Finale…

Disclaimer: This show and its characters belong to Thomas Astruc. I do not own anything.

For a moment, everything seemed frozen in time. Chat Noir with his eyes wide and mouth agape in surprise; the Challenger in a similar fashion, only his expression was of disbelief and outrage; and Ladybug, who did not look the least bit amused as she held back the villain's arm with little effort. The only sign of movement between any one of them was the flecks of energy that danced around Ladybug's hands in a scattered rhythm.

Time started to move again when the heroine spoke. "So, about that victory you said you were going to relish in… that was a joke, wasn't it?"

The dry humor in the utter seriousness of her tone angered the Challenger, his teeth gritting harshly as his brows furrowed tightly. "A PUNY BUG LIKE YOU COULDN'T HAVE SURPASSED MY POWER! MY ARENAS ARE IMPENETRABLE!"

The villain tried with all his might to wrench his arm from her grasp, but Ladybug never budged. In fact, her fingers only grew tighter around his arm as a knowing smile graced her lips.

"This puny bug is full of surprises," she retorted, just as the second warning beep sounded from her earrings, while it was the third beep for Chat Noir's ring. She needed to end this quick.

The outline of a butterfly briefly highlighted the Challenger's face, his eyes widening as Papillon spoke to him, demanding him to take the earrings. As the outline faded, fury burned in the villain's eyes once more, and he lunged for Ladybug's earlobe with his free arm.

Ladybug's free hand moved just as quickly, catching his wrist just as his fingers were mere inches away from one of her earrings. Her glare intensified.

"I don't think so," she growled, pulling both of his hands away from her and her partner's faces. "You're not getting your hands on our Miraculouses. And any threat to my partner is a threat to me!"

The eyes of the hero mentioned widened even more at this as the Challenger let out a yell of rage, his leg sharply swinging up towards the side of her torso.

But with the mere flick of the heroine's wrists, he was sent flying. His large body was a blur as he crashed through the wall of the arena, breaking it completely as the borders dissolved into blue pixels. He continued to speed through the air until he crashed into the side of a building in an explosion of smoke and brick.

Ladybug took the chance to glance back at her partner, who still sat speechless on the ground.

"Are… are you okay, chaton?" she asked awkwardly as she nervously hid her hands from his view. She knew she was going to have a lot of explaining to do later.

The trance-like awe on the hero's face disappeared as he snapped back to attention, her question registering in his head. But before he could even open his mouth to answer, a voice roared from within the smoke.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT, LADYBUG!"

The heroes looked towards the cloud of dust just as it abruptly dispersed, revealing the Challenger barreling toward them in an angry rush, his gauntlets glowing an eerie orange.

To the normal eye, he would have been moving too fast to follow, but Ladybug anticipated his next move before he could even reach her. On cue, she gracefully backflipped away just as one of the Challenger's fists came hurling down on the spot where she once stood, sending debris flying everywhere and the orange halo around his hand vanishing upon impact.

As Ladybug righted herself, the Challenger charged again, this time readying his remaining glowing fist. The heroine took note of this as she stood her ground, her eyes narrowing contemplatively.

She wasn't going to dodge this time.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir cried out as he watched the villain launch his fist towards the heroine's face, fear for his partner making his heart skip a beat.

In that same moment, Ladybug's right hand flew up.

BAM!

His knuckles met the face of her palm with amazing force as her fingers curled tightly around his fist, the exertion of the impact causing the ground beneath them to crack. The fury in his glare only increased.

"YOU DESTROYED MY ARENA!" he seethed as he struggled against her grasp.

Ladybug merely shrugged. "I only leveled the playing field. Now it's a fight that appeals to both of our advantages."

"I AM THE GREATEST FIGHTER IN ALL OF PARIS!" he bellowed. "AND I WILL NOT FALL TO THE HANDS OF A PATHETIC INSECT LIKE YOU!"

The villain's free hand suddenly lit up with that orange glow again, the attack so unexpected that he caught the heroine off-guard as he knocked her back a few feet. She recovered quickly, however, and ducked as his leg swung at her head.

Ladybug watched with observant eyes as the Challenger slammed his knuckles together, orange energy crackling around his gauntlets. Only around his gauntlets.

Her suspicions were confirmed. She knew what to do now.

Letting the plan unfold in her head, the heroine braced herself as the villain started delivering a volley of punches that seemed to move simultaneously. She let out an exhale to compose herself, allowing her secondary aspect to guide her movements and match his speed.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

Each blow the Challenger threw at her was more intense than the last, but Ladybug blocked them all just as fiercely, negating his enormous strength with her own. Her eyes flickered around their surroundings, looking for something to further advance her plan, when she spotted the handcuffs she had dropped earlier on the ground. A small knowing smile crossed her face.

Victory was at hand.

"I'LL WIPE THAT GRIN OFF YOUR FACE!" he roared, hurling both of his fists straight at her.

And it was exactly the kind of opening she needed as she put her hands together, pushed them up between his arms, and deflected his hands away. Leaving him wide open.

The Challenger gaped in surprise as Ladybug twisted around to deliver a roundhouse kick straight to his abdomen, strong enough to knock him off his feet and the wind out of his lungs.

The heroine then charged, running at him at full speed as he continued to fall through the air. She used the momentum to hop onto his shoulders, letting power flow down into her legs, before launching herself off. The villain completed his crash to the ground as Ladybug sailed through the air, landing on one knee with a solid thud right next to the handcuffs.

