S2EP20: Style Queen

where's your gavel? ur jury?
what's my offense this time?

Your not a judge, but if ur gonna judge me
sentence me to another life

ignorance
paramore

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"Tonight, the Grand Palais hosts the most eagerly awaited event of the year! The sensational fashion show of the famous designer Gabriel Agreste! And a major event always brings prestigious guests. Mayor of Paris, Andre Bourgeois, is expected to attend the show with his wife, the great and highly respected fashion queen—"

Tikki's attention is stolen from the live broadcast on Marinette's monitor, shaking her head amusedly as she fussed over the final product of her hat. "Honestly, Marinette, it's perfect the way it is!"

She fiddles with the feather, still unsure if her hat was worthy enough to be showcased in the Gabriel Agreste's fashion show. "Oh, Tikki, I don't know. . . I feel like it's the ugliest hat in the world and Adrien is suppose to model it front of everyone." She stands up from her seat, nervously pacing as she continues,

"He'll resent me for the rest of his life! I have zero talent and everyone is going to find that out tonight." Marinette frowns, falling to her knees as she already decided her career was over before it started.

"You're a great designer, Marinette! Besides, if your hat was so ugly, why did Gabriel Agreste hand-pick it for his fashion show?"

She looks down to her hat, the feather sticking out like an eye-sore to her. "But what if people see that it's a synthetic pigeon feather and not a real one? They're gonna think it's lame, aren't they?"

"You did the right thing replacing it! With that allergy of his, Adrien would be sneezing all the way down the catwalk!" Tikki comforts, making Marinette smile.

"You're right! And we have Y/n to thank for that with her super knowledge about Adrien and all." Marinette giggles, just thinking about the sweet duo makes her giddy. "Besides, I don't have time to make changes anyway. The show starts in. . ." 

She finally takes the time to check her phone, remembering she had gotten a notification or two. And what do you know, they're from Alya and Y/n!

2 new messages from Alya :P , and YN the sp. .

Alya :P
you cannot be serious about
being late to your first showcase !!

YN the Spider Enthusiast 🕷️
don't want to rush you or
anything but Gabriel's
assistant is looking for you

Marinette's eyes widen, looking to the time on her phone to confirm. "Oh, no! I'm gonna be late again!" She yelps, running to put her hat in its designated box. "Quick, Tikki!" She flies into her purse, the girl running on borrowed time to the Grand Palais.

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Her heart hammers under exhaustion as she ran to the Grand Palais, her hat's box held carefully as she fought with time, itself, to make it to the showcase on time. But just as the showcase was within reach, she began to slow down as she noticed quite a large crowd gathering just around the corner. Amongst the crowd, was no other than Nadja Chamack, surely getting a scoop for her news broadcast.

"This is it. Here she comes! The international queen of fashion, director of "Style Queen" magazine, Audrey Bourgeois!" She announces, her statement sending everyone's camera's flashing as she got out of the vehicle, making sure to complain.

"Oh, no." Marinette freezes, her pupils dilating with fear as she watches from afar. "Audrey Bourgeois!" Would it be too late to turn around and pretend she got lost for the whole duration of the show?

"Who?" Tikki questions, looking up to her owner with curiosity. Although she heard her name being mentioned in Nadia's earlier broadcast, she couldn't quite remember what she well known for.

"Only the harshest fashion critic in the entire world. I didn't know she was coming!" She worries, taking a step backwards as she clutches her hat box. "She's gonna hate my hat for sure!"

"I'm sure she won't, Marinette! Come on, your friends are waiting for you!"

As much as she wanted to turn around and never look back, she would have done all this for nothing if she decided to go home and crumble into a ball. Besides, she'd definitely wouldn't hear the end of it from her friends.

So with an unsure step forward, she walks into the Grand Palais, her heart beating as if she had just finished running a marathon.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

"Audrey, like the slogan of your magazine says, 'If it's in good taste, it's in "Style Queen"! So, what's in good taste this year?" Nadja interviews the said Audrey, Chloe and Andre Bourgeois standing alongside with her.

"Judging by the way you're dressed, you obviously don't know, my dear." She gave her an answer she wasn't looking for, making Chloe snicker as she continues. "For your information, the trend this year is glitter."

Nadja forces a chuckle, glancing awkwardly at the camera's on her as she professionally continues. "As the editor of Style Queen, you spend a lot of time in New York. It must be nice to be with your family for a change, here in Paris." Audrey opens her mouth to answer, for sure to give a backhand comment, when Chloe leans in to answer for her.

"She's very happy to see me. By the way, Mom, I have a little something for you." She smiles up to her mom, holding out a little pink jewelry box.

Audrey looks down at the box in her hands, only had spotted it in the corner of her eye, when she looks to Chloe in disinterest. "Clara, uh, Chloe. What is this?" She asks, clearly not listening to a word her own daughter had to say.

"Um. It's a gift?"

She clicks her tongue in disproval. Instead of thinking of the act of service, she critics it for what it's worth. "Ugh, this wrapping paper is ridiculous. You're fired." Audrey waves her off, dismissing her as she did her countless unacceptable assistants.

"Darling, please! You can't fire Chloe, she's your daughter!" Andre chimes, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as she embarrassingly hides the gift behind her.

Nadja, who's been watching the whole display (along with countless others), is quick to divert the attention from the awkward exchange between the Bourgeois' with another question. "Audrey, how long are you planning to stay in Paris?"

"The shortest, possible time." With boredom in her tone, she leaves the interview without warning, leaving Nadja by herself to finish it up for her.

"Thank you. The fashion show just might be one of the most important in Gabriel Agreste's career, as evidenced by Audrey Bourgeois' presence. Will the famous fashion designer who never appears in public show up for the occasion? Stay tuned and find out! Remember, don't be bemused, it's just the news."

You and Alya blink in shock at the phone screen in front of them, unfortunate enough to witness quite the public display of Audrey's infamous attitude. "I almost feel bad for Chloe." Alya mumbles.

"Almost? It looked like Audrey forgot she even gave birth to her." You comment, feeling almost guilty immediately for making an offhand comment about the lack of relationship with her mother. For sure, it's the reason she has so many attitude problems; she didn't have a great example.

