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Chapter Text

“One of our closest calls was when Marinette was framed by Lila and nearly Akumatized, along with a dozen other people. Fortunately, Nathalie had used the Peacock too much, and Gabriel was forced to abandon that plan when the strain of using the damaged Peacock Miraculous caused her to collapse.”

“But in this timeline, they were more cautious and used the Peacock less, so when the Scarlet Akumas infected their victims…”

“Verity Queen, Princess Justice, I am Scarlet Moth,” the supervillain said to Sabine and Marinette, “Since the innocent isn’t to be believed anymore, I’m giving you the power to expose the truth. As for you, my desperate loyal ones,” He said to the others he had Akumatized,  “Disappointed by she who you admired so much? I’m glad to have you back. In return, you will bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous.”

Marinette took off her earrings and held them out, “Here is my Miraculous, Scarlet Moth.”

Everyone (Akumas included) gasped in shock.

“Well, well, this is unexpected,” Scarlet Moth said.

“But welcome,” Catalyst added.

Adrien thought fast, he grabbed the earring and ran.

“No! Stop him!” Scarlet Moth cried out.

As some of the Akumas pursued Adrien, Gabriel looked at his finger… no, that wouldn’t be necessary. He could try talking to Adrien first.

The Akumas returned to the locker room, “He disappeared,” Weredad said, “He must have used the earrings to transform,” While they were gone, Princess Justice and Verity Queen had fully transformed into warriors with Chinese-inspired armour. Princess Justice had Lila pinned against a wall.

Lila was furious. They were supposed to fight each other so she could escape the chaos!

“you think Lila is so innocent?! Let’s put that to the test!”

She pulled a sword from her scabbard and pressed the point against her throat.

“Did you frame me for stealing the test answers?”

Lila opened her mouth to protest her innocence, but all that came out was, “Yes.”

Lila had the look of a cornered animal as everyone gasped again.

“Did you walk down the stairs, lie down and accuse me of pushing you?

“Yes.”

“Did you put that necklace in my locker? And is it really your grandmother's?”

“Yes, and no, it isn’t.”

Lila’s answers were making everyone who hadn’t been Akumatized vulnerable to the Scarlet Akumas.

“She framed my daughter!” Weredad roared.

“My goodness!” Zombizou gasped.

“This is unacceptable!” Dark Owl shouted.

“But why?” Princess Fragrance asked.

“Yes, why?! Reflekta demanded.

“She figured out I was lying to you dumb idiots about the famous people I said I knew and refused to keep quiet.”

“Dumb idiots?!” Timebreaker shouted.

“You lied to us?!” Dark Cupid added.

“What's happening?!” Lila asked, “That’s not what I want to say!”

“Scarlet Moth gave me the power to force people to speak the truth,” Princess Justice told her.

Lila growled, so this was Hawk Moth’s fault!

Verity Queen stepped forward, “And he gave me the power to show the truth. Let’s see what else you’re hiding.”

She pulled out a staff and shot a beam of light at Lila. Above her head, a floating screen appeared, showing Lila talking to Gabriel.

“I thought you were supposed to protect Adrien from Marinette. The one you said was a bad influence.”

This triggered another wave of outrage.

“My plan is taking a little longer than expected, sir. But you won’t be disappointed,” The Lila in the memory said, “Will you keep your promise if I succeed?”

“I always honour my commitments,” Gabriel Replied before his car drove off.

“What plan?” Gamer asked.

“To get you all Akumatized so you would defeat Ladybug.”

“You did that on purpose?!” Evillustrator said.

“What should we do with her?” Stoneheart asked.

“Rrraaagh!” Horrificator roared.

The Akumas were so distracted they didn’t notice Alya, Chloé, and Sabrina sneak away.

“It’s not just her,” Princess Justice said, “It’s Gabriel. He should be punished too!”

Scarlet Moth became nervous as the Akumas roared their approval. “Now, now. You don’t need to waste your time with him.”

“No!” Verity Queen shouted, “He conspired to ruin my daughter's reputation just because this girl said she was a bad influence on his son.”

“To the Agreste mansion!” Princess Justice commanded.

“Nathalie,” Scarlet Moth said, “I think we miscalculated.”

