Villains I dont see very often; mute. Mute villains are the best, nothing can convince me otherwise.
One idea thats been on my mind is a mute villain confessing to the hero, either through sign language, or a perfectly executed scheme. You’re choice :))
Not sure if this counts, but I ran with it. Might try this again after I gather some ASL knowledge. Hope you enjoy :)
A Silent Movie
It wasn’t exactly easy to get Hero sat in front of the cinema screen. In fact, the planning for this trap had taken over sixth months. Not to mention the money it took to buy this building off foreclosure, and the multitude of investments into Hero-proofing the location.
It was even harder to get said hero to stop yelling long enough to pay attention to the image being projected from the back of the room. Not that their sense of hearing was needed for this experience, but Villain imagined Hero would appreciate the lack of noise-based distractions, including sounds they themselves were making.
The theater was notably large, probably the most expensive showing room of its day. That is to say, the upholstery was a little outdated. The popcorn had been swept off the floor, the swirling carpet surprisingly clean. The velvet of the seats did not appear stained, and the cupholders were absent of any discarded snacks or tickets.
The glow of the emergency exit lights were the only thing illuminating the room, and they revealed a dim image of the hero situated in the center of the third row, which was optimal seating in the villain’s opinion.
Clearly, Hero did not agree, considering how hard they were pulling at the restraints to try and exit their carefully selected theater chair.
It was futile, of course, and the hero finally stopped straining when the villain appeared a row below them, quiet as a mouse, standing with a finger pressed to their lips.
Villain retreated when the hero quieted, letting their attention shift to the screen and this special showing. Images flicked past, and Hero became engrossed in the story unfolding on the screen.
Shown was a news reel Hero recognized as the time Villain had crashed their Election Day speech. A zoomed out map of the city, marking City Hall with a red square. Grainy footage of two figures dancing around next to a dumpster. Once again the map appeared, now with two squares pasted on top. The pattern continued, and Hero was amazed.
It was an agglomeration of every moment they had spent together, every public battle, every nighttime-shady-alley encounter.
There was only one reason to collect these momentos, these reminders. It had all meant something to the villain.
The complete lack of kernels on the carpet certainly pointed to a level of dedication and commitment to this scheme.
Maybe, they were hoping it meant something to the hero, too.
Another scene zoomed out a final time, revealing all the markers spread across the city. Only, now, Hero noticed, a rather distinct pattern had formed.
Villain moved like a phantom, appearing again, this time at the hero’s side. The ropes at their wrists fell away like magic while Hero gazed at the awkwardly hovering villain. They presented the hero with a glittering object hung from a chain held loose around their fingers. It was a large ruby gem, expertly cut into the shape of a 3-D heart.
Stolen, no doubt, Hero suspected possibly from the large jewelry exhibition that had just entered town.
The screen flashed bright, and lit up the hero’s face as it contorted in surprise. They processed the scene as fast as they could.
A heart of red markers, a heart of ruby, a heart fluttering in their chest, a heart laid open in front of them.
“Oh,” Hero breathed, “Oh.”
Villain sucked in a breath.
This was it, this was the moment they got rejected because they couldn’t-
“I had no idea.”
Of course they didn’t know, it’s not like Villain had ever spoken about it.
Preparing automatically for the rejection, Villain started to withdraw their hand, cold-as-steel demeanor returning to them with all the familiarity of a security blanket.
It was so stupid of them to think that they deserved any kind of reciprocation, so stupid to think that the hero could possibly-
The hero snatched the charm from their fingers before they fully withdrew.
“I didn’t say no,” they spoke softly, and the villain’s heart skipped a beat.
They reached out their other hand, wrapping their fingers over the still-outstretched hand of the villain. Instead of elaborating, Hero pulled the frozen criminal closer, connecting their lips in a gentle proclamation.
Paris. It’s the city of lights, love and (occasionally evil) butterflies.