You space, barely paying attention to your surroundings as Alya continues on about her worries for Marinette, seeing she was nowhere to be found. "The show's about to start, and it can't start without the winning piece!" She says while vigorously typing up a similar text to send to Marinette.

"She's probably fussing over her hat again and second guessing herself." You say, rubbing at the space between your brows. "Maybe I should go look and check up on her." She says, standing up from her seat without hesitance.

"Oh, honey. Are you feeling okay? You look a little tired." Sabine comments, noticing you had a headache you were trying to massage away.

"No worries, Mrs. Cheng. I was a little too excited for Marinette and didn't get enough rest last night." She smiles, waving her worries away. "I'll be back with Marinette, text me if she shows up by herself!" Y/n says as she passed the girl, her smile dropping as she quickly climbed the steps that leads to the venue's exist.

You find a secluded area, passing its corner just in time as your atoms flared up again, distorting your figure as you braced yourself against the wall. You pant, pushing back your hair as you leaned your head back, eyes closed shut as you responded, "I'm okay."

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Adrien stands in front of his dressing room's mirror, fixing his hair and tie for the umpteenth time. But no matter how many times he tried to make it work, he still thought he didn't look right. "I feel awkward." He admits out loud, Plagg hovering around him as he ate a piece of stinky cheese.

"That's probably because you look ridiculous." Adrien sighs, allowing his head to fall in shame. He knows the kwamii didn't mean anything by it, considering he hadn't seen him in anything other than the clothes he wears and the occasional change up—never in a suit and soon-to-be hat.

He did feel ridiculous, though. He felt out of place. Worried. It's not like he's never done a catwalk or two for his father before, he's done plenty of things that called for an audience, too! Maybe he just got a lot on his mind?

Ladybug. Spider-Woman. And who seemed to be an everlasting thought, Y/n. Despite Spider-Woman's dire situation, he couldn't help but to be more worried about his relationship with Y/n. If there even is a relationship between them, still. Friendship, he meant. Of course.

Ever since the day at the ice rink, there's been this distance between them. Was she upset with him? Mad even? He wasn't sure what he said, or has done, that could have upset her in the process, but whatever it was, Adrien's prepared to take full responsibility if it meant he could have his best friend back.

But even then that proved to be difficult. He'd be lucky enough to get more than a minute long conversation with her before she turns around and walks away from him. Adrien's starting to worry that whatever this was, he wasn't able to fix it.

Adrien's frown deepens, seeking comfort from the keychain that hides in his slacks pockets. He watched the little spider charm sway back and forth as he held it out in front of him, reminiscing the welcoming memory that granted him this very keychain—of Y/n. A knock is heard.

Adrien's somber mood was temporarily cured, believing it was her who was behind that door. But when he opened it,

"Hello, Marinette." Adrien smiles, welcoming. Although it wasn't who he was hoping it to be, Marinette was still a good friend of his.

She smiles, clutching her hat's box nervously as she greets back, "Hi, Adrien!" It was a little weak, she meant nothing by it, but all she could think about was how Audrey looked at her hat. Displeased. It distracted her from what was important. And from what she's doing.

As she took her first step up Adrien's dressing room steps, she trips on one of the stairs, losing her grip on the hat box. "Sorry!" She immediately apologies,, grateful he was close enough to keep her from falling completely.

"No worries."

They simultaneously look down at the hat that is now outside its box, realizing the feather had fallen out of place as well. "Oh, no. I hope it's not too hard to fix it." Adrien frowns, kneeling down along with Marinette as he grabbed the hat.

She frowns, plucking the feather off the ground as she says, "It doesn't really matter. This hat is a complete failure, anyways."

Adrien flinches, astounded someone could ever hate their art that they've put time and effort into making, especially with Marinette's talent. "What? No, it's not!" He stood, offering her his hand to pull her off the floor. "Why would you say that?"

"Because. . ." She looks away in shame, feeling her bottom lip trembling. "The queen of fashion, Audrey Bourgeois, saw it and hated it! I'm sorry, Adrien. I really messed up. I'm a total no-talent! Please don't put it on."

He chuckles, grabbing the feather from her hands as he expresses, "Marinette, everything's going to be fine. Your hat looks great!" Adrien places the feather back where it belongs, chuckling at the easy fix. He was worried about nothing, and so was Marinette! "I think it's awesome and so does my father. Otherwise, he wouldn't have picked it for me. Look!"

Marinette bites down her tongue as she watched him put the hat on, not realizing how well it went with his suit. She couldn't help but to smile as Adrien turned what little room he had into a catwalk, giving her a little preview on what's to come. "See?" 

"You've got that catwalk down!"

Adrien smiles at her compliment, graciously thanking her in return. A short silence had filled between them, and it was then when he couldn't help to ask the burning question he had ever since Marinette walked into the dressing room. "Hey, Marinette? Is. . do you know if Y/n showed up?"

Marinette gleams at his question, giggling at his unneeded display of distress on his face at the possibility of her saying 'no' in response. "Of course, she did! She said she wouldn't miss it for the world!" She exclaims, Adrien's worries falling into relief.

They both jump at the clear of a throat, forgetting Nathalie had been there to watch the whole thing unfold. "We have to go." She says, turning away to lead Marinette to her reserved seat amongst her family and friends.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Alya vigorously types away at her phone's screen, attempting to pay no mind to the rows being filled with their designated guests, the show about to start. Not only does she have to worry about finding the starring piece's designer, now she has to worry about their friend as well. These girls are stressing her out.

"Oh, there's Marinette!" Sabine points out, Tom and Alya looking into the direction she spotted her to find she was right; nervously following behind Gabriel's assistant shyly. The only remaining problem is,

"Where's Y/n?" Alya asks herself, sighing in partial frustration as she continued to try to get ahold of the newly absent girl.

"Marinette! Yoo-hoo!" Tom calls for her attention, the rest of her support group waving to her as Marinette spots them in the first row (just as Mr. Agreste had promised her), bashfully returning the gesture as she smiled through her nerves.

