Ladybug's fake identity

Chapter 18: Heroes

It was a mistake. A simple, foolish mistake. It was Lyssa's fault. And as much as Chloe wanted to deny it, she also felt responsible. Wasn't it strange? She had always rejected the fault over to someone else for the countless bad actions she did, yet this time, Alya's frozen eyes, opened widely in the same shock that had struck Queen Bee, seemed to accuse her. After all, the hand that had stung the reporter was hers.

"Alya!" Ladybug called out while jumping out of her hiding spot, soon followed by the other heroes.

She grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes at the akumatized victim. She knew it. She should have gone, not Alya. It was her role to fight against the villains at the risk of getting hurt, not her friend. Yet she had failed to protect the reporter.

Copybug answered with a grin. "There you are! I see you called your friends. But your little tricks won't work on me. Lucky Charm!"

This time, she earned a heavy firearm. Her foul smile widened at the sight of the spotted weapon. She placed it on her shoulder and aimed at the three heroes. The blast blew up the street as they leaped away with panicked shrieks.

"Now, where's Rena Rouge hiding?" The villain lifted her head and shot some blasts on the roofs and chimneys of the nearby buildings. "What tells me that you're not all illusions again?"

But, seeing that exploding the roofs had no effect, she directed her attention back to the heroes. She shot at them again. Her annoyance grew as they kept on dodging her blasts, jumping everywhere and hiding behind cars. Still, in the midst of the chaos Copybug had created stood one last person, unable to move. The villain turned towards the helpless civilian and aimed at her.

Carapace's pupils shrank. No. Not Alya. Within a mere second, he leaped in the way, placing his shield in front of her.

"Chat!" Ladybug shouted.

He didn't need any more words to understand. "Cataclysm!" he called.

And Copybug pulled the trigger. The cat hero's hand reached the firearm just as the blast hit Carapace's shield. Blown away by the strength of the collision, he crashed into Alya's frozen body, sending the both of them to the ground. They hit the asphalt mercilessly. The reporter's glasses broke, but that was now the least of their worries.

Queen Bee's attention lied somewhere else, too, but few could agree to her sense of priorities. She caught the civilian's phone before it could hit the ground and lifted it, making sure that the camera was still recording the scene. Her hairpin rang, signaling the end of her transformation. She didn't let it bother her. Everyone knew who she was anyways. The scene unfolding in front of her eyes was too interesting for her not to film it.

The villain's weapon turned into ashes between her hands at Chat's touch. All heroes let out a sigh of relief as she growled, watching the pieces of ash slowly fall to the ground. She flinched upon hearing her miraculous beep.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug called out, refusing to give her imitator any time to come up with anything else.

A spotted hair tie fell into her arms.

Chat snorted. "I guess it means it's time to tie things up."

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Now wasn't time to get distracted by jokes. She looked around, searching for any clue of how she could use the small accessory. Carapace, who was standing up and trying to steady Alya, a piece of tar that was blown up with a part of the street, then her hair tie. She smiled. Now, she knew what to do.

"Carapace, create a force field around Copybug!" she ordered.

The hero looked up from the civilian with wide eyes. "What?"