While the animals escaped, Ladybug and Chat Noir had made it back to where they last saw Animan. But instead of being tied up like they were expecting, they found Ladybug's yo-yo laying on the ground with no Animan in sight.

"But... it's unbreakable!" Ladybug exclaimed when she saw that Animan had escaped.

"He didn't actually break it." Chat Noir observed as he squatted down and picked up the yo-yo to inspect it. "Yeah, it's still intact." The feline hero confirmed before he gave the yo-yo back to Ladybug.

"Then how did he get away?" Ladybug wondered out loud as she grabbed her yo-yo from Chat Noir, allowing him to stand up from his crotch.

"I don't know, but we better find that boy before he does." Chat Noir reminded, taking great care to not say Kim's name in order to protect his identity. With the goal in mind, Ladybug threw her yo-yo while Chat Noir extended his staff, both using their weapons to propel them into the air and leave the zoo in search of Animan or Kim.

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Inside the panther enclosure, Alya and Nino could see all the events happening outside. Needless to say, the lack of ability Alya had to either help the heroes or film the battle was getting to her.

"It looks like we might be stuck in here for a while." Nino remarked while Alya tried to break the door down, sitting down on a log as he watched her.

"How can you be so calm?! We. Are trapped. In a PANTHER CAGE!!" Alya exclaimed, her eyes wide with panic as she turned from the door to face Nino.

"It could be a lot worse, Alya." Nino reminded, trying to calm her down.

"How can it be worse?!" Alya questioned, not seeing the bright side Nino was referring to.

"The panther could be in here with us." Nino replied, pulling Alya out of her panicked state for a moment.

"Okay, you got me there." Alya reluctantly admitted, taking a breath right before her frantic train of thought took over again. "Regardless, I need to get out of here!!!" the reporter exclaimed, turning back around to try and open the door again.

"I wasn't aware that you were claustrophobic." Nino spoke up, trying to rationalize why Alya was acting the way she was.

"I'm not." Alya replied, still focusing on getting out of the cage they were in.

"Then why are you acting like you are about to spiral into a panic attack?" Nino asked, hoping she would give him a straightforward answer this time.

"BECAUSE I AM NINO!!! I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE, AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! SITTING AROUND AND DOING NOTHING!!!" Alya shouted, finally abandoning her failing attempts to open the door to fully face Nino once again.

"Hey, calm down. Ladybug and Chat Noir will take care of things. They always do. You know that." Nino tried to reason with Alya, standing up from the log he was sitting on as he spoke.

"THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT!!! NOT ONLY AM I MISSING ALL THE ACTION AND CAN'T FILM IT FOR MY BLOG, BUT IT'S MY DAD THAT'S AKUMATIZED!!" Alya went on, taking a few steps forward to glower at Nino, despite her being a few inches shorter than him.

"Wait, what?! How are you so sure?" Nino questioned, backing up a bit to avoid Alya's wrath.

"THE AKUMA IS A PANTHER!! MY DAD IS IT'S PRIMARY CARETAKER!!"Alya shouted right at Nino's face, her eyes glowing with rage. "Kim must have annoyed it in front of my dad and got him angry enough to get akumatized." the reporter muttered to herself, looking to the ground as she made her observation. But once she did, she walked away from Nino and sat down on the log he had been sitting on.

"Do you have any idea how it feels to see a member of your family turned into a warped version of themselves? When you know that they aren't truly that type of person?" Alya questioned Nino, her eyes tearing up before she placed her head in her hands to hide her crying from Nino. At the sight of the distraught Alya, Nino could see that she needed a comforting hand.

"No... I don't." Nino trailed off, walking over to Alya and sitting next to her. "Alya, I'm sorry. I didn't realize how this could feel for you." the DJ apologized as he placed a hand onto her shoulder, Alya managing to calm down from her crying to wipe her tears away.

"It's okay. I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you." Alya replied, feeling regretful that she had lost her temper at Nino.

"Can't say I blame you. It's your dad." Nino reflected as he scratched the back of his neck in response. "You guys must be pretty close." the DJ theorized, hoping to learn more about the bespeckled reporter.

"Very. He and my mom have always told me and my sisters to follow our dreams." Alya regaled, wiping away the last of her tears as she looked back up at Nino. "But admittingly, I didn't follow their advice until this year." the reporter admitted as she leaned her arms against her legs, looking down at the ground.

"How come?" Nino asked.

"I haven't really told anyone this... but I wasn't always the 'Confident Alya' you see everyday." Alya revealed, leaving Nino shocked at her admission.

"What!? I don't believe that for a second!" Nino exclaimed, finding Alya's confession a little far-fetched.

"It's true. Before I transferred to Françoise Dupont, I wasn't confident in myself. But I had big dreams to become a world-changing reporter." Alya began as she sat up and fully turned to face Nino so she could start her story. "I had tons of blog ideas I wanted to make a reality. But despite the encouragement from my family, I feared that what I had to say would be judged, ridiculed, or dismissed entirely. So when I started the new school year, I promised myself to be more confident and finally make my first blog." the reporter elaborated, Nino sitting quietly and listening attentively as she spoke.

"At first, I was thinking of using one of my already thought-of ideas. But then... the first akuma attack happened. When I filmed the battle in the stadium, the last thing I expected to happen was my video making the news. It was like Ladybug and Chat Noir were my; pun intended; lucky charm. The Ladyblog isn't just my first ever blog, but it's also my way of honoring my family's encouragement, and how I show my gratefulness to our hometown heroes for giving the last push I needed to begin working towards my dream." Alya regaled with a fond smile on her lips, feeling better now that she talked about her story. Once Alya was finished with her story, Nino could only stare at Alya in amazement.

"Wow... that's incredible, Alya." Nino gushed, feeling unworthy of being in her presence after her story.

"Yeah, pretty cool. It's why I was panicking so much earlier. I feel like I'm letting them down." Alya explained, feeling more open towards Nino than she had before.

"Considering Ladybug was the one who put us in here, I'd say she'll understand. Same with your family." Nino assured before he leaned back on the log, supporting himself with his elbows.

"Thanks Nino." Alya thanked as she followed his example, feeling much more at ease now... at least until a sudden thought came to the forefront of her mind. "But just to clarify, this doesn't mean I'll go out with you." the reporter confirmed, hoping to clear any uncertainty between her and Nino.