"She looks nervous." Sabine coos, showing empathy for her girl as she walks down the steps, keeping close to Ms. Nathalie.

"No doubt. It's her first fashion show with her first professional piece. Not to mention, Adrien will be modeling it." Alya chimes. It's exactly what Marinette needs to make a name for herself, to kick off her future. Soon enough, she'll be Paris' most successful, youngest fashion designer!

"I'm sure it'll go just great." Tom says, earning a hum in agreement from Sabine, squeezing the woman in comfort.

"Where's Y/n?" The question repeats itself, Marinette mouthing the million dollar question to Alya as she grew closer, panic written into her features as she shrugs with uncertainty.

"How dilapidated is this place? And I have to share the front row with this group of low lives?" A voice cuts into their bubble, the air growing rigid as they find who the voice belongs to as the woman sits between Sabine and Alya with a, "Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous."

"Uh," Alya clears her throat before speaking, "sorry, but that seat belongs to Marinette and our friend." She finishes as politely as she can, knowing Bourgeois was infamous for unpleasant interactions.

Audrey clicks her tongue in annoyance at the mention of the girls name once more. "This Marinette girl again?" But despite being told this wasn't her seat, she was unmoving, knowing there wasn't a thing a low life could say to tell "Style Queen" what to do.

"Let me handle this, mother." Chloe chirps, her cheery disposition dropping into her usual bratty ways as she speaks. "Hey, losers. Don't you know who my mother is? She's miss Style Queen, the most powerful woman in the world of fashion! This show is for her, okay? Get lost!"

Marinette shrinks in on herself as they approached the commotion, catching onto chloe's words in the amidst of hassling her friends for whatever reasons she has. Who is she kidding? Chloe never needs a reason to treat someone like dirt below her feet.

"Mrs. Bourgeois," Nathalie approaches the Bourgeois family with confidence, her demeanor remaining calm and collected as she speaks, "Mr. Agreste has reserved a seat for you."

She hums in satisfaction, standing up from Marinette's seat. "Finally."

"In the second row." Nathalie finishes her statement, paying no mind to the uproar her words would surely cause. She has no interests in Mrs. Bourgeois childish complaints when she has many things to attend to.

Even as her mouth dropped agape, "clutching her pearls" at the vulgarity of her words as she was rendered speechless. "My mother always sits in the front row!" Chloe detests in her name, glaring up to the woman in front of her.

"Not today."

It seems the lack of response, remorse for the stress Nathalie had caused, only made Audrey all the more angrier. "This is unacceptable! Gabriel cannot do this to me; i'm the one who discovered him! Without me, he'd still be drawing his unworthy designs in his dismal grim studio!" she shouts.

"I can offer your seat to someone else if you don't want it." Nathalie remains monotonous, arms folded behind her back professionally. More fuel into the fire.

"How dare you! You're fired!"

A brow was raised at the audacity of this woman. Was this really the name that was highly praised amongst the fashion industry? Even so, as she acts like a child in front of her? In public, nonetheless? In Audrey's own words—this was utterly ridiculous. "I don't work for you. I work for Mr. Agreste."

"Let's see about that." Audrey smirks, speed dialing the man of the hour. Surely, the only man she could rely on to fix this would do everything in his power to see that this no good for nothing assistant—

And for the first time today, maybe even in forever, the corner of Nathalie's lips quirk with amusement as Audrey's mouth's fell open when her call went straight to voicemail. "I'm assuming by your expression that i'm not fired?"

With a grit of her teeth, she stomps her foot. "This is unacceptable! I will not view a fashion show from the second row. Ever!" And with that, she points her nose high as she stomps away, Chloe mimicking her mannerisms as she followed after her.

Marinette stares dumbly as Nathalie turned to her, arm extended as she motions to take her seat. She was completely amazed how she was able to handle a Bourgeois and not lose her professionalism! What an icon.

The girl takes his seat, wasting no time to drill Alya about the whereabouts of their friend. "I thought you said she was with you?!"

"She was! She went to look for you and said to text her if you showed up without her! Now she's not answering any of my texts." Alya explains, showing Marinette the various texts she sent the girl.

Her face drains all color once she realized the new situation she's in. "Oh no. . . I told Adrien she was going to be here! He's going to be so disappointed when he sees she's not in the first row!" She cries out, palms dragging down her face in dread. "I solely ruined the show. I am a disaster!" She mutters to herself, Alya watching her dramatics in amusement.

"Cool it, girl. You're not a disaster! I'm sure she's still around. . . somewhere. Maybe she just stopped for a bathroom break." She shrugs, working to convince both herself and Marinette.

"Yeah!" She perks, eye twitching under the stress, her smile a little crazy. It all seemed to get a little worse when the music begins, signaling the start of the showcase. Shutter after shutter, the group of photographers standing upon the edge of the platform direct their flash to Adrien as he emerged; posing for the cameras.

If it weren't for the fact he was trained not to look at the audience while on the catwalk, Adrien would have found out right then and there Y/n wasn't sat beside Marinette. But as he began walking down the platform and grew closer and closer to their group, he chanced a glance.

Marinette's stomach dropped as she saw him stare at the empty seat beside her, not enough time to throw her an assuring smile as he turned his focus back on to the show. Then and there, it seemed like Adrien lost all his confidence and energy to execute his catwalk flawlessly. 'I was right, I ruined the show! I ruined everything', Marinette thought to herself, covering her eyes in shame as she whined.

"Sorry. Sorry. Excuse me." A quiet voice is heard, growing audible as they grew closer. Marinette gasps in delight as she looked to find it was Y/n.

"It's about time!" Alya whispers with a grin as she took her seat, leaning over Marinette to ask, "What was the holdup?"

The girls kept their eyes forward and their words quiet out of respect for their friend, clapping with the others as adrien paused at the end of the catwalk and gave a few poses here and there. "There was a line for the bathroom." Y/n says, tilting  her head towards Marinette as she whispers, "How're you feeling?"

The girl takes a deep breath through her nose as she looked over the rows of guests, catching wind of approving words of her hat. She looks back to watch the rest of the show, her answer at the tip of her tongue, when Adrien turned to walk back up the catwalk.

