MiraculElse #3: Locked and Loaded
by DFC
(Timeframe: Present.)
The final bell rang at Françoise Dupont High School, and Marinette and her friends chatted on the front steps, as usual. Alya and Nino were side-by-side, as usual. Mylène and Ivan remained agonizingly cute together, Adrien discussed one of the songs Kitty Section was working on with Rose and Juleka, and Max had his head buried in his phone.
"I have to get home," Marinette said, "I have some things to get done around the house. I'll see you all tomorr..."
"Sayyyyy..." Alya got a familiar and dangerous gleam in her eye. "You shouldn't walk home by yourself, Marinette, should you?"
"I shouldn't?"
"Adrien, maybe someone should walk with her, make sure she gets home all right."
Marinette looked puzzled. "But I walk home by myself all the time. It's right over there. Why wouldn't I..."
Alya gave her a look. Work with me, girl. "But don't you take the scenic route on nice days like this? You know, long, leisurely strolls, enjoying the nice weather and the scenery, instead of going straight home? You wouldn't want to be all by yourself. Anything could happen."
"I, uh..." The light went on in her head. "OH! Yes! Young lady, all alone, sure, I'd love some company!" she bubbled.
Ivan shrugged. "I guess I could...," only to be yanked back by Mylène's hand with a knowing smile.
Adrien smiled, "I'd be happy to walk with you, Marinette. But..." He looked at his waiting car, where Nathalie and his bodyguard were waiting impatiently. "I'd have to talk them into it..."
"It's no trouble if you can't, Adrien, I..." As he strode away towards the car, she trailed off into a quiet "oh please oh please." Her friends laughed quietly.
Marinette could see a discussion between Nathalie and Adrien, as they argued it out. When Nathalie looked in her direction, Marinette looked at her with pleading eyes and a Pleeeeeeeeeeeease expression on her face.
She closed her eyes, and heard the car zoom off. There he goes. But when she opened them, she was startled to see Adrien standing in front of her.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked with a smile.
"YES! Uh... I mean... they aren't making you ride with them?"
"I gave them your address," Adrien explained. "They'll meet me there when we get there and drive me the rest of the way. So, which way should we go?"
Marinette did the fastest thinking that her hypercharged emotions could manage, picturing a dozen different romantic stroll possibilities. One leapt out at her, and she said "I know just the way. It's a little longer, but I hope you'll like it."
They walked off, following Marinette's lead. The girls weren't sure if Marinette's shoes were touching the ground or not.
"About time," muttered Alix.
"Shhh! They could still hear you," admonished Juleka.
Following Marinette's detour, the pair started walking across the Pont de l'Archevêché bridge, crossing over the Seine river. "It is so beautiful here, isn't it, Adrien? I love taking this route," Marinette said.
As they strolled, they looked at the thousands of padlocks covering the fencing lining the bridge. "I see the love locks aren't slowing down," Adrien said.
"Love locks?" inquired Marinette, pretending not to know precisely what they were and why she'd picked this particular bridge to cross.
"It's a Parisian tradition. Started about a decade ago. Couples in love put their names or initials on a padlock, lock it to the bridge and toss the key into the river. It's like carving your initials on a tree, but easier on the trees," explained Adrien.
"Oh, that's right," murred Marinette. "Didn't they ban those on the Pont des Arts?"
"Uh-huh. There were so many locks that the weight was damaging the bridge. So, people have been migrating to other bridges with them, and this one's a new favorite."
"I wouldn't want to be a vandal, of course. But it is SO romantic," sighed Marinette. Say it! her brain screamed. "Maybe... someday... my name will be on one of these." In her mind, she pictured the box hidden at the very back of her bottom dresser drawer, containing a handful of locks pre-inscribed for convenience's sake. "M D-C & A A." "Marinette & Adrien." One with "Adrien and Marinette Agreste" scribbled out frantically because that was too much even for her vivid daydreams.
"Maybe mine will be, too," Adrien said idly. Marinette stole nervous glances at him, thinking ...AND?. He seemed unaffected.
