#antielle

'Either there's two bitter Ladybug wanna-bes running around Paris, or we've got a problem,' Chat thought.

"Let go of me!" Chloé cried out, struggling against the akuma.

"Let go of you? Why should I?" the akuma demanded.

"Because she said so, and that's the polite thing to do?" Chat said.

The akuma jumped at the sound of his voice, clutching Chloé tighter. "Don't come any closer! I'll kill her!"

Ladybug took a deep breath. 'Get Alya out of here,' she thought. This was the first time an akuma had openly threatened to kill someone and she didn't like it. She stared at the back of the akuma, at the back of Coccinelle and wondered where the akumatized object could be. She couldn't see if the akuma was wearing earrings, but maybe -

Chat quickly made his way over to Alya, giving the akuma a wide berth. They had no way of knowing how much had been said, but it was very likely that Alya had recognized the akuma. If so, she was smart enough to figure out that Coccinelle's civilian self had been akumatized - yet she'd stuck around anyway. He shot her a look, to which Alya smiled innocently. Chat just shook his head and gently pushed her the rest of the way out the door, then pulled the door shut. Before Alya could pull it open again, he jammed a broken desk beneath the handle to keep her out.

"Coccinelle," Ladybug said.

"Don't call me that! I'm Antielle thanks to you!" Antielle swung around, expression full of rage. "You took my miraculous back!"

"Actually, I took my miraculous back," Ladybug said, deciding to leave Master Fu out of it for the time being. Her feelings towards him were very complicated right now, but that didn't mean Master Fu deserved to have an akuma trying to kill him.

"If you're mad at Ladybug, what's your beef with Chloé?" Chat asked, taking his baton in hand. Thankfully, Chloé had the good sense to remain quiet even though she was shooting Ladybug and Chat increasingly desperate looks. She had slid to the floor when Antielle turned around but couldn't escape.

Antielle snarled as she twisted to glare down at Chloé again. "She made me look like a fool in front of the whole class!"

And suddenly, Ladybug put two and two together. Antielle’s hair and eyes had both turned black, but her hairstyle was very familiar – two shorter strands on either side of her face, though now tied off with red ribbons as opposed to orange bands. Like a fog that had been magically lifted, she realized that Coccinelle’s hairstyle had been extremely similar and could’ve slapped herself for not having seen the truth earlier.

"Wait - Lila?!" she exclaimed.

"Oh my god," Chloé said, looking shocked.

"Holy shit," Chat said.

'I can't believe Master Fu gave Lila the Ladybug miraculous,' Ladybug thought, completely horrified.

'At least now we know why he refused to give her the Bee or the Fox miraculous once he figured out what kind of person she is,' Chat thought back.

"You think you're so smart, Bourgeois," Antielle continued, using her grip on Chloé's jacket to drag Chloé back to her feet. Her face contorted with fresh anger. "Adrien and I are meant to be together and I'm going to make it happen no matter what it takes!"

"Adrien will never love you," Chat said. "He has better taste than that!"

"That's right. Besides, Chloé isn't the one you should be mad at. It's me," Ladybug said. "Adrien might have actually noticed you if you had the Ladybug miraculous, but now you're nothing. You're worse than nothing." She poured all the contempt she had ever felt for Lila into a sneer that made Chloé proud. "Right now, you're not even good enough to kiss my boot."

Antielle screamed in pure rage and let go of Chloé to launch herself at Ladybug, who threw herself out the window. She used her yoyo to swing herself to the roof on the other side of the street but failed to account for the fact that Antielle would also have a yoyo. Their bodies impacted with a force that left Ladybug gasping for air and sent her flying, and she found herself rolling across the rooftop instead of landing the way she’d hoped to.

“Ladybug!” Chat cried out.

‘I’m fine,’ Ladybug thought. ‘Get Chloé out of there and somewhere safe!’ She rolled to a stop and sat up as Antielle landed smoothly on the rooftop.

“You think you’re so hot, Ladybug,” Antielle said, stalking towards her. “Everyone in Paris thinks you’re amazing. Wonder what they’d do if they all knew that you were nothing without that miraculous? I can’t wait to strip it off you and show Paris what you really are.”

