Exhausted from his earlier struggle with the akumatized Ladybug, Adrien laid himself down across his white sofa in his bedroom with a heavy sigh. Somehow, he had managed to distract her enough to allow himself to escape from her sudden wrath of hatred. Ladybug's akuma case was so much different than the others. Each and every one of the victims under Hawk Moth's control wanted revenge on the person who had wronged them. Very few of them, though, did any actual harm. Ladybug, however, was out for blood. Adrien saw in her eyes that she didn't care who she had to hurt to get what she wanted. Based on a conversation they had before his escape, it seemed as if all she wanted was complete control. The akumatized Ladybug didn't want there to be a single person capable of stopping her...including her own partner, Chat Noir.
Adrien knew that he was the only one who had enough power to possibly stop her. He stretched his hand out over to the coffee table and grabbed the television remote. He switched the current channel to the news in order to see if perhaps Ladybug was causing much public panic yet. Unfortunately for him and all of Paris, it was much worse than simple panic.
From the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, the young Nadja Chamack broadcasted live footage of "Lady Misfortune" and her current shenanigans. The black and red spotted villain could be vaguely seen sitting up on the top of the tall structure with what seemed like another person (assumed to be female) along with her. In the distance, a helicopter belonging to the news channel began to quickly approach the akuma-possessed girl for a clearer visual of what was occurring. Lady Misfortune, who had obviously been waiting for the helicopter's arrival, smirked as footage of her would soon be streaming throughout all of Paris. She quickly ran over to the other person that she was forcing to keep her company and grabbed onto their wrist tightly. Grasping on to only the the left hand and wrist of the hostage, Lady Misfortune swung the girl over the closest railing and allowed for her to dangle in fear. The helicopter's cameras were able to zoom in to reveal the identity of the citizen now in severe danger: Alya Césaire.
Lady Misfortune's following chuckle was filled with a large amount of hostility. She wickedly glanced down at her previous best friend. "I'm very disappointed in you, Alya. I expected so much more out of you."
"Are you insane?! We're nearly 1,000 feet up off of the ground, Marinette...Ladybug...whatever! I know I should have been a better friend and defended you. I'm so sorry, Marinette!" Lady Misfortune did not seem interested in her sudden apologies. With a look of great panic and worry, Alya screamed at the previous hero of hers. "If you drop me, I'll die!"
Lady Misfortune was emotionless. "Such a pity."
Alya felt as if her heart just shattered into millions of little pieces. "I know you're capable of many things, but surely murder isn't one of them..."
Lady Misfortune smirked. "I guess you don't know me as well as you thought, Alya. You know, I'm actually surprised. Ladybug was your hero, wasn't she? Also, Marinette was supposedly your best friend. You adored both of them for many of the same reasons, yet you felt as if it was completely impossible for the two of them to be one." She giggled, "Unfortunately, now you are left with neither of them. All that remains of those two weak and pitiful girls is me: strong, confident, and powerful. I guess in a way, I should be thanking you." Lady Misfortune looked up at the helicopter hovering above her. She quickly raised her voice as loudly as she possibly could so that her message could be heard clearly, "Citizens of Paris, listen up! I have some...unfinished business with Chat Noir. I'm giving you all ten minutes to deliver the little rat to me. If you don't...well, I think you all can tell where this is going. I'd be quick if I were you, though. My arm is starting to get tired."
After hearing the final words of Lady Misfortune's request, Adrien sat up straight and lowered his head in both desperation and guilt. He couldn't just let Ladybug continue to terrorize the city, but she had always been more powerful than her partner. Adrien assumed that, with Hawk Moth's assistance, she would have even more strength than usual. He raised his head to stare out the nearest window at nothing in particular. "Plagg, I...I don't know what to do. I can't break her earring. I'm not positive, but I'm willing to bet that a broken miraculous is powerless. If Ladybug doesn't have her powers, there's no one to purify the akumas...including her own. I can't take that risk of allowing for that black butterfly to multiply. Then, if her emotions took over again and her akuma managed to find its way back to her..." With a unsteady voice, the young boy looked over at his worried kwami. The teenager's eyes began to tear up as his mind began to consider a particular option. The dark, forgotten part of his mind was attempting to tell him that everything would be solved if Chat Noir was able to kill Ladybug. Of course, Adrien began to sob. No matter what would happen, Adrien knew that he would never be capable of hurting her. "C'mon, Plagg!" There was an extremely strong tone of desperation in his voice that had never been present before, "Isn't there anything else that I can do to save her? There has to be something!"
"I'm sorry kid, but nothing like this has ever happened before." Plagg immediately regretted such a response after he saw how heartbroken Adrien looked. Over the many years, Plagg did theorize several ways to save an akuma victim if Ladybug was somehow unable to. Tikki seemed to think that one specific method may work, but of course none of them had ever been tested or proven. Plagg looked unsure as if he should share such information, but he knew that Tikki needed his help, as well. After all, Marinette was still wearing her miraculous. "Okay, there is one thing that you can try."
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