Ladybug's fake identity

Chapter 16: Copybug (2)

Chat Noir found the heroine and the villain facing each other on the rooftop of their school. Their yoyos flew through the air, trying to get at each other, but always failing to reach their goal. Now he knew how Ladybug had felt when facing Copycat. The two girls were identical, in all aspects. Their strength, their speed, their appearance, their way of fighting, everything about them was the same. He landed between the two, confused. Which one was the real one? How could he tell them apart?

"Chat!" both called, expecting him to take their side.

"Two Ladybugs? I didn't know that heaven would open its doors so soon again." he joked.

But it truly wasn't heaven. No, this resembled more a nightmare than anything. In any other context, he would have been happy to be surrounded by two Ladybugs, but knowing that one was evil, that she had tricked him, and not being able to identify who it was, was something he had never wished for. How did his Lady manage to tell him apart from Copycat? He didn't remember.

Both sighed.

"Sadly, that's not the case." one contested with an annoyed scowl as the other pointed at her, warning him.

"Be careful, Chat! She's an imposter."

"Oh come on! You're not actually going to believe that, are you?"

"We've been partners for over a year now. Of course he'll know the difference."

He glanced back and forth between the two. What could he do to differentiate them? Was there something that only Ladybug and him knew?

"Let me guess, the imposter's name is Lyssa Masqué?" he asked.

One Ladybug flinched.

He smirked, eyeing her up and down. "I have to say, your costume is spot on."

"That's because I'm the new Ladybug." she growled. "All I need to do is take care of her. Lucky Charm!"

She threw her yoyo in the air, earning a giant spotted sword. She wasted no time and rushed towards the heroes, swinging her weapon at them. They jumped back, out of her reach. But she was as fast as them and soon caught up to them. The heroine ducked, barely escaping the tip of Copybug's sword. Chat Noir tried to block the weapon with his staff, but she didn't care much about him. She had one goal. And that was: Ladybug.

"Lucky charm!" the latter called.

Seeing that her enemy had gained such a weapon, she couldn't help but hope for something that was more easily usable than what the Lucky Charm usually gave her. But she earned nothing more than a small, spotted candle.

When he saw what had landed in his partner's hands, the cat hero laughed. "Now that sure lightens everything up. Only the real Ladybug earns things like candles in battles."

"Okay, but what could I do with that?"

He jumped in front of her, giving her the cover she needed to come up with a plan. She squinted her eyes at the candle. Its shape was somehow familiar to her, as if she had already seen it countless times before. But where? What did it mean?

"Of course!" she gasped when she recognized it. "Keep her busy for me, Chat, I'll be back soon!"

She didn't need to wait and see him nod to know that he would follow her instructions. She stepped back and leaped off the building, swinging over to another destination. Grunts of effort and the sound of two weapons clashing against one another indicated to her that the imposter tried to follow her. But Chat Noir would never let her go past him. The heroine sped towards a familiar building in the middle of the city. It had been quite some time since she visited Master Fu. Maybe that was why she didn't recognize the candle instantly. But she knew that two heroes wouldn't be enough to defeat Copybug.