"I am Ghost-Spider. I'm from another dimension."

The suspense of the three heroes came to an abrupt stop. Ladybug's eyes widened as she stared at Ghost-Spider. What did she say?

Ladybug's eye twitched. "What?"

"I'm from another universe."

Ladybug frowned, not knowing what to say. Is this supposed to be a joke? Is she serious right now? She glanced at Chat but saw the indifferent expression he had and turned to him.

"You're believing this, Chat?" she raised her brow.

Chat flinched as he realized he was in character and turned to both of the girls. Not knowing what to do or say, he did what any other person would do. 

"Whaaat? Are you serious?"

Ghost sweatdropped at him and turned to Ladybug. "I know it is hard to believe but I'm telling the truth."

Ladybug snapped her head at her, crossing her arms and frowning at the ground. "Ghost. Just tell me the truth."

"I am!" Ghost snapped. 

Ladybug and Chat's eyes widened as a purple glow appeared beneath Ghost's suit. Ladybug frowned. What is that? "Ghost–"

"Ladybug," Ghost interrupted. Ghost shook her head, looking down at her bracer. How can she prove it to her? Ghost gritted her teeth as she showed her hologram. She'll just have to show her the way she showed Adrien. 

Ladybug narrowed her eyes as multiple planets and portals showed through Ghost's hologram, stopping in front of one. 

"My world," Ghost started, staring at Ladybug. "Is different from yours. We hold technology far greater than here. We also have heroes that don't rely on magic jewels much. I'm one of them."

Ghost took off the hologram and scanned herself. Ladybug and Chat only stared as blue light surrounded the hero. Ghost stopped and later showed it to them. It was a model of her own body with blue veins. 

"I was been bitten by a radioactive spider, giving me the powers to shoot webs out of my wrist as well as having strength, agility, spidey-sense, and more," Ghost frowned. 

"I was forced to your universe for the reasons I still don't know. The man who brought me here attempted to kill my family and I was there to stop him but at a price. I arrived here a few months ago and I am still attempting to find a way to go back–"

"Wait! Hold up! Do you really expect me to believe this?!" Ladybug demanded. "All this time, all the secrets you have been hiding from us is because suddenly you're from another universe and that someone is placed you here? You have got to be joking."

Ghost sighed, taking off the hologram. She clenched her fists, not knowing what to do. What can she do? "That's not the problem!" she snapped, making Ladybug's eyes widen. 

"A month back, Doctor Ray did something to his experiments. He attempted to make someone powerful by experimenting with their pain. I..." Ghost hesitated. "I was one of the experiments."

Ladybug gasped, taking a step back. "What?"

Ghost nodded. "Through all the children kidnapped, only I was able to withstand his experiments. Because of that, he gave me something dangerous."

Ghost showed her DNA in a hologram, making both heroes grimace at the gummy substance. 

"It is a symbiote. A live creature that feeds on its host in exchange for super-inhumane strength, agility, healing its host, shape-shifting powers, the ability to create weapons literally out of nothing, heightened-sensory perception, and the ability to reproduce itself. That thing is inside me."

Chat's eyes widened in horror, shaking his head in disbelief. Gwen...

"As I rescued the children, the symbiote woke inside me and helped me defeat Dr. Ray as he had one too but it was too unstable. Fortunately, the explosion killed the symbiote inside of me. Unfortunately, the remains of the symbiote are still in me. It's not alive, it's dead and it's inside me as you can see my DNA."

"But wait," Ladybug interrupted. "That doesn't make sense. Why would Dr. Ray attempt to make a thing like that? And why to the children?"

Ghost frowned, not knowing how to continue. This is a lot of information for someone. 

"Dr. Ray had a wife. A burglar manipulated Ray to kill his wife. In doing so, Ray tried every attempt to bring her back. That is including having faith in a 'myth' in this Earth."

Ghost showed a hologram of the infinity stones, showing their beautiful colors. "The myth of six powerful stones that surrounds the universe. Each stone is incredibly powerful and changed the shape of the universe. Power, Space, Reality, Time, Mind, and Soul."

Ladybug's eyes widened. Powerful stones. 

Long time ago, a guardian prophesized a greater power to wield the power of strange powerful stones. They were strong enough to change the world's reality. But it can also transfer from different dimensions.

"Ray fully believed to bring his wife using the Soul stone which can bring anyone back from the dead," Ghost continued. "But the stones are too powerful to be held by a human. That's why Ray made his experiments to create the most powerful being to withstand the stones if he were to find them. And I have been the only one able to withstand the symbiote."