“Not gonna happen,” Ladybug said, scanning Antielle quickly. The Ladybug suit in all of its iterations couldn’t really hide much. Antielle had no pockets. So whatever her akumatized object was, it had to be visible. That left her hair ribbons, her earrings, or her mask as potential objects. None of which would be easy to get.

“Anti Charm!” Antielle shouted, throwing her yoyo in the air. A black swirl of light produced what looked like a water gun, which Antielle caught. “Here, Ladybug, a care package just for you!” She aimed the nozzle at Ladybug and pulled the trigger.

Ladybug threw herself out of the way of the orange substance that came out. Whatever it was, it sizzled and hissed threateningly as it splattered across the roof. Ladybug stared, somewhere between shocked and horrified, as the orange liquid started melting the roof. Then she looked back at Antielle, gulping when she saw that the water gun was pointed at her again.

‘Chat, you might want to hurry up,’ she thought, dodging another blast of the orange liquid.

‘I’m coming, My Lady. I took Chloé to your bedroom,’ Chat thought.

‘My bedroom? Seriously?’ Ladybug thought, glancing around. She wanted to make a run for it, but she was worried about Antielle spraying an innocent person. There was no telling what that stuff would do to the human body.

‘It was the closest safe place I could think of that Antielle wouldn’t.’ Chat landed on the opposite side of the roof, leaving Antielle trapped between them. Ladybug immediately felt better with him there.

“I suppose you think your kitty is going to help,” Antielle said mockingly, pumping the water gun.

‘Try for her earrings,’ Ladybug thought, spinning her yoyo.

‘Got it,’ Chat thought, taking his baton into his hand.

They both leapt forward at the same time. Antielle unleashed a blast of the orange liquid in Chat’s direction, forcing him to dodge, then spun around to meet Ladybug. She was inhumanly fast, to the point where even Ladybug found herself struggling. She did manage to knock the water gun from Antielle’s grip and kick it away, but Antielle just laughed and punched Ladybug in the stomach. Ladybug gasped at the unexpected pain and reared back.

“I’m better than you,” Antielle scoffed, pivoting to kick Chat in the chest. Then she grabbed her yoyo and wound it around Ladybug, giving it a good yank. Ladybug yelped as she was sent flying into Chat and they both crashed to the ground.

‘How are we supposed to do this if we can’t even get close to her?’ Chat thought, sitting up and rubbing his head.

‘I don’t know…’ Ladybug sat up too and immediately pushed him away, jumping out of the way herself as more of that orange liquid splashed over where they’d just been sitting. Antielle was strong and fast – too much so. They needed something to keep her still.

"You know, I much prefer it when our roles are reversed and I'm the bait," Chat said, but he turned to do as she'd asked. Ladybug watched them both go and then forced herself to turn away, scanning the horizon. It shouldn't have taken Antielle that long to crawl out of the dumpster. She had to be planning something. But what? Not knowing made Ladybug nervous. Antielle was by far the strongest akuma they had faced so far.

But it was little wonder. Lila had plenty to be angry about. Not only had the miraculous and her chance at fame been taken out from under her nose, Chloé had shown her that picture of Marinette and Adrien and Alya had been pressuring her about another interview. It was probably a good thing that Lila hadn't known that Marinette had suggested the interview, or Antielle would've been after her too. For that matter, it was frankly surprising that Antielle wasn't trying to kill Marinette - but then maybe Marinette was number three on her list...

'Okay, stop it. Thinking about someone trying to kill Marinette is freaking me out,' Chat thought.

'Sorry,' Ladybug thought, realizing that she was letting her mind get away from her. 'I just wish that Master Fu had been more careful about who he chose as Coccinelle. I'm sure Lila would've gotten akumatized eventually, maybe even today... but she wouldn't have become Antielle and so maybe she wouldn't have been such a problem. Those Anti Charms of hers pack a real punch.' She rubbed ruefully at her shoulder.

'I don't know what he was thinking. All I can think of is that Master Fu was desperate. He did say he hadn't had the chance to look at any candidates. Pretty sure he just picked the first person he came across that day. Plus, you know how good Lila is at lying,' Chat thought.

Ladybug did know, and she could easily imagine Master Fu being suckered in, like so many other adults at the school, by Lila's faux sweet nature. Still, that made it no less frustrating. She paced around the roof, wondering if they would be facing an akumatized Lynx next. She really hoped not. Antielle's Anti Charm was bad enough; Ladybug couldn't fathom what Cataclysm would be like in the hands of an akuma...

