"I can sense fear and desire," Sandboy explained. He was now in his kid form. "For a villain like Hawkmoth to exist, he's gotta have a ton of both."

"So you can feel him?" Kaalki asked.

Sandboy nodded. "He wants to bring his near dead wife back to life, but he's afraid of the peacock miraculous. He's also afraid of the master of the chinese box, as well as... His son? I could be getting this wrong, but it's how my powers work."

"So can we use this as a radar to find him?"

"He's in a hotel," Sandboy said, closing his eyes, "fifth story... Room 568... Suite style... Conrad New York Downtown. He's here for the tortoise miraculous, and does not yet know Ladybug and Chat Noir are also here."

"That's incredible!" Chloe exclaimed, and for a moment, Sandboy smiled.

"We need to keep his attention away from Ladybug and Chat Noir for as long as we can," Kaalki said, "which means if the United Heroes can handle Mr. Damocles, Chloe and Claudie will have to swoop in."

"Hawkmoth is smart though," said Pollen, thinking deeply, "he can't take on all of the United Heroes, but he would also have to know that the tortoise user never openly comes out during a fight. He must have a plan to decimate all of them to get Thorn to come out. This is serious."

"So we should take care of Mr. Damocles before we go after Hawkmoth," Chloe said and the others agreed.

"And what about you?" Kaalki asked Sandboy, a deep frown scarring her face.

"I'll wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir to show their faces because they inevitably will," Sandboy said, sounding a bit threatening. Kaalki furrowed her brows. "No, I'll be here, waiting for when you need me to find Hawkmoth. But after that, we are no longer friends."

"We never were," Pollen said under her breath.

"We should get going quickly," Chloe said, and Pollen allowed her to transform. Claudie did the same.

***

Mr. Damocles, now known as the Dark Owl, was akumatized. He managed to catch the attention of the United Heroes by literally surrounding the entire Brooklynn bridge with containers of nitrogen, threatening to make it crumble. And on top of that, he had a canon supposedly aimed at the Empire State. Where he had gotten all of this was beyond belief.

It was clear he was putting up more than just a good fight against the Heroes already there. Several of them had been tossed into the river or knocked out cold, and those who remained were staying back, trying to come up with a plan.

Queen Bee and Neptune kept to the shadows, not allowing any of the heroes nor Dark Owl to catch a glimpse of them. Observing Dark Owl, they were surprised to find they couldn't identify any one specific power attached to him. He appeared to only be using weapons, and they had to guess he could summon them from anywhere. But that was a terrible assumption to make.

"I think I know what to do," Queen Bee whispered to Neptune. "You'll have to portal me directly behind him."

"That's dangerous," Neptune warned, "we have no idea what he's capable of. And I think he's got cameras everywhere. He'll see you before you can paralyze him."

"This is my principal. He may be a goofy, unreliable man sometimes, and he did put me in a room with that stupid Dupan-Cheng girl, but he cares about his students more than anything. With the amount of respect he gives us, I think it's time I show him my respect as well."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright then. Once you've succeeded, I'll have to quickly go back to Paris to make sure Carapace and Tigre Rouge are okay. If the sentimonster is still a problem, I will be back for Ladybug and Chat Noir. But we probably won't see each other again for a while. This is my goodbye."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kante," Queen Bee said, "I'm ready."

"Good. Voyage!" Neptune said, creating a portal to right behind Dark Owl. Queen Bee didn't have time for goodbyes before she jumped right through it, already summoning her venom to the tip of her spinning top.

Miraculously, it was a success!

It almost felt too easy. Dark Owl hardly reacted before he was paralyzed, and it only took Chloe a few seconds to find his akuma. Perhaps he really hadn't been that powerful, and his power was his expert bluffing. He'd fooled the United Heroes with that, and bested them. And here Queen Bee was, the victor.

As soon as she broke the akumatized object, she freed Mr. Damocles from her spell. He staggered forward drunkenly for a moment, barely gathering himself together. When he turned, he saw Queen Bee, and he looked absolutely horrified.