"That was the farthest thing from my mind!" Nino quickly replied, turning to face Alya with a frantic look in his eyes. But now that he had a chance to process Alya's words, Nino finally realized... "Wait... how did you know about that? And about Kim wanting to go see the panther?" the DJ asked, an eyebrow raised in questioning at Alya.

"Well... I was actually here the whole time. I was hiding in the bushes with the intention of coaching Marinette through a hang out with Adrien." Alya admitted, reaching a hand to scratch at the back of her neck at her admission, much to Nino's sudden confusion.

" 'A hang out with Adrien'?" Nino questioned, leaving Alya to glance over at him in bewilderment.

"You really don't know?" Alya asked.

"Know what?" Nino inquired, feeling like he was missing some information.

"Marinette has a gigantic crush on Adrien." Alya elaborated, shocking him.

"Really?" Nino asked, unable to hide his now conflicted emotions.

"Yep. She was hoping to get closer to him today." Alya replied, turning to look back at the door as she spoke.

"Wow, I didn't realize... I never stood a chance, did I?" Nino muttered out loud, looking at the door alongside Alya as he processed the new information.

"What do you mean?" Alya questioned, glancing back at Nino as she did.

"Look, I don't have a crush on you. I actually have a crush on Marinette." Nino admitted, finally clearing up the misunderstanding he had caused.

"Wait, what? Seriously?" Alya exclaimed, not believing what she was hearing.

"Yep. The only reason I said I had a crush on you was because I chickened out when I tried to tell Marinette the truth. But it didn't help to have Adrien nagging in my ear to tell her that." Nino vented, finally leaning forward to rest his arms on top of his legs like Alya had done earlier.

"Adrien was here the whole time too?" Alya questioned, her eyes growing as wide as an owl's at Nino's confession.

"Yeah, he was. I had an earpiece with him on the other end to help me out." Nino explained, much to Alya's amusement.

"Believe it or not, that's how I was coaching Marinette. It seemed like the best idea." Alya replied, finding the whole situation quite funny as well as coincidental.

"That's what I thought of too!!! I figured that if I had Mr. On the Cover Weekly helping me out, I would be able to tell Marinette how I feel." Nino elaborated, explaining his thought process despite it being very spontaneous. "But it turns out I never had a chance." the DJ recalled, feeling a little foolish now that he knew the truth.

"Sorry about that, Nino." Alya apologized as she copied his posture, feeling sorry for her friend.

"It's okay. If anyone has to win Marinette's heart, I'm glad it's my best friend." Nino admitted, straightening up and turning to Alya again as he spoke.

"Sounds like you're the only boy Marinette is close to that thinks that." Alya reflected, thinking about a conversation she had with Toby a few weeks back about the half-siblings's struggles in romance.

"Let me guess, Jim is being tough on him?" Nino guessed, knowing all about how protective Jim was of his little sister.

"Yeah, he is." Alya answered, only to remember the elephant in the 'room' that just presented itself. "Wait, you know about Jim and Toby?" the reporter questioned, her gaze and tone taking an interrogating turn.

"You do, too?" Nino asked, glad that someone else knows as well.

"Yeah. After I got akumatized into Lady Wifi, Marinette introduced me to them. And they are a riot." Alya explained, a smile appearing on her face as she reminisced that particular day.

"That sounds like them, alright." Nino agreed, nodding his head in contemplation.

"How do you know them?" Alya asked, her reporter instincts taking over.

"Marinette and I have been friends since we were in dippers. I was the first person outside of the family to know about them. Ironically, me being friends with Mari for that long was part of the reason why I developed a crush on her." Nino regaled as he started playing with some of the foliage around them, sharing his own story to Alya so she could understand him a bit better.

" 'Part of the reason'?" Alya wondered out loud, wanting to know the whole story.

"I only realized I had a crush on her recently. Yesterday was the thing that made me realize it." Nino elaborated, a shy smile appearing on his face.

"Really? It took Marinette cussing at our science teacher to realize you had a crush on her?" Alya questioned as she reverted to her previous reclined position.

"Yeah, I know. Pretty crazy, huh?" Nino inquired with a small chuckle as he once again scratched the back of his neck, forgetting about the leafy plant he was messing with.

"A little. But I've heard worse ways to fall for someone." Alya assured before she gently punched his arm, amused by Nino's reactions to her questions. "You'll find the right girl for you. I know you will." the reporter finished with a smile, bringing one to Nino's face as well.

"Thanks Alya. I appreciate your support." Nino thanked, happy to have someone like her in his life.

"You're welcome." Alya replied before she hugged him, Nino following suit after he registered her embrace. Once they were happy with the amount of time they were hugging, Alya pulled away and stared right at the boy in front of her.

"By the way, I heard you finished a new mixtape. Could I get a sneak peak?" the reporter asked, redirecting the conversation to keep it going.

"It would be my pleasure." Nino replied, pulling out his phone and plugging in his headphones so Alya could listen to his latest tunes. As soon as the headphones were over her ears, Alya was transported into the world Nino created with his music... and she liked it. She liked it a lot. And as she leaned against Nino's shoulder, both him and Alya were unaware of the bond forming between them.

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Back with our heroes, they had done a full sweep of the city with no sign of Animan or Kim. Just when they thought they wouldn't find them, they landed on a rooftop near a bridge that was located next to the zoo and saw the akuma and Kim.

"There they are! Over there!" Chat Noir exclaimed as he pointed at the bridge, causing Ladybug to see Animan closing in on Kim.

"It's down to just the two of us, Kiddo." Animan taunted Kim, who fell onto his butt as he backed away from the panther akuma, still closing in on him. "And then there was one." the akuma snarled before he lunged at Kim, ready to attack him. But thankfully for the boy, Ladybug stopped the akuma by sending her yo-yo to wrap around his ankle and yank him back.

"You're not getting away this time!" Ladybug exclaimed as she began to drag Animan towards her. While she was taking care of the akuma, Chat Noir had the opportunity to reach Kim.

"Quick, go and hide in the first building you come to." Chat Noir ordered Kim as he helped him back to his feet, placing a tracker on his back before he ran off. Now knowing that Kim was getting to safety, both heroes turned their attention back to Animan.

