Chapter Text
Luka watched as Marinette doubled over, holding her head. Adrien hovered beside her, repeating some of the same statements she had just been saying moments earlier about dispelling negative emotions and finding a solution. Luka hesitantly reached out and touched her shoulder.
“You can fight this, Marinette,” he encouraged softly.
Suddenly the darkness faded from his jacket and the black butterfly flew out. Marinette slumped heavily against him and he caught her. He held her close, relieved that she had successfully fought it off. He wasn’t sure if he would’ve been able to forgive himself had she been akumatized because of him. Marinette shouldn’t have to experience something like that.
“Where did the akuma go?” Marinette asked, straightening from leaning against Luka.
“Oh no.”
They both looked to Adrien and he pointed at Mme. Dupont. They followed his gesture to see the akuma disappear inside of her necklace. It was gold that was quickly consumed by the akuma’s dark infection and was shaped like a snake devouring its own tail around her throat. There was no chance for them to try and advise the woman to fight it as she succumbed quickly to the akuma. Darkness covered her entire body as it transformed her into Hawkmoth’s newest villain.
“Run!” Marinette yelled to the crowd. She pushed Luka and Adrien away from the newly birthed akumatization. It was clear that her aim was to get them out of the room, but they were stopped when a glob of steaming, green slime suddenly flew past their heads. It hit the double doors and spread to cover them completely.
They stopped and turned back to face the akuma. She was covered in vibrant green scales that shimmered in the artificial light from the chandelier above them and sharp fangs protruded from her mouth, reaching down past her bottom lip. Luka moved to push his two younger companions behind him but was impeded by both Marinette and Adrien instead shielding him.
“You don’t have to give in to Hawkmoth, Mme. Dupont,” Marinette implored.
Mme. Dupont hissed at her, green venom spittle flying from her mouth. “My name is now Vitriol! And I don’t have to take orders from some talentless, little know-it-all!”
“You won’t gain anything by working with a villain,” Adrien joined in. “He’s only out for himself.”
Vitriol turned to hiss at him now. “You’re not a part of this, boy. Go sit down and shut up. It’s all you’re good for.”
Luka watched Adrien flinch at the words and clench his fists by his sides. He may be unhappy with the teen model at the moment but that didn’t mean Adrien deserved to be subjected to those words.
“You’re wrong!” he yelled. But there must have been an echo because he swore he heard another voice speak in unison.
“Adrien is much more than you know!” Marinette continued, making Luka realize it was her that had spoken with him.
Vitriol suddenly snapped her mouth closed, fangs still protruding. Her complexion slowly went a much brighter green as her cheeks puffed out. It took the three teens too long to realize what was happening. By the time Luka understood what the akuma was doing, she was already spitting a mouthful of venom at them. It hit Marinette squarely in the chest and she fell backwards with the force.
“Marinette!” both Luka and Adrien yelled in shock. Luka managed to reach out and catch her just in time. Vitriol wasn’t fazed and turned to spit more venom at the rest of the crowd.
Luka looked down at his date and saw Marinette’s features screwed up in pain. “We need to get her away from here,” he said as he lifted her fully into his arms bridal style.
Adrien looked around at the chaos as lobs of green venom flew around them. “You take Marinette, I have to go find Nathalie and the Gorilla. I’ll come find you after I get them.”
Luka didn’t understand how Adrien would even get to them. It was more logical for the three of them to find safety until Ladybug and Chat Noir could take out the akuma. “I don’t think you should-” But before he could finish his statement Adrien was already gone.
It wasn’t easy but Luka managed to slip away into a small maintenance area with Marinette in his arms. She had gone ghostly pale and was trembling from head to toe. He propped her up against a wall and grabbed what looked to be a clean rag to dab at the sweat collecting on her forehead.
“You’ll be okay, Marinette.” Luka hoped his voice sounded more confident than he felt. She looked awful, shivering and sweating, all color lost from her face. Whatever Vitriol was spitting, it was doing a number on Marinette. “Ladybug will save us,” he reassured with a strained smile.
