Operation: Antiblanc

4.

"Wow, that's a brutal scar," Elwin said.

Ladybug still wasn't accustomed to him, but Keefe had promised he wouldn't hurt her or Cat Noir. That Elwin had countless experiences having to bring some Foster girl back from the dead.

"It's not too bad though," he continued. He snapped his fingers and she let out a soft gasp as an orb of green light surrounded her face. "Yes, I could fix that up in a snap."

"Wait, really?" she perked up.

She really did want the scar gone. It was just a horrible reminder of Cat Blanc...

But it was also a reality check for her. That Hawkmoth had a new ace up his sleeve.

Besides, it would show the world there was a force to be reckoned with. To all the deniers, she was living proof there was a real threat.

"It's fine," she said. "I can handle it."

"Well, if you insist," Elwin said as the light faded from her face. He snapped his fingers again and a bright blue light formed on her torso. "Wow. Your cells remind me of Sophie's when she first moved to the Lost Cities. Nothing but toxins."

"Toxins?" she gasped, wishing she could barf up everything she'd ever consumed in her lifetime.

"Nothing harmful," Elwin reassured. "But it's one of the downfalls of living in the Forbidden Cities. You've clearly been administered a detox without you knowing it, but it would be safe to have another one."

"A what?" she raised an eyebrow.

"It's nothing painful, I promise," Elwin dug out a handful of vials, all filled with colorful liquids. "Just rids the body of the human toxins."

In the span of three hours, Ladybug had landed in a completely new place and had been given the crash course on the truth: elves existed. Simple as that. Along with ogres, gnomes, dwarves, trolls, and goblins. All living in the Lost Cities, having cut contact with humans shortly after World War 2.

And some Neverseen group was responsible for Cat Blanc and... her own evil counterpart? Probably what Keefe had meant when he had mentioned "Antibug." Their blood had been used to genetically engineer those two, meant to destroy everything.

Ladybug tentatively opened one of the vials and poured the contents down her throat. "Hey, this doesn't taste half-bad."

Elwin chuckled a little. "Cat Noir said the same thing earlier. And Sophie did when she first tried elvin medicine."

The other vials were emptied quickly after, and Ladybug was left to her own devices after that. She began roaming the halls until she ran into a girl looking like the brunette from earlier.

"Ladybug, so glad we found you," the girl said. "I'm Biana. Fitz's little sister."

Of course. Ladybug could see the facial similarities. Even their eyes were the same shade of teal. But Ladybug had to admit this Biana girl was a lot prettier than she could ever be.

"Your costume is interesting," Biana said, clearly trying to make conversation. "Cat Noir keeps telling me his is made out of boyfriend material."

"And there he goes with the lame pick-up lines," Ladybug rolled her eyes a little but couldn't help to smile. Cat Noir was still Cat Noir.

At least that hadn't changed.

Biana's eyes went right to the scar. "I'm assuming one of those evil people did that?"

"Cat Blanc," Ladybug specified, her mind still imagining the moment like a horror movie. "But I'm keeping it. As a reminder that things aren't as perfect as I wish they could be. Just... don't tell Cat Noir. I'm not ready to explain things to him."