Marinette watched the very moment he spotted you. the way his real smile broke through his fake one, the kind that made his eyes squint to the point it was a little difficult to see where he was going.

She giggles, seeing your own smile as you watched him fondly, when she finally gives her answer with a 100% belief everything was going to be okay. "Better, now."

You give her a smile, quick to return your attention back to the show. Everyone seemed to love the current outfit Adrien was showcasing, even Marinette's hat. She was worried about nothing! Everything was perfect. Almost too perfect.

A sudden burst of gold forms in the middle of the catwalk, abruptly cutting Adrien and the show off. Your eyes widen as an overly dressed woman of gold emerges from the dust cloud, clutching your bag close to you as she speaks, "A fashion show without the queen of style? Glitterally unacceptable!"

Your grip tightens, growing with anxiety and worry as your attention bounces between the villain and Adrien—who was too close for comfort.

"Where is that ungrateful Gabriel Agreste? I demand that he kneels before me!" Her voice booms, banging her staff into the platform, already growing inpatient.

"My father isn't here!" Your mouth runs dry as her attention sets on Adrien, no one else interesting her as some of them ran away from the danger.

"Well then, if fashion disaster daddy isn't here, I'll just have to settle for Agreste Junior!" She twirls her golden staff around, directing the blast at the defenseless boy as a beam of gold shoots out of it. "You're fired!"

"Adrien!" Marinette shouts in horror, helplessly watching as he was turned into a golden statue, too many eyes around to slip away and transform to save him.

"No. No. No. This is bad. Really bad." You thought to yourself as the rest of those who have yet to run away began to flee, their cries of fear snapping you out shock. "Pull yourself together. Without Adrien there's no Chat Noir. You've got to do something!"

Looking to your left, the spot Marinette had occupied was now empty, leaving you less to worry about. Good. As you held your bag close, you wove through the panicked crowd, aiming for the farthest exit when suddenly, you were pulled back.

You cringed under the pulse in your head, hissing in annoyance as your turned around. Behind you, still in their original place, was Marinette's parents; cluelessly waiting for their daughter that won't be back until everything was settled. Unsolicited worry ran through your veins, the headache growing stronger the longer you resisted. "Fine." You hissed through gritted teeth, making your way back.

"Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Cheng!" Y/n shouts over the chaos, struggling to get past the crowd. "We have to get out of here!" She huffs, offering her hand to lead them out of the Grand Palais safely, only for them to stubbornly stay put, not wanting to leave their little girl behind.

"But where's Marinette?" Tom asks, worry weighing heavy on both his and Sabine's face, clinging to each other in comfort. Y/n bites down on her tongue, looking around the venue as she thinks of a reasonable response.

"I don't see her, but if she's not here, that means she got out with the others!" She could feel her fingers drum against the side of her leg with a mind of their own, her nerves thickening when she hears Mrs. Bourgeois cackle as she turns anyone unfortunate enough to cross her path into gold. "We don't have time for this!"

A breath of relief escapes past her lips when they finally came to an agreement, deciding to at least leave the danger zone and wait for their daughter's safe return. But for now, they have someone they need to look after.

You felt terrible as Sabine took your hand in hers, Tom's protective hand not leaving your shoulder, as they led you out of the vicinity. Despite the guilt, as soon as the moment presented itself, you used their blind spot to your advantage and carefully slipped away to the bathrooms. You just have to remember when it comes to Spider-Woman, leaving your loved ones in the dark was something required, even if it meant hurting them in the process.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

The door slams shut, the harsh sound reverberating throughout the bathroom as you threw down your bag without caution. Inside it was your suit in case of emergencies a lot like this one. You're just glad you had the slightest sense intact to bring it along before you left home.

As you shed the extra clothing, struggling to get rid of the fabric, you began to reminisce the miraculous' magic. Oh, how easy it was to change into Widowyn with a snap of your fingers. No need to strangle with your clothes, or accidentally strangle yourself with your clothes; she just appeared. You really need to have a talk with Tony when you get back.

A smile beams at the thought, feeling giddy just thinking about the day you'll return home and actually have a talk with Tony. With Peter. Michelle and Ned. But for now, (you pull on your mask), you'll have a talk with Dawn.

"We have a problem." You pressed the insignia on your chest, the suit adjusting itself around your body to a perfect fit. "Adrien took a direct hit from the akuma victim. He's unable to transform."

"Meaning, Ladybug will have to fight the akuma by herself."

"Right." You say matter-of-factly, adjusting the tech around your wrists till they sat comfortably, giving the button at the bottom of your palm a test. "But not for long."

"Are you sure this is a reasonable response? You are still having trouble maintaining your stance because of your body—"

"What other choice do we have, Dawn?" You interrupt her, throwing your stuff into a stall, locking it shut with the help of your webbings. "Without Chat Noir, Ladybug won't be able to defeat the akuma. And until then, she has me as a temporary fill-in." You sigh, your mind flashing with the events that lead up to this very moment.

'Style Queen', as the akuma called herself. She had appeared without you being able to detect the dangers she may cause. It didn't go off then, and it didn't go off as she turned Adrien into a statue. You never had this kind of trouble, not even when you were thrown into this universe. Why now all of the sudden?

"A possible side effect in result of your body slowly disintegrating its matter. It's unwise of you to fight today." Dawn answers your relay of confusion to her, irked at the idea of you working yourself to exhaustion today which seemed easier to do than usual.

"But our answer to our worries could lie within this Guardian Chat Noir mentioned! We need to speak with Ladybug, and for that to be possible, we need to work through this mess." You exasperate, sighing at Dawn's silence. "I can do this. You can trust me, Dawn."

"I am only artificial intelligence, we do not trust. But. . . if this trust makes it easier to let you go through this, then trust in you i will."

You smile, nodding your head in appreciation. So against Dawn's better judgement (once again) you emerged from Grand Palais' bathroom in cameo to avoid startling anyone who happens to still be around. "It's eerily quiet." You muttered, straining your ears to have a listen throughout the building. Nothing but terrified chatter from the Parisians as they relive the events that unfolded before them.