"You'll never get me!" Animan proclaimed before he transformed into an eagle, flying away from Ladybug and Chat Noir. Now seeing Animan's true abilities, they ran to the rail of the bridge as they watched the akuma retreat.

"Now we know how we got away earlier." Chat Noir remarked as he perched himself on the top of the bridge railing, acting like his namesake.

"Where's Kim?" Ladybug asked, standing next to her partner. In response to her question, Chat Noir pulled out his baton and showed her the tracker function pinpointing Kim's current location.

"Good job, kitty." the spotted heroine praised as she scratched Chat Noir's chin, the feline soaking up every minute of it before they ran off to find Kim. Fortunately for them, Kim listened to Chat Noir's advice and found refuge in the closest building he could find... the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

"Help! Rescue me! Please!" Kim begged before he dropped to his knees, exhausted from running some much in so little time. At the sight of the poor boy, Tom and Sabine rushed to help him.

"It's okay, son. Come this way. Easy." Tom assured Kim as he helped him to his feet while Sabine closed the door, just before a crocodile passed by on the street outside the building.

Unbeknownst to the civilians in the bakery, Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived at the building and landed on Marinette's balcony to form a plan.

"He's safe inside this building. Panthers can't open doors, so he won't get inside." Chat Noir pointed out, still taking the time to act like his namesake and perch himself on the balcony railing.

"Panthers can't, but what if he morphs into a smaller animal?" Ladybug brought up, deciding to be practical and stand on the balcony to avoid falling off. "Like a mouse, or..." the spotted heroine continued, trailing off as she tried to think of any smaller animals that could find their way inside the building.

"Right..." Chat Noir replied, releasing that Ladybug had a point. "But we do have an advantage over him. We know exactly where to find his prey." the feline hero added, bringing up a positive to their current situation.

"Animan will sniff him out sooner or later, but you're right. It's bought us a bit of time to plan our next move." Ladybug said, realizing that Chat Noir had the right idea before she glanced down at the street, spying a man fixing his tire. But he was interrupted by an escaped bear and frightened away, abandoning his car in favor of staying unharmed.

"We have to stop Animan before Paris turns into a Jungle." Chat Noir exclaimed after he and Ladybug witnessed the interaction.

"Agreed, follow me!" Ladybug replied before she and Chat Noir leaped off of the balcony and landed on the ground before entering the bakery. Once inside, they spied Tom and Sabine tending to a still exhausted Kim while Ladybug took point on letting them know that she and Chat Noir were there with them.

"Hi, mo...am." the spotted heroine greeted, nearly slipping up and revealing her identity with how at ease she usually is around her mom.

"Oh, you're..." Sabine began, making Ladybug begin to panic at the thought that her mom would recognise her immediately. "... you're Ladybug!" the superheroine's mother finished, gushing about the fact that Paris's resident superheroes were in her and her husband's bakery. At the sound of Sabine's words, Ladybug immediately relaxed.

"Yeah, exactly!" Ladybug replied, grateful that her identity was still a secret. She already had Jim, Toby, Master Fu, Tarnite, Vorgar, Blinky, Aaarrrgghh!!!, Draal; and possibly Vendal, know her secret... she didn't need anyone else knowing.

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(Time skip)

Very soon, the three civilians and superheroes made their way to the apartment area of the building, deciding that would be a better place to hide. Once they were settled, the T.V that was still running while they entered the room suddenly switched to the TVi Newsflash.

"We interrupt this broadcast with a special report." Nadja Chamack announced, appearing on the T.V. screen. "Animals are invading Paris. The police work harder trying to contain the situation. For your safety, stay in your home and remain calm." the news reporter elaborated as video clips of said animals played on the screen.

"Mayor Bourgeois will address the–" Nadja continued, only for Sabine to turn off the TV in the middle of her report, allowing a moment of silence to fill the room.

"You'll be safe here." Ladybug assured Kim as he sat on the living room couch, sipping some water Tom had given him when they entered the room. "Can I borrow this?" the spotted heroine asked as she knelt down in front of Kim, pointing to his wristband.

"Sure." Kim replied, giving her the wristband. But while Ladybug was with Kim, Chat Noir was taking the time to look at a photo of what appeared to be Marinette's family that was sitting on one of the shelves of a bookcase.

At first glance, he could see Marinette in the middle, with two boys, who he assumed to be Jim and Toby, flanking her in the middle of the photo. Towards Marinette's right were her parents, while towards her left were two unfamiliar women; one of which was short and in their elderly years, while the other had orange-brown hair and was around Sabine's age. All in all, their wide smiles brought a feeling of content to Chat Noir the more he kept staring at it.

'They look so happy.' Chat Noir mused in his thoughts, not even noticing Ladybug walking over towards him.

" Come on, Chat Noir. We better get going." Ladybug remarked, bringing Chat Noir out of his thoughts to refocus on the task at hand. "Make sure you lock all the doors and windows." the spotted heroine told Tom and Sabine, hoping to keep them safe from the ensuing battle.

"We'll take care of the rest. You won't be in danger." Chat Noir added.

"Thanks Da-- I mean, sir, for all your help." Ladybug said to Tom, once again almost slipping up and revealing her identity. Thankfully, the baker didn't seem to notice.

"You're welcome, Ladybug." Tom replied, allowing Ladybug and Chat Noir to begin their plan. Knowing that the civilians would be safe, they raced to the bottom of the stairs, where Ladybug placed Kim's wristband on one of the gold orbs adorning the end of the stair railing.

"Et voila." Ladybug proclaimed, their bait ready to go. With their trap set, the heroes headed back into the bakery front, only to be greeted with the sight of rampaging zoo animals just outside. But while Chat Noir kept staring at the chaos, Ladybug was enacting the last part of their plan and sprayed air freshener onto her partner.

"Whoa! What's that stuff?" Chat Noir exclaimed just as Ladybug sprayed herself with the air freshener too, waving his hand around to break up the strong scent.

"Air freshener! It'll cover up our scent so he can't smell us." Ladybug explained before she put it onto a nearby counter, done using it for the moment.

