Riposte Lets Rip
is an Alternate Universe Fic made by RockSunner, for Miraculous Ladybug. Part of the Smart Adversaries AU for Miraculous Ladybug on AO3, in which Ladybug villains make smarter decisions. The series has a tropes page here.
This is a three-chapter work and it is now complete.
This fanfiction series contains examples of:
- Alternate Universe Fic: A What If? with the change that Riposte got her revenge on Adrien when she had the chance.
- The Atoner: Kagami seeks to restore her honor after she soiled it by murdering Adrien under Hawk Moth's influence.
- Back from the Dead: After Ladybug's cure, Adrien. After a wish, his mother.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Gabriel's carelessly worded wish turns his wife's curse back on himself.
- Berserk Button: Kagami goes berserk when Hawk Moth reminds her of how she used her superpowers to kill Adrien as Riposte. She angrily charges at him and then knocks him unconscious.
- Cliffhanger:
- The second chapter ends with the cliffhanger of Mayura introducing herself to Ladybug and Kagami!Chat.
- The story ends with Emilie walking in on her comatose husband, her husband's supervillain assistant, her enraged son, and two handcuffed teenage superheroes.
- Didn't Think This Through: Hawk Moth akumatizes Kagami without considering the fact that she’s angry at Adrien or that akumatization will cause her to kill him.
- The Dog Bites Back: Like in Syren Sinks, Kagami wants to settle the score with Hawk Moth after how he made them villains, with Kagami's case being her killing Adrien as Riposte.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Hawk Moth is horrified when Riposte kills Adrien and takes away her powers as punishment, except maybe he really should've thought it through first.
- Hero Killer: Riposte ends up killing Adrien, meaning that she's killed Chat Noir as well.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Hawk Moth wishes for one of the two miraculous users closest to him (meaning Marinette or Kagami) to have the curse on his wife shifted onto them. What he doesn't realise from the way he worded his wish, is that "two closest" could easily refer to himself. The curse hits him as he has misused his powers the most and ends up comatose.
- Idiot Ball: Hawk Moth's idea to create a lethal akuma whose main target is his son was already a boneheaded decision, but this fic explores the realistic outcomes if she were to actually focus on her goal. There's also how he tells Riposte that she killed "his son" before removing her powers without wiping her memories, giving Kagami information about his civilian identity.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: The reason behind Mayura (Nathalie) having loyalty to Hawk Moth.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Kagami is horrified when she realizes that she murdered Adrien as Riposte. She offers to take up the Cat Miraculous so she can help Ladybug defeat Hawk Moth after what he caused.
- Hawk Moth is full of grief and cries Manly Tears about Adrien's death, but he brushes those feelings aside when he goes on to fight the heroes.
- Near-Villain Victory: Marinette and Kagami are captured by Gabriel and Mayura and about to be sacrificed to revive Emilie. Then Adrien walks in on them, allowing Marinette to reveal his father's true nature; this catches Gabriel off guard enough to make him panic and make a poorly worded wish that sends him into a coma.
- Offing the Offspring: Indirect example. Hawk Moth stupidly drives a girl with a grudge against Adrien murderously berserk, with predictable results.
- Retcon: Chapter 3 folds canonical revelations about the Peacock Miraculous into the Smart Adversaries series' existing lore. The Peacock Miraculous was damaged by Emilie's constant selfish use of it to maintain her youth and beauty, and Nathalie/Mayura is a separate character from Le Paon (Emilie's nom de guerre).
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Kagami's goal as Chat Noir is to pay Hawk Moth back with interest for driving her to murder a helpless Adrien.
- The Unmasking: Adrien's identity as Chat Noir is revealed after Plagg is forced out of his Miraculous due to his holder's death. Gabriel's identity as Hawk Moth is also revealed to Kagami when he tells Riposte that she killed "his son". Ladybug's identity is revealed to Kagami when they are both caught by Mayura.