Marinette shook her head violently. “No, she won’t,” she croaked out with great effort.
“Don’t say that,” he said with a sigh. “It may seem hopeless, but she’s never let us down before.”
She grabbed his wrist, stopping him from continuing to wipe at her brow. “Luka, listen to me. Ladybug is not coming.”
She released her grip and he let his hand drop to rest on his thigh. “How do you know that?”
Marinette let out a humorless laugh that turned into a weak cough. “Because she is currently trapped in a maintenance room, barely able to move much less stop an akuma.”
As he looked into her eyes, Luka wondered how he hadn’t seen it before. There it was, all the strength and courage that was Ladybug, was in Marinette. “Then what are we going to do? Is there any…” He trailed off as Marinette reached up to take off her earrings. She took his hand and placed them in his palm. “What is this?”
“My miraculous.”
Suddenly, a small, red creature flew out of Marinette’s bag. “Marinette, are you sure?” she asked in a squeaky voice.
“I’m sure,” Marinette wheezed. The red creature flew up to nuzzle Marinette’s cheek. She locked eyes with Luka and pressed his fingers closed over the earrings. “Luka Couffaine, here is the miraculous of the Ladybug which grants the power of creation. You will use it for the greater good.”
Luka tried to push them back into her hands. “I can’t just leave you here. There has to be something else we can do.” He couldn’t imagine abandoning her while she was so incapacitated. It was out of the question.
“There is no other way,” she replied firmly.
The little, red creature nodded. “The only way to help her is to purify the akuma.”
Luka didn’t want to agree to such a plan but if what they said was true, then his only options were to go and purify the akuma as quickly as he could, or watch Marinette deteriorate and hope that another solution fell into their laps. “Alright then. I- I’ll do it. I’ll be Ladybug.”
Marinette handed him the earrings once more. “Thank you, Luka. Tikki, my kwami, will explain things to you. First thing you need to do after you transform is to get in contact with Chat Noir.” After she finished speaking, she let out another weak cough.
Luka picked up his jacket from where it had fallen beside her and laid it over her. “I promise, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Marinette closed her eyes and nodded. “I trust you.”
He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before getting to his feet. “Okay, Tikki,” he said turning to where the kwami was floating beside him. “What do I need to know?”
Luka ran out of the maintenance room in his new Ladybug suit. It surprisingly looked different than Marinette’s. His had long black gloves that went up his forearm to his elbow and his yo-yo was attached to a black belt that hung loosely around his waist. He also noticed that after he’d transformed his hair was suddenly parted differently. He didn’t have time to admire any other differences and ran back into the fray.
Except Vitriol was gone. She left behind civilians that were either curled up, looking as ill as Marinette had, or wandering around like zombies. He hoped that Chat Noir hadn’t been affected. He had to find the other superhero before he could jump into fighting the akuma.
Luka ran outside of the building to see the food truck owner slumped over his work counter, obviously effected by Vitriol’s venom. There were other ill or zombified citizens left in her wake, collapsed or wandering the streets. He looked around, feeling a bit lost for what to do next.
“What would Marinette do?” he muttered to himself. It only took a second for it to hit him. “I need some perspective.”
He took the yo-yo off of his belt and threw it. When it caught on the tallest building in the vicinity, he was pulled into the air. His stomach lurched as he fought to keep some control. As he landed on the roof, he stumbled a few feet before regaining his balance.
Looking out over Paris, it was clear where Vitriol had gone. Waves of green steam radiated up from the west part of the city. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. At this point he didn’t have time to go searching for Chat Noir. The akuma was moving too fast. He would have to go in by himself and hope that the other miraculous holder showed up.
Luka got ready the sling the yo-yo out in the akuma’s direction. Then he heard the sound of feet landing on the roof behind him.
“It’s a lovely night, isn’t it, Bugaboo? Not as lovely as you though.”
Luka whipped around to find Chat Noir wearing a silly grin on his face. Although, the other hero quickly sobered upon seeing a replacement for the usual Ladybug.
Chat pulled out his baton and shifted into a fighting stance. “Who are you and where’s Ladybug?”