Night Shift

Chapter 2

"You only wore the mask?" Ladybug asked as she and Lila walked down the sidewalk.

Lila nodded. "The rest of it didn't fit."

Ladybug looked crestfallen. "I'm sorry. I thought I judged it right."

"Well, you thought wrong. So what's the plan?"

Ladybug checked the screen on her yoyo. "First, we're going to the Sainte-Chapelle Refugee Center. Depending on how long that takes, we may or may not be able to do anything else."

Lila frowned. "What sort of supervillain would be at a refugee center?"

"Hopefully none. I don't have time in my schedule for any supervillains tonight."

"Then what exactly are we going to be doing?"

"We're going to be helping people. That's what heroes are for, right?"

"That doesn't make any sense," Lila said, narrowing her eyebrows. "Your job is to fight villains and to prevent Hawkmoth from taking over."

Ladybug shrugged. "That's my day job, I guess. But there's a reason why I'm described as a hero by night. Fighting villains gets good press, but it's only a fraction of what I do. And the stuff I really care about is all on the night shift."

"So what are we going to be doing, then?"

"Hundreds of people are living at the Sainte-Chapelle center. And for many of them, they've fled their homes and now have to spend Christmas in a strange new country where they don't have any homes of their own, or any friends or family to support them. It only makes sense that the center should provide a Christmas celebration for them. But it takes countless dedicated volunteers in order to keep the center running, and many of them are away for the holidays. So the center needs help preparing for the celebration tomorrow, and that's where we come in."

"Really?" Lila said snidely. "Your idea of being a hero is setting up a Christmas party for a few refugees?"

Ladybug glanced over at Lila. "Yeah, it is."

Lila sighed. "Fine. How are we getting to the shelter?"

"Well, we could go by yoyo or by night bus."

"The bus, then."

"You don't trust me to not drop you?" Ladybug inquired.

"Oh, I trust you," Lila shot back, "but I don't want you to touch me."

"Fair enough," Ladybug said resignedly.

The bus showed up a minute later. Lila paid her fare and stepped on, while the bus driver waved Ladybug in without asking for a fare.

"Why are you actually doing this?" Lila asked as Ladybug sat in the seat across the aisle from her.

"Because it's my duty as a hero," Ladybug replied.

Lila scoffed. "Don't give me any of that. First off, you're no hero. And besides, nobody ever does something if they don't get anything out of it."

"I get to feel the feeling that I've helped people," Ladybug explained, "and I get to see the joy on their faces. And that's more than enough for me. And besides, there's no harm in doing it. Besides never getting enough sleep, that is."

"I don't believe you," Lila snapped. "But I guess that's all I'm getting out of you."

"It's the truth," Ladybug insisted. "Just because you can't imagine feeling empathy doesn't mean I can't either."

"Touché," Lila said, with a quick roll of her eyes. She thought silently for a moment. "How do you know they need your help, anyway? What if you show up and find out we've been wasting our time."