Ladybug frowned, rubbing her chin in thought. Master Fu did mention that Ghost has yet to unleash her full potential. Is this symbiote thing it? 

"A few days ago, I traveled to a hidden island. You guys might know if it. Mount Iopadia."

Ladybug flinched. Ghost was there?

"Centuries ago, an asteroid landed on the island, giving it a rounded signature. The asteroid had a specific element that couldn't be found anywhere in the world called vibranium. Throughout the years, the vibranium spread throughout the island, affecting the plants and wildlife. 

"The vibranium is considered the most powerful metal on earth. It is very powerful when consumed or used for weapons," Ghost went through her pockets and pulled out a bead of vibranium, showing it to the heroes. 

Ladybug frowned at it, taking it from her hands. She feels a different vibe coming from it and gasped as she can see how the bead was slightly glowing. 

"In my earth, people use this to provide medicine, technology, and weapons that are higher than any other kind. In Mount Iopadia, there were many people who smoked vibranium but many couldn't handle too much power, causing them to die.

"That's where I came in and investigated more as the mountain was weakening my power," Ghost clenched her fists. "In other universes I encountered, there is always a counterpart of someone but it confused me immensely when I heard the heroes I knew were gone. It came as a surprise for me when I saw them again."

Chat's eyes widened. 

"I was wondering about the superheroes in this era. I wonder if there were any heroes that don't include...you know? Miraculous."

"They were dead by the time I arrived, frozen into statues. I investigated further and encountered my greatest fears. A man. A large man very powerful and the most feared in the galaxies wore a gauntlet. In his gauntlet contained all of the infinity stones."

Ladybug and Chat gasped as their eyes shrunk in fear. 

"Just like the rest of the statues, the man was also frozen to a statue as well, putting them all in an internal slumber. The infinity stones' power resulted in them all turning into stones. Unfortunately, the stones needed a host to bring the universe into balance once again."

Ladybug teared up, shaking her head in disbelief. "No..."

Ghost nodded, taking off her suit partially, showing her forearm. Ignoring the visible scars, the lights of the stones were visibly shown through her veins. Ladybug trembled as she stared at them in horror. 

"The stones found me and used me as a host. The power was too much for me as I was already vulnerable. The stones used my vulnerability and turned every living thing around me into stone, including the people on the island."

Ladybug and Chat gasped at the information. Ladybug recalled coughing up dust but she didn't know where it was coming from. 

"With the help of the heroes, they pushed down the power in me and released everyone from their sleep. But I don't know what will happen. With the use of the symbiote, I am barely surviving from the stones but I don't know what would happen if it happens again. The heroes are gone and next time, I'm afraid it will be too late to stop it," Ghost continued.

Ghost glanced up at Ladybug and waited for her response. She saw the shock expressed visibly as she stood agape at Ghost. 

Ghost glanced at Chat and saw the shock in his eyes as well. She looked down in shame as she is afraid of what she'll say next.

"Bringing myself into this universe already put a sudden imbalance. But with the most powerful stones in the universe being part of something from another universe, I don't know what can happen as it is dangerous as it is. I'm only asking this of you both."

Ghost walked towards them and grabbed their attention immediately as she punched her chest. 

"When and when the time comes that I lose control, I need you to kill me."

It felt like all the cold water dropped on them, making them gasp. Chat immediately intervened. Is she crazy?!"There's no way we're going to do that!" he exclaimed. 

"He's right," Ladybug nodded. "Can't you try to get rid of the stones from you?"

Ghost shook her head, looking out at the people. "I'm already a walking time bomb. We don't know what can trigger the stones to use me to kill everyone here. It is not safe. That's why I'm speaking to you about this. I trust you both. I trust you enough to end my life when the time comes."

"Ghost! That's insane," Chat grabbed her arms in fury, glaring right at her. "We'll find a way! We're not going to let you die! Didn't you say that you need to go back home?! What about your family?! You're just going to leave them behind?!"

"It doesn't matter anymore!" Ghost shouts, making him quiet. Ghost huffed, clenching her fists in fury. "It's already written in stone. I came to this universe and the stones are inside me! It's a given! I can't leave, the stones won't let me! I'll be stuck here for who knows how long and I will never see my family ever again!"

Ladybug's eyes teared up, seeing Ghost slumping to the ground. Her heart pulsed against her chest as she can see the pain in Ghost's form. 

