"Why haven't you given Marinette the bee miraculous yet?" Fu asked the lady in the long purple dress.

Her hair was white-blond, a sharp contrast to her golden eyes.

"Fu, everything has a right time...AND I DON'T KNOW WHEN THAT TIME IS! I can't rush it. We need to find the right time...you see, what should have happened...well, what did happen in the correct version of the universe that is...was, when you gave Marinette the earrings, she was scared. She didn't believe she had what it took to be Ladybug, especially after forgetting to capture StoneHeart's Akuma. It took Alya being in danger for Marinette to accept her role as Ladybug. After that, she was as loyal as a dog to her duties...we need her to realize she is capable of this...I just don't know how to get her to that point. This won't be easy."

Master Fu nodded, understanding, "Especially for Marinette...the bee miraculous isn't meant for her. It wouldn't work as it should... I have no idea how Chloe is pulling off being Scarlet Lady...well, I guess she really isn't pulling it off. Just acting like it. Poor Adrien has all the work himself, while Chloe can barely throw her own yoyo...I fear it will be much the same for Marinette with the Bee's top."

"If only you'd switched miraculouses! Or if we still had the black cat available to us...Marinette would easily master it. She is Chat Noir...partly...they are part of each other, so it would be easy for her to master his miraculous," Lady Universe sighed, "I'm afraid that if we don't find a way to get things back on track, Paris will crumble. This timeline needs Ladybug. Not Scarlet Lady."

Master Fu nodded, then had an idea, "Could we steal Tikki from Chloe? I'm sure Wayzz could sneak in and take the earrings, and Tikki would only be too willing to-"

"It's no good. Marinette wouldn't accept she's meant to be Ladybug...and Chloe would undoubtedly become akumatized...Then we'd be left with an akumatized victim, no Ladybug, and a desperate Chat Noir. No, we need to take this one step at a time," Lady Universe advised.

Master Fu nodded sadly, "You're right of course...but what happens in the event that Chat Noir reveals his identity to Marinette?"

Lady Universe shook her head, "Does it really matter at this point? Right now, we need to fight the battles as they come. Think of the Egyptian Ladybug. She fought the akumas as they came. She didn't try to always prepare for her final battle with HawkMoth...that would have led to her doom. No...we must sadly be patient. Never an easy task, but a necessary one."

...

"This way guys! The scroll is this way!" Alya shouted from ahead.

Me, Adrien, and Nino followed her at what she called, 'turtle pace', taking time to look through the museum. Our class was on a mandatory field trip to the Louvre, and Ayla had something she wanted to show us.

"Let me guess, this scroll has something to do with Scarlet Lady, right?" Nino guessed.

Alya nodded, "Bingo! I wanna take some pictures for the Bugblog."

Adrien leaned down and whispered, "I'll never know how she came up with that name...I mean, what part of 'Scarlet Lady' has to do with bugs?"

I giggled, "I think Als was going for 'Ladybug' because that's what Scarlet Lady's costume looks like...you know?"'

Adrien nodded, "Ooh, I get it now...though something tells me the 'famous' superhero hates the name as much as Chloe does."

I rolled my eyes, "I wonder what Chloe's problem is. The way she acts...it makes you think the blog was about her..." then I winced, "Sorry...I know she's your friend and you don't like when I talk bad about her..."

Adrien nodded, his own way of thanking me for understanding, but then he frowned, "I know what you mean though...it's like, every time someone says something bad about Scar-I mean, Scarlet Lady, she takes it as a personal insult...weird."

I nodded my agreement.

Suddenly, we came to where Alya was, "Look at this statue! If you look really hard...you can see specks of red and black paint! It's almost like an ancient statue of Scarlet Lady!" She exclaimed.

We stared at an old statue of Joan D'Arc.

Me, Nino, and Adrien gapes at it, then all burst out laughing, "Alya, I think you're starting to go crazy!"

She looked offended at first, but then was soon laughing as well, "Okay, okay...I know this might be one of my more far fetched theories... but seriously! If you look really hard..."

I grabbed Alya by the arm, "Come on Als, I wanna see the rest of the museum," I said, and though reluctantly, she came with me.

You probably couldn't guess, but originally, this was the day Alix's brother got akumatized into Pharaoh. He still did get akumatized, but for different reasons...sadder ones.

"Don't you see! Maybe Tutankamon found a way to bring people back to life! If I could just-" Jalil, Alix's older brother argued.

"ENOUGH! Don't you see? If you laid one finger on that scepter, I'd lose my job on the spot., Mr. Kubdel retorted.

"But Dad, think of everyone we could bring back to life. If it worked, just think of-"

Mr. Kubdel briskly turned on his son, "MOM IS DEAD! KATIE IS DEAD! THEY'RE BOTH DEAD! GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL! THEY'RE DEAD AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!" He yelled, practically shaking the ground with his words.