"Look!" He pointed at a couple halfway up the bridge on the right-hand side. "I think someone else had the same idea."
Marinette wasn't so sure. The man and woman were young, attractive and together, but they looked more like an argument in progress than lovebirds.
"Daniel... it's not as if I'm asking to marry you," the woman said. "It's just a sentimental little thing."
"We've talked about this, Elaine," Daniel parried. "You know I like you. A lot."
"Oh, I know what you like," Elaine snapped.
"What does she mean?" Adrien whispered.
"Shhh!" hushed Marinette. Sheltered boy.
Elaine continued, "But I guess I don't matter."
"Honey," Daniel pleaded, "Of course you matter. I'm just... I'm a free spirit. I'm not ready to commit to anyone. What if..." He paused.
"...If one of your OTHER girls happened to see your name on a lock here?", Elaine finished his sentence.
Daniel backpedaled frantically. "I don't have other girls. Okay, not girls like YOU. You know you're my number one, Elaine."
She huffed back, "But you can't even put your name on that."
The argument reached a crescendo. They saw Daniel throw his hands up in frustration, then walk away, shoving a key in his back pocket. Elaine slumped to a sitting position, crying, holding the padlock in her hands.
Marinette and Adrien approached, cautiously. "Miss, are you all right?" asked Adrien, kneeling down beside her.
"I'm... all right," she sniffled. "It was just a... silly fight. With a stupid man."
"Does that happen often?" asked Marinette.
"Sometimes." She collected herself and smiled at the teens. "When we get older, sometimes we let little things blow out of proportion... but I'm sorry, I'm making a spectacle of myself. I'm spoiling your romantic walk."
"No, you didn't," reassured Marinette. "We just wanted to help if we could."
"You are sweet," Elaine said. "Both of you. Thank you. I'll let you go place your lock in peace."
Adrien got a funny look on his face. "Oh... no, we're just walking from school. We don't have a lock of our own."
Marinette looked away, trying not to turn red. She said, trying to be nonchalant, "Nope, I don't have a lock. We don't have a lock. No locks here."
Elaine saw her distress, looked at Adrien, back at Marinette, and sighed. "You two are so young. Enjoy that. Don't rush to try to figure it all out." She got up, waved goodbye, and headed off in the opposite direction of where Daniel had stomped away.
"Wow. Love locks can be serious business," Marinette said quietly, with wide eyes.
"Yeah," Adrien agreed. They continued their walk across the bridge, slightly subdued.
"What do you think she said we'd figure out?" Adrien asked after thinking a while.
Marinette said nothing. Someday, he'll get it, she thought.
They arrived at Marinette's house, with Adrien's bodyguard parked in front of the house, waiting impatiently. "Guess I'm overdue for my piano practice," Adrien grumbled. "So..."
"So." Marinette blushed a little, looking away shyly. "Thank you very much for walking me home, Adrien."
"My pleasure," he replied. "We'll have to do it again sometime. See you at school tomorrow!" He climbed in the back seat, waving at Marinette as the car zoomed away. She gave him a goodbye wave in return, then ran inside and upstairs, kicking off her shoes and flopping down on her bed.
"Tikkiiiiiiiii... arrrgh! That was so nice and we were SO CLOSE!" she said, as her Kwami floated from her purse to by her head. "And then that... CREEP ruined the mood."
"It was very nice. A beautiful walk together," Tikki agreed. "And it's not like you were expecting to hang up a lock today yourselves." Marinette hesitated just long enough before responding for Tikki to add, "...right?"
"Of course not," she admitted. "It would've been great if the idea got into Adrien's head, though. If it did, it bounced right back out."
Marinette sat up. "Tikki, I felt so BAD for that woman, though! She was really hurt by him rejecting her like that!"
"Yeah. These things can be complicated, but he seemed like he didn't even think about her feelings."
For a moment, Marinette looked troubled. "Tikki? If I was... chasing after someone I could never be with, would you tell me that?"
"I would," reassured Tikki. "And I don't think you are. Just don't overreact. Adrien really likes you, he's just... figuring things out too."