Chapter Text

Chat Noir had transformed and was hiding on a nearby roof.

He was struggling to absorb everything that had happened. Marinette was Ladybug, who had been framed by Lila and Akumatized, along with at least half a dozen other people.

“Tikki, what are we going to do?”

“We need to tell Master Fu what happened.”

“But I don’t know where he is.”

“But I do.”

Little did they realise that Chat was being watched.

“Where is he going?!” Chloé asked, “He needs to fix Dupain-Cheng’s mess.”

“Don’t you dare blame Marinette!” Alya snapped, “This is all Lila’s fault!”

Chloé snorted, “I think you and those other losers are partly to blame too.”

“What?!”

“Well, Dupain-Cheng did tell you all that Rossi was a liar, but you ignored her.”

Alya was silent.

“I think we should follow him,” Alya said.

“Why?” Chloé asked.

“Because he’s going to need all the help he can get, Queen Bee,” she snarked.

Chloé huffed.

“Alya!” A voice cried.

They turned to see Nino and Marc running toward them.

“Nino!” Alya cried out.

The two of them embraced.

“What’s going on? It’s Heroes’ Day all over again,” Marc said.

“We should hurry if we're going to follow him,“ Sabrina said, “He’s leaving.”

“What?” Nino said, “Follow who? Why?”

“I’ll explain on the way,” Alya promised.

Chat Noir found Master Fu at a carousel.

“Chat Noir? How did you know where to find me?”

“I told him.”

Tikki showed herself.

There was only one reason Tikki would be with Adrien.

“What has happened?” Fu asked grimly.

“There he is,” Alya said.

“Who’s he talking to? Nino asked.

At that moment, Chat Noir de-transformed, and the five of them stared in disbelief.

The Akumas had arrived at the mansion despite Scarlet Moth’s attempts to dissuade them.

“Find Gabriel Agreste!” Princess Justice ordered, “Take the whole place apart if you have to!”

The Akumas charged.

Chapter Text

Scarlet Moth and Catalyst hid in the lair as the mansion was being destroyed.

The lair shook.

“We have to dispel the Akumas!” Catalyst cried.

“If we do that, people will wonder why I stopped them from attacking Gabriel Agreste.”

“We’ll think of something. If we don’t stop them your identity will be revealed anyway!”

“Very well.”

But before he could do anything, the lair shook again, much more violently this time, until the whole room collapsed in on itself.

“Aaaahh!”

The two of them landed and dug themselves out of the rubble to come face-to-face with the Akuma army.

“Scarlet Moth and someone we don’t know?” Dark Cupid said, “What are you doing in Adrien’s home? Unless… Adrien is Hawk Moth!”

“What?! No! I’m not Adrien! Why would you come to such a ridiculous conclusion? He’s a teenager, and I’m clearly an adult.”

“Umm... yes, that would be silly,” Princess Justice said, “But that means you must be Gabriel and an Akuma who is boosting your powers.”

“Which means you planned to frame my daughter with Lila so you could Akumatize us,” Verity Queen concluded.

The Akumas closed in on them.

“Stop! I gave you your powers, and I can take–”

Princess Fragrance sprayed them with her perfume gun.

“What is your command?” They sang.

“Good work,” Princess Justice told Princess Fragrance, “Now that we have the accused, we can begin the trial.”

“This is not good,” Master Fu said once Adrien had explained the situation.

“That’s an understatement,” Chloé said from behind them.

Adrien, Fu and the Kwamis turned in surprise.

“What are you guys doing here?” Adrien asked.

“We followed you when you left the school–”

“So you could give me my Miraculous,” Chloé interrupted.

Alya rolled her eyes, “just you?”

“Well, yes, I’m the only hero among us.”

“Actually, there are two others,” Master Fu said, “Isn’t that right, Rena Rouge, Carapace?”

Everyone stared at Alya and Nino.

“Umm… yes, but how did you know that?” Alya asked.

“It’s my job. I am Wang Fu, the Guardian of the Miraculous.”

“Wait!” Nino said, “You mean you’re from the Order that Alya uncovered?”

“Yes, and if this situation is to be resolved, we’re going to need all of you.”