Jalil was quickly quieted.

Mr. Kubdel seemed to straighten his suit coat and regain his composure, "Jalil. Katie is dead...just like mom. You need to get past it. Those feelings are nothing but a burden. Throw. Them. In. The. Trash."

Then, Mr. Kubdel walked away.

Jalil clenched his hands and sunk slowly to his knees. He pulled out his phone. His lock screen was of a woman. She had very short hair like his little sister Alix with the ends dyed bright purple. Her eyes glittered a dark green and a mischievous smile was on her face.

After unlocking his phone, he stared at the home picture. A girl with golden hair so long it touched her knees had her arms around his neck, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She was towards the side of him, her left foot lifted in her girly, silly, way.

"I miss you, mom...I miss you, Katie..." Jalil whispered. A tear slid down his cheek and onto the phone screen, "It wasn't fair...you shouldn't have died. Neither of you should have..."

A lot of people like to find someone to blame for the pain they feel. Jalil was not one of these people. Two years ago, his mom had been killed by a drunk driver while on her motorcycle. She'd been buying a cake for Alix's birthday. Jalil and his sister had been heartbroken...but not their father...not that they could see. He erased all trace of Jalil's mom from the house, and became cold, fully invested in his work. Alix recovered before Jalil. She'd found peace in knowing their mom died a painless death, and could never feel pain again. Jalil however didn't recover...well, he didn't recover until he met her.

Katie was the most beautiful girl in his class at the university and had perfect scores all the time. They'd gotten into a special program their teacher had set up for straight-A students. It was only the two of them. But as they got to know each other, they found they didn't mind the small class.

They'd graduated together last year, and had been dating ever since...But then, it happened again. Someone Jalil loved died... Katie had gone to visit relatives in Texas while she was transitioning jobs. She never came back...When she'd gone to surprise her eight-year-old cousin at school, it happened. Mass elementary school shooting.

"It wasn't fair...you shouldn't have died. Neither of you should have..." Jalil sobbed.

A black butterfly flew into the room. It landed on Jalil's pendant. A gift from his mother.

"Pharaoh, I have a task for you..." Came the evil voice. HawkMoth.

Meanwhile, me and my friends had spent an hour touring the museum, and still had more to go...but Alya was getting bored. So she brought out 'The Matchmaker' again.

"Hey, Marinette and Adrien, why don't you guys head into that exhibit. Me and Nino are really thirsty and our gonna get water really fast. Will you guys wait for us in there?" Alya asked us.

I looked at Adrien. He shrugged, "Sure...I mean, if you're okay with it, Mari?"

I nodded, "Okay, but hurry back. We still have a lot more of the museum to explore."

"Umm, do you mind if I wait with them, Alya? I'm not really that-" Nino started.

"Nino, I can tell you're really thirsty, and what kind of friend would I be if I let you continue to thirst?" Alya asked staring daggers at him.

I then got suspicious. But before I could do anything, Alya dragged Nino off.

Adrien looked past, "Well...they're acting weird. Oh well, let's go check out the exhibit."

So we walked in...I've never been so furious with Alya. The exhibit was called, 'Love in Paris throughout the ages'.

Basically, it was a bunch of pictures of people making out. GREAT. NOT AWKWARD AT ALL ALYA.

"Whoa..." Adrien murmured as we walked in.

"Umm...do you even want to look around this one?" I asked.

Adrien shrugged, he was blushing. He must be as awkward as I was, poor guy. I was gonna murder Alya for this one.

We sat on a bench and I whipped out my phone, "Wanna see something cool?"

Adrien shrugged, "Sure."

After five minutes, we were both laughing hysterically at pictures of me and Alya I'd pulled up. And then there were the videos. That had taken it to a whole new level. (Both me and Alya CAN NOT sing)

I'd just put my phone away when suddenly, "STOP! YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT!"

Then a large booming sound.

I shared a look with Adrien. We both ran out of the exhibit just in time to see a man who looked to be made of gold with the head of a falcon zoom out. Oh no. But it got worse, "HELP!" Alya screamed from where the Akuma held her. ALYA!

...

"UGHHHH...Another Akuma? What, that's the FIFTEENTH this week?!?" Chloe exclaimed, annoyed.

Tikki tugged at Chloe's sleeve, "No, it's the first. Come on Chloe! Chat Noir will need you."

"Put my nails aren't dry..." Chloe whined.

Tikki shot her a look.

"No! I'm not going. I have bruises and blisters from last time. I'll just wait till Chat Noir's defeated the Akuma, then I'll catch the butterfly thingy and save the day," Chloe decided.

"But Chloe-"

"No buts! Bug off...go eat cookies or something. I don't know what you do besides be useless."

Tikki groaned in frustration.