This put some spirit back into Marinette. "I know. I just have to be patient and... ADRIEN WALKED ME HOME, TIKKI!" She closed her eyes and squealed a little, replaying the walk in her head, as Tikki marveled at how quickly young humans could shift emotional gears.
The observation window in Hawkmoth's lair opened silently, as he savored the negative emotions in the air. "Heartbreak. Frustration. A sense of betrayal. A perfect lover's bouquet for my little Akuma."
He closed his hands around one of his butterflies, and a purple Akuma fluttered away to the window. "Go now, and EVILIZE her!" he ordered.
Across town, Elaine arrived home in a funk. Perhaps it was time to cut her losses and move on, she supposed. As she reached to unlock her apartment door, the Akuma floated through a nearby window and possessed the padlock in her purse. She stiffened as Hawkmoth's energy signature appeared over her face.
"Greetings! I am Hawkmoth. I sensed how Daniel betrayed your trust today. I feel your pain. I, too, have felt the sting of... a lost love..." Uncharacteristically, he faltered briefly, but resumed. "He held the key to your heart, but with my power, you will be The Locksmith. The hearts of the city will be yours to use to teach him a lesson of love. Once you have unlocked your revenge, I need but a small favor in return..."
"He's played with people's hearts for the last time," muttered Elaine. The pulsating energy flowed from the padlock and through her body, transforming her into a maroon-cloaked figure with a lock-and-key insignia by her shoulder, pale and glowing eyes and a cold smile that could send a soldier running for cover by itself.
Adrien plunked away at the piano, working hard to master one of Bartók's sonatas. Nathalie poked her head in the door and called, "Adrien?"
"Yes?" "Dinner will be slightly late tonight. Be ready at six instead of five-thirty." "Sure, I'll be there."
Nathalie paused, then asked "Did you enjoy your walk today?"
Adrien replied, "Definitely! It's always nice to get some fresh air in the springtime."
"Mmm-hmm. That was one of your friends from school, correct? I've seen you with her before," she continued.
"Yes, Marinette. She's one of my best friends there. She's something special," Adrien answered.
Nathalie struggled with how deep she should pry. "Is she... someONE special to you?"
Adrien looked surprised. He took his hands off the piano keys and gave her his full attention. "She's... why do you ask?"
"Your father has me keep a close watch on you. Obviously. So it helps me to know who you're spending time with and if relationships are, well... changing..." She stumbled on her words a little, then her face softened a bit from its usual professional demeanor.
"Adrien... I am certainly not your mother. No one else ever could be. But I know that you're at a tricky age, and, well... I know there are some things you wouldn't talk about with your father. If you ever need any advice, I can try."
"I appreciate that," Adrien responded, still wondering how the conversation had gone this way. "I'll remember that. I think I'm okay for now; I've got school friends my own age now to talk with and figure things out. Marinette is... a really good friend."
Nathalie smiled at him, happy that he seemed happy. I wonder what SHE thinks, though? she thought. Her formal mask went back on. "Six o'clock, then."
"Will do," Adrien answered as she left. He returned to his concerto, thinking An awful lot of people seem worried about that today. Maybe I need to think about some things myself.
A small voice floating nearby said, "Or I've got plenty of advice on girls!"
Adrien laughed. "Yeah, Plagg, and you can keep it. Let's go clear my head for a while. Claws out!" He changed to Chat Noir, put the iPod on the piano as usual, and headed out the window.
At the bridge, the Locksmith stood at the point where today's argument had happened. "It's time to begin. If Daniel wants to play the field, he'll have all the admirers he can handle."
She locked the Akumatized padlock onto the fence. Purple energy rippled down the length of the bridge, causing thousands of locks to pulse slightly.
She gestured at one lock near her, Adam & Anais etched elegantly onto its front, and it snapped open at her command without being touched physically. "Arise!", she cried.
Elsewhere in Paris, a middle-aged couple sitting quietly in their home reacted, transfixed by an unseen signal. Their flesh took on a metallic tone, their faces slackened, and a small lock-and-key insignia appeared on their chests. They heard the voice of the Locksmith from afar. "Bring me Daniel! Stop anyone who interferes, and bring me any Miraculouses they have."