"Ladybug, look out!"

Queen Bee's warning came just in time. At the sound of it, Ladybug reacted instinctively and threw herself to the ground. Something passed over her head so close that she could feel it and hit the roof behind her. She pushed herself up and turned, eyes widening at the sight of an honest-to-god arrow. The tip was sunk several inches deep in the roof and the shaft was still quivering. Ladybug gulped and touched the top of her head, realizing that the arrow had come so close it had actually touched her hair.

"Damn," Antielle said, and Ladybug spun around to see that the akuma was standing behind her wearing a cruel smirk. "Just a little bit lower and we could've had Ladybug-shish-kabobs. What a shame. Guess I'll have to try again." She hefted the black, red-spotted crossbow she was holding.

"Because I'm really going to stand here and let you shoot me," Ladybug said sarcastically, backing up a step. It took everything she had to maintain her composure and not let her fear show on her face.

'Okay, ice cream is on the ground and Queen bee is hidden. We’re ready,' Chat thought.

"It would be nice if you did, but that's okay. I don't mind a hunt!" Antielle fired again and Ladybug dodged again, this time throwing herself off the roof. She threw her yoyo out and saw it connect with a tree branch -

And an arrow flew through the air and cut through the tree branch.

"Ladybug!" Chat's cry rang out as she hit the ground with a pained groan, having fallen a good three stories.

"Anti Charm!" Antielle cried as she landed several feet away from where the ice cream was - so much for that plan.

"Get up, Ladybug!" Queen Bee was suddenly there, grabbing Ladybug's arm and dragging her to her feet. Over Queen Bee's shoulder, Ladybug caught sight of Chat grappling with Antielle. He was using his baton and Antielle was now holding a black, red-spotted spear with a razor-sharp edge.

"I'm fine," Ladybug said shakily, gently pushing Queen Bee away. Her mind raced in search of another plan, but she was coming up blank. The smart thing to do would be to slip away, let her transformation run out, feed Tikki and regroup - she only had about three minutes left anyway. They would need a new Lucky Charm if they hoped to beat Antielle. But she didn't know if she could leave Chat...

"Go," Queen Bee said, putting a hand on Ladybug's arm and meeting Ladybug's gaze. "I'll help him. Just hurry."

"I'm counting on you," Ladybug told her; she put her hand over Queen Bee's and squeezed briefly before she ran, heading for the school. Behind her, Antielle let out a scream of rage that sent chills down her spine.

Ladybug rushed into the empty school and ducked into a classroom. "Spots off," she said.

Tikki appeared, looking worried. "Oh Marinette, I'm so sorry! I should've told you it was Lila when you asked!" she cried.

"It's okay, Tikki. You couldn't have known what would happen. But please, eat as fast as you can. Chat and Queen Bee need me," Marinette said, wincing as she crouched down. Her side really hurt from where she'd landed on the ground. She took a cookie from her purse and gave it to Tikki.

"Right," Tikki said, taking a huge bite of the cookie and chewing furiously.

Marinette closed her eyes for a moment, taking a few seconds to catch her breath and work through the pain from her side and her shoulder. There was a way to get to Antielle, just like there had been every other akuma they had faced. She just had to remain calm until Tikki had finished eating. Then she could transform and use whatever Lucky Charm she got, as well as Queen Bee's stinger, to get the akumatized object away from Antielle. Chat could Cataclysm it, Ladybug would purify the butterfly and cast the cure, and this would all be a bad memory. Right.

And then it went quiet outside.

Antielle broke the silence by laughing and calling out, "Oh Laaaaaadyyyyybuuuuug. You should really come out."

"She's taunting you, Marinette. Don't listen," Tikki said between mouthfuls of cookie.

But Marinette had to look. She carefully turned around and slowly sat up until she could peek over the sill. Her eyes widened in utter horror at what she saw. Queen Bee was all wrapped up in Antielle's yoyo, tied to a tree - she was struggling to get free, but she couldn't. Blood was running down her face from a deep cut across her jaw. Antielle was standing in the middle of the yard, one strong arm wrapped around Chat's body. He was pinned against her, unable to move... because the tip of Antielle's spear was jammed up under his chin.