A Miraculous Story Book 1: Verity Queen

• That is How it's Done •

Ladybug stood on the small table in full view of the supervillain, swirling her yo-yo, her ears tightly masked by the cotton-filled teacups that Cat Noir held in place.
Bee Qi was on the ground beside the pair, covering his own ears with the other two teacups.

"What is your secret identity?" Verity Queen spat, firing at Ladybug. None of the heroes made an action to dodge in any way and the beam hit Ladybug directly on the chest. A teardrop appeared on her cheek. She'd been hit, but she was grinning ear to ear.

"What was that? I didn't hear you!" she mocked. Verity Queen's power only worked if you heard the question she asked you. So if you couldn't hear, then you were immune!

The supervillain was shocked. "No! What is your secret identity?" She fired at the three heroes again, but to no avail. Ladybug and Bee Qi couldn't hear a thing, while Cat Noir was hidden behind Ladybug. They were invulnerable.

Now that she didn't have to worry about being hit, Ladybug had use of her yo-yo. She cast it at Verity Queen and it wrapped around her leg. With a mighty yank, the supervillain was pulled out of the sky and toward the balcony. "Bee Qi, now!"

"Venom!" the bee called, dropping his cups and grabbing his spinning top instead. The top formed as a pulsing stinger around his hand. He leapt at Verity Queen and hit her in the shoulder with it, causing her to freeze immediately.

Cat Noir dropped his teacups as well and stretched, glad that it was over. Ladybug walked up to the immobile supervillain, slid the ring off her finger and crushed it under her foot. The akuma inside it flew out.

"No more evil doing for you, little akuma," she said, opening up her yo-yo and spinning it around. "Time to de-evilize!" She caught the infected creature and freed it, once purified. "Gotcha! Bye bye, little butterfly," she smiled, waving to it as it flew away. "Miraculous Ladybug!" She threw up the empty plastic bag she'd received as her lucky charm and it exploded into hundreds of ladybugs. They swept over the bakery, fixing the wall and the canvas on the roof, the akumatized ring, and even the tea set, placing them in their proper place on the table. Before disappearing, they also removed the stinger from Bee Qi's Venom from Sabine's shoulder. The woman unfroze instantly, gasping. Ladybug was already by her side.
"Miss, are you alright?" she asked, helping her up to  her feet again.

"Y- yes, I'm fine, what happened?" Sabine asked, looking around. "Why am I up here?"

"You were akumatized," Ladybug explained. "But you're fine now."

"Oh... I'm sorry, I guess I just got upset with my daughter being untruthful with me."

Ladybug gave Bee Qi a quick glance, then turned back to her mother. "It's fine," she said with a smile. "I'm sure your daughter has a reasonable explanation for everything."
Her earrings beeped and she instinctively brought a hand to her ear. "I gotta go now," she said, picking up Sabine's ring to return it to her.
It reminded Ladybug of her victory just a few hours ago against Blue Moth. He also had an affected ring, which he left behind. She should ask around and see who it belongs to. It's a vital piece of jewelry and could very well lead them to Hawk Moth!
She could ask Cat Noir right now as Ladybug, or ask everyone at school or in the public as Marinette later. Obviously asking people as Marinette will cover a lot more ground, but if she does happen to find Hawk Moth with it, then Hawk Moth will probably figure out that she is Ladybug, since she has the ring. Hmm...

"Milady, are you okay?" Cat Noir placed a hand on her shoulder, breaking her out of her train of thought.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Ladybug replied, smiling to prove it.

"You should probably go, you're about to transform back," Cat said, pointing to her earrings.

"You're right. I'll take Bee Qi and his Miraculous back." Ladybug waved the ancient guardian over to her. "Follow me," she said, swinging off her balcony with her yo-yo.