"I spoke to the master," Ghost whispered, getting Ladybug's attention. "He didn't say it but I knew exactly what he meant but I refused to admit it. I have the stones with me, I can't leave. I will die with it."

Chat gritted his teeth as he turned his back from her. Tears fell from his eyes as he shook his head in denial. He roared as he jumped away from the tower. Ladybug only stared at Ghost in pain, shaking her head and crouched in front of her. 

Ghost's eyes widened as Ladybug willingly pulled her in a hug. 

"I won't let you die, Ghost. Chatnoir and I are not going to kill you because it won't come to it. We refuse to let this happen. These months have been a miracle because of you, we can't be a team without you. You're our friend. We'll help each other and rely on each other. I promise you that! So, please! Don't give up!"

Ghost's eyes widened as silent tears fell. She trembled as she slowly hugged the hero back as she hugged her tightly, afraid that she would wake up. 

Ladybug is going to save her. And she won't go back on her promise. 

🕸🕷🕸

Adrien screamed as he arrived in his room. Plagg's eyes widened in worry for his friend but Adrien couldn't take it. He gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists in fury. Grabbing his stuff, he threw them across the room. 

He heaved as tears wouldn't stop falling. He couldn't take it and screamed, holding his head. "No! NO! It can't be true!"

He slumped to the ground beside his bed, muffling his screams on his sheets as he clenched them. His body trembled as he could hardly breathe from his screams. 

Plagg frowned in worry and rushed to him, grabbing his shirt, trying to pull him away but Adrien held onto the bed like a lifeline. 

Adrien gritted his teeth as he glanced at his computer, spotting a picture of his mother. His eyes welled up more, causing him to cough.

"Gwen...not you too..."

🕸🕷🕸

It was strange to see the rest of the students coming back to school. They all groaned as they have grown used to sleeping in on their week vacation. Gwen in particular felt the same as always. She couldn't sleep at all last night but didn't hesitate to wake early to go back to work. 

She spotted Alya and Marinette and walked over, waving to them and greeting them. 

"Hey, Gwen," Alya smiled. 

Gwen smiled at her before glancing at Marinette and blinked in shock to see visible dark circles under her eyes. 

"What happened to you?" Gwen raised a brow. 

Marinette wasn't paying much attention until Alya nudged her lightly, making her exclaim. "Sorry," she chuckled nervously. 

"Girl, don't tell me you stayed up all night again," Alya smirked. Marinette blinked, "Y-yeah, I couldn't sleep with all the excitement."

Gwen shrugged, not knowing how much effect last night's conversation impacted Marinette. The poor girl had nightmares of Ghost's bloody body on hers, it traumatized her to no end. Marinette glanced up at Gwen and saw how pale she was. 

"How are you, Gwen?" she asked. 

Gwen blinked, glancing at the girl. She chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm good, thank you."

The bell rang as they all headed to their classroom. Gwen went to the back of the class where Nathaniel sat and just laid her head on her desk. That was until she suddenly felt a tap on her head with a board. 

She turned her head sideways and chuckled as Nathaniel sat next to her, putting his poster down as he lightly hit her with it. 

"How was your vacation?" Nathaniel glanced at her. Gwen chuckled, rubbing her nape. "It was...great."

Gwen and Nathaniel continued conversing when Mrs. Boustier walked up to them and faced Gwen with a caring smile. Gwen blinked, what does she want?

"Happy Birthday, Gwen," she smiled, handing her a small box. 

All the sounds in the classroom became quiet and turned to them. They bolted towards them and crowded Gwen, bombarding her with questions.

"It's your birthday?!" Kim exclaimed in excitement. 

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Alya and Rose shouted. 

Gwen sweatdropped, forgetting completely that it was her birthday. It's her birthday? Since when? Stupid question. 

"What's today?" Gwen murmured, grabbing her phone and checking the date. Her face paled as she saw the date. 

September 17. 

Fuck.

"Crap," she muttered. 

She flinched as Nino playfully slapped her back. "You keeping secrets now? Not cool, man."

Gwen laughed nervously, grabbing her bag. "It seems like I forgot. Don't worry about it. It's nothing, really."

Her classmates blinked at her behavior. What's up with her? 

"Is everything all right?" Rose asked, seeing Gwen fidgeting with her backpack straps. Gwen smiled at them, looking around. 

"E-Everything is fine, haha...ha..." she smiled nervously as she grabbed her bag and bolted out of the door, almost bumping carelessly into Adrien. 