"Chloe, my dear!" he gasped in surprise. Queen Bee felt her chest tighten. There was no escaping it. By morning, surely everyone in the world would know she was Queen Bee.

"Mr. Damocles, are you alright?"

"Are YOU alright?!" He asked, his eyes filled with nothing but worry.

"I- I'm fine!"

"My word Ms. Bourgeois, how is it possible that you are so much all at once, and no one ever knew? This must have taken a toll on you- I- Hold on, what have I done? Where am I?!"

"We're on the Brooklyn Bridge, Mr. Damocles. You were akumatized."

"But- But- How is that possible?! We aren't anywhere near Paris!"

"It seems Hawkmoth has followed us- er- me, here," Queen Bee said, "your students will be safe." She thought of Adrien. So long as he wasn't transformed into Chat Noir, he would be safe. Everyone would be safe.... Except that Uncanny Valley knew his identity, the United Heroes were foiled, and they were already willing to kidnap Neptune in a most definitely illegal manner... And Sandboy could detect the miraculous! Her class was actually NOT safe! As long as Adrien was there, there was practically a giant glowing beacon becoming trouble to the students who were now in danger of.

"I am so so sorry, Ms. Bourgeois," Mr. Damocles continued to apologize, begging for forgiveness which he'd already been given.

"It's okay, Mr. Damocles," Queen Bee assured. Around them on the bridge, heroes were beginning to circle around them. "However, we have a few new problems. I don't think the United Heroes understand how akumatization works, and they're gonna come after you-"

A smaller mini portal suddenly appeared at Chloe's side with Neptune's gloved had emerging from it, handing her a cheap plastic mask. Neptune had practically read her mind!

"Wear this! The heroes cannot know your identity," Queen Bee urged, passing the plastic goofy mask to Mr. Damocles who, with mild confusion, did as she said. As soon as the mask was on, another portal formed next to them. Chloe motioned for her principal to step through it, but he was very adamant. By now, the other heroes were directly behind them.

"What in Christ's name do you think you're doing?!" the voice of Victory snorted crudely behind her.

Queen Been forced Mr. Damocles through the portal and it instantly closed. She spun around to face Victory with a meek smile, hoping Neptune would make a portal under her feet and she could just vanish from the situation.

"Did you really just hide a criminal?!" Victory barked.

Queen Bee coughed. "Innocent civilian." She smiled again.

"Innocent civilians?! Do you not see the nitrogen bombs planted around the bridge?!" Victory seethed.

"No, actually," Queen Bee retorted with a sarcastic grin. Indeed, all evidence (aside from new damage) from the Dark Owl had vanished as soon as he'd been deakumatized.

Realizing this, Victory grew more frustrated, "what have you done?"

"Saved New York's ass," Queen Bee snorted.

"Likely, you little fiend," Victory began cursing under her breath, "do you understand how many issues will now arise because of this?!"

"No," Queen Bee said bluntly. She twirled her top round her fingers, spinning it and then tossing it so she could get the hell out of there, "and I don't care."

As soon as Queen Bee went to swing out of there with her spinning top, she had to stop herself, for standing distantly in front of her were both Ladybug and Chat Noir, dumbfounded.

"Oh shit," Chloe said, feeling her stomach sink. Of course, Adrien already knew her identity, so the look he was giving her was rather mournful. But Ladybug looked absolutely shocked, her mouth agape and her body frozen still. And just behind them was the rest of the United Heroes. Their trio was in definite trouble, especially now that all three of them "illegally used unidentified miraculous on American soil."

"Chloe- Queen Bee!" Ladybug was the first to move now, rushing up to Queen Bee who found herself paused in shock. "You took care of an akuma all on your own! Are you alright?! Where's the victim?!"

"It's been taken care of," Queen Bee stuttered, feeling her voice barely leave her. "He's safe."

"Good, good. What is going on?! What happened?"