Our duos have been through a lot, and there’s more to come. But love, fate and magic always seem to entangle and bring friends close and lovers closer.
And of course, our favorite wingmen and wingwomen are here to help push that way too. (It doesn’t matter what kind of wings, right?)
A mess of self-discovery and shipping, written for LadyNoir July 2018.
Rena Rouge watched through her flute three rooftops away, stifling giggles as Ladybug landed on the roof, looking around suspiciously. This plan was as complex as one of Marinette’s, which meant it would either A. fail horribly and Queen B (who was monitoring it’s progress beside her) could tease her about it later, or B. it would actually work because there wasn’t a stuttering mess here to, well, stutter her way out of it.
“Rena? Chat? Queen B? I swear if this is a setup-”
“M’lady I’m insulted! Why would I ever set you up?” And there was Chat Noir, right on time and right where she knew he’d be. Alya’s wingwoman skills would work this time, and her ship would become canon! Heck yes!
“You tell me, I just got a call from Rena saying I needed to get here now, and that you and Queen B were already here too.”
“I got a similar call, just switch me with you. Do you think it’s an akuma that’s hacked into our communicators?”
Rena was confused when Ladybug slammed her forehead into her palm and groaned.
“Nope. I know who did this, I’ll take care of it tonight during our scheduled patrol with Rena and Queen B.”
“Are you sure LB?”
Ladybug turned to Chat Noir, placing her hands on his shoulders. While Rena couldn’t see her face, she guessed Ladybug was giving Chat a are-you-really-doubting-me-now look. (Really though, she was giving him a yes-I-got-myself-into-this-mess-let-me-get-out-of-it look, mixed with a this-isn’t-that-kind-of-secret-I-really-do-trust-you look).
Chat’s shoulders slumped. “Alright, but can we meet up a little earlier, just the two of us? It’s been a while since we’ve done that.”
“Of course Chat! You think twenty minutes will be enough to get from the Eiffel tower to Trocedaro and back?”
“It is for me, the question is, will you be able to keep up?”
Ladybug reeled back in false offense, and Queen B had to cover Rena’smouth so the other two didn’t hear her squeal. Rena shoved Queen B off as she turned back to Ladybug and Chat Noir.Honestly, she wasn’t that loud.
“Ladybug doesn’t like Chat Noir? I mean obviously not. It’s not like their chemistry could be seen from a mile away or anything,” Queen B muttered from Rena’s side. (okay so they weren’t quite that far away, but still).
“Oh it is on Chat! Get in as much practice as you can before tonight, or prepare to have your butt kicked!”
“Ooh, someone sounds confident. Should we bet on it?” Chat asked, leaning in.
“No,” Ladybug pushed his nose, shaking her head.
Rena slammed her face into her hands. ‘Why?’
“Why not?”
“Cause I know what you’ll want to be the prize.”
“A rooftop picnic?”
Ladybug seemed surprised, and Rena found herself wishing she had a second vantage point so she could her face. “Actually, I’ll agree to that. Loser hosts it?”
“Only if Winner gets to pick the venue,” Chat bargained.
“And date.”
“Okay!”
“Okay. See you tonight,” Ladybug waved and threw her yo-yo.
Chat sighed as she left. His usual, lovestruck sigh that gave Rena all the more reason to give these two a shove in the right direction.
After a few seconds he shook out of it and left.
“Alright Rena, I’ll admit, it’s a start.”
Rena Rouge turned to Queen B, incredulous. “A start? Did you not see that? I have it completely under control! They’ll be an item by the end of the month!”
“Except Ladybug knows it’s you,” Queen B pointed out, her bright yellow fingers pointing towards where Ladybug and Chat Noir had just vacated.
“Nah. She just thinks she does. I’ll play innocent until it’s over with, then I’ll ask for bragging rights.”
Queen B raised her eyebrows, “You? Ms. Setter-upper extraordinaire, needs bragging rights?”