She didn't mind him and ran out of the school grounds. Adrien rubbed his swollen eyes and looked in Gwen's direction. What did he miss? He turned around to take a seat when he flinched as multiple students ran out too, chasing after the girl. 

Mrs. Boustier can only sigh, shaking her head. She'll let them go this once, she shrugged and sat at her table. 

Adrien blinked and ran out to find the others, intrigued by what was happening. Did something bad happen? Wait...no way. Did they already discover she's Ghost-Spider that quick?!

He dropped everything and ran out of the school and spotted his classmates running in the streets. Plagg peeked out of his coat and looked up at his friend. "What's going on?!"

"I don't know...it's not good," Adrien frowned and kept running to catch up. 

Well, that would be the case if it wasn't for a sudden pull towards an alley and grabbed from behind, covering his mouth. He audibly gasped and struggled in their hold. His heart banged against his chest, not knowing what to do. He can't transform or anything. 

"Shut up."

Adrien stopped. Wait a minute. GWEN?!

"They're gone," Gwen sighed as she released Adrien from her hold, making sure he wasn't harmed by her strength. 

She chuckled as she saw how stiff he was and disheveled. She lightly punched his shoulder. "You're chasing me too? I'm touched."

Adrien finally took notice he was standing in front of her and paled when he finally took the situation in. 

He's in front of her.

He bit his lip as he felt bile stuck in his throat as he observed the girl. She doesn't seem tired at all. But he knows her. He knows how emotionally tired she was. After the conversation last night, she must have been upset to relay the message to a couple of heroes. 

Gwen noticed how quiet her friend was and narrowed her eyes at him. Why is he quiet all of a sudden? She grabbed his shoulders lightly, pressing him against the wall, and gasped lightly as the sunlight hit his face softly. 

His eyes were swollen.  

Gwen's eyes widened. Her heart picked up as she clenched her fists tightly, gritting her teeth. Her eyes darkened, giving a soft purple glow from the Power Stone. She unclenched her fists and sighed softly, trying to calm down. 

She closed her eyes, leaning her head against his. Which made him blink out off a stage and gasp as Gwen was really leaning on him. 

"Who."

Adrien frowned. Who? 

Adrien didn't respond which made Gwen open her eyes, revealing her blues, staring right at greens, causing his heart to pick up a pace. He saw the distance they had and flushed. What's happening?!

"Who made you cry?" she whispered. 

Adrien's eyes widened. 

His eyes are still swollen? He flinched as he moved away from Gwen, looking away. The alley was quiet. Only the sound of people walking around the city can be heard but for this particular couple, they felt like their world was silent. 

It was too quiet and the tension was too thick to cut. 

"Adrien?" Gwen frowned. 

"It's nothing," Adrien sighed, blinking the burn in his eyes. "Do you mind telling me why you're running from our friends?"

Gwen's worried eyes were trained on the boy. 

It's nothing! Just leave me alone!

Adrien thought she was going to drop it and respond to his question. So it came as a surprise for him when Gwen grabbed his hand and jumped to the roof, dragging him with her. 

He yelped as Gwen kept jumping over the roofs, arriving right at her apartment window. She pushed the boy to her couch as she closed the balcony doors. She turned back to the boy and crossed her arms. 

"You are stubborn, you know that?" she spoke, pouting and turning away. She sighed audibly and rubbed her nape. "Well, apparently today is my birthday."

Adrien blinked. His eyes widened as he took the information and stood on his feet immediately. 

"Your birthday?! Why didn't you tell me?!" he started heading towards her front door. What kind of friend is he? He didn't even get a gift or anything!

Gwen stopped him, grabbing his wrist. "There's a reason for it, promise," she rolled her eyes and pulled him to the couch again. 

"You see every September 17. Bad things happen, which I find it ironic as I am sure that the class will try to make a secret birthday party but it's going to go up in flames," she nodded. 

"What are you talking about?" he frowned. Isn't your birthday supposed to be a good day? And what did she mean 'up in flames'?

"It's harmless. It's just that things don't go right on this day. Let's say, someone wants to go swimming on this day with me. The place either cancels or it's suddenly burned to the ground."

Adrien sweatdropped. "Harmless? Gwen, that's ridiculous."

Gwen raised a brow at him. "Oh really? On my sixth birthday, my dad wanted to get me a puppy for my birthday but the stupid mutt had rabies and bit him, which caused him to go to the hospital. 

"On my eighth birthday, my band wanted to sing me a song they wrote, but they ended up being sued as someone decided to be a punk and claim the song for themselves. And it all happened in an hour.