"Thanks. I've always wanted to smell like... Ocean summer breeze?" Chat Noir remarked, taking the time to sniff himself in the middle of speaking. Once he was done, the feline hero spied a small box sitting next to the air freshener can and picked it up.

"Couldn't we capture him inside something like this?" The hero in black questioned as he held the box towards Ladybug.

"Only until he transforms into something bigger." Ladybug replied before she looked around for a solution to their problem, only to look outside and see an empty bus near the bakery. "Would that make a big enough cage?" the heroine in red wondered out loud, seeing the potential in using the vehicle in such a way.

"Definitely." Chat Noir agreed. "But how could we get him inside there?" he asked, only for his ears to start flicking around as he heard Animan coming.

"He's coming!" Chat Noir announced before he pulled Ladybug towards the ground so they could hide behind the front door to the bakery. Outside the building, Animan was flying towards the bakery and suddenly caught onto the smell of Kim's wristband, prompting him to go directly to the bakery. Once he was just outside, he began circling around the front of the building to determine where exactly the scent was coming from, unaware of Ladybug and Chat Noir hiding behind the door and ready to catch him.

"It's working. He's sniffing out Kim!" Ladybug exclaimed after peaking over the edge of the front door's window, only to catch Chat Noir sniffing her. As soon as he saw that she found him out, Chat Noir could only giggle in embarrassment, much to Ladybug's annoyance.

"Follow me." the spotted heroine ordered before she got up and crept towards the back of the bakery, Chat Noir following behind her. Meanwhile, Animan finally confirmed where the scent was coming from and headed directly to the bakery's side door. From there, he turned into a ladybug and entered the building through the keyhole. But as soon as he reached the wristband, Ladybug trapped him in the box.

"A Ladybug? Smart choice." Ladybug complimented the akuma, only for the box to begin shaking as Animan turned back into a panther. Immediately after he assumed his preferred form, the akuma chased Ladybug and Cat Noir out of the bakery and out into the empty street.

"Couldn't he choose a slower-moving animal?!" Chat Noir complained as he and Ladybug led Animan to the abandoned bus, locking him inside once he entered it.

With the akuma trapped with them, both heroes hid on opposite sides of the back half of the bus while Animan looked for them in the small space. As he stalked closer to them, the heroes nodded at each other before jumping out and surprising Animan. But while Chat Noir kept Animan back with his baton, Ladybug ran to the front of the bus to look for their way out... only to come up empty handed.

"Where's the button for the doors?" Ladybug questioned aloud before she went to the driver's area to search the main console for the alleged button. But after pressing all the buttons with no result, she had her answer.

"Of course nothing works! No keys!" The spotted heroine ranted in frustration, accidentally pulling Chat Noir's focus away from Animan long enough to allow him to transform into a bear. By the time the feline turned back around, Animan swiped away his baton and knocked Chat Noir to the floor, his baton skidding to a stop at Ladybug's feet.

"Take his Miraculous... The ring! The ring!" Hawkmoth demanded from his psychic link with Animan, the golden opportunity right in front of the akuma.

But before Animan could attempt to take it, Ladybug kicked Chat Noir's staff back at him, allowing him to grab it and extend it to knock Animan away from him. With the new opening, Ladybug threw her yo-yo at Animan and trapped him in its coils to allow Chat Noir to escape from his reach. In response, the akuma morphed back into a ladybug, leading to Chat Noir to take a turn at attacking him by throwing his staff at him. Unfortunately for him, Animan evaded the baton with ease, making it hit the back of the bus before ricocheting back to Chat Noir... still missing Animan completely. When the attacks stopped for a moment, Animan finally took the time to transform back into a panther. But when he did, the akuma was sagging to the floor out of exhaustion.

"All these transformations seem to be tiring him out." Ladybug noticed, glad to finally have something to work with against the akuma.

"Then just let him wear himself out. It'll make it easier to capture his akuma." Chat Noir replied before he leaped to the front of the bus, and reached for the console as he called for his...

"Cataclysm!" The feline hero cried, summoning his signature move and using it to make all the buttons work. The result sent the bus to go haywire, allowing the doors to rapidly open and close, alongside the now flashing head/tail lights, window wipers and ringing bell. Using the chaos to their advantage, Ladybug and Chat Noir manage to escape the bus before it powered down again, leaving Animan trapped inside it.

"It's not exactly a cage, but... it'll do." Ladybug remarked just before Animan morphed into a bear to try to escape his cage.

" I don't think he can 'bear' to listen to that noise." Chat Noir quipped, adding a dollop of humor to their near victory.

"You're almost too much to bear." Ladybug quipped back before turning her focus back onto Animan, oblivious to Chat Noir's smile at her pun. "Now we wait." the spotted heroine announced before they watched Animan transform into different animals in an attempt to escape the bus. Once such transformation was a gorilla, which they hadn't seen until that moment.

"Ready to free the akuma?" Chat Noir questioned, seeing Animan getting more tired. As if to answer his question, Animan halted his escape attempts and turned back into a panther, exhausted as he laid on the bus floor.

"It's working!" Ladybug exclaimed, happy to see her plan was going so well. But her good mood was put on hold when Animan transformed one more time, the new animal filling the space inside the bus and blocking the heroes from getting a clear view. Fortunately for the heroes, Animan's new transformation burst through the top of the bus, destroying the vehicle and revealing the akuma's new dragon form as it roared into the sky.

"Hey! Since when do mythical animals count?" Chat Noir complained, despite the fear he had building in his chest at the sight of the dragon.

"Considering Trolls exist, other mythical creatures must exist too. And technically a dragon is... still an animal." Ladybug brought up, even though she wished the opposite was true at that moment. Just when she finished speaking, Animan roared at the two heroes, causing them to slowly back up as he took to the skies.

"Well, I know some other animals that will soon be myths... The cat and the ladybug!" Chat Noir exclaimed, prompting him and Ladybug to escape as Animan swooped down at them. The two heroes then ran all over the empty street, all while the roaring dragon leveled out before hitting the ground and continued chasing them. Thankfully for Ladybug and Chat Noir, they managed to make Animan crash into an empty shop front, which gave them the chance to hide behind the side of a car. With them able to catch their breath, Ladybug finally had the chance to call on her...

