#diablesse

She pointed at the akuma that had somehow not been noticed by either of them. “You’re in my way. Now move.” She shoved past them as they turned around to see where she was pointing.

“An akuma!? But why?” Kagami started to follow Chloè, but stopped when she noticed Adrien wasn’t following her. “Are you not going to come with us?”

Adrien panicked and started trying to find a way out so he could transform. “It’s not that.. It’s... I’m... other civilians... girl’s bathroom... you know? Yeah..”

Chloè rolled her eyes “Adrikins, don’t tell me you’ve let them dumb you down to the point that you can no longer speak. If your fear of entering the girls bathroom is more important the Marinette, then just go evacuate people.” With that, her and Kagami pushed into the bathroom, missing Adrien freeze in his place face full of concern before he ran back around the corner to warn the school.

“Wait... Marinette?” Kagami was confused. Since when did Chloè care about Marinette? Since when did she care about Marinette, she asked herself as she followed the blonde anyways.

Chloè cleared her throat, “Dupain-Cheng, where are you? I know you’re in here.” There was a gasp from one of the stalls.

“Chloè just... just get out of here, okay? I really don’t need your crap right now.”

“Oh? Getting a little pissy in your time of sadness, aren’t you?” Chloè raised one of her eyebrows, a little impressed. “Anyways, I’m not going anywhere. There’s a shitty butterfly in here and it’s my duty as a hero to try my best to protect all civilians... even ungrateful ones like you. Now open that door right now. Kagami and I are here to help.”

“Kagami’s here too?” Marinette groaned. “Just what I need, another person who doesn’t like me seeing me at my worst.” Her voice was thick with silent tears, ones that were no doubt still falling down her face.

“To be fair, I didn’t know it was you until about 10 seconds ago, if that makes you feel better.” Kagami shrugged, more focused on locating the akuma than anything.

“Ugh! That’s not going to help her at all. Marinette, stop being so utterly ridiculous and open the stall before we break it. You’re not fighting this off alone! I won’t allow it!”

There was a beat of silence. Maybe two, and possibly three, but eventually, Marinette opened the door with a small, sad smile on her face.

“Great!” Chloè strode into the too small stall. “Now you listen here. You are not going to let the Akuma get to you, you understand me? I will not give that deceitful harpy the satisfaction!” She turned around. “You hear me, Hawkmoth? You can’t have her! So get your repulsive little minion and go away!”

“Chloè, what are you trying to do, protect Marinette by getting angry enough and sacrificing yourself?”

“We don’t know each other very well, but I heard you were supposed to be extremely observant. Marinette is probably one of the only two people in all of Paris that hasn’t been akumatized. Well... People of quasi...” she sighed, accepting that she might have to actually... compliment her. “Importance.” Chloè scrunched up her face, hoping that she never had to do that again.

Marinette, who was still standing on top of the toilet, let out a tiny giggle. “Chloè did you just compliment me?”

Chloè was too busy trying to deny the claim to notice the akuma flutter away through the door, but Kagami wasn’t. “There it is!”

“We can’t let it get away!” Chloè started to follow it again.

“I wonder what happened for you to almost get akumatized in the first place.” It was mostly under her breath, and she figured it was okay to ask due to the fact that the akuma was gone, but Kagami spoke loud enough for the girls to hear her. And apparently Marinette experienced her emotions as if they were a roller-coaster because the akuma immediately turned around back towards Marinette, who wasn’t giggling anymore. Kagami felt a little remorseful, if only because of the fact that she had probably just pissed Chloè off for the second? Third? Third time since meeting her. She was really bad with first impressions.

Chloè wondered why she even tried. What even was the point of doing anything heroic, if people just kept... interfering by opening their mouths. She briefly wondered if Ladybug had to deal with stupidity outside of her costume. She was going to call her father and have him make it illegal for idiots to talk, she swore.

Well... If she made it through this that was.

She threw her phone at the akuma, but it easily avoided it, flying straight into a charm hanging out of Marinette’s pocket. Scrambling to pick her phone back up, she turned back to look at the girl, just as Marinette chucked what seemed to be her purse at Chloè. “Take it and run.”

“What’s so important inside of this bag that you’d rather protect it than fight off the akuma?” Was everyone ridiculous? What even?

“Marinette you can fight him off.” Kagami said as Chloè opened the bag. “You’re stronger than him.

Oh.

OH.

She didn’t have time to be angry, or react at all even. They needed to go, now.

Chloè grabbed Kagami’s arm. “We need to leave. We have to go find Chat Noir.”

Before Kagami could respond, the familiar purple coated Marinette. They stood there and watched her transform, The transformation started in the akumatized object, as it always did of course, turning the charm into a tail. That was new. Then she was swallowed by purple, the other two girls too entranced to look away.

When she was visible again, Chloè swore she did not almost throw up. She swears on her.. Well, not her miraculous, but she swears.

Chloè saw red, literally. Marinette, or whatever she called herself, had red skin and black hair. Her signature pigtails were sharper, and seemed to now also be horns on top of her head. Her outfit, not tacky for once thank heavens, was a black romper with little black wings, a red chest area, and red hearts accenting her torso. She wore black thigh high boots with wings to match the ones on her back and red gloves that reached halfway up her upper arm. Behind her, her wings didn’t move, but her tail sure did. A skinny black tail that ended in a heart. Hearts also adorned her face, her neck piece, and there was also one right below her bust. Chloè had no doubt that there were probably even more hearts on her back. The whites of her eyes had also turned yellow. In hindsight, this was probably one of the only attractive akumas she’d ever seen, but she couldn’t let herself think of the implications of that right then. Or ever... If she preferred.

“You want me to be the bad guy? Fine,” She smirked and kissed her hand. As she pulled her hand away from her mouth, a swarm of tiny demon Marinettes, or Demonettes if you would, manifested. They were all red, reminding Chloè and Kagami of cartoon evil consciences pitchfork and all. “ Now I’m the bad guy. I’m Little Devil and I’m going to sit on your shoulders until you sink from the weight of all of your guilt.”

Little Devil looked at Chloè for a minute. “Hmm. Not you. I don’t think you feel guilt, and even if you did, I don’t think you’d care about what others thought of you.” She turned to Kagami, who had reached for Chloè to drag her out of the bathroom. “You either. Neither of you seem to be much fun.” She stalked out of the bathroom, her Demonettes chattering as they followed her.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir should be here soon.”

Chloè thought through her next words carefully, not wanting to let Kagami know that Ladybug was 100% not showing up. “We need to get to one of them before Little Devil does.” She pushed out of the bathroom.

“Right, we need to let them know where her akumatized object is.”

Chloè nodded, and the two girls silently rushed outside to look for any hero.

Kagami, too focused on searching, didn’t notice Chloè pull out Marinette’s bag again.

The blonde needed to find Chat Noir like yesterday. She didn’t know what was worse, having to willingly work with Chat Noir only, or that Marinette Dupain-Cheng, of all people, was Ladybug.

The sunlight reflected off of Marinette’s earrings in the bag, right into Chloè’s face. Definitely Dupain-Cheng being Ladybug.