With your steps retraced back to where the catwalk was held, with no signs of life inside its makeshift venue, you relinquished your cameo as you approached the empty platform. "Adrien isn't here anymore." You say with worry, turning your back as you looked around. "Where'd they take him?"

"I've located Ladybug. She's pursuing the akuma at the Agreste Manor." Agreste Manor? She must be looking for Adrien's father, still. But the question stands; what had Gabriel Agreste done to get this woman angry enough to attack his son?

"Then let's go, we have no time to—"

"Wait. They left the manor. It looks like they're heading towards the Eiffel Tower."

Your brows crease in confusion, the time duration far too short for anything to happen. Was Style Queen successful apprehending Gabriel Agreste or did Ladybug deter her plans? Or maybe he wasn't there to begin with. But that itself is odd, the man never leaves his home under any circumstances!

"Got it."

You hesitate, wondering if it mattered or not to hide yourself from everyone now that Ladybug and Chat Noir have seen you. Despite how useful it was as an immediate advantage on your enemies, it seemed it had only made you more tired in the end.

"I'm impressed. A wise choice." Dawn comments as you proceeded without camouflage, knowing better than anyone what kind of effects could have overtaken your body if you had decided to go against your better judgement.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get going." You say plainly, remnants of a smile ghosting your lips as you made you way outside of the Grand Palais, preparing yourself for the bountiful stares from the confused Parisian's upon your emergence.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Chloe grunts as her backside meets the ground painfully, face twisted in disgust as she thinks about all the dirt clinging to her outfit. And as if it couldn't get worse, she watched as her Mother released her childhood best friend from within her magics (an alter table appearing along with him), worried she was to hurt him as she approached him.

"Keep this safe for me, sleeping beauty." Style Queen teases his state, slotting a peculiar golden rose between his resting palms.

Her eyes widen as she creates a glass-like dome around Adrien's resting figure to keep anyone or anything out from his enclosure. Chloe scrambles to stand when she sees this, mistakenly speaking her worries. "You aren't going to hurt my Adrikins, are you Mother?" She tenses under her Mother's harsh glare, picking up on her mistake. "Uh, Style Queen?"

She flinches under the pointed staff at her, shielding her face away from the bright light it omits as Style Queen speaks, "You wanna join Agreste Junior, Kylie? Just ask, and I'll fire you!" She threatens.

Her smile tightens with an undertone of hurt, straightening herself out as she corrects herself. "No thanks. I'm good. We don't care about him." She hesitantly nudges the staff to the side, trying her best not to think about the disregard her Mother has for her, how ready she was to get rid of her.

Style Queen hums in question, eyes narrowing how quick her loyalty was to change. Who's to say she wouldn't be as quick to betray her? A lousy assistant she is, just like that boot licker that belongs to Gabriel.

But, what can the woman do? There aren't many options left when she had already turned most of them into golden statues. She clicks her tongue in annoyance as she lets her arm drop, staff returning to her side. "Make yourself useful, assistant. Tell me if you see Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

"Yes, Style Queen!" Chloe over sells it with a salute, keeping her posture straight. She had only let it fall when she disappeared, panic breaking her facade. "What am I gonna do?"

Instead of waiting around for Ladybug to show up, knowing there might not be enough time until her Mother comes around again, Chloe decides to take matters into her own hands and get to breaking the glass-dome herself.

When not even a crack produced under the force she mustered (which really wasn't that much) she whines out in frustration, "It doesn't break! Adrikins, wake up!" She pleads, her ministrations coming to a halt when she heard a commotion behind her.

"Ladybug?"

Chloe turns, expecting to see the only hero that earned her respects, only to shriek in terror at the sight of white, much bigger, bug eyes staring straight at her. "Stay back!" She shouts, throwing her arms around Adrien's imprisonment protectively, eyes screwed shut in fear. "I don't know who or what you are, but you better stay away from my Adrikins!"

The girl peeks an eye open at the sound of a body dropping to the ground, an unnatural noise that could make anyone's ears itch, followed closely by a painful groan. She had only dared to look over her shoulder when nothing but silence befell them, catching sight of 'bug eyes' arms buckling under their weight as they attempted to push themselves off the floor. "I'm not here to hurt you or your. . . Adrikins."

Chloe pouts at the feeling of guilt festering inside at  the sight of bug eyes struggling in discomfort, wondering to herself when did that become a thing for her. Maybe it was the day of Ms. Bustier's birthday when that spider freak showed her kindness despite how awful she was to her and her friends; even when she was the very reason almost everyone in their class was under Hawk Moth's control.

Gross.

But despite how uncomfortable this character development made her, and against her better judgement, Chloe awkwardly approached the struggling girl and offered a helping hand.

2ND POV

You blinked up at her hand, Chloe seemingly just as shocked as you were as you took her up on her offer. "Thank you." You smiled politely, wondering if this meant she had finally turned over a new leaf.

"You sound weird."

Your shoulders drop with disappointment, allowing her hand to drop from yours as soon as you were back onto your feet. "It's a precaution." You answered plainly. "Again, as I said before, I'm not here to hurt you or your—" you refuse to say that ridiculous nickname again, "—I'm a friend of Chat Noir's. You can call me Spider Woman."

"Spider Woman? Are you that 'mysterious miraculous hero' that wannabe news reporter nerd was talking about on her blog?" Chloe questions, refusing to delve into the reason as to why she was on said nerd's blog. Definitely not because she thought it was another update on Ladybug.

You made sure to over-exaggerate your eye roll so she could see it through your suits eyes. "Yes. Now, I need your help." You walked around her, Chloe's eyes widening with panic as you approached Adrien's alter. "Did you see where the akuma is hiding?"

You flinched at Chloe's sudden reappearance in front of you, the girl quick to take a protective stance that separated you from Adrien. "I'm not letting you off that easily! Just because you say your friends with Chat Noir doesn't mean anything to me!" She glares up at you, a brow raising at her behavior. Maybe she did have a caring bone in there. Somewhere. "I happen to be friends with Chat Noir AND Ladybug, they've never mentioned you before!"

