Chapter Text
Marinette walked briskly up the school steps. Students of all grades milled out and about on school grounds. It was alien for her to be at school so early.
“Hey girl!” Alya sat in her chair looking intently at her phone. Marinette took a seat before Alya raised an eyebrow in her direction.
“Are pigs flying outside or are you in school on time?” Alya said with an air of sarcasm.
“Har har,” Marinette said with a deadpan expression. “I was actually able to get a full 8 hours of rest last night.” That, by itself, was a great thing. Akuma attacks stopped two weeks ago; it put the entire city on edge.
“I feel you!” Alya turned to lay her arm on Marinette's shoulder. “I’ve been able to edit all of my videos on the Ladyblog without a single Akuma appearing.” Her eyes slowly gilded back to her phone.
“Though,” Alya's voice abruptly dropped. “As much as a blessing this may seem, long pauses in akumas are hardly good news.”
The idea that Hawkmoth had a big plan brewing up made her stomach coil with anxiety. Herself and Paris were sitting ducks until Hawkmoth made his move.
She felt vulnerable, and she hated it. There was little she could do. She was a teenager trying to outsmart a supervillain! She couldn’t fail or else the world would fall with her.
A sudden pressure seemed to make itself known on her thigh. She took a small peek into her purse. A small smile was on Tikki’s face, acting as a reassurance.
“Don’t get so down!” Alya said while slapping her back. “Even when times get dark we’ll just have to look out for each other!” A cheeky smile spread across Alya's face.
A smirk on Marinette's face threatened to break through at Alya's encouraging words. But loud giggles broke through her face.
“You always manage to be cheesy at the strangest times!” Marinette laughed into Alya's shoulder.
“Someone has to make sure our Everyday Ladybug stays in tip-top shape!” Alya said, rearing her head in Marinette's direction. “I don’t need you freaking out about akumas.” She said, eyebrows wiggling.
The shrill bell rang out through the school grounds. Ten minutes before tardy.
“Pshh! Let’s go!” She let loose in a brisk walk to class. “I already went through the trouble of coming to school early!” Marinette shouted behind her.
Small shouts and laughter were called out between the two girls before they arrived at their designated class.
Alya caught up with Marinette and scooted next to her. “Looks like I’m victorious today,” Marinette said with a smug grin. “Maybe today, but we don’t know about tomorrow!” Alya countered.
The two went back and forth until their teacher, Mrs, Bustier, walked into the classroom.
“Good Morning, class! It’s brilliant to see all of you here in your seats.” She said cheerfully, sparing a second-more glance at Marinette. “Please pull out your textbooks onto page 274 so we can get started.”
Her teachers’ words droned quietly at the back of her mind. She faded from the classroom as her thoughts paused on the topic of the morning; Hawkmoth. Paris could be in grave danger and sh—
“Marinette?” Mrs. Bustier called, eyebrows furrowed. “I asked you a question.”
Great.
Now she was the center of attention. Her face burned red as she tried to evaporate in her seat.
“Sorry Miss, I got distracted. Can you repeat that for me?”
A small rumble shook the building when Mrs. Bustier started to respond. Then, a boom echoed throughout the hallway nearest to them.
‘Lady Luck at it again, huh?’ Marinette sighed at the irony. She was never that lucky outside her suit.
Mumbles and exclamations quickly broke out throughout the class.
Not a second later a dooming chime rang out from the entire class's phones. The Akuma alert.
“Alya, intel on the Akuma?” Panic leaked from her voice as she stood from her desk. Alya frowned over her phone, looking intensely at the Ladyblog she guessed.
“Highly-Destructive Akuma, they wreaked havoc along the Seine and the 21st Arrondissement.” The Bakery, my parents! “That’s all I have for now,” Alya said with a grim tone.
“Okay, class! Everyone is to follow standard Akuma protocol. We’ll evacuate down to the shelter.” Plan ready in motion, the students entered the hallway.
The class ran outside into a hallway full of blue smoke and debris. Stragglers were found on the floor, seemingly hunched over wheezing from the haze. Some of her classmates pushed the ones who fell behind while others ran for shelter.
‘This much destruction already? It’s only been a few minutes!’
Marinette directed students and peers alike outside the school to the exits. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before heavy smog filled her lungs and made it hard to see. Marinette quickly trudged her way from the hallway to the outside of the building.
Crowds of students stood by the entrance, most likely blocked by the fallen rubble. She saw Alya and Nino huddled up, and Marinette could see Alya quietly live-streaming the events of the attack. In the corner, she saw Adrien ushering people out of the building, before halting suddenly.
Finally, the Akuma slowly rose out in front of the crowd. They wore a black cloak that flew in the wind, it was paired with a deep azure dress. On the akumas wrist, they wore a silver bracelet. Their eyes were pitch black, but they held a certain type of hatred Marinette only saw from a few.
Without a doubt, a vengeful angel, one seeking war. It would be hypnotizing if she wasn't scared shitless.
“I’m Oblivion,” Their voice was hollow and deep. “and I’ll make sure every one of you will feel the exact pain I do.” Ozone wafted through the air as they raised their hand.
“Everyone! Get dow—”
Marinette’s voice was cut off as the school exploded behind them.
Her ears were ringing.
Her eyes stung with tears.
And her hands bled as she tried to crawl out of the fallen rubble.