"W-we need to go," Chloe said, eyeing the United Heroes timidly.

"Two akumas in one night and you won against both of them on your own, that's incredible!" Chat Noir called from where he stood. Queen Bee now realized he was actually being held back by Knightowl, but that didn't stop him from trying to show his support.

"Ladybug, we need to go! We're not supposed to use our miraculous here. I know where Hawkmoth is!" Queen Bee iterated.

"What?! How?!" Ladybug pressed.

"I-I- It's hard to explain! Why isn't Neptune portalling us out already?!" Queen Bee said, now realizing she was actually tearing up.

Something cold grabbed her wrist. She jerked her head around to see Uncanny Valley was attempting to restrain her. Panic bubbled up in Queen Bee's chest. She looked back to Chat Noir who was being pinned to the road on his chest and muted. Ladybug was now also ripped away from her by Victory, putting up a great but useless fight.

"W-wait-" Queen Bee felt her breath shake, a familiar beeping sound coming from her miraculous telling her her time was nearly up. She felt the world around her begin to quiet, not because it was calm, but because she was entering a tunnel vision. All she could hear was her own breath and heart beat–her vision became a blur. Looking up at the top of one of the railings, she spotted Sandboy who was grinning down at her.

She was a fool. She'd succeeded, but she'd lost more tonight than she could recount for. She thought she'd faced the worst of it, but now her friends were in greater danger because of her. No matter how heroic she was, no matter how selfless, she was and would always be Chloe Bourgeois, the spiteful entitled girl who wrecked everyone's life that she deemed lower than her own. As Uncanny Valley shoved her to her knees, whispering sweet positive things in her ear as she did so, Queen Bee felt sickened by her own racing thoughts. She'd pushed her butler-father-figure away, she'd lost Sabrina, she'd lost any chance of having a sister or rekindling her relationship with her mom, she'd lost her sense of self, and now she was about to lose some of the only people left who who truly trusted her.

She was prided by her good deeds but now, the shadows of their consequences were looming over her and Chloe wanted to die.

Her vision focused on Ladybug who was now being held back by three separate heroes. Victory was in the process of taking her miraculous, already having one earring in hand which was causing her transformation to very slowly wear off. Chloe felt breathless, and her heart practically stopped right in its tracks.

"N-no," she whispered, barely getting her voice out. Uncanny Valley had already cuffed her hands. The beeping of her miraculous was getting louder. Ladybug was screaming and kicking in protest, but all of it was helpless. "N-no. Wait- stop it!"

"Hello, Queen Wasp," said a voice in Queen Bee's head. Her entire body and mind went numb. "I am Hawkmoth. I am sure you must hate me, but I am here to make an offer, if you are willing."

"N-no-" Queen Bee sputtered. She witnessed Chat Noir escape Knightowl by using his cataclysm, but before he could rescue Ladybug, he was restrained again. "No!"

"You'll get to keep your friends safe. The world will see you for how good you really are. All your efforts won't be for nothing. And I will ensure the world forgets that it is a Bourgeois under your mask. All I ask for in exchange is you help in taking down the United Heroes, which is something I'm sure you also want."

"I- I do," Queen Bee said, her words slurring together as her mind went blank.

"And don't worry. Ladybug and Chat Noir will be uninvolved. You'll be able to rescue them, and no harm will be done to either of them. Does that sound fair?"

"Y-yes, Hawkmoth."

"QUEEN BEE WAIT!" Ladybug screamed but it was too late. A black butterfly had ascended onto Queen Bee's honeycomb hair piece, capturing her and rebirthing her as a villain.

Easily, Queen Wasp broke the cuffs Uncanney Valley had put on her, still in the process of morphing into an akumatized villain. Uncanny Valley made an attempt to restrain her once more but Queen Wasp was now faster than ever. She grabbed the robot by the throat and slammed her body into the asphalt under their feet, creating a large dent in the road from the impact. The force of her slam caused Uncanny Valley's body to crack and her system instantly shut down to preserve herself.