The robotized minions answered, "Bring... Daniel. She... waits," and rose to their feet. The pair walked to the west wall of their house and smashed straight through it, as if it was made of tissue paper. "She... waits," they chanted rhythmically, as their metallic footsteps echoed along the city street.
After finishing her chores, Marinette went back upstairs and up to her balcony. A little peace and quiet before dinner was always nice.
Faintly...
*clong* *clong* *clong* aaaaah!
She raised an eyebrow.
Slightly less faintly...
*Clong* *Clong* *Clong* Aaaaah!
"Tikki, I'm going to guess that that's not Mr. Jefferies from down the street trying to fix his car again."
"Probably not."
A few minutes later, Ladybug swung in the direction of the strange sound. She saw a young man running down the road and a trail of debris and screaming behind him. Swinging down next to him, she asked, "Do I even want to know?"
"LADYBUG! Thank goodness! Get me away from those things," the man gasped. Hey, I know him! she thought. It's that creep Daniel, from the bridge today! Looking behind her, the carnage certainly didn't look like it was within Elaine's capabilities, or even an angry mob of two-timed ladies, so...
"Anything you want to tell me?"
"I don't know what they are, or what they want, they just keep saying -"
A loud crash echoed, and the wall of a nearby store exploded outwards. Two metallic figures strode through it effortlessly, debris bouncing off of their robotic forms, chanting "Bring... Daniel... She... waits..."
"YOW!" Ladybug exclaimed. "There's something you don't see every day. Friends of yours?"
"Just get me out of here, please!" Daniel pleaded.
Ladybug scooped him up, said "Yeah, hang on," and swung away for more open ground. If these robots are that destructive, best to keep them away from people and things they can smash, she thought. "Any idea of who 'she' is?"
"I'm drawing a blank on Angry Lady Robot Masters I know," Daniel answered.
"All right, let's get you away from them for now." As they landed in a nearby park, Ladybug popped open her communicator and said, "Hey, Kitty? We have some new toys to play with downtown. Come and help when you can."
Turning to Daniel, she said "We'll wait here, for now. It'll take them a while to catch up. They're strong, but they're slow." Not that karma isn't functioning correctly, she thought, but even you don't deserve to get smashed to bits by robots...
Back at the bridge, the Locksmith concentrated, looking through the eyes of one of her minions. There was no sign of Daniel or his helper. She could sense the direction in which they'd gone, and where Daniel was, but it would take a while for the slow minions to clamber there.
"Two will not be enough." She looked over the many locks on the fencing and picked out two more. "ARISE!" she chanted.
A young couple eating ice cream across town stiffened. Another couple, walking their dog down a city street, froze in place. Their faces slackened, their bodies roboticized, and they stomped forth, triangulating around their two-timing target.
Chat Noir spun down to meet Ladybug and Daniel, at her signal. He, too, recognized Daniel but couldn't say so out loud. "What's his story?" Chat asked.
"Well, I've been talking to him and it sounds like an Akuma might've gotten his girlfriend. Or a girl FRIEND, anyway."
"'Girlfriend' was right the first time," Daniel admitted. "She's very important to me. I didn't mean to hurt her, but... I'm just not ready to be a one-woman guy."
"What's wrong with that?" Ladybug asked. "I'm only looking for one guy."
"Ahem!" Chat coughed, comically loudly.
"One RIGHT one guy," she added. "Easy for you to say, Chat, you'd flirt with a lamppost if it had eyeliner on."
"You WOUND me, Bugaboo!" Chat feigned being mortally offended, staggering with a hand on his chest. "This cat only prowls because he needs a home. If you take him in, I promise you that he'd never stray."
Ladybug gave him a grin, albeit one paired with a raised eyebrow.
*clong* *clong*
"Can we, uh, get back to me now?" asked Daniel, nervously. "I think those two robots are closing in."
*Clong* *Clong* *CLONG* *CLONG* echoed from distinctly different directions.
"You think?"
Ladybug and Chat went back-to-back as they saw bulky figures closing in from all sides. "Two, he says," snapped Chat.
