10 years later and Ladybug and Chat Noir are still fighting against Hawkmoth every day.
Akumatizations happen every other day, the citizens of Paris have grown weary.
"10 years of this stupid nonsense and you still couldn't defeat that freak?!"
"My baby has been akumatized so many times since he was a toddler! I can't stand it anymore."
"My wife left me after I got akumatized..."
"Hawkmoth ruined my life!"
"Ladybug and Chat Noir are no heroes, they're useless!"
Ladybug shared a concerned glance with Chat Noir next to her and she speaks into the microphone:"People of Paris, please! We understand your concern, we know Hawkmoth ruined and hurt many people, that's why we fight every day in order to stop him! We will stop him!"
Another man shouted, "Oh, yeah? And when's that? When I'm old and gray?!"
"Ladybug, you have magic and technology on your side, can't you just track him down? Or follow his akumas back to his lair? What about installing cameras everywhere in the city?"
Officer Rodger immediately stepped up. "Ma'am, that is a violation of privacy for the citizens of Paris!"
"I don't care anymore! It's a violation for Hawkmoth to be running rampant for as long as he did! Do something!"
"You don't deserve to call yourselves superheroes if you can't defeat villains!"
A smoothie cup was thrown in Ladybug's direction but Chat Noir's staff quickly deflected it. "Hey!" Ladybug held a hand out to pacify her partner, but the crowd only grew angrier.
"You're no heroes! You're just kids in costumes with magic jewelry playing them!"
"Defeat Hawkmoth or go home!"
"Stop Hawkmoth's tyranny and Ladybug and Chat Noir's incompetence!"
The crowd threw expletives at the duo, Ladybug's shoulders set and her hands clenched into fists.
Her legs began to tremble.
Chat Noir acted quickly and grabbed his partner, using his staff to propel them off the stage and into the safety of the rooftops, away from prying eyes and offending mouths.
"Are you okay, m'lady?" Chat rubbed her back gently, biting his lips when he felt the weak tremors still wreaking over her body.
Ladybug's whisper sounded like a defeated confession. "...They are right, kitty... if we are heroes, then we should've defeated Hawkmoth a long time ago..."
Chat Noir grabbed her hands in his, tenderly caressing over her black spotted knuckles. "Hey, we're doing the best we can with what we have, LB. Hawkmoth is more experienced, he most likely has the resources to keep himself hidden. We can't just track him down with magic, if he could we would've already tried that. Don't listen to them, they're wrong."
Ladybug shook her head. "No...they aren't. Did we try everything? Maybe Alya should've disguised herself as Mayura and waited for Hawkmoth to contact her. Maybe if I had studied the miracle box and found a way to sense Nooroo and trace his presence back to Hawkmoth then-"
The spotted heroine froze, it was very rare for her beloved partner to raise his voice at her. By the narrowed pupils in his eyes, she knew he was furious. "We. Are. Doing. Our. Best. They don't know how we work, they don't know how many other responsibilities and problems we have aside from being heroes! I would wanna see any of them try and be us for a single day!"
Chat Noir crossed his arms, pacing back and forth, the telltale click clack of his clawed feet hitting the concrete of the roof they sought refuge on.
And suddenly, Ladybug had an idea.
Chat shook his shoulders. "Of course I am- uh, m'lady?" Spotting the familiar light, Chat Noir automatically turned around and kept his gaze to the sky to avoid spotting his partner's identity. "Mind telling me why it's a good idea to transform back on top of a roof?"
He heard Ladybug walk closer towards him. "Maybe you're right Chat Noir, maybe Paris deserves a chance at being better heroes than us."
Chat stopped himself midway from turning his entire body towards his partner in shock. "Wh- what?! Hey, wait, don't hissunderstand meow!" Chat Noir failed with his hands helplessly. "I was just joking! Do you know how dangerous our miraculous could be if they get into a random person's hands?! Master Fu tested us! But what if a bad person gets their hands on our miraculous."
His partner chuckled. "Remember the fail saves we programmed into our miraculous? In case we ever use our powers for evil, they transform us back into civilians and Tikki and Plagg would hide somewhere safe with the miraculous. It's to prevent Hawkmoth from ever getting them should he mind control us again."
Chat huffed, thinking of incidents where he got brainwashed under Hawkmoth's control. "Yeah, we could've used those a while back." He shook his head, inclined his head in his lady's direction without fully turning. "But... still, I don't know. It's dangerous. Our miraculous in the wrong hands could really mess things up."
Ladybug smirked. "Since the people of Paris think we mess things up, it would be a good opportunity to see them try better."
Slowly, the idea began to warm up to her partner, because he transformed back in the next second.
Marinette and Adrien kept their backs turned, staring down at their worried-looking kwamis.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Don't worry, Tikki, you know what to do if something goes wrong. We still have the other miraculous in case things go south."
"Ugh, why not just give them a different miraculous? How am I supposed to fund my camembert cravings?"
"I'll pack you an emergency bag, Plagg. And please don't destroy the city while I'm not with you."
Marinette smiled, glancing down cautiously at the still rowdy crowd of dissatisfied people. "If the citizens of Paris think being a hero is so easy, why don't we sit back and watch them do it better?"
Adrien moved towards the other side, watching a different crowd slowly disperse. "Maybe we could learn a thing or two."
TLDR: What if Paris isn't satisfied with Ladybug and Chat Noir as their heroes so they get an opportunity to be heroes themselves?