Then she got an idea. Taking a permanent marker, she began drawing circles on one of Chloe's favorite dresses.

When Chloe saw she cried out, "TIKKI! Stop drawing spots on my-"

Chloe looked down at herself. She was Scarlet Lady. Great.

...

I hurried out of the closet I'd hidden in, my tail swishing. I ran through the Louvre only to find Marinette stuck in a time bubble.

Using my stick, I got her out, and she fell forward into me, "Whoah...you okay Purrincess?"

"No time for puns or nicknames, Chat Noir! My best friend, Alya, was just kidnapped!" Marinette explained.

I pretended like I hadn't known, "Isn't Alya the one who owns the BugBlog?"

Marinette nodded, clearly distressed.

"Don't worry. I'll save her!" I said, beginning to run off, but Marinette grabbed my tail, stopping me.

"You mean 'We'. No offense, but you need help, Chat. And Scarlet Lady isn't exactly known for her brains," Marinette explained.

I hesitated, then nodded, "Okay."

Marinette seemed a bit surprised I didn't argue, but she nodded. Then we ran out of the Louvre.

Sneakily, we peeked outside to find the akuma shooting beams of light at people. Immediately, they became mummies.

I watched as Marinette surveyed the area, then gently tapped me on the shoulder, whispering, "See the red building over there?"

I nodded.

"Think you can get us to the roof without anyone seeing?" She asked.

I smiled, "Whatever the purrincess wishes it my catmand," I said with a wink.

Marinette giggled.

Gently, I picked her up, and began sneaking along the outside of the Louvre, trying to ignore how fast my heart was racing.

Finally, I got to where I wanted to be, and I extended my stick, "Hold on tight."

Marinette gripped around my neck as my stick took us high up into the air, then it leaned, and we came down on top of the building.

I put her down, and she walked behind a billboard, peeking out.

I joined her after making sure no one had seen us.

"Okay...so I'm pretty sure the object we need to break is the pendant around Pharaoh's neck...it looks like the only thing that a modern-day person would wear... But if that's not it..." Marinette's phone suddenly beeped. She took it out and smiled, "Look...Alya's live streaming this on the BugBlog. Smart girl...now we have an inside scoop on what's happening."

I nodded. That'd be useful.

"Alrighty...here's my plan," When Marinette finished outlining her plan to me, I frowned, "Doesn't it kinda have a pretty high chance of going wrong?"

But Marinette shook her head, "Don't worry about breaking the object for now. This is a rescue mission. Pharaoh obviously wants Alya...we just don't know why yet. But if we have Alya, that means we have an advantage over Pharaoh..."

Then, A yoyo flashed above us, carrying an annoyed looked Scarlet lady to the battlefield.

Her landed was a hard one, but she quickly righted herself, "HALT EVIL THINGY!" She cried, putting out a hand. I cringed...she gave superheroes a bad name.

As Scar continued her 'grand' speech, Marinette turned to me, "Scarlet Lady's power...remind me of it?"

"It's supposed to help us defeat the akuma...but she never uses it," I sighed.

Marinette nodded, "Okay...change of plan. We need Scarlet Lady. Something tells me she can be helpful...think you can do it?"

I nodded, and Marinette looked sadly out at the battle between Scar and the mummies, "I wish you had another superhero...one who could really help you. Not just terrified, clumsy, me, and flimsy, unreliable, Scarlet Lady..."

I smiled shyly, "I wish you were that other superhero..." I suddenly got an image in my head. A superhero dress in red and black, ribbons coming out of her pigtails and shining blue eyes behind a mask.

Marinette shook her head though, "No...I'd make an awful superhero. I'm always scared, I'm a clutz, sure I can think fast on my feet, but that's about it. There's nothing about me that's 'super'."

"I don't-"

Suddenly, a scream. SCAR!

But then, another scream, "YOU CHIPPED MY NAIL POLISH! I JUST DID IT!!!!"

"You'd better..." Marinette nodded at Scar.

I smiled, "See you soon..."

...

"Hurry Chat! Catch!" I called, throwing him the 'Lucky Charm' Scarlet lady had created.

Chat Noir caught the water bottle and dumped it on Pharaoh's head.

"AHH!"

Without thinking, I slid under Pharaoh, grabbing his medallion.

Then, I threw it to the ground and stomped on it.

A black butterfly emerged, which Scarlet Lady (After three attempts) caught.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" She called, fixing all the damage.

I ran towards Alay and threw my arms around her, "Are you okay?"

"Girl! I was nearly sacrificed to the god of the dead. I'm nowhere near 'okay'!" She exclaimed, hugging me back.

Still, I laughed.

Then, I turned to where Chat Noir had been, just in time to see him disappear over a building.

"I saw you working with Chat Noir to save the day! That was so cool girl!" Alya exclaimed.

"Ya...it was pretty cool."