"That's all we saw before," answered Ladybug, as she tried to get a good look at the menaces before they got too close. "There's a lock-and-key emblem on them," she said, "which might be a clue about the villain."
"These aren't villains?" yelled Daniel.
"Probably not," said a leaping Ladybug. "I don't think they're robots. There are people inside, maybe transformed victims of whoever the real supervillain is. Chat, we can't go too hard on them."
The first minion, still chanting "Bring... Daniel... She... waits..." swung a huge fist at Chat, leaving a big hole in the ground under Chat's evasive leap.
"Tell THEM that!" he yelled, though he grasped what she meant.
"We have to get him out of here," Ladybug ordered between dodges. "He's who they're after."
Hearing one of the other minions chant "Bring... Daniel... Take... Miraculouses...," Chat replied, "Sounds to me like they've learned to multitask!"
"Great. But that at least tells us that it's definitely related to an Akuma, and Hawkmoth. Scoop him up and we'll run for it. They can't match our mobility, but we don't know how many more there are." The trio headed up and over the attackers. "I have a hunch as to where to start looking from his story," Ladybug added, and they followed her lead.
The Locksmith fumed. "How can one man be so hard to capture?" She stared down at the ground for a moment, then came to a decision. "ARIIIIIIIIIIIISE!", she shouted with a sweeping arm gesture.
Up and down the bridge, lock after lock sprang open. Dozens. Hundreds. Perhaps thousands.
The city of Paris ground to a sudden halt. Cars stopped suddenly, causing some accidents. Conversations stopped in an instant. The sound of grinding metal filled the air, heavy stomping feet echoed everywhere, and an awful lot of single people ran for any hiding places they could find.
Hawkmoth grinned. "Yessss. They can run, but they cannot hide. The power of love, always so strong..." He paused, losing his smile for a moment. "Blast it. Even my Miraculous can't drive this infernal earworm out of my head today."
Bouncing from rooftop to rooftop, Ladybug and Chat heard the chaos increasing exponentially. "This is getting out of hand!" she yelled over the din.
"Where should we go?" hollered Chat.
"The Pont de l'Archevêché," Ladybug replied. "I think it's where this all started."
"One of the 'love locks' bridges? Ohhhhh, I get it. The fury of a woman scorned."
"Yeah. Try not to scorn us, it's not healthy," quipped Ladybug.
She looked down as they crossed over a familiar neighborhood, and - NO! Ladybug saw two metal figures tromping out of her parents' bakery. Her home.
Of course Mom and Dad had a padlock. They're both romantics at heart, she thought, but the shock nearly made her land on her face. Concentrate, Marinette. Now the stakes are even higher.
The heroes and Daniel perched atop a tall apartment building, looking down at the army of minionized civilians steadily closing in. Pairs of hulking figures were everywhere; they were running out of room to run.
"I don't mean to be picky, but isn't this a bad place to be right now?" asked Daniel. "They tore through concrete walls like paper, they'll tear the building down and us with it!"
Ladybug smiled. "I thought of that, but I've been watching them. Look closely."
Daniel and Chat watched the metal figures marching forwards, inexorably zeroing in on their position... bumping into things, walking around trees instead of through them, avoiding parked cars instead of crushing them. Chat noted, "They're getting weaker."
"Exactly!" Ladybug said. "The villain's power is getting split up between all these minions. When there were two, they were unstoppable. As six, we stood against them face-to-face when we probably should've gotten squished. Now that they're hundreds, maybe thousands... they're still big, and dangerous..."
"...but we can manage 'em." Chat grinned at Daniel, as if to say, See? THIS one woman is all _I_ need.
"Now... we're still outnumbered, like, a thousand to two," Ladybug pointed out.
"Three," said Daniel.
"Two and a passenger," noted Chat, "but now that they sense the Miraculouses, they're tracking all three of us."
"We can use that to our advantage," Ladybug said. "We can lead them where we want them to go."
Looking out at a nearby construction site, Chat agreed. "I have some ideas. Let's see them try to reach where a cat can climb."
