Disclaimer: Anything within the MLB universe and the universe itself does not belong to me, but to Thomas Astruc.

Thank you to all who have read my one-shot Like Yours Must Have Been! It was a blast to write. :)

This is part one of a mini-series I'm planning on writing (if I ever get to it, haha) while we endure through this hiatus. I'm new to the multi-chapter thing, so please bear with me. Enjoy!

"Chat Noir, the hairpin! The Akuma must be in there! Try to get it!"

"On it, My Lady!"

The feline hero charged at the villain called Metallica, whose gray and white suit was covered with different types of metal on her arms and legs. A metallurgist who wanted to put her knowledge into crafting a meaningful sculpture from a dense alloy, she was criticized harshly — and quite immaturely — for the artwork in which she had put her heart and soul. Vulnerable, Papillon had taken advantage of her distress, sending an Akuma to possess a metal hairpin crafted by her hand, and transformed her.

The heroes were alerted to the villainess's rampage as they noticed metal structures throughout the city were turned into bizarre pieces of art, including some of the foundations that supported buildings and architecture. After first confronting her, they were assaulted by walking giants of iron, nearly skewered by large javelins of bronze, and almost caught up in a stampede of lead bulls. All of it left destruction in their wake, but thankfully, no one was harmed.

They had now taken the fight to the top of the Eiffel Tower, where Metallica vowed to turn the entire monument into a real masterpiece.

Metallica glared at the lunging hero before waving her arm to the side. A slab of stainless steel knocked Chat Noir aside before he could reach her, sending him sprawling onto the platform. She looked up as Ladybug jumped at her from above, yo-yo spinning.

The villainess growled in annoyance before shooting a half-ring of copper at her, causing Ladybug to shield herself upon impact as she was pushed back a good distance away. Both heroes stood and readied themselves again, but neither of them attacked.

Metallica gave a scoff as she set her hands on her hips. "You call yourselves heroes? You can't even get near me!"

A bright pink outline of a butterfly suddenly lit up her face, drawing her attention elsewhere. Ladybug used the chance to throw her yo-yo upwards, calling on Lucky Charm. A swarm of red energy gathered in the air before dissipating, and into her hands fell a wrapped length of rubber tubing that was red with black spots.

"Uh…" Ladybug quickly looked up and scanned the tower, her gaze highlighting Metallica, then the support of the radio antenna. However, those few seconds of thinking left her distracted.

"Ladybug, look out!"

The red-clad heroine was suddenly shoved aside, the force causing her feet to leave the ground as her body crashed onto the platform and rolled. She finally came to a stop against the fencing and pushed herself up, trying to regain her bearings. She gasped when she looked up, her eyes widening in shock.

Her partner, sandwiched in between two slabs of iron and hovering a few inches off the platform, was struggling to escape the trap while using his baton to keep himself from being squeezed to death. An evil laugh sounded as Metallica came up beside the sight, an amused glint in her eyes.

"Well, isn't that cute? The kitty went and saved his bug…" She held up a hand and squeezed her fingers into a fist. The slabs pushed themselves tighter against Chat Noir, causing him to gasp for air. "… but who's going to save him?"

"Let him go!" Ladybug demanded as she climbed to her feet. Anger and fear for her partner burned within her, her eyes narrowing, teeth gritting, and fists clenching at her sides.

Metallica laughed again, a smug smile on her face. "Sure thing. But first, you're going to hand over your Miraculous. If not…" She rotated her wrist, the slabs doing the same. Chat Noir let out a yelp. "… You should say goodbye to your precious cat while he can still breathe."

"D-Don't worry about me… buginette…" The black-clad hero managed to give her a weak grin, but the increasing pressure of the slabs cut it off. "Just... get... the Akuma!"

Ladybug put a hand to her ear, covering her earring protectively as she considered her options. The situation had changed, her initial plan could not be carried out, and her partner's life was now on the line. She scolded herself harshly at the fact that she had let her guard down, and Chat Noir was now paying the price.

How many times was that now? How many times did her silly partner take the hit for her when she was in danger? How many times did he protect her when she was unable to protect herself?

It pained her with guilt and sorrow. She trusted Chat with her life, and he delivered many times over. But could he truly trust her to do the same?

The anger within her started to boil, anger at Metallica and anger at herself. It spiraled deeper than she could handle.

"Well, Ladybug?" Metallica prompted, another pained cry from her partner only causing her fury to increase. "What's it gonna be?"

Metallica — no, Papillon was really pushing it now. She was tired of him taking advantage of many innocents' negative emotions, tired of him manipulating them like puppets to get what he wanted, tired of her partner being used against her when it could have been prevented.

She was tired of it!