"On my ninth birthday, my dad successfully did a party for me but the lights went out the minute I entered the house. Turns out someone was playing with the wires, causing them to get electrocuted."

"But that wasn't your fault," Adrien laughed, finding it ridiculous. 

"The utility pole was blown off and landed in my living room," she deadpanned.

Adrien deadpanned too. What? 

"And if that wasn't so bad, it ended up killing my goldfish," Gwen pouted but later chuckled, remembering the moment very perfectly. "I still have the wires hung around the room for decoration. Rest in peace Sushi."

Adrien sweatdropped. There's no way. "You're talking nonsense. They're all probably coincidences."

Gwen raised a brow at him and smirked. Confident are we? She grabbed her keys and nudged him to go outside. Adrien can only stare at her, not believing a thing she says. 

"Where are we going?" he asked.

Gwen shrugged, "You hungry? I think we might have time."

"Time?" he frowned. "For what?"

Gwen grinned. "For my party."

He didn't know what she was on about but he couldn't help but shiver at the mischief in her eyes. 

She waved to the nearest people around and just kept walking in a direction with Adrien following her. Where is she taking him? 

They walked around the park and kept walking. Adrien tried to make her talk but Gwen only whistled QUEEN's tune and would grab a gallon of ice cream. Gwen also went to McGoofy's and grabbed at least 8 bags of burgers as well as four trays of drinks. 

This only confused the boy more as Gwen didn't let him grab any of the stuff as he wanted to help. 

"Oh...can you call the fire department close to the Eiffel tower?" she glanced at Adrien. 

His eye twitched. "What? Why?"

Gwen shrugged. "Just call them and tell them to head there immediately."

Adrien kept staring at her and shook his head, taking out his phone, and calling the fire department. They kept walking, passing by a few people. Their walk was relaxing and soothing for Gwen but Adrien only looked around, seeing the people smiling and laughing with their family and friends. 

It took them a while to get there. But as they arrived, the fire department has already arrived at the mess. Adrien's jaw dropped at the mess. 

Kim and Max were setting up fireworks but Kim wanted to put more than necessary, causing them to explode everywhere. 

The Marinette, Alya, Rose, and Juleka had a table filled with food and balloons when the fireworks messed the whole place up, causing them to be covered in food.

Nino had everything ready to play Gwen's favorite music when a blind cat jumped him, causing him to fall on the floor and roll around screaming to get it off. 

Alix, Ivan, and Mylène were hanging the balloons around the posts but they were frightened by the sudden explosion and unfortunately for Ivan, he was on top when he fell on top of the girls with the strings wrapping them around. 

Poor little Nathaniel is currently trying to usher everyone out of the place as the fire is spreading, all while he tried to remove the cat from Nino's face.

And the fire department? They are currently being yelled at by Chloé and Sabrina for not wearing cute clothing in order to save the day while Chloé's hair was poofed up as she was closest to the fireworks. 

Gwen only smiled, walking towards them as Adrien was frozen in his spot. What is he seeing?! He turned to the girl and saw Gwen whistling as she sat on a bench and started eating a burger, watching the whole ordeal going down. 

His eye twitched in disbelief as he took a step away from the girl. That was a terrible move as he accidentally fell through a manhole. What was the cause? No one knows. 

Gwen can only watch everyone softly as the fire has slowed down. They all came out in a mess with scratches and bruises. Gwen laughed as she handed them their burgers along with their ice cream, not missing a beat as she also handed a burger to Adrien. 

"Told you," she bit her burger. 

Adrien sighed as he was soaked, grabbing the burger and taking a petty bite. "Good to know."

Gwen laughed wholeheartedly as she pulled out her phone and took a selfie with the class. They all exclaimed in shock, shouting at her to stop but Gwen only laughed as she had the largest grin and captured this hilarious moment. 

As she took it, she put it on her home screen, replacing her dull screen. Gwen smiled softly at this. Everything goes bad on her birthday but it always turns great at the end of the day. 

There is only one thing she wanted at this moment. 

She turned her phone on and didn't see any notifications from her father and friends. She sighed as she at least had a small sliver of hope to see the familiar spam of messages by a certain boy who would be the first to congratulate her.

"Happy birthday to me," Gwen whispered to herself as the whole class groaned.

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Next Episode: Gorizilla ♥

A/N: Thank our meme creator ❤️ halla92455

1. ⬆️

2. ⬆️

3. ⬆️

Published: September 30, 2022

Word Count: 4446