"Let's do this. Daniel, you stay here on the roof. Keep that access door locked no matter who knocks." He nodded. "Chat, let's get 'em moving."
The heroes hopped down to street level. "Hey, tinheads! Come and get me!" Chat taunted, leading as many as would follow him across the road.
Ladybug herded up as many as she could handle, then went through the front door. "Hope you don't mind taking the stairs, the elevator's out of service," she teased.
She weaved her way through the building, calling out "Stay inside and lock your doors! You don't want to know what's out here!" to the residents. No strangers any more to weird villains and super-battles in Paris, they concurred and stayed put. She moved just fast enough to make sure that a steady stream of clomping footsteps remained right behind her, then went up the opposite stairs to the next floor, then the next.
On the top floor before the roof, Ladybug got halfway down the hall and froze, seeing that minions had beaten her there on the other side. Either they went up the other stairs or some were in the building already, she thought. I'm surrounded! NOW what?
Thinking quickly, she knocked on the closest door repeatedly. "HELLO? This is Ladybug! I know I said to keep your door locked, but whoever you are, I _really need_ your help. Please open up..."
A grumpy voice answered, "Hold your horses, lady..." She heard footsteps from within the apartment, getting closer... very... slowly...
Just as the minions were upon her, the door opened to a middle-aged man. "Awright, whaddya want... HEY!" he yelled as a red-and-black blur darted past him, running through the kitchen, into the living room, over the coffee table, past the TV.
"Sorry!" she shouted. "They won't hurt you, it's me they want!" Quickly, she opened the window on the far side, slipped through it and yo-yoed her way upwards to the roof.
The apartment owner ran after Ladybug as far as his TV room, saw her make her escape, then turned to find a dozen metal-clad figures standing around him. They were unmoving, unsure of how to continue pursuit. No one said anything.
"Can I, uh, get you anything?" he asked them.
Ladybug flipped onto the roof, where she saw Daniel pushing hard against the door, which was shaking. "Hurry! I can't hold this much longer," he grunted.
She scooped him up, said "We can't stay here," and carried him down to ground level. Chat saw them make their escape and leapt to their side.
"Led them on a merry chase?" Ladybug asked.
"Yeah, I left 'em all over the site," replied Chat. "But..." The trio looked out over the wave of minions marching closer. "Is it just me or are there way more here now than when we started?"
Ladybug sighed. "Yeah. So much for that."
Chat consoled her, "It was a good plan. It bought us some time. There's just too many of them; we're going to have to take out the source."
The nearest minions closed in, and Ladybug and Chat began dodging blows. "Bring... Daniel... Get... Miraculous... She... waits." echoed from all directions.
"We have to do something!" shouted Chat, spinning away from their grasp.
"I'm all ears!" shouted Ladybug, ducking a metal forearm.
Daniel gulped audibly, then stepped forward. Minions surrounded him quickly.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Ladybug yelled.
"Elaine wouldn't hurt me... I don't think," said Daniel. "Get out of here while you can, then come rescue us," and then they were upon him.
"No-" Chat grabbed Ladybug by the shoulders. "He's right! We HAVE TO GO, NOW!"
The heroes leapt into the night, Ladybug looking back over her shoulder sadly, seeing Daniel being carried aloft by many metallic hands.
As they approached the Pont de l'Archevêché, Ladybug and Chat saw Daniel being delivered to his captor. The villain looked in their direction, sensing their presence, then turned her attention to Daniel. She forced his hand up against the purple, pulsing padlock, and it morphed around his wrist, securing him to the fence.
"And here you thought you were too much man to be tied down to just one woman," the Locksmith purred.
"It's getting harder to argue that," Daniel whimpered. "Elaine, can we talk about this?"
Hawkmoth's energy signature appeared over her face. "Locksmith... Your revenge is a success. You have your prey. Our enemies have arrived; time for your end of the bargain. Bring me those Miraculouses."
"Certainly," she replied. "Guard him," she commanded the minions closer to her, pointing at Daniel. "They will not take him. The rest of you, seize them!" The majority of the minions began to march anew.