Quickly scooping the cuffs up in one hand, she casually stood up as the Challenger recovered, his glare becoming more frustrated. The heroine hid the cuffs from view while resting her free hand on her hip, a taunting grin on her lips.

And that was all it took to set the villain off again. He rushed at her at full throttle, charging up his gauntlets again and letting out a feral cry as he reached out an arm to grab her. At the last minute, however, she turned, swiftly locking the cuffs over his wrists and fastening them securely. She then tripped up his feet, sending him flipping into the air once, twice, before landing heavily on his back, incapacitated at last.

With his arms left sticking up awkwardly in the air, Ladybug yanked the gauntlets off his hands, wringing them like a wet dish towel before crumpling them into as little a ball as possible within her fingers. She then let it drop from her palms, the tainted butterfly fluttering out of it the minute it hit the ground, leaving the heroine to finally use her yo-yo to swiftly capture the corruption within its light.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," she whispered as she watched the purified insect fly off into the sky. She then threw the Lucky Charm high up in the air, calling out the healing spell.

As the swarm of ladybugs restored everything back to normal and Papillon's influence over the martial artist was relinquished, Ladybug looked down at her hands — at the power that ultimately helped her in the end — and smiled.

The specks of energy around her fingers danced in an almost delighted rhythm to her acceptance before slowly fading away into her palms. She could actually feel the power settle back into a free-flowing circulation throughout her entire being.

As if it had naturally been there from the very beginning.

"My… My Lady?"

Ladybug completely froze for a moment, realization dawning on her as she quickly turned around to face the shocked gaze of her partner.

Chat Noir had stood up after she had called the healing spell but had remained in place. And this time, he had witnessed everything.

Letting out a sigh of resignation, Ladybug gingerly approached her stunned friend, somehow afraid that she might scare him off if she moved too suddenly.

She stopped once she was only a few feet from him, her eyes pleading his for understanding as she smiled and held up a fist.

"Thanks for hanging in there, Chat Noir," she said. "A job well done as always, minou."

The feline hero's gaze flickered back and forth between her eyes and her outstretched fist, uncertain, before slowly reaching up to meet her fist with his own. A sheepish grin then crossed his face, immediately setting her at ease.

"I… should be thanking you," he replied as they withdrew their hands. His hand went up to scratch the back of his head, and his eyes were now shining with wonder. "You were incredible, My Lady."

A faint hint of a blush rose on the heroine's cheeks, just below her mask, and she tried not to think too much about the sincerity in his tone.

"Don't be silly, kitty," she tried to play off with a poorly-disguised nervous chuckle. "I was only just—"

A sounding beep from both of their Miraculous abruptly cut her off. Ladybug's hand flew up to her ear while Chat Noir looked down at his ring. They both gasped when they saw the last paw pad flickering warningly.

"You'd better go, Chat Noir," Ladybug told him. "You're about to change back."

His eyes shot up to hers, conflicted. "But…"

She nodded knowingly. "I'll explain everything next time, chaton."

"Next time," he repeated with a nod. He then bowed, sweeping an arm dramatically across his waist. "Until then, My Lady."

She watched as he vaulted himself onto a nearby rooftop before jumping out of view.

"Until then," she echoed to herself.

"You were right, Tikki," Marinette said as she swiveled around in her desk chair. She held up her hands, willing her secondary aspect to come to the surface. She watched in fascination as the specks of energy appeared immediately, steadily circling her fingers in a spiral. She felt no fear at all. "I guess all I needed was some time."

"I knew you wouldn't give up on it, Marinette," the Kwami replied as she nuzzled her holder's cheek. "I'm really glad you didn't give up on it."

"So am I." Marinette's hand flew up to cup her tiny friend, the specks lighting up and dancing around Tikki upon contact. The Kwami giggled as the warmth tickled her body.

"I'm still a little confused though…" The girl gently pulled Tikki away from her face to look at her, her expression riddled with uncertainty.

"After rejecting it, this power remained silent. How come it only reacted to my emotions then when I was feeling helpless, when it felt like there was nothing I could do? It wouldn't really respond to something like that, would it?"

"That's how strongly you felt at the time," Tikki answered, "and it wasn't that you were feeling helpless, Marinette. It was your concern, your fear, and your anger for those who couldn't help themselves. Your protectiveness. The urge to help those in need. Like with that student and during the battle with Chat Noir. That's what your secondary aspect reacted to the most."

"My… protectiveness?"

"That's right!" The Kwami flew up and laid her paws on the girl's nose. "Your concern for others and the urge to defend them… That's what determines the strength of your aspect, what helped you stand up to the Challenger. What made you a worthy candidate for the Miraculous. I'm really glad that I was partnered with someone like you, Marinette."

Feeling her heart overflow with warmth, Marinette grinned sheepishly as she cupped her fingers around the Kwami again, gently pulling her into a hug against her cheek.

"And I'm really glad I met you, Tikki," she replied before pulling back again in realization. "Wait, does this mean you know what kind of aspect I manifested now?"

Tikki giggled. "Yes! Your magically enhanced strength is only part of it. But your potential is an excellent medium for creation to express itself through you."

Marinette only cocked her head to the side, confused. "Um, what does that mean?"

"It means…" The Kwami giggled again. "…that things are going to be a lot more interesting from here on out."

I'll answer questions now. :)