodging another one of Ladybug's attacks, Sole Crusher focused her attention onto Queen Bee, determined to make sure that the heroine does not get in her way. Seeking this as an opportunity to form a new plan, Ladybug called upon her lucky charm as her fellow teammate distracted the akuma for her. Suddenly a baton similar to Chat's fell into her hands, giving Ladybug a good idea on how to defeat this akuma.

     "Queen Bee, lead Sole Crusher over there towards those light posts!" Ladybug said as she quickly rushed over there to set up a trap.

     Queen Bee nodded as she activated her wings, flying away from the akuma as she led Sole Crusher towards Ladybug's trap. Sole Crusher quickly used her powers to inhance her speed, blindly rushing over and periodically jumping up into the air in order to catch the flying heroine. Quickly ducking and deactivating her flight, Queen Bee slid underneath the baton as Sole Crusher was closing in on her. Before Sole Crusher could react, she was immediately hit in the stomach with a rod and sent flying away from the heroes.

     Queen Bee quickly activated her venom as she threw her spinning top at Sole Crusher in order to paralyze her. Ladybug ran over and used her yo-yo to break the shoe where the akuma was residing in, swiftly capturing it and purifying the butterfly. Throwing the object into the air and casting the miraculous cure, Ladybug and Queen Bee watched as the magical ladybugs fixed everything around them and returned those who were captured by the akumas.

     Ladybug looked over and noticed Chat and her parents standing there with proud looks on their faces. Quickly rushing over to them, Ladybug quickly tackled Chat to the ground and playfully flick him on the head for not paying attention.

     "But Ladybug, she was too fast!" Chat Noir whined as Ladybug chuckled.

     "I know, Chat, and that's why I decided to call for some backup," Ladybug gestured over to a smiling Queen Bee helping her sister off the ground.

     Chat Noir looked at Ladybug in shock, "But I thought it was too much of a risk to put her back in action..."

     "Life's all about taking risks, Chat, but I do know for sure that this is one that I am willing to take," Ladybug responded as she looked over at Queen Bee fondly.

     "Is Master Fu okay with this?" Chat Noir asked.

     "I think he and everyone else will eventually warm up to the idea," Ladybug smiled as she helped her partner off the ground.

     "Yeah..I think you might be right..." Chat Noir responded as his cheeks started to turn pink.

—

Alya Cesaire was enraged, and has been for a while now. First Ladybug replaces her and Nino as the fox and turtle miraculous holders with two completely new individuals, then she decides to put Chloé Bourgeois of all people back onto the team instead of her. The final straw would have to be the fact that both Ladybug AND Chat Noir publicly announced that Rena Rouge and Carapace were in retirement and wouldn't be returning anytime soon.

How could she do this? What had both her and Nino do to deserve all of this? Haven't they been good teammates and partners to her?

Regardless, Alya is determined to find out the real reason as to why she and Nino were no longer allowed to wield their miraculous' anymore. All she had to do was corner Ladybug and get her to fess up....and she knew exactly who she was going to ask to help her with that...

—

     "Ah, so it seems Queen Bee is already back in action," Gabriel grinned as he and Nathalie watched over the camera footage in his office, "What a risky move she had just made..."

     "It seems we'll just have to get riskier with our plans," Nathalie responded as she handed Gabriel a tablet consisting of some information Lila Rossi had just sent over.

     Gabriel nodded, "Ah, so the Ladyblogger turned out to be Rena Rouge all along. She must be so angry that Ladybug had replaced her so easily in such a short time span."

     "What are you doing to do about it, sir?" Nathalie asked him.

     "Hm..I think she'll be the perfect victim for the next phase of our plan..." Gabriel handed Nathalie back the tablet and turned his gaze back onto one of his latest fashion designs, "Figuring out the location of the miracle box."