"This is going nowhere." You muttered under your breath, opting to think about some quick tactics to get around Chloe. You could just shove her away or even use your webs to restrain her, but you're trying to keep a positive image for the people of Paris.

"I'll say."

You smile at Dawn's agreement, humming to yourself as you thought up a short plan. What better way to get through Chloe than through her ego? "That might be true, but I sure have heard a lot about you, Chloe Bourgeois."

The clueless girl takes the bait, her eyes widening with surprise. "You have?" And then its drops with realization, hearing just how lame she sounded. "I mean, of course you have. Who hasn't heard about moi?" She says with a condescending flip of her hair.

Is it too late to turn around and just web her up instead? Your eye twitches as you watched her ego blow up in sizes, nodding in painful agreement. "And I've also heard you've helped Ladybug and Chat Noir on numerous occasions. Do you think you could do the same for me?"

Chloe hums, looking behind her to Adrien's troubled state. Ladybug has yet to show up, could she really wait around much longer when there's a solution standing right in front of her? "Fine. But if this backfires, I'll tell my daddy on you!" She threatens, stepping out of your way, allowing you to approach Adrien as she follows close behind.

What would the mayor of Paris be able to do anyways? Banish you from existence? That job was already occupied by the Universe. "It's in the rose she put on him." She points out, the golden rose shining in his folded palms. "Where's Chat Noir? We could really use his cataclysm thingy right now."

"You're looking at him." You thought to yourself, huffing in guilt as you truly answered with, "I don't know. We're just gonna have to rely on the old fashioned way." And with a curl of your fist, you begin to wonder if the magical barrier could be broken this way. Surely it could if they were anything like the chains conjured up by Captain Anarka when she was akumatized. "Dawn?"

"Who, now?" Chloe looks around, judgment in her tone when she finds no one else other than herself she could be possibly talking to. Great. Not only is this person abnormal, but she's talking to herself now. Should she really intrust Adrinks life into the hands of a looney bin? There aren't exactly many options left when Ladybug has yet to show up to save them.

"Here." Dawn marks the weak point digitally, allowing you to see it through your suit's eyes. "It might not be breakable."

"Everything has it's weak spot." You've muttered to yourself, that much you've learned time and time again. Even if it is magic. "Stand back." You warned Chloe, drawing your fist back with an estimated force behind it, ready to crack down on the barrier when, "You!"

"Oh. Great." You sighed, turning around to see none other than Ladybug, hotheaded as ever as she approached you and Chloe. You could already feel the life draining out of you the longer she glared. Atlas, it was wishful thinking believing you'd be able to help Adrien without having to cross paths with the bug.

"Friends, huh?" Chloe looks to you accusingly, noting both of your demeanors were far from friendly.

"It's complicated." You mumbled to her. You didn't explicitly say you were friends with Ladybug, but you weren't about to make peace about that when the said heroine looked ready to blow a fuse. "Ladybug! How've you been?" You say overly friendly, kind of gross, in hopes it would keep things between you and Ladybug drama free. Again, wishful thinking on your part. You should really stop. Really.

"I'll be around'?" She quotes sarcastically, even with her own air quotations as she pointedly ignored your friendly small talk. "We haven't heard from you since the last time we saw you, and now you decide to show up?" A heavy sigh sounds. "Pretty suspicous, don't you think?"

"I'll admit, it took me longer than it should have, but I'm here now!" You exclaim, hoping to remain levelheaded as possible for the sake of yourself and Ladybug. Especially Ladybug. "And as much as I would like to clear the air with you, we have other matters to attend to." You motion to Adrien's still figure behind you, hoping the sight of the boy would move this conversation along. Hope. You've been using that word a lot, huh?

Ladybug scoffs. "Who's this we? Chat Noir and I will deal with this ourselves like always. We don't need your help." Your eye twitches. Just like how she didn't need your help fighting the Sapotis? Or Gorizilla? Captain Hardrock? Anansi? Bite me.

"Deep breaths."

Huffing at Dawn's suggestion, you reconsidered your next words carefully, exchanging them with the far less unkind ones you had in store for the spotted bug. "I don't know about you, but that cat is nowhere to be seen."

Your eyes slant as her face grew threateningly closer, the hand on your side curling into another tight fist. "And you wouldn't happen to have any involvement with that, would you?"

Chloe sweats at the malice growing between the two, only yours was more silent (much scarier) as you were unresponsive, unmoving as you stood your ground no matter how close Ladybug was.

"Um, HELLO?"

You blink, suddenly remembering where you were and who you're with at the shrill noise coming from Chloe. "Can you two have your pitiful little argument some other time? Adrikins is crumbling!" The girl warns, ceasing fight that could have pursed if she hadn't interrupted.

Ladybug's brows pinched with worry as she followed you to the alter, seeing that Chloe was unmistakingly right. She watched as from the feet up he began to slowly disappear, almost making her willing to work with the unknown spider beside her. "Did you see where your mother's akuma landed?" She turns to Chloe.

"In the rose."

You crossed your arms as you silently watched her pull out her yo-yo, making a pointless call to her missing partner. "You better come up with something fast, my mother is going to see you!" Chloe says, just as irked as you were watching her do completely nothing.

Your back straightens at the weak response, a faint skin-crawling reaction climbing up your spine just before Chloe's mother appears behind her. "It's really impossible to find qualified staff these days." Style Queen tiredly sighs, the young blonde nervously looking behind her. "You're fired!"

And with a simple flick of her magic staff, Chloe was silenced into gold before she could plead her case to her mother, turning her malicious glare to Ladybug. "Hand over those awful earrings and let's get this over with!" She says with an awaiting hand reached before her.

Ladybug's brows cinch with minor confusion when she chances a glance to her right where Spider-Woman originally stood, only to see the space no longer occupied. "Just perfect." She scoffs.

Although it was what she wanted all along, she was forced to realize maybe it wouldn't have been such a bad idea to accept the extra help when her yo-yo passed through Style Queen with minimum damage.