Queen Wasp uncoiled, standing up to glower the United Heroes surrounding her on the bridge. Her suit, which was now black with yellow accents, looked slick and almost reflective. But it wasn't until she unfurled the giant wasp wings crested on her back did she truly look menacing.

Like lightning, Queen Wasp flew right at Victory, taking her down in an instant. Swarms of wasps materialized around her, now feasting on Victory's face, which was the only part of her body where skin was exposed. The repeating stings forced Victory to drop the ladybug earring she'd managed to steal. Queen Wasp instantly snatched it up, turning her attention to the other two heroes who were still holding Ladybug back. Following her eyes, the wasps swarmed their bodies, and out of fear, they let Ladybug go.

Wordlessly, Queen Wasp dropped Ladybug's missing earring into her hands and moved on, focusing her attention on Chat Noir and Knightowl. In a flash, she was upon them. Unfortunately, Knightowl had all his skin protected. It wasn't anything Queen Wasp couldn't get by, though. With just a look, the wasps were commanded to chew away at Knighowl's suit. More and more wasps spawned into the air, all now completely covering Knightowl who quickly let go of Chat Noir.

"Chloe," Chat Noir uttered once he was free. Queen Wasp had a wild, unrecognizable look in her eyes.

Queen Wasp turned her back on him. She spread her wings and took to the sky. The wasps circled around her, following wherever her gaze went. She threw out her arms, and without even opening her mouth, sent a command to make the swarm attack all of the United Heroes. Many of them were fleeing the scene, others were cowering on the ground, swelling from the venomous stings which were slowly beginning to paralyze them. The wasps had the power to gnaw through their impenetrable suits. Queen Wasp never felt so powerful.

From above, she took notice of a flashing stream of light in the city, rapidly approaching. Quite literally at the speed of light, Magestia finally arrived on the scene. She came to a halt, taking a look at the situation at hand. She was the only one who could outrun the wasps, and even dared to leap in the air, right at Queen Wasp. Simultaneously, Queen Wasp noticed the colorful vial in Magestia's fist which she was bringing to her lips to drink. Remembering the iron suited appearance she'd made on the plane, Queen Wasp connected the dots.

As Magestia was about to make her impact, Queen Wasp swerved, and in the same motion, stole the vial from Magestia's grasp. Magestia landed fiercely on the ground, a grave expression on her face as she realized her hand was empty. Looking up was Queen Wasp, the game was over. Queen Wasp brought the vial to her lips and drank.

Magestia was already on the move, and just as she got back up to Queen Wasp in the air, the transformation had been made. Queen Wasp was now fully decked in a metal flying suit which could withstand space and force impact. Magestia's fist was nearly useless against her.

The suit was spectacular. Queen Wasp felt she could see nearly everything, and do anything. As the heroes below her dropped ;like flies from her venom, Queen Wasp finally returned to the bridge. The asphalt cracked under her bulky metal boots. She could see a command in her vizor–much like something you'd see in a cyberpunk film–that allowed her to craft any weapon or machine she could think of. She used it to craft a slick motorcycle that blended in as a part of her suit.

Just like that, she was off, zipping away like a character in the Tron games. She was headed to the end of the Brooklyn Bridge that met New York, where undoubtedly, she could see Thorn waiting for her. At her side, Magestia was running and keeping up, desperate to stop her. Several times she managed to jump ahead of her, running faster than you could even blink, but Queen Wasp was always faster.

So obviously, Queen Wasp ran over Thorn.

The impact threw her in the air a bit, but she was able to drift right back around and run the hero over again. This time, he was forced flat on his chest. Queen Bee skidded around to a halt, facing him once again and revving the engine.

"Queen Bee! Stop!" Ladybug called. The wasps were ignoring her and Chat Noir, at Queen Wasp's command.

She revved the engine in response. Before Ladybug could call out again, Queen Wasp was speeding in Thorn's direction again. She prepared for impact when-

"CATACLYSM!" she heard Chat Noir shout. Behind her, the entire road erupted, sending her flying into the air and completely missing Thorn. She'd forgotten he could use that power of his twice.