“Us too?” Marc and Sabrina said.

“Yes, I think the Rooster for you,” He pointed at Marc, “And Dog for you,” He pointed at Sabrina.

“What do they do?” Marc asked.

“The Rooster can give any ability you want… within reason.”

“Within reason?”

“Yes, It can’t be in the form of a wish. It can’t copy another Miraculous's power. Or interfere with another Miraculous's powers, so it can’t be used to track other Miraculous down.”

“Typical,” Chloé said.

“So, basically, no story-breaking powers,” Marc said.

“That’s an interesting way to put it, but yes.”

“And the Dog?” Sabrina asked.

“It can teleport any objects you touch with the ball it provides to you.”

“Oh…  great.”

“Don’t underestimate it. You wouldn't believe how many important and powerful things have been stolen using the Dog Miraculous.”

“So the rest of us will be getting our Miraculous back?” Alya asked.

“Not you. We need someone to use the Ladybug.”

“Trixx is going to hate that,” Plagg muttered.

“Why her?” Chloé complained.

“Because she never tried to crash a train,” Fu said.

“Ooh, burn!” Alya said, “I like him already.”

Chapter Text

Soon they had all transformed.

“Now we have to find the Akumas,” Chat said.

“We… know who they are going after,” Alya said.

“This is Clara Contard for TVi news. We’re live above the remains of Agreste mansion, which has been destroyed by an army of Scarlet Akumas who seem to have hostages… wait! Is that Scarlet Moth?!”

Scarlet Moth, Catalyst and Lila were standing with glazed expressions under Princess Fragrance’s control.

“People of Paris! I am Princess Justice, and this is Verity Queen. We were given the power to reveal the truth, and now we shall show it to you all.”

Princess Fragrance sprayed Lila.

“What?! Where am I?!”

Princess Justice put her sword to Lila’s throat, “Tell everyone what you did today.”

“I framed you for cheating on a test, pushing me down the stairs and stealing a necklace to get you expelled.”

“Why?”

“Because you saw through my lies about knowing celebrities and being sick all the time, I had to get you out of the way.”

Verity Queen stepped forward and used her power to show the events she described, including her conspiring with Gabriel.

Princess Justice motioned to Dark Cupid, who grabbed Scarlet Moth and took him high into the air.

Princess Fragrance then put Lila back under her control and released Catalyst.

“If you try to relinquish your power, your boss will fall. Now, it’s possible that he could survive thanks to his Miraculous, but are you willing to take that chance?”

Catalyst sighed in defeat.

She raised her sword, “Tell everyone who you are.”

“I’m Nathalie Sancoeur. Currently, I am Catalyst, but I am sometimes Mayura.”

This shocked everyone who was watching.

Verity Queen used her power to show her transforming into Mayura and helping Hawk Moth with his plans.

Princess Fragrance sprayed Catalyst, and Dark Cupid brought Scarlet Moth down and took Catalyst up.

When he was released, he was given the same ultimatum as Catalyst.

“Who are you?”

“Scarlet Moth, I’m usually known as Hawk Moth, but my real name is Gabriel Agreste.”

Once again, Verity Queen used her powers. They showed Gabriel transforming into Hawk Moth and purposely getting people angry so he could Akumatize them.

“Why do you want the Miraculous?” Princess Justice asked.

“The Ladybug and Cat Miraculous can be used to make a wish. I wanted them so I could change the past and save my wife.”

Princess Justice absorbed this and asked another question, “And what about all the people you hurt to try to get them?”

“All that matters is my wife.”

Everyone who heard this bristled.

“You will pay for this!” Scarlet Moth said to Princess Justice.

She scoffed, “You brought this on yourself when you trusted the word of a pathological liar over your son’s judgement.”

“He’s too sheltered to know who can be trusted.”

“And who’s fault is that? Besides, who out there could be worse than you?”

“How dare–”

“Venom!”

Queen Bee tried to paralyse Princess Justice, but Weredad jumped in the way.

“Dad!”

Queen Bee was joined by Chat Noir, Carapace and three others.

“Carapace, you help Queen Bee,” The new Ladybug hero ordered, “Rooster Bold, Miss Hound, try to get to Catalyst. We de-akumatize her, and everyone is free.”