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted before her power gave her a...

"A fire extinguisher?" the spotted heroine questioned when the object landed in her hands.

"Nice! Something we can actually use!" Chat Noir cheered, happy to have a more straightforward Lucky Charm this time round. He then looked out from their hiding place and saw Animan crawling along the street, trying to sniff them out instead of tiring himself by flying overhead. Ladybug even followed his example and looked at Animan as well to figure out their plan.

"Okay, here's the plan." Ladybug decided, pulling them back into hiding before Animan could spot them. "You climb on top of him where he can't swipe at you, and while you're distracting him, I'll bring him back to the ground with my yo-yo. Once he's down, you keep him contained while I'll throw the extinguisher into his mouth to fight any flames he uses. Then I'll go for the bracelet." the spotted heroine explained, outlining her plan to her partner.

"Sounds like a good plan. I can be very distracting." Chat Noir praised, right before he leaned into Ladybug's personal space in an attempt to flirt with her. But despite his confidence, Ladybug just pushed him away by his nose before making the move to stand up and call Animan over to them. Just when she was about to, Chat Noir suddenly had a thought.

"Wait!" the hero in black exclaimed, grabbing Ladybug's arm to pull her back down. Unfortunately for them, Animan spotted them in the corner of his eye.

"What if he breathes fire on you before you get the chance to use the Lucky Charm? You won't have your yo-yo to protect you if it's holding him down." Chat Noir pointed out, fearing for Ladybug's life. Yes, their suits made them nearly invulnerable, but they were dealing with real danger with Animan's dragon fire. It was a little concerning.

"I'll just have to use your baton as a shield." Ladybug concluded, much to Chat Noir's displeasure. He hated even thinking about seeing her in potential danger.

"If that's the case, why don't I just do it?" Chat Noir argued, hoping to keep Ladybug out of the line of fire.

"Admittingly, you are stronger than me. I need you to hold him down so I can get the bracelet." Ladybug explained, both of them unaware of the thundering footsteps coming towards them. But seeing how deadset Ladybug was on her plan, Chat Noir could only sigh in acceptance.

"Are you sure about this?" Chat Noir asked, making sure that she had no doubt in her plan.

"I'll be fine, Chat. I trust you." Ladybug assured right before Animan found them, the dragon crushing the car they were hiding behind under his powerful legs.

With his prey in sight, Animan chased after them once again, even taking off into the air again to give himself an advantage. But before he could get too high, Chat Noir jumped into the air and landed on top of him, effectively distracting the beast. Seeing the plan was working, Ladybug threw her yo-yo at Animan, where it wrapped around him and pinned his limbs to his body, and pulled him back down to the ground. Once Animan was down, Chat Noir leaped off of him and landed right next to Ladybug, ready to take over for her.

"Alright, now for the next part of the plan." Ladybug announced as she handed him her yo-yo string, only for Chat Noir to place a hand on her shoulder.

"Be careful, okay?" Chat Noir reminded her, still not fully into this plan. At the sight of her partner's worry, Ladybug smiled up at him and covered his hand with her own.

"I will be." Ladybug reassured right before Animan roared again, reminding them they still had a job to do.

"Here we go!!!" the spotted heroine exclaimed, gently taking Chat Noir's hand off of her shoulder before she started running towards Animan. Once Chat Noir saw her heading towards the dragon, he pulled the yo-yo string tight just as Animan breathed fire at his partner. But like they planned, Ladybug then spinned Chat Noir's baton to create a shield, protecting herself from the flames, much to Chat Noir's worry as he can only watch.

'It's okay, she's doing fine. You're worrying over nothing.' Chat Noir recited in his head, trying to calm himself from the scene in front of him. Soon enough, Ladybug managed to adjust the staff so she could spin it with one hand, and chucked the fire extinguisher towards Animan's mouth.

The Lucky Charm sailed through the center of the flames and landed dead on target in the back of his throat, exploding a second after it was swallowed. The white foam then flooded Animan's mouth, extinguishing his fire breath and causing him to choke on the chemicals. This allowed Ladybug to quickly grab the bracelet off of him before he could fire at her again. Chat Noir was relieved when he saw her safe and sound, and watched as Ladybug smashed the bracelet with her hands, allowing the akuma to fly out.

"No more evildoing for you, little akuma!" Ladybug exclaimed as she opened her yo-yo to reveal the sparkling pool of cleansing energy inside. "Time to de-evilize!" she shouted before she threw her yo-yo toward the akuma, catching it in her yo-yo. A second later, she released the purified akuma, setting the white butterfly free.

"Bye, bye little butterfly," Ladybug said as the butterfly flew away, before throwing the fire extinguisher lucky charm into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" the spotted heroine cried out, summoning the magic ladybugs and cleansing cure.

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The cure then swept through the city, restoring everything back to normal. One such correction was returning the panther that inhabited the cage Alya and Nino were trapped in, back inside while placing the two teens on the bench just outside of it. As soon as they saw what had been in the cage before their brief stay, both Alya and Nino glanced at the enclosure in shocked realization.

"We were just in there." Nino muttered, his eyes wide as he stared back at the cage in front of them.

"Yes...yes we were." Alya replied, mirroring Nino's reaction. "Want to get out of here?" the reporter asked, turning back to Nino as he did the same.

"Cookies from the Dupain-Cheng bakery?" Nino offered, eager to leave as well.

"Yes please!" Alya exclaimed, prompting them both to leap out of the bench and quickly exit the zoo.

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Back over with Ladybug and Chat Noir, they both watched as Animan turned back into Otis. With the threat gone, Chat Noir was more than relieved to see Ladybug walking back towards him.

" Pound it?" Ladybug asked, only for Chat Noir to hug her in response. "Uh, Chat? What are you...?"

"That was a wild ride." Chat Noir said, it being his only response before his Miraculous beeped its warning. "Whoops! Better take my whiskers and run!" the black cat hero exclaimed, taking his baton back from Ladybug and swapping it with her yo-yo before making his exit. Unbeknownst to him, Ladybug was looking at him fondly as she watched him leave.

"See you tonight, Chat Noir." Ladybug muttered to herself before she walked over to a disoriented Otis.

"Oh! What happened to me?" Otis questioned Ladybug, like every other akumatized victim before him.