She cackles at Ladybug's distress as she grabbed onto the yo-yo's string that had yet to retract from her. She speaks, "You still don't get it, huh, fashion victim?" The heroine gasps as she gave a hard yank on the string, leaving her no choice but to let it go or else she would have been dragged with it. "I am invincible!"

With her yo-yo abandoned on the ground and no longer in her possession, Ladybug had no choice but to play defense as she fled from each golden beam sent her way, an explosion of glitter following. "My power is only equaled by my sense of fashion! I. am. invincible!" Style Queen cackles once again, her amusement falling as she loses sight of the bug.

The lonely heroine catches her breath behind the tower's infrastructure, her chest heaving as she chanced a peek behind her resting pillar for her yo-yo, only to see it no longer laid where it once did. "There you are." Style Queen grins, charging a powerful attack just for her.

"What?!" She shrieks in annoyance as the missing yo-yo hits her magic staff just as she sent out the attack, redirecting it elsewhere. How could that be possible when the owner of the said yo-yo was hiding with her tail between her legs?

Style Queen's eyes slant as yet another fashion victim reveals itself, mockingly playing with the weapon. "Eugh, it's just as bad as the spots. Glitterally unacceptable!" She sneers, resuming her attacks, only this time she had a new target.

Ladybug practically jumps out of her skin when Spider-Woman reappears beside her, mouth agape when she forced her yo-yo back into her hands. "Lose something?" She grits her teeth as she nodded, the only notion she could muster to show any ounce of gratitude to the spider. She didn't lose it! It was forced out of her hands.

And so with her yo-yo back in its rightful hands, the two jump back into the fray as Ladybug manages to piece somewhat of a plan together in her head. "She needs to be distracted long enough so I could call on my—"

"Lucky Charm? Leave it to me." Spider-Woman interrupts, knowing if she called on her special power now, it wouldn't be so ideal for Ladybug. But before Ladybug can voice her annoyance about being interrupted, Spider-Woman was long gone and calling for Style Queens attention with a taunting quip. All she could do was watch with a sour face as she effortlessly dodges each attack thrown at her, even managing to get some of her own in.

"Y'know, out of all things you could have chose from, I didn't expect you'd choose glitter to set the trend." You appear behind her, avoiding yet another beam of glitter, frustrating the akuma more and more as her attacks become more fervent.

"I don't expect someone dressed as yourself to know what's in and what's out!" Style Queen says through gritted teeth, blindly sending golden beams everywhere as Spider-Woman disappears into thin air.

"I happen to be wearing an innovative piece by none other than Tony Stark himself," a disembodied voice speaks, Style Queen grunting with each jab landed on her, "but I don't expect you to know who that is or what that means." She snickers.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug huffs, a mallet resonating from within her miraculous' magic, falling into her awaiting hands. "What am I suppose to do with this?" She questions it, her guard slipping too far as she scratches her brain for an answer.

"ENOUGH!" A frustrated Style Queen shouts, managing to land a lucky hit on Spider-Woman with a backhanded swing with her staff, forcing her out of camouflage and into Ladybug. The latter grunts at the force knocked into her, the mallet skidding across the ground and out of reach.

Ladybug sends an accusing glare at Spider-Woman, her frustration morphing into slight fear as she watched the girl glitch in and out of reality erratically, an irritating noise invading her ears. "What are you?" She hisses under her breath, quick to find her footing and take a stance before her, whirring her yo-yo into a shield to deflect Style Queen's charge.

With the main reason of her concerns out of the way and temporarily out of commission, Style Queen's confidence restored itself as Ladybug attempted to push her back.

"You can't beat me!" She taunts, relishing in Ladybug's frustration, making sure to make it known she was a far more easier target than the fashion disaster on the ground. "How can you defeat me?" Ladybug trips, falling onto her back with a panicked look. "You can't even touch me." Style Queen cackles, the opportunity to attack presenting itself to her.

Style Queen smirks down at Ladybug with her staff hovering merely centimeters away from her face, as she supercharges a beam, ready to end this pitiful fight once and for all. It cracks the ground underneath her, Ladybug's body forcibly rolled over by Spider-Woman.

"When are you going to admit you need my help?" Spider-Woman asks, more like tells her, as her chest heaved. All that Ladybug could give her was a glare, when suddenly, everything clicked into place as her lucky vision takes over.

"Not for long." She mutters, making Spider-Woman flinch at her surprisngly piercing words. Her momentary distraction allowed Ladybug to take over, quick to roll her off and freeing herself from underneath her. Back on her feet, she dives for the stray mallet (narrowly avoiding a golden beam) before turning to a ticked off Spider-Woman. "Try to keep her busy." Ladybug says, and with that, she flees the fight with no further explanation.

Your chest tightens as you hear Style Queen cackle from somewhere behind you as she delivered her witty one liner, reminding you the fight wasn't over quite yet. Your head begins to pound. You could hear your blood rushing in your ears, your heartbeat quickening as you allowed her words to get underneath your skin.

Try? All you did was TRY with her. You tried to be friendly, to remain levelheaded with her. You tried to remind yourself she was just as young as you were when you first started off. You tried to convince yourself that mistakes will be made, but she'll learn from them.

But time and time again, she had proven just the opposite; she refused the help when she was offered it. Where you going to get anywhere with her? No. . . you were done, but you'll be damned to allow her to get in between you and your path to home.

Without sparing Style Queen a glance, you disappeared and reappeared behind her just as quick, jamming your arm through her torso, purposely pulling your arm free through her side to widen the gap. She had little to no time to catch herself with her hands as she was shoved forward, her wrist aching as she caught her weight. Before she could even think about making her next move, you kicked her hand harshly, forcing her staff out of her hold and below into the city.

"She's defenseless."

You ignored Dawn's obvious statement, ready to pierce through her head with a final blow, when Style Queen dissipates into nothing but glitter, fleeing with her tail between her legs, your fist connecting with the metal below her instead.

It creaked under the force, the metal morphing around your fist and keeping it trapped. Your chest heaved with adrenaline and exhaustion, barely flinching as you pulled your hand free from its metal trap, its sharp edges tearing up your suit.

"Y/N."