As soon as she fell off the motorcycle, the machine vanished. She was completely unharmed, of course. She was in a giant protective metal tech suit after all. Her wings buzzed in agitation.

"You can't do anything against her as long as she's in that suit," Magestia said, now stopping next to Chat Noir.

"How do we get rid of it?" Ladybug asked. Thorn was picking himself up off the road, now being the only thing between Queen Wasp and the others.

"Cancel it out. I have another suit booster back home. It'll cancel out this suit, but it'll replace it with an enhancer which still isn't good. But it's the best I've got. I'll have to find something that isn't useful for her here."

"Hurry then!" Ladybug urged and with that, Magestia ran off like the Flash.

"Chloe, you don't have to do this!" Chat Noir called. Queen Wasp was back on her feet, still completely silent with rage.

"I don't think there's any sense in talking to her," Ladybug said. Thorn had turned to face her, and for a moment, everything went still. A rush of calming endorphins flooded Queen Wasp's mind, and she was momentarily at peace.

Thorn's suit was completely green, scaled like a tortoise. He was very tall and elegant, but his mask was hollow and almost unsettling. Seeing his stare, Queen Wasp realized he was using one of his powers on her. She immediately resisted it, and all her rage returned. She launched herself at him, wings spread wide. Her armored fingers emitted a venom of some sort, which she attempted to jab Thorn with. However, the fight was now three vs one.

"Now that's just unfair," said a familiar voice as Queen Wasp now had to battle Thorn, Ladybug, AND Chat Noir on her own. Materializing like a piece of space had come down in the shape of a tall boy, Sandboy appeared. "I think I can help." He tried to join Queen Wasp but she kicked him aside. "Hey! I'm on your side! I've been after Thorn for years!"

"Stay out of this, boy!" Thorn said, speaking for the first time. Sanboy became more irritated, finally appearing in his truer form. The donkey boy glared.

"This is my fight! She and I were already teaming up before all this went down!"

"What is going on?!" Ladybug groaned, currently roping her yoyo around Wasp.

Queen Wasp struck Thorn with venom finally, just before getting completely tied up. She toppled over, brutally hitting her shoulder on the road. Instantly, Magestia returned with a different colored vial in her hand. She rolled Wasp over so she was on her back and pressed a notch on the side of her helmet, unveiling ehr still masked face. As the mask opened, she opened her mouth, immiting hundreds of wasps from her throat which all took to swarming Magestia, brutally stinging and poisoning her face. Queen Wasp sat up, kicking the vial away.

Paralyzed on the ground, Thorn was most vulnerable to her. She immediately stood over him, and before Ladybug or Chat Noir could intervene, she'd stolen his miraculous.

"Sandboy," she finally spoke, her voice gravelly and low, "take me to Hawkmoth."

A/N

Let me just say....

My bad.

I disapeared on y'all again but fr, I was actually drowning in work. But I'm on spring break for a hot sec so, NOW I GOTTA UPDATE LIKE CRAZY. Believe it or not, the New York special is actually almost over which will conclude Chloe's redemption arc. And if you guys really like this and want me to continue, I do in fact have plans for the continuation of Miracle Box where I would move on from this by rewriting season two except it goes COMPLETELY off the rails from the original source. Like you think New York is way different? Wait till you see what I've got ready for season two.

Also it's so funny to me that this part of the fic was supposed to focus on chloe getting redemption and Nino learning how to be responsible but like, Nino is hardly a thought in this arc *sobbing dramatically* my poor boy. But thats okay cause he's sorta a main character for the first part of my plan for season two. He'll get his development then ig *shrug*

Anyways, if you're ready to see season two after this arc wraps up (which again will be VERY soon) PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS tell me and share this fic around because I'M AN ATTENTION WHORE AND I NEED TO KNOW THAT THIS IS ALL WANTED.

-Peter