"Everything's okay. But you should get back to the zoo and check on your animals." Ladybug assured before she helped him to his feet, soon taking him back to the zoo to do just that.

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Meanwhile in Hawkmoth's lair, the butterfly man himself seethed at his once again denied victory against Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"You ruined everything, Ladybug. This is not how it was supposed to end!" Hawkmoth yelled with a groan at his recurring defeat. This was getting tiresome to the resident villain, and his patience was waning with each passing day.

"But I promise you, one day it will be me at the top of the food chain! And you'll be nothing!" the male version of a 'Karen' proclaimed before the window of his lair closed up, encasing the room in darkness once more and leaving him with his numerous butterflies.

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With the akuma dealt with and Otis back at the zoo, Ladybug made her way back home, eager to finally rest after all the excitement that had happened. But she was barely able to lay on her chaise for an exhausted second after transforming back when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she soon saw that the person trying to call her... was Alya!

"Oh no! I forgot all about Alya! She's gonna be so mad at me!" Marinette panicked when she saw her phone screen.

"And imagine if she knew you're the Ladybug who shut her up in a cage with Nino!" Tikki remarked, flying out from Marinette's purse to float next to her holder.

"Yeah, and she'd actually kill me." Marinette agreed as the phone kept ringing, knowing her best friend all too well by now. "Guess I'll have to take 'mad' then." the designer decided before she answered the phone, getting up from her chaise to begin walking down to the bakery downstairs.

"Listen Alya, I'm sorry about earlier. I should have never told Nino I set up a date with you. I just wasn't thinking. But I'll explain everything to him, so don't worry. Promise. Do you forgive me?" Marinette said to Alya as she made her way down to the ground level of the building, exiting through the side door to make her way to the bakery front. But once she did, she immediately saw Alya, causing the both of them to laugh at their unexpected silliness. A second later, Nino came walking out of the bakery with a bag of cookies from the bakery, and gave one to Alya.

"Thanks, Nino." Alya thanked before she took a bite out of the treat, all while Marinette was looking at the both of them as if they grew two heads.

"Do you want one, Marinette?" Nino asked, snapping Marinette out of her staring to finally ask some questions about what was happening in front of her.

"Uhh...What's he doing here?" Marinette questioned Alya, trying to be discreet despite the fact that the boy in question was right in front of them.

"Ladybug locked us up together in the same cage all afternoon." Alya explained, much to Marinette's slight panic that her best friend mentioned it to her in her civilian identity as if it was nothing unusual.

"It turns out we have lots in common." Nino added, smiling over at Alya before turning back towards Marinette. "By the way, Marinette, you know that girl I've got a crush on?" the DJ asked, nervously scratching the back of his neck as he spoke. At the mention of the mystery girl, Marinette nodded in response.

"It was actually you." Nino admitted, surprising Marinette. "Or that's what I thought. But after chilling with Alya that whole time..." the DJ continued, only for Alya to interrupt him midway.

"Yeah, well...we don't have to give her all the deets, do we?" Alya remarked, hoping to keep some moments of their time together private.

"Oh, yeah, my bad." Nino replied, seeing the appeal of her words.

"The funniest part of it was that Nino was being totally coached by Adrien at the zoo!" Alya announced, glad to finally share that piece of information with her bestie. And like she expected, Marinette was further surprised by the confession.

"Adrien was there!" Marinette exclaimed, feeling almost mortified that her crush had tried to set her up with his best friend. No offense to Nino, of course.

"Yup! LOL, huh?" Alya laughed, trying to lighten the situation for Marinette, considering she could see the nerves radiating off of her at that moment. Thankfully, it seemed to have worked... at least until Nino decided to speak up again.

"Alya tells me you've been crushing on some dude." Nino brought up, sending Marinette back into a spiral of worry.

"Wait, what?" Marinette cried out before she glanced at Alya, feelings of betrayal swimming in her eyes.

"He doesn't know who it is! Pinky swear!" Alya quickly reassured as she placed a hand on her bestie's shoulder, easing some of Marinette's worry while she crossed their pinkies together. "And that's cause... I don't go and make decisions for other people!" the reporter pointedly reminded, causing Marinette to blush out of embarrassment.

'Yeah, I deserved that one.' Marinette thought to herself.

"But if you want, I could totally make it happen!" Nino offered, only for Alya to step on his foot, effectively stopping him from spilling any beans. "That is, if I knew the dude!" the DJ exclaimed, trying to play it off as if Alya didn't tell him about Marinette's crush on Adrien... which she totally did.

"Nino!" Alya warned, her glare turning fiery as she tried to stop him from running his mouth anymore.

"Fine. Pretend I never said anything." Nino said, much to Marinette's confusion as she watched the exchange between the two going on. "But if I...can help." the DJ continued, once again beginning to run his mouth when he shouldn't.

"Nino!" Alya growled, now getting infuriated by his insistent offer of help. But all their bickering caused Marinette to smile. She could tell that they would be very close in the near future... very close indeed.

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(Time Skip)

Once Alya calmed down, she and Nino had told Marinette some of the details that happened in their time together. It even led to Nino inviting Marinette to watch him participate in 'The Challenge' the next day. While she was grateful for the offer, especially since he mentioned that Adrien would be coming, she did warn Nino that she might not be able to make it due to... recent events. After they left the bakery, Marinette was surprised to find out that Animan; a certainly versatile akuma to handle; had been taken down in the half hour after he had been akumatized.

But that only gave Marinette more time to get some rest before training with Master Fu, to which she had taken a nice little nap. Once she woke up, feeling much more rested than she had that morning, she quickly freshened up and placed the book Jim lent her into a miscellaneous book bag she had laying around. With her cargo secured, Marinette transformed back into Ladybug and zipped over to Master Fu's apartment, making great time and arriving 5 minutes before 5pm.

"Nice to know I'm not the only one who decided to be early." a voice behind Ladybug spoke, causing her to turn around and see her partner landing on the rooftop as well.

"Hey kitty." Ladybug greeted with a smile as he walked over to her. But once he got closer, she could see he was not carrying his usual air of confidence and seemed a little down. "You okay? You seemed pretty shaken up after we defeated Animan." the spotted heroine remarked, her concern for her partner etched on her face.