“And what do you call yourself?” Princess Justice asked her replacement.

“Captain Bug.”

“...that’s terrible.”

“Okay, Wonder Bug.”

“No.”

“What about Super Bug?”

“Maybe I could save you the trouble of thinking of a name… by taking that Miraculous!”

Chapter Text

“What about Bug-a-Lady?”

Princess Justice swung her sword, “No.”

She ducked, “Lady Luck?”

“Better, but no,” Princess Justice threw a kick.

She blocked, “La Bugette?”

“That’s worse,” Princess Justice dodged the yo-yo.

“The Black Spots of Justice?”

“Now you're just being ridiculous.”

“I got it. I’m Scarabella!”

“Good, that’s settled. Now, are we fighting or not?”

“Shell-ter!” Carapace used his power to trap some of the Akumas in one giant shield.

“You’re going to pay for that!” Stoneheart shouted.

“Rrraaarrrgh!” Horrificator roared in agreement.

“Try it, losers!” Queen Bee shot back.

Meanwhile, Rooster Bold and Miss Hound were trying to find a way up to Dark Cupid, who still had Catalyst in the air.

Miss Hound dodged a blow from Dark Owl, “They're too high to hit with my ball.” 

“I got it,” Rooster Bold said, “I’ll give myself the ability to jump really high, Sublimation!” He jumped and almost reached them, but Dark Cupid moved to one side.

“Ha! You missed!”

Scarlet Moth was also trying to get to Catalyst. If he could get to her, he would be in control again. But the Akumas knew that.

“You’re not getting to her!” Gamer said and shot at him.

Scarlet Moth jumped back and blocked Verity Queen’s staff, “You encouraged a sociopath to frame my daughter!”

“She should have stayed away from my son.”

“I was thinking the same about you. You’re not fit to be a father!”

Scarlet Moth snarled and attacked.

Scarabella backflipped to avoid a slash from Princess Justice’s sword, “Lucky Charm!” She received a dog lead and looked around. Scarlet Moth and Verity Queen continued to duel. Carapace and Queen Bee fought on as the Akumas trapped in the Shell-ter attacked it, creating cracks. And Miss Hound was protecting Rooster Bold as he continued to try to get to Catalyst. Scarabella noticed something in her hand… a tablet!

“Miss Hound, give your ball to Rooster Bold so you can use your power on the tablet!”

“No! Stop them!” Princess Justice commanded.

Rooster took the ball and jumped again, but this time, he threw the ball into the tablet.

“A ball? Seriously?” Dark Cupid asked.

When Rooster Bold landed, he gave Miss Hound the ball back.

“Fetch!”

The ball streaked up to the tablet. When they came into contact, they disappeared and the tablet reappeared in Miss Hound's hands.

“Noooooo!” Princess Justice cried.

Miss Hound broke it in two, and red and black clouds covered the Akumas before fading.

“Waaaagghhh!” Kim and Nathalie started to fall, but Scarabella used her yo-yo to create a net to catch them.

“I’ve always wanted to do this, Miraculous Scarabella!”

The ladybugs restored all the damage from the battle.

“Thank you, but I think it’s time we take our leave,” Hawk Moth said before grabbing Nathalie and leaping away.

“He’s getting away!” Chat shouted.

He and the other heroes gave chase, but Hawk Moth was too fast, and they escaped.

Everyone who was Akumatized was trying to make sense of what happened.

“The last thing I remember was expelling Marinette,” Principal Damocles said.

“I can tell you what happened.”

Everyone turned to look at Alya, “Or even better, I can show you. I recorded the whole thing on my phone.”

“Because of course she did,” Chloé said.

Lila began to leave as everyone watched the video, but she bumped into someone.

She looked up to see Lieutenant Raincomprix’s stern face, “Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”

After the dust settled, Marinette returned home.

“Hawk Moth and Mayura know who I am, Tikki,” Marinette said, “What do I do now?”

“They may know who you are, but the whole world knows who they are. We have the advantage.”

“But Adrien… he’s alone now.”

“Gabriel and Nathalie made their choices, and now they’re paying for them. All you can do is be there for him.”

“And so a new phase of the war began.”