“My other subject has a minor speech impediment cause by being in the basic vicinity of her crush,” Rena shrugged.
Queen B facepalmed.
“Who has a crush? Oh my gosh! You two are Queen B and Rena Rouge! I’m such a fan! And so is my best friend Alya! Can I get a few pictures for her?”
The two superheroes turned to see Marinette of all people standing at the edge of the roof, hands up to her chest like a true fangirl.
Queen B froze up a little bit, but Rena’s face split into a huge grin. “Of course, anything for a fan!”
After Marinette had gotten a few pictures, (She really would send these to Alya), and after she had decided to dial her fangirling back a bit, Marinette posed the question that was the whole reason she had come up here. “So what were you two doing up here anyways? I hope I didn’t interrupt an Akuma hunt!”
Rena shrugged, “You didn’t interrupt anything, Queenie and I had just finished when you arrived.”
“Finished what? Or is it some super secret super hero stuff?”
“It’s some super secret super hero stuff,” Queen B answered quickly, her smile a touch too wide. Marinette had to swallow a triumphant grin. She and Chloe had had a bit of a run in while detransforming a few weeks ago, and had been getting along better since, but Chloe being uncomfortable with ‘Polka-dots’ (as was her new nickname for Marinette) when talking superhero stuff like this was just too much fun to watch.
“No it isn’t,” Rena said, exasperatedly. “We were wingwomaning Ladybug and Chat Noir.”
“Oh my gosh really? Are they going to be together soon?”
“Yep!”
“Which one are you wingwomaning for? Or did they each ask one of you?” Queen B was shaking her head and making a huge Alya-reminiscent X with her arms over and over as Marinette continued sneakily interogatting Rena Rouge. Rena however, wasn’t looking back at Queen B and getting the warning. Although maybe it was Queen B asking Marinette to stop.
“Now that’s a secret,” Rena teased, “But don’t worry, I’m sure once we get them together we can start wingwomaning for Civilians.”
Queen B had given up from her perch behind Rena, and wasn’t even trying to stop her partner from spilling the beans.
“But hasn’t Ladybug already done that?” Marinette asked. That got Chloe to look up, an eyebrow raised. Had Chloe missed everything?
“She has?” Rena seemed surprised as well. Marinette felt a little insulted at that, but maybe Rena was acting. After all, she didn’t know Marinette already knew she was best friends with Rena Rouge.
“Oh yeah! She got Ivan and Mylene together, and Alya and Nino, and Onidine and Kim, and-”
“Okay we get it! We’ve got a little catching up to do. But we will, don’t worry.”
Queen B scoffed. “No, you have a lot of catching of to do Rena.”
Rena turned and stuck her tongue out at Queen B, before turning back to Marinette. “Well anyways, anything else we can help with while we’re out here?”
Marinette pursed her lips, and caught sight of Queen B mouthing “No. No. No. No.” over and over again. She couldn’t think of anything else off the top of her head, so she decided to give Queen B a break. For a little while. She needed to decide how she felt about Alya trying to set her up with Chat, and Chloe helping.
“I don’t think so, but thank you so much for the pictures! Alya’s going to love them!” Marinette waved and walked back over to the wall which she came up, deciding she’d head over to Chloe’s to get a full disclosure version of it.
“Okay, bye!” Rena waved, making Marinette sure that she had made Alya’s day by coming over and being a fan.
If nothing else, making her friend happy was good. So was information, but she needed more of that.
Queen B parted ways with Rena Rouge as soon as Marinette left. She needed to explain, you know, before Marinette did something rash like she did every now and then. She still shipped LadyNoir, but since she knew Spots and Polka-dots were the same person, (and that Polka-dots still had a major crush on Adrien), she probably seemed a lot like a jerk for trying to set Spots and Chat up.