"I'm fine. I was more worried about you, honestly. You really scared me when you went into the flames earlier." Chat Noir admitted as he walked over to the edge of the roof and sat down, his legs swinging over the edge as he looked down at the street below. "I know that our suits make us invulnerable, but... it's still hard to see someone I care about put themselves in such imminent danger." the feline hero continued, allowing Ladybug to understand some of his somber mood as she sat down beside him.

"Hey." Ladybug spoke up, bringing Chat Noir's attention back over to her. With his full attention on her, she gently took his closest hand in hers and placed it on her chest. "Feel that? It's my heartbeat." the spotted heroine said, looking him dead in the eyes as she attempted to comfort him.

"I'm alright. And I always will be if we keep working together. Okay?" Ladybug assured with a smile, making Chat Noir smile up at her at her words.

"Sounds good to me, m'lady." Chat Noir replied as he pulled her in for a hug, much to Ladybug's slight surprise since she was always the one to initiate hugs between the two of them. But she thought of it as a nice change of pace, and hugged him back. When a good amount of time had passed, the two teens pulled away from the hug and stood back up.

"Now, let's finally get some training!" Ladybug exclaimed, excited to finally get some real training to sharpen their skills.

"My thoughts exactly." a voice behind them called out. At the new presence on the roof, the two heroes turned around to see Master Fu standing on the roof behind them.

"It's nice to see you two here early." Master Fu greeted, a smile present on his features.

"Well, we are finally getting some instruction on the powers we were given. I'd say that's a good enough reason to be early." Ladybug pointed out as she and Chat Noir walked over to him.

"Fair point." Master Fu replied.

"So what are we going to cover first? Combat? Agility? OH!!! What about super cool hidden powers!?!?!" Chat Noir began questioning, his own eagerness for what they would learn starting to show through.

"I'm sorry to say that we won't be covering such things until later today." Master Fu answered, hating to be the one to tell Chat Noir that he and Ladybug would have to wait a bit before the more intense stuff.

"Aw." Chat Noir groaned, slumping over in disappointment.

"Then what are we covering first?" Ladybug questioned, hoping that they would actually be covering something for their first session with Master Fu.

"I was hoping to cover a bit more lore." Master Fu admitted, soon looking over at the bag slung over Ladybug's shoulder. "Which I assume is the reason you have that bag with you?" the guardian asked, pointing it out to those in attendance the bag she carried.

"Yeah, it is." Ladybug replied, reaching into the bag to pull out the book Jim had given her before leaving Arcadia. "A little gift from the Trollhunter." the spotted heroine revealed as she handed the book to Master Fu, who looked at it in reverence.

"Volume one of 'A Brief Recapitulation of Troll Lore'! Very rare in the human world." Master Fu revealed, feeling humbled that he was holding such a precious book in his hands.

"The Trollhunter used this to study Draal for weaknesses before their duel yesterday. I thought that we could use it to do the same thing." Ladybug elaborated, revealing the usefulness that the book had to offer when used properly.

"So we can use this to fight any of TrollKind's threats that come our way?" Chat Noir asked, his eyes wide in excitement at the thought.

"That's the idea." Ladybug replied with a smile.

"AWESOME!!!" Chat Noir exclaimed, jumping into the air with a fist pump.

"Hold your horses, Chat Noir. It's not that simple." Master Fu chided, causing Chat Noir's excitement to immediately tone down.

"Why not?" Chat Noir wondered out loud.

"While we can indeed learn from the book... The only problem is that it is written in Troll." Master Fu explained, admitting to their limited current use of the book at the moment.

"So we have the knowledge, but we can't read it?" Chat Noir questioned, an eyebrow raised at the old guardian as he spoke.

"I'm afraid so." Master Fu replied with a nod.

"Dang it!" Chat Noir groaned, a pout appearing on his face. But upon seeing the conversation between her partner and Master Fu, Ladybug suddenly had an idea.

"We can't read it, yet!" Ladybug exclaimed, a familiar twinkle in her eyes as both of the males present looked over at her in confusion. "I'm always in contact with the Trollhunter, and was recently introduced to his trainer, Blinky. I'm sure he can help me in making a translation key to figure out what the book says." the spotted heroine explained, providing a solution to their current little problem.

"Terrific idea, m'lady!" Chat Noir praised, a prideful smile gracing his face as he took in her words.

"Yes, that could work." Master Fu mused, seeing that it was truly a good idea. "However, with the wait for the translation key, it means my intention to start your training with more knowledge will have to wait as well." the Guardian said, bringing up the only downside to the idea Ladybug had offered.

"Understandable. I'll get to work on it this weekend. Something tells me I'll have plenty of time to do so." Ladybug proposed, knowing that she would most likely be grounded the next morning.

"So does this mean we'll be covering some more exciting parts of our formal training instead?" Chat Noir asked, his excitement coming back tenfold at the thought.

"It does." Master Fu replied.

"YES!!" Chat Noir shouted, once again jumping into the air with excitement.

"As if you needed more of an excuse to show off." Ladybug teased, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched Chat Noir calm down from his hollering.

"I can't help it if I'm perfect!" Chat Noir purred before he began flexing his biceps, all while Ladybug rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.

'As if he wouldn't take the opportunity to flirt with me.' Ladybug thought to herself as she glanced to her left to avoid looking at her partner's antics.

"Unless you want to spend all our time bantering... we should start." Master Fu announced, bringing the teens's attention back onto him so they could actually get some work done.

"Yes, master!" the two teenage heroes replied before they were led to a sparring area on the roof. It was hidden behind the chimney, and yet covered a good amount of the rooftop. Meanwhile, an alcove that held what looked like a well stocked potion pantry sat towards the middle of the roof across from it. Once they reached the sparring mat, the two heroes were instructed to face each other and stand at the ready. They did as they were told, eager to start practicing.

"Begin!!" Master Fu exclaimed, leading to the two heroes to begin the first of their many future sparring matches.