Within the short years you had Dawn, you never thought her voice bank would be advanced enough to portray any emotions properly. But here you were, proven wrong once more as she called out to you like any mother would have when their child did wrong. It irked you.

"You could have injured her immensely."

"Ladybug's magic would have fixed it." You nonchalantly say, gripping the wrist of your injured fist, (un)curling it repeatedly as you watched pearls of blood seep from the cuts and spill over.

"You were out of line!"

Craning your neck, you winced at the dull ache in your head, the small ringing crescendoing into a shrill that almost had you out on your knees.

"Do you realize what you could have done? What it could have meant for—"

"Disable voice bank." Silence. It's what you craved for the most in this very moment and it felt oh so good to finally have it.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Now detransformed, Marinette barges into Master Fu's shop, panic written across her features as she slams the door shut with her body weight. "Master Fu, Chat Noir has disappeared! I can't defeat Style Queen without him and the Lucky Charm told me to come here!" She sputters all in one sentence, a little off put at Master Fu's unmoving figure.

With his back faced to Marinette, his focus seems to be on whatever was in front of him as he speaks, "Don't worry, Chat Noir is safe." He responds, still not opting to look over to Marinette.

"Well, what's he doing? Why isn't he helping me?" There's nothing Marinette could come up with that could be more important that saving Paris, other than the fact that he's in grave danger or ill. But as Master Fu said, he was safe.

Finally does Master Fu look to her, simply looking over his shoulder as he says "He's just lost his miraculous." Marinette's eyes practically bugged out of her head.

"Just lost his miraculous?" Her laugh is crazed as she grips at her head. "This is a disaster!" What is she going to do without him? She can't fight an akuma by herself, no matter how much she didn't want to admit it.

"That tomcat really gotten himself stuck up in a tree this time." A voice speaks, followed with an obnoxious burp that Marinette could have sworn she can smell from where she stands.

She peeks around Master Fu, catching view of a black kwamii that looked like a cat devouring camembert whole. "Lemme guess, you're Chat Noir's kwamii?" She flinches as the kwamii flew into her face, trying not to breathe in its stench as he speaks.

"Yes, he tends to copy me a bit too much, yet lately, he's been doing really silly things!" Plagg exclaims, crossing his arms as he continues. "In five thousand years, I've never experienced such an irresponsible miraculous owner! As a result, he's lost his ring and it's just me that's able to help you out!"

Master Fu gasps, quick to turn around and shoot down Plagg's idea. "No! That's out of the question, Plagg! You are way too dangerous without an owner."

Plagg's ears fold, fishing for remorse as he speaks, "Dangerous? Me? How so?"

"Does the disappearance of Atlantis ring a bell for you?" Master Fu talks of the mishap, crossing his arms as Plagg scratched at his head for an explanation.

"I had too much cheese!"

"The Leaning Tower of Pisa?"

"I didn't see it?"

"Dinosaurs?!"

"Oh. Yeah, okay. No, I. . . I did go too far there." Plagg admits his fault, not seeing no other way getting out of that one. "But I was young!"

The man sighs, standing up from his resting spot. "Neither Chat Noir, nor Plagg, can help you today." Marinette frowns, unsure how she could work around this one until he walked over to the old Gramophone. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you on this mission."

He places the miraculous box before her, allowing her to browse the remaining magical jewels. "Choose wisely, such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over, you will retrieve the miraculous from them."

"I need someone who can actually immobilize my opponent." Marinette thinks to herself, hand hovering between the Spider and Fox miraculous. Although both powerful, she was inclined to pick them only because she adored the temp. holders behind them, but she knew she had to be wise.

The Bee miraculous!

Master Fu watched as Marinette plucked the miraculous out of its safe keep, a curious look to him as he asks, "Do you have someone in mind?"

Marinette smiles with a determined nod. "I know just the right person!" But she hadn't seen her since the show broke out into an akuma attack. Where could she be?

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Ladybug makes her way back to the Eiffel Tower, failing to find either of the girls she had in mind. But with just her luck, she finds Alya creeping up the steps, phone in hand as she films her surroundings. It was eerily silent. . . where's Style Queen and Spider-Woman?

"Alya, don't get too close! It's dangerous!" She shouts, startling the poor girl out of her skin as she lands before her.

"It's hard to get a scoop when you're not in the middle of the action, Ladybug." She smiles, pocketing her phone as the hero approached her with purpose.

"Well, I have a scoop for you." Alya's eyes widen as she presents her a mini black jewelry box, being hit with a sense of deja vu. "Alya Cesaire. Here's the miraculous of the Bee, which grants you the power of subjection. You will use it for the greater good."

In a burst of golden glitter, Style Queen reappears fully rejuvenated, the remnants of her fight with the mysterious hero now gone. "Ladybug!" She calls out, interrupting the miraculous exchange. "You're out of fashion, give up!"

"Watch out!" Alya shouts, shoving Ladybug out of the way as Style Queen shoots a golden beam their way, sacrificing herself for the greater good. The spotted hero tumbles about, losing her grip on the miraculous' box, watching with dread as it falls many stories down the Eiffel Tower.

She didn't have much of choice except to face Style Queen, ignoring the grave mistake she just committed. As the box hit the ground, the lid gave out, uncovering the secret within. The brilliant shine almost seemed like it was beckoning anyone who was willing to seek it out.

The magical being could sense it, someone approaching. A gloved hand picks it up, a tightening hold. It was hard to tell, it was hard to fight it, but for all they could do was hope they fell into the right hands.

━━━━━━━━  𝑻𝑶 𝑩𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑼𝑬𝑫
(jul.27) uh oh someone's going a little nuts there! talking to herself, going ballistic. . . so fun! also guys please be nice with me I'm sensitive about my writing right now </3

BEFORE I FORGET HERE'S MORE FANART BY THE TALENTED JPRrogue

Please show them love for their hard work everyone! And if YOU have any fanart you'd like to share with me and your fellow readers, drop it off at discord! It shall be handled with care :)

ID: lunrxflwr

thank you for your patience <3

published on 07/27/24
edited on x/x/x

words: 9917