She scanned the city, finding Marinette almost at Le grand Paris. How did she even move that fast without transforming? She dived for the pigtailed girl, scooping her up and giving her a speed ride to Chloe’s balcony.
“You do know someone probably saw that, right?” Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow as they landed.
“You guys take people up here all the time,” Chloe replied incredulously, still transformed.
“When there’s an akuma,” Marinette pointed out, just as screams started coming in through the window, along with a shout of “Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”
“What did you do this time? How did you even have time to do anything this time?” Queen B asked, waving her hands as if to say ‘Why me?’
“I didn’t!” Marinette protested, “I knew you’d want to explain before I came up with a reprimand, so I made a beeline straight to here!”
“Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous! Not only did you somehow accidentally cause an Akuma while coming at me, Chat has corrupted you with his puns!”
“I punned? Oh, right, beeline, sorry,” Marinette shrugged. “Should we go take that thing down?”
“Yes. And then anything you do, Blame Rena! I know all about your classmate crush and I know that’s why you say to a romantic relationship with Chat, but she doesn’t!”
Marinette shook her head. Of course Rena didn’t, she didn’t know what Chloe knew! “Whatever, Tikki! Spots on!”
The pink flash covered the balcony and then the two bug-themed superheroes were shooting off the balcony and into the afternoon sunlight to fight whoever had a grudge with Marinette this time around.
******
Chat Noir waited on the Eiffel tower, excitement flowing through his veins. Thanks to that prank call from Rena, (deny it as she might, he knew better), and an Akuma that was mad at Marinette because she had entered another contest a while ago and had won, he got to see Ladybug twice already, plus they had a race to do on their own, and a picnic! Okay so a picnic wasn’t actually set yet, but it was a start!
“Ready to lose Chat?”
He spun at the voice, seeing Ladybug smirking at him.
“Oh you’re going to lose M’lady. This cat is fast!”
“I’m faster.”
“Oh. Wanna see for sure? Ready, set, go!”
Both superheroes shot off running, swinging and vaulting while they teased each other the entire way. Eventually Chat did win, but only, and only, because, as Ladybug said, “I know the better food joints. Like I was going to let you pick it, alley cat.”
Chat swooned in fake betrayal at that, before Queen B and Rena Rouge caught up to them.
“Oh there the sneaks are!” Chat looked at Ladybug as she spoke, a smug smile creeping across her face. Had he missed something?
Queen B groaned and plopped onto the ground, burying her face in her hands. Rena just looked at them, the picture of innocence.
“So I have it on good authority that you two want to have a wingwomaning spree, is that right?”
Rena bit her lip, smiling guiltily, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I told you. I told you it was a bad idea to spill the beans to Polka-dots in a public place and yet you do anyways. Spots was listening you crazy fox,” Queen B muttered.
“Exactly. Especially when I know there are fangirls in the area. That’s the absolute best way to get information, don’t you know?” Ladybug reiterated, the smile only growing more smug.
Rena pouted. Chat was still a little confused, but he was starting to put the pieces together. Ladybug had never confirmed it, but he was pretty sure she picked someone out of her own life to be Rena Rouge, which meant she probably dealt with stuff like this as a civilian all the time.
Rena Rouge was a matchmaker in training. And Queen B was her partner in crime? Maybe.
“Fine, I admit it. I planned the meeting.”
Ladybug smiled. “Thank you for the honesty. You two go ahead and finish patrol, and meet me here tomorrow for tips on winging it. Okay?”
The other two nodded, and Chat gave Ladybug a weird look. She just winked and threw her yo-yo off the tower beam, swinging off for the night.
“I can see a very pretty and smart woman giving you lots of kisses in your future, if you’d like a distraction from everyone else’s romantic futures.”
he chuckled a little, eyes playfully rolling as he then looked at her.
“ gross. “ he gave a small grin, being a joke. he wraps his arms around her waist and gently pulls her to him. trying not to hurt her. his forehead against her’s. “ but -- we can be gross together. “