Ladybug and Chat watched with wide eyes. "Looks like we were right. It's one of Hawkmoth's villains, and she's using the love locks on that bridge to control her minions," Ladybug said.
"Pretty long odds. And we'll have to figure out how to get to Daniel, then get him loose," replied Chat. "It's a good thing we never hung up our own love lock, huh, Bugaboo?"
"For more reasons than that," she parried.
Chat continued, "Yeah, a lock wouldn't have been big enough. I was thinking billboards, maybe skywriting..."
"Heh. Easy there, you. Ready to take on an army of lovers, Kitty?" Ladybug asked.
"Take on the world, if it's with you. Let's go."
The pair swung into action, landing on the end of the bridge. Minions moved on them immediately, and the heroes did their best to push forwards without hurting anyone or getting pulped themselves. "Welcome, Ladybug and Chat Noir!" called the Locksmith. "Here to pledge your devotion? You can surrender to me, or to each other and then I'll have you anyway."
"How about neither?" retorted Ladybug as she ducked and dodged. "My love life's weird enough already, I don't need your help."
"My dance card's full, too," said Chat, moving fast, "though I seem to have no shortage of partners here."
"Aren't you popular today!" Ladybug snickered.
Chat smiled, then grimaced as he took a punch. "We need a plan here..."
"On it. LUCKY CHARM!" The energies pulsed above Ladybug and coalesced into...
"A key. That figures," Ladybug said. "But for which lock? There are thousands on this bridge."
"Gotta be the big one holding Daniel up," panted Chat. "It's the only one I see that's closed. Plus, she's locked Daniel to the bridge with it. Plus, it's GLOWING."
"And you thought I only liked you for your brawn," grinned Ladybug. She darted between two minions' legs, dodged a third, slid next to the dangling Daniel and shoved her key into the lock...
"It... doesn't fit?" This stopped her cold, and she stared blankly at her key. WHAT!?
"Don't you know anything about love locks, Ladybug? Once the lock is secured, there's only one place the key belongs..." The Locksmith gestured, the Akumatized lock pulsed with energy, and the force blasted the Charm key out of Ladybug's hand, into the air and over the side of the bridge!
"Not on my watch!" Chat saw the Charm key in motion, and leaped.
"CHAT, NO!" Ladybug cried, but it was too late. Both the Charm key and Chat went over the side and towards the river Seine below.
"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!"
Plummeting, Chat focused. Only gonna get one shot at this-
He swung his baton like a baseball bat, and the Charm key flew back upwards. "Catch!"
He closed his eyes, preparing for impact against the unforgiving water. Instead, he felt a familiar yo-yo wrapping itself around his waist. "NO, Ladybug!", he yelled, but it was too late.
On the bridge, Ladybug wrapped her end of the yo-yo around a rail on the side of the bridge, anchoring it. I got him. He's safe. Or at least he won't drown. She leapt through the air gracefully, and snagged the flying Charm key with one hand, landing on her stomach.
But now I'm weaponless -
A metallic fist grabbed Ladybug's left ankle. This wasn't a grip she would be able to break. She was defenseless.
Frantically, Ladybug half-closed her eyes and searched with LuckyVision, desperate for an answer. The lock flashed, then Daniel, then Daniel's back pocket.
It wasn't for ME to use, she realized.
"Daniel! I don't have the key to Elaine's heart. YOU DO! HERE!" She flung the Charm key at him just as her other ankle was grabbed and the minions began dragging her away.
Daniel stretched as far as he could and barely caught the flying Charm. He shoved it at the lock...
"It STILL doesn't fit!" he yelled.
Ladybug collapsed, anguished. WHY DOESN'T IT WORK? It has to. "What's in your POCKET?" Ladybug cried, as a burly minion picked her up.
A light went on in Daniel's head. When we were here earlier... Elaine kept the lock. I KEPT THE KEY. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out the key to the original lock with his one free hand. The two touched and snapped together, becoming one larger key.
"DANIEL!" Ladybug screamed. She felt thick metal fingers reaching for her earrings...
"STOP HIM!" yelled the Locksmith.