With her emotions at their peak, she felt something within her suddenly break through. As if a dam that had been holding back a raging river was finally destroyed from the pressure. It flowed throughout her body in a rush of energy, and she let it, allowing the same energy to build in her hands.

Switching entirely from logic to instinct, Ladybug's gaze snapped up furiously at Metallica, just as flecks of red, black, and pink? energy bursted into existence around her hands.

And in one move that was so unlike Ladybug, she charged directly at the villainess.

Metallica flinched at the sudden attack and reflexively took a step back in alarm. Was this really the same Ladybug who thought rationally before taking action? "H-Hey, what do you think you're—!"

Realizing she wasn't stopping, Metallica shot her free hand forward in a panic, sending another slab of steel flying towards the heroine.

Without even pausing, Ladybug merely caught the edge of it and crumpled it in her hands like a sheet of paper, even tossing it aside like one. She pounced like a lion on its prey, tackling Metallica to the platform and breaking her concentration over the slabs. Chat Noir was left to fall to the floor, gasping loudly as he breathed in deeply, fresh air filling his lungs.

With one arm pinned, Metallica quickly covered her free lower arm with gold before launching it at Ladybug, attempting to knock her off. But Ladybug was surprisingly quicker. She caught the incoming blow with her own hand and squeezed, the metal crinkling and creaking under her fingers.

The villainess looked at her in shock, unable to fathom that anyone could just wrinkle gold with their bare hands. But she was experiencing it firsthand — and it was relentless.

Ladybug continued to squeeze the metal until it began to constrict the villainess's fingers. Metallica yelped as the sharp, concave dents forming in the armor began to dig into her digits.

"Okay, okay!" she cried out, kicking her legs out helplessly. "I give! I surrender! Please, Ladybug!"

The heroine flinched at the sound of her name, as if snapping out of a trance. Blinking twice, realization dawned on her, and she immediately released Metallica's hand. She stared fearfully at her own hands then down at Metallica in bewilderment. Something akin to hesitation flashed across her face before she reached out and shakily unclasped the metal hairpin. She then quickly retreated and stood up, throwing the cursed item so hard on the platform that it broke, prompting a black butterfly to flutter out.

"Y-You've caused enough harm, little Akuma," Ladybug stuttered out without her usual confidence as she opened her yo-yo. She swiftly swung it out, catching the Akuma within its light before it closed again. "… Gotcha."

"Bye-bye… little butterfly," she muttered, barely above a whisper, as she let the now-normal butterfly flutter off into the night.

With a second glance at her hands, Ladybug gingerly watched the flecks of energy that danced around her fingers disappear before closing them into her palm. She then silently walked over to the unused tubing that had been discarded when she was shoved, and carefully picked it up.

She couldn't bring herself to yell out the cure as she threw the item into the air, but it did its job regardless. A swarm of ladybugs formed in the air and spread out to sweep across the city, restoring all metal structures and fixing all the damage. It made a final sweep of the tower, wiping away all the discarded metal procured in the battle. A black mist swept over Metallica's form, reverting her back to the woman before Papillon's influence.

"Chat Noir, are you okay?" Ladybug asked in concern as she approached her partner, who was sitting with his legs crossed and rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, I'm paw-sitively fine," he answered with a small grin, showing no indication that he had witnessed her unusually impulsive behavior. "That was quite an airy situation I got myself into, huh? Wouldn't hold my breath on it not happening again."

To his surprise, she gave a mellow scoff instead of groaning like she usually did. She then paused to examine her hand closely before holding it out to him.

"You sure you've got nine lives?" she teased as he put his hand in hers, although it sounded somewhat forced. She even avoided grabbing his hand back as she helped him to his feet.

A warning beep suddenly sounded from her earrings, surprising them both and cutting off his response. Instead, he looked towards the de-akumatized woman, who was looking around, dazed and confused.

"Go on, My Lady," he said, pushing her gently by the shoulder as he stepped past her. "You're running out of time. I'll take care of our victim."

"Are you sure…?" Ladybug trailed off, uncertain, which surprised Chat even more.

He held up a fist, flashing her his best, reassuring signature grin. "A job well done, My Lady."

To his dismay, she only stared at his hand strangely, as if it was a foreign object. That unsure expression never left her face as she stared down at her hands once more, almost like she was expecting them to sprout warts.

When she glanced up at him again, her face was replaced with her usual confidence, and she finally brought her fist up to meet his own. "Yeah. Thanks, Chat. Take good care of her, okay?"

Chat Noir put a fist to his chest in a dutiful salute. "You can count on me, Ladybug!"

The heroine smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah. I know I can. See you around, partner."

With a final wave, Ladybug tossed her yo-yo at an anchor of the nearest building before swinging away, leaving a worried Chat Noir staring after her.

;)

Thanks for reading!