Dark blue smoke was all she could see. She stood crouched over a rock as her senses finally came back. Akumas never became this dangerous. Dread filled her veins as the full situation finally set in.
“Tikki, Spots on.”
———————————
The Akuma attack was deadly. Within 1 hour of Oblivion’s arrival, they were ranked as an S-Class Akuma going head-to-head with Syren.
She and Chat Noir had to relocate four times since they appeared. Countless Lucky Charms and Cataclysms have been washed away in a sea of destruction.
“It's been six hours since Oblivion appeared and we're hardly making a dent.” She never liked being pessimistic, but it was time to face the facts. She was losing hope, quickly.
Her body was sore and her lungs were wheezing each second she breathed. The blue smoke roamed every nook and cranny in Paris.
Chat Noir had his baton tensely at his chest, yet he still had his signature grin fixed on his face. “Now, why so blue? We’re a duo, we got this, Bug.” He gave a fanged grin.
“Seriously, a pun right now?” Marinette couldn’t help but give a tired smile at her partner's antics.
“What can I say? It’s one of my redeeming qualities, M’lady.” He gave a mock salute in return.
The two sobered up quickly once the smell of burning wire came nearer.
“Do you have a plan, Chaton?” She released her yo-yo from her hip as layers of blue smoke now surrounded them.
Everything was quiet before he spoke. “They emit some type of ozone from their body, so we have to get them out of the sunlight.” He paused in thought. “Their ozone is thick to where it blocks the sun, but if we try to attack inside the clouds we’ll just get screwed over.”
Ladybug blinked slowly. Today was a bad day to know very little about chemistry.
“Okay. We’ll bait them into shooting at us from the sky and then steal their akumatized item.” She finalized.
Chat Noir cocked his head. “How are we going to get them to shoot at us?”
Ladybug thought for a while before finding her answer. “Looks like today Astro Chat is making an appearance.” She fetched a potion from her yo-yo. “You’ll distract them from the skies and I’ll get the object.”
“You got it!” And with that Chat Noir jumped away.
———————————
A few minutes later Astro Chat made his appearance. Mainly, he was focusing on taunting the Akuma. He was slipping in and out from the akumas grasps, plus he was immune from the ozone.
The two were butting heads every time they made contact. If it weren’t for Oblivion’s overwhelming power, Chat could’ve stolen their object with his speed. But for now, they stood at an impasse.
The only pro Ladybug had from her situation was the fact she could gather intel from the Akuma. Black burns covered the pale hands of the Akuma. They were reeling from the explosions and using them more sparingly.
A blue cloud of ozone hovered over the three. It wasn’t long before the Akuma looked up at the looming smoke above them.
Guess it was her time to shine then.
“Chat, Let’s go!” Ladybug tethered her yo-yo around Oblivion’s waist, swapping their positions. Their best plan right now was to rush them, devastating them with Chat's speed and her technique.
Oblivion destroyed the wall behind them that cornered them between the two heroes. “Surrender, and give me your Miraculous!” Four blue flames flew out from the Akuma, separating the duo.
“Lucky Charm!” A polka-dotted gasoline bottle fell out from the sky. It was smaller than the generic one you would see at the store— it was just as big as a soda can. But this Lucky Charm still raised some red flags.
What the hell would she do with this?
Now, Ladybug wasn’t stupid, but it was basically a given you never mix gasoline with fire. Especially with an Akuma causing this much destruction.
She dodged and twisted, expertly missing the flames. “We won’t do that, Oblivion!” Ladybug hung behind Astro Chat as she thought up a plan.
Gasoline? This’ll cause everything to become flammable… flammable.
When Ladybug focused her attention back on the Akuma they blinked red and black. She was getting somewhere! Her yo-yo swung readily at her chest lit with red and black spots. Her final hint for the Lucky Charm…
“Chat! Spray the Akuma!” The plan she had was near suicidal, but at this point, there was little to no choice. The longer this battle went on, the more they would jeopardize themselves.
Chat Noir whipped crazily in the air around the two. Suddenly, he rushed in circles above Oblivion, spraying the gasoline on their body.
This was her chance! She launched herself headfirst to the Akuma and wrapped their upper body in her yo-yo. In exhaustion and anger, she snatched the bracelet from the Akuma.
In her moment of anger, she didn’t notice the harsh look of disdain flash over the akumas face.
In her moment of exhaustion, she didn’t notice the cruel smile stretch over the akumas face. Nor, the purple mask that framed it.
Yet, she did notice the familiar blue glow suddenly filling her surroundings.
“You’ll never escape from us, Ladybug.”
———————————
Blue light erupted from Oblivion's bound hand, burning her fingers that were wrapped around the bracelet.
As she was vulnerable, Oblivion sloppily aimed their bound wrist at her partner.
“I wonder how you’ll come to live with this.”
Empty laughter rang through her ears as her eyes focused on the blue blast of light.
Chat didn’t know what was headed for him. It was far too powerful for him to dodge.
“CHAT, MOVE OUT THE WAY!”
Without a thought, her yo-yo gunned straight for her partner. She made her body slim, narrow, and resistant as she flung herself through the air.
Almost there… please
Her yo-yo couldn’t make it in time to sweep the two away from the incoming danger. Without hesitation, she repeated the same move she did earlier today.
Ladybug’s yo-yo wrapped around Chat Noir’s waist, sending him backward and herself in his spot. She closed her eyes before the explosion hit.
Everything she knew faded to black.