With a determined look, Daniel took the newly formed key, thrust it into the glowing lock...
...and it turned. The lock sprung open, fell to the ground, and shattered.
"NOOOOOOO!" The Locksmith fell to the ground, purple energy bubbling. Her minions froze in place, and Ladybug wriggled, still pinned in one's grasp. She saw the Akuma emerge from the broken lock.
Now what? I can't capture it without my yo-yo...
She looked at the yo-yo, still tied to the bridge rail. It was twitching. A black-gloved hand reached up, then another, followed by Chat Noir's head. "Good thing I was great at climbing ropes in gym class," he grinned. Quickly, he clambered back onto the bridge, untied the yo-yo and slid it to Ladybug.
"Sorry to leave you hanging," she replied, "but I know how most cats hate water." She spun the yo-yo from on her knees, hurled it, and captured the Akuma.
"Gotcha!"
With the Akuma purified and MIRACULOUS LADYBUG! used, things quickly returned to normal in Paris. Property damage was restored, walls were repaired, and minions were returned to their normal form. A multitude of padlocks snapped back into their previous alignment.
The man back in the apartment blinked, now seeing his apartment full of strange people rather than strange metallic robots.
"Can I, uh, get you anything?" he asked them, before the magic whisked them home.
Elaine sat on the ground, exhausted. Daniel quickly went to her, asking "Are you all right?"
"I think so. I don't remember much. What happened?"
"You were... um... transformed. You sent weird robots to capture me."
Elaine looked away. "Figures. I'm sorry, everyone. Especially you, Daniel. As demanding as I was being earlier, I..."
Daniel smiled. "Elaine, you captured me a long time ago. I just didn't want to admit it to myself."
Ladybug's audible "Awwwww!" turned all their heads her way. "What?" she asked.
Her earrings beeped. "I, uh, have to get going. Chat, can you make sure they get home okay?"
Chat smiled. "I think they know exactly where they're going."
"Pound it!" "Bug out!"
Marinette stood out in front of the school with her girl friends after the next day's final bell, as was their usual custom. "Did you hear about the big fight on one of the love lock bridges yesterday?" Juleka asked. "Ladybug and Chat Noir took out a villain there. The whole city was in an uproar. "
"I, uh, heard something about that," whistled Marinette. "Was everyone okay?"
Alya said, "Of course they were! Ladybug was there." My biggest fan, as always.
Rose breathed a sigh of relief. "Just think of all the loves that could have been lost there..."
Juleka laughed, "The love's not in the lock, silly. The love is in who puts it there." Rose got an "Oh-h-h" look on her face.
Smiling, Alya leaned over Marinette's shoulder and asked, "So... are you going to ask Adrien to walk you home again? ...Or should I ask him for you?"
Marinette blushed a little, but put on a serious face and replied, "I don't think I want to be too pushy. You know, give him a little space. Play hard-to-get."
"Well, now's your chance, Miss Hard-to-Get," Alya said quietly, pointing. Adrien and Nino were walking down the steps in their direction.
They greeted each other and the mixed group talked for a few minutes. Nino and Alya announced that they had to head home, and Marinette said, "I should get going, too." She looked around for a moment, puzzled. Something was different. "Adrien... where's your bodyguard's car today?"
Adrien answered, "Actually... it might be going to your house."
Marinette's eyes went big. Behind him, two of Alix's books fell out of her hands, Rose caught her breath, Mylène's jaw dropped, and Alya did a silent fist-pump. "It might?" she managed.
He smiled, and said "Well, it's such a nice day and it was such a pleasant walk yesterday, I thought I might get a little more exercise. I gave Nathalie a call before last period and she said it'd be fine today. ...If you'd like some more company, that is."
The engine powering Marinette's brain tried to restart. "I... " *chug* "I..." *chug* *chug* *vrooom!* "I would love that."
The two of them walked off in the general direction of Marinette's house. Alya overheard Adrien asking "Which way should we go today?", and Marinette's reply of "...You pick this time."
"Miss Hard-to-Get, folks," said Alya, and the girls shared a long giggle.
~fin~