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Night came sooner than the teens expected. Both her and Chat Noir were pretty wiped after a couple dozen sparring matches against each other, but it did lead to some improvements in their techniques. Chat Noir tended to leave himself open quite a few times when he pulled back from attacks, leading to many a nasty blow from Ladybug's yo-yo in retaliation. However, Ladybug was more limited when it came to close range combat, which resulted in Chat Noir evening the score in the number of hits she received from him. From there, Master Fu had all the information he needed to improve their singular fighting styles, in hopes that in the event an akuma thought to split them up they could defend themselves easily.

"Whew, what a workout!" Chat Noir groaned as he and Ladybug sat against the chimney, catching their breath from their intense training.

"You... said it. I honestly didn't think we'd be so winded after this." Ladybug panted, leaning on Chat Noir's shoulder as they rested.

"Well, we are learning how to be the best heroes we can be. Considering this is the first day of training, it makes sense." Chat Noir remarked, stretching his arm above his head to crack his sore back.

"Indeed. But you've done enough for tonight." Master Fu spoke up as he walked over to them, drawing the two heroes' attention to him as he crossed the sparring mat, writing in a notebook in his hands. "I can begin to work on ways to improve your weaker points in combat, so that we can focus on those next time. In the meantime, you two better get some rest." the Guardian reported as he finished writing in the notebook and closed it back up, tucking the pencil into the rings of the book.

"Sounds good to me. (yawn) I've actually got somewhere I need to be tomorrow." Chat Noir admitted as he stood up from sitting against the chimney, his arms rising into the air as he yawned mid-sentence. He had to get up early so he could meet up with Nino before he went on 'The Challenge'.

"Me too." Ladybug replied, following her partner's example and standing up as well with a stretch of her back. 'If by some miracle my parents don't ground me, that is.' the spotted heroine thought to herself, knowing that her parents would definitely ground her now that it was the weekend and they could pin her down.

"See you guys later!" the spotted heroine farewelled before she swung away, leaving Chat Noir and Master Fu behind on the rooftop. But unbeknownst to her, someone was watching her from the shadows.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Miraculous Ladybug. Looks like my night just got more interesting." the mysterious figure mused to themselves before going after the spotted heroine. Such a feat would have been impossible for any normal person, especially on rooftops... but this was no ordinary mortal. It just so happened to be the Changeling spy Strickler had asked Pierre to send after Marinette. When he took the job, he thought it would be simple enough... only to find that he lost sight of his target at the zoo earlier that day.

Ever since then, he had been scouring the city for the pigtailed girl, trying to find her so he wouldn't fail his mission. So imagine his surprise when he saw Ladybug leaving Chat Noir and Master Fu, seeming like she was on her way home. As he jumped from rooftop to rooftop in his pursuit of Ladybug, he was intrigued to see that the neighborhood the heroine was heading to was the same one his original target lived in. Just when he landed on a rooftop next to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, he nearly fell off the roof trying to stop himself from leaping off of it when he saw Ladybug landing on the balcony on top of the bakery.

"What is she doing here?" the spy muttered out loud as he crouched down to hide from any lookie-loos, still watching Ladybug. His question was quickly answered when he saw Ladybug become surrounded in a shower of pink sparkles... revealing her true identity.

"Great Grumbling Gruesome!" the Changeling exclaimed as quietly as he could, his eyes wide as he saw Ladybug turn into Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He was so shocked that he didn't even move as he watched her retreat back into her room, unaware of a witness to her transformation. Once she was gone, however, he finally found the motivation to stand up and move again.

"This is huge!! I-I-I-I can't believe it! I've discovered Ladybug's identity!!" the spy cheered, unaware of someone quietly dropping down onto the roof he was on and creeping over towards him. "I have to tell everyone!" the Changeling decided, finally calming down enough to form a rational thought. But his celebration was put on hold at the sound of a sword leaving its sheath behind him.

"No... you won't." a voice behind the spy purred, right before the mysterious arrival slashed the blade through the air across the Changeling's throat. A second after the figure had done so, the spy suddenly turned into stone, his eyes wide and mouth agape in surprise as he became solid rock. Once the figure saw that the Changeling was dead, they stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the city below the rooftop.

It was a female troll. Wild, thick and messy hair of mahogany brown going past her knees to the top of her calves, and almond shaped eyes of blue scarla with black slit pupils adorned her diamond-shaped face. A small scar on the corner of her left eye mirrored a large scar on her right cheek that touched the corner of her mouth, going well with her seafoam stone skin, and large teal nose to her forehead. Covered by her wild hair were medium length pointed ears that point behind her with the bottom parts of the ear adorned with gold ear cuffs to the end of the ear. Her hourglass figure with muscled arms and legs were covered with small and large scars as well as her chest, while she towered over the troll she just killed. Four lower jaw fangs poked out from her mouth; two on each side; and medium sized, dark blue horns rose from her hair to that point behind her.

Her attire consisted of a close fitting, dark magenta tank top with black leggings to her mid-calves. Alongside that, a dark brown leather belt was wrapped around her chest, holding a large amount of knives, while a collapsible bo staff was strapped onto her back with the belt. To finish it off, dark brown leather leg holsters were strapped around her thighs to hold military grade pistols/spare bullet rounds, and thick dark brown leather forearm guards up to her elbows adorned her arms.

With a look at the now dead spy, the female troll put her sword away, stowing it in her hair as she kept staring at the stone statue in front of her.

"Too close. That was too close." the female troll muttered to herself before she flicked the Changeling's head, causing it to fall off of the rest of its body and onto the roof. She had decapitated him! But she could care less about the dead troll in front of her... she was more concerned about the girl he was sent to spy on.

"Honestly, that girl is completely unaware that her house can be easily spied upon." the assassin of the spy griped as she kicked the rest of the Changeling to the roof, causing it to shatter into pieces. With the Changeling now in chunks, the female troll pulled out a sack from within her hair and picked up any evidence of the spy's presence, stuffing it in the sack. It took a bit to grab all the pieces of the Changeling spy, especially the bits turned into the size of gravel. But once the intact head was stuffed into the sack, the female troll tied it closed and slung it over her shoulder before looking over at the Dupain-Cheng bakery one last time.

"The little Ladybug needs to be more careful. Otherwise her little secret won't remain as such for much longer." the female troll sighed out before she leaped off of the roof, heading into the night and towards unknown places. 

(A/N: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Pictures of Animan's dragon form are on Ao3 if you guys are curious.)